* * * * *

In those days the Grecian isles were a constant subject of contention

between Venice and the Turks. The latter, growing stronger every

day, soon made their name the terror of southern Europe. A few years

after the fall of Constantinople (captured by Mohammed II. in 1453),

the Ottomans besieged Coccino, capital of the isle of Lemnos, in the

Ægean Sea. The city was defended with the most obstinate bravery by

the inhabitants, men and women. Amongst the bravest of the women was

Marulla, a beautiful, noble-looking creature, barely in her twentieth

year. Her father, Demetrius, slew such numbers of the Turks that the

gateway was half-blocked up with turbaned corpses. At last, pierced

with myriad wounds, he fell on the bodies of his foes. Marulla, flying

to her father's rescue, was wounded by the same blow which proved fatal

to him; but so far from giving way to useless lamentations, she seized

his sword, sprang from the walls, and fiercely attacked the Turks.

Her fellow-citizens, inspired by her fire, drove the Turks away with

terrific slaughter, and compelled them to take refuge in their ships.

When the Venetian admiral arrived next day with the fleet, in place

of a beleagured town he beheld the citizens in their holiday attire,

headed by the magistrates in their robes of state, marching in

procession to meet him, conducting the heroine Marulla, their deliverer.

To reward her bravery, the Venetian commander ordered each of his

soldiers to give her a present, and he promised that she should be

adopted by the Republic. He offered her the hand of any one of his

captains that she might prefer. But Marulla replied that "it was not

by chance that she should choose a husband; for the virtues of a camp

would not make a good master of a family; and the hazard would be too

great."

When the Venetian senate received the news of Marulla's bravery, they

decreed that various privileges and exemptions from taxes should be

settled upon her and her children for evermore.

* * * * *

Henry VI., after losing the crown of France through a female warrior,

very nearly saved the crown of England through another; and, what

is more remarkable, both were Frenchwomen. But the high-spirited,

fierce Margaret of Anjou, though fully as brave, was very different

from the peaceful, the angelic Maid of Orleans. However, had the king

possessed half the spirit of his wife, the Wars of the Roses might have

terminated very differently. When the feeble, almost imbecile king,

wishing for peace at any price, publicly acknowledged the Duke of York

as heir-apparent to the throne, Margaret refused her consent, and the

war was renewed. Henry was made prisoner in the battle of Northampton;

but the queen assembled a formidable army at York, where she awaited

her rival.

On the last day of the year 1460, the battle of Wakefield was fought.

Within half-an-hour of the onset, nearly three thousand Yorkists lay

dead on the field. This battle, in which Margaret is said to have taken

an active part, terminated in a complete victory for the House of

Lancaster. The Duke of York, covered with wounds, fell into the hands

of the victors. His dying moments were embittered by the taunts of his

captors; and afterwards, it is said, his head was cut off by order of

the queen, crowned with a paper crown, and placed on one of the gates

of York.

The next year, 1461, Margaret defeated the Earl of Warwick in the

second battle of St. Alban's, and recovered the king, who was now

merely a passive agent in the hands of friends or foes. She advanced

to London; but Edward, Earl of March, son of the Duke of York, having

gained a victory at Hereford almost the same day as the battle of St.

Alban's, obliged her to retreat towards the north. He then entered

London, where a few days later, March 4th, 1461, he was proclaimed King

of England, as Edward IV.

Margaret soon increased her army to sixty thousand men, and Edward

was obliged to hasten to the north. At Pontefract he passed in review

nearly forty-nine thousand men. The armies met at Towton, in Yorkshire,

March 29th, 1461. This was the bloodiest battle fought during the war.

No quarter was given or expected on either side. The Lancastrians,

routed with fearful slaughter, were intercepted in their flight by

the river; and the pursuit of the Yorkists was unrelenting. The slain

amounted to thirty or forty thousand. Henry VI. and his brave queen

fled to Scotland.

After vainly soliciting aid from the Scottish court, Margaret went over

to France, and by promising to give up Calais, obtained ten thousand

men. With these she landed in Scotland, where she was speedily joined

by many of her partisans, and also by a band of freebooters. With these

she entered England, and advanced to Hexham, where she was totally

defeated, May 15th, 1464, by Lord Neville.

The unhappy queen, compelled to fly with her son, with difficulty

reached the coast, after suffering indignities at the hands of the wild

freebooters who infested the kingdom, and sailed for Flanders. The

rebellion of Warwick the King-Maker, in 1470, restored Henry VI., for

a few short months, to the throne. Edward IV. fled to the Continent;

Margaret and her son landed at Weymouth on the very day (April 14th,

1471) that the Earl of Warwick was defeated at Barnet.

When Margaret heard the news of her champion's defeat her courage

seemed at first to forsake her. She took refuge with her son in the

sanctuary of Beaulieu, in Hampshire. But her undaunted spirit once

more led her to the field. She re-assembled her partisans and marched

to Tewkesbury, where she was encountered by King Edward on the 4th

of May, 1471. The total defeat of the Lancastrians was the result,

and Margaret, with her son, was made prisoner. The latter was cruelly

murdered, and Margaret was placed in the Tower of London.

After remaining a prisoner for nearly four years, Queen Margaret was

ransomed by Louis XI. for fifty thousand crowns. She died in 1482, "the

most unfortunate Queen, wife, and mother," says Voltaire, "in Europe."

* * * * *

Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, one of the greatest warriors of

the Middle Ages, was brother-in-law to Edward IV., whom he assisted,

in 1471, with men and arms; the English King promising, in return, to

aid Charles against his great enemy, Louis XI. The French King was

terribly afraid of the Duke; and had not the latter been so rash and

the former so crafty, King Louis might have lost his crown. In 1472

Charles crossed the Somme at the head of eighty thousand men, and

after capturing Nesle, where he massacred the people and burned the

town, he laid siege, in June, to the town of Beauvais, in Picardy. The

inhabitants were devoted to Louis XI., and, besides, they knew from the

fate of Nesle, where the blood flowed "ankle-deep" in the street, what

they might expect in the event of capture. So the defence was as stout

as the attack was fierce.

There dwelt in Beauvais a girl named Jeanne Fourquet, born November

14th, 1454, the daughter of an officer in the king's guards. She

was adopted, after her father's death, by a lady named Laisné. From

childhood Jeanne had taken a great interest in tales of warlike

valour; she always revered Jeanne d'Arc as a saint. She now displayed

her military tendencies in such a way as to save her native town and

immortalise her name. Arming herself with a _hachette_, or small axe,

she placed herself at the head of a band of women, and led them to the

ramparts, where they occupied themselves loading the cannon, pouring

hot water, boiling oil, or molten lead on the heads of the besiegers,

supplying the archers with arrows, or performing any other service

their strength would allow.

The Burgundians at last planted their ladders, and commenced scaling

the ramparts; but the first man who planted the flag of Charles was

hurled from the battlements by Jeanne Fourquet, who snatched the

standard from his hands, and waved it over her head. This deed so

animated the defenders of Beauvais, that they gallantly repulsed every

assault. After a fierce contest of nine hours, the besieged were

reinforced by the garrison of Noyen, and on the two following days by

troops and provisions from Amiens, Genlis, and Paris.

Charles battered the walls with heavy guns for nearly a month, and

almost destroyed the town with fire-balls. Finding his troops still

held at bay, he ordered a general assault on the 10th July, at seven

in the morning. The attack was fierce, but the defence was resolute.

The women, still led by Jeanne, displayed the same courage as before.

Thrice the Burgundians scaled the walls, and planted their flag on the

battlements; thrice they were repulsed with terrible losses. After the

assault had lasted four hours, the Burgundians saw their efforts were

fruitless, and sounded a retreat. During the night of the 22nd they

broke up their camp, and marched away towards Normandy.

Jeanne Fourquet deposited the flag she had taken in one of the churches

of Beauvais--doubtless that of the Jacobins, where it was preserved for

many years. It may now be seen at the Hôtel de Ville. Louis XI. granted

to her the privilege of bearing this standard at the head of the French

army. Some years after this great event, Jeanne married Collin Pillon,

when, not only was she herself exempted from taxation, but the same

immunity was granted to her descendants.

It is neither by the name of Fourquet nor Pillon that the heroine is

famous. The weapon with which she was armed gave her a more illustrious

surname; and since that valiant deed, for which her countrymen must

ever remember her with gratitude, she has been known as Jeanne Hachette.

Her portrait may still be seen at Beauvais; and in commemoration of

her bravery, the anniversary of July 10th is celebrated by an annual

procession, in which the women march before the men.

Napoleon III., when President of the French Republic, inaugurated a

statue of Jeanne Hachette at Beauvais.

* * * * *

During the civil wars which agitated Castile towards the close of the

century, the fortress of Toro was, by a curious coincidence, twice

defended by female commanders, the wives of two brothers opposed to

one another in politics. In 1475 it was held for Isabel the Catholic

by Doña Aldonza de Castillo, wife of the Alcayde, Don Rodrigo de

Ulloa, governor of the fortress. After the retreat of Ferdinand,

husband of Isabel, she was compelled to surrender. In the following

year the fortress was defended against the troops of Ferdinand and

Isabel by Doña Maria Sarmiento, wife of Don Juan de Ulloa. All hopes

of assistance having been dispelled, she obtained honourable terms of

capitulation.

* * * * *

The same year, 1476, Isabel the Catholic having received intelligence

that the Portuguese meditated invading her dominions, resolved to

superintend in person the defence of the frontiers. Despite the

remonstrances of her council, she set out for Estramadura in the

summer of 1477, and, after capturing several fortresses, and placing

strong garrisons in Badajoz, Ciudad Rodrigo, and other frontier towns,

established her head-quarters at Seville.

Queen Isabel again displayed her wish to be a warrior during the

contest between Ferdinand and the Moors. In 1487 and 1489 she

encouraged the Spanish soldiers by her presence in the camp. In 1491

Ferdinand commenced the siege of Granada. Isabel arrived towards the

close of May. Attired in a magnificent suit of armour, and mounted on a

richly caparisoned horse, she rode through the ranks, greeted on all

sides with joyful acclamations.

Wishing to obtain a nearer view of the renowned red towers of the

Alhambra, the queen rode forward on the 18th June, escorted by the

entire Spanish cavalry, to the village of La Zubia, situated at a short

distance from Granada. But her curiosity was very near being the cause

of her capture. A large body of Moorish troops sallied out from Granada

and attacked the body-guard of the queen. Matters were growing serious,

when the Marquis de Cadix came to the rescue with twelve hundred

lances, and put the Moors to flight.

During the conflict Isabel did not display exactly the courage of a

heroine. Struck with abject terror, she remained on her knees all the

time, praying earnestly; and made a vow that if she escaped she would

erect a monastery on the spot.

* * * * *

Most of the great Sforza's immediate descendants were more or less

distinguished for military talents. Caterina, or Catherine, the natural

daughter of Galeas Sforza, was remarkable for valour, military skill,

and also for her personal beauty. She was the wife of Jerome Ricario,

Prince of Forli; and some time after their marriage he was assassinated

by Francis Del Orsa, who had revolted against him. Caterina and her

children fell into the hands of the assassin, but she soon escaped to

Rimini, which still remained faithful. She defended the town, in 1466,

with such determination that the besiegers, to frighten her into a

surrender, threatened to put her children to death.

Caterina was at last restored to sovereign power, and married John de'

Medici, a man of noble family, though not very distinguished for genius

or bravery. In 1500 she defended Forli against the talented Cæsar

Borgia; being compelled to surrender, she was imprisoned in the castle

of San Angelo, at Rome. Soon, however, she was restored to liberty; but

her dominions were never given back to her. She died shortly after her

release.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

VIII.

Maria d'Estrada, and other Spanish Women serving

under Cortez--Catalina de Erauso, the Monja Alferez

(Nun-Lieutenant)--Doña Maria Pacheco (Confederacy of the Holy

Junta)--Eleonora of Toledo, Grand-Duchess of Tuscany--TURKS IN

HUNGARY--Courage of a Jewess at Buda--Bravery of the Women of

Temesvar, Erlau, Valpon, Agria, and Szigeth in Hungary and of

Famagosta in Cyprus--Louise Labé--Mary of Hungary--Granu Weal--THE

REFORMATION--Kenan Simonz Hasselaar--Women of Alkmaar--Mary,

Queen of Scots--Magdalaine de Saint-Nectaire--Constance de

Cezelli--Christine de Lalaing, Princess d'Espinoy--Queen

Elizabeth--English and Scottish Border Heroines--Barbara of

Ernecourt (Thirty Years' War)--Christina of Sweden.

THE discovery of America opened up a new field of enterprise for those

brave, reckless, ne'er-do-weel soldiers of fortune by whom the Old

World was overrun. Adventurers sailed from various ports of Europe,

under the command of audacious leaders, such as Balboa and Pizarro,

whose daring spirit and enterprising disposition gave them authority

over their companions. Numbers of women, imbibing the spirit of the

times, accompanied those bands of adventurers--sometimes disguised in

male attire, but more frequently in the garments of their own sex.

When Cortez sailed from Cuba, in 1518, on that voyage which terminated

in the conquest of Mexico, he was followed by six hundred soldiers,

many of whom were accompanied by their wives. These Castilian dames,

preferring to endure the hardships of a campaign than be separated from

their husbands, and probably feeling curious to see for themselves

those marvels of the New World about which all Europe was talking, in

no way disgraced the name of Spaniard by any feminine timidity. In the

camp before Mexico, which Cortez was besieging, 1521, it was their

fortitude which kept up the spirit of the soldiers, who, repulsed in

several assaults on the city, and suffering from famine, had become

gloomy and despondent. Several examples have been preserved of the

bravery displayed by these Spanish wives. One of them would frequently

mount guard to relieve her tired husband; another, seeing the Spaniards

repulsed in an attack, hastily donned a soldier's _escaupil_, snatched

up a sword and lance, rallied the retreating Christians and led them

once more against the Mexicans.

Cortez had requested the women to remain behind, at Tlascala, but they

proudly answered him that "It was the duty of Castilian wives not to

abandon their husbands in danger, but to share it with them--and die

with them if necessary."

The name of one of these female warriors was Maria d'Estrada, who

fought by the side of her husband through every campaign, displaying

the same courage as her companions in arms.

Another Spanish-American heroine was Catalina de Erauso, the "Monja

Alferez," or Nun-Lieutenant. Her life was the most romantic that could

be imagined. She has written her own history in pure and classic

Spanish, displaying as much literary ability in its composition as,

in her warlike career, she had shown heroic valor, mixed with savage

cruelty.

She was born in 1592, daughter of a Spanish hidalgo of St. Sebastian,

Don Miguel de Erauso, an officer in the royal army, and, after the

fashion of those days, was destined for the Church. So, at the early

age of four, she was sent to the Dominican convent, the prioress of

which was her aunt. Here she remained till her fifteenth year; but

during all these years she acquired so inveterate a dislike for the

cloister that she contrived to make her escape from the convent,

shortly before the day on which she was to take the veil. She hid in a

chestnut grove for three days, cut her hair short, made her petticoats

into male attire, and then started on her travels.

She passed through various romantic adventures in Spain, acting in the

different capacities of page, clerk, and servant. Thus disguised, she

joined an expedition to South America, where she became a soldier. At

different times she assumed one name or another; but that under which

she was best known, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, was

Alonzo Dias. Under this alias she was the victor in several skirmishes.

So clear was her judgment that her opinion was frequently asked by the

generals at their councils of war.

During the intervals of military duty, Catalina gambled, drank, robbed,

assassinated, cursed and swore, and behaved altogether very like an

Alsatian bully. She chose for her associates the most desperate and

reprobate characters, and seemed to take a fiendish delight in outdoing

them. Sometimes she would pay attentions to a simple girl, and when the

wedding-day was fixed she would disappear.

One night, in a gambling-house in Chili, she quarrelled with, and

stabbed a gentleman of great importance in the city. The relatives

made the place so hot for Catalina, that she was compelled to make her

escape across the Andes, into another province. Her lawlessness once

brought her under the hands of the hangman; and a reprieve arrived

just as, with the noose round her neck, she was about to be launched

into eternity. She wandered over every part of Spanish America, taking

up, at random, the profession of soldier, sailor, or even lawyer.

The discovery of her sex was brought about by a curious accident. Her

violent deeds having again provoked the guardians of the law, she was

compelled to fly for refuge for sanctuary to a church at Guámango, in

Peru. The bishop, a pious man, tried to convert the young criminal,

animadverting on the wicked life the latter had been leading, and

exhorting her to repentance. The stubborn heart of Catalina, inured to

every kind of reproach and harsh language, was touched by the kindness

with which the bishop spoke. For a few moments she maintained a dogged

silence; then, falling on her knees and bursting into tears:--

"Father," she sobbed. "I am a woman!"

She then told the astounded prelate her extraordinary story. He pitied

the unhappy young woman, and by his influence she was pardoned and

permitted to return to Spain. She arrived at Cadiz in 1624, whither

her fame had preceded her. During her journey through Spain and Italy

the streets were crowded by wondering spectators. Pope Urban VIII.

allowed her to retain her masculine costume for the rest of her days.

It is not known in what year she died; according to an old manuscript

preserved in a convent at Vera Cruz, she devoted her latter years to

trade, and assumed the name of Antonio de Erauso. Her portrait was

taken at Seville by Pacheco, a Spanish painter.

* * * * *

During the early years of the Emperor Charles V.'s reign, the nobles of

Castile formed a confederacy called the Holy Junta, and took up arms

to recover their traditional rights and privileges. John de Padilla,

a young noble, was at the head of this insurrection; but it was his

wife, Doña Maria Pacheco, who really conducted the confederacy. She

was highly gifted and extremely ambitious, though, like most ambitious

people, not at all scrupulous as to the means employed, so long as the

event turned out according to her wishes.

The Junta soon began to languish for want of money, so Doña Maria

persuaded the people to strip the cathedral at Toledo of its plate and

jewellery. In 1521 Padilla was captured, and sentenced to death. He

wrote to his wife, telling her not to grieve, but rather to consider

his death as his deliverance from a weary life. But his capture proved

fatal to the confederacy. Toledo, the head-quarters of the rebels,

was soon invested by the king's troops. Doña Maria used every means

to secure her position. She even wrote to the French general on the

Spanish frontier, inviting him to invade Navarre. By keeping the death

of Padilla fresh in the minds of the citizens, she incited them to make

a resolute defence. Sorties attended with varied success were made,

sometimes daily, from the garrison.

At last the canons of the cathedral, whom she had offended, worked

on the minds of the ignorant, credulous multitude, telling them that

Maria's influence over them was due entirely to witchcraft. The loss of

three hundred men in a desperate sortie so humbled the citizens that

they drove Maria into the Alcazar, and opened the gates to Charles's

troops.

Maria defended herself four months longer in the citadel. But at last,

reduced to the utmost extremities, she fled into Portugal, where many

of her relatives and friends resided, and there passed the remainder of

her days in great poverty.

* * * * *

Eleonora of Toledo, the first Grand-Duchess of Tuscany, was a woman

possessing great courage and a powerful, ambitious intellect. In 1543

she married Cosmo de'Medici, Duke of Florence. Eleonora took an active

part in the wars between her husband and his hereditary enemies, the

Strozzi; and in the bloody and terrible battles fought during the

struggle, she never left him. Her courage aided greatly to turn the

fortune of war. One day, while riding out with an escort of fifteen

horsemen, she encountered Philip Strozzi, commander of her husband's

enemies, reconnoitring the Florentine camp. Although he had a guard of

forty-five men, Eleonora, with her accustomed bravery, attacked him,

slew nearly all his men, and took himself prisoner. Philip, knowing

that he could not expect quarter--which had never been granted to

prisoners on either side during the war--committed suicide sooner than

perish ignominiously on the scaffold. Eleonora was so shocked that she

prevailed on her husband to spare the lives of his prisoners henceforth.

Eleonora also took a leading part in the war between Charles V. and

Francis I. Together with her husband she was actively engaged in the

storming of Sienna. She urged Cosmo to have himself crowned king; but

he was unable to carry out her project. Pope Pius V. at length changed

his title from Duke of Florence to Grand-Duke of Tuscany.

Eleonora's ambition being now satisfied, she gave up the rest of her

life to the encouragement of the fine arts, national education, and

founding charitable institutions. The date of her death is unknown.

* * * * *

Under Solyman the Magnificent, the Turks conquered the greater part of

Hungary; whose king, Louis II., was routed and slain in the disastrous

battle of Mohacz, 1526. And during the next hundred and fifty years

Hungary was the scene of endless strife between the Crescent and the

Cross. For a long time victory inclined to the side of the infidels.

Women, as usual, took a prominent share in the terrible scenes of

bloodshed and carnage. Wherever there was a town to be defended, women

immediately took up arms and aided the men to keep off the common enemy.

This female courage showed itself on both sides during these dreary

wars. In 1529, during the absence of Solyman, the Christians laid siege

to Buda, the capital of Hungary. One day, having overpowered the Turks,

they were rushing into the town, when a Jewess tearing a strip of rag

from her gown, lighted it, and fired off an immense cannon which the

Ottomans in their flight had overlooked. It caused such havoc amongst

the Hungarians that they were paralyzed with terror--thus gaining time

for the Janizaries to rally; and the result was the final repulse of

the Christians.

Tradition declares that Solyman, when he heard of this courageous act,

ordered the Jewess's gown to be girt with a circle of pure silver.

In 1552 Solyman besieged Temesvar, which was defended by the brave

Lasonczy. The wife of the latter led an army to the relief of her

husband, and attacked the Turkish camp, but she was soon defeated.

The revolt of the German garrison soon after compelled Lasonczy to

surrender.

The town of Erlau, besieged at the same time, withstood gallantly

the repeated assaults of a numerous army. Its fortifications were of

the poorest description, and the garrison small, but the valour, the

patriotism of the townspeople supplied every deficiency. Old men and

young girls, sword and spear in hand, aided in the defence. One woman

was fighting beside her husband when he fell, pierced by a Turkish

bullet. Her mother, who was also assisting to defend the wall, now

wished to remove the body, and suggested that they should devote

themselves to seeing it honourably interred. But the young widow

refused to leave the scene of action.

"May God," she cried, "never suffer the earth to cover my husband's

corpse, till his death has been amply avenged. This is the hour of

battle, not a time for funeral and for tears."

She seized the shield and sword of her dead husband, and rushing upon

the Turks, refused to leave the breach, till by the slaughter of three

infidels she had satisfied her thirst for revenge. Then she raised the

corpse of her lord, and bore it to the principal church in the town,

where she paid to it the last honours with great splendour.

When the Turks were besieging Alba, several women, whose husbands had

been slain, volunteered to defend the walls. The Turks were amazed at

the cool bravery with which these female warriors defended the various

posts assigned to them. For several hours they held a bastion, the

possession of which was deemed highly important by both Turks and

Christians. Every Turk who endeavoured to scale the bastion had his

head struck with a scythe.

For more than three months, thanks to the valour of the women, the town

of Valpon set the Mussulman power at defiance, backed though the latter

was by all the appliances of war.

The same resistance met them at Agria, not far from Valpon, where the

wives and daughters of the citizens carried oil, pitch, boiling water,

molten lead, etc., to pour on the heads of the Turks. One woman was

struck down by a cannon ball just as she was about to hurl a big stone

on the skulls of the infidels. Her daughter, seeing her fall, was

filled with the thirst for revenge. Rushing to the breach, she fought

with the desperate bravery of a lioness deprived of her cubs, slaying

and wounding on all sides. At last she was herself slain. One of the

citizens fighting on the ramparts observed his son-in-law struck dead

by a musket-ball. Turning to his wife, he asked her to carry away the

corpse and render to it the last offices.

"There is another duty more pressing," replied she. "That of defending

our religion and our country comes before love. To them I will give the

last drop of my blood."

During the siege of Szigeth, in 1566, which cost the Turks twenty

thousand men, orders were given one day for a general assault. A

Hungarian officer, wishing to save his wife from falling into the hands

of the infidels, took the cruel resolution of putting her to death. But

his young wife, less attached to her life than to her husband, declared

that she would accompany him to battle, there to receive death or

glory. Dressing herself in a suit of his clothes, she armed herself and

went with him to the field. No one displayed greater courage than she

did. Without once quitting her husband, she slew every Turk who came

within reach of her sword. She continued to fight with the same ardour

till the close of the engagement, and wherever she was seen a Turkish

corpse remained to mark her presence. At last her husband was slain,

and she herself, severely wounded by the Turkish arrows, lay on her

husband's breast. After receiving the last sacrament, she expired in

great agony.

* * * * *

During the siege of Famagosta, in Cyprus, by Mustapha Pacha, in 1571,

the noblest Cypriote dames, undismayed by the iron fire of the Turkish

batteries, aided to defend the city. Not only did they carry round

food and ammunition to the soldiers, but, during the assault, they

rolled huge stones on the heads of the Turks assembled in the ditch

below or climbing to the attack.

* * * * *

In the annals of French poetry few names stand higher than that of

Louise Labé, _La Belle Cordière_. She was born at Lyons in 1526 or

1527. Nature was lavish in her gifts; to personal beauty and an

exquisite voice, were added talents for literature and music. Her

education included music, languages, riding, and military exercises.

The last named acquirement excited in the mind of Louise a wish to

enter the army. At the age of sixteen she served, under the name of

Captain Loys, in the campaign of 1542, which ended in the siege of

Perpignan. Some say she followed her father, others her lover to the

field; but whatever was the cause of her presence in camp, she earned

great praises for her courage. But the French were obliged to raise the

siege; and Louise Labé, after sharing in the fêtes and tournaments held

by the Dauphin, gave up the military profession, henceforth devoting

her time to music and poetry.

She married Ennemond Perrin, a wealthy rope-maker, and thus acquired

the opportunity to follow her literary inclinations. She possessed a

valuable library of books in Greek, Latin, Spanish, and Italian, which

languages she knew perfectly. Her spacious and tastefully laid-out

gardens became the resort of nobles, poets, savants, wits, artists,

musicians, and men of genius of every kind; and at these re-unions the

musical skill of _La Belle Cordière_ showed to advantage. She excited

at the same time the admiration of the poets and the envy of the

ladies. The street in Lyons where she lived was christened after her.

She died in 1566, one year after her husband, who had left her sole

heir to his large property.

Her chief works were an "Epistle to Clemence de Bourges," the "Débat

de la Folie et de l'Amour," a drama in prose, three elegies, and

twenty-four sonnets. The first edition of her writings appeared in 1555.

* * * * *

Mary of Hungary, wife of the unfortunate Louis II., who was slain in

the battle of Mohacz, was celebrated throughout continental Europe for

her military prowess and her love of field-sports. From the latter

she acquired the soubriquet of Diana, while from her habit of mixing

with the soldiers she was styled (like the Empress Victoria) "Mother

of the Camp." She was the daughter of Philip I. of Spain, and handsome

even for a Spanish princess, majestic in her carriage, yet affable and

charming in her manners. Her brother, the Emperor Charles V., had so

high an opinion of her political abilities that he entrusted to her

charge the government of the Netherlands; and her court soon became

famous for the magnificence of its tournaments and spectacles.

Mary commanded during several expeditions against the troops of France;

and during the various battles and skirmishes which ensued, she would

frequently march on foot, or ride with the soldiers to encourage them

by her presence. In 1553, when Charles V. was besieging Metz, which was

defended by the Duke of Guise, Mary caused a diversion, by invading

Picardy, to prevent Henry II. from succouring the besieged. By this

raid she caused terrible havoc, destroying seven or eight hundred

villages, and burning Folembrai, a favourite palace of Francis I.

Henry II., in retaliation, burned some of the most populous towns in

the Netherlands, together with the royal palace of Bains, which was one

of the architectural wonders of the age. Mary vowed that France should

repent this deed. She kept her word; and more than once her conduct

savoured of gross cruelty. Henry directed his soldiers to try their

utmost to make Mary a prisoner; for, said he, he would like to try

whether she would retain, in captivity, her haughty, courageous spirit.

Mary resigned the government of the Netherlands in 1555, and returned

to Spain, where she died three years afterwards.

Graine-ni-Mhaile, Granu Weal, or Grace O'Malley, a famous Irish heroine

who lived during the latter half of the sixteenth century, was daughter

of Owen O'Malley, a noted chief who commanded a small navy. He used

to make voyages from port to port, partly for commerce, but more

especially for piracy. During childhood, Grace frequently accompanied

her father on his expeditions. After his death, her brother being a

minor, she took command of the galleys, and made several voyages. Her

chief rendezvous was at Clare island, off the coast of Mayo, where she

kept her larger vessels moored. Here, too, she had a fortress. Her

smaller ships she kept at Carrigahooly Castle, which was her favourite

residence, and chief stronghold.

Her piracies at length became so frequent and so daring that a reward

of five hundred pounds was offered by the English Government for her

apprehension. Troops were sent from Galway to Carrigahooly; but after

a siege of more than a fortnight, they were compelled to retire. The

people of Connaught relate numerous adventures and extraordinary

actions performed on the high seas by Granu Weal.

Her first husband was O'Flaherty, chief of West Connaught. After his

death she married Sir Richard Burke, and became reconciled to the

English. After her second marriage, she frequently assisted the

English with her troops in Connaught; for which Queen Elizabeth wrote

her an autograph letter, thanking her and inviting her on a visit to

the court, at London. Graine-ni-Mhaile, with several galleys, sailed

to London in 1575. She was received with great distinction by the

queen, who offered to make her visitor a countess; but Grace declined

this honour, and answered with much spirit, that both of them being

princesses, they were equal in rank, and could not therefore confer

titles or honours upon each other. But, she said, her majesty might

confer any rank she pleased on young Burke (son of Grace), who was

born on board ship during the voyage to England; named from this

circumstance, Tioboid-na-Lung, signifying Theobald of the Ships. Queen

Elizabeth, it is said, knighted him under the title of Sir Theobald

Burke; he was afterwards created Viscount of Mayo by Charles I.

On her voyage home Granu Weal landed at Howth for provisions. She was

greatly surprised to find the gates of the castle closed, because

the family were at dinner. Indignant at this dereliction from Irish

hospitality, Granu seized a little boy whom she found playing with

an attendant near the sea-shore. Finding that he was the infant heir

of Howth, she brought him to Connaught: refusing to restore him till

Lord Howth had entered into an agreement that his gates should never

again be closed during dinner. The abduction of the infant heir of St.

Lawrence forms the subject of a painting at Howth Castle.

Grace O'Malley was buried in a monastery which she had herself endowed,

on Clare island. There are yet some remains of her monument to be

seen there. Her name has always been familiar in the mouths of Irish

peasants; and she is still sung as a heroine in various ballads,

English and Irish.

* * * * *

During the fiercely contested wars brought about by the efforts of

the Roman Catholic princes to stop the Reformation, women, as usual,

took their share of the dangers and privations endured by all for the

sake of their faith. They displayed as much courage and fortitude as

the men, whether, as the wives and daughters of citizens they aided to

defend their homes, or whether as princesses they boldly headed their

troops in defence of their religion and their dominions.

Kenan Simonsz Hasselaar was heroine of the famous siege of Haarlem.

The revolting cruelty of Spain in her first efforts to stamp out the

rebellion in the Netherlands, only stimulated the Dutch to bolder

and more desperate efforts for freedom. Haarlem was one of the most

important cities; and the Spaniards, resolved to capture it at any

price, despatched twelve thousand men, commanded by Frederic of Toledo,

to besiege the city in December, 1572. On the 12th, during a severe

frost, the place was invested. Bravely did the inhabitants, both

soldiers and citizens, resist the Spaniards. Women cheerfully shared in

all the toils and dangers, the manifold privations of the defence.

Kenan Simonsz Hasselaar, a widow about fifty years old, of a noble

family, raised a troop of three hundred women for the defence of the

walls. At the head of her corps she was constantly seen pressing

forward to attack the Spaniards, or aiding in the erection of new

defences. Even the besiegers, who were repulsed with great slaughter in

several assaults, could not help admiring the courage of this Amazon

band.

Holland still holds the name of Kenan Hasselaar very dear. One of the

ships launched from the government dock-yards every year receives her

name. A huge painting suspended in the hall of the Haarlem Stadthuis

transmits her glorious deeds to posterity; and her portrait hangs in

the Treasure Chamber of the Municipality, amongst the commanders of St.

John, the relics of the Spanish wars, the town insignia, and the other

precious nick-nacks and antiquities collected together, accumulated by

generations of thrifty and patriotic burghers.

The women of Alkmaar (which was besieged by Don Frederic immediately

after the fall of Haarlem) displayed the same courage. During the

general assault made by the Spaniards on the 18th September, 1573,

the women aided the soldiers by hurling down fragments of stones and

red-hot iron, and pouring boiling oil, molten pitch, rosin, and lead on

the besiegers, of whom a terrible carnage was made.

* * * * *

Mary Queen of Scots, the unfortunate rival of Elizabeth, was a

high-spirited, courageous woman, possessing great talents for ruling;

and had she lived before the Reformation, she might possibly have

been more successful than her ancestors, most of whom came to an

untimely end. But the bitter hostility of John Knox was too powerful

for the queen, though for some years she contrived to keep her throne.

In 1565, shortly before her ill-starred marriage with Darnley, the

Congregational citizens of Edinburgh, stirred up to rebellion by the

secret machinations of the queen's "base brother, Moray," turned out in

hostile array, and encamped at St. Leonard's Crags. Mary, undismayed by

the fierce looks and big words of these staunch Protestants, rode to

meet them at the head of a mere handful of troops. The rebel leaders

fled, and the rest, under promise of pardon, returned to their homes.

In July of the same year the queen wedded Darnley. This was the

signal for an open insurrection on the part of the Scottish nobles.

Again Queen Mary showed herself a worthy descendant of the Stuarts.

"She acted in this emergency," remarks Miss Strickland, "with energy

and spirit indicative of the confidence inspired by her popularity,

and showed herself no whit behind the most distinguished of her

predecessors in courage and ability." At the head of five thousand men

she left Edinburgh, August 26th, together with her husband, the lords

of the council, and her ladies-in-waiting. She was attired in a scarlet

and gold-embroidered riding-habit, which, it was said, covered a light

suit of armour, while her hood and veil were understood to conceal a

steel casque. Pistols hung at her saddle-bow. Darnley, with a vanity

inherent in his nature, wore a gorgeous suit of gilded armour.

On the 29th the queen reached Glasgow; and next day the rebels

retreated from Paisley towards Hamilton. The queen set out in pursuit.

The confederate lords, disappointed in their expectations of a general

Protestant rising, were obliged to retreat from place to place before

the queen and her army. The bravery and endurance of Mary gained the

love and respect of many amongst her subjects.

Mary returned to Edinburgh for a short time; and on the 8th of October

she marched again, this time at the head of eighteen thousand men, to

renew the war. The rebel lords, terrified at the approach of their

royal mistress, fled across the English border, and took refuge in

Carlisle.

Queen Mary had no further opportunity of displaying her courage till

after the murder of Darnley, in 1567, when the base conduct of Bothwell

and the consequent insurrection of nearly all the Scottish nobles

forced her once more to take the field in person. When the opposing

armies met, June 14th, at Carberry Hill, she rode with her followers

to the field, though neither she nor they had broken their fast that

morning.

After this followed the captivity of Mary in Loch-Leven Castle. In 1568

she made her escape, and assisted by a few friends, made a last effort

to recover her throne. The Earl of Murray (regent during the minority

of king James), with a large army intercepted the queen's march at

Langside, two miles from Glasgow.

It is not quite clear whether Mary took an active part in the battle

of Langside, which for ever crushed her hopes. Brantôme declares "the

Queen-mother of France assured him that Mary mounted her good hackney

and rode into the battle like another Zenobia, to encourage her troops

to advance, and would fain have led them to the charge in person. But

she found them all quarrelling among themselves, and insensible to her

eloquence, and more inclined to exchange blows with each other than to

attack the rebel host."

According to the popular tradition, however, it was beneath the

spreading boughs of a hawthorn, which is still known as "the Queen's

thorn," halfway up the green hill behind Castlemilk, that the

unfortunate sovereign stood and watched the battle, surrounded by her

ladies and a few devoted adherents. Legend also points out another

"Queen's thorn" on the hill behind the ruins of Cathcart Castle.

According to a local history, Lord Livingstone, at the head of "the

bairns of Falkirk," rode with the queen to the battle-field, and

afterwards aided her to escape; and this would seem to corroborate what

Brantôme has said.

* * * * *

Amongst those heroines who distinguished themselves during the

religious wars in France, was Magdalaine de Saint-Nectaire,--also

called Se' nectaire, or Sennetaire. She was a staunch Protestant, and

after the death of her husband, Gui di Saint Exuperi, she retired to

her château at Miremont, in Limousin, armed sixty of her retainers,

and commenced a series of raids against the Roman Catholics. In

1575, during the reign of the weak and frivolous Henry III., Montal,

Lieutenant du Roi, in Limousin, whose soldiers had often been defeated

by Magdalaine, resolved to besiege the heroine in her château. With

fifteen hundred foot and two hundred horse he arrived before the gates.

Magdalaine made a sally, and cut to pieces a detachment of fifty men;

but on her return she found that the château had been captured. She

gallopped to Turene, a neighbouring town, to gather reinforcements,

returning thence with four companies of mounted arquebusiers. Montal

awaited her in a defile of the mountains; but he was vanquished and

mortally wounded. His soldiers, discouraged by the fall of their

leader, withdrew the same evening to a neighbouring castle, where

Montal died four days later.

The year of this heroine's death is not recorded.

* * * * *

Another heroine of these wars was Constance de Cezelli, a loyal

supporter of Henry IV. When that monarch, after his accession to the

throne, was struggling for supremacy with the League, the troops of

the latter, in 1590, besieged the town of Leucates, in Languedoc.

It was defended by the Huguenots, under the command of M. de Barri,

governor of the place. The latter was captured by means of a pretended

conference; but he contrived to write to his wife, Constance de

Cezelli, bidding her to take the command and defend the town so long as

there was any hope of success. Constance, according to his commands,

maintained order in Leucates, and encouraged the soldiers by frequently

appearing on the walls with a pike in her hand. When the Leaguers

discovered who it was that commanded the garrison they thought to

frighten her into a surrender by threatening to put her husband to

death if she did not give up the town. She possessed much private

property, which she offered as ransom for her husband; but she declared

that she could never purchase his life by an act of treason.

M. de Barri was put to the torture, for the besiegers thought that

he would command his wife to open the gates. But he braved all their

menaces, and when they were compelled, soon after, to raise the siege

the governor of Leucates was strangled.

Although Constance was overwhelmed with grief and horror, she would not

allow the soldiers to avenge the death of M. de Barri on some Roman

Catholic prisoners.

Henry IV. sent Constance de Cezelli a commission appointing her

governor of Leucates, with a reversion in favour of her son. She held

this office for twenty-seven years, and proved herself thoroughly

competent for the duties of governor.

* * * * *

On the 26th July, 1581, the United Netherlands declared their

independence, and invited the Duke of Anjou to rule over them. But,

although the prince entered the country with five thousand horse and

twelve thousand foot, the military genius of Alexander Farnese, the

Spanish governor, together with the vacillating conduct of the Dutch

themselves, frustrated all his efforts, and he was compelled to disband

his forces and leave the country. The greater number of his soldiers

joined the standard of the Prince d'Espinoy, governor of Tournai.

Alexander Farnese laid siege, on the 1st of October, to the important

city of Tournai. In the absence of the Prince d'Espinoy, the Princess,

Christine de Lalaing, took the command, and conducted the defence in

a manner worthy of her distinguished relatives Count Horn and Admiral

de Montmorency. The Prince of Parma summoned Tournai to surrender,

but Christine gave him a defiant refusal, and set so courageous

an example to the soldiers that they made a resolute defence. The

princess superintended all the defences in person, and directed all the

officers. She appeared daily on the walls; and in one of the assaults

was wounded in the arm, though, despite this, she refused to retire

till the Spaniards had been repulsed.

After a siege of two months' duration, it became impossible to hold the

place any longer. The walls were gradually undermined from without,

and the fidelity of the garrison was tampered with by Father Géry, a

Dominican friar. The Protestants in the city, not knowing what moment

an insurrection would break out amongst the Catholic inhabitants,

insisted upon surrendering the place. Christine finding herself

deserted by both Protestants and Catholics, obtained honourable terms,

and left the city with all the honours of war, carrying all her

personal property with her. Farnese, moreover, accepted one hundred

thousand crowns in place of sacking the city.

As the princess passed through the gates she was received with an

outburst of applause from the Spanish army, with whom she had acquired

a high reputation through her courage. Parma entered the city on

November 30th.

In September, 1863, a statue was raised to Christine de Lalaing in the

city, which, nearly three centuries before, she had so nobly defended.

* * * * *

In 1588 a panic flew from one end of England to the other on the

threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada. As it was supposed that

the invaders would attempt to sail up the Thames, several thousand

volunteers were assembled at Tilbury, under command of the Earl of

Leicester. "Vnto the sayd army," says Richard Hackluyt, "came in proper

person, the Queen's most roiall Maiestie, representing Tomyris, that

Scythian princesse, or rather diuine Pallas her selfe."

On the 8th of August, Queen Elizabeth, mounted on a white charger, a

marshal's _bâton_ grasped in her hand, rode through the camp, where

she was received with enthusiastic acclamations by both volunteers

and regulars drawn up on a hill near Tilbury church. Forbidding any

of her retinue to follow her, she was attended only by the Earls of

Ormonde and Leicester, the latter bearing before her the Sword of

State. She was also followed by a page, who had the honour of carrying

her "white-plumed regal helmet." The queen's costume was a mixture of

the military uniform and the fashionable ladies' attire of the period.

Beneath a corslet of polished steel descended "a farthingale of such

monstrous amplitude, that," observes Miss Strickland, "it is wonderful

how her high-mettled war-horse submitted to carry a lady encumbered

with a gabardine of so strange a fashion."

Riding bare-headed through the ranks, she addressed the warriors in an

oration well calculated to inspire them with enthusiasm. It concluded

amidst vociferous and long continued cheering.

After the dispersion of the Invincible Armada, Elizabeth celebrated a

triumph, in imitation of the ancient Romans. She rode in a triumphal

chariot from her palace to St. Paul's cathedral, where the "enseignes

and colours of ye vanquished Spaniards," were displayed to the

delighted gaze of the citizens.

* * * * *

During the Border Wars between England and Scotland women had frequent

opportunities of local distinction. Holinshed, speaking of a skirmish

which took place at Naworth, in 1570, between Lord Hursden and Leonard

Dacres, says the latter had in his army "many desperate women, who

there gave the adventure of their lives, and fought right stoutly."

* * * * *

The Duchy of Lorraine, or Lothringen, was, for many centuries, a

subject of contention between France and Germany. It was for a

long time a fief of the German empire; but from the middle of the

sixteenth century, the royal family of France became connected with

its rulers, and assumed thenceforth a right to interfere in its

internal arrangements. During the Thirty Years' War the French drove

Duke Charles from his throne, on account of his close connection with

Austria.

It was during this war that Madame St. Balmont, who has been styled a

second Joan of Arc, performed the gallant deeds for which she became

so famous. Barbara of Ernecourt, was born in 1609, at the Castle of

Neuville, situated between Verdun and Bar. She belonged to a good

family in Lorraine, and from her earliest childhood she trained herself

in military exercises and the use of arms. Her chief delight was

hunting, and every kind of field sport, which the Abbé Arnould remarks,

"is a kind of war." One day when she was engaging in her favourite

pastime, she met with the Count de St. Belmont, and, being mutually

charmed, they married shortly after.

Barbara was scarcely more than a girl when she married, and at this

time her face was excessively pretty, though it was afterwards spoiled

by the small pox--when, so far from being made unhappy by the loss of

her beauty, "she was as pleased," says the Abbé Arnould, "to be marked

with it as other women are afflicted on a similar occasion, and said

that it would enable her to look more like a man." Her figure, however,

was small and clumsily made; but she was robust, and able to bear a

considerable amount of fatigue without being overcome by it.

When the French invaded Lorraine, the Count de St. Belmont, who had

always occupied a high place in the estimation of the duke, now

actively employed himself resisting the invaders, while Barbara

remained as custodian of his castle and estates. Unfortunately, the

duke's high opinion of M. de St. Belmont's military talents led the

latter into a serious dilemma; for, being given the command of a

fortress, he felt himself bound in honour to defend it for several

days against the French. In those days there was, it would seem, a

rigid code of the military law--doubtless first introduced through

humane feelings--by which officers in charge of strongholds refusing

to surrender, after all hope of success was gone, were to be punished

in the most degrading manner. When this feeble stronghold was taken,

the French leaders seriously debated the expediency of hanging their

antagonist.

Meanwhile the countess, having been contemptuously treated by a cavalry

officer who had taken up his abode on one of her husband's estates,

despatched a cartel, signed "Le Chevalier de St. Belmont," purporting

to be written by her husband's brother. They crossed swords, and

Barbara almost immediately disarmed her opponent; then, picking up his

sword and handing it to him with a gracious smile, she said:--

"You thought, sir, I make no doubt, that you were fighting with Le

Chevalier de St. Belmont; it is, however Madame de St. Belmont of that

name who returns you your sword, and begs you in future to pay more

regard to the requests of ladies."

The officer, not caring to show his face in the vicinity, disappeared

immediately and was never heard of again.

Barbara's reputation was considerably raised by this duel; several

gentlemen in the neighbourhood took refuge in the village and put

themselves under her orders. At their head she made frequent raids

into those parts of the country occupied by the French. She was always

victorious, and almost invariably brought home some trophies in arms

or baggage, for, in addition to courage, she possessed great prudence

and foresight.

The Peace of Westphalia, in 1648, put an end to the Thirty Years' War,

and settled, for a time, the affairs of Lorraine. Barbara laid down

the sword and took up the pen, which she wielded quite as skilfully.

Her first work, "Les Jumeaux Martyrs," appeared in 1651; other works

of equal merit followed. After the death of her husband she gave

herself up entirely to religion, to which she had always been devotedly

attached, and retired into a convent. She died before taking the veil,

May 22nd, 1660, at the age of fifty-one.

Although there was none of that unfeminine coarseness which so often

attaches to women who pass the greater part of their lives in camps,

Barbara was always more at her ease in male society than in that of

her own sex, in which she felt embarrassed, awkward. While her courage

rendered her famous throughout France and Germany, her charity and the

zeal which she displayed in the service of the poor, rendered Madame de

St. Belmont respected and beloved by persons of every rank who dwelt in

the neighbourhood.

* * * * *

Christina of Sweden, daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, the great

Protestant hero of the Thirty Years' War, inherited her father's native

love for battles, soldiers, even the smell of powder--all, in fact,

that pertains to a warrior's life. When she was about two years old,

her father took her to Calmar. The governor did not know whether to

give the customary salute, afraid lest the child might be frightened

by the noise of the cannon. But Gustavus, whom he consulted, replied,

after a moment's hesitation:--

"Fire! The girl is the daughter of a soldier, and should be accustomed

to it early."

The salute was therefore given. Christina clapped her hands in delight.

"More! More!" she cried.

Pleased to see her evident predilection for the taste of gunpowder,

Gustavus Adolphus took his daughter, soon after, to see a grand review.

She displayed even greater delight than before, and Gustavus said, with

a smile:--

"Very well; you shall go, I am resolved, where you shall have enough of

this."

However, the early death of Gustavus Adolphus hindered him from ever

fulfilling this promise; and Christina, in her memoirs, regrets that

she was not permitted to learn the art of war under so illustrious a

master.

In 1647, at the age of twenty-nine, Christina resigned the crown of

Sweden. Passing through Denmark and Germany, she proceeded to Belgium;

and from Innspruck she went to Rome, which she entered in state,

attired in the costume of an Amazon, and mounted on a war-horse.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

IX.

THE AMAZONS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

DOWN from the lofty Andes rolls the majestic Amazon, the largest river

in the world. From its sources to the Atlantic the length is upwards of

four thousand miles. The banks are clothed with immense impenetrable

forests of pine, cedar, red-wood, holly, and cinnamon, affording a

haunt to savage jaguars, bears, leopards, tigers, wild boars, and a

great variety of venemous serpents; and abounding, too, in birds of the

most beautiful plumage, and apes of the most fantastic appearance. The

waters swarm with alligators, turtles, and almost every description of

fish. The shores and islands were formerly peopled by numerous tribes

of Indians, who have either become extinct or retired further up the

mountains.

This majestic river was first explored in 1540-41, by Francisco

Orellana, a Spanish adventurer. Gonzalo Pizarro, brother of the Marquis

of Pizarro, started with Orellana from Zumaque, where they met by

accident. Together they descended the river Coca in search of the

wondrous El Dorado, which, they had been told, was situated on the

banks of a great river into which the Coca flowed. During the voyage

they met with innumerable difficulties, and suffered great hardships,

especially from the want of provisions. Several of their followers

fell ill; and at last Pizarro constructed a brigantine, and embarked

his invalids on board, with two hundred thousand livres in gold. He

gave Orellana the command, and remained behind with the rest of the

adventurers; desiring Orellana, if successful, to return with supplies.

The latter, having entered at last a broad river, whose shores were so

distant from each other that the waters seemed like those of an inland

sea, was certain he had almost reached El Dorado. On the last day of

December, 1540, he resolved not to turn back; so, letting himself go

with the current, he abandoned his comrades under Pizarro to their fate.

At the mouth of the Nayho, Orellana was cautioned by an old Indian

chief to beware of the warlike women. At the River Canuriz, between the

mouth of the Xingu and the Rio Negro, he encountered a hostile tribe

of Indians who opposed his landing. Blows were exchanged; several fell

on each side. Amongst the slain were several women, who had fought

quite as bravely as the men. Orellana was, of course, the victor, and

lived to carry home to Europe an account (improved and embellished) of

a nation of Amazons who lived in South America, and made war on the

Indians.

Thenceforth a legend existed among the European adventurers that

a nation of female warriors dwelt somewhere on the South American

continent. The river, hitherto called the Marañon, from its first

discoverer, was re-christened as the Amazons' river; and a large tract

of country, with indefinable limits, was set down in the maps under the

somewhat vague denomination of Amazonia.

Whether the natives first told the Europeans, or whether the latter,

with a view to increase the wonders of the New World, invented the

story and told it to the natives, none can tell; but even before the

voyage of Orellana, a tradition existed amongst both natives and

colonists that a nation of armed women dwelt somewhere in America.

Christopher Columbus was told that the small island of Mandanino, or

Matinino (Montserrat), was inhabited solely by female warriors.

Since the days of Orellana, there have been found plenty of travellers

to confirm the story and add their testimony to its truth. Hernando de

Ribeira, a follower of Cabega de Vega, the Conquistador of Paraguay,

asserted in 1545 that he had been told of a nation of Amazons who lived

on the western shore of a large lake poetically termed "The Mansion of

the Sun," because that orb sinks into its waters every evening. Father

d'Acugna, in his "Discovery of the River Amazon," declares that the

various tribes of Indians (amongst others, the Toupinambous) dwelling

around the Amazon, assured him again and again that a republic of

female warriors did exist in that region; several chiefs said they

themselves had been in the country of the Amazons on a visit. If, says

d'Acugna, the tradition is not true, it is certainly the greatest of

all the fables invented about the New World. The Indians all believed

that the Amazons possessed vast treasures, sufficient to enrich many

kingdoms; but no one dared to attack so warlike a nation, to whom

liberty was dearer than all the riches in the world, and who knew how

to send their poisoned shafts straight to the heart. D'Acugna fixes the

residence of the Amazons on the banks of the Canuriz, on lofty, almost

inaccessible mountains.

"When their neighbours visit them," he says, "at a time appointed by

themselves, they receive them with bows and arrows in their hands,

which they exercise as if about to engage with enemies. But knowing

the object of their visitors, they lay these weapons down, and welcome

as their guests the strangers, who remain with them a few days."

André Thevet, in his work "Les Singularités de la France Antarctique,"

Paris, 1558, makes the arrival of the Amazons' guests the subject of a

pictorial illustration.

In 1595, Sir Walter Raleigh, wishing to make a fortune in a hurry,

undertook an expedition to Guiana to seek for the golden city of Manoa.

Most probably he had read Thevet's work, an English translation of

which, by Bynneman, appeared in 1568; and he made the most careful

enquiries after the Amazons. But, like his predecessors, he was doomed

to disappointment.

"I made inqvirie," says he (in his book 'The Discourie of the Large,

Rich, and Bewtifvl Empire of Gviana') "amongst the most ancient and

best traueled of the _Orenoqveponi_, and I had knowledge of all the

riuers betweene _Orenoqve_ and _Amazones_, and was uery desirovs to

vnderstand the trvth of the warlike women, bicavce of some it is

beleeved, of others not; though I digresse from my pvrpose, yet I will

set doune what hath been deliuered to me for troth of those women, and

I spake with a _Casiqve_, or lord of the people, that told me he had

been in the riuer, and beyond it also, the nations of those women are

on the sovth side of the riuer in a prouince of _Topago_, and their

chiefest strength and retraicts are in the Islands scitvate on the

sovth side of the entrance, some sixty leagves within the movth of the

said riuer."

After entering into some details about the reception of their guests in

the month of April, when, he says, "this one moneth they feast, davnce,

and drinke," he gives an account of the treatment of children, which

bears a suspicious resemblance to the stories related of the ancient

Amazons. He further tells us the South American Amazons were "said to

be very crvell and bloodthirsty, especially to svch as offer to inuade

their territories."

In 1599 an abridged Latin translation of Raleigh's work appeared at

Nuremberg, at the cost of Levinus Hulsius, geographer and collector.

It was illustrated by five coloured plates; the third representing

the joyful reception of the Amazons' visitors, and their subsequent

amusements; the fourth showing the treatment bestowed on prisoners of

war, who are seen hung up by the heels to trees, where they serve as

targets for the skill of their captors, while their ultimate fate is

hinted by the figures of several Amazons preparing huge fires.

At the close of the seventeenth century, Father Cyprian Baraza, a

Jesuit missionary who went among the South American Indians, gave

an account of some Amazonian tribes who dwelt to the west of the

Paraquay, in 12° south latitude. M. de Condamine, who read a "Relation

abrégée d'un Voyage," etc., before the Académie des Sciences in 1745,

brought forward several testimonies to the existence of the Amazons,

whom he described as a society of independent women, who were visited

by the sterner sex during the month of April only. Amongst other

authorities he mentions Don Francisco Diego Portales, and Don Francisco

Torralva, two Spanish governors of Venezuela, who agreed in declaring

that a tribe of female warriors lived in the interior of Guiana.

Thirty years later he was supported by a Portuguese astronomer, Don

Ribeiro de Sampeio ("Diario da Viegem, no anno de 1774 et 1775") who,

however, spoke only by hearsay. Gili, the missionary, was told by

an Indian of the Quaqua tribe that the Aikeambenanos ("women living

alone") dwelt on the banks of the Cuchinero, which falls into the

Orinoco opposite the island of Taran, between Cayeara and Alta Gracia.

Count Pagan, in his "Relation de la Rivière des Amazones," after

testifying to the existence of the nation, observes, in his florid

style "Que l'Asie ne se vante plus de ses comptes véritables ou

fabuleuses des Amazones. L'Amérique ne lui céde point cet avantage....

Et que le fleuve de Thermodoon ne soit plus enflé de la gloire de ces

conquérantes les guerrières."

The Abbé Guyon, in his "Histoire des Amazons," Paris, 1740, expresses

great faith in the story of these South American dames; and suggests

that they were colonised by the African Amazons, who might, he

suggests, have passed from the Old to the New World by the now

submerged isle of Atlantis. But his testimony is of little value, as it

evidently rests almost entirely upon D'Acugna's report.

Even within the last twenty or thirty years, many Indian tribes have

expressed their belief in the existence of the Amazons. Those who dwell

on the Essequibo, the Rupunni, and the lower Corentyn, gravely assured

Sir Robert Schomburgh, in 1844, that separate tribes of women still

lived on the upper part of the Corentyn, in a country called Marawonne;

and the narrators went so much into detail that Sir Robert and his

companions were almost inclined to believe them. The natives further

told them that when they had journeyed some distance above the great

cataracts of the Corentyn, at a point where two gigantic rocks (named

by the Indians Pioomoco and Surama) rose from either shore, they would

be in the country of the Woruisamocos, or Amazons.

Sir Robert, while travelling over the vast savannahs, frequently came

upon heaps of broken pottery, which the Macusion Indians said were

relics of the Woruisamocos, who had formerly dwelt there. The Caribs

were especially persistent in declaring that an Amazonian republic

still existed in the centre of Guiana "in those districts which no

European had ever visited."

The explorers of the river Amazon were formerly stopped by the great

cataracts on the Rio Trombetas, and in many instances they were

murdered by ferocious Indians who inhabit the upper branches. Naturally

those parts of the river which remained unexplored were supposed to be

the land of the "bellicose dames." In 1842-44 M. Montravel, commander

of the French war-ship "La Boulonnaise," surveyed the Amazon from

the sea as high up as the Rio Negro, and heard the same tale in the

region of the Rio Trombetas. Thus, from the west as well as from the

north, Europeans heard of a nation of Amazons dwelling in the central

districts of Guiana.

Humboldt believed to a certain extent in the tradition. His idea

was that women, in various parts of South America, have now and

then wearied of the degrading condition in which they are held,

and occasionally united themselves into bands, as fugitive negroes

sometimes do, and that the necessity of preserving their independence

has made them warriors.

Southey, in his "History of Brazil," makes a very trite observation

concerning the female warriors of the New World. "Had we never," says

he, "heard of the Amazons of antiquity, I should, without hesitation,

believe in those of America. Their existence is not the less likely for

this reason, and yet it must be admitted that the probable truth is

made to appear suspicious by its resemblance to a known fable."

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

X.

Lady Offaley (Irish Rebellion, 1641)--Lady Arundell--Lady

Bankes--Countess of Derby (Civil Wars in England)--Helena Zrinyi,

Wife of Tekeli--Incident at the Coronation of William and

Mary--Mademoiselle de la Charce.

"THERE are three sorts of things in the world," says the Abbé Brotier,

"that know no kind of restraint, and are governed by passion and

brutality--family quarrels, religious disputes, and civil wars." The

truth of these words is undeniable, more especially as the last is

very frequently brought about by its forerunners. The war between

Charles I. and the Parliament was prosecuted on both sides with so much

bitterness, that, in certain instances, the conduct of the officers and

generals savoured more of private feud than public zeal.

The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was one of many unfortunate occurrences

which precipitated the revolution at home, for not only did the

Republican party take advantage of the King's difficulties to increase

its own power, but the Irish rebels envenomed the bitterness between

King and Commons by declaring that they were empowered, by Royal

Commission, to defend his Majesty's prerogatives against a Puritanical,

levelling Government.

The Irish rebels stormed many a castle belonging to English nobles or

gentry. Amongst others, they beleaguered, in April, 1642, the Castle of

Geashill, in King's County, the residence of Lettice Digby, Baroness

of Offaley. This lady, though upwards of sixty years old, and a widow,

retained all the fire and energy of youth. She closed the gates,

and made a most resolute defence, refusing to hear any proposal for

surrender, for the castle, being defended on all sides by bogs and

woods, was very difficult of access. She was at last relieved by the

approach of Viscount Lisle and Sir Charles Coote with one hundred and

twenty foot and three hundred horse. The castle having been provisioned

and supplied with ammunition, Lady Offaley chose to remain there for a

time; but being again menaced by the rebels, she was relieved by Sir

Richard Grenville, in October of the same year, when she retired to

her mansion at Coles Hill, in Warwickshire, where she died, December

the 1st, 1658.

* * * * *

On the 25th of August, 1642, King Charles raised his standard at

Nottingham. He was at once joined by thousands of Cavaliers; amongst

others, by the Earl of Arundell, one of his most staunch adherents.

The latter made himself so troublesome to the Parliament that they

determined to seize Wardour Castle, his mansion. In 1643, they sent

orders to Sir Edward Hungerford, commander-in-chief of their forces in

Wiltshire, to accomplish this design. He arrived before the castle on

the 2nd of May, and as Lord Arundell was absent, the Puritans expected

an easy conquest. But Lady Blanche, who had been left in charge, was

well supplied with provisions and ammunition: and although the garrison

consisted of barely twenty-five fighting men, she resolved to make a

brave defence.

Sir Edward Hungerford, on the arrival of Colonel Strode with

reinforcements, summoned the castle to surrender, pretending that it

contained men and arms, money, and plate which he was ordered, by a

warrant from Parliament, to seize. Lady Arundell declined to comply

with his demands. Sir Edward immediately ordered up his heavy guns,

and commenced a bombardment which lasted from Wednesday the 3rd to the

following Monday. The besiegers, moreover, ran two mines under the

walls, and so terrific was the explosion that the fortress was shaken

to its foundations.

During the siege, Sir Edward offered again and again to grant quarter

to the ladies and children if the castle would surrender; but Lady

Arundell and the other ladies rejected the proposal with disdain. The

latter, too, together with the women-servants, aided in the defence in

various ways; they loaded the muskets, and carried round refreshments

to their gallant defenders.

According as the garrison, exhausted by the continued struggle, relaxed

in its efforts, the Parliamentary soldiers redoubled their attacks.

They applied petards to the garden-door, they flung balls of wild-fire

through the dismantled windows, causing much damage to the apartments

in the castle, destroying valuable pictures, rich carvings, statuettes,

costly vases, chairs and couches, mirrors, and various works of almost

priceless worth.

After the siege had lasted nine days, Lady Arundell, finding the castle

was no longer tenable, demanded a parley. Articles of surrender were

drawn up, by which it was stipulated, firstly, that the garrison and

all the inmates of the castle should be granted quarter; secondly,

that the ladies and servants should have all their wearing apparel,

and that sixty serving-men, chosen by the ladies themselves, should

be permitted to attend them wherever they might please to retire;

thirdly, that the furniture of the castle was to be saved from plunder

or destruction.

The Puritans violated, without scruple, the treaty, destroyed or

mutilated everything of value in the castle, and left with the inmates

nothing but the clothes they wore. Lady Arundell, with the women and

children, was carried prisoner to Shaftesbury. Thither, too, five

van-loads of costly furniture were borne in triumph as the spoils of

the vanquished.

The loss to Lord Arundell by the devastation and plunder of Wardour

Castle was estimated at one hundred thousand pounds.

The Parliament, thinking their prisoners were insecure at Shaftesbury,

wished to remove them to Bath. But the town was infected with small-pox

and plague; and Lady Arundell refused so stubbornly to consent, that

her captors left her where she was, but took her children to Dorchester.

Lady Arundell survived the siege only five years; and at her death, she

was buried, with her husband, in the chapel of Wardour Castle.

* * * * *

In point of heroic valour, Lady Arundell was outdone by Lady Mary

Bankes, wife of Sir John Bankes, Lord Chief Justice of the Common

Pleas. In August, 1643, Parliament despatched Sir William Earle with

a strong force to reduce Corfe Castle, the family residence of Sir

John, in the Isle of Purbeck. Thinking to gain possession by stratagem,

Sir William sent a party of forty sailors to demand four field-pieces

which were in the castle. Lady Bankes, suspecting their real object,

went to the gate, and requested the sailors to show their warrant. They

produced one, signed by several Parliamentary Commissioners. Thereupon

Lady Bankes retired into the castle; and although there were only five

men within the walls, they mounted the field-pieces with the assistance

of the female servants, and having loaded one of them, fired it off,

and drove the sailors away.

Sir William Earle now tried to starve the castle into a surrender.

Lady Bankes affected a wish to treat for the surrender of the guns;

but her real object was, that the besiegers, relaxing in their careful

blockade, would give greater facilities for introducing fresh supplies

to the garrison. The event justified her hopes. She also obtained the

help of Captain Lawrence, commanding a company of Royalists.

The Puritans, about six hundred in number, assaulted the castle, and

endeavoured to carry it by a _coup de main_. But the brave little

garrison, sallying forth, drove away the besiegers and brought back

nine oxen. Again the besiegers tried to take the castle by storm.

Dividing their forces, one party attacked the middle ward, which was

defended by Captain Lawrence and his company, while the other division

assaulted the upper ward, held by Lady Bankes with her daughters, her

female servants, and five soldiers, who hurled down huge stones and

red-hot coals on the heads of the storming party. At last, after losing

one hundred men in the assault, the Parliamentary forces retreated from

before Corfe Castle. The blockade had lasted, altogether, six weeks.

Lady Bankes lived to see the Restoration, and died in April, 1661.

She was interred in the south aisle of Rislipp church. The following

inscription was placed upon her monument by her eldest son:--

"To the memory of

"The Lady Mary Bankes, the only daughter of Rafe Hawtrey, of Rislipp,

in the County of Middlesex, Esquire, the wife and widow of the

Honourable Sir John Bankes, Knight, late Lord Chief Justice of his

late Majesty's Court of Common Pleas, and of the Privy Council to his

late Majesty King Charles the First, of blessed memory; who, having

had the honour to have borne, with a constancy and courage above her

sex, a noble proportion of the late calamity, and the happiness to have

outlived them so far as to have seen the restitution of the government,

with great peace of mind laid down her most desired life the 19th day

of April, 1661. Sir Ralphe Bankes, her son and heir, hath dedicated

this. She left four sonnes--first, Sir Ralphe; second, Jerome;

third, Charles; fourth, William (since dead, without issue); and six

daughters."

* * * * *

The Earl of Derby was one of the most prominent Cavalier leaders. In

1643, while awaiting a siege at Lathom House, Lancashire, his family

mansion, the earl received intelligence that Parliament had despatched

troops to annex his miniature kingdom, the Isle of Man. Wishing to

preserve the island as a final retreat for his royal master, in case of

misfortune overtaking him, he left Lathom House in charge of Charlotte,

his countess, and set off to the Isle of Man.

On the 27th of May, 1643, Mr. Holland, governor of Manchester,

despatched a messenger to Lathom, commanding Lady Derby either to

subscribe to the propositions of Parliament or surrender the mansion.

She refused compliance with either alternative; and for nearly a year

contrived, though closely blockaded, to keep the enemy from coming to

open hostilities. At last, on the 24th of February, 1644, Parliament

despatched three colonels to Lathom House. Before their arrival, the

countess hastened to lay in provisions and ammunition, and to arm a

sufficient number of retainers to serve as a garrison.

The countess determined not to surrender on any terms, and rejected

every proposal. "Though a woman," said she, "and a stranger divorced

from her friends and robbed of her estates, she was ready to receive

their utmost violence, trusting in God for protection and deliverance."

Hostilities having commenced, the Parliamentary army pushed the siege

with great vigour. The countess conducted the defence in person; but,

though she took the office of commander, she was not unmindful of the

spiritual welfare of her people. She was present four times a day at

public prayer, attended by her little daughters, Catherine and Mary.

A few days after the opening of the siege, Sir Thomas Fairfax, the

Parliamentary general, received a letter from the Earl of Derby, in

which the latter, dreading the extremes to which his wife and children

might be reduced, requested for them a free pass through the camp of

the besiegers. When this was communicated to the countess, she thanked

Sir Thomas for his courtesy in forwarding the missive; but replied

that "she would willingly submit to her lord's commands, and therefore

willed the general to treat with her; but till she was assured that

such was his lordship's pleasure, she would neither yield up the house

nor desert it herself, but wait for the event according to the will of

God."

She forwarded a similar message to her husband at Chester.

On the 25th of April, Colonel Rigby despatched a peremptory message,

demanding the surrender of Lathom House immediately. The countess

refused: and the siege was prosecuted with renewed vigour; while the

garrison, animated by the presence of Lady Derby, continued to defend

the house with unabated courage. At last, on the 23rd of May, they

learnt, to their inexpressible relief, that Prince Rupert and the Earl

of Derby were in Cheshire, marching to their aid.

When the Puritans heard of the approach of Prince Rupert, they

retreated to Bolton. On the 29th, Prince Rupert "not only relieved, but

revenged the most noble lady, his cousin," leaving one thousand five

hundred of the besiegers dead on the field, and taking seven hundred

prisoners. The next day he presented the countess with twenty-two of

those standards which, three days previously, had been proudly waving

before Lathom House.

The countess and her children accompanied the earl to the Isle of Man,

leaving the mansion in charge of Colonel Rawstone. The latter defended

it till the following December, when the decline of the Royal cause

obliged him to open negotiations with Fairfax. Before they were brought

to a satisfactory conclusion, the house was treacherously surrendered

by an Irish soldier.

The earl and countess, in the midst of their devoted adherents in the

Isle of Man, defied the threats of Parliament. The earl was one of

the first to join the standard of Charles II. in 1651. Captured on the

borders of Cheshire, he was carried to his own town of Bolton-le-Moors,

where he was beheaded, October 15th. Misfortune never comes

unaccompanied. The bereaved countess was betrayed, with her children,

by a false friend, and thrown into prison. She regained her liberty at

the Restoration; and for the rest of her life dwelt, with her remaining

children, at Knowsley, near Lathom, where she died in 1663.

* * * * *

Although the Turks were expelled from Hungary in the sixteenth century,

they by no means gave up their ambitious designs on that country.

Taking advantage of the cruelty and oppression exercised by Austria

towards the Hungarians, they secretly stirred up the nobles to revolt

against their harsh masters. In 1678, an able leader was found in

Emeric Tekeli, or Tokolyi, who, weary of vainly soliciting the Emperor

Leopold to restore his paternal estates, resolved to take them for

himself, together with the crown of Hungary. Setting up his standard

in Transylvania, he was soon joined by thousands of malcontents. Day

by day the revolt gathered strength; and had not the Emperor resorted

to the arts of cunning and bribery, it is probable the rebellion would

have terminated in a revolution.

Tekeli was husband of Helena, widow of Francis Ragotsky (who died in

1667), and daughter of Peter, Count Zrinyi, Ban of Croatia, who, with

others, lost his head in 1671 for conspiring against Leopold. Helena

was as brave as she was beautiful. By her first husband she had two

sons, of whom the eldest, Francis, afterwards took a conspicuous part

in the affairs of Hungary.

Tekeli commenced the war in 1678, and in 1682 he entered Buda in

triumph, where he was inaugurated Prince of Upper Hungary by the nobles

and the Turkish Bashaw. In the following year, the Turks, following

up these successes, advanced to Vienna, which would have fallen, but

for John Sobiesky and his Poles. Leopold took care to foment the

growing jealousies between Tekeli and the Turks; and on the failure

of the Hungarian leader in an attack on Cassau, the Bashaw of Great

Waradin sent the hero in chains to Constantinople. He was released

the following year; but during his imprisonment the Turks were driven

from Hungary and the rebellion crushed. Helena continued to defend the

rock-fortress of Mongatz (or Munkacs) with great courage for two years

after the arrest of her husband; but in 1688 she was overpowered by

superior numbers, and reduced to capitulate and throw herself with her

sons under the protection of the Emperor.

Helena was thrown into a convent, while her children were educated

under the auspices of Leopold. After a time she was exchanged for

an Austrian general, and permitted to join her husband in Turkey.

The Sultan, Mustapha, conferred upon Tekeli, Widdin, and some other

districts, as a sort of feudal sovereignty; but he was afterwards

neglected by the Turkish government, and compelled to start as a

vintner in Constantinople, where he died in 1705, in his fiftieth year.

Helena, after sharing the misfortunes and vicissitudes of his life,

died two years before him, in 1703.

* * * * *

A somewhat ludicrous affair happened at the coronation of William and

Mary, April 23rd, 1689. The champion of England, according to custom,

entered Westminster Hall, and throwing down his mailed glove, gave

the customary challenge to any one who should dare to dispute their

Majesty's claim to the crown. An old woman came in on crutches (which

she left behind her), snatched up the gauntlet, laid her own glove in

its place, and made off as fast as she could, before any one was able

to stop her. In the glove was found a challenge for the champion to

meet her the following day in Hyde Park. This matter occasioned much

merriment at the lower end of the hall.

Next day an old woman, similarly dressed, was seen waiting at the

appointed ground, and was conjectured by those who saw her, to be

a soldier in disguise. The champion, however, wisely declining

any warlike contest with one of the fair sex, refused to keep the

appointment.

* * * * *

Madlle. de la Tour du Pin Gouvernail, better known as Madlle. de

la Charce, heroine of the war between Louis Quatorze and the Duke

of Savoy, was the daughter of Pierre de la Tour du Pin, Marquis de

la Charce, lieutenant-general of the king's armies. In 1692 the

Piedmontese invaded Dauphiné. Madlle. de la Charce, arming the

villagers on her estates, placed herself at their head, and harassed

the enemy in the mountains; her mother, meanwhile, addressed the people

in the plains, exhorting them to remain faithful. The sister of Madlle.

de la Charce caused the cables of the enemy's vessels to be cut. This

brave family contributed so greatly towards driving the Duke of Savoy

from Dauphiné, that Louis XIV. granted Philis a pension, the same as he

would have given to a brave general, and allowed her to place her sword

and armour in the treasury of St. Denis.

Madlle. de la Charce was fond of literature, and composed some very

pretty verses. An anonymous work appeared in 1731, under the title

of "Mémoires de Madlle. de la Charce." This little romance, says

Langlet-Dufresnoy, is well written, and contains many historical

anecdotes connected with the reign of the Grand-Monarque.

END OF VOL. I.

PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND CO.

10 LITTLE QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS.

TINSLEY BROTHERS' NEW NOVELS.

A new Story of Modern Society, by the Author of "Jennie of 'The

Prince's,'"

GREAT GRENFELL GARDENS:

A Story of Modern Society.

By B. H. BUXTON,

Author of "Nell--On and Off the Stage," "Jennie of 'The Prince's,'"

"Fetterless," "Won," etc. 3 Vols.

By the Author of "Denis Donne."

A LONDON SEASON.

By ANNIE THOMAS (Mrs. PENDER CUDLIP). Author of "Called to Account,"

"Sir Victor's Choice," etc. 3 Vols.

By the Author of "An Innocent Sinner."

OUR BOHEMIA.

By MABEL COLLINS, Author of "An Innocent Sinner," "In this World," etc.

3 Vols.

"You shall see great difference betwixt our Bohemia and your

Sicilia."--_Winter's Tale._

MOLLY CAREW: a New Novel.

By E. OWENS BLACKBURNE,

Author of "A Woman Scorned," "Dean Swift's Ghost," "Philosopher Push,"

"The Quest of the Heir," etc. 3 Vols.

By the author of "The Hazelhurst Mystery."

RUTH EVERINGHAM.

By JESSIE SALE LLOYD,

Author of "The Hazelhurst Mystery," etc. 3 Vols.

By the Author of "Woman and Her Master."

THE FREEMASON'S DAUGHTER:

A New Novel.

By J. F. SMITH,

Author of "Minnigrey," "Woman and Her Master," "Stanfield Hall," etc. 3

Vols.

By the Author of "Estella."

MARGARET DUNBAR.

By ANNABEL GRAY,

Author of "Estella," etc. 3 Vols.

GRACE.

By HENRY TURNER.

2 Vols.

THE BACHELOR:

An Original Novel.

By ARTHUR MONTAGU BROOKFIELD.

2 Vols.

"Equal in power to anything that many of our well-known and

best-established authors have written."--_Bells Weekly Messenger._

PAOLO GIANINI:

A new Novel.

By PERICLES TZIKOS.

3 Vols.

"Is an interesting and promising romance."--_Athenæum._

"We can recommend it cordially to those who like a novel which treats

of scenes and persons removed from the commonplace class of incidents

and personages which form the stock of most English stories of the

day."--_Morning Post._

TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE ST., STRAND.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page xi, "Dona" changed to "Doña" (Doña Maria Pacheco)

Page xiv, "theGirondists" changed to "the Girondists" (of the

Girondists)

Page xv, "SavageAfria" changed to "Savage Africa" (Savage Africa)

Page xvi, "Ec." changed to "Etc." (Etc. etc.)

Page 13, "vogage" changed to "voyage" (a separate voyage)

Page 26, word "of" added to text original read (one the principal

officers)

Page 26, "paramont" changed to "paramount" (soon ruled paramount)

Page 34, "a" changed to "at" (at the hands of)

Page 34, "like" changed to "life" (their mode of life)

Page 54, "siezed" changed to "seized" (Iceni, seized all his)

Page 68, "ursurper" changed to "usurper" (usurper, Tetricus)

Page 87, "twelth" changed to "twelfth" (eleventh and twelfth centuries)

Page 95, "massacreing" changed to "massacring" (burning, plundering,

massacring)

Page 96, "Efrilda" changed to "Elfrida" (Elfrida recaptured Leicester)

Page 97, "Elfleda" changed to "Elfrida" (Elfrida died at Tamworth)

Page 97, "Elfleda" changed to "Elfrida" (Elfrida "might have been)

Page 126, "heorine" changed to "heroine" (Another heroine of this war)

Page 147, "Mairie" changed to "Marie" (the Marie of Orleans)

Page 155, "though" changed to "through" (England through another)

Page 171, "activly" changed to "actively" (was actively engaged in)

Page 173, "corse" changed to "corpse" (my husband's corpse, till)

Page 186, "surrrounded" changed to "surrounded" (surrounded by her

ladies)

Page 191, "addresed" changed to "addressed" (addressed the warriors)

End of Project Gutenberg's Female Warriors, Vol. I (of 2), by Ellen C. Clayton