UC-NRLF 
 
 
 
BERKELEY^ 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 JCAHQH LIBS, 
 
 /* 
 
PRINCE ARTHUR AND HUBERT. (See page 72.) 
 From a photograph of a painting by Yeames. 
 
STORIES 
 
 FROM 
 
 ENGLISH HISTORY 
 
 FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE 
 PRESENT DAY 
 
 EDITED FOR SCHOOL AND HOME USE 
 
 BY 
 
 ALBERT F. BLAISDELL 
 
 AUTHOR OF " FIRST STEPS IN THE ENGLISH CLASSICS," "READINGS FR'OM THE 
 WAVERLEY NOVELS," " STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR," ETC. 
 
 JOHN S. PRELL 
 
 Civil & Mechanical Engineer. 
 
 SAN FKANCISCO, GAL. 
 
 BOSTON, U.S.A., AND LONDON 
 GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
 
 1899 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1897 
 BY GINN & COMPANY 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
25- 
 
 EDUC. 
 UBRARY 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 JOHN 3. PRELL 
 
 Qdl & Mechanical Engineer. 
 
 THIS is a^xrcfk oritOTTes rVtom i^glish history, 
 edited for school and home use. It is intended to 
 serve as a supplementary reading book for boys and 
 girls from ten to fifteen years of age. It consists of 
 a series of dramatic and notable events in English 
 history from the earliest time to the present day, care- 
 fully compiled and rewritten from standard .books and 
 well-known authors. 
 
 The material has been arranged in the form of 
 stories with the intent to arouse a lively interest in 
 historical reading and a keen desire to know more 
 about the history of our mother country. 
 
 It has been the aim of the editor to furnish in a 
 readable and connected form a useful and convenient 
 introduction to more advanced works for young folks 
 on similar subjects, such as those written by Charles 
 Dickens, Charlotte M. Yonge, George M. Towle, A. J. 
 Church, S. R. Gardiner, and others. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 It' is needless to say that some of the stories, so 
 far as historical accuracy is concerned, rest upon very 
 slender foundations. Any discussion of this point 
 in a book of this kind would be obviously out of 
 place. It is a curious fact that one of the best 
 authenticated stories the well-known story of King 
 Canute and the rising tide - - is one of the least 
 probable. Again, the story of Queen Philippa and 
 her intercession for the citizens of Calais is given in 
 detail by Froissart, who was a boy at the time ; and 
 yet there is good reason to doubt its truth. What- 
 ever semi-mythical character may be attached to these 
 and other familiar stories in this book does not detract 
 of course from the pleasure and instruction which they 
 may afford youthful readers. 
 
 These stories, supplemented with various picturesque 
 anecdotes, are written purposely in an easy and famil- 
 iar style and in very simple language, with the aim to 
 attract and hold the attention of young pupils. 
 
 A. F. B. 
 APRIL, 1897. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 STORY PAGE 
 
 1. BRITAIN IN THE OLD DAYS .... i 
 
 2. How THE ROMANS CAME TO BRITAIN ... .6 
 
 3. THE STORY OF THE CAPTIVE KING . . . 9 
 
 4. THE STORY OF THE BRAVE WARRIOR QUEEN . * . 13 
 
 5. THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH . .17 
 
 6. How THE ENGLISH BECAME CHRISTIANS .... 22 
 
 7. How THE OLD ENGLISH PEOPLE LIVED . ... 27 
 
 8. How KING ALFRED RULED ENGLAND. . . . .31 
 
 9. How A DANE CAME TO BE KING OF' ENGLAND ... .38 
 10. KING CANUTE, THE DANE .... 43 
 n. THE STORY OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST . . . -47 
 
 12. THE DEATH OF THE RED KING 53 
 
 13. THE Loss OF THE "WHITE SHIP" 57 
 
 14. THE NORMANS AND HOW THEY LIVED .... 62 
 
 15. RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 66 
 
 1 6. THE SAD STORY OF LITTLE PRINCE ARTHUR ... 72 
 
 17. THE BLACK PRINCE AT THE BATTLE OF CRECY . . -78 
 
 1 8. THE GOOD QUEEN AND THE BRAVE CITIZENS ... 83 
 
 19. How WAT TYLER V LED A REVOLT OF THE COMMON PEOPLE 88 
 
 20. PRINCE HAL AND THE GREAT VICTORY OF AGINCOURT . 92 
 
 21. BRAVE KNIGHTS AND HOW THEY FOUGHT IN OLDEN TIMES 96 
 
 22. QUEEN MARGARET AND THE ROBBER . . . . . 101 
 
 23. THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER 105 
 
VI CONTENTS, 
 
 STORY PAGE 
 
 24. THE FIRST ENGLISH PRINTER . ... 109 
 
 25. THE STORY OF THE "INVINCIBLE ARMADA" . . . 112 
 
 26. Two FAMOUS MEN WHO LIVED IN THE DAYS OF QUEEN 
 
 ELIZABETH . . .118 
 
 27. DEATH OF CHARLES THE FIRST 125 
 
 28. How KING CHARLES THE SECOND ESCAPED FROM HIS 
 
 ENEMIES 130 
 
 29. THE STORY OF THE GREAT PLAGUE IN LONDON . . 135 
 
 30. THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON 139 
 
 31. THE FLIGHT OF JAMES THE SECOND 142 
 
 32. THE FAMOUS SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY . . .145 
 
 33. BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE'S ESCAPE . . . 149 
 
 34. THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA . .154 
 
 35. THE BRAVE LORD NELSON . . 157 
 
 36. THE IRON DUKE AND THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO . . 161 
 
 37. Two GREAT INVENTORS .165 
 
 38. How VICTORIA BECAME QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN . .170 
 
 39. How THEY FOUGHT IN THE CRIMEA 175 
 
 40. THE MUTINY IN INDIA ... . 179 
 
 41. BRITAIN, THEN AND NOW . .18? 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 187 
 
STORIES 
 
 FROM 
 
 ENGLISH HISTORY 
 
STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 1. BRITAIN IN THE OLD DAYS. 
 
 Before the Birth of Christ. 
 
 ALONG, long time ago, before the English came to 
 live in England, the country was called Britain, 
 and the people who then lived in it were called Britons. 
 
 Now you must know, and keep in mind, that Britain 
 in the old days did not look as England does now ; and 
 that the old Britons did not live like the English people 
 of our day, or dress like them, or speak as they speak. 
 
 I am going to tell you about people who lived two 
 thousand years ago. Think what a long time that is, 
 a hundred years before Christ was born! 
 
 Now, if you had been living in England two thousand 
 years ago, what would you have seen ? I am sure you 
 cannot tell me, so I will tell you. You would have seen 
 the same hills that are to be seen to-day, and the same 
 valleys, and rivers, and lakes. But little else would 
 have been as it is now. 
 
 You would have seen no busy towns, no quiet, cozy 
 villages, with their church spires peeping out above the 
 trees, no farms, no orchards or gardens, no paved streets, 
 
2 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 no steam or electric cars, no big cotton mills, and no 
 network of telegraph wires. 
 
 But instead you would have seen great dark forests 
 spreading far and wide, where the wolf and the bear had 
 their dens ; and broad, still pools where the land was 
 low ; and patches of open country that the plough had 
 never broken. 
 
 Here and there you might have seen a number of 
 huts made of wickerwork and mud, with no windows 
 with only a hole at the top to let out the smoke. 
 They were built on the edge of some forest, with a ditch 
 dug round them, or trunks of trees piled up in front of 
 them to keep out the wild beasts. All the towns they 
 had were only clusters of such huts. 
 
 And how did the people look, you will ask, in those 
 dim, long-past ages? Well, they were tall and fair; they 
 had blue eyes and long yellow hair. But they looked 
 like savages, and lived like savages. They did not 
 know how to read or write. Most of them went half- 
 naked, with only the skins of wild beasts about them ; 
 and they stained their faces, arms, and breasts with a 
 blue dye to make themselves look fierce. 
 
 They made no coins, but used metal rings for money. 
 They were clever in basket work, as savage people often 
 are ; and they could make a coarse kind of cloth, but 
 their earthenware was very poor. 
 
 For boats they had " coracles," or basket-boats, made 
 of twisted twigs and covered with the skins of animals. 
 
BRITAIN IN THE OLD DAYS. 
 
 In these they paddled along the rivers to catch fish. 
 They killed the fish with spears made of wood, or else 
 caught them with hooks made of bone. Many of their 
 boats were so light that a man, or even a boy, could 
 carry one home on his back. 
 
 Many of the old Britons were hunters, who lived on 
 the animals . .,, 
 
 they slew, 
 and on the 
 wild fruits 
 that grew in 
 the woods. 
 Some of 
 them were 
 herdsmen, 
 who lived 
 mostly on 
 milk and 
 the flesh of 
 their cattle. 
 A few, who 
 
 dwelt in the south and were less savage, tilled little 
 patches of grain, and traded with merchants who now 
 and then came over from lands beyond the seas. 
 
 They made swords of copper mixed with tin ; but 
 these swords were of an awkward shape, and so soft 
 that a heavy blow would bend them. The Britons 
 made light shields, short pointed daggers, and spears. 
 
 ANCIENT BRITON IN HIS CORACLE. 
 
4 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 After they had thrown daggers and spears at an enemy, 
 they jerked them back with a long strip of leather 
 fastened to the shaft. At the butt end of the spear 
 or dagger was a rattle which the warrior used to 
 frighten an enemy's horse. 
 
 The ancient Britons, being divided into as many as 
 thirty or forty tribes, each with its own little king, were 
 constantly fighting with one another, as savage people 
 usually do. 
 
 They were very fond of horses. They could break 
 them in and manage them wonderfully well. They 
 were also very clever in making war-chariots. These 
 chariots had a large, sharp-curved scythe fastened to 
 the axle of each wheel, and made much havoc when 
 driven into the thick of the fight. 
 
 While at full speed, the horses would stop at the 
 driver's word. The men within would leap out, deal 
 blows about them with their swords, leap on the horses 
 or upon the pole, spring back into the chariots, and, as 
 soon as they were safe, the horses would tear away again. 
 
 I am sorry to tell you that these old Britons did 
 not know the true God. They used to worship the 
 sun and the moon, and held sacred the mistletoe that 
 grows on the oak tree. Their priests, who were called 
 Druids, used to teach them that their souls, when they 
 died, would go into the bodies of beasts ; and that it was 
 right, and pleasing to their gods, to burn their enemies 
 whom they took in battle. 
 
BRITAIN IN THE OLD DAYS. 5 
 
 These Druids had very great power among the 
 people. They settled all disputes, and if any man 
 refused to obey their orders, he was treated as an out- 
 cast from the tribe. The Druids carried on their wor- 
 ship in the gloomy shade of oak groves. Sometimes 
 they put to death great numbers of men and women, 
 as a religious offering to their gods. 
 
 These Druids had great regard for the mistletoe. 
 When this plant was found growing upon an oak tree, 
 the chief Druid called all the tribe together on the first 
 day of the new year, and with much show cut down the 
 plant with a golden sickle. The mistletoe was then 
 given away in pieces, to be taken home as a lucky 
 charm for the new year. 
 
 At Christmas time we still like to place this plant 
 in our houses, and in this way we are put in mind, 
 when the glad holiday comes, of this old custom of the 
 Druids. But the mistletoe has a better meaning for 
 us. Living and bearing fruit in winter, when other 
 plants seem dead, it reminds us of the life that neither 
 winter nor time can kill. 
 
2. HOW THE ROMANS CAME TO BRITAIN. 
 
 55 Years before the Birth of Christ. 
 
 ONE bright morning in summer, in the old days 
 we have been speaking of, a great crowd of 
 Britons stood on the white chalk cliffs of Kent. Every 
 now and then they looked across the narrow seas 
 towards France, or Gaul, as it was called at that time. 
 
 It was plain that they were making ready for a battle. 
 Every man was half-naked, his breast and arms and 
 face painted with new war-paint, and a weapon of some 
 sort in his hand. Some had clubs, some had spears, 
 some had flint-headed darts to throw at their foes, and a 
 few of them had long blunt swords and round shields 
 of basket work with which to guard their bodies. 
 
 Most of them were on foot, but a few rode on horse- 
 back ; and there were some who stood up in low 
 wooden chariots drawn by two horses. These war- 
 chariots, you will remember, had a sharp scythe fast- 
 ened to the axle of each wheel, which cut down men 
 as a mower cuts down grass. 
 
 But why were the Britons standing on the cliffs this 
 bright summer morning? Why did they keep looking 
 over the sea toward Gaul ? Let me tell you. A vessel 
 had come in with the startling news that a Roman 
 army, which had been fighting against the Gauls, was 
 coming across the sea to conquer Britain. 
 
HOW THE ROMANS CAME TO BRITAIN. / 
 
 The news roused the country like a trumpet blast. 
 Julius Caesar, a brave and skillful general, who had con- 
 quered wherever he fought Caesar was coming to 
 invade Britain ! 
 
 Men sprang to their horses. Through the forests 
 and over the hills, from one hamlet to another, they 
 rode shouting their war-cry and calling the people to 
 arms. Before long not a man was to be seen in the 
 grainfields. The women and children stayed at home 
 and took care of the cattle. 
 
 The news which the vessel had brought was indeed 
 true. The Britons soon spied, far out at sea, a number 
 of black specks that looked, at first, like a flock of sea- 
 gulls. But as they came nearer and nearer, the Britons 
 saw that they were Roman ships, full of Roman sol- 
 diers, whose bright brass helmets and brass breast- 
 plates flashed in the summer sun. 
 
 Before the prows of the Roman ships could touch 
 the beach, the Britons dashed into the sea, and with 
 savage war-shouts flung their darts at the Romans. 
 For a while the Romans, though brave and fearless, 
 dared not leave their ships. But at last a soldier 
 who carried the Roman standard a small golden 
 eagle on a staff leaped into the waves, and called out 
 to his comrades, " Follow me ! " 
 
 Then the Romans leaped into the sea ; for no 
 Roman soldier dared to leave the eagle in the hands 
 of the foe, or he would be put to death in his own 
 
8 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 land. Grasping their short, sharp swords, and raising 
 their great shields to keep off the darts, they rushed in a 
 long, solid line up the beach. 
 
 The poor, naked savages fought like lions, but they 
 were no match for the brave and well-drilled soldiers 
 of Rome. Before the close of that summer day, the 
 sand on the sea beach was strewn with the dead and 
 the dying; the Britons had been driven back to their 
 woods. But they were not yet beaten. 
 
 Frpm their forest homes they watched the enemy ; 
 and, fighting in war-chariots, on horseback or on foot, 
 they constantly cut off small parties and lonely camps. 
 If armies fought, the dreaded chariots of the Britons 
 swept like the rush of a torrent through .the Roman 
 ranks, leaving behind them a path of dead bodies. 
 Once, when some Roman soldiers went out to reap 
 grain, the Britons fell upon them so suddenly that few 
 escaped. 
 
 Caesar had to bring over more soldiers an-d fight 
 many more battles, before the Britons gave in, and were 
 forced to call the Romans their masters. It was agreed 
 that the Britons should pay a yearly sum of money to 
 Caesar. 
 
 Soon after Caesar went back to Gaul, very glad, 
 no doubt, to leave a country where little was to be 
 had, except by hard fighting. He never came back to 
 Britain, but after this time the island became much 
 better known to the rest of the world. 
 
3. THE STORY OF THE CAPTIVE KING. 
 
 50 Years after the Birth of Christ. 
 
 WE have seen that Caesar soon went away from 
 Britain. Almost a hundred years after, the 
 Romans came again with ships and with a great 
 number of soldiers. Again the Britons fought bravely 
 for their country. 
 
 Among the British chiefs in those days, one stands 
 out in fame above all the rest. His name was Caracta- 
 cus. He was a brave warrior, and he dearly loved his 
 country. His bravery, skill, and courage were talked 
 about all over the island, and his fame reached even 
 as far as the city of Rome itself. 
 
 The Romans hoped to kill him in battle, or to take 
 him prisoner, for they knew that while he was alive 
 and free, the conquest of the land would not be easy. 
 For nine long years he struggled against the Romans, 
 and gave them blow for blow ; but he was driven back 
 at last into the hill country of the west. 
 
 There is a high hill in the west of England with a 
 swift river flowing at its foot, which the people to this 
 day call " The Camp of Caractacus." Here the brave 
 chief fought his last battle. One day his little band of 
 Britons all that was now left to him was standing 
 on this hill, when they saw a great Roman army march- 
 ing up the valley. The Romans were ten to one ; but 
 
IO STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 the British king drew up his men behind walls of earth 
 and loose stones, and called on them to defend their 
 homes and their native land with the last drop of 
 their blood, "Conquer the Romans," he cried, "or 
 they will make you slaves." 
 
 The Romans came up, dashed across the river, and 
 made a rush. up the hillside. The Britons flung their 
 darts at them as they came on. But the Roman sol- 
 diers lifted their shields above their heads, and put 
 them side by side, making a sort of a roof of them ; 
 so that the darts struck the shields and bounded off, 
 as you have sometimes seen the hailstones bound off a 
 roof in a pelting storm. 
 
 There was a fierce hand-to-hand fight on the hilltop, 
 but it was soon over. The blunt swords of the Britons 
 were useless against the brass armor and the shields 
 of the Romans, who thrust their sharp steel blades 
 into the half-naked bodies of their enemies, stabbing 
 them through and through. 
 
 The Britons were beaten, and the heroic chief and 
 his wife and daughter fell into the hands of the Romans. 
 Then they were put in chains and sent to Rome as 
 captives. It was a custom of the Romans, when they 
 took noble captives in battle, to lead them through their 
 city, and make a great show of them in long procession 
 before putting them to death. 
 
 So the British king with a train of captives, was 
 led in triumph through the streets of Rome. People 
 
THE STORY OF THE CAPTIVE KING. 
 
 II 
 
 crowded the streets and windows and housetops to 
 catch a sight of him, for all of them had heard of the 
 tall blue-eyed savage who had beaten the best soldiers 
 of Rome in many a hard-fought battle. 
 
 CARACTACUS AND HIS WIFE BEFORE THE ROMAN EMPEROR. 
 
 When the proud captive king saw marble temples 
 and rich palaces on every side of him, he could not help 
 saying, " Why should these Romans, who have such 
 
12 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 grand houses at home, wish to rob me of my lowly 
 hut in Briton ? " 
 
 The captives were led before the ruler of the Romans, 
 the Emperor Claudius, who sat on his throne in the 
 open air; and, as they came near him, they lifted up 
 their chained hands and wept and cried aloud for 
 mercy, all but Caractacus. He stood erect; and no 
 proud Roman in the crowd around the throne looked 
 more fearless than he. 
 
 "Briton," said the emperor in surprise, "knowest 
 thou not that thou must die ? All who bear arms 
 against Rome, as thou hast done, are doomed to death." 
 
 "Torn from my home and robbed of freedom,' 1 
 replied Caractacus, " I have nothing now to live for ; 
 nor do I fear death more here than on the field of 
 battle." 
 
 Struck with his noble bearing, the emperor made 
 up his mind to grant him his life. 
 
 " Thou shalt not die," he said. " Thou art free. 
 Rome is able to forgive a brave enemy." 
 
 The Roman soldiers at once struck off his chains, 
 and from that day Caractacus was free. 
 
 Some of the old books tell us that Caractacus went 
 back to Britain, and was made a prince under the 
 Romans ; but nothing more is really known about 
 him than what I have told you. No one knows 
 whether his great heart broke and he died in Rome, 
 or if he ever returned to his own dear country. 
 
4. THE STORY OF THE BRAVE WARRIOR QUEEN. 
 
 61 Years after the Birth of Christ. 
 
 IN the eastern part of Britain there lived, in the old 
 days of which I am telling you, a British queen 
 named Boadicea. She was the widow of a king who had 
 ruled over a large and warlike tribe. The Roman 
 general who commanded in Britain at this time had 
 gone to the other side of the island to attack the 
 Druids. In his place he left an officer a cruel man 
 who hated the Britons. 
 
 This cruel officer tried to force Boadicea to give up 
 her land to him ; and, because she would not, he ordered 
 her to be publicly beaten with rods. So the proud 
 queen was scourged in the presence of the Romans, 
 and her two daughters were also most cruelly treated. 
 
 When Boadicea was set free, she called upon the 
 Britons to rise and fight against the Romans. So they 
 gathered at her bidding by tens of thousands. 
 
 Standing in her chariot, with her long yellow hair 
 streaming in the wind, a large golden collar on her 
 neck, a loose mantle fastened by a clasp on her breast, 
 she poured forth fierce and fiery words to the warriors 
 around her. 
 
 " Know you," she cried, " what these bloodthirsty 
 Romans have done to your queen ? If you are men, you 
 
STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 will rise and sweep these invaders from our shores! 
 Me, a Briton queen, they scourged in the presence of 
 their hired legions me they marked with their cruel 
 whips ! Rise, Britons, fight for your queen and your 
 homes or be forever slaves ! " 
 
 The savage Britons answered their queen with furious 
 
 shouts and with the 
 clash of the swords 
 and shields. She led 
 them against the en- 
 emy and routed the 
 Roman army with 
 great slaughter. Then 
 she turned against 
 three Roman cities, 
 and put every man, 
 woman, and child to 
 the sword. Seventy 
 thousand of them were 
 slain. The land ran 
 with Roman blood ; 
 and it seemed as if the Britons were once more to hold 
 the island as their own. 
 
 But when the news came to the chief Roman general, 
 he hurried back with his men, and fell upon the British 
 tribes. The brave but unskilled Britons went down 
 before the short heavy swords of the Romans like grain 
 before the scythe of the reaper. Boadicea herself, when 
 
 BOADICEA LEADING HER SOLDIERS TO BATTLE. 
 
THE STORY OF THE BRAVE WARRIOR QUEEN. 15 
 
 she saw all her hopes gone, and nothing but a life of 
 slavery before her, took poison and died, we are told, 
 rather than fall into the hands of the victor. 
 
 In spite of all that the brave Britons could do, the 
 Romans made themselves masters of the country. They 
 kept many thousands' of soldiers in it, and ruled it for 
 nearly four hundred years. At the end of that time 
 they took away their officers and soldiers, because these 
 were needed in their own land. So Britain once more 
 was left to itself. 
 
 Under the rule of the Romans, the Britons lost their 
 freedom; but they learned a great deal from their 
 masters. They learned to build good houses and fine 
 roads, to have better clothes, and to live very much 
 more comfortably than they did before the Romans 
 came. 
 
 Often, even now, when men are digging in England, 
 they find things that were used by the Romans in 
 these old times, rusty coins, pieces of plate from 
 which they ate, of goblets from which they drank, of 
 pavements on which they trod. The wells which the 
 Romans dug give water yet ; and the roads which they 
 made are highways still. 
 
 In some old battlefields, British spearheads and 
 Roman armor have been found, mingled together in 
 decay, as they fell in the thick of the fight. Traces of 
 Roman camps overgrown with grass, and of mounds 
 that are the burial-places of heaps of Britons, are to be 
 
1 6 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 seen in many parts of the country. Across the black 
 moors, those dreary plains in the north of England, 
 the old flattened ridge of the Roman wall, overrun with 
 moss and weeds, still stretches, a strong ruin ; and the 
 shepherds and their dogs lie sleeping on it as they tend 
 their flocks in the long summer afternoons. 
 
 English oaks have grown up from acorns, and with- 
 ered away, when they were hundreds of years old, and 
 other oaks have sprung up in their places, and died too, 
 centuries old, since the fearless captive king and the 
 heroic warrior queen fought so bravely for their native 
 land. 
 
5. THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH. 
 
 About 450 Years after the Birth of Christ. 
 
 AS I have told you, the Romans were forced at last 
 to leave Britain, after having been there nearly 
 four long centuries. Word was brought to them that 
 hordes of savage tribes were marching through their 
 own fair, sunny country of Italy, and that the proud city 
 of Rome itself was in danger. So their armies had to 
 leave Britain. 
 
 In a short time there were no Roman soldiers left 
 in any part of Britain. The Romans had scarcely gone 
 away from the country when their enemies wished they 
 had never left it. The truth is these Britons were not 
 so brave as their fathers had been, and they had never 
 been taught to fight. 
 
 So when they were left to themselves, the fierce, wild 
 tribes in the north, called Picts and Scots, came swarm- 
 ing into the country, burning the houses, trampling 
 down the grainfields, and driving the Britons back into 
 the woods. 
 
 The Romans had built two strong walls across the 
 northern part of the country. But as there were no 
 soldiers to man these walls, they were no barrier to the 
 wild Picts and the hardy Scots, who poured over them 
 in greater and greater numbers. 
 
1 8 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 In the south, fierce bands of coast pirates roved the 
 seas, now landing here, now landing there, and taking 
 away with them grain and cattle, as much as their ships 
 could hold. 
 
 In their distress the Britons sent a letter to their old 
 masters, the Romans, asking for help. 
 
 This letter is called " the groans of the Britons." It 
 says : " The barbarians drive us to the sea, the sea 
 drives us back to the barbarians, between them we 
 are exposed to two kinds of death ; we are either killed 
 or drowned." But no help came from the Romans ; 
 they had their own troubles, and were too busy fighting 
 against their own enemies. This led the Britons to 
 look to others for help. 
 
 Now these bold rovers of the sea that I have just told 
 you about were our own English forefathers. The 
 Romans knew them very well, and feared them too. 
 They called them sea-wolves, sea-dogs, and sea-robbers. 
 They came from the forests of Jutland Denmark we 
 call it now and from the German coast near the 
 mouth of the river Elbe. 
 
 The Britons called them Saxons, but they, for the 
 most part, called themselves Angles, or English. 
 
 Like the Britons, they were a brave and fearless 
 race, fond of fighting and very fond of the sea. They 
 were tall sturdy fellows, with long yellow hair, blue eyes, 
 and ruddy faces ; true as steel to their friends, but fierce 
 and cruel to their enemies. 
 
THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH. 1 9 
 
 Every warrior had his keen-pointed dagger, a tall 
 spear, a huge battle-axe, and a sharp sword, all of good 
 iron. They had also bows and arrows, and some of 
 them carried a large, heavy hammer spiked with iron. 
 No helmet was proof against this fearful weapon. But 
 how came these Angles, or English, to live in England, 
 and how came the land to be called Angleland, or Eng- 
 land ? Let me tell you. 
 
 One day when the savage Scots were ravaging the 
 land, three ships full of English warriors, in strong 
 leather helmets and coats made of iron rings, were 
 seen cruising off the coast. When the British king 
 heard of it, he sent word to the sea-robbers that if they 
 would land upon the coast and help him drive back 
 the Scots, he would give them a part of the country 
 called Kent to live in. 
 
 So the English warriors came under their two chiefs, 
 Hengist and Horsa, and drove back the Scots, and set- 
 tled in England. But when they had beaten the Scots, 
 the English liked the country so well that they made up 
 their minds to stay, and so used their swords against 
 the Britons themselves, and took the whole of Kent 
 from them, and made Hengist their king. 
 
 Let me now tell you a story of Hengist's beautiful, 
 fair-haired daughter whose name was said to be Row- 
 ena. It was at a feast that the British king Vortigern 
 saw her. The lovely girl filled a bright, golden goblet 
 with wine, and, smiling sweetly on the Briton, handed 
 
VORTIGERN AND ROWENA. 
 
THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH. 21 
 
 it to him, with the words, "Dear king, I wish you 
 health!" 
 
 She was so charming that Vortigern fell in love 
 with her on the spot, and wanted to marry her at once ; 
 and he did marry her. Afterwards, when the Angles 
 began to attack the Britons again and to take their 
 land from them, Vortigern used to be very angry. 
 
 But when he was going to punish them, Rowena 
 begged him to be kind to her people, and spare them 
 for her sake, softly saying, " Dear king, they are my 
 people ! Be kind to them, as you loved that Saxon girl 
 who gave you the golden goblet of wine at the feast ! " 
 
 He always listened to her, and the Angles soon 
 became stronger and stronger in Britain, and gained 
 more and more of Vortigern's land. At last the poor 
 British chief lost his whole kingdom and was put in 
 prison, where he died. 
 
 By and by more English sea-kings came over, landed 
 in other parts of the country, drove the poor Britons 
 away, and settled upon their lands. In this way, inch by 
 inch, the Britons were driven back and back from east 
 to west, till, in the end, they had only the mountains 
 left to live in ; and there they have lived ever since. 
 The country they live in is now called Wales. 
 
 In a hundred years after the landing of Hengist and 
 Horsa, the Angles, or English, were masters of Britain, 
 and it has been called Angleland, or England, from 
 that day to this. 
 
6. HOW THE ENGLISH BECAME CHRISTIANS. 
 
 About 600 Years after the Birth of Christ. 
 
 WHEN the English first settled in England they 
 were still heathen, and did not believe in the true 
 God. They used to worship the sun and the moon, 
 and other pagan gods, and even springs and trees, 
 the sea and the lightning. 
 
 One of the gods was Thor, the thunder god, whose 
 hammer they thought they heard in the thunder-clap. 
 Another was Woden, the great god of war, who, they 
 said, was the father of their kings. The English named 
 the days of the week after their gods. Thus Sunday 
 meant the Sun's day, Monday the Moon's day, Wednes- 
 day was Woden's day, and Thursday was the day of the 
 thunder god, Thor. 
 
 It was a strange, wild, warlike sort of faith. They 
 thought that only those who died in battle would be 
 happy forever with the gods, and that in heaven they 
 would hunt or fight all day, and have as much boar's 
 flesh and ale as they could eat and drink. When 
 a chief died they buried him in full armor, and laid 
 his sword and his spear beside him. They also slew 
 his favorite horse and his dog, and placed their bodies 
 near his, believing that they would be of use to him 
 in the other world. 
 
HOW THE ENGLISH BECAME CHRISTIANS. 23 
 
 One thing the Saxons loved above all others, and 
 that was freedom. They did not give their chiefs 
 very great power. No chief nor king could make a new 
 law. They loved justice, and they set each man to 
 watch every other, so that he should do no wrong. 
 If any one did wrong and ran away, all the people in 
 each town had to pay a fine. They were thus sure to 
 watch that no wrong-doer escaped. 
 
 In the place of this worship of pagan gods was 
 slowly to come the gospel that told these fierce war- 
 riors of peace and good will to all mankind. The 
 mountains, the rivers, and ancient oaks were soon to 
 echo back the worship of the true God, and not to 
 remain the objects of idolatry. I will now tell you of an 
 incident that pa\*ed the way for it. 
 
 Though the Saxons loved freedom for themselves, 
 we are sorry to say that, like most other people of their 
 time, they had many slaves. When a Saxon noble had 
 more people on his land than he needed, or more slaves 
 than he could find food for, he would take some of the 
 boys and girls and sell them as slaves to the people of 
 other countries. 
 
 In this way English boys and girls were sent even 
 as far as Rome to be sold as slaves. When they 
 reached the Imperial City, they were taken to the slave 
 market and offered for sale. Trembling and frightened 
 the captive children stood, feeling as we would feel if 
 we found ourselves in a strange place with no one to 
 
24 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 care for us, and not knowing one word of the language 
 the people around us were speaking. 
 
 One day sortie English boys who had been carried 
 off as slaves, were standing in the market-place at 
 Rome, waiting for some one to buy them, when a kind- 
 hearted monk named Gregory came walking by. When 
 he saw their sweet, fair faces, their blue eyes, and their 
 golden hair, his heart was moved with pity for the 
 children. He asked a keen-eyed merchant of what 
 nation they were. 
 
 He was answered, " They are Angles." " They should 
 be angels," said Gregory, "for they have the faces of 
 angels." Then he asked what country they came from ; 
 and when they told him, he said, " The praises of God 
 shall some day be sung in that land." 
 
 Years went on, and the good monk became the Pope 
 of Rome ; but he did not forget the poor slave children. 
 When he heard that an English king of Kent had 
 married a Christian princess, named Bertha, he sent a 
 monk named Augustine, with forty other monks, to go 
 and preach the gospel to the English. The monks 
 landed in Kent; then they sent word to the king, 
 telling him why they had come. 
 
 King Ethelbert said he would hear what they had 
 to say, but he dared not let them into his house for fear 
 they might bewitch him. So he sat on his throne 
 under an oak tree ; and the monks, marching two by 
 two over the green fields, bearing a silver cross and 
 
HOW THE ENGLISH BECAME CHRISTIANS. 
 
 a banner of the Saviour, came before him, singing as 
 they came. 
 
 When Ethelbert had heard all they had to say about 
 the true God, he said to them, " Your words and prom- 
 ises seem fair, but they are new arid strange to me, and 
 I cannot at once 
 give up the gods 
 of my . fathers. 
 But you may stay 
 in this land, and 
 I will give you 
 food and shelter; 
 and if any man 
 will believe as 
 you believe, I 
 will let him." 
 And he gave them his 
 own house to live in ; and "" 
 also gave them a church near 
 it, which had been built in the 
 time of the Romans. 
 
 So the monks stayed in Kent, 
 and preached the gospel ; and after a time, King Ethel- 
 bert and many of his people became Christians. From 
 Kent the faith spread and spread ; and one hundred 
 years after the landing of Augustine, all England had 
 become Christian. So the worship of Thor and Woden 
 passed away ; and the " little angels " in the market- 
 
 GREGORY AND THE ENGLISH 
 SLAVE-BOYS. 
 
26 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 place of Rome thus became the messengers of a higher 
 and a nobler faith. 
 
 We must, however, remember that many years before 
 the time of Augustine, soldiers and merchants who 
 came from the Continent began to introduce Chris- 
 tianity into Britain. Scarcely anything is known of its 
 progress in the island. There is no doubt that in 
 different parts of the country rude churches were built 
 and other sacred structures were erected, in which the 
 people kept up a regular worship. 
 
7. HOW THE OLD ENGLISH PEOPLE LIVED. 
 
 About the Time of King Alfred. 
 
 HOW did England look during old English times ? 
 How did the people live? Let me tell you. 
 The greater part of the country was still covered with 
 forests, and a very small part of the land was under 
 cultivation. Yet enough of barley and wheat seems 
 to have been grown to meet the wants of the people. 
 The forests still swarmed with wild animals, such as 
 the wolf, boar, deer, fox, hare, and rabbit. 
 
 At the head of the old English people stood the 
 king. In early times he did not have much power, but 
 as the various tribes became united and formed one 
 nation, the power of the king began to increase. 
 
 To keep the king in proper state, great tracts of land 
 were given to him, and he had certain rights in the 
 forests, woods, and mines. When he traveled with his 
 household he had food and shelter free of expense, for 
 himself and his servants, at all places where he stopped. 
 
 When a king was crowned, all the people above 
 twelve years of age took an oath to be obedient to him. 
 The king in turn took an oath that he would treat all 
 his subjects with kindness and justice, whatever their 
 condition. 
 
28 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 The people were divided into two great classes, - 
 freemen and slaves. The freemen were divided into 
 two kinds. The first were men of the highest rank. 
 They were either descended from princes, or had great 
 property, or had done great service to the king. These 
 nobles, when not at war with each other, spent their 
 time in hunting and hawking. 
 
 The second class of freemen were the men who culti- 
 vated the land, or worked at trades in the towns. They 
 generally lived on the lands of some lord, that is, a 
 man of the first class. From these lands they could not 
 remove, nor could they be turned away so long as they 
 paid rent. 
 
 The lowest division of the English people were 
 slaves. They belonged entirely to their masters, just 
 as a horse or a cow does at the present day. The 
 master of a slave could kill him if he liked, and there 
 was no one to call him to account. If a slave ran 
 away he could be chased like a wild beast, and if 
 caught, flogged to death ; or if a woman slave ran away 
 she might be burned to death. 
 
 Sometimes a kindly master would give his slaves their 
 freedom or, if a slave could earn money enough he 
 might buy his freedom. Thus King Alfred, when he 
 died, ordered in his will that all his slaves should be 
 set free. 
 
 The English slaves had to watch the sheep and 
 cattle and look after the large herds of swine that 
 
HOW THE OLD ENGLISH PEOPLE LIVED. 29 
 
 were taken to the forests to feed upon beechnuts and 
 acorns. 
 
 Large numbers of sheep were raised, and the country 
 exported much wool. The chief crops were wheat, 
 barley, rye, and oats. Orchards were abundant, and 
 great numbers of beehives were kept. A drink known 
 as mead was made from honey. 
 
 The principal food of the poor was bacon and barley 
 bread. The rich ate wheaten bread. Fish was also 
 largely eaten. From the fens, or marshy pools, were 
 taken an immense number of eels. Salmon were plenti- 
 ful in the rivers, while on the sea coast herring were 
 taken in large quantities. 
 
 In the houses of the great men was a large room or 
 hall, with a long table in the center. At the end of the 
 hall was a raised platform on which there was another 
 table. At this sat the lord and his family, while the 
 servants sat at the lower table according to their rank. 
 
 The old English people had knives, but no forks. 
 Joints of meat were handed round on spits, or iron 
 rods on which the meat was supported over the fire 
 to roast ; and each person carved for himself. The 
 bones were tossed on the floor to the dogs. 
 
 The men were not only great eaters, but great drink- 
 ers, and large quantities of mead and ale were used at 
 their feasts, and drunkenness was very common. In 
 very early English times the tables in the halls were 
 removed at night, and the men slept on the floor ; but 
 
30 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 in later times beds were used. These were sacks filled 
 with straw or other soft materials. 
 
 The houses of the poor were built of mud and 
 thatched with straw ; stonework was used only in the 
 building of castles and churches. 
 
 The men wore a shirt and a kind of frock which 
 came down to the knee. This was probably the origin 
 of the smock frock, still worn in some of the country 
 districts of England. They had long stockings fitting 
 rather tight to the legs, leather shoes, and a belt around 
 the waist. Their hair was long, and they had long 
 beards and mustaches. The women wore long, loose 
 garments which reached to the ground. Men and 
 women wore necklaces, bracelets, and rings. The 
 women of rank were very clever at needlework, and 
 were also skilled in spinning and weaving wool. 
 
8. HOW KING ALFRED RULED ENGLAND. 
 
 Born 849, died goi. Reigned 30 Years. 
 
 I MUST tell you now of the good King Alfred, the 
 wisest, the bravest, and the best of all the English 
 kings. I am sure you will like to read about him, 
 for his goodness, wisdom, and bravery earned for him 
 the name, of Great. In English history he is always 
 known as King Alfred the Great. His father was 
 King Ethelwulf, and his mother's name was Osburgh. 
 
 There is a story about Alfred's mother which you 
 will like to know. The little prince was taught to hunt 
 and ride and shoot with bow and arrows before he was 
 taught to read. But his mother used to read to him 
 the old English songs which told of the brave deeds of 
 his forefathers, and Alfred loved to sit at her feet and 
 listen to them. 
 
 An old writer tells us that the queen had a book of 
 songs with beautiful pictures in it, and letters richly 
 painted in gold. One day, calling her three boys to 
 her, she said, " I will give this pretty book to the one 
 who can read it first." "Will you indeed, mother?" 
 said Alfred, who was the youngest. " Yes, dear boy, 
 I will," said the queen. 
 
 Then Alfred went at once and found a master, and^ 
 sat down to study the book day after day, until he could 
 
32 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 read it through. So he won it as his prize, and was 
 proud of it all his life. 
 
 Alfred was a young man twenty-three years old when 
 he came to the throne. But hard days were in store 
 for the young king. Fierce bands of sea-robbers called 
 Danes, or Northmen, had for many years been making 
 war upon the English. They came from Denmark, 
 Norway, and the countries near by. They belonged 
 to the same race as the Angles and Saxons of three or 
 four centuries before, and spoke almost the same 
 language. 
 
 They were strong, brave, and venturesome, and loved 
 to sail over the seas in their long, black ships. They 
 laughed at the wind and the storm, and boastfully called 
 themselves sea-kings, because they thought they were 
 masters of the mighty deep. 
 
 At first when they came, these fierce sea-rovers used 
 to land on some lonely coast or sail up some quiet 
 river and steal grain and cattle and go away. But after 
 a time they came in swarms, drove the people from their 
 homes, and took their lands and settled upon them. 
 
 When Alfred became king, the Danes had settled 
 in the north and east of England, and were trying to 
 conquer the whole kingdom. So the young king had 
 to fight them. For some years he kept them in check 
 and beat them in many a battle. 
 
 One night when the ^English were feasting, the 
 Danes burst in upon them and slew a great many. 
 
HOW KING ALFRED 'RULED ENGLAND. 
 
 33 
 
 King Alfred with a little band fled for safety to a lonely 
 spot, and there, among marshes and woods, he hid him- 
 self till he could muster an army to lead against the 
 Danes. He was almost in despair. He wandered 
 about in the woods, and agreed to work for a peasant 
 if he would give him food and a bed of straw. 
 
 One day, so the story runs, the cotter's wife, leaving 
 the hut, told the king 
 to watch and turn the 
 cakes which were bak- 
 ing on the hearth. 
 Alfred sat down beside 
 the fire, mending his 
 
 , 
 
 bow and sharpening 
 
 If 
 
 his arrows, all the 
 time thinking and plan- 
 ning how he could free 
 his country from the 
 Danes. He would beat 
 them yet he felt certain. 
 
 While he was thus musing, the good woman came 
 back and stood beside him. " What have you done 
 with my cakes ? " she cried, angrily. " Every one of 
 them is burnt. You 'd have been glad enough to eat 
 them." Alfred smiled and begged her pardon. The 
 woman little thought that her careless servant was her 
 king. 
 
 One day, as King Alfred was in a shepherd's cot 
 
 ALFRED IN THE SHEPHERD'S COTTAGE. 
 
34 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 thinking how he could overcome the Danes, one of his 
 trusty spies came running to him with good news. 
 Some of the Danes had been beaten back in trying to 
 land on the west coast, and their black, raven flag had 
 been taken by the English. This was good news 
 indeed. 
 
 The raven flag, I must tell you, was a famous banner 
 that had been woven by the daughter of a great Danish 
 sea-king. It was thought to have magic power. The 
 Danes said they could tell by the way the raven held 
 its wings whether they were to win or lose a battle. 
 So you may be sure that the Danes were downhearted 
 when their raven banner was lost ; and the English 
 were in high spirits, and felt sure that better days were 
 coming. 
 
 King Alfred now came out from his hiding-place. 
 He was very cheerful and full of hope. He felt that 
 this was the time to strike a blow at the Danes. So 
 he dressed himself as a minstrel, took his harp with him 
 and stole by night into the Danish camp. He could 
 play well upon the harp, and the Danish king, Gothrun, 
 and his soldiers were much pleased with him, and urged 
 him to play for them while they drank and sang and 
 made merry. 
 
 But all the time Alfred kept his eyes and ears open. 
 He strolled about the camp for two or three days, 
 counting the Danish soldiers, and seeing what were 
 their strong points and what were their weak ones. 
 
ALFRED DESCRIBING THE DANISH CAMP TO HIS FOLLOWERS. 
 
36 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 When he had learned all that he wished, he stole back 
 to his hiding-place, and sent word to all the men 
 of the west to meet him on a certain day in the forest. 
 Then he led them against the Danes, and there was a 
 great battle fought. The Danes were badly beaten, 
 and had to beg for peace. 
 
 King Alfred granted them peace on these terms : 
 they were to march out of the west country, and settle 
 down quietly in the east, and become Christians and 
 live as English subjects. And this they did. The 
 Danish king, Gothrun, was baptized, and King Alfred 
 was his godfather. Then the Danish king went, with 
 all his men, to live in the eastern part of the country. 
 He always looked up to King Alfred as his master, and 
 was a good friend to him ever after. 
 
 The good king now took steps to make his kingdom 
 strong and happy. He built stone forts and castles. 
 He also took care to see that all his fighting men were 
 well drilled, and ready at any time to turn out at the 
 call of danger. He made war-ships of such size and 
 speed that the roving Danes would not dare to meet 
 them in battle. Thus England was made safe and 
 strong on land and on sea. Alfred was the first English 
 king who defeated the dreaded Danes at sea. 
 
 King Alfred having made his kingdom peaceful, then 
 tried to make his people happy by framing good and 
 just laws. He took every care that his judges should 
 rightly carry them out, and do all in their power to 
 
HOW KING ALFRED RULED ENGLAND. 37 
 
 protect the poor. All who stole or did wrong were 
 punished severely. 
 
 King Alfred built schools and hired learned men 
 from other countries to come over and teach in them. 
 He himself even taught in the schools ; and he turned 
 many of the old Latin books into English, so that his 
 people could read them easily. 
 
 Alfred let no man be idle, and was never idle him- 
 self. He set himself a task for every hour of the day ; 
 and as there were no clocks then, he used to mark his 
 time by the burning of candles. He had them made all 
 of the same size so that they would burn for four hours. 
 He put these into lanterns made of thin horn, for the 
 art of making glass had been forgotten. He burnt six 
 of them every day, so that he could always tell pretty 
 nearly what time it was. 
 
 This great and good king did not live to be a very old 
 man. He died in the year 901, after a glorious and most 
 useful reign of twenty-nine years. He suffered during 
 nearly all of his life from an ailment which caused him 
 severe pain, but still he went bravely on, working for 
 his people. Though it is nearly a thousand years since 
 he died, yet the name of Alfred the Great is as dear to 
 the English people as if he had died but yesterday. He 
 fully deserves the titles given him by the old writers, 
 who speak of him as " the wisest man of his time, and 
 the darling of the English people." 
 
9. HOW A DANE CAME TO BE KING OF ENGLAND. 
 
 Ethelred reigned from 979 to 1016. 
 
 A HUNDRED years had come and gone since the 
 days of the good King Alfred ; and there sat on 
 the throne of England a king named Ethelred. Now 
 Ethelred was a poor, weak, good-for-nothing king. He 
 was always doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. 
 When the right time came he was never ready, and so 
 men gave him the nickname of Ethelred the Unready. 
 
 In his day, as in the days of King Alfred, Danish 
 pirates came sailing over the sea and made war upon 
 the English. They set fire to villages along the coast ; 
 they robbed the churches and abbeys ; they stole from 
 the farmers their wheat and cattle, and those who 
 resisted them were cruelly slain or carried away and 
 sold as slaves. 
 
 I have told you that Ethelred was a weak king. I 
 am sorry to add that he was a bit of a coward as well ; 
 for instead of fighting the Danes as King Alfred had 
 done, he gave them money to go away. But you may 
 be sure, they soon came back again ; and every time 
 they came, the king had to give them more money to 
 get rid of them, for he was never ready to offer them 
 battle. 
 
HOW A DANE CAME TO BE KING OF ENGLAND. 39 
 
 At last Ethelred made up his mind to do a cruel and 
 terrible deed, the like of which was never done on 
 English soil before or since. You know already that, at 
 one time and another, a great many Danes had settled 
 in England. Some were hardy fishermen, some were 
 quiet farmers, others were busy tradesmen ; and most 
 of them were honest, hard-working, harmless people. 
 
 Now King Ethelred sent word in secret that the 
 English, on a certain day, were to rise up and murder 
 these Danes. And when the day came, every Dane 
 that could be found, young and old, soldiers and babies, 
 men and women, was put to the sword. 
 
 Among those who fell was a fair and noble lady 
 named Gunhild. Though she was own sister to Sweyn, 
 king of Denmark, her noble birth did not save her. 
 She saw her dear husband and her darling boy dragged" 
 out and slain before her eyes. She told her murderers 
 with her dying lips that her brother of Denmark would 
 avenge her death. And so he did. When the news 
 flew to Denmark that Gunhild had been slain, King 
 Sweyn, " of the forked beard," swore to pluck the crown 
 from the brow of Ethelred. 
 
 ^ He raised an army and a mightier fleet of ships than 
 ever yet had sailed to England. In all his army there 
 was not a slave or an old man, but every soldier was a 
 free man and the son of a free man and in the prime of 
 life. All had sworn to be avenged upon the English 
 people for this cruel deed. 
 
THE DANISH SEA-KING COMES TO AVENGE HIS SISTER'S MURDER. 
 
HOW A DANE CAME TO BE KING OF ENGLAND. 4! 
 
 So the sea-kings came to England in many great 
 ships, each bearing the flag of its own captain. Golden 
 eagles, ravens, dragons, dolphins, beasts of prey threat- 
 ened England from the prows of those ships, as they 
 came onward through the water and threw their grim 
 shadows upon the waves. 
 
 The ship of Sweyn, the king, was long and shaped 
 somewhat like a serpent, and was called the " Great 
 Dragon." For three years the Danes carried fire and 
 sword from one end of the land to the other ; their 
 path could be traced by ruined churches, burnt villages, 
 and all the horrors of a bloody war. 
 
 There was but one man of note in these wretched 
 times who was true to his country and to the feeble king. 
 He was a priest, and a brave one. For twenty years 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury defended his city against 
 the Danes. 
 
 At last, when a traitor in the town threw the gates 
 open and admitted the enemy, he said : " I will not buy 
 my life with money that must be wrested from the 
 suffering people. Do with me what you please ! " 
 
 Again and again, he steadily refused to bay his release 
 with gold wrung from the poor. After a time the 
 Danes lost all patience, and having met at a drunken 
 merrymaking, had him brought into the feasting hall. 
 " Now, Bishop," they said, " we want gold ! " He looked 
 around on the crowd of angry faces, from the shaggy 
 beards close to him to the shaggy beards against the 
 
42 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 walls, where men stood on tables to see him over the 
 heads of the others ; and he knew that his time was 
 come. 
 
 " I have no gold," said he. 
 
 "Get it, Bishop! " they all thundered. 
 
 " That, I have often told you, I will not," said he. 
 
 They crowded around him, threatening violence ; but 
 the brave priest stood unmoved. Then one man struck 
 him; then another; at last a cruel soldier killed the 
 noble old man with his battle-axe. Oh, but it was a 
 pitiful deed ! 
 
 . Now Sweyn had a son, a famous warrior, named 
 Canute ; and Ethelred, too, had a son, so hardy and 
 brave that they called him Edmund Ironside. So 
 Canute and Ironside for Ethelred had fled across the 
 seas fought for the kingdom. It was a hard fight; 
 the men of the east sided with Ironside, and the men 
 of the west with Canute. 
 
 Oh, unhappy England, what cruel days were these ! 
 At last Ironside, who was a big man, proposed to 
 Canute, who was a little man, that they should fight in 
 single combat. If Canute had been the big man, he 
 would probably have said " Yes," but being a little man, 
 he said decidedly " No." However, he said he was 
 willing to share the kingdom with Ironside. This was 
 done, and both were glad, for both were tired of so 
 much bloodshed. 
 
10. KING CANUTE, THE DANE. 
 
 Canute reigned from 1016 to 1035. 
 
 NOT long after the fierce contest we have just read 
 about, King Edmund died. Canute alone ruled 
 the land. He was a cruel king, and used to say to his 
 fighting men : " He who brings me the head of an enemy 
 shall be dearer to me than a brother." And he was 
 so severe in hunting down his enemies that he must 
 have had a pretty large family of these dear brothers. 
 
 After the land was at peace he treated his people 
 more kindly and made wise and just laws. In fact, the 
 people were better off under their Danish king than if 
 he had been an Englishman like themselves. They 
 learned to like him so much that they very willingly 
 followed him in his foreign wars, and with their help he 
 made himself master of Norway and Sweden. He thus 
 became a very powerful monarch, ruling over four coun- 
 tries, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and England. 
 
 But as Canute grew older, he felt very sorry for 
 having shed so much blood and wasted so much land, 
 so he made up his mind to go to Rome and ask for 
 pardon. To show his sorrow he went on foot all the 
 way, with a staff in his hand and a pack on his back. 
 
 When he returned his friends were very fond of 
 flattering him and of telling him how great a king he 
 
44 
 
 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 was. Once one of them said : " You are the king of 
 kings and the lord of the sea as well as of the land." 
 Canute said nothing at the time. 
 
 One day, as he was walking by the seashore and his 
 
 friends were talking in this 
 way, he ordered a chair to be 
 | brought and placed at the 
 ! edge of the waves at the time 
 when the tide was rising. 
 The king took his seat 
 in the chair 
 while his 
 cour ti ers, 
 stood round, 
 and he said 
 to the waves: 
 "The land on 
 which I sit 
 belongs to 
 me ; and as 
 for you, O 
 waves, I am 
 
 your lord and master also. I command you, therefore, 
 to come no nearer, nor dare to wet my feet ! " 
 
 But the tide, heeding not, came dashing on, and in a 
 little while had washed over the feet of Canute and his 
 nobles. Then Canute turned to these foolish flatterers 
 and said : " You now see that I am not master of the 
 
 , -- - : ! 
 
 .KING CANUTE REBUKING HIS COURTIERS. 
 
KING CANUTE, THE DANE. 45 
 
 waves. Learn, then, that the power of kings is as 
 nothing to the power of God ! He alone rules in 
 heaven, in earth, and on the sea." 
 
 The courtiers hung their heads, looked foolish, and 
 said nothing. From that day, it is said, Canute wore 
 his crown no more. We can almost see them all on 
 the seashore together, the king in good humor with 
 his own wisdom, and the courtiers quite overcome by it. 
 
 King Canute built up the churches and abbeys which 
 his fathers had burned. He was fond of making 
 visits to the holy places. But of all the abbeys which 
 the king raised up, he loved none so well as Ely ; and 
 he often went there on the great feast days of the year. 
 The abbey of Ely stood on an island amid the marshes, 
 and the king could get there only by water. 
 
 One evening as he was rowed to the abbey, the chant 
 of the monks, singing their evening hymn, floated 
 sweetly over the quiet waters ; and as it fell upon the 
 king's ears, his heart was so glad that he began to sing. 
 He made the song himself ; and this is how it ran : 
 
 " Merry the monks of Ely sing 
 As by them rows Canute, the king ; 
 Row, men, to the land more near, 
 That we these good monks' songs may hear." 
 
 Other verses followed, and were often sung in after 
 years by the monks of Ely, who told with pride of the 
 many gifts which the king had given them in memory 
 of that day. 
 
46 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 Another time it was winter when the king and his 
 men set out for Ely. The water was frozen, but no one 
 was sure that the ice would bear. While the king and 
 those with him stood in doubt, up came a country-fellow 
 who was so fat that the people near Ely called him 
 " Pudding." 
 
 " Are you afraid to cross ? " said Pudding. " Let me 
 go before the king." 
 
 " Do ! " said the king, " and I will follow you. You 
 are a big and heavy man, I am small and light ; and 
 what will bear you will surely bear me." 
 
 So Pudding crossed over, and the king gave him a 
 good slice of land for his pains. 
 
 Canute liked to be flattered. A poor poet had made 
 a song in his praise, but it was very short. Because it 
 was so short the king could hardly be kept from putting 
 the poet to death. 
 
 The Danish king was very fond of hunting, and 
 wanted to have for himself all the hunting in the land. 
 So he had laws made which kept other men from kill- 
 ing the wild animals. Such laws are called Game 
 Laws, or Forest Laws. In Canute's time, if any free 
 Englishman killed a stag, he was put in prison. If a 
 serf or slave did so, he was put to death. 
 
 After the death of Canute, two of his sons sat in 
 turn on the English throne ; but they ruled so badly, 
 that the English people wished to have one of the 
 sons of Ethelred for their king. 
 
11. THE STORY OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 In the Year 1066. 
 
 WE have told you how Canute, the Dane, became 
 king of England. His sons, too, were kings of 
 England ; but when they died the crown came back to 
 Ethelred's son, King Edward the Good. 
 
 But King Edward had no children, so at his death 
 the wise men of the nation had to choose a king. They 
 chose the wisest and bravest man in all the land 
 Earl Harold and made him their king. 
 
 But there was another man who wanted to. be king. 
 This was William, duke of Normandy ; or, as we now 
 call him, William the Conqueror. He was a great and 
 brave man who had come of a noble race of sea-kings. 
 These were the Normans, or Northmen. They were 
 kinsmen of the Danes and Angles. They, too, had 
 been fierce pirates ; but they had at last settled down 
 in the north of France, and had come to be the 
 ablest and bravest men in all the world. 
 
 Duke William, as we have told you, had set his heart 
 on the crown of England. He said that King Edward, 
 who was a cousin of his, had told him that he would 
 leave it to him, and that Harold himself had sworn to 
 help him to the throne. So, when he heard that Harold 
 
48 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 was made king, he was very angry, and raised a great 
 army to come and conquer England. 
 
 When King Harold heard what William was going to 
 do, he kept his ships sailing up and down the channel, 
 and set his soldiers to guard the south coast, where he 
 thought the Normans would land. 
 
 But while Harold was at Hastings waiting for Duke 
 William to come, bad news came from the north. His 
 wicked brother Tostig, who had been driven from the 
 country, had come back' to make war upon him. As 
 soon as Harold heard it, he set out for Yorkshire with 
 all the troops he could muster, and marched day and 
 night till he came up with his brother. In a great 
 battle that was fought he beat him. 
 
 King Harold gave a feast at York in honor of the 
 victory ; but while they sat at the table, a man rushed 
 in, splashed with mud and tired with long riding, and 
 told the king that the Normans had landed in England. 
 " It is bad news," said King Harold ; " had I been there, 
 they would not have set foot on land ; but I could not 
 be there and here too." 
 
 He broke up the feast at once, and telling his soldiers 
 to hurry after him, set off for London as fast as he could 
 go. Within a week his army was ready. 
 
 The news was true. The Normans had been tossed 
 about by contrary winds, and some of their ships had 
 been wrecked. A part of their own shore, to which 
 they had been driven back, was strewn with Norman 
 
THE STORY OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 49 
 
 bodies. But they had once more set sail, Led by the 
 duke's own galley, upon the prow 
 of which the figure of a golden 
 boy stood pointing toward Eng- 
 land. By day the banner of 
 the three lions of Norman- 
 dy, the diverse- 
 colored sails, 
 the gilded 
 vanes, the 
 many decora- 
 tions of this 
 gorgeous ship 
 glistened in the 
 sun ; by night 
 a light sparkled 
 like a star at 
 her masthead. 
 And now 
 the whole Nor- 
 man force, 
 hopeful and 
 strong on Eng- 
 lish ground, 
 was encamped 
 near Hastings. 
 
 T*-| * 
 
 LANDING OF THE NORMANS. 
 
 old story that 
 
5O STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 when the, Norman duke took his first step on English 
 soil, he stumbled and fell forward. Then a great cry 
 arose from his men, for they said, " This is an evil sign ; 
 as our leader hath fallen, so will our cause fail." But 
 William, with his ready wit, turned his mishap to good 
 account. " See ! " he called out, as he arose with his 
 hands full of English soil, " see, I have taken a grip 
 of this land with both of my hands ! " And his fol- 
 lowers laughed and were in good spirits once more. 
 
 On a bright October morning in the year 1066, the 
 English and the Norman armies stood face to face on 
 the fields near Hastings. Harold's troops stood on the 
 slope of a hill, every man on foot. In front of them 
 they had driven into the ground stakes and branches of 
 trees, and set up their shields against them like a 
 wall. 
 
 The men of Kent and the king's own guards were in 
 the front line. Over them floated the royal flag, upon 
 which was woven in gold the image of an English 
 soldier fighting bravely. 
 
 Under this flag Harold took his place on foot, and 
 there also stood the warriors who fought so well against 
 Tostig. These men wore coats upon which were 
 sewed rings of iron, and their heads were covered with 
 helmets shaped like a cone, having a piece in front to 
 protect the nose. They were armed with heavy battle- 
 axes, swords, and darts, and carried on their left arms 
 shields having the shape of a kite. 
 
THE STORY OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 51 
 
 The rest of the English were armed with whatever 
 weapons they could find. Some had nothing better 
 than clubs, iron-pointed stakes, stone hammers, pitch- 
 forks, and such rude weapons ; but one and all had 
 stout hearts, "Stand fast, my men," said King Harold, 
 ' 6 and ply your battle-axes well ; if you break your ranks 
 we are lost ! " 
 
 It was about nine o'clock on a Saturday morning 
 that the Norman archers began the battle. Their 
 arrows flew like rain before the wind. But the English, 
 behind their wall of shields, cared no more for their 
 arrows than they would have cared for a shower of rain. 
 
 The Norman foot soldiers with their long pikes came 
 next ; but they went back down the hill faster than 
 they came up. Then the Norman horsemen in steel 
 armor rode up, and dashed furiously upon the English. 
 But Harold and his brave troops stood as firm as a 
 rock, and horses and men fell thick and fast under the 
 stroke of their deadly battle-axes. 
 
 The Normans turned and fled. The word went 
 round that the duke was slain, and the Normans began 
 to give way all along their line. But the next moment 
 William was seen driving back the troops, and calling 
 out to them, as he drew up his helmet, " Look ! I am 
 alive, and by God's help, I will still conquer ! " 
 
 From nine in the morning till sunset the fight went 
 on. Again and again did the Normans rush up the 
 slope of the hill, and again and again were they driven 
 
52 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 back. Thus throughout the day the battle went against 
 the Normans. Duke William fought in the thick of 
 the fight as brave as a lion. Two horses were killed 
 under him. He felt that unless he could draw the 
 English away from their place on the hill, the battle 
 was lost. So he ordered his horsemen to feign retreat. 
 
 When the English saw this they rushed down the 
 slope in pursuit, forgetting Harold's command to keep 
 behind their defences. Then the Norman horse turned 
 suddenly round and fell upon them with great slaughter. 
 Up the hill and through the fences they rode, and 
 dashed among the English host. Harold and his 
 chosen band fought fiercely around their standard. 
 
 Twilight was fast drawing nigh when Duke William 
 turned and said to his archers : " Shoot your arrows 
 high up into the air, that they may fall upon the 
 faces of the English." They did so ; an arrow struck 
 the English king in the eye, and he fell dead. This 
 was the turning-point of the battle. The English fled, 
 and left the Normans masters of the field. 
 
 Thus ended one of the greatest battles ever fought 
 on English ground. Thus the rule of the old English 
 kings came to an end, and a Norman wore the crown 
 of England. 
 
12. THE DEATH OF THE RED KING. 
 
 In the Year noo. 
 
 WILLIAM RUFUS, or William the Second, was 
 the son of William the Conqueror. Rufus is a 
 Latin word which means red ; and people gave the king 
 this nickname because he had red hair and a ruddy 
 face. He was neither a good king nor a good man. 
 He was hard and cruel to all his subjects, and very 
 harsh to the poor. 
 
 When this wicked king and his friends were traveling 
 and they came to a farmhouse, they would make the 
 farmer kill his cow or his sheep or his pig, and would 
 have it roasted at the fire and would eat it all. They 
 would then drink the poor man's ale, and if there was any 
 left, they would wash their horses' feet with it. After 
 sleeping in the farmer's house all night, they would, out 
 of sheer cruelty, set fire to it in the morning. 
 
 Both Rufus and his father were very fond of hunting. 
 His father had driven out the farmers and laborers 
 from their homes throughout a wide tract of land in 
 the south of England, wasted the gardens and the fields 
 of wheat, and left the land free for deer and wild boars 
 to roam about in it. This tract of land was, and still is, 
 called the New Forest. 
 
54 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 The poor people whose homes had been laid waste 
 believed that this forest was enchanted. They said 
 that in thunderstorms and on dark nights demons 
 appeared, moving beneath the branches of the gloomy 
 trees. They said that a terrible spectre had foretold to 
 Norman hunters that the Red King should be punished 
 there. It was a lonely forest, accursed in the people's 
 hearts for the wicked deeds that had been done to 
 make it, and no man liked to stray there. 
 
 But in reality it was like any other forest. There 
 were hillsides covered with rich fern, on which the 
 morning dew sparkled beautifully ; there were brooks 
 where the deer went down to drink, or over which the 
 whole herd bounded, flying from the arrows of the 
 hunters ; there were sunny glades and gloomy places 
 where but little light came through the leaves. 
 
 The songs of the birds in the New Forest were 
 pleasanter to hear than the shouts of fighting men out- 
 side ; and even when the Red King and his court came 
 hunting through its thick woods, cursing loud and rid- 
 ing hard, with a jingle of stirrups and bridles and 
 knives and daggers, they did much less harm there 
 than among the poor people. 
 
 One bright day in July, the Red King rose early in the 
 morning to hunt in the New Forest. He was told it 
 was a Saint's Day. " What care I ? " he said ; "the bet- 
 ter the day, the better the deed ! " One of the hunting 
 party had had a fearful dream, and warned the king not 
 
THE DEATH OF THE RED KING. 55 
 
 to go. " What ! " he cried, " do you take me for an 
 Englishman with your dreams ? Get the horses ready, 
 and let us be off ! " 
 
 As they were about to start, an arrow-maker brought 
 him a bundle of new arrows well made and fully a yard 
 long. The king was delighted, and bought the whole 
 of them, and gave them to one of his friends named Sir 
 Walter Tyrrel. " There," he said, " you are a capital 
 marksman ; you will shoot well with these, I am sure ! " 
 He and his friends now galloped off into the woods to 
 hunt the red deer. 
 
 By and by the party scattered, and the king was left 
 with only one companion, Sir Walter Tyrrel. Soon 
 the king caught sight, through the underwood, of the 
 branching horns of a tall stag. An oak stood between 
 him and the stag ; he could not shoot the stag himself, 
 and he shouted to Tyrrel to draw. 
 
 The knight drew his bow ; the arrow struck the 
 trunk of the oak, glanced off, and pierced the breast 
 of the king who fell dead from his horse. The knight 
 had shot too well, and the arrows the king had given 
 him were too good. 
 
 Tyrrel galloped off at once to the coast and escaped 
 in a vessel to France. 
 
 That evening a charcoal-burner of the New Forest 
 came upon the body of a man lying in a pool of blood. 
 It was the Red King ! He put the dead body on his 
 rough and grimy cart, and carried it to Winchester, 
 
STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 where it was buried in the cathedral without funeral 
 rites or weeping eyes. After a few years, the tower 
 above the wicked king's tomb fell in, and the people 
 
 said it was because so foul a body 
 lay beneath it. Whether 
 Tyrrel killed the king on 
 purpose, or whether the 
 arrow struck him by accident, 
 nobody knows. At any rate, 
 Sir Walter fled from the 
 country. 
 
 *+ But some said that one 
 of the poor people, who 
 had been turned 
 out of house 
 and home for 
 the sake of the 
 king's sport, had 
 lain in wait for 
 the Red King 
 and had taken 
 this fearful re- 
 venge. But no one will ever know for certain how 
 the death of this bold, bad king came about. 
 
 William Rufus was the third member of the Con- 
 queror's family who was killed in the New Forest. No 
 wonder, then, that the people of those days thought the 
 great hunting-ground a doomed spot for the royal family. 
 
 DEATH OF THE RED KING. 
 
13. THE LOSS OF THE "WHITE SHIP." 
 
 In the Year 1120. 
 
 HENRY, the youngest son of the Conqueror, was in 
 his turn made king of England ; and as he was 
 the first king of that name, he was called Henry the 
 First. He was also known as the " Fine Scholar," 
 because, unlike most princes of those times, he could 
 read and write. 
 
 But though clever, he was a bold and cunning man. 
 He cared very little for his word, and took any means 
 to gain his ends. Henry had an only son, Prince 
 William, whom he loved very much ; and when the 
 prince was eighteen years old he took him to Nor- 
 mandy and made him duke over the Normans. 
 
 When the king and his son came to the coast to take 
 ship again to England, up came a sea captain named 
 Fitz-Stephen, and said to the king, " My father, O king, 
 was the captain of the good ship that bore your father 
 over the sea to the conquest of England. I also have a 
 fine vessel, named the "White Ship," rowed by fifty 
 sturdy sailors. There she is, rocking in the bay, and 
 ready to put to sea. Let me, I pray you, steer you 
 to England, as my father steered your father in the 
 days gone by." 
 
58 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 " I am sorry," said the king, " that I cannot take your 
 offer, for I have already chosen my vessel ; but my son, 
 the young prince, shall sail with you in the ' White 
 Ship,' and you shall follow me to England." 
 
 The king's ship set sail ; and Prince William and 
 his half-sister, with a company of knights and ladies, 
 went on board the " White Ship." The young prince 
 called Fitz-Stephen to him, and said, " Bring out three 
 casks of wine, and give them to the fifty bold rowers 
 who are to row us across the sea. Bid them drink and 
 be merry, for we shall not start till midnight." And the 
 rowers drank the three casks of wine, and the prince, 
 with the knights and ladies, danced on deck by the 
 light of the full moon. 
 
 At last the anchor was lifted, the square sail was 
 hoisted, the fifty bold rowers sat down to their oars, 
 and merrily sped the " White Ship " over the moonlit 
 sea. But there was not a sober sailor on board. Fitz- 
 Stephen had the helm. The gay young nobles and the 
 beautiful ladies, wrapped in^mantles of various bright 
 colors to protect them from the cold, talked, laughed, 
 and sang. The prince encouraged the fifty sailors to 
 row harder yet for the honor of the " White Ship." On 
 she went like an arrow. 
 
 But hark ! a shock a fearful crash ! A terrific cry 
 breaks from three hundred hearts. It is the cry which 
 the people in the distant vessel of the king hear faintly 
 on the water. The "White Ship" has struck upon a 
 
THE LOSS OF THE " WHITE SHIP. 59 
 
 % 
 
 rock, is filling going down ! What is to be done? A 
 cry of despair rises from the gay lords and lovely ladies 
 on board the ill-fated vessel. 
 
 Fitz-Stephen hurried the prince into a boat, with 
 some few nobles. " Push off," he whispered, " and row 
 to the land. It is not far, and the sea is smooth. The 
 rest of us must die." 
 
 But as they rowed away from the sinking ship the 
 prince heard the voice of his half-sister Marie, calling to 
 him from the ship. " Stop, men ! " he cried. " Row 
 back to the ship, I cannot leave my sister to perish." 
 So back they rowed and drew near to the ship ; but 
 so many then leapt into the boat that it sank under 
 the heavy load. And at the same instant the " White 
 Ship " itself went down. 
 
 There were two men who held on to a broken mast. 
 One of them, who had on a warm sheepskin coat, was 
 a butcher called Berthold ; the other was a young noble 
 named Godfrey. As they drifted with the tide on that 
 cold December night, they saw another man come swim- 
 ming towards them. When they caught sight of his 
 long hair and heard him speak, they knew him to be 
 Fitz-Stephen. 
 
 " What has become of the prince ? " said the captain. 
 
 " He is drowned," said the men, " and his sister also, 
 and all who were with them in the boat." 
 
 " Oh, woe is me ! " said the captain ; and, throwing up 
 his arms, he sank under the waves. The two men 
 
6o 
 
 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 clung to the mast for some hours ; but at last the 
 young noble said, " I feel weak and faint. My hands 
 have grown as cold as ice, and I cannot hold on any 
 
 KING HENRY IS TOLD OF THE LOSS OF THE 
 " WHITE SHIP." 
 
 longer." As he let go his grip, he called out to the 
 butcher, " Good-bye, friend, and God keep you safe ! " 
 In the gray of the morning, the people on shore saw 
 the poor butcher, with his arm round the broken spar, 
 and they put out a boat and brought him safe to land. 
 
THE LOSS OF THE "WHITE SHIP." 6 1 
 
 He was the only one left to tell the sad tale of the 
 "White Ship." 
 
 For three days no one dared to tell the king of his 
 great loss. But at last a little boy was sent in to him. 
 On his knees and with tears in his eyes, the boy told 
 the king that the " White Ship " had gone down, and 
 that his son, Prince William, had been drowned. 
 
 The king fell upon the floor at the news, and lay 
 there as if dead. His only son, the joy of his heart, 
 was no more. Time brought new joys and new cares, 
 but it is said King Henry never smiled again. 
 
 The only child left to the king was a daughter named 
 Matilda. Before his death, he did his utmost to get 
 the nobles to support her claim to the throne, though 
 a woman had never yet reigned alone in England. 
 
 As soon as King Henry was dead, all the plans and 
 schemes he had cunningly made came to nothing. His 
 daughter Matilda was not made queen, because several 
 of the great nobles did not care to have a woman 
 reign over them in days when there were so many wars. 
 So they chose Henry's nephew Stephen, whose mother 
 was the daughter of William the Conqueror. This took 
 place in the year 1135. 
 
14. THE NORMANS AND HOW THEY LIVED. 
 
 About 800 Years ago. 
 
 A FTER the battle of Hastings four foreign kings 
 ** reigned in England, one after the other ; that is 
 to say, the three kings whom we have read about, 
 William the Conqueror, the Red King, and his brother 
 Henry, together with a very wicked king named 
 Stephen. These four are often called the Norman 
 kings of England. Their rule covers a period of 
 eighty-eight years (1066-1154). 
 
 The coming of the Normans made a great change 
 in England. In the first place, all the chief men in 
 the land were strangers who could not speak English. 
 Hence there were two languages spoken in the country 
 at the same time. The king, the court, and the nobles 
 spoke French, while the rest of the people spoke English. 
 
 The Normans looked down upon the English as 
 people very much beneath them, while the English 
 looked upon their new masters with hatred. Very 
 severe laws had to be made to prevent the English 
 from murdering the Normans when they found them 
 alone and unprotected. Not only did the Normans 
 take the best of the land for themselves, but all the 
 chief offices in the nation were held by them or their 
 descendants. 
 
THE NORMANS AND HOW THEY LIVED. 63 
 
 After awhile the sons and grandsons of the Norman 
 barons learned to speak English, and began to look 
 upon England as their real home. Then they became 
 more friendly with the English, and took pride in call- 
 ing themselves Englishmen. 
 
 Under these Norman kings many castles were built 
 for the dwellings of the nobles and other great men 
 who were strangers in the land and wanted such places 
 for safety. A hill or rock or some high ground near 
 a river was usually chosen as a site upon which to build 
 a baron's stronghold. This was further strengthened 
 by a deep ditch, or moat, as it was called, dug 
 around the walls. The chief building where the baron 
 and his family lived was called the Keep. Between 
 this and the massive outer walls was an open space of 
 ground, or court, where stood the stables for the horses 
 and houses for the servants. 
 
 The entrance to the castle grounds was barred by a 
 strong gateway, which, on account of the ditch, could 
 be reached only from the outside by a drawbridge. 
 The passage through the gateway could be closed by 
 a spiked iron grating let down from above ; and the 
 archway was pierced with holes, through which melted 
 lead or boiling pitch could be poured upon an enemy 
 trying to force an entrance. The gray ruins of many 
 of these buildings are still to be seen in various parts of 
 England. 
 
 The Norman lords had but little furniture in their 
 
64 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 dwellings. The chief room was the large hall where 
 the family and servants took their meals together. A 
 long, rough table and some rude benches were all the 
 articles it contained. Carpets for the floor were then 
 unknown ; but straw in winter and grass or rushes in 
 summer were strewn in plenty upon the ground. 
 
 The lord's bedroom had a few stools and a straw bed 
 in it. The ladies of the family had nothing better. 
 The servants had to put up with a mat spread upon 
 the floor, or else a heap of straw. 
 
 If the houses of the rich were so bare of furniture, 
 wretched indeed must have been the homes of the 
 common people. 
 
 Their houses were small, rude cabins, built of wood, 
 thatched with straw, and plastered with mud. They 
 had only one or two rooms, in which might be found 
 an iron pot for cooking food, a pitcher, and a table, with 
 a log or two to serve as stools. Chimneys were not 
 in use either in the castle or in the lowly dwelling. 
 A fire of wood, when needed, burned on the hearth, and 
 the smoke was left to find its way out through an 
 opening in the roof. 
 
 The food of the common people was simpler than 
 that of the upper classes. The bread of the working- 
 man was brown in color, and made of rye, oats, or 
 barley ; but the rich man ate white bread made of 
 wheat flour. The brown bread, however, if less sweet 
 than the other, was very good and wholesome. 
 
THE NORMANS AND HOW THEY LIVED. 65 
 
 In the baron's kitchen the art of cooking was studied 
 with much care. There were many dainty dishes of all 
 kinds of meats. Fish of many sorts from the rivers, 
 game from the fields and woods, and fowls that strutted 
 in the farmyards were brought there in plenty. The 
 peacock and the crane birds which are now rare 
 were favorite dishes. On great feast days the wild 
 boar's head was thought a royal dainty. It was carried 
 into the castle hall with much show of joy, and usually 
 a song was sung as it was laid on the high table ; but 
 if such music was wanting, a joyful shout took its 
 place. 
 
 Besides the food we have just named, the richer 
 people fed on the flesh of the ox, cow, calf, sheep, and 
 pig. But when these meats were brought on the table 
 they were called by Norman names. Thus the flesh of 
 the ox and the cow was named beef ; the flesh of the 
 calf was called veal ; that of the sheep was known as 
 mutton ; and that of the pig was called pork. 
 
 There was not much garden produce in those days, 
 and fruits were also few. Apples and pears grew in the 
 orchards and gooseberries in the garden ; but oranges, 
 which are now so common, were never seen in the land. 
 Potatoes, cabbages, carrots, turnips, celery, lettuce, which 
 are now grown in every poor man's plot of ground, were 
 then unknown in England. 
 
15. RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED. 
 
 King Richard reigned from 1189 to 1199. 
 
 " I ^HERE was once a king of England who was so 
 _ brave and daring that men called him Richard 
 the Lion-hearted. He was a big, strong, handsome 
 man, with great blue eyes and bright yellow hair. No 
 other man in England could use his battle-axe ; no 
 man could keep on his feet or hold on to his saddle 
 against the thrust of his lance. 
 
 He was so fond of war that as soon as he was made 
 king he set off to the Holy Land to fight against the 
 Saracens, who had taken the Holy City from the Chris- 
 tians. Many other Christian princes took part in this 
 Crusade, as it was called, but none of them were so 
 brave as King Richard. Mounted on his good steed, 
 with his huge battle-axe in hand, he would rush alone 
 into the midst of the Saracens and cut them down as a 
 reaper cuts down grain. 
 
 They were so afraid of him at last that at the very 
 sight of him they would put spurs to their horses and 
 fly for their lives. Marching or camping, the Chris- 
 tian army had always to strive with the hot air of 
 the glaring desert, or with the Saracen soldiers led by 
 the brave Saladin, or with both together. Sickness 
 and death, battle and wounds beset them on every 
 
RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED. 67 
 
 hand ; but through every hardship King Richard fought 
 like a giant and worked like a common laborer. 
 
 No one admired this king's renown for bravery more 
 than Saladin himself, who was a generous and gallant 
 enemy. When Richard lay ill of a fever, Saladin sent 
 him fresh fruits from Damascus and snow from the 
 mountain tops. Courtly messages and compliments were 
 often exchanged between them, and then King Richard 
 would mount his horse and kill as many Saracens as he 
 could; and Saladin would mount his horse and kill as 
 many Christians as he could. In this way the lion- 
 hearted king fought to his heart's content. 
 
 But Richard was very proud and had a hasty temper, 
 and some of the other princes began to dislike him. One 
 by one they went away and left him, and at last he did not 
 have troops enough to carry on the war. Then he fell very 
 sick of fever and had to go home to England. The Sar- 
 acens, you may be sure, were glad to get rid of him. 
 
 For years after he had gone, the very name of 
 Richard was a word of fear to the Saracens. Long and 
 long after he was quiet in his grave, the story of 
 Lion- Heart's terrible battle-axe, with twenty pounds of 
 English iron in its mighty head, was told to the Saracen 
 children by their fathers. If a horse shied at a shadow, 
 his master would say : " How now ! dost thou see King 
 Richard ? " And when Saracen mothers used to rock 
 their babes to sleep, they would say to them : " Hush ! 
 Be good, or I will give you to King Richard ! " 
 
68 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 On his way home, Richard was wrecked in the Gulf 
 of Venice, and found himself in the duke of Austria's 
 country. Now this duke was one of the Christian prin- 
 ces who did not like the English king and had had 
 a quarrel with him in the Holy Land. King Richard 
 knew that the duke would do him harm if he could ; 
 so he dressed himself as a poor man, and, taking a boy 
 with him, tried to make his way through Germany. 
 
 The brave king fell ill on the way, and had to send the 
 boy to the market to buy food. The boy had a rich glove 
 in his belt, such as only princes and nobles wore ; and 
 when the people saw him they guessed who he was, and 
 made him tell where his master was staying. A band 
 of soldiers came to the house, and knocked at the door. 
 Richard leaped from his bed and drew his sword. He 
 was too weak to fight, but he said he would give in to 
 no one but their leader. Then their leader stepped out, 
 and who should it be but the duke of Austria ! So the 
 duke got Richard in his power and had him sent to a 
 lonely castle among the hills ; and soldiers were set over 
 him with drawn swords to watch him night and'day. 
 
 There is a pretty story told of how Richard's prison 
 was found out, but I am not sure that it is true. 
 King Richard was fond of music, and had a minstrel 
 called Blondel who was often with him and whom he 
 liked very much. The king and Blondel used to play 
 and sing together, and there was one song they sang 
 that the king himself had composed. When Blondel 
 
RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED. 69 
 
 heard that King Richard was in prison, he set off for 
 Germany to find him. He went about from castle to 
 castle, but could see nothing or hear nothing of his 
 royal master. 
 
 One evening he came to a lonely castle among the 
 hills, and as he felt tired and weary, he sat down under 
 the walls to rest. Soon he heard a sweet voice singing 
 a song that he knew right well. It was the song that 
 the king had composed. Could it be the king that was 
 singing in his dungeon? He strained his ears to 
 listen. When the first verse was ended, Blondel took 
 up the song, and sang the second verse. Then the 
 king for it was Richard himself knew that Blondel 
 had found out where he was and that he would soon 
 be free again. 
 
 And so he was. His own people loved him so much 
 that they paid a great price for his freedom ; and when 
 he landed in England, there was such joy as the people 
 had never known before. 
 
 Troubles in England and war abroad again roused 
 the lion-hearted king to action. His old enemy, the 
 king of France, had invaded Normandy. To defend 
 his capital, Rouen, Richard built a fortress on the 
 river Seine. 
 
 " I will take it, though its walls be of iron," said 
 Philip. 
 
 " I will hold it, were the walls of butter," Richard 
 replied. 
 
7O STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 He wanted money to carry on the war ; but before 
 asking his people in England, as he usually did, to sup- 
 ply his needs, he heard of a treasure in the neighborhood. 
 A great amount of gold, it was said, had been found 
 buried on the land of a certain nobleman. Richard 
 said the treasure was his. 
 
 "You may have half, but not the whole," said the 
 
 KING RICHARD ORDERS THE BOLD ARCHER TO BE SET FREE. 
 
 lord of the castle. Burning with rage, Richard attacked 
 the place. During the contest a young archer named 
 Bertrand took aim at the king and lodged an arrow in 
 
RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED. 71 
 
 his shoulder. Richard's army stormed the place and 
 hanged every one in it except Bertrand, whom they 
 brought heavily chained to the wounded king. 
 
 " What have I done to thee," the king asked, " that 
 thou shouldst take my life? " 
 
 "What hast thou done?" replied the young man. 
 " Thou hast killed my father and my two brothers with 
 thine own hand. I have killed thee, and the world is 
 rid of a tyrant." 
 
 " I forgive thee, boy," said the dying Richard. "Take 
 off his chains, give him a hundred shillings," he added 
 to his attendants, " and let him go." 
 
 The king sank down on his couch and died. His 
 age was forty-two ; he had reigned ten years. His last 
 command was not obeyed ; for the bold archer was 
 cruelly put to death. 
 

 16. THE SAD STORY OF LITTLE PRINCE ARTHUR. 
 
 King John reigned from 1199 to 1216. 
 
 JOHN, called Lackland, came to the throne after the 
 death of his brother, Richard the Lion-hearted. 
 Now this king was not lion-hearted, but a mean, wicked, 
 selfish, and cruel man. He was very cruel to his own 
 people. He used to seize rich men, throw them into 
 prison, and torture them to make them give him money. 
 
 Now many said that Arthur of Brittany, the king's 
 pretty little nephew, ought to have been the king ; but 
 Arthur was only twelve years, of age, and the English 
 liked to have a grown-up man as king rather than a 
 little boy. The cruel uncle at last made up his mind 
 to get rid of his little nephew. He seized Arthur and 
 shut him up in a gloomy c'astle called Falaise. 
 
 One day while Arthur was in prison at this castle, 
 thinking it strange that one so young should be in so 
 much trouble, and looking at the summer sky and the 
 birds, out of the small window in the deep, dark wall, the 
 door opened softly and he saw his uncle, the king, stand- 
 ing in the shadow of the archway, looking very grim. 
 
 " Arthur," said the king, with his wicked eyes more 
 on the stone floor- than on his nephew, "will you not 
 trust to the gentleness, the friendship, and the truthful- 
 ness of your loving uncle ? " 
 
THE SAD STORY OF LITTLE PRINCE ARTHUR. 
 
 73 
 
 " I will tell my loving uncle that," replied the boy, 
 " when he treats me right. Let him restore to me my 
 kingdom of England, and then come to me and ask the 
 question." 
 
 The king looked at him and went out. " Keep that 
 boy close prisoner," said he to the warden of the castle. 
 Then the king 
 
 took secret coun- 
 
 f 
 
 sel with the worst / 
 of his nobles how ,/, 
 the prince was 
 to be got rid of. ; 
 Some said, " Put 
 out his eyes and 
 keep him in 
 prison." Others 
 said, " Have him 
 stabbed"; others, 
 hanged " ; others, 
 poisoned." 
 
 King John, feeling that in 
 any case, whatever was done 
 afterward, it would be a satis- 
 faction to his mind to have 
 those handsome eyes burned 
 out that had looked at him so proudly while his own royal 
 eyes were blinking on the stone floor, sent certain ruf- 
 fians to Falaise to blind the boy with red-hot irons. 
 
 Have 
 
 PRINCE ARTHUR BEGS HUBERT TO 
 SPARE HIS EYES. 
 
74 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 But Arthur shed such piteous tears and so appealed 
 to Hubert de Bourg, the warden of the castle, who had 
 a love for him, and was an honorable, tender man, that 
 Hubert could not bear it. He saved the little prince 
 from torture, and, at his own risk, sent the cruel men 
 away. 
 
 The disappointed king next bethought himself of the 
 stabbing suggestion, and proposed it to one William 
 de Bray. " I am a gentleman and not an executioner," 
 said William de Bray, and left the presence of the 
 tyrant with disdain. But it was not difficult for the 
 king to hire a murderer in those days. King John 
 found one for his money and sent him down to the 
 castle of Falaise. 
 
 " On what errand dost thou come ? " said Hubert to 
 this fellow. 
 
 " To dispatch young Arthur," he returned. 
 
 " Go back to him who sent thee," answered Hubert, 
 " and say that I will do it ! " 
 
 King John, knowing very well that Hubert would 
 never do it, but that he sent this reply to save the 
 prince or to gain time, sent messengers to carry the 
 young prisoner to the castle of Rouen. 
 
 Arthur was soon forced from the good Hubert, car- 
 ried away by night, and put in his new prison, where, 
 through his grated window, he could hear the deep 
 waters of the river Seine rippling against the stone wall 
 below. 
 
THE SAD STORY OF LITTLE PRINCE ARTHUR. 75 
 
 How Prince Arthur died has never been known, but 
 this story of his death has been told for these many 
 years. 
 
 One dark night as he lay sleeping, dreaming perhaps 
 of rescue by those unfortunate friends who were suffer- 
 ing and dying in his cause, he was roused and bade 
 by his jailer to come down the staircase to the foot of 
 the tower. He dressed himself hurriedly and obeyed. 
 When they came to the bottom of the winding stairs 
 and the night air from the river blew upon their faces, 
 the jailer trod upon his torch and put it out. 
 
 Then Arthur was pushed hurriedly into a boat ; and 
 in that boat he found his uncle and one other man. 
 He knelt to them and prayed them not to murder him. 
 Deaf to his entreaties, they stabbed him and sank his 
 body in the river with heavy stones. 
 
 When the spring morning broke, the tower door was 
 closed, the boat was gone, the river sparkled on its way, 
 and never more was there any trace of the poor little 
 prince. 
 
 At last things came to such a pass that the strong 
 barons of England took the business into their own hands, 
 met together, and swore that they would bind the king 
 to govern justly and according to the law. They drew 
 up a set of laws, some old and some new, such as they 
 thought would best make sure the liberties of the Eng- 
 lish people and keep the king from oppressing them as 
 he had always done. 
 
7 6 
 
 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 This set of laws is called the " Great Charter." 
 Very few people have done so much lasting good to 
 their country as those barons who drew it up and forced 
 King John to sign it in the year 1215. He was furious 
 
 KING JOHN IS FORCED TO SIGN THE GREAT CHARTER. 
 
 at being obliged to agree to it, and at first quite refused 
 to do so ; but the barons were too strong for him. 
 They not only made him sign the charter, but named 
 
THE SAD STORY OF LITTLE PRINCE ARTHUR. 77 
 
 twenty-four barons out of their own number to see 
 that he lived up to its conditions. 
 
 Every one thought there was going to be a 
 dreadful civil war. But happily for England and 
 humanity, the death of the wicked king was near. 
 While he was crossing a dangerous quicksand, the 
 tide came up and nearly drowned his army. He and 
 his soldiers escaped ; but looking back from the shore 
 when he was safe, he saw the roaring waters sweep 
 down in a torrent, overturn the wagons, horses, and 
 men that carried his treasure, and engulf them in a 
 raging whirlpool. 
 
 Cursing and swearing, King John went to an abbey, 
 where the monks set before him quantities of pears 
 and peaches and new cider, of which he ate and drank 
 like a glutton. All night he lay ill of a burning fever, 
 haunted with horrible fears. 
 
 Next day his servants put their royal master into 
 a litter and carried him to a castle, where he passed 
 .another night of pain and horror. Next day they car- 
 ried him, with greater difficulty than on the day before, 
 to another castle ; and there this cruel and wicked king 
 breathed his last. 
 
17. THE BLACK PRINCE AT THE BATTLE OF CRECY. 
 
 In the Year 1346. 
 
 ONE of the bravest and best-loved kings that 
 England ever had was - King Edward the Third. 
 He was a wise man, just and kind to his own people, 
 but he was very fond of war ; and, like most warriors, 
 he was now and then very cruel. 
 
 He had a son who was so gentle and brave and hand- 
 some that all men loved him ; and as he wore black 
 armor, they called him the Black Prince. 
 
 When King Edward's uncle, the king of France, 
 died and left no son, Edward thought he had a right to 
 the French throne ; and when his cousin was made 
 king instead of him, he went over to France and made 
 war against him. 
 
 The Black Prince, who was then sixteen years old, 
 went with his father ; and they won many battles 
 against the French, one of which, called the battle of 
 Crecy, I will now tell you about. 
 
 The English had come to a village called Crecy, 
 which is in the north of France, when they heard that 
 the French king, with an army three times as large as 
 theirs, was coming up to fight them. So the English 
 king told his soldiers to halt, and with great skill he 
 drew them up in line of battle on a hillside near Crecy. 
 
THE BLACK PRINCE AT THE BATTLE OF CRECY. 79 
 
 As he rode from rank to rank, cheering his soldiers 
 and giving his orders, he looked so noble and brave that 
 every man felt sure he would win the battle. When he 
 had seen that his soldiers were in good trim and ready 
 for the fight, he told them to sit down and eat and rest 
 themselves, and gave orders for every man to have a 
 cup of good wine. 
 
 As the French came in sight, the English leaped to 
 their feet and set up a great shout, and would have 
 rushed to meet them, but the king kept them in check. 
 " Steady, men, steady ! " he said ; " there must be no 
 noise, no breaking of your ranks." Then the soldiers 
 stood still and waited in silence for the coming of the 
 French. 
 
 But while they were yet afar off, big black clouds 
 came sweeping across the sky, the lightning flashed, 
 the thunder rolled, and the rain came pelting down. 
 Then the sky grew clear again, and the sun shone out 
 bright and warm, for it was a summer afternoon. As 
 soon as the storm was over, the French archers, who 
 were in front of the army, came on with a shout and let 
 fly their arrows at the English. But the rain had wet 
 their bowstrings, and their arrows all fell short. 
 
 Then the English archers, who had kept their bows 
 dry in cases, drew their bowstrings to their ears and took 
 good aim. The arrows fell thick and fast, as you have 
 seen the snowflakes fall on a winter day, and pierced 
 the faces and hands and bodies of the Frenchmen 
 
8O STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 through and through. No men could have stood up 
 against a fire so true and fierce, and the French bow- 
 men soon turned on their heels and ran. 
 
 But the French horsemen came bravely on. They 
 spurred their, horses into the midst of the English, and 
 kept up a fierce fight till dusk. The Black Prince, who 
 led the English knights, drove the French back again 
 and again ; but as fast as they were beaten back, more 
 came on, and it was hard work for the prince to hold 
 his ground. A knight who saw what danger he was in 
 rode off to the king, who was watching the battle, and 
 asked him to send help to the prince. 
 
 " Is my son killed or hurt ? " said the king. 
 
 " No, sire," said the knight. 
 
 " Then tell him," said the king, " he shall have no 
 help from me. Let the boy win the battle himself, and 
 the glory of the day shall be his." 
 
 The king's words gave the prince and his soldiers 
 more courage. They dashed at the French with all 
 their might. The French king was wounded, and fled 
 for his life ; his best captains were cut down and killed ; 
 and as darkness came on, the whole French army 
 turned and ran away, leaving thousands of their com- 
 rades dead upon the field. 
 
 It was quite dark, and camp fires had been lighted and 
 the torches were blazing when the king came forth to 
 meet his son. He took the boy in his arms, and, clasp- 
 ing him to his breast, said to him : 
 
THE BLACK PRINCE AT THE BATTLE OF CRECY. 8 1 
 
 " My son, my dear son, may God give you grace to 
 go on as you have begun. You have done nobly this 
 day, and shown that you are worthy to be a king." 
 
 KING EDWARD COMMENDS THE BLACK PRINCE 
 FOR HIS BRAVERY. 
 
 The boy looked down and blushed, and said all the 
 praise was due to his father ; and when King Edward 
 saw how brave his son had been in battle, and how 
 
82 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 modest he was after it, this gave him more joy than 
 the great victory of Crecy. 
 
 Among those killed in the battle was the old blind 
 king of Bohemia. When he found that the French were 
 losing, he asked the knights who were near him to 
 lead him into the thick of the fight, so that he might 
 strike at least one good blow. They did so, and 
 he fell. 
 
 Young Edward took for his crest, three ostrich 
 feathers, and for his motto, two German words, meaning 
 " I serve " ; and these are the crest and motto of the 
 Prince of Wales to this day. You may be sure that the 
 English were very proud of their brave young prince. 
 
 This battle of Crecy was only one of the many vic- 
 tories that were won by the Black Prince. His good- 
 ness and gentleness made everybody love him, and his 
 valor in battle gave the English hopes that he would 
 prove as good a king as his father. This brave prince 
 did not live to be king of England, but died in 1376. 
 The very next year his father died, having reigned 
 fifty-one years. 
 
18. THE GOOD QUEEN AND THE BRAVE CITIZENS. 
 
 In the Year 1347. 
 
 EDWARD the Third, after his victory at 
 Crecy, marched on till he came to the town of 
 Calais, a seaport on the northeast coast of France. 
 
 Now the king was vexed with the people of this 
 town ; for many of them were pirates, and had often 
 taken English ships and burned them, and tried to 
 ruin the trade of England on the seas. 
 
 But Calais was a very strong city, with thick, high 
 walls and a deep ditch round it; and King Edward 
 thought it would be easier to starve the people out 
 than to break down the walls and take the town by 
 force. So he drew up his soldiers in a circle round 
 Calais, to keep the people from taking food into the 
 city, and gave orders for his fleet to cruise off the 
 coast and stop every ship that tried to get in or out 
 of the port. 
 
 Now and again a French ship would steal in by 
 night with bread for the starving people ; but what 
 was one shipload or ten shiploads among so many ! 
 Yet they held out for a whole year ; and when their 
 meat was gone, they ate horses and dogs and cats 
 and rats, rather than give in to the English. 
 
 At last there was nothing left to eat. The people 
 
84 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 had become lean and pale and sickly ; and they sent 
 word to King Edward that they would give up the city 
 if he would spare their lives and let them go free. But 
 the king was angry and would not hear of it. 
 
 " If the men of Calais," he said, " will send me six of 
 the chief citizens, having their heads and feet bare and 
 with ropes around their necks and the keys of their 
 city in their hands, I will work my will on these six, 
 but I will spare all the rest." 
 
 Then the great church bell was rung to call the 
 people of Calais together. When they heard what the 
 king had said, they wept and wrung their hands, but no 
 one spoke a word. At last one of the chief men, who 
 was the richest in town, stood up and said, " Friends ! 
 what a pity it is to let so many die when six of us can 
 save them. For myself, I have hope in God that if I 
 give up my life for the people, I shall have pardon for 
 my sins. So I will be the first one of the six to go 
 out with my head and feet bare and a rope around my 
 neck, and give myself up to the English king." 
 
 This noble speech fired the hearts of all who heard 
 it. Then another citizen stood up and said that he 
 would give his life ; and so did a third and a fourth 
 and a fifth and a sixth. As the six pale, thin, hollow- 
 eyed citizens passed out of the city gates, with ropes 
 round their necks and the keys of their town in their 
 hands, there was not a dry eye in all the crowd that 
 came to see them and bless them as they went. 
 
THE GOOD QUEEN AND THE BRAVE CITIZENS. 85 
 
 When they came where the king was, they fell on 
 their knees and said, " Gentle king, we are six of the 
 chief citizens of Calais, who come to put ourselves at 
 your mercy to save the rest of our people ; have pity 
 on us if it is your good will." It is said that even the 
 English knights and soldiers shed tears at this pitiful 
 sight. 
 
 King Edward alone remained stern, severe, and 
 unmoved by the sight of so much heroism. And 
 although those around him begged him to show mercy, 
 he gave orders for the six brave men of Calais to be 
 hanged at once. "Away with them," he said ; " the men 
 of Calais have killed so many of my people that I will 
 have the lives of these six." 
 
 This cruel deed was about to be done when for- 
 tunately the king's wife, the good Queen Philippa, was 
 moved by this sorrowful news. She had quite lately 
 come over from England to join her husband ; and 
 while all this was going on she was in her tent close by. 
 When she was told* how hard and cruel the king was 
 in his purpose, she threw herself in tears at his feet 
 and prayed him for her sake to be merciful, and let 
 the poor men go free. 
 
 " My gentle lord," she said, " I have crossed the sea 
 at great peril to see you, and I have not yet asked 
 a favor from you. I pray you, now, for Heaven's sake 
 and for love of me, your wife, that you will have mercy 
 on these six men." 
 
QUEEN PHILIPPA ENTREATS THE KING TO SPARE THE LIVES OF THE 
 SIX HEROIC CITIZENS OF CALAIS. 
 
THE GOOD QUEEN AND THE BRAVE CITIZENS. .87 
 
 The king knit his brows and was silent awhile ; then 
 he said, " Lady, I wish you had been elsewhere ! You 
 beg in such a way that I cannot deny you. Take these 
 six men ; I give them to you. Do with them as you 
 will ! " 
 
 The good queen took the six men and gave them 
 new clothes to put on, and feasted them and sent them 
 away with rich presents, to the great rejoicing of the 
 whole camp. 
 
 Calais was given up to the English king, and it 
 became an English town for more than two hundred 
 years. 
 
 It has been said that cannon were used for the first 
 time in battle at Crecy, but this is uncertain. In the 
 siege of Calais, however, cannon were used, but they 
 were too poorly made and loaded with too little gun- 
 powder to do much damage. 
 
19. HOW WAT TYLER LED A REVOLT OF THE COMMON 
 
 PEOPLE. 
 
 In the Year 1381. 
 
 RICHARD the Second was the son of the brave 
 and noble Black Prince ; but he was a very weak 
 king. He came to the throne when he was quite a 
 little boy, on the death of his grandfather Edward the 
 Third. The whole English nation was ready to admire 
 the young king for the sake of his father. 
 
 As to the lords and ladies about the court, they 
 declared him to be the most beautiful, c the wisest, and 
 the best, even of princes. 
 
 Now I must tell you that in those days the poor 
 were badly treated by the rich. Some of the poorest 
 people were slaves. They were made to work on the 
 same farm all their lives, and could be sold by their 
 masters like cows or horses. Even those poor people 
 who were free and lived in towns had to work hard for 
 low wages. They were kept down by the rich and 
 made to pay heavy taxes, when they could earn barely 
 money enough to keep themselves alive. 
 
 One day an officer was going from house to house 
 to gather the taxes in a little town in Kent, when he 
 stopped at the cottage of a tiler named Wat. The 
 poor man was at his work close by, laying tiles on the 
 roof of a house, and only his wife and daughter were 
 
HOW WAT TYLER LED A REVOLT. 89 
 
 at home. Wat the tiler, or Wat Tyler, as we call him 
 now, saw the man go into his cottage, and soon after 
 heard a loud scream. In an instant he jumped down 
 from the roof, ran into his house, and, seeing the officer 
 rude to his daughter, struck him on the head with his 
 hammer and killed him. 
 
 So when Wat Tyler killed the brutal officer, all the 
 poor people in the villages round about took his part. 
 They agreed to go to London to lay their complaints 
 before the king and, if need be, to fight for what they 
 thought to be their rights. Before many days had 
 passed, thousands of poor, rough, wild-looking men, 
 some with bows, some with rusty old swords, and many 
 with scythes fastened to the end of poles, were on the 
 march to London. Wat Tyler rode at their head. 
 
 When the rebels arrived in London they marched 
 up and down the streets, burning the houses of the 
 rich, breaking open the doors of the prisons, and strik- 
 ing off the head of every man they met who would not 
 say he was " for King Richard and the common people." 
 The gold and silver plate that they found in rich men's 
 houses 'they ruined with their hammers, but they took 
 none of it away. They were so angry with one man 
 who stole a silver cup and hid it in his clothes, that 
 they flung him into the river, cup and all. 
 
 The young king, who was only sixteen, rode up to 
 them and called out, " What is it you want, my men ? " 
 
 " We want you to make us free," they said. 
 
9O STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 The king said he would give them freedom, and told 
 them to go back to their homes. But Wat Tyler, with 
 many thousands of rebels, stayed in London. 
 
 Next day King Richard met them again, and Tyler 
 rode up to have a talk with the king. While he was 
 speaking in his rough way, he laid his hand on the 
 king's bridle. Upon this, the lord Mayor of London, 
 thinking^the king in danger, plunged his dagger into 
 Tyler's neck. 
 
 Wat fell bleeding from his horse, and one of the 
 king's servants thrust his sword into him and put an 
 end to his life. In an instant the rebels bent their 
 bows and shouted, " Kill ! kill ! " But the young king 
 saved himself by his coolness. Riding up to the 
 mob, he said to them, " What are you doing, my good 
 men ? Tyler was a traitor. I will be your leader ; 
 follow me ! " 
 
 And they followed him to where his soldiers were 
 lying in wait ; and when the rebels saw the trap they 
 had fallen into, they craved the king's pardon and 
 laid down their arms and went quietly back to their 
 homes. 
 
 It would be very much pleasanter if we could say 
 that the young king kept his promise ; but he did not. 
 Perhaps he was not able, for he was only a boy and the 
 government was not in his own hands. There was 
 a good deal'of blood shed, and many hundreds of rebels 
 were put to death before the rebellion was crushed. 
 
HOW WAT TYLER LED A REVOLT. 9 1 
 
 The young king's presence of mind on this occasion 
 gave the people great hopes that he would become 
 a wise and a good king, but these hopes were not ful- 
 filled. Richard was too fond of ease and pomp, as well 
 as dress, to make a king fit to rule the English, who 
 were always ready for war. What he said one day he 
 was apt to change the next, and so lost the love of his 
 people. 
 
 King Richard was put to a cruel death in 1399, and 
 his cousin Henry came to the throne by the title of 
 Henry the Fourth. 
 
 The spirit of freedom which was aroused at this 
 time in the minds of the people never died out. Each 
 succeeding year it grew stronger. Wat Tyler's revolt 
 was really the beginning of the long struggle on the 
 part of the English people to be free, both in mind 
 and in body. 
 
20. PRINCE HAL AND THE GREAT VICTORY OF AGINCOURT. 
 
 In the Year 1415. 
 
 DRINCE HAL was the nickname given to the 
 * eldest son of King Henry the Fourth. When his 
 father died and he came to the throne, he was called 
 Henry the Fifth. 
 
 Now I must tell you that this young prince was 
 sometimes wild. His love of fun often carried him 
 too far ; and he became a source of great grief to his 
 father. 
 
 Henry the Fourth had robbed his cousin Richard 
 the Second of his throne, some said of his life, too, 
 and plots were often formed against Henry by his 
 enemies. 
 
 One day one of Prince Hal's idle companions was 
 brought before the chief-justice of England for the 
 crime of robbery, was condemned, and sent to prison. 
 
 When the prince was told of this, he hurried to the 
 court where the judge was still sitting, and rudely 
 demanded that his friend should be set free at once. 
 The judge spoke very quietly and told the prince to 
 remember that no man, not even the king himself, was 
 free to break the laws of the land. 
 
 At this the prince, more angry than before, cried out, 
 " If you will not hear my words, you shall feel my 
 
THE GREAT VICTORY OF AGINCOURT. 93 
 
 blows ! " and, drawing his sword, was about to rush at 
 the chief-justice. The judge was not in the least afraid, 
 but said firmly, " Withdraw, sir, from this court ! " This 
 only made the prince more furious than ever ; and he 
 rushed forward and struck the chief-justice as he sat 
 upon the bench. 
 
 The prince was at once seized. The judge still kept 
 his temper, and said in a firm, clear voice : " Prince, 
 I sit here in the place of our sovereign lord, your king 
 and father. As his son and subject, you are doubly 
 bound to obey him ; and in his name I order you to 
 be taken to prison, there to remain until the king's will 
 be known ! " 
 
 The prince, with a brave man's respect for courage 
 in others, at once changed his mood, gave up his sword, 
 bowed low to the judge, and went off to prison without 
 speaking one word. 
 
 When the king was told of what had occurred, he 
 exclaimed : " God, I thank thee for giving me a judge 
 who has the courage to put the laws in force, and a son 
 who knows how to obey them ! " 
 
 When the prince afterwards became king, instead of 
 showing anger against this good and brave judge, as 
 a mean man would have done, he treated him with the 
 greatest respect. 
 
 However badly Prince Hal behaved before he was 
 king, it is certain that he changed his wild ways after 
 he came to the throne. Among the very first things 
 
94 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 he did after he became king was to prepare for renew- 
 ing the war with France, as there had been none for 
 some years. So Henry led an army over into that 
 country. 
 
 It was not a very large army at first, and there was 
 soon so much illness among the men that in a very short 
 time only about one-half of it was left. But the king 
 had made up his mind not to give in. He marched on 
 until he met the great French host, and then he got 
 ready for battle. The king saw to everything himself 
 and kept up the hearts of his men by his own cheerful- 
 ness. 
 
 When some one said what a pity it was that they 
 had not with them some of the brave men who were 
 left at home in England, King Henry declared that he 
 did not wish to have one more. " If God gives us 
 victory," he said, " the fewer we are the more honor 
 there will be to share among us. If not, the fewer we 
 are the smaller the loss will be to England." The Eng- 
 lish soldiers, being now all in good heart, were refreshed 
 with bread and wine, and heard prayers and waited 
 quietly for the French. 
 
 The English archers at the outset drove back the 
 French horse, blinding them with their arrows and 
 confusing them so that they rolled over one another and 
 trampled on their riders. Then eighteen French knights 
 came up who had sworn to kill the English king ; but 
 he and those around him fought so bravely that not one 
 
THE GREAT VICTORY OF AGINCOURT. 95 
 
 of those eighteen got away alive. Everybody could 
 see where Henry was because he wore a gold crown 
 over his helmet. A piece of the crown was struck off 
 once while he was guarding the royal flag, but he him- 
 self was not hurt. 
 
 The English, seeing their king always in the thick 
 of the battle, fought like lions. The French fought 
 bravely, too, but it was of no use. Before night had 
 come, all those who were not killed or made prisoners 
 had run away, and left the English flag floating in 
 truimph over the field of the battle of Agincourt. 
 
 The English people welcomed their brave king home 
 with shouts of rejoicing, and plunged into the water to 
 bear him ashore on their shoulders. They flocked in 
 crowds to welcome him in every town through which 
 he passed. They hung out of their windows rich 
 carpets and tapestries, and strewed the streets with 
 flowers. 
 
21. BRAVE KNIGHTS AND HOW THEY FOUGHT IN OLDEN 
 
 TIMES. 
 
 WE have been told a great deal about the bold and 
 gallant deeds of the old-time warriors. Let us 
 now read of the trials and hard service these men went 
 through to fit themselves the better for the tests of 
 daily life and the battlefield. 
 
 The title of knight was the highest that could be 
 given to a soldier, and was given only to those who 
 had proved themselves to be very brave on the field 
 of battle. 
 
 A knight wore a pair of costly spurs and a rich belt 
 to distinguish him from other men. He was treated 
 with great respect by others. No one could look down 
 upon him, not even the king, who was generally a 
 knight himself. Even if a man should spring from the 
 lowest rank and become a knight, he was then con- 
 sidered a gentleman and free to associate with the 
 highest in the land. 
 
 It will be easily understood that nearly every gentle- 
 man's son in the country would wish to be a knight ; 
 but to become one he had to go through a very long 
 training. 
 
 The sons of nobles first became pages in the house- 
 hold of some knight. They were then taught how to 
 
BRAVE KNIGHTS IN OLDEN TIMES. 97 
 
 handle a sword. This was done by sketching on 
 the trunk of a tree the image of a man, marked in 
 places to correspond with the parts of the human body. 
 The page had to thrust at this with his sword until he 
 could hit any part he wished. 
 
 He was then taught how to manage a horse, and 
 to use a lance while on horseback. He then had to 
 ride at a pole set upright in the earth with a shield 
 fastened to it with thongs of leather, and try to lift the 
 shield and carry it away with his lance. 
 
 Another step in his training was to ride on horse- 
 back and strike with his lance the breast of a wooden 
 Saracen. If he failed to hit the figure fairly in the 
 center, it turned on a spindle and struck him on the 
 back with a wooden sword. 
 
 When the page was strong enough and could use 
 his weapons well, he became a kind of a body servant 
 called a squire. He then had to follow his master into 
 battle and to put into practice what he had learned 
 as a page. After serving some years as a squire, if he 
 had proved himself brave in war he was considered fit 
 to be made a knight. 
 
 Perhaps you would like to know just how a knight 
 was made. Let me tell you. In the first place, there 
 was a great deal of ceremony. The squire had to 
 spend several nights in church, watching and praying ; 
 and he also had to watch his armor hanging over 
 the altar for at least one night. The next morning, 
 
9 8 
 
 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 after a service in church, he was brought to the king 
 or to some ^ great noble, who then struck him on the 
 back with the flat of a sword, and at the same time said 
 with a loud voice, " In the name of God, St. Michael, 
 
 A CONTEST BETWEEN KNIGHTS IN THE OLDEN TIMES. 
 
 and St. George, I name thee knight ; be brave, hardy, 
 and loyal." The spurs of the new knight were then 
 buckled on him by the ladies who were present. 
 Sometimes, however, a knight was made at once on 
 
BRAVE KNIGHTS IN OLDEN TIMES. 99 
 
 the field of battle for some very brave deed, and this 
 was considered a great honor. 
 
 On great festivals it was a common practice for 
 knights to have battles with each other, to see which 
 of them was the best horseman or the most skillful in 
 the use of the lance. The contests were called tourna- 
 ments, and were carried out in the following way. 
 
 A great space in an open meadow was fenced in with 
 wooden barriers. The space was called the lists, and 
 the barriers were made of such a height that persons 
 could see over them. Crowds of people stood outside 
 the barriers to see the battle. In one part of the lists 
 a great wooden stand was made, in which sat the king 
 and his nobles with their wives and daughters. 
 
 All knights who wished to test their valor hung up 
 their shields inside the lists. A knight, having decided 
 in his own mind with whom he would like to contend, 
 touched the shield with his lance. The owner of the 
 shield then had to come out and fight. 
 
 The two knights, mounted on horses and covered 
 with armor, then went to opposite sides of the lists and 
 waited for a signal. When this was given they put 
 spurs to their horses and rushed at each other with 
 their lances. 
 
 The object of each was to strike the other with his 
 lance in such a way as to throw him from his saddle. 
 The one who fell was declared beaten and had to 
 leave the lists. If the two knights were equal in 
 
100 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 strength, perhaps neither fell from his horse, although 
 their lances might be broken into pieces. In battles of 
 this kind the sharp points of the lances were taken off, 
 so that the knights should not kill each other. 
 
 The knight who on the first day of the tournament 
 was thought to have done the best, had the privilege of 
 selecting among the ladies present the one whom he 
 thought the most beautiful, and she was then elected 
 " Queen of Love." She sat in a high place, and when 
 the tournament was ended she gave the prizes to the 
 victorious knights. The last day of the tournament 
 was generally given up to a battle between a number 
 of knights. 
 
 Sometimes, however, in tournaments, the knights 
 fought with sharp lances. If a knight happened to 
 be thrown from his horse and not killed, then the 
 knights drew their swords and fought till one of them 
 was killed, or the king gave the signal to stop. 
 
 Knights often fought in this way when they had 
 quarreled with one another. Again, if one knight 
 was accused by another of wrongdoing, then the one 
 accused might challenge the other to fight. If he won, 
 he was considered innocent ; but if beaten, he was 
 judged to be guilty. This was called trial by battle. 
 
22. QUEEN MARGARET AND THE ROBBER. 
 
 War of the Roses, from 1455 to I 4^5- 
 
 ONE day when roses were in bloom, two noblemen 
 came to angry words in the Temple Garden, by 
 the side of the river Thames. In the midst of their 
 quarrel one of them plucked a white rose from a bush, 
 and, turning to those who were near him, said : " He 
 who will stand by me in this quarrel, let him pluck a 
 white rose with me and wear it in his hat." 
 
 Then the other nobleman tore a red rose from 
 another bush, and said : u Let him who will stand by 
 me pluck a red rose and wear it as his badge." Now 
 this quarrel was a very sad thing indeed, for it led to a 
 great civil war, that is, a war in which people of the 
 same nation fight one against the other. 
 
 It was called the "War of the Roses," for every soldier 
 wore a white or red rose on his helmet, to show on 
 which side he fought. 
 
 The king Henry the Sixth, and his wife, Queen 
 Margaret, sided with the " Red Roses," and it was a sad 
 sight to see the king and all the great nobles trying to 
 kill each other. 
 
 You will read some day of all the great battles that 
 were fought and all the wicked deeds that were done 
 during those dreadful times. Let me tell you now one 
 
102 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 story of the war to show you what a cruel thing 
 war is. 
 
 In a battle at a place called Hexham, the king's party 
 was beaten, and Queen Margaret with her little son 
 had to flee for her life. She had not gone far from the 
 battlefield when she was met by a band of savage rob- 
 bers. They stopped her and took all her rich jewels 
 from her fingers, and, holding a drawn sword over her 
 head, swore they would kill her if she dared to stir. 
 
 The poor queen fell on her knees and cried, and 
 begged them to have pity on her and spare the young 
 prince, her only son. Now while the queen was on her 
 knees, the robbers began to quarrel among themselves 
 as to how they would share their plunder ; and drawing 
 their swords, they fought one against another. When 
 the queen saw what was going on, she leaped to her 
 feet, and, taking the young prince by the hand, made 
 off with him as fast as she could. 
 
 There was a thick wood close at hand, and Queen 
 Margaret plunged into it. But she was sorely afraid 
 all the while, and trembled from head to foot ; for she 
 knew this wood was a hiding-place for all robbers and 
 outlaws in that wild and lonely region. Every tree she 
 saw she fancied was a man with a drawn sword in his 
 hand, making ready to kill her. 
 
 But she went on and on through the dark forest, this 
 way and that, not knowing where was she going, till she 
 saw by the light of the rising moon a tall, fierce man 
 
QUEEN MARGARET AND THE ROBBER. 
 
 I0 3 
 
 step out from behind a tree, and come walking up to 
 her. She knew by his dress that he was a robber ; but 
 thinking he might have children of his own, she made 
 
 QUEEN MARGARET SEEKS PROTECTION FOR HERSELF 
 AND THE PRINCE FROM THE ROBBER. 
 
 up her mind to throw herself upon his mercy. When 
 he came near she spoke to him. 
 
 " Friend," she said, "for Heaven's sake, have pity upon 
 me. I am the queen. Kill me if thou wilt, but spare 
 my son. He is the son of the king. Take him, I will 
 
IO4 . STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 trust him to thee. Keep him safe from those who seek 
 his life, and God will have pity on thee for all thy sins." 
 
 The tears of the queen moved the heart of the fierce 
 robber. He took up the prince in his arms, and, bid- 
 ding the queen follow him, led them to a cave in the 
 rocks, where he gave them food to eat and kept them 
 safe for two days, when their friends came up and took 
 care of them. If ever you go to Hexham Forest, you 
 may see this robber's cave. It is on the bank of a little 
 stream that flows at the foot of a hill, and to this day 
 the people call it " Queen Margaret's Cave." 
 
 But all the queen's efforts could not save her son. 
 After many changes of fortune, he was taken prisoner. 
 
 " How dared you," said King Edward, when the 
 unhappy prince was brought to his tent, " how dared 
 you take up arms against your king ? " 
 
 "I fought for my father," the brave prince replied, 
 " whose crown I shall one day wear." 
 
 " That day shall never come," cried King Edward ; 
 and, as if in answer to his angry glance, his attend- 
 ants fell upon the prince, and Queen Margaret was left 
 childless. 
 
23. THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER. 
 
 In the Year 1483. 
 
 THE Tower of London, a square, gloomy castle on 
 the banks of the river Thames, has heard the 
 sighs and moans of many a weary prisoner, has seen 
 many princes and great men led forth to die, and has 
 beheld many a dark deed of blood. But it never saw 
 a deed more dark and cruel than the murder of two 
 little innocent boys, whose only crime was that they 
 were the heirs to the English throne. 
 
 These two boys were the sons of King Edward the 
 Fourth, and they had been left to the care of their 
 uncle, Richard, duke of Gloucester. Richard was a 
 pale, haggard man, with dark, flashing, keen eyes, 
 a sharp, thin face, and bent shoulders. He was known 
 by the nickname of Richard Crookback. 
 
 Now Richard was as cunning as he was wicked, 
 and by and by he made the people believe that the 
 older of the young princes was not fit to be king, and 
 got them to make him king in his place. After he was 
 made king he was more cruel than ever. He never 
 went to see the princes, nor let them stir out of the 
 Tower ; but shut them up in the little room, and had 
 a cruel man called Black Will to wait on them and see 
 that they did not run away. 
 
IO6 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 The poor little princes were very unhappy, shut up 
 in this lonely chamber; and instead of laughing and 
 playing like other boys, they used to sit still and cry. 
 One day the young king for he was a king, you 
 know, though he never wore a crown sighed and 
 said to his brother, " I would not care if my uncle took 
 my crown, if he would only give me my life." 
 
 But Richard wanted to get rid of the princes, for his 
 crown was not safe as long as they lived. Yet he knew 
 the governor of the Tower was a good man, and would 
 not hurt the princes for any one. So one night he sent 
 a bad man named Sir James Tyrrel to the Tower, with 
 orders to the governor to give up the keys to him. 
 
 Two fierce, rough men went with him. One was 
 Tyrrel's own groom, a big burly fellow ; the other was 
 a villain who had made murder his trade. 
 
 As soon as Tyrrel had got the keys of the Tower 
 and had sent the governor away, he told the two men 
 to go to the little room where the princes slept, while 
 he waited outside and kept watch. 
 
 Slowly and softly they stole up the stone stairs 
 a dark lantern in their hands and came into the room 
 where the princes lay asleep. They were in the same 
 bed. Their little arms were round each other's necks, 
 and their soft, sweet faces were touching each other. 
 
 For a moment the heart of one of the villains was 
 moved, and he said he could not kill them, they looked 
 so sweet and innocent. But the other man put him in 
 
THE PRINCES IN THE TOWER. 
 From a photograph of a painting by Millais. 
 
IO8 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 mind of all the money they were to have, and then they 
 took the bed clothes and covered the faces of the chil- 
 dren, and pressed the pillows on the top and kept them 
 down tight till the poor little princes were quite dead. 
 
 When all was over the men brought Tyrrel up to see 
 the bodies, so that he might be able to tell the king 
 that the deed had been done. By the light of the 
 lantern, they dug a deep hole at the foot of the stairs, 
 and put the bodies of the princes into it. Then they 
 covered them over with rubbish, put down the stones 
 again, and went their way. 
 
 Two hundred years after this cruel deed, some work- 
 men, digging under the stone stairs in the Tower, found 
 the bones of the two little princes. Charles the Second, 
 who was then the king, had them taken up and put in a 
 casket ; and buried them in Westminster Abbey. 
 
24. THE FIRST ENGLISH PRINTER. 
 
 William Caxton, born 1412 ; died 1491. 
 
 AFTER all the stories we have read of war and 
 battle, of blood and murder, of hatred and quarrel, 
 it will be pleasant for us to read of something that is 
 good and peaceable of something that is useful to 
 our fellow-men. Such is the story of how the printing 
 press came to be set up in England. 
 
 Before the year 1477, books were so dear that even 
 kings and wealthy nobles could have only a very few 
 books in their homes. There is a story told of Louis 
 the Eleventh of France, that when he once wished to 
 borrow a book from a rich man, he and one of his 
 nobles had to sign a paper, in which they both solemnly 
 and faithfully promised to let the owner have his book 
 back again ; and besides this, he had to give the owner 
 a large quantity of costly silver plate to keep until the 
 book was returned. 
 
 Before the art of printing was invented all books 
 were written by hand slowly and with much labor. 
 They were often full of costly little pictures, also made 
 by hand, richly bound in velvet, and fastened with gold 
 or silver clasps, in which precious stones were sometimes 
 set. It was at that time of no use for a poor man to learn 
 to read, for he had no chance of ever getting any books. 
 
IIO STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 Now let me tell you that printing was invented in 
 Germany, and the art was brought to England by 
 William Caxton, a London merchant, who was born 
 in 1412, a short time before the reign of Henry the 
 Fifth, the soldier king. He lived all through the 
 troubled times of the War of the Roses, and during 
 the reign of six English kings. 
 
 William Caxton went abroad and lived for some time 
 in Bruges, a famous old town in Flanders. He was for 
 some time in the service of the duchess of Burgundy, 
 a lady who was the sister of the English king, Edward 
 the Fourth. There was at that time in Bruges a 
 famous man who had learned the art of printing from 
 the Germans ; and it was from him that Caxton acquired 
 this new and wonderful art of making books. 
 
 The first book that Caxton printed was called the 
 " Tales of Troy." When he had brought out this book, 
 he returned to England, after an absence of nearly 
 thirty-five years. 
 
 Caxton set up his printing press at Westminster, 
 within the limits of the Abbey, " at the sign of the Red 
 Pole." He advertised his wares as " good chepe," that 
 is, very cheap. 
 
 Caxton was at this time an old man probably over 
 sixty, years of age ; but for fifteen years he worked with 
 intense energy, not only in printing books, but in trans- 
 lating others into English before he printed them. This 
 new art seemed so wonderful at first to the people that 
 
THE FIRST ENGLISH PRINTER. I I I 
 
 they thought the workmen who were engaged in it 
 must have been helped by the Evil One. 
 
 The first book printed in England was the " Game 
 and Play of the Chess," printed in 1477. Caxton, hav- 
 ing once begun, was never idle. He printed the poems 
 of Chaucer,"" the Morning Star of English poetry," and 
 book after book on various subjects was sent out from 
 his press. 
 
 Sixty-four books in all went out from the sign of the 
 Red Pole all of them printed with the odd, old types 
 now known as Black Letter. Caxton was much 
 encouraged in his efforts by many English noblemen, 
 and Edward the Fourth, Richard the Third, and Henry 
 the Seventh all took an interest in his work. 
 
 One of Caxton's greatest difficulties was the changes 
 that were then taking place in the English language. 
 Thus he says, " Our language now used varieth far 
 from that which was used and spoken when I was 
 born." 
 
 Once, when discouraged at the length of a piece of 
 work he had undertaken, a rich nobleman persuaded 
 him to go on, and promised him a fee of a stag 
 in summer and a deer in winter. Amidst general 
 encouragement and interest, the old man worked on 
 and was full of plans when death took him away, leav- 
 ing behind him a name which will always be famous 
 while the English language exists. 
 
25. THE STORY OF THE "INVINCIBLE ARMADA." 
 
 The "Armada" was defeated in the Year 1588. 
 
 QUEEN MARY, the eldest daughter of Henry the 
 Eighth, was the first woman to rule over Eng- 
 land. Her marriage in 1554 to Philip, the heir of the 
 vast Spanish empire, had excited great alarm and indig- 
 nation throughout England. For you must know that 
 at this time a most bitter feeling existed between the 
 Spanish and the English people. 
 
 When Philip came to England to meet his bride, his 
 proud and haughty ways made him hated still more. 
 Fortunately for England, Queen Mary died after a brief 
 reign of a little over five years. Her sister Elizabeth, 
 the good Queen Bess, succeeded to the throne. 
 
 Great was the joy in England when she began to 
 reign. The bells in all the churches were set ringing, 
 tables were spread in the streets, " where was plentiful 
 eating, drinking, and making merry." At night bon- 
 fires were lighted in the streets, and every one seemed 
 glad that the stern and gloomy Mary was gone. All 
 felt that there would be a change for the better in the 
 condition of the country. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth showed great wisdom in her choice 
 of persons to aid her with their counsel. Much of the 
 success of her glorious reign is due to the wisdom of 
 
THE STORY OF THE "INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 113 
 
 her able advisers. Now this same Philip of Spain who 
 had married Queen Mary and had tried to become king 
 of England, was the richest and most powerful ruler 
 in the world. Thirty years after his wife's death, and 
 when Elizabeth was reigning in England, he resolved 
 to build the largest fleet of the largest ships the world 
 had ever seen, and with it to subdue England and make 
 it a part of his vast empire. He fitted out a fleet of 
 one hundred and thirty large ships, manned by eight 
 thousand sailors and galley slaves, and carrying twenty 
 thousand troops. 
 
 The " Invincible Armada," as Philip called it, that is 
 to say, the fleet that could never be beaten, left Lisbon 
 on the 2Qth of May, 1588. It was directed to sail to 
 Calais, to be joined there by troops from the Nether- 
 lands. 
 
 England was not idle in making ready to resist the 
 Spaniards. All the men between sixteen and sixty were 
 trained and drilled. The royal navy at this time con- 
 sisted of only thirty-six sail ; but the towns of England 
 and many private gentlemen eagerly fitted out ves- 
 sels at their own expense, and bought great numbers 
 of cannon and large quantities of gunpowder. 
 
 Very soon a fleet of one hundred and ninety-one 
 ships, small, but swift and active, and filled with daring 
 sailors, was afloat upon the waters of the EnglisTi Chan- 
 nel. Most of them were little larger than a yacht, while 
 the Spanish vessels were like huge floating castles. 
 
114 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 But the English ships could sail twice as fast as the 
 Spanish and fire three shots to the Spaniards' one. 
 
 So with all England roused like one strong, angry 
 man, with both sides of the Thames fortified, and with 
 the soldiers under arms and the sailors in their ships, 
 the country waited for the coming of the proud Spanish 
 fleet. The queen herself, riding on a white horse, with 
 armor on her back, and the Earl of Essex and the Earl 
 of Leicester holding her bridle rein, made a stirring 
 speech to the troops at Tilbury, opposite Gravesend. 
 She was received with much enthusiasm. 
 
 " I come among you," said the queen, " to live or 
 die with you, to lay down my crown even in the dust, 
 for my God and my people. I know I have but the 
 body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart 
 of a king, and of a king of England." 
 
 She ordered bonfires to be made on every hilltop and 
 kindled when the " Armada " came in sight, so as to 
 flash the news over the whole country. 
 
 The evening shadows of the summer sun on the igth 
 of July, 1588, were slowly lengthening over the bowling 
 green of the Pelican Inn in Plymouth, where a noisy 
 party of jolly sea captains might have been seen at 
 play. There were Lord Howard, the Lord High Ad- 
 miral of England, Drake, Hawkins, and other great 
 sailors. 
 
 In the midst of their game there burst in an old 
 sailor, shouting : 
 
THE STORY OF THE "INVINCIBLE ARMADA." 
 
 " My lord ! my lord ! the Spaniards are coming ; I 
 saw them off the Lizard last night ! They 're coming 
 full sail hundreds of them darkening the water ! " 
 
 " Then we must go at once," said Lord Howard, 
 throwing down his bowl. 
 
 " Not a bit of it, my lord ! " replied Drake, who was 
 vice-admiral of the fleet, "there's 
 plenty of time to finish the game 
 and thrash the Spaniards too ! " 
 
 Slowly, but proud- 
 ly, came the great 
 " Armada " up the 
 Channel, the tall sea- 
 castles sailing in a 
 crescent which meas- 
 ured seven miles from 
 tip to tip. Drake's 
 plan was not to meet 
 them, but to hang .jj 
 about their rear and "- 
 pick off their ships 
 one by one. " The 
 following game is our 
 game," he gleefully 
 whisoered to Haw- QUEEN ELIZABETH REVIEWING HER TROOPS 
 
 *j AT TILBURY. 
 
 kins, " not the meet- 
 ing one. The dog goes after the sheep and not 
 before them, my lad. Let them go by, and we '11 
 
Il6 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 stick to them and pick up the stragglers." And the 
 weather-beaten old sea-dog chuckled heartily to himself. 
 
 For a whole week the Spanish ships sailed up the 
 Channel, and at last cast anchor off Calais. The 
 English admiral, wishing to scatter them, took six of 
 the oldest vessels in his fleet, rilled them with pitch, 
 old ropes, tar barrels, sulphur, resin, and other things 
 that would make a good blaze, set fire to them, and 
 in the dead of night sent them down before the wind 
 right into the heart of the Spanish fleet. 
 
 A panic seized the Spanish sailors. Some weighed 
 anchor ; some cut their cables, hoisted any sail that 
 came to hand, ran up against their neighbors and had 
 their rigging entangled ; while others got away as best 
 they could. 
 
 The next day three or four English ships closed 
 round the great unwieldy, floating castles, and fired 
 into them until they sank beneath the waves. Those 
 that could get free were glad to sail away to the north, 
 for the wind was blowing right up the Channel, and it 
 was impossible for them to return home that way. 
 
 A terrible storm now made sad havoc with the Span- 
 ish fleet. Scores of vessels were wrecked on the coast 
 of France, the Low Countries, Scotland, and Ireland, 
 and the dead bodies of the poor sailors strewed many a 
 shore. Of all this large fleet only fifty-three shattered 
 vessels returned to Spain to tell their tale of disaster 
 and defeat. 
 
THE STORY OF THE " INVINCIBLE ARMADA. I I 7 
 
 Such was the fate of the " Invincible Armada." Thus 
 ended this great attempt to invade and conquer England. 
 The sun of Spanish greatness had set ; her rule over 
 the seas was broken. 
 
 When the news of the defeat of the "Armada " spread 
 throughout Europe, all men felt a great respect for the 
 brave English people and their heroic queen. The 
 English themselves were more proud than ever of their 
 good Queen Bess, who had trusted them and had spoken 
 out so bravely in the hour of danger. 
 
 England was now safe from foreign invasion ; and 
 English ships sailed over every sea, increasing the com- 
 merce of the realm, and making the English name 
 known and feared as it had never been known and 
 feared before. 
 
26. TWO FAMOUS MEN WHO LIVED IN THE DAYS OF 
 QUEEN ELIZABETH. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth reigned from 1558 to 1603. 
 
 IN the days of the good Queen Elizabeth there were 
 many brave and many wise men, whom you will 
 read about when you are older. One of the bravest, 
 wisest, and best of them all was Sir Philip Sidney. He 
 was a daring soldier, as well as a scholar and a poet. 
 He was born in a pretty old manor house in Kent. If 
 you should ever go there, you would see " Sir Philip 
 Sidney's oak," which he planted with his own hand. 
 
 Young Sidney was very wise, very polished in his 
 manners, and very generous. Even as a child he was 
 grave and thoughtful ; and while his teachers found 
 him a quick scholar, they were able to learn something 
 from him. When he grew up to be a young man he 
 chose as his friends, not young men like himself, but 
 men who were old enough to have been his father. 
 These men some of them great statesmen thought 
 Sidney wise beyond his years, and often took his advice 
 on very weighty matters. 
 
 Sir Philip was tall and fair and handsome, and had 
 such sweet and winning ways that no one could help 
 loving him. Queen Elizabeth was very fond of him. 
 She called him her Philip, and would scarcely ever let 
 
TWO FAMOUS MEN IN THE DAYS OF ELIZABETH. IIQ 
 
 him out of her sight. People in far-off lands had heard 
 how good and wise Sir Philip was. The men of Poland 
 at one time asked him to be their king ; but the queen 
 
 c 
 
 SIDNEY AND THE WOUNDED SOLDIER. 
 
 said she could not spare him, for he was " the fairest 
 jewel in her crown." 
 
 But when war broke out in Holland, Sir Philip was 
 sent over to fight against the enemies of England. In 
 his last battle near the town of Zutphen he had 
 two horses shot under him. Then he mounted a third 
 
120 . STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 horse, and led on his men to the charge. But before 
 the battle was over, a bullet struck him and broke his 
 thigh. Then two of his own soldiers carried Sir Philip 
 on a litter slowly to the rear. 
 
 It was plain to see that the brave young soldier was 
 dying. His face was deadly pale, his leg was bleeding 
 fast, and he was dizzy and faint from loss of blood. 
 His tongue was so parched with thirst that he begged 
 for a drink of water. A bowl of water was brought to 
 him. He lifted it to his mouth and was just going to 
 drink, when a poor soldier, who was also badly hurt, 
 was carried past. The soldier saw the water, and 
 looked at it with longing eyes. 
 
 At that very instant Sir Philip took the water from 
 his own lips without even tasting it, and gave it to the 
 common soldier to drink ; saying, as he did so, " Poor 
 fellow, he needs it more than I do." When Sir Philip 
 died, as he did soon after, all England mourned for 
 him ; and his body was brought across the sea and 
 buried in St. Paul's. 
 
 This touching action of a noble heart is perhaps as 
 well known as any incident in history. It is as famous 
 far and wide as the tale of the blood-stained Tower of 
 London with its axe and block and cruel murders. 
 So delightful is an act of true humanity, and so glad 
 is mankind to remember it. 
 
TWO FAMOUS MEN IN THE DAYS OF ELIZABETH. 121 
 
 Now let me tell you of another famous man who 
 lived in the days of Queen Elizabeth. One day, as the 
 queen was walking down to the river to go on board 
 the royal barge, a crowd stood waiting to see her pass. 
 Among them was a gay, handsome young man, who 
 wore' a bright velvet cloak. He had pushed his way to 
 the front and was gazing at the queen when he saw her 
 stop before a little pool of muddy water, for she was 
 afraid to wet her feet. 
 
 In an instant he stepped out from the crowd, took off 
 his cloak, and spread it on the muddy ground ; and the 
 queen, blushing and smiling, walked over it and passed 
 on. It was an affair of a moment, and the crowd scat- 
 tered as quickly as it had gathered. Walter Raleigh, 
 for this was the young man's name, still stood near the 
 riverside with the cloak on his arm, when a messenger 
 from the queen called him to the royal barge. 
 
 Good Queen Bess, as she is often called, was seated 
 beneath an awning in the center of a group of lords and 
 ladies. 
 
 " What is your name ? " she asked. 
 
 " May it please your Majesty," the young man 
 answered, " my name is Raleigh, and my father is of an 
 old but unfortunate family." 
 
 " You have to-day," the queen said, " spoilt a good 
 cloak in our service. Take this jewel," she added, 
 handing him a ring in which a diamond shone, " and 
 wear it henceforth in memory of this day." 
 
RALEIGH SPREADS HIS CLOAK FOR THE QUEEN TO WALK UPON. 
 
TWO FAMOUS MEN IN THE DAYS OF ELIZABETH. 123 
 
 Raleigh was not only gay and handsome, but he was 
 brave and clever as well. He could do almost any- 
 thing. He was a soldier, sailor, poet, all in one. .He 
 beat the Spaniards in many a brave fight, both on land 
 and on sea ; and he made poems and wrote books that 
 you may read when you are older. But he loved above 
 all things to sail to far-off countries and find out new 
 and strange lands. 
 
 Once when he sailed to America he brought back 
 some potatoes and also tobacco. It was the first time 
 they had ever been seen in England. Sir Walter 
 planted his potatoes on his own land in Ireland ; and 
 they grew so well there that the people of that 
 country have ever since used potatoes as their chief 
 food. 
 
 He used to smoke his tobacco in a silver pipe. One 
 day he was having a quiet smoke, when a servant came 
 into his room with a pitcher of water. The servant had 
 never seen a man smoking before ; and when he saw 
 the smoke coming out of his master's mouth, he threw 
 the full pitcher of water into Sir Walter's face, and ran 
 away as fast as he could, crying out that his master was 
 on fire ! 
 
 After the death of Queen Elizabeth, King James the 
 First sent Raleigh to the Tower on a charge of treason. 
 Thirteen years slowly passed before the chance of free- 
 dom came. James was fond of money. Raleigh had 
 never lost his love of liberty. If the king would give 
 
124 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 him freedom and fit out a fleet, he said he would return 
 with gold from the shores of South America. 
 
 The expedition was a failure. The English were 
 beaten by the Spaniards, and Sir Walter's favorite son 
 was killed. " My brains," he wrote, " are broken." He 
 might have added that his heart was also broken. 
 
 His friends urged him never to come home again. 
 Two noblemen, however, had offered their lives as 
 surety for him when he left England, and he would 
 not buy his life at the price of theirs, was the answer 
 he sent back. So he came back to London and to the 
 Tower, and ended his days on the scaffold. 
 
 It would make our little book too long if I tried to 
 tell you of all the wise and good things done by Queen 
 Elizabeth, or if I told you the names of half the famous 
 men who lived in her time. Of all the celebrated men 
 of this glorious reign, none are to be compared to 
 Shakespeare, whose plays are so widely read and 
 quoted, nor even to Spenser, who lived and died in 
 the time of this great queen. 
 
27. DEATH OF CHARLES THE FIRST. 
 
 King Charles the First was executed in the Year 1649. 
 
 HPHERE was once a king of England called Charles 
 1 the First, who wanted to have his own way right 
 or wrong in all things. He thought that because he 
 was king he could break the laws when he liked and 
 rule the land as he pleased. 
 
 It was a great pity. For Charles was a good man 
 in some ways ; and if he had been just and kind to his 
 people, they would have loved him. But he made 
 them pay taxes that were quite unjust, and tried to 
 do away with the Parliament and rule the land himself. 
 This was wrong. It was going against the rights of 
 the people and against the laws of the land. So 
 Parliament tried to stop him. 
 
 But it was no use, the king would have his way ; and 
 at last a great civil war broke out between the king and 
 the Parliament. For the most part, the nobles and the 
 clergymen were on the king's side. The friends of the 
 king were called Cavaliers. They wore their hair long 
 and had fine, gay clothes, and were merry, laughing, 
 and jolly when things went well with them. 
 
 The friends of the Parliament wore short hair, and 
 were therefore called Roundheads. They were mostly 
 grave, earnest men, and very sober in their dress. 
 
126 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 The war lasted for three years. Then Oliver Crom- 
 well a stern, rough man, but the best general on the 
 Parliament side defeated the king and broke up his 
 army in a great battle at Naseby. 
 
 From that day the poor king was an outcast, and was 
 hunted from place to place by Cromwell's soldiers. 
 Many a day he had not a morsel to eat ; and many a 
 night, hungry and footsore, he lay down to sleep in the 
 lonely woods. At last he gave himself up. 
 
 But Parliament could not agree what to do with him. 
 Most of the members pitied him and wanted to make 
 friends with him. But the chief men of the army, who 
 had now all the power, had made up their minds that 
 the king should die. 
 
 So Cromwell gave orders for Charles to be brought 
 to trial for having made war against his people. 
 
 But neither the lords nor the judges of the land 
 would try the king. Then Cromwell and his friends 
 set themselves up as judges, and sent word to Charles 
 to appear before them in Westminster Hall. 
 
 The king was led to trial by brutal soldiers, who 
 mocked him and pointed their pistols at him as they 
 walked by his side. 
 
 The people on the streets had pity on him, and many 
 in the crowd cried out to him as he passed, " God save 
 your Majesty," " God keep you from your enemies." But, 
 alas, they could not help the unfortunate king in the 
 day of his downfall and misery ! 
 
DEATH OF CHARLES THE FIRST. 
 
 127 
 
 The trial lasted seven days. Then sentence of death 
 was passed on the king, and the soldiers led him to 
 Whitehall. That night, while he lay awake in bed, he 
 heard the hammers of the workmen 
 as they drove the nails into the scaf- 
 fold on which he was to die. 
 
 He had only three days 
 to prepare for death 
 and to take leave of his 
 children. In those three 
 days he could not find 
 time to see his friends. 
 " I hope," he said, " those 
 who love me will not 
 take it ill that they can- 
 not come to me. The 
 best thing they can 
 do now is to pray for r 
 me." 
 
 On the next day 
 two of the unhappy 
 king's children came 
 to see their father for 
 the last time. They 
 cried and cried till their eyes were so swollen that they 
 could hardly see. The king did all he could to comfort 
 them, and told them that he forgave his enemies and 
 hoped that God, too, would forgive them. Bidding 
 
 KING CHARLES TAKING LEAVE OF HIS 
 CHILDREN. 
 
128 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 good-bye to his little daughter Elizabeth, who was only 
 twelve years of age, he said, " Sweetheart, you will 
 forget this." 
 
 " No," she replied, " I will never forget it as long 
 as I live ! " The poor child died soon after her father. 
 
 Taking his little son Henry, a child of eight, on his 
 knee, he said to him : " My boy, they will cut off thy 
 father's head, and will, perhaps, make thee a king. 
 But mark what I say : thou must not let them make 
 thee king as long as thy brothers Charles and James 
 live." The little fellow looked up through his tears and 
 said, " No, father, I will be torn in pieces first." 
 
 When morning broke the morning of the day on 
 which the king had to die snow lay on the ground 
 and on all the housetops. The king, on seeing it, put 
 on extra clothing. " If I shake with cold," he thought, 
 " my enemies will say I tremble for fear." When food 
 was placed before him he would not touch it. 
 
 But Bishop Juxon, who had been praying with him, 
 said, " You have had a long fast ; the weather is cold, 
 and you may faint." 
 
 " You are right," replied the king ; and he took a 
 bit of bread and a glass of wine. " Now," said he, in a 
 cheerful voice, " I am ready ; let my enemies come !" 
 
 As the clock tolled one, the king was led through an 
 open window on to the black scaffold, which faced the 
 street. With a clear eye and a calm, proud look on his 
 worn but handsome face, the king looked around him. 
 
DEATH OF CHARLES THE FIRST. 1 29 
 
 He saw nothing but soldiers and pikes and flashing 
 swords. The people were afar off and out of all hear- 
 ing- 
 Walking up to the headsman, he pointed to the block. 
 " Place it," he said, " so that it may not shake." 
 " It is quite firm," said the man. 
 
 " I shall say a short prayer," said the king ; " and when 
 I thrust my hand out thus strike!" The king said 
 a prayer to himself, raised his eyes to heaven, and, 
 kneeling down, laid his head on the block. A minute 
 passed Charles put out his hand the axe fell and 
 the king was dead. 
 
 A groan of pain and horror rose from the vast crowd ; 
 and the soldiers, who had sat on their horses and stood 
 in their ranks immovable as statues, were of a sudden 
 all in motion, clearing the streets. 
 
28. HOW KING CHARLES THE SECOND ESCAPED FROM 
 HIS ENEMIES. 
 
 Charles the Second reigned from 1660 to 1685. 
 
 AFTER the death of Charles the First, his eldest 
 son, afterwards Charles the Second, had to face 
 many dangers before he came to the throne. Though 
 the English Parliament was against him, Scotland was 
 on his side ; and he marched into England at the head 
 of a Scottish army. 
 
 The great leader of the Parliamentary forces, Oliver 
 Cromwell, met Charles near Worcester and beat his 
 army "from hedge to hedge," until he had driven it 
 into the town. The Scottish troops were completely 
 routed, and Charles himself had to flee for his life. 
 When the day was lost, King Charles put spurs to his 
 horse and, with a few friends at his side, rode all night 
 long. 
 
 Cromwell had sent word up and down the country, 
 that he would give a thousand pounds to any man who 
 would take the king or tell where he was ; and would 
 cut off the head of any one who dared to give him 
 shelter. So the king and his friends rode softly along 
 quiet lanes, keeping away from the farms and villages. 
 
 At the break of day they came to a farm where there 
 lived a family of woodcutters by the name of Pendrell. 
 The Earl of Derby, who was with the king, knew the 
 
HOW KING CHARLES THE SECOND ESCAPED. 13! 
 
 Pendrells well. There were five brothers of them. 
 They had once saved the earl's life when Cromwell's 
 soldiers were after him, and he knew them to be true 
 to the king. They were very poor, but what of that ? 
 They were brave and faithful, and cared neither for 
 Cromwell's threats nor for his gold. The earl went up 
 to Pendrell and said to him : " Will, here is the king. 
 I can trust him with you. Keep him safe ! " 
 
 But Cromwell's men were close at hand, and it was 
 not safe for the king to stay in the house. So Will 
 Pendrell led him into a wood that was quite near and 
 told, him to hide there, and he and his brothers would 
 keep watch. It rained from morn till night, and the 
 king was wet to the skin. But the kind-hearted wood- 
 cutters brought him bread and cheese to eat and a thick 
 blanket to sit on ; and the king sat under a tree till it 
 grew quite dark. But he wanted to cross the river Severn 
 and get into Wales, thinking he would be safer there. 
 
 So Dick Pendrell got the king to put on an old worn 
 suit of his and a pair of thick shoes, and stain his 
 hands and face with walnut juice, to make him look 
 like a woodman. When Charles was ready, Dick 
 went with him to show him the way. But when they 
 got to the banks of the Severn, they found that Crom- 
 well's redcoats had taken away all the boats, and that 
 soldiers were pacing up and down the river bank to 
 stop the king or any of his party from crossing into 
 Wales. 
 
132 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 After hiding all day in a hayloft, the king with Dick 
 Pendrell started back. They made their way in the 
 dark across fields and over hedges and ditches. The 
 king's heavy shoes were too big for him, and got full of 
 sand and water. His feet were so sore that he could 
 scarcely crawl along. But at last they came back to the 
 Pendrell farm, and King Charles went and hid again 
 in the woods. 
 
 When the king went back into the woods he found 
 one of his own officers, hiding there, and went up and 
 spoke to him. While they were talking, they heard 
 the clank of swords and the tramp of horses' feet. The 
 soldiers were coming into the woods. What were they 
 to do ? There was not a moment to lose. A big oak 
 tree stood near them, and they climbed up into it and 
 hid among the branches. 
 
 It was lucky for them that the leaves grew thick, for 
 soon some of Cromwell's troops came riding by. They 
 could hear them say as they looked up and down that 
 they were sure the king was near, and it would be a 
 bad job for him if they caught him. But they did not 
 catch him. He stayed in the tree all day. The Pen- 
 drells gave him food and brought him a cushion to sit 
 on. The king was very tired. He had had no sleep for 
 two nights. So he laid his head in the lap of the 
 officer and fell asleep. 
 
 King Charles stayed at the Pendrell farm for two or 
 three days ; but there were so many of his enemies 
 
HOW KING CHARLES THE SECOND ESCAPED. 133 
 
 about that it was not safe for him to stay longer. So one 
 of the Pendrells went to Colonel Lane, who lived some 
 miles off, to see what could be done to get the king away. 
 
 Jane Lane, the colonel's daughter, was going to Bris- 
 tol ; so it was agreed that Charles should go with her 
 and act as her groom, or manservant. The king put on 
 a suit of gray like a serving man, mounted a strong horse, 
 and took Jane Lane behind him on the pillion, as was 
 the custom in those days. Then he set out for Bristol 
 in the hope of finding a vessel there. 
 
 In the course of their journey, the lady stopped for 
 the night at the house of a country gentleman ; and 
 the king, to keep up his character of a servant, had to 
 remain in the kitchen. The cook bade him wind up 
 the jack, on which the meat was roasting ; but he was 
 very clumsy about it. 
 
 " Where have you come from," cried the cook, " that 
 you don't know how to wind up a jack ? " 
 
 " Indeed, sir, I am but a poor farmer's son," replied 
 the young prince, " and it is but seldom we see meat at 
 home ; and when we have it, we don't use a jack to 
 roast it." 
 
 The king had many a narrow escape before he came to 
 his journey's end. One day, when his horse had lost a 
 shoe, he had to stop at a blacksmith's to have it put on. 
 
 The blacksmith said to him, " What news to-day ? 
 Have they caught that rogue, Charles Stuart, yet ? " 
 meaning the king. 
 
134 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 " No," said Charles, chuckling to himself, " they haven't 
 caught him yet. But when they do catch him, I hope 
 they '11 cut his head off." 
 
 " So do I," said the blacksmith. 
 
 Another time when he came to an inn, he found the 
 stable-yard full of Cromwell's soldiers. If he had turned 
 back, he would most likely have been found out. So he 
 put on a bold face and rode his horse right in the midst 
 of them. " Now then, you stupid fool ! " cried the sol- 
 diers, " can't you see where you are going ? " They 
 little knew that the stupid groom was Charles Stuart, 
 king of England ! 
 
 At last the king escaped in a vessel and reached 
 France in safety. He stayed abroad till Cromwell 
 was dead, and until his people sent for him to come back 
 home. As he rode into London on the 2Qth of May, 
 his own birthday, there was great joy among the 
 people. Most of them wore oak leaves in their caps to 
 keep them in mind of the " royal oak " that saved King 
 Charles from his enemies. Even yet the English 
 people call . 
 
 " The twenty-ninth of May 
 Royal Oak Day." 
 
29. THE STORY OF THE GREAT PLAGUE IN LONDON. 
 
 In the Year 1665. 
 
 DURING the very hot summer of the year 1665, 
 five years after Charles the Second came to the 
 throne, a dreadful plague broke out in London. The 
 plague had appeared in England several times before, 
 and was known by the name of the " Black Death " ; 
 but it had never before been so fatal as now. 
 
 The very panic caused the plague to spread ; for 
 nothing makes people so ready to catch a disease as 
 being afraid of it. 
 
 Another thing which was against the people of Lon- 
 don was the unhealthful condition of the city. The 
 houses were very old, and were built so close together 
 that hardly any fresh air could get in between them. 
 Worse still, they were very filthy. 
 
 As soon as the plague began, every one who could 
 afford it hastened to leave the town. The roads lead- 
 ing to the country were crowded with coaches and foot- 
 passengers, while carts and wagons were laden with 
 their goods. Thousands of servants were left behind 
 by their masters ; and these poor creatures, sad and 
 lonely, wandered about in the streets, not knowing 
 where to go. In the general fear, children ran away 
 from their parents and parents from their children. 
 
3 6 
 
 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 Some who were taken ill died alone without any 
 help. Some were stabbed or strangled by hired nurses, 
 who robbed them of all their money and stole the very 
 beds on which they lay. Some went mad, dropped from 
 the windows, ran through the streets, and in their pain 
 and frenzy flung themselves into the river. People 
 
 died by thousands 
 
 somet ^ mes as man y as 
 
 ten thousand in a week. 
 Grass grew in the 
 streets ; whole rows of 
 shops were shut ; and 
 the only business in 
 what were once the bus- 
 iest streets of the city 
 was the sad business of 
 funerals. The dead 
 were carried away in 
 carts and emptied into 
 one vast, common grave. 
 At night the dead cart 
 rumbled through the streets ; a bell was rung, and 
 the cry resounded mournfully through the hushed and 
 almost silent city : " Bring out your dead ! bring out 
 your dead ! " 
 
 When any person was seized with the plague, the 
 house in which he lived was shut up. The door was 
 fastened on the outside, a red cross was painted upon 
 
 A LONDON STREET AT NIGHT DURING 
 THE PLAGUE. 
 
THE STORY OF THE GREAT PLAGUE IN LONDON. 137 
 
 it with the words, " Lord, have mercy upon us." A 
 watchman was set to see that no one entered and no 
 one came out. Food and water were carried to these 
 houses at fixed times every day. 
 
 These were not all the horrors of the time. Many 
 thought they saw burning swords and gigantic darts 
 in the sky. Others pretended that at night vast 
 crowds of ghosts walked round and round the dismal 
 pits where the dead were buried. 
 
 One madman, carrying a brazier full of burning 
 coals upon his head, stalked through the streets crying 
 out that he was a prophet sent to declare the vengeance 
 of the Lord on wicked London. Another always went 
 to and fro, exclaiming, "Yet forty days, and London 
 shall be destroyed ! " A third awoke the echoes in the 
 dismal streets by night and by day, and made the blood 
 of the sick run cold, by calling out in a deep, hoarse 
 voice, " Oh, the great and dreadful God ! " 
 
 A good clergyman, who refused to leave his parish 
 and his people, wrote, " Now the people fall as thick as 
 the leaves in autumn when they are shaken by a mighty 
 wind." 
 
 In September large bonfires were lighted to purify 
 the air ; and an odd sight it was to see those vast fires 
 blazing in the middle of the streets night and day. 
 
 As the cold weather set in, the plague by degrees died 
 out. The number of deaths began to decrease, the red 
 crosses slowly to disappear, the fugitives to return, the 
 
138 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 shops to open again, and pale, frightened faces to be seen 
 in the streets. The plague had been in every part of 
 England; but in close and unwholesome London alone, 
 more than one hundred thousand persons had died. 
 
 By the beginning of the next year, the town filled 
 again. It must have been a sad home-coming. In 
 many houses half of the family was swept away ; in 
 some, all had died from the oldest to the youngest. 
 " Never did so many husbands and wives," says a quaint 
 writer of that day, " die together; never did so many 
 parents carry their children with them to the grave, 
 and go together into the same house under the earth 
 who had lived together in the same house upon it." 
 
30. THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON. 
 
 In the Year 1666. 
 
 NOW you must know that London, a little more than 
 two hundred years ago, was a city of narrow and- 
 crooked streets. The houses were built of wood and 
 thatched with straw, and crowded so close together that 
 persons living on one side of the street could almost 
 shake hands out of their upper windows with those who 
 lived on the other side. This was very unhealthful. 
 But a terrible remedy was at hand. 
 
 The summer of 1666 was very dry and very hot, as 
 the summer of the plague year had also been. A ter- 
 rible fire broke out on the second of September. It 
 is called the Great Fire because never before or since 
 has there been so great a fire in England. It broke 
 out in a baker's shop, near London Bridge, on the spot 
 where a monument now stands as a remembrance of 
 those raging flames. 
 
 A strong east wind was blowing, and the flames 
 spread so quickly among the wooden houses that the 
 whole city was soon in flames. It spread and spread, 
 and burned and burned for three days. The nights were 
 lighter than the days ; in the daytime there was a huge 
 cloud of smoke, and in the night a big tower of fire 
 
I4O STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 mounting up into the sky, which lighted the whole 
 country for miles and miles around. 
 
 Showers of hot ashes rose into the air and fell in 
 places far away ; flying sparks carried the fire to vari- 
 ous parts of the city and kindled it in twenty new spots 
 at a time ; church steeples fell down with tremendous 
 crash, and houses crumbled into cinders by the hun- 
 dred and the thousand. 
 
 The Londoners who stood on the south side of the 
 river Thames saw a great bank of fire about two miles 
 in length and one in breadth. The noise, the crackling, 
 the roar and thunder of the flames, the fall of houses, 
 towers, and churches, the shrieking of women and chil- 
 dren deafened the ears as the glowing flames blinded 
 the eye. It looked like one awful storm of fire, smoke, 
 and cinders. The air was so filled with smoke that the 
 sun shone through it with a color like blood. 
 
 The smoke streamed into the country in a black 
 column nearly fifty miles long ; men in distant parts 
 of the land walked along the lanes and the country 
 roads under a dark shade ; and the rays of the bright 
 autumn sun were shut out from the harvest fields. 
 
 The country roads were crowded with poor people 
 hurrying from the doomed city ; and the river Thames 
 was covered with boats and barges full of furniture 
 and frightened families. Looking towards the burning 
 houses, they saw their pigeons, of which they were so 
 fond, fly round and round the blazing windows where 
 
THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON. 14! 
 
 they used to come to be fed, and then fall suddenly 
 into the all-devouring flames. 
 
 The fields to the north of London were filled with 
 thousands upon thousands of houseless men, women, 
 and children. They lay on the ground or sat upon 
 any pieces of furniture they had been able to save, with 
 hunger and poverty staring them in the face, " yet not 
 asking one penny for relief." 
 
 The fire was stopped by blowing up numbers of 
 houses with gunpowder, thus making gaps so large that 
 the flames could not overleap them. 
 
 King Charles the Second and his brother, who was 
 afterwards James the Second, along with some other 
 gentlemen, eagerly took charge of this work and spared 
 no pains in showing how it must be done. 
 
 The fire raged for three days. When it had stopped, 
 it was found that the cathedral, St. Paul's, 89 
 churches, 460 streets, and 13,200 dwelling houses had 
 been destroyed. 
 
 It was seemingly a great misfortune, but in reality 
 a great blessing. The city afterwards arose from its 
 ruins very much improved. The dirty, narrow streets 
 had disappeared ; new streets were built, much broader, 
 more breezy, and more open to the healthful influences 
 of the sun and the air. 
 
31. THE FLIGHT OF KING JAMES THE SECOND. 
 
 James the Second reigned from 1685 to 1689. 
 
 JAMES the Second was the last of the four Stuart 
 kings of England. Like his father, Charles the 
 First, he was not on good terms with his subjects. 
 When he came to the throne he made a sacred pledge 
 to abide by the laws of the land. The pledge was 
 heartily received by the whole country. " We have the 
 word of a king " was the cry of the people. 
 
 King James was looked upon as narrow, stubborn, 
 and despotic in heart, but even his enemies did not 
 accuse him of being false. Above all, he was believed 
 to be keenly alive to the honor of his country. 
 
 It would be too long a story to tell you of the bitter 
 struggle between the king and his unhappy subjects. 
 At last, the king proved a traitor to the interests 
 of the people and of the nation. He was hated and 
 despised by both his friends and his enemies for his 
 many cruel and tyrannical acts. Good and true men of 
 all parties thought it to be for the best interest of the 
 nation to get rid of their arrogant king. 
 
 And so, after the struggle had gone on for some time, 
 they sent a message to a Dutch prince, William of 
 Orange, who had married Mary, the daughter of James 
 himself, asking him to come over and be their king. 
 
THE FLIGHT OF KING JAMES THE SECOND. 143 
 
 William at once collected a large fleet, and with 
 a strong army landed at the little port of Torbay, in 
 the south of Devonshire. He had previously issued an 
 address to the people, saying that he was coming to 
 protect their religious and civil liberties. 
 
 When the news of William's landing reached Lon- 
 don, the friends and favorites, and even the children of 
 James, fled from their royal master. First his nephew, 
 then his son-in-law, and then his second daughter, Annie, 
 deserted him. When James heard the news that his 
 daughter had fled from his palace, he burst into tears 
 and exclaimed, " God help me ! Even my own chil- 
 dren have forsaken me ! " 
 
 William was slowly and steadily marching on to 
 London with his troops ; and at length James saw 
 there was no hope left, and that the time had come 
 when he must flee. First of all he sent away his wife. 
 About three in the morning, the queen, carrying her 
 infant child in her arms, went down the river stairs of 
 Whitehall Palace and got into a small boat. It was a 
 dark and dismal night in December ; the rain poured 
 in torrents ; the Thames was swollen with a high tide ; 
 a strong wind was blowing ; but at length the boat 
 reached the pier at Lambeth. 
 
 The coach that had been ordered was not ready. 
 The queen was afraid to go into the inn where her face 
 might be known, so she crouched under the tower of 
 Lambeth Church for shelter from the storm. The babe 
 
144 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 was well wrapped up, warm and cosy, and so did not 
 cry. At last the coach was ready, and the queen was 
 driven to Gravesend, where she found a vessel, in which 
 she escaped to France. 
 
 Louis the Fourteenth, the king of France, received 
 her very kindly, and gave her a palace for her dwelling 
 and a yearly sum of money to live on. Eight days after 
 the queen's escape, James also left Whitehall, and made 
 his way, after some wonderful escapes, to the shores of 
 France. He also was most kindly received by Louis. 
 
 The two kings went together to Queen Mary's room. 
 Stopping at the door, the French king bowed kindly, 
 and said to her, " Here is a gentleman, cousin, whom 
 you will be very glad to see." 
 
 James never again set foot in England, and with 
 him ended the reign of the Stuarts. He foolishly 
 thought himself above the law as no one is or can 
 be ; and this wrong notion had cost his father his head, 
 as it now cost James himself his crown. 
 
 When it was found that the king had fled, the Prince 
 of Orange called a Parliament, and after some time it 
 was agreed that the flight of King James had made 
 the throne of England vacant. It was then offered to 
 William and his wife, Mary. 
 
 This event in English history is known as the Revo- 
 lution of 1688. 
 
32. THE FAMOUS SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY. 
 
 In the Year 1689. 
 
 WHEN William, Prince of Orange, was made king 
 of England in 1688, most of the Irish people 
 remained true to the old king, James the Second. A 
 bitter war broke out between the followers of William 
 and those of James. One of the most stirring events 
 in this war was the siege of Londonderry. 
 
 Londonderry, or Derry as it is often called, is a fine 
 seaport town in the north of Ireland. It stands on the 
 bank of a river up which the tide flows from the outer 
 sea. The people of the town were of English and 
 Scotch descent. They took sides with William and 
 Mary. 
 
 William was at this time too busy elsewhere to come 
 to Ireland. His followers in that country had, therefore, 
 to do the best they could for themselves. The king 
 of France had sent James both money and officers to 
 drill his army ; and James had made up his mind to 
 get back his kingdom of Ireland. If he gained that, 
 he might then try for England. 
 
 James and his army marched on Londonderry. The 
 governor of the town, whose name was Lundy, had 
 no hope of being able to hold out. The defences of the 
 place were almost in ruins. 
 
146 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 The walls were overgrown with grass and weeds ; 
 there were no ramparts that could keep out an enemy ; 
 and the towers and forts were too weak to stand the fire 
 of cannon. 
 
 They had no regular soldiers in the place. Their 
 supply of firearms was short, and the townspeople were 
 not used to military drill. They had very few pieces of 
 cannon. The few they had were in bad order, and 
 they had scarcely any man who knew how to serve 
 them. Worst of all, they were short of provisions. 
 
 The governor thought the only thing to be done 
 was to give up the town. But the townspeople did not 
 agree with him. Led by a good old clergyman, they 
 declared that they were ready to die rather than give in ; 
 and they at once began to put the defences of the town 
 in better order. 
 
 When King James appeared with his army, he 
 marched up to within a hundred yards of the town, ex- 
 pecting to be able to walk in at once and without fight- 
 ing. But he was met with cries of " No surrender ! " and 
 with a shot from a cannon, which made him get out of 
 the way in somewhat of a hurry. 
 
 The people were so angry with the governor that 
 they would have torn him to pieces. He was for some 
 time in great fear ; but the good clergyman helped him 
 to get away. He left the place by night, climbing down 
 the town wall by the branches of a pear tree, and made 
 off. 
 
THE FAMOUS SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY. 147 
 
 For nine days a constant fire of cannon was kept up 
 against the city. Then James, thinking the time was 
 come, ordered his men to march in. But the brave 
 citizens would not let them. They lined the wall in 
 three ranks. Those behind loaded the muskets of those 
 in front ; the women handed their brothers, fathers, and 
 husbands powder and shot. All fought so well that 
 they beat back the forces of James at every point. 
 
 James was in a terrible rage with the people of the 
 town. "Very well," he cried, "if we cannot beat them, 
 we can stary.e them out ! " No food could now be sent 
 into Londonderry. Ships from England laden with 
 food, soldiers, and powder and shot had come to the 
 mouth of the river on which the town stands ; but the 
 enemy had placed cannon on both banks, and had also 
 blocked the channel with a boom made of logs and iron 
 chains to prevent the ships from sailing up. 
 
 The people were soon brought to a fearful state. 
 Most of them became mere skin and bone, with sunken 
 cheeks and hollow eyes. Dogs, cats, rats, horses, and 
 tallow all were eaten up. 
 
 Even hides were gnawed and sucked for some little 
 support. Grain was doled out by mouthfuls ; the price 
 of a dog's paw was five shillings. An old shoe was 
 looked upon as a good dinner ; and rats were taken in 
 traps and eaten. If a man caught a fish in the river, 
 he would not sell it for money ; he would ta*ke nothing 
 but food in exchange. 
 
148 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 No one spoke of giving in. The weaker died so 
 fast that they could not be buried, no one was strong 
 enough to dig their graves. And yet no one spoke of 
 yielding. Still the people called out from the walls, 
 " No surrender ! " 
 
 At last, when the poor people of the town were 
 brought to their last scrap of food, three of King 
 William's vessels made their way up the river. One 
 of them broke the boom and the other two passed safely 
 through the breach. 
 
 It was ten o'clock at night when the ships arrived at 
 the wharves. And what a scene was there ! All the 
 people of the town were gathered to see the unloading 
 of the ships. What cheers ! What thankful prayers ! 
 What joyful sobs were heard as the sailors rolled on 
 shore barrels of Scotch meal, casks of beef, kegs of 
 butter, sacks of pease and biscuit, huge cheeses, and 
 flitches of bacon ! 
 
 James and his army now saw that it was a hopeless 
 task to try to take a town defended by people so 
 courageous, so enduring under suffering, as was this 
 people. They therefore marched off. 
 
 The next morning the townspeople saw, instead of the 
 white tents of the Irish army, scores of blazing bonfires 
 reddening all the air. Then all were filled with glad- 
 ness; they rushed to the church bells and rang out loud 
 and merry peals of joy for the freedom that had at last 
 come to them. 
 
33. BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE'S ESCAPE. , 
 
 In the Year 1746. 
 
 WHEN the little babe, the son of James the Second, 
 who was carried off by his mother from White- 
 hall that dark December night, grew to be a man, 
 he made an attempt to get back the crown which his 
 father had lost. But he did not succeed. 
 
 His son also tried, and he too failed. The son of 
 James the Second is known as the Old Pretender ; his 
 grandson as the Young Pretender. The name of the 
 Old Pretender was Prince James ; that of the Young 
 Pretender was Prince Charles Edward, or as the 
 Scotch, with whom he was a great favorite, called him, 
 " Bonnie Prince Charlie." 
 
 The hopes of Prince Charlie were ruined in the 
 crushing defeat which he and his brave Highland sol- 
 diers suffered on the field of Culloden, near the town 
 of Inverness, in 1746. He had to flee for his life. He 
 wandered up and down the Highlands of Scotland ; and 
 although his hiding-places were known to hundreds of 
 persons, who were mostly very poor, and though the 
 large reward of thirty thousand pounds had been offered 
 to any one who would give him up, no man even 
 thought of pointing a finger to his place of conceal- 
 ment. 
 
I5O STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 Many shielded the poor prince at the risk of their 
 own lives ; and, after five months of wandering, he es- 
 caped safely to France. During these weary months he 
 had endured many hardships, cold, hunger, and fatigue. 
 Though constantly in danger, he showed himself brave 
 and cheerful ; and this is one reason why the Scotch 
 people loved him so well. 
 
 He was hunted by soldiers night and day, as if he 
 were a wild beast ; and he had to be always moving 
 from place to place. Sometimes he would snatch a few 
 hours' sleep in a cowshed, on a heap of dirty straw ; at 
 other times he would sleep in a cave, or even on the 
 open hillside. His food was of the coarsest kind, served 
 in the iron kettle in which it had been cooked. Out of 
 it he and his followers ate in company, the prince being 
 the only one who had a silver spoon. One day all he 
 could get was a mixture of oatmeal and sea-water. 
 
 Hunger, illness, wet and rough weather sorely changed 
 the handsome looks of the gay young prince. A Scot- 
 tish poet sang of him : 
 
 " On hills that are by right his own 
 
 He roams a lonely stranger; 
 On every hand he 's pressed by want, 
 On every side by danger." 
 
 One morning Prince Charlie shot a deer, and his faith- 
 ful follower Burke was cooking some steaks cut from 
 it. A poor starved boy, who chanced to pass, snatched 
 up one of the steaks, and Burke gave him a heavy 
 
BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE S ESCAPE. 
 
 blow on the head. Charles turned to his follower and 
 said : " Ned, you don't remember the Scriptures. They 
 tell us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. You 
 ought to give him a meal rather than a blow." 
 
 It was when hiding in the west of Scotland that he 
 met Flora Macdonald, a brave and gentle lady whose 
 
 FLORA MACDONALD HELPS PRINCE CHARLIE TO ESCAPE. 
 
 home was in the island of Skye. Prince Charlie was 
 by this time in a wretched condition. When Flora 
 saw him, she wept. She promised to be his guide to 
 Skye, and obtained from her father a safe conduct for 
 herself and an Irish girl, Betty Burke. 
 
152 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 Next morning the prince was dressed as Betty Burke, 
 and in this disguise he set out on his journey with his 
 companion. All night they rowed through a wild storm 
 to Skye ; but a greater danger awaited them on shore. 
 Flora went alone to the castle of a friendly nobleman 
 to seek help for the prince. 
 
 There she found a party of soldiers who were search- 
 ing for the Pretender ; but with the help of friends he 
 reached a place of safety. 
 
 If it had not been for the risk they ran, his friends 
 would have been amused by the mistakes made by the 
 prince in his character of Betty Burke. Once when 
 crossing a stream, he lifted the skirts of his dress. Next 
 time he forgot it and let his dress float in the water ; 
 and when the country people curtesied to the party, the 
 prince bowed instead of curtesying in return. " You 
 are the worse Pretender," said his friend Lord Kins- 
 burgh, " that I ever saw." 
 
 A few hours later, Lady Kinsburgh, who had retired 
 early, was startled by her little girl running into the 
 room and crying that her father had " brought home the 
 oddest wife she had ever seen, and had brought her 
 into the hall too, where she was walking backwards and 
 forwards in a manner perfectly frightful." 
 
 In a few days Flora Macdonald bade farewell to 
 the prince, and never saw him again. Prince Charlie 
 returned to France, but never again to Scotland. 
 
 The love of those who served him, however, did not 
 
BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIES ESCAPE. 153 
 
 die, even when all hope of his return was gone. Long 
 afterwards his memory was cherished, and many a stir- 
 ring song is still sung of " Bonnie Prince Charlie." The 
 following lines are an example of this devoted loyalty 
 to a hopeless cause : 
 
 " Over the water, and over the sea, 
 And over the water to Charlie ; 
 Come weal, come woe, we '11 gather and go, 
 
 And live or die with Charlie." 
 
 * , 
 
 This was the last attempt of the Stuart line to regain 
 the throne of their fathers; and when in 1788 the 
 unfortunate prince died in Rome, the ill-fated house of 
 Stuart disappeared from history. 
 
34. THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 In the Year 1756. 
 
 \ yiCTORIA, Queen of Great Britain, is now also 
 * Empress of India, and rules over more than two 
 hundred millions of subjects in that far-away country. 
 But about a hundred and fifty years ago Great Britain 
 had little power in India, and the native rulers and 
 princes could do pretty much as they pleased. 
 
 There was, in the year 1756, a native prince whose 
 name was Surajah Dolwah ; he ruled over Bengal and 
 some other countries near it. This prince took of- 
 fence at the English in India, marched to Calcutta at 
 the head of a large army, and laid siege to the fort. 
 The fort of Calcutta was held by a commander named 
 Holwell, who, with the aid of a few brave officers and 
 a small but active body of troops, kept it against the 
 large army of the Indian prince. 
 
 At length, however, the brave commander had to 
 give it up ; and the prince promised on the word of 
 a soldier that no harm should be done either to him 
 or to any of his officers or men or to their wives. In 
 spite of his promise, one hundred and forty-six English 
 residents, one of whom was a woman, were driven, at 
 the point of the bayonet, into a place known in history 
 by the name of the " Black Hole." 
 
THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 155 
 
 This was a room less than twenty feet square, with 
 two small windows barred with iron to the west ; 
 but these were of little use for the supply of fresh air. 
 
 It was summer. The night was close and sultry. 
 There was not a breath of wind. Many of the prisoners 
 were wounded, and all of them were worn out with 
 hard work. When they saw that the Indian prince had 
 broken his vow and that they were in danger of dying 
 for want of fresh air, they were filled with rage. 
 
 They tried to open the door, that they might rush 
 upon the swords of the Indian soldiers who stood 
 guard outside. But the door opened inwards, and the 
 crowd inside pressed strongly upon it. Mr. Holwell, 
 who was standing at one of the windows, spoke to a 
 sergeant of the Indian guard and offered him two hun- 
 dred pounds, or one thousand dollars in our money, if he 
 would place half of them in another room. The sol- 
 dier was eager for the reward and promised to do what 
 he could. But in a few minutes he returned and told 
 him that the prince was asleep, and that no one dared 
 to go near him. 
 
 A fearful sweat now broke out on every one, and this 
 was followed by a terrible thirst. The poor creatures 
 stripped themselves of their clothes, sat down on the 
 floor, and fanned the air with their hats. But many 
 were unable to rise again and were trodden or choked 
 to death. Every one was gasping for a breath of fresh 
 air. 
 
156 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 All wished for death to put an end to their sufferings. 
 They shouted insults to the Indian guards to provoke 
 them to fire upon them. When this was in vain, the 
 cry of " Water ! water ! " rose from every mouth. The 
 Indian sergeant ordered some skins of water to be 
 brought to the window. Some went mad at the very 
 sight of it. There was no other way of passing it 
 through the windows to the poor wretches than by 
 hats. Many fought to get nearest the windows, and the 
 weaker of them were soon trampled to the ground and 
 sank never to rise again. 
 
 In the morning when the prison door was opened 
 one hundred and twenty-three persons lay dead. Only 
 twenty-three remained alive. Pale as corpses, weak, 
 withered, sunken-eyed, these twenty-three persons stag- 
 gered forth from their foul and awful prison. Men of 
 thirty looked like old men of eighty ; for the hours 
 they had spent among the dying and dead seemed like 
 years of misery -to the survivors of this most dastardly 
 deed. 
 
 Some months later the famous Lord Clive avenged 
 this terrible crime. The army of the cruel prince was 
 routed in the battle of Plassey with great slaughter. 
 That victory made the English masters of Bengal, and 
 laid the foundation of British rule over the vast Indian 
 Empire. 
 
35. THE BRAVE LORD NELSON. 
 
 The Battle of Trafalgar was fought in the Year 1805. 
 
 WHEN some of your great grandfathers were little 
 boys, there was a great war between England 
 and France. Many of the battles were fought at sea. 
 England had good ships and brave sailors and bold 
 captains in plenty ; but the best sailor and the boldest 
 captain of them all was Lord Horatio Nelson. 
 
 When he first went to sea, at twelve years of age, 
 he was a wee bit of a lad ; but he was full of pluck and 
 spirit, and never knew what it was to be afraid. He 
 sailed. all over the world before he was a man, and 
 when war broke out he was made captain of a man-of- 
 war. He fought and beat the French in many a brave 
 sea fight ; and you will surely wish to read about his 
 victories when you are older. 
 
 In one battle this brave officer lost an eye, in another 
 he lost an arm ; but though he had but one eye and one 
 arm, he was always the first in the fight and the last 
 out. He never would give in. At the battle of Copen- 
 hagen two of his ships ran aground. Admiral Parker, 
 who had command of the fleet, thought Nelson had no 
 chance of winning ; so he hung out the signal to " stop 
 fighting." 
 
 But Nelson took no heed of it. His one eye danced 
 
158 
 
 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 with glee as the guns roared, and ropes and bits of 
 timber flew through the air. When a shot struck the 
 mast of his own ship and broke it to bits, he only said, 
 " Warm work this ! But I would n't be out of it for all 
 
 the world ! " Some one 
 told him that the signal 
 was up to " stop fight- 
 ing." 
 
 He laughed; and, 
 putting the glass to his 
 blind eye, he said : " I 
 don't see the signal. 
 Keep mine flying for 
 closer battle. Nail it to 
 the mast." And he kept 
 on fighting till he won 
 the battle ; and for his 
 great victory he was 
 made lord admiral of 
 the fleet. 
 
 Nelson's last fight 
 was at Trafalgar, off the 
 coast of Spain. A great fleet of French and Spanish 
 ships was on its way to England. The French hoped to 
 sweep the English ships from the seas, and to land a 
 French army on the coast of England. But Nelson 
 went out to fight them, and came up with them in Tra- 
 falgar Bay. He made ready at once for battle, knowing 
 
 DEATH OF NELSON. 
 
THE BRAVE LORD NELSON. 159 
 
 that if he won it England would be saved. He felt sure 
 of victory. Yet he could not help thinking that he 
 would lose his own life before the day was over. 
 
 When Captain Blackwood, who came for orders, left 
 to go back to his ship, Nelson shook hands with him 
 and said, " God bless you, Blackwood, I shall never see 
 you again ! " Before the battle began, Nelson hung 
 out his last famous signal, " England expects every man 
 to do his duty " ; and the sailors in answer gave a ring- 
 ing British cheer. 
 
 Nelson's ship was called the " Victory." It was sta- 
 tioned in the hottest part of the battle. He wore his 
 admiral's coat, with all his medals and crosses on his 
 breast. His officers asked him to take them off, saying 
 that if the French saw them they would know who he 
 was, and would be sure to fire at him. But Nelson would 
 not. " No," he said, " in honor I won them, and in 
 honor I will die with them." 
 
 In the midst of the battle when every man was sure 
 of victory, a bullet from a French ship struck Nelson 
 in the back, and he fell with face forwards on the deck. 
 Captain Hardy was soon at his side. 
 
 " Hardy," said Nelson, " they have done for me at 
 last." 
 
 " I hope not," said Hardy. 
 
 "Yes," replied Nelson, "my back bone is shot 
 through." 
 
 They carried him below, while the battle still went on. 
 
l6o STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 After a while Hardy went below and found Nelson 
 waiting eagerly to hear the news of the battle. 
 
 " Well, Hardy," said the admiral, " how goes the day 
 with us?" 
 
 " Very well," said Hardy ; " ten of the French ships 
 have struck their colors." 
 
 When he found that all went well, the dying admiral 
 spoke of himself. " Hardy," he said, " I am a dead man. 
 I am going fast." Hardy went on deck again, but came 
 back at the end of an hour, and told Nelson that fifteen 
 ships had been taken. " That is well," said Nelson. 
 
 Then he took Hardy's hand and said to him, in a low 
 voice, " Don't throw me overboard ! Kiss me ! " Hardy 
 knelt down and kissed him. 
 
 " Now," said Nelson, " I am satisfied. God bless you, 
 Hardy ! Thank God, I have done my duty." 
 
 These were his last words. The battle had been won. 
 England was safe, and as brave a spirit as ever lived 
 had gone to its rest. 
 
36. THE IRON DUKE AND THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 
 
 The Battle of Waterloo was fought in the Year 1815. 
 
 WHILE the brave Lord Nelson was fighting Eng- 
 land's battles at sea, there was another, as great 
 as he, fighting her battles on land. This was Arthur 
 Wellesley, afterwards made Duke of Wellington, and 
 sometimes called the " Iron Duke." He was born in 
 Ireland and educated at Eton, but he spent some 
 time in a French military college learning the art of 
 war. 
 
 His French masters, who taught him how to fight, 
 little thought they were teaching him to defeat all their 
 best generals. But so it was. After winning great fame 
 in India, Wellesley was sent out to Spain, where he 
 won many victories over the French, beating all of 
 Napoleon's most famous generals and driving his army 
 back over the Pyrenees. 
 
 But the most famous battle that Wellington ever 
 won was the great battle of Waterloo, which was fought 
 near Brussels in Belgium. Here he faced the great 
 Napoleon himself. It was the first and last time that 
 Wellington and Napoleon ever met. The French em- 
 peror was eager to crush the man who had beaten his 
 generals, and said with joy, as he marched towards 
 Belgium : " I go to measure swords with Wellington." 
 
1 62 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 When Wellington drew up his troops on a green hill- 
 slope, with a great forest in the rear, Napoleon thought 
 he had caught him in a trap, and cried out in high glee : 
 " Now I have him ! " But he little knew the man he 
 had to deal with. 
 
 On the forenoon of Sunday, June 18, 1815, when the 
 church bells were ringing in England, a long, loud peal 
 .from the French ,cannon broke the Sabbath stillness of 
 Waterloo. Then began that battle of heroes which 
 lasted till sunset. Again and again did the French 
 rush forward to the attack, and again and again were 
 they driven back. 
 
 The English, who were mostly drawn up in squares, 
 seemed rooted to the earth like masses of rock. Time 
 after time the deadly fire from the French guns would 
 make bloody gaps in their ranks ; but at the stern, 
 steady cry, " Close up ! " the men in the rear would take 
 the places of their fallen comrades. Then the French 
 horsemen, with steel breastplates and flying plumes, 
 would come sweeping down upon the squares, but only 
 to be shot down or hurled back again from a living 
 hedge of steel. 
 
 Wellington, on his famous horse " Copenhagen," rode 
 from post to post, cheering his men and bidding them 
 " stand their ground to the last man." When he saw 
 the French horsemen rushing up to a square that 
 had been terribly cut up, he called out, " Stand firm, my 
 lads ! what will they say of this in England ! " Wherever 
 
THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 163 
 
 danger was, there was Wellington to be found. As the 
 shots fell thick about him, he coolly remarked, " They 
 shoot better than they did in Spain." 
 
 When he saw the French guns making such havoc 
 among his squares, he quietly said, " Hard pounding, 
 gentlemen ! we will see who can pound the longest." 
 The men were eager to be led against the French, and 
 some of the Irish regiments began to murmur; but 
 Wellington quieted them, and said, " Not yet, lads ; 
 wait a little longer." 
 
 At one time during the day, when the battle seemed 
 doubtful, and the best and bravest were falling thick 
 and fast, some of his officers would have lost heart, but 
 Wellington kept up their spirits. " Never mind," he 
 said to them, "we'll win this battle yet." At. last, when 
 it was near sunset, Napoleon ordered his old guards, 
 who had never yet been beaten, to charge the English 
 and make one last effort to win the day. 
 
 Wellington, who saw them coming on, placed his 
 own guards four deep in a ditch behind the slope, and 
 waited in silence for the charge. When the French 
 gained the ridge they saw only Wellington and his staff. 
 But the next moment they heard a voice it was the 
 duke's like the shrill blast of a trumpet, cry, " Up, 
 guards, and at them !" From the ground there started 
 up, as if by magic, a long line of redcoats, who poured 
 a deadly volley into the French and then rushed at 
 them with cold steel. 
 
164 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 As the French gave way and fled down the hill, Wel- 
 lington gave the long-wished-for order along the whole 
 line for his army to advance. With a cheer that struck 
 fear into the hearts of the French, the English, who had 
 stood still all day to be shot at, now sprang gladly for- 
 ward ; and soon the whole French army was fleeing in 
 hopeless rout. 
 
 There are many stones of brave deeds done on the 
 field of Waterloo. In one of the terrible cavalry 
 charges, the Highlanders were ordered to fall back, 
 when the sergeant who bore the colors was shot dead 
 and fell into a ditch. The French horse were rushing 
 down upon them, and in another moment the colors of 
 the regiment might have fallen into their hands. 
 
 A stalwart Highlander, who saw the danger, leaped 
 into the ditch to take the colors from the dead man's 
 hands. But it was in vain ; the sergeant even in death 
 held his colors with a grip of iron. What was to be 
 done ? There was not a moment to lose. The High- 
 lander did not hesitate. Taking up his comrade flag 
 and all he lifted him on to his back and made off 
 with him just as the French horsemen reached the ditch. 
 
 The captain of the French cavalry, seeing the brave 
 deed, shouted to his men, " Halt ! " Every man of the 
 troop reined in his horse and sat looking at the gallant 
 Highlander ; and as the brave fellow made off with the 
 colors, they cheered him with a wild hurrah, shouting 
 " Bravo, Scot ! " 
 
THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 165 
 
 On one of the slopes of Waterloo there was an old 
 farmhouse with a hedge and an orchard around it ; 
 Wellington ordered his troops to hold this farm at any 
 cost. But the French swarmed round about it and set 
 fire to the hedges and orchard, and at last the brave 
 defenders ran short of powder and ball. 
 
 What was to be done ? If the poor fellows could not 
 have powder and shot, how could they hold their ground 
 against the French ? Two wagons filled with cartridges 
 were sent off at once to the farm. But the hedge was 
 still burning ; and as the first wagon with its driver 
 crashed through it, the powder took fire, and horse, 
 wagon, and driver were blown into atoms. The driver 
 who rode the horse in the second wagon was a young 
 country lad who had only just joined the army ; but he 
 soon showed what stuff he was made of. He spurred 
 his horse into a gallop, burst through the burning hedge, 
 and landed the powder-wagon safely on the other side. 
 " It was bravely done," said Wellington when he heard 
 of it, " and if that lad lives out this day I will make him 
 an officer." But when the day was done, that brave 
 country lad lay dead behind the farmyard wall. 
 
 Waterloo was a battle more terrible and decisive than 
 Europe had known for centuries. Not long afterward 
 Napoleon gave himself up to the English, and Europe 
 had peace for forty years. 
 
37. TWO GREAT INVENTORS. 
 
 ABOUT the middle of the last century, a little boy 
 in the town of Greenock on the river Clyde, in 
 Scotland, used to be scolded by his aunt for meddling 
 with the kitchen tea kettle. He would hold down the 
 lid when the water boiled, or he would take off the lid 
 and put it on again, or he would hold a silver spoon 
 over the steam as it puffed out of the spout and watch 
 it turning into drops of water. All this made the boy 
 wonder what produced the force that lifted the cover of 
 the kettle and made it rattle. 
 
 His aunt thought this was not very safe work for a 
 boy. He would be sure to scald himself, she said, 
 some day. Besides, it was a great waste of time. Had 
 he no lessons to learn ? Had he no books to read ? 
 Could he not find something to do that would be more 
 useful ? Such idle habits could lead to nothing good ! 
 
 This idler, this dreamer, was James Watt, who by and 
 by gave to the world the steam engine in a form that 
 was fitted for everyday use. There were crude steam 
 engines before Watt's time, but he improved them so 
 much that he is commonly called the inventor of the 
 steam engine ; and he got his first notions of the power 
 of steam from his aunt's tea kettle. 
 
TWO GREAT INVENTORS. 167 
 
 When he grew up, Watt settled in Glasgow. A small 
 engine was sent to him for repair. He spent some time 
 on it, only to discover its faults ; at best it was but a 
 toy, and was of little or no real use. 
 
 Watt resolved to make a useful steam engine. He 
 spent ten years on it years of planning and experi- 
 menting, years of doubt and fear, of distress and pov- 
 erty, but also of hope and high courage ; and at last 
 he succeeded to the utmost that he could have wished. 
 Then he met with a rich merchant who saw the value of 
 the invention, and joined with Watt in setting up near 
 Birmingham the first great engine factory in the world. 
 
 The story is told that once upon a time Watt took a 
 working model of his engine to show to the king. His 
 majesty said to him, " Well, my man, what have you to 
 sell ? " The inventor promptly replied, " W 7 hat kings 
 covet, may it please your majesty, power !" The story 
 is perhaps too good to be true, but the fact that Watt 
 furnished the world with a " power," far-reaching in its 
 results, cannot be denied. 
 
 The effect of the invention of the engine on mining 
 and manufactures was enormous. The brains of other 
 men were busily planning all sorts of things in order 
 to take advantage of it to the utmost. 
 
 Within twenty years after Watt had finished his 
 engine, Arkwright had made his spinning machine, 
 Crompton had invented his spinning-jenny, and Cart- 
 wright's power-loom weaving machine had started the 
 
1 68 . STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 cotton manufacture on its wonderful career. Other 
 inventions followed, and in course of time England was 
 called " the workshop of the world." 
 
 But the greatest of all the uses of the steam engine 
 is in vessels and railroads. The first steamship in 
 Great Britain was the " Comet," which plied on the river 
 Clyde in 1812 ; although Robert Fulton in this country 
 had invented a steamboat in 1807. The first success- 
 ful " steam horse," or locomotive engine, in the world 
 was made by George Stephenson, who also planned 
 and made the first public railroads ever built in Eng- 
 land or in the world. 
 
 George Stephenson was the son of a poor collier in 
 the north of England. When a young man he became 
 a fireman like his father. He taught himself mathe- 
 matics during the night shifts ; and when he could 
 snatch a few moments in the time allowed for meals 
 during the day, he worked his problems with a bit of 
 chalk upon the sides of the colliery wagons. 
 
 But Stephenson had a wonderful genius for machine- 
 making, and very soon he became master of the steam 
 engine. He became famous in his neighborhood as an 
 u engine doctor." When anything went wrong with a 
 steam engine, George Stephenson was the man to put it 
 right. While he was engineer at a colliery near New- 
 castle, the idea occurred to him of making a "steam 
 horse " to draw the cars of coal from the pit to the 
 wharf where ships were loaded. 
 
TWO GREAT INVENTORS. 169 
 
 He tried and tried and tried again, and succeeded 
 at last in making, in 1814, an engine; and because it 
 made such a noise it was popularly known as " Puffing 
 Billy." It was a rude and clumsy piece of work. 
 Fifteen years later Stephenson turned out the " Rocket," 
 which ran at the rate of twenty-five or even thirty-five 
 rniles an hour. 
 
 This invention began a new era in the world's his- 
 tory. From it dates the marvelous spread of railroads 
 over Great Britain, over the continents of Europe and 
 America, and indeed over the world. It has brought 
 distant countries together, and has increased a hundred- 
 fold the knowledge and comfort of mankind. 
 
 We must remember that these great blessings have 
 been the result of victories won, not by conquerors on 
 the battlefield, but by heroes of peace, the Scotchman 
 James Watt and the Englishman George Stephenson. 
 
38. HOW VICTORIA BECAME QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 Victoria became Queen in the Year 1837. 
 
 KING WILLIAM the Fourth died in the year 1837, 
 without leaving any children. The nearest heir to 
 the throne of England was his niece, a young princess 
 named Victoria. She was the daughter of the Duke of 
 Kent. When William the Fourth died, it became the 
 duty of two noblemen to go. to the young princess and 
 tell her that she was now queen of the British Empire. 
 
 Accordingly, two men of high rank drove from Wind- 
 sor to Kensington Palace, where the young princess 
 was living. They left Windsor at half past two o'clock 
 in the morning of the 2oth of June, and did not reach 
 Kensington till five. It was still early, and not a soul was 
 stirring. They knocked and rang for a long time before 
 they were able to rouse the porter at the palace gate. 
 
 When at length they had awakened him, the gate 
 was opened ; but they were still kept waiting in the 
 courtyard. Then they were shown into one of the 
 lower rooms. No one came near them for some time, 
 and they seemed to have been forgotten by everybody. 
 At length they rang the bell. When the servant came 
 they asked him to let the Princess Victoria know that 
 they wished to see her on business of the greatest 
 importance. 
 
PRINCESS VICTORIA LEARNS OF HER UNCLE'S DEATH AND THAT SHE 
 IS QUEEN OF ENGLAND. 
 
172 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 Again they were left for some time, and again they 
 rang. One of the ladies of the palace came to them. 
 She told them that the princess was in such a sweet 
 sleep that she could not venture to disturb her. To 
 this they replied, " We are come on business of state to 
 the princess, and even her sleep must give way to that." 
 
 The princess, now the queen, was roused. She at least 
 did not keep the gentlemen waiting. For in a few min- 
 utes she came down to them, in a loose white dress and 
 shawl, her hair falling over her shoulders, tears in her 
 eyes, but perfectly calm. She was told the news. It 
 was a great grief to her to hear of the death of her 
 uncle ; it was no joy to know that the crown of Great 
 Britain was now her own. 
 
 The king died at twenty minutes past two in the 
 morning, and the young queen met her council in 
 Kensington Palace at eleven. She was quite plainly 
 dressed and in mourning. Nothing could have been 
 better than her calm and kind manner. She was only 
 a girl of eighteen, and every one was eager to know' 
 how she would behave. 
 
 On entering the council room she bowed to the lords, 
 took her seat, and read her speech in a clear, distinct 
 voice. There was no sign of fear or hurry in her face 
 or in her manner. When her two uncles, both old 
 men, knelt before her, she blushed up to the eyes. 
 Her manner to them was very graceful and engaging. 
 She kissed them both, rose from her chair, and walked 
 
HOW VICTORIA BECAME QUEEN. 
 
 173 
 
 up to the Duke of Sussex, who was farthest from her 
 and too weak to go to her. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington, whom we have just read of 
 as the " Iron Duke," said, in his blunt way, that if she 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA VISITING THE POOR. 
 
 had been his own daughter, he could not have desired 
 to see her do her part better. 
 
 The people soon came to be very fond of their girl 
 queen. No sovereign of Britain has ever ruled better 
 than Queen Victoria, nor has the vast empire of Britain 
 ever been more prosperous than it has been under her rule. 
 
174 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 A year after she came to the throne, she was publicly 
 crowned at Westminster Abbey. All the great officers 
 of state were there, and so were the noblemen of Eng- 
 land and many famous strangers. The walls were hung 
 with crimson cloth with gold edges, and many of the 
 people present were splendidly dressed ; it was a very 
 grand sight. 
 
 When the crown was placed on the young queen's head, 
 all shouted, " God save the Queen ! " Hats and hand- 
 kerchiefs were waved, trumpets were blown, and signals 
 were made so that guns might be fired in different 
 parts of London. For some days afterwards there was 
 great rejoicing, and all the people showed how fond they 
 were of their new sovereign. Their love for her has 
 gone on increasing ever since, and Queen Victoria was 
 never more beloved than she is at the present day. 
 
 When the queen is in London she lives at Bucking- 
 ham Palace ; but she has several homes in the country, 
 at which she spends a great part of the year. 
 
 Though the people see the queen but seldom, she 
 works day by day for their good. She has always main- 
 tained the laws of the land, and observed them strictly 
 herself. She has been influenced by the advice of the 
 wisest men, whom the nation has chosen to make the 
 laws in Parliament. 
 
 So the English people love her now just as much as 
 they did sixty years ago, and still go on singing with 
 all their hearts, " God save the Queen ! " 
 
39. HOW THEY FOUGHT IN THE CRIMEA. 
 
 From 1854 to 1856. 
 
 RUSSIA and Turkey are neighbors: Russia strong 
 and overbearing, Turkey poor and weak. Now, 
 though Russia is the largest country in Europe, she 
 has never been contented with her millions of acres, but 
 has always longed for a share of the land of the Sultan. 
 
 In 1854 Russia picked a quarrel with Turkey, and 
 forced her to fight. The English and the French came 
 to the help of the weaker power and sent an army to 
 the Crimea, a part of Russia which runs out into the 
 Black Sea, and which is very near Turkey. The two 
 armies met for the first time on the banks of the river 
 Alma. 
 
 Here a great battle was fought. The French and the 
 English dashed into the stream and crossed it, in spite 
 of the terrible hail of Russian bullets which poured 
 from the heights, and which, says an eye witness, 
 "whipped the water of the river into foam." The 
 heights were taken, the Russians were driven away, 
 and fell back upon Sebastopol. 
 
 The siege of Sebastopol, one of the strongest fortresses 
 in the world, now began. The allies seized the port of 
 Balaklava, and there they landed men and arms and all 
 kinds of supplies. The Russians tried to drive them out, 
 
STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 and the battle of Balaklava was fought. This is the 
 battle in which the famous charge of the Light Brigade 
 was made. A wrong order was given, but nobody 
 knows to this day who made the mistake. 
 
 The six hundred men of the Light Brigade were told 
 to make a charge right up to the mouth of the Russian 
 cannon. 
 
 " Half a league, half a league, 
 Half a league onward, 
 All in the valley of Death 
 
 Rode the six hundred. 
 1 Forward, the Light Brigade ! 
 Charge for the guns ! ' he said ; 
 Into the valley of Death 
 
 Rode the six hundred." 
 
 Officers and men all knew quite well that such an 
 order ought not to have been given ; but that did not 
 matter. They also knew that their duty was only to 
 obey. Not a man flinched. They rode gallantly up 
 to the deadly cannon ; and when they returned from 
 the charge, less than half their number were living. 
 They had taken neither guns nor prisoners, but their 
 heroic courage has made their charge one of the most 
 memorable in the annals of war. 
 
 The next battle that took place was the battle of 
 Inkermann. It was called the " soldiers' battle " because 
 there was very little movement of troops in it very 
 little else but hand-to-hand fighting. When the soldiers 
 had used all their shot, they took up stones and threw 
 
HOW THEY FOUGHT IN THE CRIMEA. 
 
 177 
 
 them at the enemy ; and English and the Russians 
 were mixed up in such dense crowds that the men had 
 to use the butt ends of their muskets. 
 
 Worse than any battle was the hard Crimean winter. 
 
 THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE. 
 
 The men suffered terribly from cold, hunger, and want 
 of proper clothing ; and six times as many men died of 
 disease as of wounds. 
 
 At home things were in great confusion. The Eng- 
 lish government was not ready to carry on a war. Raw 
 
178 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 coffee was sent out, but no machines for roasting it ; 
 a shipload of boots arrived --all made for the left 
 foot; the sick men were sent to one place and the 
 medicine to another. 
 
 For a long time there was nobody to look properly 
 after the sick men. All this was in time made right ; 
 for by and by a good and noble English lady, whose 
 name was Florence Nightingale, heard of the suffer- 
 ings of the soldiers, and went out to the Crimea herself 
 with nurses to tend the sick soldiers. Her skill and 
 care saved many a brave man's life, and the men in 
 the sick wards blessed her as she went by their beds. 
 
 " Dying men," said an officer, " sat up to catch the 
 sound of her footstep or the flutter of her dress, and fell 
 back on the pillow content to have seen her shadow as 
 it passed." You may imagine how the poor soldiers 
 and indeed all England and this country, too, for that 
 matter loved her. 
 
 Sebastopol was taken in the year 1855, and peace 
 was made the year after. More than six hundred 
 thousand men lost their lives, and probably more than 
 a million widows and orphans were made such by this 
 cruel war. 
 
40. THE STORY OF THE MUTINY IN INDIA. 
 
 In the Year 1857. 
 
 ENGLAND has gone through many troubles and 
 dangers, and has weathered many a storm ; but 
 perhaps the most terrible danger she ever faced was 
 the mutiny in India, which broke out in the year 1857. 
 
 India is the largest and most thickly peopled of the 
 British foreign possessions, and a large army is needed 
 to keep it in order. 
 
 Forty years ago there were not English soldiers 
 enough for the Indian army, and so the home govern- 
 ment was forced to hire native troops. These troops 
 are called Sepoys. The Sepoys are men of various 
 religions. One of their religions teaches its followers 
 that the cow is a sacred animal, and another teaches 
 that all good men ought to detest the pig. 
 
 Now the enemies of England went secretly to see 
 these men, and to some they said that the cartridges 
 they used were greased with the fat of the cow, while 
 to the men of the other religion they whispered that 
 swine's fat had been employed. The Sepoys were very 
 angry and rose against their officers. 
 
 Whether the greased cartridges were the real reason 
 for their mutiny is not very certain ; perhaps there were 
 other causes. They not only rose against their officers, 
 
l8o STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 but they murdered every English man, woman, and 
 child. 
 
 At Cawnpore, General Wheeler was shut up with a 
 few hundred men and more than five hundred women 
 and children in a hospital, round which ran a low mud 
 wall. The rebels surrounded this place and poured in 
 upon the English residents a fire of bullets day and 
 night. From the hour the siege began, the suffering 
 and the courage of the -English were incredible. There 
 was no roof between the gallant defenders and the 
 scorching sun ; the shadow cast by the low mud wall 
 was but a narrow line. 
 
 There was only one well, and it was a target for the 
 Sepoys. The heroes who dared to draw water did so 
 at the risk of their lives ; those who returned were few. 
 At last hunger did what the enemy never could have 
 done. Finally the leaders of the Sepoys offered to let 
 General Wheeler and his company go in safety down the 
 river Ganges, if he would only give up his guns, arms, 
 and treasure. He agreed ; and the English, leaving 
 their arms, were marched down to the boats. 
 
 No sooner had they entered the boats than the 
 Sepoys opened fire upon them. Many of the English 
 were killed ; the rest were taken back to Cawnpore, 
 where the men were put to death, and the women and 
 children shut up in one large room. Then some Sepoys 
 were sent in with sabres, and these wretches put every 
 one of the women and children to death. 
 
THE STORY OF THE MUTINY IN INDIA. l8l 
 
 In Lucknow, a city in the north of India, the British 
 governor saw that the natives were going to attack his 
 people. He put the women and children into the 
 Residency, as the chief fortress in an Indian city is 
 called. The soldiers had fortified this place, and were 
 determined to die rather than let the Sepoys do any 
 harm to their wives or little ones. 
 
 The natives in great numbers attacked the fortress 
 again and again, but were always driven back. Still 
 it was a fearful time for the English. For they knew 
 that if these terrible crowds of cruel natives outside 
 could once get into the place, they would kill all the 
 English without mercy. For four months they held 
 out, while disease, hunger, sorrow, and fatigue were 
 preying upon the soldiers and their wives and children 
 within the fortress. 
 
 Every one, from Sir Henry Lawrence, the governor, 
 down to the humblest drummer-boy, showed the utmost 
 patience and courage. Sir Henry was killed by the 
 bursting of a shell in the room in which he was sitting. 
 
 As he lay dying, his parting words to his friends 
 were, " Mind : never give up ; but let every man die at 
 his post." He knew well the cruel enemy they had to 
 deal with. 
 
 The great and good General Havelock, after fighting 
 twelve battles on his march, at last cut his way into 
 Lucknow and saved the little garrison. But Havelock's 
 force was too small to drive away the Sepoys and to put 
 
1 82 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 down the revolt ; and he in his turn was soon shut up 
 by a much larger force of the rebels. 
 
 Sir Colin Campbell, afterwards known as Lord Clyde, 
 was sent from England to help him. When this gallant 
 English general was asked in London when he would 
 be ready to start for India, which is three thousand 
 miles away, he quietly replied, " To-morrow." 
 
 The English people within the fortress were soon 
 reduced to terrible straits, with .an awful death hanging 
 over their heads. At length Sir Colin Campbell, with 
 a large British army, brought them all away safely 
 after they had been shut up for nearly four months. 
 
 It is said that a Scottish girl, by the name of Jessie 
 Brown, was the first to recognize amid the din of battle, 
 the shrill sound of the bagpipes of the Highland sol- 
 diers, which told the besieged that their deliverers were 
 near. Jessie was presented to the general on his 
 entrance into the fort, and at the officers' banquet her 
 health was drunk by all present, while the pipers 
 marched around the table playing the familiar air of 
 "Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 The relief of Lucknow was the last great event in the 
 Indian mutiny, as this rebellion was called, and soon 
 after the British rule was established there more firmly 
 than ever before. 
 
41. BRITAIN, THEN AND NOW. 
 
 In the Year 1897. 
 
 MANY, many hundreds of years ago, England, as 
 we learned in the first story of this book, was 
 inhabited by a half-savage race of people called Britons. 
 When the great Roman general Julius Caesar came to 
 Britain nearly two thousand years ago, he found these 
 people in it. He has told us in a diary he kept, that 
 they were a race of strong, well-built, and hardy men, 
 swift as deer on foot, and brave and fearless as their 
 own wild cattle. 
 
 They knew neither how to spin nor to weave, and 
 their common dress was made of the skins of the ani- 
 mals that roamed through the wild and pathless forests. 
 They spent most of their time in fishing and hunting. 
 With their light basket canoes slung across their shoul- 
 ders, they could travel from lake to lake, or from river 
 to river. 
 
 Above and around circled the various birds which 
 had their homes in the forest. In the wilder parts flew 
 the golden eagle king over all the birds in the air ; 
 and by the seaside, the osprey. A wolf might be lying 
 in wait by the side of the path, or the more savage 
 brown bear might be out in search of prey. 
 
 How changed is everything now ! The forests have 
 
184 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 been cleared away, and their place is now filled by fields 
 of grass or waving grain. The country is now studded 
 with large cities, which are full of busy, well-dressed 
 people, living at peace with each other and obedient 
 to the laws. Where once the ancient Briton paddled 
 about in his hide-covered canoe, countless steamers and 
 sailing vessels now move to and fro. 
 
 London was in those very early times a mere village ; 
 now it is one of the largest and richest cities in the 
 world. Its houses cover many, many square miles, and 
 it has more people living in it than there are in even 
 such a large state as Ohio or Illinois. 
 
 There were then no roads ; at best there were only 
 narrow footpaths through the forests or across the 
 moors. A . slow and toilsome journey on horseback 
 was the quickest way of getting from one place to 
 another. Now one can travel by the steam cars at 
 the rate of sixty or more miles an hour. 
 
 The English people are known all over the world as 
 makers of cotton, woolen, and many other staple goods, 
 and as sellers of glass, china, ironware, and countless 
 other articles of trade. These goods are sent out in 
 sailing vessels and great steamships to all parts of the 
 world, and tea and coffee, sugar and rice, grain and 
 timber are brought back. 
 
 Thus the English people live in peace and prosperity 
 under the rule of their gracious queen. Never since 
 the time of King John, more than six hundred years 
 
BRITAIN, THEN AND NOW. 185 
 
 ago, has the foot of a foreign foe touched the soil of 
 Britain. Shakespeare thus alludes to England in his 
 play of " King Richard the Second " : 
 
 " This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, 
 This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars. 
 . this little world ; 
 
 This precious stone set in the silver sea, 
 Which serves it in the office of a wall." 
 
 But it should never be forgotten that it has been 
 through the labors and sufferings of many good, brave 
 men and women, that a nation which began as England 
 did is now one of the richest and most prosperous in 
 the world. 
 
 For more than eighty years England and the United 
 States, the great English-speaking nations of the world, 
 have lived in peace. On the threshold of the twentieth 
 century these two great peoples are, more firmly than 
 ever before, united by the strong ties which bind nations 
 together for the good of humanity. 
 
 We have come to the end of our stories. We hope 
 you have read them with interest and pleasure. We 
 trust that by the reading of this little book your appetite 
 will be whetted to read, when you are older, longer and 
 more complete works. Next to reading the history of 
 our own beloved country, nothing in the shape of 
 history can be more interesting and more useful than 
 that of our mother country. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 
 
 BOOKS FOR REFERENCE AND COLLATERAL READING. 
 
 THE real significance and scope of supplementary reading in schools 
 would be lost to the teacher who was satisfied with merely having read with 
 the class the preceding " stories " of English history. This book should 
 serve only as a convenient and interesting basis for more extended work 
 both on the part of the teacher and the pupils. 
 
 Books for collateral reading, study, and reference may be divided con- 
 veniently into two classes. First, a class of books useful for reading and 
 reference which are well provided with tables, indexes, maps, tables of 
 dates, etc. Second, a class of books that are not provided with these formal 
 helps, but are useful for pupils to read and consult at home on topics pre- 
 viously assigned. 
 
 The ablest and most useful book of the first class is Montgomery's 
 " Leading Facts of English History" (price, $1.12). This work is deeply 
 interesting and amply provided with all manner of helps to young students. 
 Gardiner's " English History for Schools " (price, 80 cents) is admirably 
 written and is good authority, but has no helps beyond the text itself. 
 Gardiner's larger work, " Student's History of England " (price, $3.00), 
 is a valuable book, both for its text and illustrations, especially for the 
 teacher's use. Green's " Short History of the English People " (one vol- 
 ume, price, $1.20) is also noted for its brilliant and interesting style, and 
 is a useful reference book for teachers. 
 
 Of books belonging to the second class, one of the best known and always 
 interesting to young people is Dickens' " Child's History of England." It 
 still retains its popularity with young readers from the charm and vividness 
 of its style. Three other books should be always at hand for quick refer- 
 ence for topical study : Yonge's " Young Folks' History of England," 
 
1 88 STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 Towle's " Young People's History of England," and Louise Creighton's 
 " Stories from English History." Two recent volumes by A. J. Church, 
 entitled " Stories from English History," are valuable for a limited portion 
 of English history. 
 
 Two or more of the preceding works are amply sufficient to provide both 
 teacher and pupil with the basal books necessary for school or home use, in 
 connection with an elementary course in English history. 
 
 There are, of course, many other books suitable for young readers which 
 will be enjoyed, but which are not always so accessible as the books just 
 mentioned. Among these are Callcott's " Little Arthur's History of Eng- 
 land," Oilman's " Magna Charta Stories," " Cameos of English History," 
 and Agnes Strickland's " Tales from English History." 
 
 The famous " Henty " books are of a somewhat sensational character, 
 but based upon historic events, and may be occasionally and sparingly read 
 in selections by the teacher to the class. They are admirable heroic 
 romances, and present great events and famous men in so dramatic and so 
 picturesque a light that this author is a great favorite with boys. Among 
 the " Henty " books devoted to English history the following are the best : 
 " Wulf the Saxon," a story of the Norman Conquest; "When London 
 Burned," a story of Restoration times and the Great Fire ; " Beric the 
 Briton," a story of the Roman Invasion ; " Under Drake's Flag"; "Bonnie 
 Prince Charlie"; "With Clive in India"; "One of the 28th," a tale of 
 Waterloo ; " The Dragon and the Raven, or The Days of King Alfred " ; 
 and " St. George for England," a tale of Crecy and Poitiers. 
 
 Story No. I, page I. Probably the most interesting and picturesque 
 description ever written of England in the olden days from the time of the 
 Druids to the Norman Conquest is given in Miller's " History of the Anglo- 
 Saxons." It is a work little known, but may be found in Bohn's Standard 
 Library. No better book could be used from which to make select read- 
 ings for the first eleven " stories " of this book. 
 
 Story No. 4, page 13. Read Cowper's poem entitled "Boadicea" 
 ("Open Sesame," vol. ii, p. 116). 
 
 NOTE. " Open Sesame." This is the name of a work of about one thousand 
 pieces of choicest prose and verse, compiled by Mrs. B. W. Bellamy and Mrs. M. W. 
 Goodwin. 3 volumes. Price of each volume, cloth, 75 cents ; boards, 50 cents. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. 189 
 
 Story No. 8, page 31. For a series of historical books written many 
 years ago, especially for children, the author would recommend most heart- 
 ily the little red-covered histories by Jacob Abbott and his brother, John S. 
 C. Abbott. Six or more are devoted to English kings and queens. Read 
 in connection with this topic Abbott's " Life of Alfred the Great." 
 
 Story No. II, page 47. Read Bulwer's " King Harold's Speech to his 
 Soldiers" ("Open Sesame," vol. ii, p. in) and "Norman Battle Song" 
 ("Open Sesame," vol. i, p. 195). Read Abbott's "Life of William the 
 Conqueror." Read in connection with this lesson selections from chapters 
 i and iii, of Scott's "Ivanhoe"; also Longfellow's "The Norman Baron." 
 
 Story No. 12, page 53. A charming description of the New Forest in 
 the times of Cromwell and the Cavaliers and the stirring events of those 
 days is given in Maryatt's " Children of the New Forest." 
 
 Story No. 13, page 57. Read an extract from Rev. J. White's drama 
 on the " Wreck of the White Ship," found in Knight's " Half Hours of 
 English History." In this work may be found, conveniently arranged for 
 ready reference, a dozen or more extracts from the best writers to illustrate 
 most of the " stories " in this book. 
 
 Story No. 15, page 66. A most interesting and dramatic account of the 
 adventures of Richard the Lion-hearted is given in " The Talisman " and 
 " Ivanhoe," two of the best of Sir Walter Scott's novels. In the former 
 work is a fine description both of Saladin and Richard. In the latter book, 
 in the opening chapters, may be found a vivid account of the everyday life 
 of the Saxons and of the manner in which knights fought in the olden days. 
 Read the poem " BlondelPs Song under the Prison Window " (" Open 
 Sesame," vol. ii, p. 145). 
 
 Story No. 16, page 72. For another version of the death of little 
 Prince Arthur the teacher may read to the class the account as given in 
 Shakespeare's " King John," act iv, scene i. In fact the teacher will be 
 able to find in Shakespeare's historical plays many passages which will afford 
 most interesting reading. For illustration read the famous reference to 
 Queen Elizabeth in "Henry VIII," act v, scene 4 ; Falstaff and Prince Hal 
 in " Henry IV," act ii, scene 4 ; and the death of King John in " King John," 
 act v, scenes 6, 7. The teacher will find in Henry Reed's " Lectures on 
 English History " and Warner's " English History in Shakespeare's Plays " 
 two excellent books for reference. 
 
I QO STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY. 
 
 Story No. 20, page 92. Read Dray ton's " Battle of Agincourt " (Open 
 Sesame," vol. iii, p. 235). 
 
 Story No. 25, page 112. Read Bulwer's translation of Schiller's " In- 
 vincible Armada" (" Open Sesame," vol. iii, p. 228), Palgrave's " Elizabeth 
 at Tilbury" ("Open Sesame," vol. iii, p. 230), and "Elizabeth's Speech to 
 the Army at Tilbury " (" Open Sesame," vol. iii, p. 232). 
 
 Story No. 26, page 1 18. This incident of Sir Walter Raleigh's gallant 
 deed is fully described in Scott's " Kenilworth," chapter xv. In this great 
 historical novel are given vivid pictures and descriptions of Queen Elizabeth 
 and the great men of her time. Scott's " Abbot " relates to the history of 
 Mary Queen of Scots. This is a most interesting book from which to select 
 a few choice readings in connection with the story of Queen Elizabeth. 
 Read Abbott's " Life of Queen Elizabeth " and also his " Life of Mary 
 Queen of Scots." 
 
 Story No. 27, page 125. Read Bowies' poem "On the Funeral of 
 Charles I " (" Open Sesame," vol. iii, p. 217). Read Abbott's "Life of 
 Charles I." 
 
 Story No. 28, page 130. A few select readings may be arranged from 
 Scott's "Woodstock" for a masterly account of Cromwell, Charles II, and 
 the Cavaliers and Roundheads of those stirring times. Read Abbott's 
 "Life of Charles II." 
 
 Story No. 30, page 139. For a vivid but imaginary account of the 
 Great Plague, the teacher may read to the class a few selections from 
 De Foe's " History of the Great Plague in London." 
 
 Story No. 33, page 149. A recent work by Andrew L^ng, known as 
 " Pickle the Spy, or The Incognito of Prince Charles," is full of curious 
 information about this interesting episode in English history. 
 
 Story No. 34, page 1 54. The teacher should read to the pupils the 
 celebrated passage from Macaulay's essay on " Lord Clive," which gives a 
 graphic picture of the dastardly deed beginning "Now was committed that 
 great crime," etc. 
 
 Story No. 35, page 157. Read Mrs. Hemans' "Casabianca" ("Open 
 Sesame," vol. i, p. 181), "The Mariners of England" ("Open Sesame," 
 vol. i, p. 202), and " Battle of the Baltic " (" Open Sesame," vol. ii, p. 79), 
 both poems by Thomas Campbell. Select from Southey's " Life of Nel- 
 son " some of the incidents and anecdotes in the career of England's great- 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES. I 91 
 
 est admiral, and also in the same book the account of Nelson's death, a 
 masterly piece of English prose. 
 
 Story No. 36, page 161. Read "Waterloo," an extract from Byron's 
 " Childe Harold " (" Open Sesame," vol. iii, p. 246). 
 
 Story No. 38, page 1 70. An instructive but informal exercise may be 
 arranged concerning the great events that have taken place in England, 
 and the world generally, since the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. 
 
 Story No. 39, page 175. In connection with this story the teacher 
 should read a few selections from a recent novel by Mrs. Steel, " On the 
 Face of the Waters," which gives most vivid pen pictures of many of the 
 great events of the mutiny. Read also Hope's " Story of the Indian 
 Mutiny." 
 
 Read Robert Lowell's poem, " The Relief of Lucknow " (" Open Sesame," 
 vol. ii, p. 66). 
 
 Story No. 40, page 1 79. Read Tennyson's famous poem, " Charge of 
 the Light Brigade" ("Open Sesame," vol. i, p. 192), and Gerald Massey's 
 " Death Ride" (" Open Sesame," vol. ii, p. 57). 
 
 Story No. 41, page 183 In connection with this last "story" may be 
 
 arranged a most interesting and instructive informal discussion contrasting 
 the wonderful progress made in all that pertains to a higher civilization 
 since " Britain in the Old Days" as described in the first " story." There is 
 a large amount of material from which the ingenious teacher may draw for 
 class use. 
 
 A very few dates may be committed to memory, as the first conquest of 
 Caesar, the time of Alfred, of Queen Elizabeth, the first English printer, etc. 
 
 A few of the great names of English literature should be associated with 
 certain historical events. Associate the names of Chaucer, Spenser, Bacon, 
 Shakespeare, Milton, Goldsmith, Scott, Tennyson, and others with the 
 prominent events and men of their times. 
 
 If copies of Knight's " Pictorial History of England " and Harper's new 
 edition of Green's large " History of England " can be borrowed or obtained 
 for reference, a vast amount of illustrative matter will be found in them. 
 
 All such work as we have briefly outlined in these " Notes " tends to 
 maintain the interest of pupils in a study which otherwise may become dull 
 and monotonous. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
READING BOOKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 FOR SUPPLEMENTARY USE IN SCHOOLS. 
 
 BY NINA MOORE TIFFANY. 
 
 Pilgrims and Puritans. The Story of the Planting of Plymouth and 
 Boston. Sq. i6mo. Cloth. 197 pages. Illustrated. For intro- 
 duction, 60 cents. 
 
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 For introduction, 60 cents. 
 
 "PILGRIMS AND PURITANS" is a book of easy reading, contain- 
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 Indians, the Pilgrims of Plymouth, English Boston, William 
 Blackstone, John Winthrop, Extracts from Wood's New Eng- 
 land's Prospects ; with notes and appendix. 
 
 It is intended for children who have not yet begun or are just 
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 to incorporate so much of the original into 
 the work. 
 
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 Moore has, with no little dexterity, told in 
 an attractive way, easily intelligible to 
 children, "the story of the planting of 
 
 interesting manner, and one of the best Plymouth and Boston." She has drawn 
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 authorities, and by means of plenty of 
 
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 maps, portraits, and views, has made the 
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READING BOOKS ON GEOGRAPHY 
 
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 A SUPPLEMENTARY reading book in real geography, combining 
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 The author depicts foreign countries and famous cities, describing 
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 THIS is the best and almost the only book on sand modelling 
 
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 THE STORIES MOTHER NATURE TOLD HER CHILDREN. i2mo. 
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BLAISDELL'S PHYSIOLOGIES 
 
 By ALBERT F. BLAISDELL, M.D. 
 
 CHILD'S BOOK OF HEALTH. In easy lessons for schools. Cloth. 
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 The author combined qualifications seldom found together 
 the natural teacher, the practised writer, the successful 
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