The letter is a little longer than this, but you can read all of it

in your own New Testament. This letter Onesimus took with him as he

returned to the home of his master. Philemon treated him kindly,

no longer as a slave but as a dear son. And many people say that

Onesimus, the _unprofitable_ slave, became one of the most _profitable_

Christians in all that land, ever true to Jesus and to Paul, and to his

master-friend, Philemon.

VIII

GENERAL HISTORICAL STORIES

(_Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years._)

1. HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE

Once a great army came marching toward a bridge which led into the city

of Rome across the river Tiber. “If they cross the bridge, Rome is

lost!” cried the white-haired Fathers who made the laws, for the Roman

soldiers were too few to meet so great an army. But brave Horatius,

one of the men who guarded the bridge, stood forth and shouted, “Tear

down the bridge quickly while I and the two men with me keep the enemy

back!” Then with their shields before them and their long spears in

their hands the three brave men stood in the road and kept back the

horsemen who had been sent to take the bridge. The Romans hewed away

the beams and posts and soon the bridge trembled and was ready to fall.

Horatius sent back his two friends, who had no sooner reached the other

side in safety than crash went the bridge, falling into the river with

a great splash. Then Horatius knew that Rome was safe. With his face

still toward the foe, he moved slowly backward till he stood on the

river’s brink. A dart thrown by one of the soldiers struck his left eye

and put it out. But, not with a curse, but a prayer on his lips, he

leaped into the deep, swift stream. He had his heavy armor on, and when

he sank beneath the water no one thought he would ever be seen again.

But he was strong, and the best swimmer in Rome. The next minute he

arose and swam to the other side amid the shower of darts and javelins

from the enemy. At last when his friends pulled him up on the bank,

shout after shout went up, not only from the Romans, but also from the

enemy on the other bank, for they had never seen a soldier so strong

and brave before.

The Romans, in gratitude, gave him as much land as he could plow around

in a day, raised a statue in his honor in the public market-place, and

ever after to the Roman children,

With weeping and with laughter

Still was the story told,

How well Horatius kept the bridge

In the brave days of yore.

2. DAMON AND PYTHIAS

Once a young man who had done something that displeased the King, was

dragged to prison, and the day set for his death. His home was far

away. “Let me go and bid good-bye to my father and mother and friends,”

he said to the King, “and I will return and die.” The King laughed and

said, “Ah! ah! he wishes to save himself! He would never return!” A

young man stepped forward from the crowd, and said: “O King, put me in

prison until he returns. I know he will do as he has promised, for he

is a man who has never broken his word. If he does not return, I will

die for him.”

The King, surprised at such an offer of friendship, agreed. So Pythias

went to bid his friends good-bye, and Damon was put in prison. Many

days passed. By and by the day arrived for the death of Pythias, and he

had not returned. Damon said, “I know something has prevented, or he

would be here to keep his word. I am ready to die for him!” The jailer

led him out, and was just about to put him to death, when suddenly,

far away on the distant road, a cloud of dust was seen growing larger

and larger. It was Pythias running, swift as the wind, to keep his

promise. He told them how he had been hindered by storm and shipwreck.

He thanked his friend again and again for his faith in him. And then

giving himself for death into the hands of the jailer, he was led out

for execution. “Stop! Stop!” cried the King, “such friends must not

suffer unjustly. Pythias shall be free! And I could give all that I

possess to have one such true friend!”

3. ANDROCLES AND THE LION

Once a poor slave who was treated cruelly by his master ran away into

a forest and hid in a cave. Soon he heard a dreadful roar and saw a

lion limping as though his foot hurt. Androcles went close to the lion

and saw a sharp thorn was piercing the lion’s paw. He quickly drew the

thorn out, and the lion began jumping about him like a kitten, licking

the slave’s hands and feet. Androcles and the lion became warm friends

and lived like brothers, sharing each other’s food until one day the

slave was caught and taken back to his master; and the lion was caught

and put into a large cage. In those days any slave who ran away from

his master, when caught, must fight a lion kept several days without

food. So when the next holiday came, Androcles was put in the great

arena with thousands of people crowding its seats to see him die. When

all was ready a door in the cage was opened, and out bounded the lion

ready to spring upon the poor slave. With a tremendous roar the lion

dashed toward him, but to the surprise of all the people, instead

of hurting him, the lion crouched down at his feet like a pet dog

and began to lick the slave’s hands and feet. The people cried, “O

Androcles, what meaneth this?” Then Androcles put his arms around the

lion’s neck and said, “O people, in the forest I pulled a thorn out of

this lion’s foot, and that is why he does not hurt me now.” The people

were delighted and shouted, “Androcles shall be free! Androcles shall

be free!”

So Androcles and the lion were set free and lived together like

brothers long afterward.

4. CORNELIA AND HER JEWELS

One bright morning in a beautiful Roman garden two brothers were

playing among the flowers and trees. Cornelia, their mother, a Roman

lady, called the boys into the house, saying, “A friend is to dine with

us to-day, and she will show us her jewels.” After the simple meal

was over a servant brought into the room a large and beautiful casket

of jewels, which the rich lady showed to her friends. How eagerly the

boys gazed at those sparkling jewels--pearls, rubies, sapphires, and

diamonds! The younger boy whispered to his brother, “I wish our mother

had beautiful jewels too!” Later, when the boys had gone out into the

garden to play, the friend said, “Is it true, Cornelia, that you are

so poor that you have no jewels?” “Oh, no,” answered Cornelia, “I have

jewels that are far more precious than yours.” “Oh, let me see them,”

said the lady; “where are they?” “If you care to see them I will bring

them to you,” said Cornelia. Then, calling her boys to her side, she

presented them to the lady, saying, “These are my jewels! Are they not

far more precious than your gems?”

In the long after-times when Cornelia’s sons became the greatest and

best men of Rome, they never forgot that day when they knew that they

were their mother’s pride and joy and love, dearer far to her than the

most precious jewels of the rich.

5. KING ALFRED AND THE CAKES

Long ago in England there lived a good king, whose name was Alfred.

One day after a fierce battle with the Danes the English soldiers were

scattered and every man had to save himself in the best way he could.

King Alfred fled alone, in great haste, through the woods and swamps,

coming late at night to a wood-cutter’s cottage. He was very tired

and hungry, and begged the wood-cutter’s wife to give him something

to eat and a place to sleep. The good woman, not knowing who he was,

invited him into her hut. She was cooking some cakes and so she said:

“My poor, ragged fellow, you shall have some supper if you will watch

these cakes. I want to go out and milk the cow, and you must see that

the cakes do not burn while I am gone.” King Alfred sat down to watch

them, but as his thoughts were on his people and his plans for the next

day, he forgot all about the cakes until the woman came in and saw that

they were burned to a crisp. “You lazy fellow!” she cried. “How dare

you let the cakes burn? See what you have done!” Some people think she

even struck the king with a stick. But the king was good-natured, not

caring for her angry words half so much as for the loss of the cakes.

No doubt he had to go hungry to bed that night. Early the next morning

soldiers loudly knocked at the door, and said, “We seek King Alfred!”

Then she knew she had treated her king shamefully. Alfred was great and

good enough to ask her forgiveness for burning the cakes.

Soon after that the king gathered his men together again, won a great

battle, drove the Danes back to their own country, and all the rest

of his days ruled his people wisely and well. But this story of King

Alfred and the Cakes has never been forgotten in all the after years.

6. BRUCE AND THE SPIDER

King Robert Bruce, of Scotland, longed to see his people free from

England. He had fought six fierce battles, and six times he had been

defeated, and his soldiers were so scattered that each soldier was

forced to flee for safety into the thick woods. King Bruce himself

was hiding in a shed. He was tired and sick at heart, feeling that it

was useless to try to do anything more. Just as he was thinking that

he would give up, he looked up and saw a spider weaving its web from

one beam to another. Six times the spider climbed up almost to the

top, and each time it fell down again. As the king watched it fall the

sixth time he said, “It will give up.” But no; up it climbed again the

seventh time, slowly, slowly, but surely--and succeeded!

Bruce arose full of courage, saying, “I will try again!” He tried again

and won! That is why brave boys and girls say to-day, “If at first you

don’t succeed, try, try, try again!”

7. THE INCHCAPE BELL

More than a hundred years ago there was a great and dangerous rock

called the Inchcape Rock in the North Sea. Its top was hidden just

below the surface of the waves so that many vessels struck upon it

and sank. A kind-hearted priest called an abbot said: “I will chain a

bell to the rock, and the bell will float to and fro in the shallow

water and warn the sailors of their danger.” Loud and clear this bell

rang out, and the sailors blessed the abbot for his kindness. But one

calm, summer day a ship with a black flag sailed that way. It belonged

to Ralph the Rover, a sea-robber, and he and his ship were the terror

of the sea. Ralph saw the bell and said to his boatmen, “Row me to

the Inchcape Rock, and we will play a trick on the old abbot.” Being

rowed to the rock he cut the warning bell from the float, and the bell

sank with a gurgling sound. “The next who comes to this rock will not

bless the abbot,” laughed the robber as he sailed away. Many days he

sailed the seas and grew rich with the ships he plundered. At last he

sailed back home, and in the storm and fog he longed for the sound of

the Inchcape Bell to tell him where he was. Then his vessel struck

with a fearful crash on the Inchcape Rock, and as the waves rushed in

on every side the abbot’s bell, ringing far down on the bottom of the

sea, seemed to say, “The next who comes to this rock will not bless the

abbot.”--_Adapted from Robert Southey._

8. SIR WALTER RALEIGH

One morning, Elizabeth, Queen of England, was taking her daily walk

with her maids after a rain-storm that had made the streets of London

very muddy. A young man named Walter Raleigh, who was dressed in a

new, rich scarlet plush cloak thrown over his shoulders, saw the Queen

and her maids stop at a muddy place, wondering how they could cross.

Quickly this young man, Walter, forgot all about himself and thought

only of the Queen, and how he could help her. He took off his coat,

spread it across the muddy place, and with a graceful bow, politely

begged the Queen to do him the honor of walking on it as upon a carpet.

She crossed without soiling her shoes, and then turned to thank the

generous and polite young man. As she walked on, she said to her maids,

“Who is he?” “His name is Walter Raleigh,” they replied. Not long

after the Queen invited this polite young man to her palace, where she

said to him: “Walter Raleigh, I wish to reward you for your generous

gallantry. You are Sir Walter Raleigh.” That made him a knight. He

became the Queen’s favorite at the court, and a great man in the

nation. He tried to get English people to settle in America, and he

introduced two things into England, from the Indians, which the people

then knew very little about--potatoes and tobacco. There is a story

that one day a servant, seeing the smoke curling over his master’s

head and thinking he was on fire, ran for a pail of water, which he

threw into Sir Walter’s face. This put the fire out quickly, but it did

not stop people smoking tobacco. Would it not have been better if Sir

Walter Raleigh had left the tobacco with the Indians?

9. SIR PHILIP SIDNEY

Once there was a fierce battle in which a brave and courteous knight

and soldier, named Sir Philip Sidney, was wounded while charging to the

front on horseback. He reached the camp bleeding and faint with great

pain and thirst. A soldier brought him some water, saying, “Here, Sir

Philip, I have brought you some clear, cool water from the brook. I

will raise your head so that you can drink it.” He stooped low to raise

his head, and was just placing the water to his lips when Sir Philip

saw a foot-soldier, who was being carried past, looking with longing

eyes at the water.

The generous knight instantly pushed the cup toward the dying soldier,

saying, “Give it to him. His need is greater than mine.”

Sir Philip Sidney died of this wound, when he was only thirty-two years

of age. On the day of his funeral in Saint Paul’s Cathedral the rich

and poor, high and low, all felt they had lost a friend, and mourned

for him as the kindest, gentlest man that they had ever known. His

kindness to the dying soldier has caused his name to be remembered

ever since with admiration and affection, and as long as stories of

noble deeds are told to future boys and girls, this story will never be

forgotten.

It is thought that Shakespeare, who settled in London while all the

world was talking of Sidney’s life and its heroic ending, had him in

mind when he made Ophelia speak of Hamlet as

The courtier’s, scholar’s, soldier’s, eye, tongue, and sword;

The expectancy and rose of the fair state,

The glass of fashion and the mould of form,

The observed of all observers.

10. THE BELL OF JUSTICE

Long ago in Italy a king ordered a bell hung from a tower in the

market-place and called it “The Bell of Justice.” He said even if a

little child suffered any wrong, he could ring the bell by pulling on

the rope that was fastened to it, and the little child should receive

justice. As the years passed many wrongs of the people were righted

for the people who rang the bell. But at last the lower part of the

rope rotted away, and a wild grape-vine was tied to lengthen it. On

the hillside above the village lived a man who owned a horse that he

allowed to roam on the roadside, and that he left to starve and to die

in his old age, because the owner was too miserly to feed him. One

day the horse wandered into the market-place, and seeing the green

grape-vine, the poor creature in the keen pangs of hunger began to eat

it, and in doing so rang the bell. All the people heard the ringing. It

seemed to say,

Some-one-has-done-me-a-wrong!

Some-one-has-done-me-a-wrong!

Come-and-judge-my-case!

I’ve-been-wronged!

The judges came quickly, and when they saw the miser’s horse nibbling

at the vine, they said, “The dumb beast has rung the Bell of Justice,

and justice he shall have.” They sent for the owner, and when he came

they said: “This horse has served you well for many years. He saved

your life several times. He helped you to make your wealth. So we order

that one-half your money shall be set aside to provide good food, a

warm stall, and good pasture for your horse the rest of his days.”

The miser hung his head, grieving to lose his gold. But the people

shouted for joy at the just sentence, and the king laughed aloud:

Right well this pleaseth me,

And this shall make in every Christian clime,

The Bell of Justice famous for all time.

--_Longfellow’s “The Sicilian’s Tale,” in “Tales of a Wayside Inn.”_

11. NAPOLEON AND THE DRUMMER-BOY

One day the great general, Napoleon Bonaparte, was in the camp

reviewing his troops, when he saw a small boy who was less than twelve

years of age.

“My boy, what are you doing here?” said Napoleon. “I belong to the

army, Sire,” replied the boy. “What do you do in the army?” “I am a

drummer, Sire.” “Bring your drum, then,” said the general. The boy went

on the minute and brought the drum. “Now,” said the general, “sound the

general.” This is the signal given in the army an hour before marching

to strike tents, load wagons, and get everything ready. Immediately

the boy sounded the general. Napoleon exclaimed, “Good; now beat the

march.” That is the signal for infantry to take their place in the

column. The boy beat the march promptly. “Now sound the advance,” said

Bonaparte, and with sparkling eyes the little drummer sounded the

advance, the signal for the cavalry to take its place in the column.

“Good!” exclaimed the emperor again; “now for the charge!” And with

eyes flashing fire the little soldier beat the charge till the very

rafters of the house trembled with the vibrations of the wild, fierce

notes. “Bravo!” cried Napoleon; “now beat the retreat.” Down went the

sticks. The little fellow straightened up, and with manly pride said:

“You must excuse me, Sire, I never learned that. Our regiment never

retreated!”

“You are excused,” said the general laughing, and to the end of his

life Napoleon Bonaparte spoke of the little drummer-boy who could not

beat a retreat.

12. PICCIOLA

One spring day an Italian prisoner, shut up wrongfully by Napoleon in

one of the dreadful dungeons of France, was permitted to walk in the

prison-yard. Looking down he saw a little mound of earth between two

of the stones in the pavement, and a tiny green leaf was pushing its

way up out of the ground. He was just about to crush it with his foot

when he noticed a soft coating over the leaf. “This coating is to keep

it safe,” he said; “I must not hurt it!” So he went on with his walk.

The next day he saw that instead of one little green leaf, there were

two leaves, and the plant was stronger. Every morning after that he

looked to see how the little plant had grown. He called it “Picciola,”

which means “the little one”; and it grew larger and more beautiful.

He made some ink from soot and water in order to write down the story

of this little flower, which soon had thirty beautiful blossoms on

its stem. But one morning he was in great grief, for he saw his flower

beginning to droop. He gave it water, but the stones of the prison-yard

prevented its growing. He begged the jailer to let him remove one of

the stones to save the life of his little flower; but the prison rules

were strict, and no stone could be removed. A new thought came to the

prisoner. He would send his little story of the flower to Napoleon,

the emperor, and ask him to save his plant. A little girl carried the

message to him, and at last the good news came that the stones of the

prison-yard could be removed so that Picciola might live. Hearing the

story, Josephine, the kind-hearted wife of the emperor, said, “No good

can come in keeping such a good man in prison.” So he was set free, but

he never forgot that he owed his liberty not only to Josephine, but

also to his little friend, Picciola.

13. THE EMPEROR AND THE BIRD’S NEST

“Look!” said a soldier; “look! a swallow has built her nest in the

emperor’s tent.” The soldiers looked and saw a swallow’s nest built of

clay and horse’s hair, and the swallow sitting on her eggs.

“Sure, the swallow thinks the emperor’s tent is a shed,” laughed the

soldiers. The emperor, hearing his name spoken, came out from his tent.

When he saw the nest, he said, “Let no hand molest the nest or hurt the

bird.”

So the little swallow sat there quietly, amid all the noise of cannon,

hatching out her little ones, until at last the great guns had made a

breach through the walls and the army had poured in to take the city.

Then when the terrible fighting was ended, the soldiers began taking

down their tents to go away; but when they came to the emperor’s tent,

he said, “No, no! do not take down my tent, leave it standing!”

So it stood there all alone,

Loosely flapping, torn and tattered,

Till the brood was fledged and flown,

Singing o’er those walls of stone

Which the cannon-shot had shattered.

--_Adapted from Longfellow’s “The Emperor’s Bird’s Nest.”_

14. THE SWISS PATRIOT AND THE SPEARS

Many years ago when an Austrian army was marching into Switzerland,

Swiss peasants came down from the mountains with bows and arrows,

scythes and pitchforks, sticks and clubs, to save their country. The

Austrian soldiers were all armed with spears and shields and shining

armor, and as they moved together in solid ranks, what could the poor

peasants do against such foes? “We must break their ranks if we win!”

cried the Swiss leader. So bowmen shot their arrows, but they glanced

from the soldiers’ shields like raindrops from a roof. Others tried

their scythes and pitchforks and sticks and clubs, but the lines were

still unbroken. The Austrians moved steadily forward, their shields

lapping over one another and their thousand spears shining in the

sunlight like so many bristles. They were unafraid before the Swiss

sticks and stones and scythes and arrows. “We must break their ranks or

we are lost!” cried the leader again; and in a moment a poor peasant,

named Arnold Winkleried, stepped out and cried: “My friends, on the

side of yonder mountain I have a happy home. There my wife and my

little children await my return. But they will never see me again, for

this day I give my life for my country. I commit my wife and children

to your care. I will break the lines, follow me.” He had nothing in his

hands, neither stone nor club nor other weapon. Rushing forward toward

the soldiers he gathered a number of their spears together against

his breast and fell pierced through and through. But he had broken the

ranks of the enemy and made way for his countrymen to win the battle

and to gain their liberty. Switzerland was saved, and the Swiss patriot

did not gather the spears into his own breast in vain.

15. THE EMPEROR AND THE GOOSE-BOY

One hot summer day King Maximilian, of Bavaria, was walking in the

country. Stopping under a tree to rest, he took a little book from his

pocket to read, but he soon fell asleep. When he awoke he started for

home, and had walked a mile when he thought of the book he had left

under the tree. “My boy,” he said to a barefooted lad who was tending a

large flock of geese near-by, “if you will run to that oak tree at the

second turning of the road and bring me the book that I left there, I

will give you this gold-piece.” The boy said, “I would gladly go, but

I cannot leave the geese.” “Oh, I will mind them while you are gone,”

said the King. The boy laughed. “I should like to see you minding

them,” he said; “why, they would run away from you in a minute.” “Only

let me try,” said the King. At last the boy gave the King his whip and

showed him how to crack it, and started off. The King sat on a stone

and laughed at the thought of his being a goose-herd. But the geese

missed the boy at once, and with a great cackling and hissing they went

off, half-flying and half-running, across the field. The King ran after

them, trying to crack his whip and bring them back. But they got into a

garden and were feeding on the tender vegetables when the boy got back

with the book. “Just as I thought,” said the boy, “I have found your

book, and you have lost my geese.” The King did the best he could to

help the boy drive back the geese into the field. Then he gave the boy

another gold-piece. The boy thanked him and said: “You are a very good

man, and a very good king; but you will have to try a long time before

you are a very good goose-herd.”

16. THE EMPEROR AND THE SCHOOL CHILDREN

Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, was walking one June morning out

into the country for a little rest and recreation. He came to a country

schoolhouse, and asked the teacher if he might speak to the children

and ask them some questions. Taking an orange from his pocket he said,

“Who can tell me to what kingdom this belongs?” A brave, bright boy

spoke up quickly and said, “It belongs to the vegetable kingdom, sir.”

“Why?” asked the King. “It is the fruit of a plant, and all plants

belong to the vegetable kingdom,” said the boy. The King was pleased.

“You are right, and you shall have the orange for your answer. Catch

it,” he said, tossing it to the boy. Then taking a gold coin from his

pocket and holding it up, he said, “To what kingdom does this belong?”

Another bright boy answered quickly, “To the mineral kingdom, sir! All

metals belong to the mineral kingdom.” “That is a good answer,” said

the King. “Here is the gold-piece for your answer.” The children were

delighted.

“I will ask you one more question,” he said. “To what kingdom do I

belong?” The bright boys were puzzled now. Some thought of saying “To

the kingdom of Prussia.” Some wanted to say “To the animal kingdom.”

But they were a little afraid, and all kept still. At last a tiny,

blue-eyed little girl looked up into the King’s smiling face and said

in her simple way, “I think you belong to the kingdom of heaven, sir.”

King Frederick’s eyes filled with tears, and he stooped down and kissed

the sweet little girl, and said, “I hope I may always belong to that

kingdom, my child.”

17. TOLSTOY’S DAUGHTER AND THE PEASANT BOY

One day Count Tolstoy’s little daughter, ten years old, was in front

of the house playing with some peasant children of the village. In a

quarrel that arose one of the boys struck the little girl with a stick

on her arm, making it black and blue. She ran in the house crying, and

said to her father: “That naughty boy has bruised my arm. I want you

to go out and whip him.” The father took the little girl on his knee

and said: “My daughter, tell me, what good would it do if I went out

and beat him? Would not your arm really hurt just as much? He struck

you because he was angry with you. For a few minutes he hated you. If

I whip him he will hate you more than ever and hate me too, and all

of us. Would it not be better to make him love us? Perhaps that would

change his character for the rest of his life. I tell you what I would

do if I were you. I would go to the pantry and get some of that nice

raspberry jam and take it out to him, and I think he will be made to

love us all, instead of hating us.”

The little girl did what her father told her. Such a spirit of love

Tolstoy believed in and taught in all his writings. Were such a spirit

of love shown everywhere in the world, evil would oftener be overcome

by good.

18. THE WRISTS BOUND WITH THE RED THREAD

Once the English were at war with some fierce tribes of India, called

the Hillsmen. The English knew they were very brave, and noticed after

every battle the bravest chiefs who were killed were found with a red

thread bound around their wrists, as a mark of greatest honor. One

day some English soldiers, following the enemy, were marching along

a narrow valley, far in the hill-country, when suddenly they came to

a place where the valley was divided by a great pointed boulder. The

main regiment kept to the right. A sergeant and eleven men took the

left, thinking they could easily pass around the boulder and meet

their companions beyond it. But in a moment the sergeant found that

the boulder was an arm of the left cañon of the valley, and that they

had marched into a deep gorge with no outlet except the way they came.

As they looked up at the great walls they spied a number of Hillsmen

who, from their hiding-places, began showering spears upon them. Just

at that moment the officer in command of the other soldiers saw the

danger of these men and gave the order for them to retreat. In some

strange way they mistook the signal for a command to charge. At once

they charged on a run up the slope, cheering as they ran. But as they

were eleven against seventy, some of them were killed by spears,

others were hurled backward over the precipice, and three only got to

the top and fought hand to hand with the foe. When the fighting was

finished two Hillsmen lay dead for every Englishman. Later in the day

the English relief party arrived and gathered up their dead comrades,

and they found, bound around both wrists of every one, the red thread!

The Hillsmen had given to their foes the honor reserved for their own

heroes.--_Adapted from “How to Tell Stories to Children,” by Sara Cone

Bryant._

19. “LITTLE TEN MINUTES”

When the English were at war with the Zulus in South Africa, a French

prince, named Louis Napoleon, enlisted, and one morning was riding

outside the camp with a small company of soldiers. All about them in

the open country they saw the Zulus. One of his friends said: “Louis,

we had better go back to camp. We are in great danger here. The Zulus

may come upon us any minute and kill us.” “Oh, no danger,” said the

Prince, “let us stay here just ten minutes more, and drink our coffee.”

During that ten minutes the Zulus came upon them, and in the skirmish

the Prince lost his life. When the news of his death was telegraphed

to his widowed mother in London, England, she said: “That was always

Louis’ way. When he was a little boy he was never ready on time. He was

always saying, ‘Just ten minutes more.’ Sometimes when I called him in

the morning and he was too sleepy to speak he would lift his hands and

spread out his ten fingers to show that he wanted ten minutes more. I

used to call him ‘Little Ten Minutes.’ Those ten minutes have lost me

my boy, and my boy his life. His fault has become his fate!”

IX

AMERICAN HISTORICAL STORIES

(_Adapted for Children, Six to Twelve Years._)

1. HOW AMERICA WAS FOUND

Christopher Columbus was a poor sailor, who believed that the earth

was round like an orange. Very few people would believe him because

almost everybody living then thought that the earth was flat. Some

men supposed that this big, flat earth was carried upon the back of a

great elephant or on the shoulders of a large giant. As the ships of

those days were small, and the sailors were superstitious and afraid of

the unknown sea, few mariners had ever sailed far out upon the ocean.

Should one try, they thought he would sail off the edge of the earth.

Columbus said: “Give me money to buy ships, and I will prove the

earth is round by sailing around it, just as a fly can walk around an

orange.” This seemed too funny for any one to believe. Even the little

children pointed the finger at this sailor and called him crazy. No

one would help him get ships. At last Isabella, Queen of Spain, said,

“Here are my jewels! Sell them and sail your ships.” So Columbus

set sail with these ships on Friday, August 3, 1492, from Spain,

with one hundred and twenty persons on board. They sailed westward

for many days, and the sailors became frightened at the thought of

their distance from home. At last they said they would throw Columbus

overboard if he did not take them back. He promised if they did not

see land in three days he would return. During those three days they

could plainly see signs of land. Birds came and rested on the masts;

fresh-water weeds, berry-bushes, and large branches of trees floated

by; and the sailors had great fun in netting crabs and other shell-fish

in the seaweed. But on the last night, as Columbus with longing eyes

was peering through the darkness, suddenly his heart gave a quick jump,

for he saw a light in the distance that appeared too bright and low to

be a star. It danced up and down as if a person carried it in his hand

while running. Just at daybreak some one cried, “Land! Land!” Then a

cannon from the first ship boomed across the sea, which was the signal

that land was found. The sailors saw a beautiful green island. There

were hundreds of men running to the shore and throwing up their arms

in fear. They had never seen a ship before. Some thought they were

great birds with white wings. Others thought the Great Spirit had come.

Columbus put on his rich, scarlet robes, and taking the royal banner

of Spain in his hands, ordered the sailors to row him in a little boat

to the shore. As soon as they reached land, Columbus and his men fell

on their knees, kissed the ground, and sang praise to God. Columbus

thought he had reached India, so he called the copper-colored men, with

their straight black hair, Indians. This is the name still given to the

natives of North America.

2. HOW AMERICA WAS NAMED

Does it not seem strange that this island should be called “America,”

instead of “Columbia,” when Columbus discovered it? After all he had

done it would have seemed only fair to have had his name remembered in

the name of the country. But many men were jealous of him, and a few

years later, when he returned to the island, he was seized, bound in

chains, carried to the ship, and returned at once to Spain. Isabella

was dead, and King Ferdinand did nothing to help him. So Columbus,

already an aged man, lived the rest of his days in poverty, and died

broken-hearted. Meanwhile another sailor and traveler, named Americus

Vespucius, made a voyage across the ocean. When he returned he talked

much of what he had seen, and wrote several books of his travels.

These books were read by some students of geography in the monastery

of St. Die. When one of these scholars wrote another book describing

these travels, he said the New World should be called “America” in

honor of Americus Vespucius, honestly believing him to have been the

first discoverer. It does not seem that Americus was guilty of making

a false claim, or that he wanted to deprive Columbus of his honor.

Had he not written his books of travel his memory would have faded

away, as has happened to many who were mightier in deed than they

were with the pen. Columbus died before the book from St. Die was

published. Vespucius died six years after. Both believed that the new

country was a part of the Indies. Very likely Americus never heard of

Waldseemüller, the obscure geographer in the monastery of St. Die,

who had, unintentionally, robbed Columbus of part of the glory of his

discovery and had given the new world the name of “America” instead of

“Columbia.”

3. THE MAN WHO FIRST SAILED AROUND THE WORLD

Columbus said, “Give me money to buy ships, and I will prove that the

earth is round by sailing around it.” But he never did sail around the

earth, after all. Nor did Americus Vespucius. This was left for another

sailor, named Fernando Magellan. In 1519, twelve years after the death

of Columbus, he started from Spain with a large fleet of ships, hoping

to find, through this new land, a way by which he might sail around

the world. He sailed directly across the Atlantic Ocean to America,

looking up and down the coast for an opening to the other ocean which a

sailor one day had seen. Finding no opening, he sailed down to the most

southern point of South America, and after sailing around Cape Horn, he

came out into the great ocean. When he saw it first it looked smiling

and peaceful. So on account of its calm, sunny appearance, he named it

the “Pacific,” which means “peaceful.” Sailing over the Pacific Ocean

he came at last to the Indies, to India, and to Spain. Then he knew

that he had sailed around the world. So what Columbus had said and

believed so earnestly, Fernando Magellan proved at last to be true--the

earth is round!

4. THE LOST COLONY

After Columbus discovered America many ships from Spain, France, and

England sailed across the sea, bringing settlers to plant new homes

here. Spain took possession of Florida; France of Canada; and England

claimed all the land lying between Canada and Florida, and called it

“Virginia.” The English sent over a shipload of one hundred and fifty

settlers, who landed on the beautiful island of Roanoke. When their

rough houses were built and the people had planted their fields and the

colony seemed prosperous, Governor John White resolved to return home

to report their success and to bring new provisions for them. He did

not like to leave because unfriendly Indians roamed about, and besides,

there was a little baby girl, his granddaughter, named Virginia (who

was the first English child ever born in America), whom he did not

like to leave. But the people needed provisions, and so the brave man

sailed back to England. It was three years before his ship returned

and he again drew near the island. Eagerly he looked up and down the

shore for signs of a welcome from his people. But only the washing of

the waves on the beach and the stillness and gloom of the dense forest

greeted him. Not a person was to be found. His little granddaughter,

her parents, and all the colonists had disappeared. The huts were

deserted. Not a sound was to be heard but the cry of the birds and the

moaning of the trees. On a tree were cut a few letters. Was it the

name of some place to which the people had moved? Poor John White! He

never found out. Heart-broken, he turned his ship back to England. Not

a trace of this lost colony, not a trace of the little babe, Virginia

Dare, has ever been found.

5. POCAHONTAS

Captain John Smith was a brave and wise man who came from England and

settled in Virginia. One day some of his men disobeyed orders and got

into a quarrel with the Indians. John Smith was taken prisoner and

led into their camp. He showed them his compass, and told them how

the needle always turned to the north, which so amused the Indians

that, instead of killing him, they took him to their chief, Powhatan,

who said, “The white man must die.” He was bound hand and foot, and

an Indian was just raising his war-club to kill him, when up rushed

Pocahontas, a bright Indian girl, the chief’s daughter, who threw her

arms around John Smith’s neck and begged her father to spare him.

Powhatan loved Pocahontas, so the prisoner was released, and even

allowed to return to his own people. Pocahontas became a good friend

of the white men. She was beautiful, and John Rolfe fell in love with

her. After their marriage they went to England, where Pocahontas was

everywhere received with great honor. The king and queen invited her to

their palace, and all loved the gentle Indian princess. They intended

to return to America, but Pocahontas died in England. Her little son,

Thomas Rolfe, was well educated in England. When he grew up he settled

in Virginia.

6. THE INDIANS’ GUNPOWDER HARVEST

At first the Indians were very kind to the white men; but after the

white men began to be cruel and hard to them, they too grew hard and

cruel, and nothing was too terrible for the Indians to do in revenge.

They had very strange ways of carrying on their battles. They never

came out and met their enemy face to face, but would skulk around

behind trees in swamps or in the high grass. When the white men used

guns and gunpowder, the Indians were terribly frightened, but it was

not long before they themselves learned to use them. One day an old

Indian chief begged some gunpowder from a white man, and ran away to

his wigwam with it. The white man watched to see what he would do with

it. When he reached his wigwam he called some of his friends about him,

and, after a long council together, they began to plant the powder.

They thought it would grow like corn and beans. Later a French trader

persuaded some Indians living near the Missouri River to give him skins

and furs in exchange for gunpowder, telling them it was a seed, which

would grow if sown in the ground. The innocent Indians sowed all they

bought, and placed a guard to protect the fields from wild beasts,

going out to the field from time to time to see if the powder was

growing. When they found out the trick that had been played on them

they waited until the trader’s partner came to exchange more goods.

Then the Indians who had been tricked into sowing gunpowder gathered,

went into his tent, and each helped himself to what goods he wanted.

Soon the whole stock disappeared. The Frenchman, in anger, went to the

chief, who said, “Yes, you shall have justice as soon as the gunpowder

harvest is gathered.” The Frenchman said, “Gunpowder grows in France,

but your Missouri land is not good to produce it.”

All his arguments were in vain. The Indians said, “When the gunpowder

harvest is reaped then the Frenchman shall have back his goods.”

So the French trader returned with less goods and less money than he

went, finding out, when too late, that Indians, like some other men,

can be deceived but once.

7. THE MAYFLOWER AND THE PILGRIMS

Over one hundred years after Columbus discovered America a little ship,

the Mayflower, sailed away from England. About one hundred people came

with it, who were called “Pilgrims.” They went first from England to

Holland, and then left their homes across the sea to find a new home

where they would be free to worship God, and rule themselves in the

way they wished. The tiny Mayflower was tossed like an egg-shell on

the rough waves. It took more than two months for it to cross the

ocean. The storms drove it from its course, so that instead of landing

farther south, as they intended, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth.

There in the little cabin on the Mayflower forty-four men signed an

agreement to make good laws and obey them. A little girl was the first

Pilgrim to step off the Mayflower upon the rock which is now called

“Plymouth Rock.” As soon as all had landed, they gathered about that

huge boulder, and kneeling down thanked God for their deliverance from

the perils of the sea. Indians from behind the hilltop peeped out at

the strange visitors, and then ran away, disappearing so completely

that they were not seen again for a long time. Two little baby boys

were born on the Mayflower. What funny names they had! One was called

“Peregrine,” which means “wandering,” and the other was called

“Oceanus,” because he was born on the ocean. Should you ever go to

the town of Plymouth you will find, in Pilgrim Hall, the very cradle

in which little Peregrine White was rocked so many years ago. And you

will see “Plymouth Rock,” now carefully sheltered, near the place where

the Pilgrims landed in 1620, on December 22, which day, each year, is

celebrated in New England as “Forefathers’ Day.”

The breaking waves dash’d high

On a stern and rock-bound coast,

And the woods, against a stormy sky,

Their giant branches toss’d;

And the heavy night hung dark

The hills and waters o’er--

When a band of exiles moor’d their bark

On the wild New England shore.

Aye, call it holy ground,

The soil where first they trod!

They have left unstained what there they found--

Freedom to worship God!

--_Felicia Hemans._

8. THE FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY

The Pilgrims lived on the Mayflower until a log house, large enough

for all, was built. This was surrounded by a high, wooden barricade to

keep off the Indians and wild animals. Afterward the men built a house

for each of the nineteen families. How their axes rang in the winter

air, as they felled the trees for lumber to build these rude houses!

How nobly the wives and mothers worked in the bitter cold of their

uncomfortable homes, washing, ironing, baking, brewing, pounding the

corn, spinning the cloth, and making everything, singing cheerfully all

the while! How bravely the boys and girls tried to bear the cold and

hunger without complaining, and in all their little ways helping their

parents to build up a village out of the wild woods! What a hard time

they had during that long and bitter winter! Often they did not have

food enough. Many Pilgrims were taken ill, and one-half of them died

before spring came. One day a kind Indian, who had learned English from

some fishermen on the coast, suddenly walked out of the woods, saying,

“Welcome, Englishmen! Welcome, Englishmen!” The Indians showed them how

to plant corn with a fish or two in each hill to fertilize it; how to

build a birch-bark canoe, snow-shoes, and moccasins. The Mayflower went

to England and returned with plenty of food. In the summer fine crops

were gathered. So in the fall, about a year after they had arrived, the

Pilgrims had food enough to last all the next winter. They were happy

then and said, “Let us thank God.” So a Thanksgiving meeting was held.

The Pilgrims enjoyed their good dinner of wild turkey, and invited the

friendly Indians to feast with them.

This winter no famine will haunt them,

No terror their thoughts will employ.

In the bleak little church in the village

Are gathered stern men and fair maids,

Their praises are joyfully ringing

And echo o’er high hills and glades.

Thus passed the first day of Thanksgiving,

With thanks that e’er came from the heart,

And no matter how humble his station,

Each person in them took his part.

9. REBECCA AND THE SNAKE

All of this country at first was covered with great forests, except

the plains and river-beds. The name “Pennsylvania” means Penn’s Wood.

William Penn wanted to name the land on which he settled his colony

“Sylvania,” from the Latin word “sylva,” meaning wood, because it was

covered with woods. But King Charles II, of England, said, “No, it

shall be called ‘Penn’s Wood’--Pennsylvania.” In this great forest

William Penn laid out the city of Philadelphia, or “Brotherly Love,”

which he wished to make “a fair and green country town, where men might

dwell together like brothers.”

Among the very first settlers sent over from England by William Penn

was a little girl named Rebecca, who lived in a house that was simply a

cave dug in the bank of the river. One day, as she sat at the door of

the cave, eating her bowl of milk-porridge, a snake glided up to her,

attracted by the odor of the warm porridge, for snakes are very fond of

milk. The kind-hearted girl pitied the snake, looking up at her out of

its bright eyes, as much as to say, “I’m so hungry.” “I will give thee

half of my supper,” she said, and she began to divide her porridge with

the snake. But the greedy creature wanted all of it. This Rebecca would

not allow. “Nay, nay,” she said, “thou canst have only thy share; keep

to thy part.” And although the snake poked its little head again and

again into her dish, she made him withdraw it, and justly divided the

porridge--a spoonful for the snake and a spoonful for herself--until

every drop was gone. Then the snake glided away as silently as he had

appeared. The little Quaker girl never saw him again. But she never

forgot her strange visitor, and as long as she lived she had pleasure

in thinking of the day when she shared her milk-porridge with a hungry

snake.

10. THE BRIDE WORTH HER WEIGHT IN SILVER

The first coins used in the American Colonies were made in England

and Spain, but there were so very few of them that the colonists

were compelled to exchange their goods instead of receiving money.

As trade increased all felt the need of some sort of money. So a

money-law was passed and the kind of coin decided upon. Captain John

Hull was made mint-master. The largest of these new coins had stamped

upon them a picture of a pine tree, and they were called “pine-tree

shillings.” Captain Hull, for his pay, received one shilling out of

every twenty shillings he made, and soon he had a strong, new chest

filled with pine-tree shillings. This mint-master had a daughter who

was a hearty girl, healthy and plump. A young man fell in love with

her, and asked the captain if she might become his wife. As he was an

industrious, honest, and good young man, her father consented, saying

in his good-natured way, “You will find her a rather heavy burden, I

am thinking!” When the wedding-day came the mint-master was at the

ceremony, dressed in a plum-colored coat, with bright silver buttons

made of pine-tree shillings; and his daughter, the fair bride, looked

as plump and rosy as a big red apple. After the ceremony was over,

Captain Hull told his servants to bring a great pair of scales. He

said, “Daughter, get into one side of the scales,” which she did.

Then, pointing to a big iron chest, he said to his servants, “Draw

it near the scales.” He unlocked it, raised the cover, and everybody

was breathless when they saw the chest was full of bright, shining

pine-tree shillings. “Lively, now, boys, pour these shillings into the

other side of the scale,” he said to his servants, laughing as he saw

the look of surprise on the faces of the people. Jingle, jingle went

the shillings as handful after handful was thrown in until, big and

plump as she was, the fair young bride was lifted from the floor.

“There, my son,” said the mint-master to the bridegroom, “take these

shillings for my daughter’s sake. Treat her kindly and thank God for

her. It isn’t every bride that is worth her weight in silver.”

11. EVANGELINE AND THE BURNING OF ACADIA

America grew until thirteen colonies, like those in Virginia and at

Plymouth, were settled by the English, along the coast from Maine to

Florida. Because they said Sebastian Cabot had discovered America,

England claimed all the new country westward to the Pacific Ocean. That

included almost all the country there is to-day. The claims of England

led to a bitter war with France, which was carried on between the

French, aided by the Indians, and the English aided by the colonists.

One of the attacks of this war was made on the French settlement in

Acadia, or Nova Scotia, in the north. The people of the little village

of Grand Pré were peaceful, home-loving families, who refused to

take part in the war on either side, and would not take the oath of

allegiance to England. Because of this, the English resolved to break

up this settlement and scatter its people--a heartless plan! One bright

morning the English soldiers in their red coats, came to the village

and, with pretended friendliness, requested the people to gather into

their church to hear a message of good news. The unsuspecting villagers

left their work and gathered pleasantly into the church. As soon as

they were all gathered, these redcoated British soldiers seized them,

and at the point of the bayonet drove them like sheep down to the

shore, crowded them on board several British boats, and sailed away.

Families were torn apart; wives lost their husbands; mothers lost

their little children; brothers and sisters, lovers and maidens were

doomed never to see each other again. The poor people uttered piteous

cries, but the hard-hearted redcoats only sneered and laughed at their

torture. As the ship sailed out from the harbor, the Acadians saw the

soft September sky all one terrible glare of fire. Then they knew that

their homes were gone, burned in the flames. This the cruel soldiers

had done so that these Acadians might not try to wander back to their

old homes. Seven thousand of these unhappy people were dropped here and

there from the British vessels, being distributed among the Colonies

that there might be no possibility of their reuniting. Longfellow tells

of how Evangeline was separated from Gabriel, her lover, on their

wedding-day, and how Gabriel was carried far away to the southland.

Beautiful Evangeline set out on a long search for him--wandering on,

and on, all her life, and at last, when she had grown old in her

search, found her lover in a hospital on his dying bed, which proved

so great a shock to her that she too died. The story of Evangeline’s

womanly devotion is the one ray of light in all that dark and terrible

tragedy of the burning of Acadia by which an entire people was blotted

out, never to be restored again.

12. THE FIRST COLLEGE IN AMERICA

The people in the thirteen English Colonies soon began to call

themselves Americans, one and all. Those in New England especially

valued education. It was considered ridiculous to educate a girl, but

there were soon nine colleges for boys. There was a printing-press in

Cambridge, a public library in New York, a little manufacturing in

Massachusetts, and quite a little commerce all along the coast. Most

of the traveling was done on horseback, though there were some stage

routes. Steam-cars and automobiles were unheard of. Next to their

churches the people of New England loved their schools. The city of

Boston had been settled only six years when one day the governor of

Massachusetts received a letter from his sister in England, who refused

to come to America because there was no college where her son could be

educated. In her letter she said: “If only there were some place of

learning for youths, it would make me go far nimbler to New England,

if God should call me to it, than I otherwise should; and I believe a

college would put no small life into the plantation.” This letter set

the governor thinking and planning, and very soon he convinced those in

control that a college should be established. The money was raised, and

Harvard College was built. This little red, square building, that has

stood in Cambridge for over two hundred years, was the first college in

America.

13. THE BOSTON TEA PARTY

The thirteen colonies along the coast obeyed the laws of England, and

were proud of the “Mother Land,” as they called England, until the

new king, George III, made the colonists pay taxes on the goods they

received from England. They felt this was wrong so long as they had no

part in deciding what taxes they should pay, and had no representation

in the law-making. “We are no slaves, or children! We have rights, and

our rights should be respected,” they said. The king replied, “The

Americans shall pay a tax only on tea.” In anger the colonists said:

“We will never drink tea, if we have to pay a tax upon it. We will

drink tea made of sage and raspberry leaves first.”

In Charleston the tea was taken off the ships and left in damp cellars

to spoil because no one would buy it. New York and Philadelphia did

not even allow the tea-ships to land; and when they sailed into

Boston Harbor, the people held a great meeting in Faneuil Hall and

in South Church. Samuel Adams and John Hancock, their leaders, made

grand speeches. Some one cried out, “I wonder how the tea would taste

with salt water?” This made everybody laugh. But that night fifty men,

dressed up and painted like Indians, went out to the harbor, rowed out

to the tea-ships and threw overboard three hundred and forty-two chests

of tea into the sea. The next morning the tea was seen washed up on the

shore. When the colonists heard of this Tea Party all were happy--but

King George said, “The leaders shall die for this!” And that was the

beginning of the war of the Revolution.

14. PAUL REVERE’S RIDE

One of the leaders in the Boston Tea Party, on December 16, 1773,

was Paul Revere. He was a copper-plate engraver in Boston, greatly

interested in the rights of the colonists. When the King of England

heard how the people of Boston had treated his tea, he ordered Boston

Harbor to be closed, not allowing ships to go in or out. He also

forbade their holding town meetings lest they should talk and plan

mischief against him, and he determined to hang the leaders of the

tea-party, if he could catch them. He appointed a new governor, who

at once asked the king for more soldiers, which were sent. The Boston

people watched these soldiers closely, and had spies to find out all

their plans. One of these spies was Paul Revere. Secretly the Americans

stored guns and powder and bullets at Concord, about twenty miles from

Boston. They were afraid the British would march from Boston and take

these stores which were for their use in case of trouble. Samuel Adams

and John Hancock had gone to Lexington because they were not safe in

Boston. So the new general secretly ordered eight hundred soldiers to

go and arrest these two leaders at Lexington and take the supplies from

Concord. When Paul Revere learned of this plan he told a friend to

watch their movements. If they started to go by land, his friend was

to hang one lantern in the tower of Old North Church. If they went by

boat he was to hang up two lanterns. Then Paul Revere silently rowed

across the river and saddled his horse ready to start. He saw that

every strap and buckle was in place, and quietly waited for the light.

At last he thought he saw a spark, so he sprang into the saddle. Then

he waited a little. Yes, there were two lights in the old bell-tower.

They were going by sea. Off he dashed, faster and faster, over bridges

and through towns, stopping at every house to cry out, “Awake, the

British are coming!” A bell rang out at Lexington to help arouse the

people. The “Minute Men” from all the country round came with their

guns. When the British got there they found their secret was out. Just

at sunrise the redcoats met the “Minute Men.” The English major cried,

“Disperse!” They did not move. He then commanded his soldiers to fire.

Eight were killed. Men with muskets sprang up on all sides. This was

the first battle of the great Revolutionary war that made America free

from England. Through all our history to the last, the American people

will never forget

The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,

And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

[Illustration: STONE MARKING THE LINE OF THE MINUTE MEN AT LEXINGTON]

15. NATHAN HALE

Nathan Hale, a young man of twenty, had just graduated from Yale

College, and was a school-teacher in Connecticut when the war of

Independence began. At once he enlisted in the American army, saying,

“Let us not lay down our arms till we have gained independence.” When

General Washington moved his army from Boston to Brooklyn, Nathan Hale,

early one morning, when it was darkest, rowed out with a few friends

to an English supply ship and sailed it away from the man-of-war that

was guarding it and brought it in safety to the American camp. For this

brave deed he was promoted to become “Captain” Hale. Soon after this a

call was made for a volunteer for a most dangerous service. The British

held possession of the lower part of New York City, and were planning

a further advance, and Washington greatly needed to know their plans.

It was agreed to send a spy to get these. But who would volunteer? “I

will undertake it,” said Captain Hale. He walked fifty miles up Long

Island Sound, along the Connecticut shore and then rowed over to Long

Island. Disguised as a traveling school-teacher, he visited all the

English camps, making drawings and notes which he hid in his shoes. On

his way back he was betrayed by a man who knew him, a traitor to the

American cause. He was taken on board the English ship, carried back to

New York and led before General Howe. The English general said: “You

shall be pardoned and receive money and a fine position in the English

army if you will give up the American cause.” He said, “I cannot turn

against my country!” “Then you can die for her,” said the general, and

sentenced him to die at daybreak. He listened to his sentence without

a word, erect and fearless. At break of day the young spy, brave as a

lion, faced his death without a tremor.

In City Hall Park, New York City, not far from the jail in which he

was kept that last night, and as near as possible to the spot where he

died, is the statue of this noble, young patriot-martyr, who in such

heroic unselfishness laid down all he possessed for his country. Upon

the statue you will read his last words: “I regret that I have but one

life to give for my country.”

16. GENERAL REED AND THE BRIBE

General Joseph Reed was a prominent American officer in the

Revolutionary war. He was a man of great influence and loyal to the

interests of his country. The English officers were anxious to secure

some one who would be a traitor to the American cause of liberty and

who would serve them. One day Governor Johnson, one of the three

Commissioners of King George III, came to Joseph Reed and whispered

secretly: “I will give you fifty thousand dollars and a public office

besides, under the British Government, if you will agree to promote

the British interests.” General Reed replied quickly: “I am not worth

purchasing; but such as I am, the King of Great Britain is not rich

enough to buy me!”

No wonder that such a patriot, loyal to honor and to his country,

was admired even among those who offered the bribe, while that other

general, Benedict Arnold, who actually received the bribe to betray

his country, has ever since been despised by Englishmen as well as by

Americans.

17. THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY

After the Battle of Lexington swift messengers rode in all directions

over the land telling the tidings that the struggle for American

independence was begun. The news set the people aflame with excitement.

Men dropped whatever they had in hand to join the little army under

George Washington, who was elected general of the American soldiers.

The colonists now believed that nothing but liberty would save them.

Men like Patrick Henry of Virginia said, “Give me liberty or give

me death!” So, on July 4, 1776, at the State House in Philadelphia,

the Declaration of Independence, prepared by Thomas Jefferson, was

discussed. Above the State House where they met hung a great bell.

The old bell-ringer sat there ready to ring the bell the moment the

declaration was signed. His little grandson was at the foot of the

stairs to tell him when to ring. The old man waited and waited. At

last he heard the little boy running up the stairs, shouting, “Ring,

grandpa! Ring, grandpa! Ring for liberty!” The old man took hold of the

bell-rope, and the glad news of liberty rang out over the city. The

bell was kept ringing for two hours. The crowds in the street shouted,

“We are free!” “We are free!” Flags were waved, bonfires were lighted;

parades were formed; speeches were made; and, as the news spread, the

joy increased everywhere! That was the first Fourth of July.

18. WASHINGTON’S CHRISTMAS VICTORY

It was the winter of the year in which the Declaration of Independence

was signed, 1776, when Washington, with his little army of three

thousand patriots, beaten, and driven out of Brooklyn, out of New York,

out of New Jersey, finally crossed the Delaware River, at the same hour

that General Cornwallis, the most skilful of all the British leaders,

with a much larger army, reached Trenton. The cold was intense. The

patriots were in rags; many were barefooted, and the route was marked

by their footprints of blood. Congress was fleeing in panic from

Philadelphia to Baltimore. Terror spread everywhere, and many Americans

hastened to put themselves under British protection. But amid all,

Washington never lost his courage. Having seized all the boats along

the Delaware, for many miles up and down the river, he intended to

surprise the Hessian soldiers (whom the English had hired) at Trenton

on Christmas night when he knew they would be sure to be spending

their time in feasting and merriment. Amid a storm of sleet and snow,

bitterly cold, on Christmas evening, Washington and twenty-five hundred

picked men pushed their flatboats through the grinding blocks of ice,

and during the night the entire force landed on the other side of

the Delaware, and before the bleak, wintry morning dawned, they had

surrounded Trenton. The garrison of one thousand Hessian soldiers was

surprised and captured, with the loss of but four Americans. Colonel

Rall, the Hessian commander, being wounded and suffering greatly,

limped slowly up to where Washington was seated on his horse and

handed him his sword, begging him to be merciful to the captured men.

Washington gave the promise, expressing his sympathy with the wounded

officer, upon whom he called after he was carried to a house and laid

upon a bed, and spent some time in trying to cheer his last moments.

This Battle of Trenton did what Washington intended--electrified

the despairing patriots, increased enlistments, and inspired hope

throughout the land. It was the turning-point of the Revolution. It was

Washington’s Christmas gift to the American people.

19. THE HEROINE OF NORTH CAROLINA

One summer day when the wild red roses of North Carolina were in bloom

around her door-step, Mistress Ashe stood at her opened door, and

shading her eyes, saw a cloud of dust that grew larger until an English

army was seen coming nearer and nearer. “Look,” cried her sister, “at

the head of the column rides that braggart. Colonel Tarleton! Have you

heard of the threefold oath that he registered recently on the banks

of the Roanoke in Virginia?” “No, tell me in all haste,” answered Mrs.

Ashe, “for they are now almost within ear-shot.” “He swore,” said the

sister, “that he will plant the flag of old England on every housetop

in our land; if not on the turret, then on the ashes of every building.

He swore that he will carry our noble leader, General Washington, in

chains to England. He swore that he will quaff a stirrup-cup (a lucky

drink) to these horrid accomplishments from the Ashe punch-bowl.”

The sound of tramping deadened her voice. As the army came up General

Leslie graciously asked the defenseless women for food and drink, which

were brought at once and placed on the mahogany table. While they

were eating and drinking, Colonel Tarleton, without hint of his oath,

led the talk to the famous Ashe punch-bowl. He told General Leslie

how it was old in England before the Pilgrims came; how in America it

had grown thrice precious to its owner, because almost every American

leader of the Revolution had quaffed delightful draughts from its

crystal depths; how five officers of the Revolutionary army, all of the

one name and blood of Ashe, had gathered around that bowl. And then,

turning to Mrs. Ashe he said: “Mistress Ashe, since you have so amply

entertained your foes, can you not add to your hospitality, I pray you,

a draught from the Ashe punch-bowl?”

Mrs. Ashe ordered the punch-bowl to be filled, and rich red roses to be

brought to crown it, but she trembled to think if this cunning colonel

succeeded in quaffing a lucky-drink to his declared designs from that

bowl, destruction indeed might await her country and its leaders. She

arose from her seat at the head of the table. General Leslie and his

officers arose with her. Then she said: “General Leslie, from this

bowl the brave and the bravest have sipped, and to such, whether friend

or foe, I give a draught from this bowl.” She then handed the General

a glass of the brew, and, while he held his glass in his hand, waiting

the filling of the other glasses, she took the roses from the bowl and

put them in her hair, and then she turned to Colonel Tarleton: “Sir,

I have heard of your threefold oath--that you have sworn to plant the

flag of England on the roof of every American house or on its ruins;

that you have sworn to carry our leader, Washington, in chains to the

foot of your English throne; and that you have sworn to drink your

stirrup-cup, before you ride forth on the accomplishment of these

intents, from the Ashe punch-bowl.”

There was a moment’s silence, then she continued: “Heaven grant that

our leaders in war may become our rulers in peace!” While saying this

she put her slender hands about the heavy bowl, lifted it high above

her head, and then dashed the punch-bowl to the floor. “Never, Colonel

Tarleton,” she cried, “never from the Ashe punch-bowl shall cup be

offered to the cruel foeman of my people!” The bowl was broken into

a hundred pieces and the floor was sprinkled as with crimson blood.

Outside the door the red roses blossomed in the sunlight, but nevermore

would any of them crown rich libations in the once priceless, now

shattered, punch-bowl of the Ashes of North Carolina.

20. THE HEROINE OF OHIO

In a little village in Ohio, on the banks of the Ohio River, there was

a large fort called Fort Henry, which belonged to the colonists. When

the Indians, who were fighting on the side of the English, attacked the

village, all the men, women, and children fled to the fort. The Indians

then attacked the fort, and all the men who went out to fight them were

killed or taken prisoners. At last only twelve men were left in the

fort to protect the women and children. When the colonists began to

prepare for the second attack, they found their supply of powder almost

exhausted, and without powder they knew death was near. Captain Zane

called the twelve men together and said: “In my house there is a keg of

powder. I do not wish to order any man to go for it, as it is a very

dangerous thing to do, but I would like to have some one offer to go.”

Several young men at once volunteered. “It means almost certain death,”

said the captain. “I know that,” replied one young man, “but we must

have the powder. To stay means death to all.” Just then the captain’s

sister, Elizabeth, a girl of fourteen, stepped forward. “I will go for

the powder,” she said; “you cannot spare one of the men, they are all

wanted to protect the fort. If we are captured by the Indians, I shall

surely be killed. So please let me go.”

At that Captain Zane said, “No! No!” But he soon saw she was right;

not a man could be spared. The gate of the fort opened and the girl

ran quickly out. The Indians saw her and cried in surprise, “A squaw!

a squaw!” but no Indian tried to shoot her. She entered the house and

found the keg of powder, but it was too heavy for her to carry, so,

girllike, she emptied the powder into her apron, and started back amid

the firing of the Indians, but although their arrows whistled over her

head, she ran swiftly on and reached the gate in safety.

With the help of the powder the colonists were able to keep the Indians

away that night. The next morning more men came and the Indians were

driven away, and so the colonists of Ohio won a great victory.

The story of this fight at Fort Henry is often told, and the name of

Elizabeth Zane, the brave girl who carried the apronful of powder to

the men in the fort, will be remembered as long as brave deeds shall be

told.

21. PUTNAM AND THE WOLF

Israel Putnam, as a boy, lived with his father on a farm in Connecticut

when wolves were still there. Every winter an old mother wolf would

come with a family of young wolves with her. The hunters always killed

the young wolves, but could not catch the mother. One winter this old

wolf killed seventy sheep and goats in one night. All the farmers

started out to find her. They saw her track in the snow and after a

long hunt their dogs drove her into a cave. They sent the dogs into

the cave, but the wolf bit them and drove them out again. Then they

put straw in the cave and set fire to it to smoke her out. It made the

wolf sneeze, but she would not come out. Then Israel Putnam said, “I

will go down into the cave and bring her out.” So they tied a rope to

his legs and let him down into the cave. He held in his hand a burning

piece of birch-bark, for he knew wild animals are afraid to face fire.

He crawled along on his hands and knees in the narrow cave, holding

the blazing bark, until he could see the wolf’s eyes. The wolf gave

a sudden growl. Putnam jerked the rope and the men pulled him out

quickly. He was badly scratched by the rocks and his clothes torn,

but he got his gun and went in again. This time the wolf growled and

snapped angrily, but he shot the wolf and brought her out dead. The

sheep had peace after that.

22. BOONE AND HIS SWING

Daniel Boone was an early settler in Kentucky. He knew all about the

woods and the ways of the animals and the Indians. Almost all the men

that went with him into Kentucky were killed by the wild wolves or the

savage Indians. One day when Daniel Boone was left alone in his cabin,

four Indians came to kill him. He made his escape over a hill, but the

Indians ran after him. He ran as fast as he could till he reached a

wild grape-vine, which he saw reached to the top of a high tree, and

was long enough to swing over a steep ravine. When he was a boy he had

often made a swing of a wild grave-vine like this. So he quickly cut

the vine off near the roots, took hold of it and swung out into the air

with all his might. He was carried far out as he swung over the ravine.

Then he let go, and as soon as he fell to the ground he ran away in a

direction in which he knew the Indians could not find him. When the

Indians came up to the place they could not find his tracks anywhere.

So Daniel Boone was saved by a swing.

23. KIT CARSON AND THE BEARS

Kit Carson knew all about wild animals. He was a great hunter and a

good guide to soldiers and settlers. On a march one day, as he was

dragging an elk he had just shot for supper, he saw two bears running

toward him. His gun was empty. He threw it down, ran as fast as he

could, and reached a tree just as the bears reached him. He caught

hold of a branch and swung himself up in the tree just in time. Bears

know how to climb trees, and soon they were climbing up in the lower

branches. Kit Carson broke off a limb, and from the highest branch,

where he hung, he began clubbing the bears over the nose, their tender

spot. “Whack! Whack!” The stick hurt, and the bears whined and growled

with pain. First one bear and then the other tried to get at him, but

each got his nose hurt. When their noses felt better they tried again.

But Kit Carson pounded faster and harder than ever. One of the bears

cried like a baby. Then both bears got down and went away and never

came back again. They were too busy rubbing their noses.

24. THE HEROINE OF GETTYSBURG

One morning in the awful days of the Civil War the boys in blue and the

boys in gray met together for their decisive battle near the little

town of Gettysburg, Pa. Hearing that this town was to be the center

of the battle, a neighbor ran into a little red-brick cottage and

cried, “Jennie, you must remove your folks at once.” “Hush, hush!” she

whispered, “there’s a little new-born baby and its mother in the next

room, and they cannot be moved whatever happens.” “Why girl, the shells

will crash through these brick walls as through paper!” said the man.

“No matter, my sister and her babe cannot be moved, and I must stay

here with mother to care for them,” replied Jennie, and the neighbor

hastened sadly away.

Tramp, tramp, tramp, marched regiment after regiment in turn belonging

to both sides, as they passed the little cottage, and Jennie noticed

that every soldier’s eye rested eagerly on the windlass of the well in

front of the little red-brick cottage, for the July sun shone hot in

the sky. “They are thirsty,” said Jennie, as she filled the old oaken

bucket from the well, and brought out every dipper and ladle and cup

she could find for the soldiers to fill their canteens or to drink as

they hurriedly tramped by. “I’m glad I did not go away,” she said;

“there is something I can do here to help others.” And so she helped

all she could until the troops had passed by for the battle. Later in

the day the tide of the battle turned. The boys in gray reached the

ridge and captured the town of Gettysburg. Then the boys in blue, on

the run, retreated, moaning and groaning as they rushed past the little

red-brick house, which now became the very center of the battle.

Cannon, like thunder, shook the ground. Bullets, like hailstones, fell

around them. Balls crashed through windows and walls as through paper,

as the neighbor had said. The space around the well was strewn with

the dead and dying. Hungry men begged for bread and the brave girl

gave everything she had until she had not a crumb left. Then she said,

“I’ll make some bread.” But scarcely were the loaves in the oven before

a loud knock was heard at the door, and a soldier-boy stood there

pleading, “I’m so hungry. Give me a bit of bread.” It would be three

hours before the bread was baked, but biscuit would soon be ready, she

thought. She quickly took up the dough and was remixing it to make

biscuits, when whizz! a rifle-ball crashed through the open door,

striking the girl in the breast, and she fell to the floor dead!

That night they buried Jennie Wade, with the dough still in her

hands--buried her as thousands were buried, on the field of Gettysburg,

without ceremony. Should you visit her grave in the little cemetery

there, on her tombstone you would see these words: “Jennie Wade, died

aged nineteen. She hath done what she could!”

25. HOBSON AND THE MERRIMAC

When the United States was at war with Spain in 1898, a Spanish fleet

crossed the Atlantic and sailed into Santiago Bay. Commodore Schley

at once sailed his squadron of ships there to prevent the escape of

the Spanish fleet, and he was soon joined by Rear-admiral Sampson,

who took charge of the whole American fleet. The entrance to Santiago

Bay is so long and narrow, that, knowing it was full of mines and

protected by forts on either side, the American Government would not

allow Sampson’s fleet to try to force an entrance. So all the ships

could do was to shell the forts along the coast and keep watch day

and night. The Americans knew that if a storm arose and their ships

should be obliged to run out to sea, the Spanish admiral would take

advantage of it and run out of the harbor and possibly attack some

of the ill-defended coast towns. The navy was very anxious to find a

way of blocking the harbor so that the Spanish fleet could not get

out. Admiral Sampson decided to run the Merrimac into the channel at

night, swing it across the narrow point and sink it there, thus making

a barrier which could not easily be removed. “Who will undertake this

service of sinking the Merrimac?” was the question, and immediately

there were far more men than could be used. Naval Constructor Hobson,

with some brave volunteers, was assigned the task, which seemed in all

probability to mean certain death. At three o’clock in the morning the

Merrimac entered the narrow channel and steamed in under the guns of

the great Morro Castle. The stillness of the night was broken by the

wash of a small patrol boat approaching from the shore. The boat ran

close up under the stern of the Merrimac and fired several shots, one

of which carried away the rudder. In a moment the guns from the Spanish

ships and forts were turned upon the Merrimac; and although torpedoes

exploded all around them, and mines went off under them, Hobson coolly

gave his orders. The torpedoes were touched off, and as the Merrimac

sank, he and his men were swept overboard into the chilling waters.

There, escaping death as by a miracle, they clung to an old raft. When

the Merrimac sank the Spaniards cheered wildly, thinking they had sunk

an American ship trying to steal into the harbor unseen. Many boats

pushed out from the shore to examine the wreck. A Spanish launch came

toward the raft. Hobson and his men agreed to capture this boat and run

away. But just as she came close the heads of half a dozen Spanish

soldiers peeped up and each man pointed his rifle at the heads of the

Americans. “Is there any officer in that boat to receive a surrender

of prisoners of war?” Hobson shouted. An old man leaned out under the

awning and waved his hand. It was Admiral Cervera. The soldiers lowered

their rifles, and the prisoners were helped into the launch. Hobson

and his brave companions spent more than a month in Spanish prisons,

but at length an exchange of prisoners made it possible for them to be

returned in safety, and ever since the story of Hobson and the sinking

of the Merrimac has been told as one of the most heroic deeds in the

history of modern times.

26. BETSY ROSS AND THE FLAG

Americans who have lived some time in other countries say that when

they see the American flag floating from the mast of a ship in a

foreign land a lump rises in the throat and “the Stars and Stripes,”

with its bright red, white, and blue, seems to be the most beautiful

emblem in all the world. Do you know how it was first made, and why?

When George Washington was leading his soldiers in the war for liberty,

he felt that the new nation needed a flag. He said: “We must have a

flag, one flag for all the Colonies.” Every country needs a flag to

float over the homes of its people, to carry in parades, to wave on the

masts of the ships at sea and in foreign harbors, and to inspire its

citizens and soldiers to patriotism. At first there had been flags of

all kinds among the colonists, the commonest having a rattlesnake upon

it, with the motto, “Don’t tread on me,” and another, called the Union

flag (with stripes as at present, and the double cross of the British

flag instead of stars), was unfurled for the first time on New Year’s

Day, 1776, at Cambridge. The matter of a new flag for the new people

was talked over, and on June 14, 1777, by a resolution of Congress, it

was decided upon. Washington, assisted by a committee, drew a picture

of the flag he wanted--one with thirteen stripes to represent the

thirteen States that had fought for freedom. These stripes were to

be one red and one white. On a field of blue in the corner, near the

staff, there were to be thirteen stars. Then, of course, those men knew

they must find a woman to make the flag. The men could plan for it, but

a woman must make it.

In Philadelphia there lived a young woman named Betsy Ross, who, with

her husband, kept a small furniture and upholstering shop, and who

did a great deal of sewing. She sewed beautifully, and had often been

hired to make flags for the river-boats and other kinds of boats. One

day, as she sat sewing in her shop, she heard a knock at her door. She

opened it, and there stood George Washington and another gentleman. The

general showed her a picture of the flag he wanted with its stripes

and six-pointed stars. “No,” she said, “that will not do. The stars

must be prettier than those. A correct star has only five points.” She

quickly folded up a piece of paper just right and with one snip of her

scissors clipped the paper, and there was a beautiful five-pointed

star. Washington was greatly pleased with the star and also with the

skilful fingers of Betsy Ross, and so she was given the order for the

first American flag. This first flag was made the next day in the

little shop, still standing at 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia, where

she continued to carry on the flag business many years after the death

of her husband, who was wounded during the war while guarding some

military stores. Her children succeeded her in the business at her

death. Since the first flag with its thirteen stripes and thirteen

stars, there has been added a new star for every State admitted to the

Union.

One of the first American war vessels, named the Reprisal, is said to

have been the first vessel that, in 1777, carried “Old Glory” on the

ocean. Ever since, whenever this American flag has floated in the air,

its message has been, “America, the land of the free.” Its red sings,

“Be brave”; its blue says, “Be true”; its white means, “Be pure.”

27. THE MAN WHO WROTE “AMERICA”

The beautiful hymn, “America,” our national anthem, which is loved and

sung all over our land, and all over the world wherever the Stars and

Stripes is honored, was composed by Dr. Samuel Francis Smith. He was

born in Boston, Mass., October 21, 1808. In childhood he lived not far

from the Old North Church. When he looked up at the tower in which Paul

Revere hung the lantern, perhaps there came into his heart that love

for his country which years afterward he put into his song. One holiday

when his grandmother was coming on a visit to his home, he stood at the

window, expecting she would bring him a present. When she came without

a present the little fellow said solemnly, “All days are alike!” He

was so obedient that when he went out to play he would ask, “How many

slides may I take, mother?” And when he had taken just the number his

mother told him, he would come in.

When Samuel was eight years old a pet cat belonging to one of the

neighbors died, and was buried in the garden. The next morning the

owners of the cat found on its grave a stick with a piece of paper

fastened to it, and on the paper some verses. This was his first poem.

At twelve he wrote another, and after that, many more. He went to what

is now the Eliot School in North Bennett Street, Boston, where he won

the gold medal. From there he went to the Boston Latin School, and

there, also, he won the medal. Then to Harvard, and to the Andover

Theological Seminary. He graduated from Harvard in 1829, in the class

with Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who sang of him in his poem, “The Boys”:

And there’s a nice youngster of excellent pith,

Fate tried to conceal him by calling him Smith,

But he shouted a song for the Brave and the Free,

Just read on his medal, “My Country, of Thee.”

Doctor Holmes wrote further: “The name of Dr. Samuel F. Smith will

be honored by every school child in the land when I have been

forgotten one hundred years. He wrote ‘My Country.’ If he had said

‘Our Country,’ the hymn would not have been remembered, but that ‘My’

was a master-stroke. Every one who sings it at once feels a personal

ownership in his native land.”

During the senior year at Andover Seminary, in 1832, W. C. Woodridge,

a friend of young Smith, brought from Germany a book of patriotic

songs and said, “Please make me a poetical translation.” As this young

senior and poet was turning over the leaves of the song-book he came

across the air of an easy patriotic tune which pleased him. As he was

translating “God Save the King,” taken with the words, he thought

how fine it would be to have an American patriotic anthem. Under the

impulse of the moment he picked up a scrap of waste paper and his quill

pen and began to write, and in half an hour the four verses of the

poem, “America,” were written as they stand to-day. Later his friend

Lowell Mason saw the poem, liked it, and put it into his music-book,

and it has floated around the world. Doctor Smith said he heard it sung

above the earth, on Pike’s Peak, and under the earth, in the Cave of

the Winds, and on the earth in a great many lands. It was first sung

publicly at a Sunday-school celebration, in the Park Street Church,

Boston, and since, in days of peace and prosperity, through the crisis

of the Civil War, and on almost all public occasions, it has gradually

won recognition as our national anthem, without the ceremonial of

adoption in any historic sense. Public-school teachers find it most

helpful in awakening a love for the new country among the mixed

races of child immigrants who must be molded into patriotic American

citizens. In association with Lowell Mason, Doctor Smith wrote the

first song-book for boys and girls ever published in the United States.

It is remarkable that the national anthems of America, of England, and

of Prussia should have the same tune. Henry Carey is often credited

with this tune. The English, however, did not invent it. The Germans

got it from the Norsemen, who had heard it sung by Finns, who got it

from Huns, who brought it from Asia. Something like it was sung by the

Jews in the first temple, and it may have come from the Egyptians. It

is a solemn and majestic strain, suitable to some of the Psalms of

David:

Our fathers’ God! to thee,

Author of liberty!

To thee we sing:

Long may our land be bright

With freedom’s holy light,

Protect us by thy might,

Great God, our King!

X

HEROES OF PEACE

(_Adapted for Children, Nine to Fourteen Years._)

1. THE BOY HERO OF HOLLAND

Once there was a good boy who had a kind-hearted mother. One afternoon

she said: “Here, Peter, are some cakes I want you to take to the poor

old blind man who is very ill, and who lives a mile and a half away

from town. If you go quickly and do not stop to play, you will be

home before it is dark.” Peter took the cakes to the poor old blind

man, who said, “You are a kind-hearted boy; thank your mother for

me.” Light-hearted because he had made the blind man happy, Peter

was walking home when suddenly he noticed a little stream of water

trickling through the great bank on the side of the road. This was in

Holland, where much of the land is below the level of the sea, and

where dikes are built by the people to keep back the sea. Every boy

in Holland knows the danger of even a small leak in the dike. Peter

understood at once that this tiny stream would soon make a large hole

and the whole city would be flooded. In a moment he saw what he must

do. He climbed down the side of the dike and thrust his chubby little

hand and finger into the tiny hole and stopped the flowing of the

water. Then he cried out for help, but no one heard him; no one came

to help. It grew dark, and cold; he was hungry; his arm ached and it

began to grow stiff and numb. He shouted again: “O mother! mother!” But

his mother thought Peter must be spending the night with the blind

man, and did not know of his danger. Peter thought how warm and cozy

all at home were sleeping in their beds, and he said to himself, “I

will not let them be drowned!” So that good boy stayed there all night

long, holding back the water. Early next morning, a minister on his way

to visit the sick, heard a groan, saw the boy, and called out to him,

“What is the matter, my boy? Are you hurt? Why are you sitting there?”

When Peter told him what he had done, the minister said, “I will hold

my hand there while you run quickly to the town and get help.” Very

soon men came and repaired the leak in the dike, but all knew that

Peter, by his courage and faithfulness, had saved the town of Haarlem

that night.

2. THE GERMAN PATRIOT AND THE BARLEY-FIELDS

Once there was a terrible battle in Germany, and thousands of soldiers

were scattered over the country. A captain who had many men and horses

to feed was told by his colonel to get food from the farmers near-by.

The captain walked for some time through the broad valley, and at last

knocked at the door of a small cottage. A man, old and lame and leaning

on a stick, opened the door. “Good morning,” said the captain. “Will

you please show me a field where my soldiers can cut grain for our

army? We cannot pay for it.” The old man led the soldiers through the

valley for about a mile, when they saw a field of rich barley waving in

the breeze.

“That is just what we want,” said the captain. “No, not yet,” said the

old man; “follow me a little farther.” After some time they came to

a second field of barley. The soldiers got off their horses, cut the

grain, tied the sheaves, and rode away with them. Then the captain said

to the old man, “Why did you make us come so far? The first field of

barley was better than this one.” “That is true, sir,” answered the old

man, “but it was not mine!”--_Adapted from “Ethics for Children” by E.

L. Cabot._

3. THE JAPANESE AND THE EARTHQUAKE

Once in far-away Japan there lived a rich man who owned a large

ranch--not of alfalfa, or wheat, or other grain--but of rice. One

afternoon he stood looking over his large fields of rice, saying, “What

a rich man this great harvest makes me!” Suddenly he felt an earthquake

and saw that the waves of the sea were running away from the land and

rolling far out. He knew that it would only be a little while before

the waves would return in a great flood, which would overflow the

little strip of land along the seashore, in the valley below the high

plain on which his ranch was situated, and all the people in the little

village would be drowned. It was a holiday and the people in their

merrymaking and fun and laughter had not noticed the earthquake. The

rich man cried to his servants, “Bring torches! make haste! set fire

to the rice!” Then he and his servants set on fire stack after stack

of the rice. In a moment the flames and smoke rose high, the big bell

from the village pealed the fire-signal, and all the boys and girls and

men and women ran up the hill as fast as they could to see the fire,

and to try to save the rice-crop of the rich man. When they saw him

setting fire to his rice, they shouted, “Look, he is mad; he is setting

fire to his rice.” “Look!” shouted the old man. They looked and saw the

raging and surging waves of the sea come rolling in. They looked again

a few moments later and saw nothing but the straw which had been the

thatched roofs of their homes tossing on the waters and their whole

village blotted out by the sea. “That is why I set fire to my rice,”

said the old Japanese. “If I had not done that you would have all been

drowned in those waves!” He stood among them almost as poor as any of

them, but he had the consciousness that by the sacrifice of his fortune

he had saved four hundred lives that day.--_Adapted from “Gleanings in

Buddha-fields,” by L. Hearn._

4. THE RUSSIAN SERVANT

One cold winter day long ago a Russian nobleman and his wife were

traveling across the plains of Russia in a sleigh drawn by six horses,

and their two servants on horseback were riding beside them. Suddenly

they heard the howling of a great pack of wolves that had been driven

by cold and hunger from the mountains. The nobleman at once ordered

one of the servants to ride on faster to the town and bring them other

horses while he drove those he had more swiftly. The wolves came nearer

and nearer. The other servant begged his master to allow him to loose

his horse for the wolves to devour, hoping in this way to save time.

But as soon as the servant sprang into the sleigh the frightened horse

was torn into a thousand pieces by the fierce wolves, and they were

back again more bloodthirsty than before. While the servant fought

them off from the back of the sleigh the nobleman cut loose one after

another of the horses, until he had but two left. Then the servant

said, “I will spring among them and that will give you time to escape!”

“No! no!” cried the nobleman. “See the lights of the city in the

distance. We are almost safe!” But the wolves were again upon them

and there seemed no other way, so the servant sprang from the sleigh,

fought and drove back the wolves as far as he could to save all the

time possible, but at last he was overcome by their great numbers and

was devoured. A few moments later the Russian nobleman and his wife,

with the two horses and the sleigh, passed in through the gate of

the city in safety, conscious that they had been saved only by the

great self-sacrifice of their faithful servant. For a long time after

travelers on that road saw a cross, which the nobleman had erected on

the spot where his servant had given up his life, and on the cross were

these words: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down

his life for his friends.”

[Illustration: GRACE, PULLING AT ONE OAR, AND HER FATHER AT THE OTHER]

5. GRACE DARLING

Once there was a terrible storm at sea, and a steamship was dashed

upon the rocks and split in two. One-half of the ship was washed away,

and those of the passengers who were still alive, were clinging to the

other half upon the low rocks, lashed by the angry waves. About a mile

away in a lighthouse a brave girl, named Grace Darling, the daughter of

the lighthouse-keeper, heard, above the noise of the winds and waves,

the screams and cries of the drowning men, and when daylight dawned she

could see the wreck and the men clinging to the masts. “Let us go out

in the lifeboat and save them?” she cried. But her father, who knew the

danger in such a storm, replied, “It is of no use. We can never reach

them!” “We can never stay here and see them die, father,” Grace said;

“let us try to save them.” So the heavy lighthouse boat was launched,

and with Grace pulling at one oar, and her father at the other, they

reached the wreck and rescued, one by one, the worn-out men, whom they

rowed safely to the lighthouse. Then Grace became as tender a nurse

as she had been brave as a sailor, for she cared most kindly for the

shipwrecked men until the storm ceased and they were strong enough to

go to their own homes. The heroism of this young woman became known

everywhere. Thousands sang her praises. Artists visited the lighthouse

to take her portrait. Three thousand dollars were subscribed and

presented to her. Distinguished people sent her letters of gratitude.

But through all such praise Grace Darling remained as modest as she

was brave, saying, “I did not suppose I had done anything worthy of so

much notice.” When a few years afterward she died, over her grave, in a

little churchyard by the sea, not far from the lighthouse, a monument

was raised in her honor, where it stands to-day. It is a marble statue

of a woman lying at rest with a boat’s oar held fast in her right hand.

6. THE SURVEYOR AND THE LITTLE BOY

One spring day, a young surveyor, eighteen years of age, was eating

his dinner with some companions in a forest in Virginia. Suddenly the

sylvan stillness was startled by the piercing shrieks of a woman. The

young surveyor sprang to his feet and leaped to the woman’s side. “My

boy! My boy! Oh, my darling boy is drowning and they will not let me

rescue him,” screamed the frantic mother as she tried to escape from

the men who held her from springing into the rapids. “No, we will not

let her go,” cried the men, “for she would be instantly killed on the

sharp rocks and could not rescue her boy!” “Why does not one of you

rescue him then?” said the manly fellow of eighteen. “We are not ready

to die yet,” the men replied. “O sir, won’t you do something?” cried

the mother to the young surveyor. For an instant he stood measuring the

rocks and the whirling rapids with his eye, and then, throwing off his

coat, he plunged into the roaring torrent where he had caught sight

of the drowning boy. With stout heart and steady hand he struggled

against the seething waters which each moment threatened to engulf him

or dash him to pieces against the sharp-pointed rocks. Just as they

thought both would go over the falls the young engineer clutched the

little fellow and swam with him to the shore. Then, amid the praises

of those who had witnessed his heroism, mingled with the gratitude of

the overjoyed mother, he placed the unconscious but saved little boy in

her arms. “God will reward you, young man,” said the mother; “God will

reward you some day for your heroism, and many will praise you for what

you have done this day!” And so it was; for this young surveyor who

saved the little boy was George Washington.

7. ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE PIG

One day as Abraham Lincoln was riding along a country road on

horseback, in company with some friends, he saw a pig stuck fast in a

deep place filled with mud, struggling to keep from going in deeper.

The poor pig was squealing in terror, and the comical sight filled the

friends with laughter and delight. After Lincoln had ridden on a little

distance, he turned back his horse, saying, “Gentlemen, excuse me a few

moments,” and rode back as fast as he could to the place where the poor

creature was, got down from his horse, and drew the pig out of the mud.

When he rejoined his companions they asked, “Why did you go back?” He

told them what he had done, adding, “I couldn’t sleep well to-night, if

I hadn’t done that thing.”

8. GLADSTONE AND THE STREET-SWEEPER

The minister of a church in London was called one day to see a

street-sweeper in his parish who was ill. Asking him if any one had

been to see him, to the surprise of the minister, the sweeper replied,

“Yes, Mr. Gladstone came to see me.”

“Which Mr. Gladstone?” asked the minister.

“Mr. Gladstone, he told me his name was,” replied the poor sick boy.

“But how came he to see you?” said the minister.

“Well,” answered the boy, “he always had a nice word for me when he

passed my crossing, and when I was not there he missed me. He asked my

mate, who had taken my place, where I was, and when he heard I was ill

he asked for my address, and he put it down on paper. So he called to

see me.”

“And what did he do?” asked the minister.

“He brought me some nice oranges,” answered the boy, “and then he read

to me some Bible and prayed, and it was so good!”

To a man like Gladstone, living humbly, simply, and sincerely, it is

as important and as interesting a deed to do a kindness to a poor

street-sweeper, and to comfort his heart with sympathy and love, as to

form a cabinet to govern the English Empire. In such service the words

of George Herbert have their full realization:

A servant with this clause

Makes drudgery divine;

Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws,

Makes that and th’ action fine.

9. GARIBALDI AND THE LOST LAMB

One evening, in the year 1861, as General Joseph Garibaldi, the Italian

patriot, fighting to make his beloved Italy free, united, and happy,

was going to his headquarters, he met a Sardinian shepherd lamenting

the loss of a lamb out of his flock. The great-hearted general at

once returned to camp and announced to his officers his intention of

scouring the mountains in search of the missing sheep. His soldiers,

inspired by his tenderness on the field of peace as they had been by

his valor on the field of battle, at once organized a grand expedition.

Lanterns were brought and old officers of many a campaign started off

full of enthusiasm to hunt for the lost lamb. But no lamb was found,

and the soldiers returned to their beds in the camp. The next morning

the servant of General Garibaldi found him in bed fast asleep. When

he was awakened the general rubbed his eyes. And so did the servant,

when he saw the old warrior bring the lost lamb from under the covering

where it had been kept warm, and request him to carry it back in safety

to the shepherd.

The man who had endured hardship and persecution, cold and hunger,

nakedness and exile to make his native land free, had thought it a

worthy task to keep up his search throughout the long night for the

lost sheep until he had found it.

10. HOVENDEN AND THE LITTLE BOY

Thomas Hovenden, the artist, who painted “Breaking the Home Ties,”

“Jerusalem, the Golden,” and “John Brown” which were exhibited at the

World’s Fair in Chicago, was one day standing in a railway depot just

as an engine was dashing into the station. He saw just in front of the

iron-horse some mother’s darling little boy, and instantly, without a

moment’s hesitation, he dropped his satchel and sprang in front of the

engine. He snatched the little boy in his arms, only to be crushed and

ground beneath the wheels of the conscienceless monster.

Great as are the exhibitions of his artistic genius in the paintings

he has left us to admire, Thomas Hovenden never made a more wonderful

picture in his life. Such a picture of unselfishness, heroism, and

Christlike abandon to save a child, is a picture to be admired in

heaven--a picture worthy to hang in the palace of God.

11. THE BOY AND THE TRAIN

Kenneth Oliver, a boy of eleven years of age, who lived in Tampico,

Ill., returning home from school one afternoon, saw a little girl only

seven years old playing on the railroad track. Suddenly he noticed

a heavy freight-train coming on, at full speed, drawn by two great

engines. The little girl did not see or hear the train, and was playing

on, entirely unconscious of her danger. The boy quickly ran to the

track, took hold of the child, and dragged her to one side of the

rails, but he missed his footing, and the boy and girl rolled down

the embankment together just as the train dashed past. It was not an

instant too soon, for the edge of the pilot-beam struck the girl,

bruising her, and missed killing the boy by an inch. The boy thought

nothing of his danger. The tumble down the bank into the ditch seemed

like a joke to the two children, although they felt the effects of

their somersaults for some time afterward. The little girl’s mother,

full of gratitude, told what this boy hero had done; all the country

round soon sang his praises; and not long after he received a medal

and two thousand dollars from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission. It

had always been his wish to go to college. This enabled him to get his

wish, for the money was enough to pay for his education.

12. THE BOY AND THE MAD DOG

One day in the town of Weser, in Germany, a boy was playing with his

little sister, four years old. Suddenly the boy saw rushing down the

hill a mad dog followed by men, trying to stop it. In a moment the boy

saw that the dog was running directly toward his little sister. Not

thinking for a moment of his own danger, or escape, this brave boy in a

flash threw off his coat, wrapped it around his arm, and boldly faced

the fierce dog. Holding out his arm, shielded by the coat, the boy

turned the dog’s attention to himself, so that the wild beast jumped

at him and worried him until the men came up and killed the dog. The

men said, “Why did you not run away from the dog? You could easily have

done it.” “Yes,” answered the boy, “but if I had he would have attacked

my sister. I thought I would let the dog tear my coat instead of her!”

13. THE GIRL AND HER RED PETTICOAT

Jennie Clark, a little girl only eleven years old, who lived in Ohio,

was walking along a railroad track one hot summer afternoon when she

noticed that a wooden bridge over a deep ravine was on fire, evidently

caught from a spark from an engine. She knew that in a few moments an

excursion train to the World’s Fair was due to pass over the bridge. As

quick as a flash the little heroine snatched off her red petticoat, and

ran swiftly up the track toward the approaching train, waving her red

petticoat as a danger-signal. The engineer saw the warning and stopped

the train in time to save the lives of the passengers. Among the

hundreds of passengers who were saved were a number of Frenchmen who,

on their return to France, told this story of the brave little American

girl who had saved the train. The story reached the ears of President

Carnot, who, after communicating with President McKinley, bestowed upon

her the Cross of the Legion of Honor. This young girl of Ohio, who so

courageously gave herself in such heroic service, was the youngest

person in the world to wear the Cross of the Legion of Honor, France’s

highest award for heroic service in time of war and peace!

14. THE NEWSBOY OF GARY

Billy Rough was a crippled newsboy who owned a news-stand on a busy

street corner in Gary, Ind. But, though a cripple, Billy was such

a cheerful soul that he did far more than sell newspapers. He gave

away sunshine. He knew his customers and was interested in all their

affairs. As he handed them their papers he asked, with neighborly

cheerfulness, about their welfare. If the crippled boy had troubles

himself, no one ever knew of them. He was far more anxious to help

others bear their burdens than to add to them by any tales of his own

woes. One day he read in the newspaper of a young girl who had been

terribly burned as the result of a motorcycle accident. The doctors

said her life could only be saved by grafting some one else’s skin

upon the burned flesh. Billy Rough said to himself: “I’m only a poor

cripple. My life is not of much account. I will offer my skin.” He was

told that amputation would be necessary and very dangerous. He said:

“If it will save the girl, take it off. I’ll save money. I’ll only have

to buy one shoe. The leg is of no use to me. Maybe it’ll help her.

I’d like to be of some use to some one.” He saved her life, but lost

his own, for soon after the grafting, he died, saying: “I’m glad I

done it. Yes, I’m going, but I was some good in the world after all.”

The Mayor of Gary, impressed with this heroic self-sacrifice, issued

a proclamation announcing that contributions for a memorial would be

received. Nine hundred dollars, which had been sent in for his use

before he died, were turned over to the memorial committee. A statue in

Jefferson Park, a bronze tablet in the building where his news-stand

stood, and an endowed room in the Gary Hospital where he lay before his

death, all testify that the name of Billy Rough, the crippled newsboy

and hero of Gary, will have an enduring place in the annals of American

heroes.

XI

MODERN BOYS AND GIRLS WHO BECAME USEFUL

(_Adapted for Young People, Nine to Eighteen Years._)

1. LONGFELLOW, POET

The poet, Longfellow, once wrote in his diary, “We have but one life

to live on earth; we must make that beautiful.” The story of this

beautiful life began at his birth in Portland, Me., February 27, 1807.

He was the second of eight children. His father was an honored lawyer

and his mother was a woman of refinement, a descendant of John Alden

of the Mayflower. Henry was a noble, tender-hearted boy. One day when

he went shooting, he killed a robin. The piteous look of the little

fearless thing so pained him that he never went shooting again. The

first book he loved was Irving’s “Sketch-Book.” Its strange stories of

“Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle,” pleased his fancy. During each

summer he used to visit his Grandfather Wadsworth’s estate of seven

thousand acres, just outside Portland, where they told him tales of

’76. The story of the fight with the Indians impressed him so deeply

that at the age of thirteen he wrote his first poem, “The Battle of

Lovell’s Pond,” which he slipped into an envelope and mailed to a

newspaper, telling no one but his sister. He walked up and down in

front of the printing-office, shivering in the cold, and wondering if

his poem was being put in print. Next morning there was the poem,

signed “Henry.” He read it again and again, and thought it a fine poem.

In the evening he and his father were visiting at a neighbor’s house,

when the neighbor said to Mr. Longfellow, “Did you see the little

poem in to-day’s paper?” “No,” said Mr. Longfellow, “is it good for

anything?” “No,” said the neighbor, “it’s stiff, and it’s all borrowed,

every word; why, your boy there could write much better than that!”

Poor Henry’s heart sank. He hurried home and sobbed himself to sleep

that night. Yet criticism did not discourage this brave boy. He kept

trying, saying, “I will succeed,” and he became the best-loved poet

of the world. At fourteen he graduated from Portland Academy, and at

eighteen from Bowdoin College. After three years’ travel in Europe, he

became professor of modern languages in his alma mater for five years,

and then for eighteen years professor of literature in Harvard, being

succeeded by James Russell Lowell. The school children of Cambridge

celebrated his seventy-second birthday by presenting him with a chair

carved from the wood of the chestnut tree under which stood the village

smithy that he made famous in his poem, “The Village Blacksmith.” The

poet greatly appreciated this gift, and wrote one of his best poems

about it. Each boy and girl who came was allowed to sit in the chair

and each received a copy of a poem that Longfellow wrote. The same year

fifteen hundred children of Cincinnati celebrated his birthday with

recitations from his poems and singing his songs. His marble statue

stands in the “Poet’s Corner,” in Westminster Abbey in London, England.

His grave is in Mount Auburn Cemetery, in Cambridge. On his tombstone

is the simple inscription: “Longfellow.” That is enough. There are

few schoolboys in America or England who do not know the story of his

beautiful life, or who have not recited his words in “A Psalm of Life”:

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time--

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, may take heart again.

Let us then be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait.

2. MOZART, MUSICIAN