KiNu JOHN bHiMNG Till: MAGNA CHAKTA. [See page 22. THE STORY OF LIBERTY BY CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN AUTHOR OF "THE BOYS OF '76' 3llu6trateb NEW YORK HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS FRANKLIN SQUARE 1879 ^1 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by HARPER & BROTHERS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. INTRODUCTION To the Boys and Girls of America : This " Story of Liberty " is a true narrative. It covers a period of live hundred years, and is an outline of the march of tlie human race from Slavery to Freedom. There are some points in this book to which I desire to direct your attention. You will notice that the events which have given direction to the course of historj' have not always been great battles, for very few of the many conflicts of arras have had any determining force ; but it will be seen that insignificant events have been not unfrequently fol- lowed by momentous results. You will see that everything of tlie present, be it good or bad, may be traced to something in the past; that history is a chain of events. You will also notice that history is like a drama, and that there are but a few principal actors. How few there have been ! The first to appear in this " Story" is King John of England. Out of his signing his name to the Magna Charta have come the Parliament of Great Britain and the Congress of the United States, and representative governments everywhere. The next actors were John Wicklif and Geof- frey Chaucer, who sowed seed that is now ripening in individual liberty. Then came Henry VH., Henry VIII., Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Katherine's daughter (Mary Tudor), Cardinal Wolsey, Archbishop Cran- mer, Anne Boleyn's daughter (Elizabeth), King James, John Smith, John Robinson, William Brewster, and the men and women of Austerfield and Scrooby. In Scotland were Mary Stuart and George Buchanan ; in Bohemia, Professor Faulfash and John IIuss ; in Germany, the boy who sung for his breakfast (Martin Luther), Duke Frederick, John Tetzel, and John Guttenberg; in Holland, Laurence Coster, Doctor Erasmus, and William 8 .,'.'',,.' '''*" INTRODUCTION. the Sikilf ;' 'iri Finance; Fraricis' 1, Catherine de' Medici, the Duke of Guise, Charles IX., and Henry IV. ; in Spain, Thomas de Torqueniada, Isabella, Ferdinand, Christopher Columbus, Charles V., Philip II., and Loyola ; in Italy, Alexander VI, and Leo X. These have taken great parts in the drama : actively or passively, they have been the central figures. One other thing : you will notice that the one question greater than all others has been in regard to the right of men to think for themselves, especially in matters pertaining to religion. Popes, archbishops, cardinals, bishops, and priests have disputed the right, to secure which hundreds of thousands of men and women have yielded their lives. You will also take special notice that nothing is said against religion — nothing against the Pope because he is Pope ; nothing against a Catholic because he is a Catholic ; nor against a Protestant because he protests against the au- thority of the Church of Rome. Facts of history only are given. Cath- olics and Protestants alike have persecuted, robbed, plundered, maltreated, imprisoned, and burned men and women for not believing as they be- lieved. Through ignorance, superstition, intolerance, and bigotry ; through thinking that they alone were right, and that those who differed with them were wrong; forgetting that might never makes right; honestly thinking that they were doing God service in rooting out heretics, they filled the world with woe. There is still another point to be noticed : that the successes of those who have struggled to keep men in slavery have often proved to be in reality failures ; while the defeats of those who were fighting for freedom have often been victories. Emperors, kings, cardinals, priests, and popes have had their own way, and yet their plans have failed in the end. They plucked golden fruit, which changed to apples of Sodom. Mary Tudor resolutel}^ set herself to root out all heretics, and yet there Avere more heretics in England on the day of her death than when she ascended the throne. Charles V. and Philip II. grasped at universal dominion ; but their strength became weakness, their achievements failures. On the other hand, see what has come from disaster ! How bitter to John Rob- inson, William Brewster, and the poor people of Scroob}' and Austerfield, to be driven from home, to be exiles ! But out of that bitterness has come the Republic of the Western world ! Who won — King James, or John Robinson and William Brewster? INTEODUCTION. 9 There is still one other point : you will notice that while the oppress- ors have carried out their plans, and had things their own way, there were other forces silently at work, which in time undermined their plans, as if a Divine hand were directing the counter -plan. Whoever peruses the " Storj' of Liberty" without recognizing this feature will fail of fully comprehending the meaning of history. There must be a meaning to history, or else existence is an incomprehensible enigma. Some men assert that the marvellous events of history are only a series of coincidences; but was it by chance that the great uprising in Germany once lay enfolded, as it were, in the beckoning hand of Ursula Cotta ? How happened it that behind the passion of Henry YIIL for Anne Boleyn should be the separation of England from the Church of Rome, and all the mighty results to civilization and Christianity that came from that event ? How came it to pass that, when the world was read}- for it, and not before, George Buchanan should teach the doctrine that the people were the only legitimate source of power ? Men act freely in laying and executing their plans ; but behmd the turmoil and conflict of human wills there is an unseen power that shapes destiny — nations rise and fall, gen- erations come and go; yet through the ages there has been an advance- ment of Justice, Truth, Right, and Liberty. To what end ? Is it not the march of the human race toward an Eden of rest and peace ? If while reading this " Story" you are roused to indignation, or pained at the recital of wrong and outrage, remember that out of endurance and sacrifice has come all that you hold most dear ; so will you comprehend what Liberty has cost, and what it is worth. Charles Carleton Coffin. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. PAGK John Lackland and the Barons 1' CHAPTER II. The Man who Preached after He avas Dead 30 CHAPTER III. The Fire that was Kindled in Bohemia 55 CHAPTER IV. What Laurence Coster and John Guttenberg did for Liberty G9 CHAPTER V. The Men who Ask Qdestions.... 80 CHAPTER VI. How a Man Tried to Reach the East by Sailing West 97 CHAPTER VIL The New Home of Liberty- 123 CHAPTER VIII. A Boy who Objected to Marrying his Brother's W^idow 140 CHAPTER IX. The Man who Can Do no Wrong 159 CHAPTER X. The Boy Sung for his Breakfast , 172 CHAPTER XL What the Boy who Sung for his Breakfast Saw in Rome 178 CHAPTER XII. The Boy-cardinal 193 CHAPTER XIIL The Boy'-emperor 210 CHAPTER XIV. The Field of the Cloth of Gold 216 12 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. PAGK The Men who Ohky Orders 222 CHAPTER XVI. Plans that did not Come to Pass 22U CHAPTER XVII. The Man who Split the Church in Twain 241 CHAPTER XVIII. The Queen avho Burned Heretics 2ti4 CHAPTER XIX. How Liberty Began in France 283 CHAPTER XX. The Man who Filled the World with Woe 293 CHAPTER XXI. Progress of Liberty in England 298 CHAPTER XXII. How the Popk Put Down the Heretics 302 CHAPTER XXIIL The Queen of the Scots 311 CHAPTER XXIV. St. Bartholomew 31 G CHAPTER XXV. How the "Beggars" Fought for their Rights 328 CHAPTER XXVI. Why the Queen of Scotland Lost her Head 338 CHAPTER XXVII. The Retribution that Followed Crime 344 CHAPTER XXVIII. William Brewster and his Friends 351 ' CHAPTER XXIX. The Star of Empire 360 CHAPTER XXX. The " Half-moon" 378 CHAPTER XXXI. Strangers and Pilgrims 383 ILLUSTRATIONS, PAGE King John Signing the Magna Charta. FrHispiece Windsor Castle, from the Meadow at Runny- mede 17 Battle of Acre 18 Richard Slaughtering the Saracens 19 Crusaders 1 y King John '1\ Round Tower of Windsor Castle 22 Windsor Castle (south view) 23 Windsor Castle (east view) 24 The Place where the Magna Charta was Signed 25 "He has the right of deposing emperors". . 26 "All the princes of the earth shall kiss his feet " 27 The Church 27 Canterbury Cathedral 28 Gray's Monument 29 Lutterworth Church 30 Stratford 31 The Monks 32 Carmelite J~ -'• . . : 32 Good Old Vt._^ S3 The Way St. Dunstan Served the Devil 34 A Knight Fighting a Dragon 35 Mischief in the Air 36 A Monk Preaching 37 Adoration of Relies 38 The Interior of Christ Church, Oxford 39 Front of Baliol College, Oxford 39 A Monk in the Time of Wicklif. 40 Lambeth Palace 41 Reading the Bull 42 Preaching-place, London 43 John Wicklif Translating the Bible 43 Bible Chained to a Desk 44 Florence 45 Canterbury 46 PAGE The Westgate, Canterbury 47 Savoy Palace 48 A Bishop 49 The Pilgrims Starting from the Tabard Tav- ern 50 The Monks Humbling the King. (From an Old Print) 51 Chaucer's Monument 52 The Land of the Windmills 53 Receiving Absolution 55 Ruins of the Papal Palace at Avignon 56 The Pope on his Throne 57 Castle of St. Angelo 58 The Holy Men Settling a Dispute 59 The Old Town 60 John Huss in Prison 60 The Cojmcil 62 The Procession 64 Burning of John Huss 66 The Falls of Schaffhausen . 68 Haerlem 69 Canal in Holland 70 Street in Holland 71 Rheinstein 72 Bingen 73 Laurence Coster 74 Guttenberg's First Proof 75 Specimen of Type 75 John Guttenberg " i 76 William Caxton 77 Illuminated Letter 77 Presenting a Bible to the King. (From an Old Print) 78 Monument to Guttenberg 79 Yalladolid Cathedral 80 Isabella 81 Coronation of Isabella 82 Dominican Monk 83 14 ILLUSTRATIONS. PASI! A Thumb-screw 83 Torture Chamber 84 "Believe as I believe, or I'll roast you".. . 8.5 Burning a Heretic in Presence of the Pope. 86 Good enough for Heretics 87 Burning the Bishop of Tarragona 88 " Friends they had none" 90 A Moor's Palace * 91 Court of the Alhambra 92 Along the Corridors of the Palace 92 Gibraltar 94 Street Scene in Spain 95 Moors 96 The Alhambra 97 Columbus 98 Wool-comber 99 He Believes that the Earth is Round 99 The Old Castle 100 Marco Polo. 101 Genoa 102 "A morsel of bread for Diego, if you please" 103 " By sailing west, I shall be able to reach the Indies " 104 Columbus Explaining his Plan before Ferdi- nand and Isabella 105 Returning to the Alhambra 106 The Ships ". 108 The Canary Islands 1 09 Galileo 110 Sea-weed Ill The New World 112 The Landing 113 Along the Shore 114 Rearing the Cross 115 Returning to Spain 116 The King and Queen Receive lum in Great State 117 That is the Way to Do it 117 All have Perished 118 In Chains 119 A Dragon Eating it Up 120 The Rescue * 121 Columbus's Monument, Genoa 122 Sebastian Cabot 123 The Sea Swarms with Fish 124 Among the Icebergs 125 The Rocky Shore 126 The Caverns 127 Amerigo Vespucci 128 Dressing their Fisli 129 Two Men Bring a Cask on Board 130 The Head of the Cask Falls out, and a Young Man Stands before them 131 The Chief Offers his Daughter in Marriage. 132 " Do you. quarrel about such stuff ?" 133 Climbing the Mountains 134 Slaughter of the Indians 135 Discovery of the Pacific 136 Balboa Taking Possession of the Pacific. . 137 The Hounds Tear him to Pieces 138 Execution of Balboa 139 Lollards' Prison 140 The Council Chamber, Tower of London. . . 141 The Sanctuary 142 The Chest 142 Erasmus 143 Westminster Abbey and its Precinct, about A.D. 1735 144 Westminster Abbey 145 Shrine of Edward the Confessor 146 North Ambulatory and Chantry 147 The Cloister 148 Henry VII.'s Chapel 150 Sculpture on the Wall in the Abbey 151 Katherine 152 Scrooby 154 Margaret 155 Coffins of James I., Elizabeth of York, and Henry VII., as seen on Opening the Vault in 1869 156 Henry VIII 157 Coronation Chair 158 The Pope in his Palace ". 160 The Pope Going to St. Peter's 161 Caisar Borgia 162 The Cardinals 163 Vittoria Colonna 165 Lucretia Borgia 166 The Tiber, St. Peter's, and Castle of St. Angelo 167 The Priests' Procession 170 The Early Morning Chant at Eisenach .... 173 Ursula Cotta and Martin Luther 174 The Students' Festival 175 The Augustine Friars 176' Over the Mountains 179 The Canipagna 180 The Place where Cicero Delivered his Ora- tions 181 The Building which the Jews Erected 182 From this Palace went forth the Decree " that all the world should be ta.\ed". . . 183 ILLUSTRATIONS. 15 PAGE The Arch of Titus 185 The Coliseum 186 Fan-bearers 187 Carrying the Pope's Crown 188 The Doll that Works Miracles 189 Kissing St. Peter's Toe 190 Climbing the Stairs 192 The Pope's Chapel 194 The Cardinals in Procession 195 The Pope in his Carriage 197 Blessing Horses 198 St. Peter's and the Vatican 200 Luther Inspired by Satan 203 Confession to God. — Purchasing Pardon . . . 204 Christ, the True Light 205 Papa, Doctor Theologise et Magister Fidei . 206 The Pope Cast into Hell 206 Luther before Cardinal Cajetau 208 Frankfort 211 Interior of Chapter-house, Canterbui'y 212 Thomas Wolsey and his Companions in the Stocks 212 Cardinal Wolsey 213 The Great Harry 214 Francis 1 216 Tilting 217 Champion of the Tournament 217 The Tournament 218 The Cooks Getting Dinner 219 The Queen's Carriage 219 The Cathedral, Florence 221 Ignatius Loyola 223 The Jesuit ' >nary 225 Melancthon 228 A Street in the Old Town 232 Doctor Luther at Worms 235 Luther and the Pope. (From an Old Print) 238 View from Albert Diirer's House 239 Wolsey's Palace 241 Henry and Anne 242 -Main Entrance to Wolsey's Palace 243 Buckingham 244 Buckingham on his Way to Prison 245 I'he Court at Blackfriars 246 The Old Guildhall, London 247 Westminster, 1532 249 Return from the Christening 250 Hall in Cardinal Wolsey's Palace 251 Old Ciiurch at Austerfield 252 The Cardinal's Hat and Seal 253 ilore's House 254 PAGE Sir Thomas More 255 The Guildhall, Norwich 256 The Tower 258 The Bloody Tower 259 Sir Thomas More ami his Daughter Mar- gai-et in the Tower 260 Smithfield in 1546. The Burning of Anne Askew 261 All Day long the People Read it 262 Gold Medal of Henry VIII 263 The Beheading-block 265 Traitor's Gate 266 Philip 267 Winchester 268 A Grandee 269 St. Mary Overy, South wark 270 Street in London in the Time of Mary .... 272 Bearing Fagots 273 Hadleigh Church 275 St. Botolph's Church, Aldgate 275 Bridge at Hadleigh 276 Almshouses at Hadleigh 276 The Martyrs' Stone 277 Old Chapel at Brentwood 278 The Old Bocardo Prison, Oxford 279 Old Marshalsea 280 Burning the Hand 281 Old Paul's Cross— Riots in 1556 281 The Martyr's Memorial, Oxford 282 Bernard" Pahs.sy 283 Heating the Furnace 284 Wine and Garlic will Make him Strong . . . 285 Jeanne d'Albret 286 Catherine de' Medici in Court Dress 287 Henry and Montgomery at the Tournament. 288 Chateau of Amboise 290 Fontainebleau 291 Charles V 293 Burning the Monks 296 The River Avon 299 Room in which Shakspeare was Born 300 Skakspeare Reading One of his Plays to Elizabeth 301 The Cardinal of Lorraine 303 Catherine de' Medici 304 The Valleys of the Vaudois 306 Jeanne and Henry escaping from Paris . . . 307 Burying the Heretics Alive 308 The Valley of Pra del Tor 309 Mary, Queen of Scots 311 Lord Darnley , 312 16 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Holyrood Palace 313 Marguerite of Lorraine 316 Charles IX 317 Admiral Coligny 318 Notre Dame 319 Tiie Marriage 320 The Louvre 321 Assassination of Coligny 322 Just before Daybreak, Sunday Morning — St. Bartholomew 324 Parting to Meet no More 325 The Picture which the Pope Ordered to be Painted 326 A Dog Team 328 William the Silent 329 The Great Canal 330 The Fortifications 331 Leyden 333 The Old Church 336 Amsterdam 337 Queen Elizabeth 339 Autograph of Queen Elizabeth 343 Henry III 345 "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again " 346 Jacques Clement Killing the King 348 For the Sake of Peace, He will Acknowledge the Pope 849 Dancing on the Green 352 Peasants' Ball 353 Ale-drinkers 355 James 1 356 Holland Farm-house 358 Sir Walter Enjoying his Pipe. (From an Old Print) 361 John Smith Resolves to be a General 363 John Smith's Fight with the Turk , 365 The Three Turks' Heads 366 Smith's Escape from Slavery 367 Meeting the Indians 369 The First Fight 371 Pocahontas Shields hun from their Clubs.. 372 Submission of the Rappahannocks 374 Captain Smith Subduing the Chief 375 Ruins at Jamestown 376 Off Cape North 378 The Half-moon in Chesapeake Bay 379 The Half-moon in the Hudson 380 A Highway in Holland 383 St. Peter's Church 384 Delftshaven 386 The Farewell Meeting 388 The Mayflower 389 Signing the Agreement 391 Captain Standish Attacked by the Indians. 394 Map of Plymouth Bay 395 Plymouth Harbor, December, 1620 396 Chair and Chest 397 " Welcome, Englishmen !" 398 Massasoit's Visit to the Pilgrims 399 The Palace of King Massasoit 400 Sunday at Plymouth 402 WINUSOK CAblLli, ilioii llllu xMliADuW AT KUNNYMliPli, l^iE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER I. JOHN LACKLAND AND THE BARONS. A T the time wlien this story begins there is very little liberty in the the Hiinnyniede meadow, wliere the Army of God has set up its encamp- ment. 1^0 other army like it was ever seen. All the great men of Eng- land are in its ranks — the barons and lords, the owners of castles who ride on noble horses, wear coats of mail, and are armed with swords and lances. Pavilions and tents dot the meadow; flags and banners wave in tlie summer air ; General Fitzwalter is commander. There is no hostile army near at hand, nor will there be any clashing of arms on this 15th of June, and yet before the sun goes down the Army of God will win a great vic- 2 IS THE STORY OF LIBERTY. torj over the King of England, John Lackland, who is in Windsor Castle, M'hich overlooks the meadow from the south side of the river Thames, which comes down from the north-west and SM-eeps on to London. The king is called John Lackland because his father did not deed him any land. IT is brother was Richard Coeiu' de Lion — the lion-hearted — who was brave, but also wicked and crnel. lie commanded the Crusad- ers, and fought the Saracens under Saladin, iu Palestine. One day he told his cook to have some fresh pork for dinner, but the cook had no pork, nor did he know where to lind a pig. He was in trouble, for if there was no pork on the table he would stand a chance of having his head chopped off. lie had heard it said, however, that human flesh tasted like pork. Knowing that no poi-k was to be had, he killed a Saracen prisoner and cooked some of the flesh and placed it on the table. The king praised the dinner. Perhaps, however, he mistrusted that it was not pork, for, said Richard, "Bring in the head of the pig, that I may see it." The poor cook knew not what to do. Xow he certainly would have his head cut off. With much trembling he brought in the head of the Saracen. The king laughed when he saw it. " We shall not want for pork as long as we have sixty thousand prison- ers," he said, not in the least disturbed to know that he had been eating human flesh. The Saracen general — Saladin — sent thirty ambassadors to BATTLE OF ACRE. JOHN LACKLAND AND THE BAEONS. 19 Richard beseecliing liim not to put tlie piisoiiers to deatli. Ricliard gave them an entertainment, and instead of ornamenting the banquet with KICHAKU SLAUGHTKRING THE SARACEN flowers, he had tliirty Saracens killed, and their heads placed on the table. Instead of ""'^-^ding to the request of Saladin, he had tlie sixt}' thousand men, women, and children slaughtered out on the plain east of the city of Acre. " Tell yonr master that after such a fashion the Christians wage war against intidels," said Richard to the ambassadors. Kings did as they pleased, but for everybody else there was no liberty. When Richard died, John seized all his money, jewels, and the throne, pretending that Richard had made a will in his favor. John's older brother, Geoffrey, who was heir to the throne, was dead ; but Geoffrey had a son, Arthur, whose right to the throne was as good as John's. Arthur was a bo}', while John was thirty -two years old. The uncle seized Arthur, and put him into a dunn^eon in tlie Tower in London, "^"^W*^ CULbVDl.Ub. 20 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. and ordered the keeper, Hubert de Burgh, to put Arthur's eyes out with a red-hot iron. Sliakspeare has pictured tlie scene when Hubert entered one morning and showed Arthur his uncle's order : '^^Arth. Must you with hot irons burn out both mine eyes? Hub. Young boy, I must. Arth. And will you? Hub. And I will. Arth. Have you the heart? When your head did but ache, I knit my handkercliief about your brows, (The best I had, a princess wrought it me), And I did never ask it you again : And with my hand at midnight held your head ; And, like the watchfid minutes to the hour, Still and anon eheer'd up the heavy time: Saying, What lack you? and Where lies your grief? Or, What good love may I perform for you ? Many a poor man's son would have lain still. And ne'er have spoke a loving word to you ; But you at your sick service had a prince. Nay, you may think my love was crafty love. And call it cunning; Do, an if you will: If Heaven be pleased that you must use me ill, Why, then you must. — Will you put out mine eyes ? These eyes that never did, nor never shall, So much as frown on you? Hub. I have sworn to do it, And with hot irons must I burn them out." But lie did not. Arthur was so affectionate and kind that Hubert had not the heart to do it. It is not certainly known what became of Arthur, but that John liad him murdered is most probable. Before John seized the throne, he married a girl named Avisa, daugli- ter of the Duke of Gloucester; but afterward he saw Isabella, wife of Count La Marche, in Normandy, and deserting Avisa, persuaded the fool- ish woman to leave her husband and marry him. When the count and his friends flew to arms, he seized them, took them over to England, thrust them into loathsome dungeons, and starved them to death, while he lived in affluence in the castle at Windsor. There were rich Jews in London and Bristol, and John coveted their money. He seized them. "Give up your money, or I will have your teeth pulled, every one of them," said he. Most of them gave up their money; but one man resisted. " Pull a tooth," said the king. The tooth was pulled. " Will you give up your money V " No." JOHN LACKLAND AND THE BARONS. 21 " Pull another." Out catne another tooth. " Will jou comply with the king's demands ?" " Pull 'em all out." Out they came. " Will you hand over your money ?" " No." " Then seize it ; take all." So the poor man lost his teeth, and his money also. John commanded the country people to drive their cattle into camp, and supply his soldiers with food. The people in AVales, however, would not obey, whereupon he seized twenty -eight sons of the chief families, and shut them up in prison. That stirred the Welshmen's blood, and they flew to arms ; but John, instead of giving up the young men, put them to death. He is a tyrant. The barons and lords have resolved that they will no longer submit to his tyranny. They have organized themselves into an army, calling themselves the "Army of God." A few months ago, they sent a deputatio ' the king, stating their de- mands. " I will not grant them liberties which will make me a slave," he said, swearing ter- rible oaths. There is no liberty for anybody, except for this wicked and cruel tyrant. But his answer only makes the barons more deter- mined. They resolve that if the king will not grant what they ask, they will secure it by the sword. John can swear terrible oaths, and make a great bluster; but he is a coward, as all blusterers are, and turns pale when he finds that the Army of God is marching to seize him. He sends word to the barons that he will meet them at Kunnymede on the 15th of June, and grant Avhat they desire. The barons have written out their demands on parchment. They will have them in writing, and the agreement shall be the law of the land. John rides down from the Castle, accompanied by a cavalcade, through Windsor forest, where the deer are feeding, and where pheasants are build- ing their nests, and meets the barons on an island in the river. He is so KING JOHN. 22 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. frightened that he does not ask the barons to make any modification of their demands, but grants M'hat they desire. A great piece of beeswax, as large as a saucer, and an inch thick, is stamped with John's seal, and attached to the parchment; then the king rides back to the Castle, moody and gloomy ; but as soon as he gets inside the fortress, he rages like a madman, walks the Iiall, smiting his fists, rolling his eyes, gnashing his teeth, biting sticks and chewing straws, cursing the barons, and swearing that he will have his revenge. What is this document to which the king's seal has been attached ? It is a paper establishing a Great Council, com- posed of the barons, the archbishops, bishops, and earls, whom the king is ?-fff Mi/ liUVSU TOWlAi OF WIXDSUU CASTLK. to summon from time to time by name, and the lesser barons, who are to be summoned by the sheriffs of the counties. Together, they are to be a Parliament. Hereafter the king shall not levy any taxes \liat he may JOHN LACKLAND AND THE BARONS. 23 please, or compel people to drive tl shall say what taxes shall be levied leir cattle into camp ; bnt Parliament . The barons may choose twenty-five MINU&Oll CViTLL (south MhA\ ) of their number, who shall see that the provisions of the agreement are carried out. Another agreement is that no freeman shall be punished till after he has had a trial by his ecpials. There are other stipulations, but these are the most important. The agreement is called the Magna Charta, or Great Charter, John Lackland plans his revenge. There is a powerful man in Home, the most powerful man on earth, who will aid him — Pope Innocent III. lie claims to be, and the bai'ons and everybody else regard hira as God's representative on earth. He has all power. The people have been taught to believe that he is the only individual in the world who has the right to say what men shall believe and what they shall do, and that he can do no wrong ; that what he says is right is right. He is superior to all kiugs and emperors. Just after the great battle of Hastings, which was fought in October, 1066, Pope Gregory VII. made these declarations : " To the Pope helongs the right of making new laws. '■'■All the princes of the earth shall kiss his feet. ''He has the right of deposing eiitperors. 24 THE STOKY OF LIBERTY. " The sentence of the Pojm can be revoked by none. '■''He can he judged by none. '■'■ None may dare to jpronounce sentence u])on any one who a2)j)eals to the Pope. '■'■He never has erred, nor can he ever err. '■'■He can loose subjects from the oath of fealty. " The Po])e is holy. He can do no lorong:'' Jolui has already linmiliated himself before the Pope, and acknowl- edged liira as his superior in everything. He sends a copy of the Char- tei-, that the Pope may read it, begging to be released from keeping his oath. The Pope is very angry \vhen he reads the Charter, for he sees that it encroaches upon his authority, taking political affairs out of his hands. He swears a terrible oath that the barons shall be punished for daring to take such liberties. He releases John from his oath, and sends word to the barons that if they do not renounce the Charter he will excommuni- cate them. The barons are not frightened, however, and send back this reply : " It is not the Pope's business to meddle with the political affairs or the rio-hts and liberties of Englishmen." WINDSOR CASTLE (eAST VIEW). JOHN LACKLAND AND THE BARONS. 25 The Pope excommunicates tliem, and aids John in stirring up the peo- ple to fight the barons. He excommunicates the Archbishop of Canter- bury, tlie highest prelate in England, wlio officiates in Canterbury Cathe- dral, and who sides with them. The barons, seeing that the Pope and John together are too strong for them, offer the crown to Lewis, son of the King of France. The French king is quite willing to send an army to help them. John marches along the sea-coast to prevent the landing of the French, and comes to a low place when the tide is out ; but the tide comes in suddenly with a rush and roar, and he loses all his carriages, treasure, baggage, regalia, and many of his soldiers, and is obliged to flee. THE PLACK WHKKE THE MAGNA CHARTA WAS SIGNED. A few months later, broken down by fever, by disappointment, and rage, he dies at Norwich, and his son, Henry III., comes to the throne. Thei-e are two classes of people in England— the upper and the lower class— the barons and the villains. A villain in the nineteenth century is a swindler, a cheat ; but six hundred years ago a villain was a poor man who worked for his living. He was a serf, and owed allegiance to the barons. The villains could not own any land, nor could they own them- selves. They had no rights nor liberties. The barons are a few hundreds, the villains several millions. The barons, while demanding their own liberties, are not thinking of obtaining any liberties for the villains. It does not occur to them that a villain has 26 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. HE HAS THE lUGlIT OF DEPOSING EMl'EKUllS. any rights or liberties. Little do they know, however, of what will gi'ow out of that parchment. Six centuries and a half have passed since that 15th of June, in 1215, at Ilnnnyniede ; the meadows are as fresh and green as then ; the river winds as peacefully as it has through all the years. England and Amer- JOHN LACKLAND AND TlIK BARONS. 27 "all the pkinces of the earth shall kiss his feet. ica have become great and powerful nations ; but would they have been wliat they are if the Army of God liad not won that victory over John Lackland ? No ; for out of tliat Charter have come the Parliament of Great Britain and the Congress of the United States, and many other things. It was the first great step of the Englisli people toward freedom. Not far from that verdant meadow where the army set up its encamp- ment is a little old stone church, with ivy creeping over its walls and climbing its crumbling tower. One hundred and fifty years ago, Thomas Gray, a poet, who lived in a little hamlet near by, used to wander out in the evening to meditate in the old church -yard, and here he wrote a --.jc ^^^^-i_- 4. sweet poem, beginning, ^' "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day; The lowing herd winds slowly o"er the lea ; Tlie ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to daikness and to me." A few years after he wrote it, in 1759, one night a great fleet of Eng- lish M-ar-sliips was moored in the river St. Lawrence, and an army in boats the church. 28 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. with muffled oars was silently moving along the stream. The general commanding it was James Wolfe, a young mau only thirty years of age. In his army were soldiers from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Isl- CANTiililiUKV CATHEDRAL. and, Connecticut, and New York. One of General Wolfe's officers was Colonel Israel Putnam, of Connecticut ; another was Richard Montgom- ery, of New York. As the boats moved along the stream, the brave young general from England recited this verse of the poem : "Tlie boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth, e'er gave, Await, alike, th' inevitable hour ; The paths of glory lead but to the grave." " I would rather be the author of that poem than take Quebec to-mor- row," said he. But would the poem ever have been written if the Army of God had not set up its baimers ? Quite likely not. In the darkness the army under General Wolfe climbed the steep bank of the St. Lawrence — so steep and so narrow the path that only one man at a time could climb it ; and in the morning the whole army stood on the Plains of Abraham, behind Quebec. Before another sunset a great JOHN LACKLAND AND THE BARONS. 29 battle had been fonglit, a great victory won. Wolfe was victor, Mont- calm the vanquished ; but both were dead. The flag of France, which had floated above the citadel of Quebec, the emblem of French power, disappeared forever, and the flag of England appeared in its place. From that time on there was to be anotlier language, another literature, another religion, another civilization, in the Western World. But would the bat- tle ever have been fought, would things in America be as they are, if the barons had not obtained that agreement in writing from John Lackland ? No. That parchment, crumpled and worn and yellow with time, with the great round seal attached to it, lies in a glass case in the British Museum, London. The parchment is but a piece of sheepskin ; the wax was made by the bees which hummed amidst the hawthorn hedges of old England six hundred years ago. The parchment and the wax are of very little account in themselves, but what has come from them is of infinite value. As this s •• goes on, it will be seen that the assembling of the Army of God in the meadow of llunnymede was the beginning of the liberty which we now enjoy. GRAY S MONUMKNT. 30 THE STUKY OF LlBEliTY. CHAPTER 11. THE i\rAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. DOCTOR JOHN WICKLIF lias been dead these forty years, and his bones have been lying the while in Lutterworth Church-yard; but it has been decreed by the great Council of Constance that they shall lie there no longer. A party of monks, with pick and spade, have dug them np, and now they kindle a fire, burn them to powder, and shovel the ashes into _ a brook which sweeps _^ ^ ^^^ ^-^ past the church-yard ; :r:zt^^^ _ and the brook bears ---==f=;^ -^ them on to the Avon, which, after winding through Stratford ' 1" '. - meadows, falls into the Severn, and the Sev- ern bears them to the sea. But why are the monks so intent upon annihilating the doc- tor's bones ? Because the doctor, who was a preacher, though he has been dead so long, still continues to preach ! The monks wnll have no more of it; and the}' think that by getting rid of his bones they will put an end to his preaching. They forget that there are some things which the fire will not burn — such as liberty, truth, justice. Little do they think th.at the doctor will keep on ]ireaching; that his parish will be the world, his followers citizens of every land; that his preaching, together with that parclunent and the great piece LUTTlCinvOUTlI CHURCH. THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 31 of beeswax attached to it, which the barons obtained from John Lackland, will bring about a new order of things in human affairs; that thrones will be overturned ; that sovereigns will become subjects, and subjects sovereigns. A century has passed since the Magna Charta was obtained, but not much liberty has come from that document as yet. The people are still ii& STRATIr ORD. THE STORY OF LIBERTY. THE MONKS. villains. Tlie king and tlie barons plunder them ; the monks, friars, bishops, and archbishops — a swarm of men live upon them. The}' must pay taxes to the king, to the barons, and to the priests ; and they have no voice in saying what or how much the taxes shall be. They are ignorant. They have no books. Not one man in a thousand can read. The priests and the parish clerks, the bishops, rich men, and their children are the only ones who have an opportunity of obtaining an education. There are no schools for the poor. The priests look sharply after their dues. Be it a wedding, a fnneral, tlie saying of mass for the dead, baptizing a child, gi-anting abso- lution for sin, or any other service, the priest must have his fee. The country is overrun with monks and friars — Carmelites, who wear white gowns ; Fi-anciscans, dressed in gray ; Augustinians and Dominicans, who M^ear black. They live in monastei-ies and abbeys, shave their crowns, and go barefoot. They have cAKMKLiTii 3IONK. tukcu soleuui VOWS to have nothins: to do with THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 33 tlie world, to spend their time in fasting and praying ; but, notwithstand- ing their vows, nojie of the people — none but the rich men — can spread such bountiful tables as they, for the monasteries, abbeys, nunneries, con- vents, and bishoprics hold half the land in England, and their revenues are greater than the king's. In the monastery larders are shouldei-s of fat mutton, quarters of juicy beef, haunches of choice venison. In the cellar;; GOOD OLD WINE. 34 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. are casks of good old wine from the vineyards of Spain and the banks of the Rhine, and yet the friars are the greatest beggars in the country. They go fi-om house to house, leading a donkey, with panniers hished to 1-^ =^=^0 S.Pv7~| THK WAY ST. DUNSTAN SERViiD THE DEVIL. the animal's sides, or else carry a sack on their backs, begging money, batter, eggs, clieeses, receiving anytliing which the people may give; and in return invoking tlie blessings of the saints upon their benefactors, and cursing those who refuse to give. They have relics for sale : shreds of clothing which they declare was worn by the Virgin Mary; pieces of the true cross ; bones of saints — all very holy. They have a marvellons story to relate of St. Dunstan, who was a blacksmith, and very wicked, but afterward became a good man, and was made Archbishop of Canteibury. One day the devil came and looked THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 35 into the window where tlie saint was at work, trj'ing to tempt him, where- upon St. Dunstan seized his red-hot tongs and clapped them upon the devil's nose, which made the fiend roar with pain ; but the saint held him fast till he promised to tempt him no more. The people are very ignorant. Tliere are no schools ; there are none to teach them except the priests, monks, and friars, who have no desire to see the people gaining knowledge, for knowledge is power, and ignorance weakness. The people are superstitious, as ignorant people generally are. They believe in hobgoblins and ghosts. They have startling stories to re- late of battles between brave knights and dragons that spit fire, and are terrible to behold. St. George, the patron saint of England, had a fierce encounter wi| dragon, and came off victorious. The peasants relate the stories by their kitchen fires ; the nobles narrate them in their castles ; the poets rehearse the exploits of the brave knights in verses, which the min- strels sing from door to door. Although no one ever has seen a dragon, yet everybody believes that such creatures exist, and may make their ap- pearance at any moment. The people believe in witches. Old women who are wrinkled and bent with age are supposed to sell themselves to the devil, and he gives them power to come and go through the air at will, riding a broomstick, at night, bent on mischief ; with pow- 36 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. er to fly into people's houses throngli the keyholes, to bewitch men, women, children, horses, 31 dogs, cattle, and everything. If a horse is contrary, the people say old Goody So-and-so has be- witched it ; if the butter will not come in the churn, the cream is bewitched ; if anything hap- pens out of the usual course, the witches are the mischief. " Tlierc is mischief in the air." King, priest, nor people will not suffer witches to live, for the Bible commands their destruc- tion, say the prelates of the Church, who alone have the Bi- ble ; and many a poor, innocent woman is put to death. The monks and friars hav- ing been recognized by the Pope, and holding their authority directly from him, assert their right to preach in the churches, crowding out the parish priests. Little good does their preaching do. It is mostly marvellous stories about the saints, and what happened to people who did not feed them ; or about the wonderful miracles performed by relics. They sell pardons for sins committed or to be committed ; and they have indulgences absolving men from all penalties in this life, as well as after death. The monks drive a thrifty trade in the sale of relics. The good people who believe all the stories of their wonderful power to cure diseases, to preserve them from harm, bow down befoie the bits of bone, and pieces of wood, and rusty nails, and rags which they exhibit ; bnt there are so many relics that some of the people begin to see the tricks which the monks are playing upon them, for it is discovered that John the Baptist had four shoulder-blades, eight arms, eleven fingers, besides twelve complete hands, thirteen skulls, and seven whole bodies — enough almost for a regiment ! It is discovered that some of St. Andrew's bones once belonged to a cow ; that St. Patrick had two heads — one small, preserved when he w-as a boy, and the otlier large, the one he wore when he became a man ! MISCHIEF IN THE THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 37 Some of tlie monks spend their time in writing books — printing the letters with a pen ; but many of them are lazy. The abbots and bishops are fond of hunting foxes, and ride with the country gentlemen after the hounds, and sit down to good dinners in the barons' halls. The parish priests, for the most part, are ignorant. Their sermons on Sunday ai-e narratives of monkish ti'aditions, stories of the saints, with commands to attend mass. They get up spectacles called " miracle plays," acting them as dramas. They ask the women and girls indecent questions when they come to confession, and their lives are very far from being pure. They are so debased that they drink themselves drnnk in the village ale-house. If the ni'"-^ , or priests, or bishops commit a crime, even though it be murder, the king cannot arrest them, for the bishops have their court, and a man who enters the priesthood is not amenable to civil law. They are let off with a light penance, and th.en may go on saying mass, and absolv- ing the peo})le from their sins. But if one of the peo- ple commits murder, he will have his head chopped off by one of the king's execu- tioners. The pi-iests, however, are not all of them wicked. There are some who, instead of spending their time in the ale-houses, or in plunder- ing their parishioners, look kindly after their welfare. Some are learned men, edu- cated at Oxford or Cam- bridge, who exhort the peo- ple to lead honest lives. The man whose bones the monks are burning was a good priest, a learned man. We may tiiink of him as attend- ing school, when a boy, at Oxford, graduating from one of the colleges ; and, after graduating, he studies theol- ogy, and becomes a priest, ^ monk rnEACHixo. 38 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. and preaches in the Oxford churches. He is so learned and eloquent that the people come in crowds to hear him. There are students at Oxford from all over Europe — from France, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, and Bohemia — thirty thousand or more — who listen to his preaching. His fame reaches London ; the king (Edward III.) sends for him, and he preaches to the court. A gii-1, who is as good as she is beautiful — Anne, the daughter of the Kino; of Bohemia — comes to Enaland to be the wife of the Prince of ADORATION OF RKLICS. Wales, Hichard II. She listens to Doctor "Wield If, and becomes his friend. With her come many of the nobles of Bohemia, and learned men. One of them is Prof esso i» Faul fash, who has been to the universities of Heidel-. berg, in Bavaria ; Cologne, on the banks of the Phine ; and to Paris. He listens witli great pleasure to the eloquent young preacher, and, when he goes back to Bohemia, carries with him same of the books which Doo- tor Wicklif has written. Let us not forget Professor Faulfash, for we shall see him again by-and-by. THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 39 Doctor Wicklif is a good man, and preaches against the immoral practices of the monks and friars. He does not arraign them before the Bishops' Court for their ex- tortion, drunkenness, or infa- mous living ; but he arraig]is them at the bar of public opinion, and ^i- is a great offence in thu eyes of the monks, who say that the peo- ple have no right to have an opinion. The Pope decrees that men must believe in re- ligion as he believes. There is no appeal from his decree. If a man believes differently, he shall be thrown into prib- on, tortured till he makes -M confession, and then he is burned to death, and all his property conliscated. Who gave the popes this authority ? No one ; they took it, and, having taken it, they intend to keep it. ^ The Pope com- missions a set of men to hunt for heretics. They ^^ are Inquisitors, or men who ask ques- tions, and have power to put men to death, to tort- ure, to confiscate property. We shall fall in with them farther along in the story. Notwithstand- FRONT OF BALIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD. lUg tllC PopC prO- TIIE INTEUIOR OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD. H 40 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. fesses to be holy and incapable of doing wrong, Doctor Wicklif informs the people that the priests, the monks, the bishops, and the Pope himself, are sinful, like other men. They belong to a holy ofhce, but that alone does not make them holy men. To be holy they must lead righteous lives. It is not right for them to extort a living from the people, by threatening them with the loss of their souls if they do not supply their wants. Doc- tor AVicklif denounces them as a set of robbers who live upon the fat of the land, while the people are in poverty and wretchedness. They take from the people, and give nothing in return. They are ignorant; many of them cannot read, and can only mmnble a few prayers. They mani- fest no desire to acquire knowledge, and would like to keep the people in ignorance. He maintains that the king is superior to the Pope in his own realm, and that he has a right to put a stop to all the swindling and extortions of the monks, and to punish men who connnit crime. They cannot tolerate such preaching, for it makes the king greater than the Pope. It is the exercise of an individual opinion, the beginning of indi- vidual liberty. " Doctor Wicklif is a heretic !" they cry. That is a terri- ble accusation. A heretic is a fellow who does not believe as they believe. A man who does not believe that the Pope can do no wrong, that he is not superior to kings, is worthy of death. He ought to be burned. It is the duty of the Pope, the bishops, and the priests to prevent the spread of such opinions. If a man is alflicted with a cancer, is it not the duty of the physicians to cut it out, to bm-n it with tire ? The Pope and the bishops are God's physicians, and they must destroy all heretics: so they reason. But who gave them this authority over the beliefs of men ? No one. They took it, and have exercised it so long that they honestly. be- lieve that they truly are God's agents, and that it is their duty to exercise it, and to exterminate all who do not believe as they do. They believe that they will be doing God service if they put to death all who do not believe what the Pope decrees, or who does not obey all liis commands. Men have no right to any opinions of their own. So at this period tlie intellects and consciences of men are in slavery. Doctor Wicklif is summoned to appear before the Bishops' Court, in the palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a great building which stands on the baidvs of the Thames, in Lambeth Parish, London. On a day in January, 1378, the bishops, in their flowing robes, sit in the Council Cham- bers to try the man who has pi-eached such obnoxious doctrines. All London is astir. People come in boats and on foot, filling the streets. Nobles and great men are there; one is tlie powerful Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt. Many of the people and the duke alike are determined THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 41 that no harm shall come to the man who has preached so fearlessly, and whom they love. Anne of Bohemia sends word that he must be protect- ed. The bishops do- not dare to put him in prison ; but they report him to the Pope, and the Pope sends a bull — not an animal w^itli four legs and two horns, and ferocious, but a piece of parchment, with a ribbon and a round piece of lead attached to it, which is called a bulla. The Pope's .^^'^"\^l(//^ /U^^^^^^^^ ^/, LAMBETH PALACK. seal is stamped upon the lead, ordering Wicklif to make his appearance in Rome to answer the charges preferred against him. The Pope cannot allow a parish priest to set up his opinions unchallenged, for to permit 42 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Doctor Wicklif to go on will be the subversion of all the authority and power of the Pope, bishops, and priests, and in time the whole fabric of ecclesiastical government will tumble to the ground. Although the Pope sends his summons, Doctor Wicklif does not obey it, for he Ts getting to be an old man, and, besides, there are two popes just now— one in Rome, and one at Avignon, in France. There is a great division in the Church. The people compare the two popes to the dog Cerberus, which, according to the old Greeks, sat at the gate leadnig to the infernal regions. The popes are fighting each other. The King of READING THE BULL. Castile recognizes the French Pope, whereupon the Roman Pope sends word to the people of Castile tliat if they do not obey him they will be forever accursed. The Roman head, to obtain money, sells the offices of, the Church. Anybody can be a bishop, archbishop, or cardinal by pay- ing for it. lie sells the offices over and over ; and if those whom he has cheated complain, he can laugh in their faces : he has their money, and they may help themselves if they can. He suspects that sonie of the car- dinalsvare corresponding with the other Pope : that is a terrible offence, in his eyes. He puts them to torture to wring a confession from them, and THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 43 then puts them to death. lie curses all who oppose him, swears fearful oaths, and takes his revenge upon some priests who offend him by sewing them up in sacks, taking them out to sea, anc :ching them overboard ! Doctor Wicklif reasons wisely that it will not do for him to make his appearance in Rome before such a Pope, and he is more than ever of tiie opinion that the Pope commits sin, as well as other men. He remains in England, preaching to the good people of Lutter- worth. Sometimes he preaches in London, at the preaching-place erected in the streets. He has great crowds to hear him on Sunday, and works ^^ — . PREACHING-PLACE, LONDON. hard throuo-h the weeks, translatino- JOHN WICKLIF TKANSLATING THE BIBLE. a book from the Latin into the Eng- lish language — the Bible. The only Bibles in England are in the libraries of Oxford, Cambridge, abbeys and monasteries, and some of the churches. They are all in Latin or Hebrew, written on parchment. Scarcely one person in ten thousand has ever read a Bible. Doctor Wicklif believes that the people have a right to read it, although the Pope has forbidden its reading by any except the priests, monks, and bishops, and other prel- ates of the Church. But into what dialect shall he translate it ? for there is no uniform language in England. In the Eastern counties — the East Midland section, as it is called, where the Saxons first landed and obtained a foothold — the language is almost wholly Saxon ; in the Southern coun- ties — all along tlie South shore, where u THE STORY OF LIBERTY. the Normans landecl-the language is largely Korman. In the ^\ estern and Northern counties are other dialects, so unlike that of the East or South that a man from the old town of Boston, on the East coast, or a man from Plymouth, on the South coast, would hardly be able to make himself understood by a countryman from York or Lancaster. Doctor Wicklif selects the East Midland— his own native dialect— which is spoken by a major- ity of the people ; besides, it is strong, vigorous, and expressive. Many other preachers believe that the people have a right to read the Bible, and clerks are set to work making copies of the translation, which are placed on desks in the churches, and chained, so that no one can take them aw^ay. The people listen to the reading with wonder ;\ and delight. They begin to think; and when __. _ C men begin to think, they take a step toward f ree- ^^^^^^fi~ dom. They see that the Bible gives them rights Z^.^Z A DESK which hitherto have been denied them-the right BIBLE CHAINED TO A DESK. oil i. i- to read, to acquire knowledge. Schools are stait- ed Men and women, who till now have not known a letter of the alpha- bet learn to read : children teach their parents. It is the beginning of a new life-a new order of things in the community-the beginning of liberty. , One of Doctor Wicklif s friends is Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet, who helps on the cause of freedom mightily in another way. He is a learned man, and has been to Genoa and Florence on an embassy for the king, and has made the acquaintance of many renowned men. He is a short, thick-set man with a pleasant countenance, and laughing eyes. He is witty and humorous. The king thinks so much of him that he directs his butler to send the poet a pipe of his best wine every year. The Princess of Wales (Anne from Bohemia) is pleased to call him her friend, and the poet dedi- cates a poem to her, entitled " The Legend of a Good Woman." He sets himself also to write some stories in verse, which he calls " The Canter- bury Tales;" but while he is writing them, let us see what is going on m England. , In 1377, Richard II. is made king. The barons complain to Inm tnat the villains'— the people who owe them service — do not give it; that they are banding themselves to throw off the service altogether, claim- THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 45 ing that freedom is their right. Doctor Wicklif's books and preaching have set them to thinking, and preachers are going here and there tell- ing the people that the barons have no claim npon them. One of the agitators is a ^- '' w named John Bull, who sings sarcastic ballads. In one of them he rehearses this couplet : " When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then tlie gentleman ?" The people ask the question over and over, and make up their minds that thev, as well as the men who live in castles, have some natural rights. One day a baron arrests a bm-gher, and imprisons him in Kochester Castle, claiming that he is his slave, whereupon the people seize their arms, surround the castle, and set the prisoner at liberty. Every individual in the kingdom is taxed — every child, every man and woman. A child must pay so much, a grown person more. A tax-col- lector comes to John Walter's house. Walter earns a living by laying tiles on the roofs of houses. The people call him the Tiler, or Tyler, and instead of pronouncing his full name— John Walter, the tiler— call him Wat Tyler. He has a daughter, just growing to womanhood, " She must pay a full tax," says the collector. " No ; she is not a woman yet," the mother replies. 46 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. " I'll soon find out whether she is a woman or not," the tax-collector answers, and rudely insults the girl. " Help ! help !" The mother shouts the words, and her husband comes in with a club. " What do you mean by insulting my daughter ?" The collector is a ruffian ; having insulted the daughter, he lifts his hand to give the father a blow, when down comes the cudgel upon CANTERBURY. the fellow's head, crashing the skull, and scattering his brains about the room. The news spreads. The people join the Tyler. They are ready for insurrection. They seize their swords, bows and arrows, and clubs. " Let us march to London and see the king," they shout. From all the towns of Kent they come, one hundred thousand or more. They attack the houses of the knights, lords, and nol)les. They swarm into Canterbury, and pillage the palace of the archbishop, who lives in great state, and to whom a large portion of the taxes are paid. There is great excitement in London. The young king, his mother, and many of the nobles take refuge in the Tower, for the news has reached them that the insurgents are arrest- ing all the liigh-born men and women they can find. They seize Sir John Newton, threaten him with death if he will not do as they command, and send him to the king, desiring Richard to meet them at Blackheath, just out of London. The kin":: is brave. He will gro and see them. He leaves THE I\IAN WHO PREACHED AETER HE WAS DEAD. 47 the Tower in his barge, with the barons. The boatmen pnll at the oars, and in a short tini^ they reacli the mnltitucle, who, upon seeing the barge, set up a great s\ " I have come at your request. Wliat do you desire ?" tlie king asks. Tliere is a gi-eat outcry — all speaking at once ; and the barons, fearing an archer may draw his bow and shoot the king, advise him to return to the Tower. This angers the crowd. " To London ! to Loudon !" they shout ; and the multitude, barefooted, bareheaded, armed with clubs, surge on toward Soutliwark. They ai-e oli the south side of the river, while the largest part of the city is on the north side, and there is only one bridge. The citizens raise the draw, and the excited rabble cannot cross the Thames. The rich merchants of London own beautiful villas on the south side, and the hungry, ragged, excited multitudes ransack the houses, de- stroying property, and committing great havoc. The people of London sympathize with the people of _ Kent, for they, too, are groan- - __ ing under the taxes. """* --:~~ " We will let down the .- drawbridge, and permit them ^ "^ to come into the city. We will __ show them that w^e are their friends, and then they will be quiet," the Londoners say to each other. The drawbridge is lower- ed, and the great black crowd pours across the bridge. The people give bread and wine and liquor, which excite the insurrectionists all the more. They rush to the Palace of Savoy, owned b}^ the Duke of Lancaster, bring out all the furniture — the tables, chairs, the silver plate — heap all in a pile, and set it on fire. They do not steal the silver. One man undertakes to secrete a silver cup, but the others pitch him upon the fire. " We are here in the cause of truth and righteousness, not as thieves," they say. THE WESTGATE, CANTERBURY. 48 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. What shall the king do ? He cannot fight the insurgents, for he has only four thousand troops. This is what his councillors advise him : " It is better to appease them by making a show of granting what they desire than to oppose them ; for if you oppose them, all the conniion peo- ple of England will join them, and we shall be swept away." The next morning the king meets Wat Tyler and some of the leaders at Mile End, in a meadow, and grants what they desire. He sets his clerks SAVOY PALACE. to making out charters for the towns, abolishing taxes, and granting privi- leges never before enjoyed. Most of the people are satisfied, and return to their homes; 'but some, still thirsting for revenge against the Arch- bishop of Canterbur}', make their way to the Tower, seize the archbishop and some of the priests, drag them into the Tower yard, and chop off their heads, which they place upon poles, and carry them, dripping with blood, through the streets. Itichard hears of what is going on, mounts his horse, and rides out to meet the rioters. He rides boldly up to ^yat Tyler, who draws a knife ; but before he can use it, the Mayor of London whips out his sword and runs it through Wat's body, and the rioter tumbles to the ground. Wat's followei's rush up, but Richard looks them calmly in the face. " Come, my friends, I will be your leader," he says. THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 49 It is a brave s^ ;h for a boy of fifteen to make; but the men of Kent like Iticliard's pluck, and lower their spears. The king's troops come gal- loping upon the field, ready to draw their swords. " Yon ninst not harm them. Let them go peacefully to their homes," says Eichard ; and the people, feeling that the young king is their friend, return to their homes. But the barons are determined that the people shall not have their freedom. The bishops are angry over the death of the archbishop, and demand that punishment shall be meted out, not to those who were in- strumental in putting him to death, but upon all the people — in the revok- ing of the charters which Richard has just granted. What can the boy do ? Are not the barons, lords, bishops, and great men wiser than him- self ? lie cannot stand alone against them ; he complies with their de- mands, but recommends Parliament to give the people their freedom. " Give them their freedom !" the barons exclaim. "Never will we be deprived of the service which they owe us." " Doctor Wicklif's pernicious doctrines are at the bottom of all this," the bishops, the monks, and friars exclaim. The Lords pass a law, which the bishops think will put an end to the mischief, in which the sheriffs are ordered to put all heretics in prison until they justify themselves before the bishops. The only appeal from the Bishops' Court is to the Pope, who is sewing men up in sacks and casting them into the sea. The Commons will not consent to such a law, and so the Magna Cliarta be- gins to protect the people. The Pope sells a fat oflSce to an Italian. The office is an abbot's position in the bishopric of Wells; but the bishop of that diocese does not relish it, nor do the other bish- ops, for the next ship may bring other Italian vagabonds to plunder the people. They join in declaring that the right of appointment belongs to 50 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. the king, and not to the Pope, wliereupon tlie Pontiff, who pitches of- fending priests into the sea, excommunicates them ; that is, he tln-eat- eiis to slmt them out of heaven if they do not ask his pardon. Perhaps tlie bishops think that a man who tortures cardinals to death because lie suspects that they are working against him, who sells offices in the Chnrch to the highest bidder, even though he be Pope, may not, after all, hold the keys of heaven, for they persuade Parliament to pass this law : '"'• All jpersouH who recognize the Pope at Rome as being in autfiority siqjerioi' to the king shall forfeit tJieir lands and all their projjerty, and have no protection from the kingT The bishops are members of Parliament, and by obtaining the passage of such a law array the nation on their side. Little do they dream of THE PILGRIMS STARTING FROM THE TABARD TAVERN. what will come from this action of theii-s. They do not mistrust that when a century has rolled away, a king, Henry VIIL, will pick up this act, and use it as a sword against the Pope, and strike a blow which will split the Church in twain. We shall see by -and -by how it came abont. The people ai-e fast becoming heretics, or Lollards, as the monks and friars call them — comparing them to tares, or loliwn, in a field of wheat. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer is sowing tares very effectively in a quiet way. lie has completed his story in verse, and the people are reading it. He THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 51 give it grace and beauty. It describes a party of pilgrims who meet at the Tabard Tavern, in London, on their way to the shrine of Tliomas Becket,in Canterbury Cathe- dral, Becket was a priebt, ; .iij arrogant, self-willed, who le- ^ ^' " ' fused to acknowledge the su- perior authority of the king, Henry II., and who was put to death by some of the king's friends ; but the Pope humbled the monarch, who was obliged to kneel naked before Becket's tomb, while the monks lashed his bare back with a bundle of stick**. lie found that the Pope m a& more powerful than him self. To make a pilgrimage to somebody's tomb, to say Pa- ter-nosters and Ave-Marias over the bones of a dead monk or nun, is supposed to be a meritorious act, and so all over England — over Eu- lope — men and women are making pilgrimages. Among the pilgrims who travel from London to Canterbury are a priest, a monk, a friar, a pardoner, and a summoner. The pardoner has pardons for sale ; the summoner is the sheriff, who brings offenders before the Bishops' Court. Although the monks and friars have vowed to wear coarse clothes and live on mean fare, none are better dressed than they, none live so luxuriously. The poet is one of the pilgrims, and describes his fellow-travellers : "A monk there was of skill and mastery proud, A manly man — to be an abbot able — And many a noble horse had he in stable. I saw his large sleeves trimmed above the hand With fur — the finest in the land. His head was bald, and shone like polished glass, And so his face, as it had been anoint, Wiiile lie was very fat and in good point. rili; .MONKS HIMnLING THE (From an Old Print.) 52 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Shining his boots ; his horse right prond to see, A prelate proud, majestic, grand was he ; He was not pale, as a poor pining ghost ; A fat goose loved he best of any roast. A friar there was, a wanton and a merry. Licensed to beg, a wondrous solemn man, His pockets large — he stuffed them full of knives, And pins, or presents meant for handsome wives. The biggest beggar he among the brothers. He took a certain district as his grant, Nor would he let another come within his haunt. CHAUCER S MONnjIENT. "A summoner there was, riding on apace. Who had a fire-red cherubim's large face ; Pimpled and wrinkled were his flabby cheeks, Garlic he much loved, onions too, and leeks. Strong wine he loved to drink — as red as blood ; Then would he shout and jest as he were mad. Oft down his throat large draughts he poured ; Tiien, save in Latin, he would not speak a word. Some sentences he knew — some two or three Which he had gathered out of some degree. No wonder, for he heard it all the day ; And surely, as you know, a popinjay Can call out ' Wat .'' as well as any pope. THE MAN WHO PREACHED AFTER HE WAS DEAD. 53 "You could not such another pardoner trace. For in his pack he had a pillow-case, Which, as he said, was once the Virgin's veil. He also had a fragment of the sail St. Peter had when, as his heart misgave him Upon the sea, he sought the Lord to save iiim. He had a golden cross — one set with precious stones ; And in a case — what carried he ? Pig"s bones ! He, in a single day, more money got Than the poor parson in a year, I wot. And thus with flattery, feints, and knavish japes He made the parson and the people apes." So the i)oet holds these pilgrims up to ridicule. The monks and friars are very angry, and lay a plan to kill Chaucer, who is obliged to flee to Holland, the land of the windmills ; but, after a time, he returns to find that the people are fast becoming Lollards. The reading of the Bible in English has set the people to thinking about the monks, while the "Canter- bury Tales" have set the community to laughing at them. From thinking > ,1 ^% THE LAND OF THE WINDMILLS. and langliing the people begin to act, refusing to give to the beggars, who are so angry with the poet that he has to flee a second time ; but he re- turns once more to London, where he dies a peaceful death in the year 1400, having done a great deal to advance human freedom. When Doctor Wicklif selected the Midland dialect for his translation of the Bible, and when Geoffrey Chaucer used it in writing his Canterbuiy 54 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Stories, they little knew that they were laying the foundations, as it were, of the strongest and most vigorous language ever used by human beings for the expression of their thoughts ; but it has become the English lan- guage of the nineteenth century — the one aggi-essive language of the world — the language of Liberty. It was in 13s5 that Doctor Wicklif died. The grass grows over his grave. Forty-one years pass, pilgrims come fi-om afar to visit the spot where he is buried ; they break off pieces of his tombstone, and carry them away as relics. The monks and friars will have no more of that. They will not have a man who has been dead nearly half a century keep on preaching if they can prevent it, for tlie doctor has a great following; half of England, and nearly all of Bohemia, liave accepted his teachings. The Great Council of Constance, which we sliall read about in the next chap- ter, has ordered that the doctor's bones shall be dug up and burned; and the monks, as we liave seen, execute the order. They cast the ashes into the river, and the river bears them to the sea. Tliey have got rid of Doctor Wicklif. Have they ? Not quite. THE FlliE THAT WAS KINDLED IN BOHEMIA. 55 CHAPTER III. THE FIRE THAT WAS KINDLED IN BOHEMIA. THE young man who had studied at Ileidellierg, Cologne, and Paris, Professor Faulfash, of Bohemia, who came to England with the Princess Anne when she came to marry Richard II., and who heard Doctor "Wicklif, and wlio cari-ied some of the doctor's books to Bohemia, ECEIVING ABSOLUTION. is a lecturer in the University at Prague. He lias discovered that the monks and friars of Bohemia are as lazy and shameless as those of Eng- land. He preaches against them. He wants a reformation in the Church. He preaches that men and women, priests and bishops — all must lead pure 56 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. lives. He believes that men and women should confess their sins to God, and not to a priest ; that forgiveness for sin means something more than words spoken bj the priests; that absolution is something more than kneel- ino" before a confessor's box, and having a few drops of holy-water sprin- kled on the head, from a sponge tied upon the end of a rod, in the hands JDINS OF tup: papal palace at AVIGNON. of the priest. He does not believe that sins can be forgiven, nor that blessings can be conferred by any such mummery. Tiie priests denounce his preaching as blasphemous. " Professor Faul- fash is a heretic," they say. It is the one word — more terrible than all others — but the professor is not disturbed by it. Instead of becoming silent, he grows more bold. One of the priests who cr}^ out against him is the queen's confessoi', a man — John IIuss — who undertakes to prove that such doctrines are he- retical. He does not succeed very well, for as he studies the question he discovers that the monks and friars are leading shameful lives. More than that, he begins to read Doctor Wicklif's books, and the more he reads, the more he sees that Professor Faulfasli and Doctor Wicklif are in the right, and himself, the monks and friars, the bishops and the Pope, in the wrong. He sees that the people ought to be permitted to read the Bible. He preaches as he thinks. He is eloquent, learned, sincere, and earnest, and people flock in crowds to hear him. The monks and fj-iars hasten THE FIRE THAT WAS KINDLED IN BOHEMIA. 57 to Arcliblsliop Sbinco witli a wofnl story — tliat the queen's confessor is a heretic. The arclibishop is an ignorant man. Archbishops and bishops are not always appointed because they are learned or eloquent, but for other rea- sons. The people call the archbishop a dunce, and say he is an ABC archbishop, indicating tliat he knows little more than the alphabet. The archbishop determines that the young priest, although he is confessor to the empress, shall be disciplined ; but the king protects him, and appoints hhn elector of the University of Prague. The archbishop, in great wrath at being thus interfered with, sends word to the Pope at Kome, for these are the days when the Church has two heads — one at Pome, one at Avignon. The Pope sends back word that the rebellious priest must not be })ermitted to go on. Especially is he commanded not to preach in a language which the people can un- derstand ; he may preach in Latin, but not in Bohemian. It is not so easy to stop John IIuss, however, for the king is his friend, and cares not for priest or Pope. The archbishop contents himself with gathering up all the books of Doctor Wicklif that he can lay his hands upon which have been translated into the Bohemian language — all that Pi'ofessor Faul- fash and John IIuss have written — and burning them. If the books are burned, that m- ill stop the spread of heresy, the archbisliop imagines. The king compels the arclibishop to pay for the books. This in turn makes the Pope angry, and he is- sues orders to the archbishop to stop all preaching in Prague — to inform the people that they can no longer have absolution granted them by the priests. The Pope will let the people know that he is supreme. The king, however, is not disturbed by the order, but directs the priests to go on with their pi'eaching. The action of the king emboldens Pro- fessor Faulfash and John IIuss, who send letters to the mavors of cities all THE POPE ON HIS THRONE. 58 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. tlirongli Bohemia to resist the demands of a corrupt and wiched pi-iest- liood. This makes the Pope exceedingly angry, and he orders the two men to appear at Rome and give an account of their doings; but they do not obey, for they know that tliere is a strong prison in Rome for such heretics as they — tlie Castle of St. Angelo. Siijismund is Emperor of Germany. He wants a council of the car- dinals and other prelates of the Church called to see if the Church cannot be united under one Pope. The two heads are tearing each otlier fear- fully. When the cardinals meet in council, they double up their fists, take one another by the throat, and have just such rows as the common people indulge in upon the streets and in the beer-shops. The popes have stirred up wars, and armies are marching, and battles are fought, for no one knows what. The Emperor of Germany desires THE FIRE THAT WAS KINDLED IN BOHEMIA, 59 a settlement of the troubles, and throngh his influence a great council assembles in the old city of Constance, in Switzei'land, where all questions in dispute are to be discussed. Never before was there such a gathering. The emperor comes in great state. The Pope of Rome is there, but not in state, for lie is fear- ful that tlie council may depose him. There are seven patriarchs, twenty archbishops, twenty cardinals in their red cloaks, twenty-six princes, nine- ty-one bishops, one hundred and forty counts, hundreds of doctors of di- vinity, and many priests — four thousand or more in all. Multitudes of people come, fllling the old town to overflowing, and making the dull streets alive as never before. Peddlers, hucksters, tricksters, mountebanks, charlatans, tramps, monks, friars, beggars — all flock to Constance. The princes and counts have their wire-pullers to influence tlie cardi- nals and bishops. All are hoping to make something out of the council — to gain power, or money, or position. The council sits month after month, to the great profit of all the shopkeepers and grocers in the town. During these months while the council is in session, one man who came to attend it, instead of taking part in its deliberations, is in prison — Jolni IIuss. He came of his own free-will— because the emperor wished ^liiA THE HOLY MKN SETTLING A DISPUTE. 60 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. "•N» TllK OLD TOWN. ]iim to attend. lie might liave stayed away, but tlie emperor sent him a paper promising him protection — that he should be at liberty to come and go without molestation — that no harm should come to him while in Con- stance, and yet he is in prison. All throngh the months while the cardi- nals and prelates have been there — marching in procession to and from the council — living riotously, and some of them scandalously, the man who has been preaching that they sliould lead pure lives, and that the people have the right to confess their sins to God, has been languishing in JOHN nus.s IN PKisoK. ^^^ .^^^^ jj^^^^ happened it, when he had the emperor's promise written out on parchment ? Because the Pope claims to be superior to the emperor. "77e has the right of dejposing THE FIRE THAT WAS KINDLED IN BOHEMIA. 61 em.perors^'' If lie has the right of deposing emperors, then he has the right to disregard the promise which the emperor has made to John Hnss. No faith is to he hejpt with heretics. So, finding John liuss in their power, the Pope and cardinals have thrust him into a dungeon, and now he is to pay the penalty for being a heretic. It is July 6th, 1415. All Constance is astir. The people from the country flock into the town, for the heretic is to be roasted to deatli, and they must be early on the ground to see the procession which will escort the fellow from the prison to the cathedral. It comes, the cross-bearer at the head, carrying a gilded crucifix. Then comes the Bishop of Riga in his gorgeous robes; then a company of soldiers armed with swords and lances, guarding the heretic, so that he shall not escape. The streets are thronged with people. The women look down from the quaint old windows to catch a glimpse of the wicked man, as they suppose him to be. They see a man forty years of age. The procession winds through the streets, and enters a great hall. The emperor is there, wearing his golden crown, and seated in a royal chair. At his right hand stands the Duke of Bavaria, holding a cross ; at his left hand is the governor of the Castle of Nurem- berg, with a drawn sword. Around are cardinals and archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, and friars, and a great multitude of people. It is not to the emperor that all eyes are turned to-day, but to John Huss, who ascends the platform, and mounts a table, where all can see him. He does not return the gaze, but kneels, and clasps his hands, and looks up to Heaven. The soldiers file away ; the bishops, cardinals, and prelates take their seats in the council. Bishop Landinus ascends the pulpit to preach a sermon from the text, " Sliall we continue in sin ?" Heresy, he says, is a great sin — one of the greatest a man can commit. It destroys the Church. It is right for the secular magistrate to destroy those with wliom it originates. Turning to the emperor, the bishop thus ad- dresses him : " It will be a just act, and it is the duty of 3-our Imperial Majest}-, most invincible Emperor, to execute this stiff-necked heretic, since he is in our hands, and thus shall your Majesty attain an immortal name, w'ith old and young, so long as the world shall stand, for performing a deed so glorious and so pleasing to God." The bishop comes down from the pulpit, and orator Ilenricus takes his place. " Yon are to weigh this matter well," he says to the council. " You are not to rest till you have burned such a sturdy heretic — one so stiff- necked in his damnable error." 62 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Then a bishop reads the charge against IIuss. "Yon have disobeyed the Archbishop of Prague. You teach that there is a holy catholic church other than that of which the Pope is the liead a community of all the faithful ordained of God to eternal life — which is heretical." iffliliiiif 1 fmiMim 11 ¥ : '■ "?=:: ,^ ir i^^ iiiii I'l ' THli COUNCIL. " I do not doubt," IIuss replies, " that there is a holy Christian church which is a community of the elect, botli in this and in the other world." " Hold your tongue ! After we get through, you may answei-," says Cardinal Von Caminerach. " I shall not be able to remember all the charges." " Sih The Archbishop of Florence shouts it. John IIuss drops upon his knees, and lifts his hands toward Heaven. If they will not hear him, there is One above who will. THE FIRE THAT WAS- KINDLED IN BOHEMIA. 63 " O God, I conimend my cause to thee." The reading goes on. " He has taught that after the words of consecration have been pro- nounced over the bread it is still natural bread, which is heretical." " I have not so preached." " Silence, heretic !" " He has taught that a priest polluted with deadly sins cannot ad- minister the sacrament of the altar, which is heretical." " I still say that every act of a priest laden with deadly sins is an abomination in the sight of God." Ah ! that is a home-thrust. Bishops, archbishops, caixlinals, and priests, who are living with Avomen to whom they have not been married, never will forgive the heretic for saying that. The last charge is read. " He has contemned the Pope's excommunication." " I have not. I appealed to him — sent messengers to plead my cause before him, who were thrown into prison. I came to this council of my own free-will, with a safe-conduct from the emperor." John Huss turns toward Sigismund, and gazes caluily and steadily upon him. " I came in the full confidence that no violence should be done me, and that I might prove my innocence." The emperor grows red in the face, for he knows that John Huss came of his free-will. He knows that the safe-conduct which he gave has been taken away from him. He knows that ten thousand swoi'ds would leap from their scabbards, and a thousand spears would gleam in the sun- light, in Bohemia, to protect the man who is gazing so calmly in his face. With shame and confusion he sits there with downcast eyes. Everybody can see the reddening of his cheeks, Huss has had no trial ; but an old bishop stands up and reads his sentence. He is to be burned to death. Once more the prisoner kneels and prays : " Lord God, pardon my enemies. Thou knowest that I have been falsely accused, and unfairly sentenced. I pray thee, in thine unspeaka- ble mercy, not to lay it to their charge." The bishops smile scornfully. The heretic is praying God to forgive them! As if they had done, or could do, anything wrong! As if his prayers were of any account ! They degrade him from the priesthood. A bishop's robe is thrown over his shoulders. This in derision. " Confess your errors, and retract them, before it is too late," says one of the archbishops. 64 THE STOllY OF LIBERTY. 1 ij 1 1 l! 1 tT' !r ''' 111 i Till!: PROCESSION. He makes no reply to tliein, bnt turns to tlie people : ^ , , , , " T^e Wshops want n,e to retract ; but if I were to do so, I should be a liar before God." _ " Silence, you stiff-necked and wicked heretic ! They place a chalice in his hands, and then take it away. I THE FIRE THAT WAS KINDLED IN BOHEMIA. 65 " O tliou cursed Judas ! we take from thee this chalice, in which tlie blood of Clirist is offered for the remission of sins," they say. There is no blanching of his cheeks. " Contiding in my God and Saviour, I indulge the hope that he will not take from me the cup of salvation, and I trust that I shall drink of it this day in his kingdom," IIuss replies. Greater than emperor, pope, or archbishop is John IIuss, standing there beneath the vaulted roof of the old hall. None so calm, so quiet, so peace- ful of heart, as he — soon to be one of Liberty's great sons. None so shame- faced, so insignificant, as Sigismund, Emperor of Germany. One word from his lips would set the prisoner free ; but his craven heart has yielded to the demand of those who ai-e thirsting for the blood of IIuss. They have made him believe that he is not obliged to keep faith with a heretic ; yet he knows that he is committing an act which, ever as he recalls it, will redden his cheeks with shame. " Let him be accursed of God and man eternally." In all the assembly of prelates there is not a kindly face, no look of pity. " I am willing thus to suffer for the truth in the name of Christ." They place a paper cap upon his head — a mock crown — with figures of devils upon it, and this inscription : THIS IS A HERETIC." " Give him over to the beadle." The emperor speaks the words, which one day will come back to trouble him. Sooner or later retribu- tion follows crime. It may not be to-day nor to-morrow, but it will come ; and this emperor, the greatest potentate in Europe, will see his empire drenched in blood, towns and cities in flames, and the land a desolation, for uttering those words. Out from the hall moves the procession once more. Out through the door stream the people. A fire is burning in the street, and the priests are heaping upon it the books written by IIuss and by Doctor Wicklif. Huss smiles when he sees the parchment volumes curling in the flames. They can burn the books, but truth and liberty will still live. He walks with firm and steady steps. None of all the thousands around are so happy as he. The bishops are astonished. 5 06 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. BURNING OF JOHN IIUSS. " He goes as if on his way to a banquet," says Bishop Silvias. Through the streets, where the people throng the sidewalks and look down from the windows of the lofty buildings, moves the procession— out to the place where he is to be burned. What is it that Huss is saying ? " I will extol thee, O Lord ; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not THE FIRE THAT WAS KINDLED IN BOHEMIA. C7 made my foes to rejoice over me." It is the thirtieth Psahn. They can burn his body, but what of that? Ilis body is not him. "Do not believe," he says to the people, '"that I ha\e tauglit anytliing but the truth." No treinbh'ng of the lips — no whitening of his cheeks. lie is going to testify to the truth. Why should he fear ? Truth and liberty are eternal, and will live when emperor and pope have passed aNvay. Truth makes men free, and it will be glorious to die for freedom. The fagots are piled around him — bundles of dry sticks. The executioner stands witli his torch. " Renounce your error," shouts the Duke of Bavaria. " I have taught no error. The trutlis I have tauglit I will seal with my blood." " Burn him." The executioTier holds his torch to the fagots. What is it that the people hear coming from that sheet of flame ? " Glory be to God on high, and on eartli peace, good will toward men." It is the song which the angels sung above the pastures of Bethlehem. And this: " We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory." It is the Gloria in Excelsis. The smoke blinds him, the flames are circling above his head. Yet the voice goes on : " Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on me," The flames wrap him round, his head falls upon his breast. The fire does its work, and a lieap of ashes is all that remains. The executioner gathers them up, aud casts them into the river. The winds and waves bear them away. The particles sink to the bottom, or are wafted on to the great falls at Schaffhausen, where the water foams over the granite ledges, and from thence are borne down the Ehine to the sea, as Wicklif's dust was borne on the current of the Avon and Severn to the ocean. The priests and bishops and Pope have got rid of John Huss. Have they ? By no means. It is only the beginning of their troubles with him, for the people of Bohemia resent his death. It is the beginniug of a ter- rible war, which lasts many years, and drenches the land with blood. The cardinals and archbishops do not forget that the man whom they have burned to death was made a heretic through reading Doctor Wick- lif's books. The doctor has been dead a long while, so they cannot burn him, but it will be some satisfaction to let the world know M'hat they would do to the doctor if he were only in the flesh, and they issue an 6S THE STORY OF LIBERTY. order to dig up the bones and bum them. We have seen how it was done. Though the monks have burned John IIuss and the bones of Doctor Wicldif, thej have not put a stop to their preaching. Do words spoken in behalf of truth, justice, and liberty ever die? We shall see by-and-by, THli FALLS UF SCIIAFIIIAUSKN. after a hundred years have rolled away, how a poor boy — so poor that he will wander through the streets and sing for his breakfast, which the kind-hearted people will give him — how he will hear Doctor Wicklif and John IIuss speaking to him across the centuries. We shall see what a mighty work he will do for truth and liberty. WHAT LAURENCE COSTER AND JOHN GUTTENBERG DID. 69 CHAPTER lY. WHAT LAURENCE COSTER AND JOHN GUTTENBERG DID FOR LIBERTY. LAURENCE COSTER is a Dutchman, and lives in the old town of Haerlem, in the land of the windmills, where the people have built great dikes enclosing portions of the Zuyder-Zee, set the windmills to pumping out tlie water, and laid out the lands into farms. The whole country is intersected with canals, where the boats come and go, bringing cabbages, cheeses, hay, and wood to market. The Dutchmen are very industrious. The boys and girls, as well as the men and women, work in the fields and gardens, or tug at the canal-boats. They harness their dogs into teams, and make them tug at the ropes. Ilaerlem is a sleepy old town. The boats lie at the quays, and now and then a cart rumbles along the streets. The housewives i-ub and scrub their pots and pans in the canals before the doors. They keep their houses neat and clean, and wash the pavements every morning. Laurence Coster lives in Ilaerlem with his family. He resolves to have a day with them in the country. He goes out on one of the canal-boats \vith the children, and sits beneath the trees, to hear the birds sing and to 70 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. breathe tlie fresh air; and while the children are playing he carves their names in the bark of the trees with his knife ! An idea comes to him, and this is what he says to himself: "I might carve the letters of the alphabet, each letter on a separate block, ink tliem over, and then I could stamp any word in the lan- guage." This is in 1423. He goes home, prepares his blocks, carves the letters, ties them up with strings, and prints a pamphlet. Up to this time all the CANAL IN HOLLAND. books in the world have been written with a pen on parchment. How slow ! Men Iiave spent a lifetime in writing one book, beginning when they were young, working till they were old, and dying M'ith their M'ork unfinished. The Egyptians and Chinese, hundreds of years ago, carved letters on blocks and printed from the blocks ; but this Dutchman of Tlaer- lem is the first one to tie letters into words, and print from them. Lau- rence Coster succeeds so well that he employs John Guttenberg, a young man from Mentz, to help him. Laurence keeps his secret well. The peo- ple see pamphlets for sale; little do they iniagine, however, that they were not written with a pen. WHAT LAURENCE COSTER AND JOHN GUTTENBERG DID. 71 Coster dies, but liis secret does not die with him. The apprentice, John Giittenberg, is not a boy to forget wliat he has been doing. lie goes np the Ehine. We may think of him as being on a boat that •-^.' STUEKT IN HOLLAND. slowly makes its way np the stream, past the old towns and castles. Rheinstein, with its battlements and towers and strongholds, secure from all attacks, looms far above the stream. He gazes npon the vineyards, sloping from the river np the steep hill - sides. In the autumn the the baskets to the wine -press, lie comes to Bingen, where the little old church with bells in its steeple looks down upon the peaceful river; but, not stopping there, he passes on to Strasbnrg, whose cathedral spire rises almost to the clouds, as it were. In that old city John Gutten- berg begins to set up type on his own account. He thinks night and day, turning over a perplexing question. Wood wears out, and the types will not bear the pressure of the printing-press. They must be of metal. How shall he make them ? To cut each type separately by hand is too expensive and too slow a process. He must make a mould and cast them, and, of course, must have a mould for each letter. That 72 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. is expensive; but once getting the moulds, he can cast thousands of tvpes. Of wliat material shall tliej be cast ? Lead is too soft. He must ex- periment with different metals. Very soon his money is gone. He would hke to keep his secret and liis plans to himself, but that he cannot do. He must have money. There is a rich man iu Strasburg— John Faust, % ^ -ff ^ KHEINSTEIN. a goldsmith, who knows about metals. He will go to him. The goldsmith sees the \alue of the in\ention, and supplies John M'lth money, and the printer goes on engra\ing tlie letters for his moulds, experimenting with metals, meeting dif- ficulties at every step, taking so much of John Faust's money that the gold- WHAT LAURENCE COSTER AND JOHN GUTTENBERG DID. 73 smith begins to think that lie never will see it again. But perseverance surmounts all difficulties. One day Gutteuberg shows the goldsmith his '^* .^? i first proof. There it is — each letter as perfect as if done by a pen. It is in 1450 that they begin to print their first book, in an out-of-the-way cham- ber, where no one will be likely to find out what they are about. Sixty-six years have passed since Doctor Wicklif died, and twenty-five since the monks dug up his bones. There is not much more liberty now than there was when he was alive, for kings do pretty much as they please, and the people are taxed as heavily as ever. Charles VII. is King of France. He IS a suspicious man. He is afraid that somebody will put poison in his food, and so makes his ser- 74 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. vants taste of it before touching it himself, and he eats so httle that he will die of starvation by-and-bj. One day a traveller, who has a valuable book which he would like to sell to the king, conies to the royal palace. It is the Bible on vellum, and contains six hundred and seven leaves. It is such a beautiful book that the king buys it, and pays seven hundred and fifty crowns for it. The man takes his money and goes away ; the king Ihetpw Sffipes o/LauTGiiz \A.MS,.¥^ni\cr,DeJineaicd /rovi his MovumentaU Stone Statue trcctcd at Ilarlem . LAURliNCE COSTER. puts the book in tlie royal library, and is greatly delighted to know tliat he has such a magnificent copy. A traveller knocks at the archbishop's palace with a book which he would like to show his lordship — a beautiful copy of the Bible. The arch- bishop is delighted. He never saw a more perfect book. The letters are even. What a steady hand the writer must have had ! How clear and distinct — not a blot, not an error, anywhere I It must have taken the wi-iter a lifetime to write it. He pays the price. Now he will have some- WHAT LAURENCE COSTER AND JOHN GUTTENBERG DID. Y5 thing to show his friends which will astonish them. The archhishop calls upon the king. " I have something to show jou — the most magnificent book in the world," says the king. " Indeed !" The archbishop is thinking of his own book. " Yes ; a copy of the Bible. It is a marvel. The letters arc so even that you cannot discover a shade of diffei'ence." " 1 have a splendid copy, and if yours is any more beautiful than mine, I should like to see it." " Here is mine. Just look at it ;" and the king shows his copy. The archbishop turns the leaves. " This is remarkable. I don't see l^oGobitum £ajtontDltii(^etiiuere emu ^am fuanonCblumccrmyt^OKtjOjpufcttlaf ^a? (Uttocpg latt^5auffit|^ice(tetuag SPECIMEN OF TYPE. 76 THE STOKY OF LIBERTY. but that it is exactly like mine." The pages are the same, the letters the same. Can one man have written both ? Impossible. Yet they are alike. There is not a particle of difference between them. " How long have you had this ?"' the archbishop asks. " I bought it the other day of a man who came to the palace." The irue Qfigies of lolm GuttemieTg Delhteate.ijrom -the Original £(tintin^ at JMentz. zVt Gei'manie^. lUTTKNUEKG. " Singular ! I bought mine of a man who came to my palace." Neither the king nor the arclibishop knows what to think of it. They place the two Bibles side by side, and find them precisely alike. There are the same number of pages ; each page begins with the same word ; there is not a shadow of variation. Wonderful ! But the archbisliop, WHAT LAURENCE COSTER AND JOHN GUTTENBERG DID. AMI I I\M C \\T(>\ in a few days, is still more per- plexed. He discovers that some of the rich citizens of Paris have copies of Bibles exactly like the king's and his own. More : he discovers that copies are for sale here and there. " Where did you get them?'-' " We bought them of a man who came along." " Who was he ?" " We don't know." "This is the work of the devil." The archbishop can arrive at no other conclusion. The Bible is a dangerous book. None but the priests should be permitted to read it. But here is the Evil One selling it everywhere ; or, if not himself in person, some man has sold him- self to Satan for that purpose. He soon discovers that it is Doctor John Faust, of Strasburg. " You have sold yonrself to the Evil One, and must be burned to death." Till this moment the great invention has been a secret ; but Doctor Faust must divulge it, or be burned. He shows the archbishop how the Bibles are printed; and John Guttenberg has printed so many of them that the price has been reduced one-half. The archbishop, the king, and everybody else is astonished. So Faust saves his life ; but the idea of his sell- ing himself to the devil has gone into story and song. It was the translation of the Bible into English by Doctor Wick- lif that gave the first uplift to liberty; and, singularly enough, the Bible was the first book printed by Guttenberg. Laurence Coster, when he cut the let- ters of the alphabet in wooden blocks and tied them into words, had no con- ception as to what would come of it ; ILLUMINATliU LETTER. 7S THE STORY OF LIB1':RTY. but the idea was like the bnrsting-forth of a fountain in a desert. Tlie stream tliat issued from it has refreshed all the earth. With the setting- np of the printing-press ^ began the diffusion of -^x\^ IPIifi' riN<; A 1!IT!I,K TO THE KING. (Prom ail Old Print.) knowledge. Knowledge leads to liberty. Men begin to comprehend that they have natural rights, which other men — nobles, barons, kings, emperors, bishops, arch- I bishops, and popes — are bound to respect. One day William Cax- ton, a merchant of Lon- don, comes over to Hol- land to buy cloth. lie sees some of the new books, and goes into a printing-office to see how they are made. He is greatly inteVested, buys some of the types, and sets np a printing-press in London, in a chapel in Westminster Abbey. Quite likely the printer's workmen do not have a very high regard for the monks and friars that swarm around Westminster, for if there is a blot on the page, they call it a " monk ;" and if there is a blank, they call it a "friar." And the boy who brings the ink np from the cellar, and gets his face and hands black from handling it, they call the "devil'- — words which are in use to-day in printing-offices. The first book printed in England was entitled " The Game of Chess," in 1474. The type used was very coarse. Printers then took great de- light in having large illuminated capital letters at the beginning of a book or chapter. They were printed in blue, green, and gold, and made the page very beautiful. Caxton printed a Bible, which he presented to the king. The setting-up of the printing-press soon put an end to all the Merit- ing in the cloisters of the monasteries. The monks lay aside their pens. The printing-press turns out thousands of copies of a book almost while they are sharpening their pens and getting their parchment ready. Peo- ple begin to read, and from reading comes thinking, and from thinking comes something else. WHAT LAURENCE COSTER AND JOEIN GUTTENBERG DID. 79 Four hundred and fifty years have passed since Laurence Coster carved the names of his children in the bark of the trees in tlie gardens of llaer- leni — since Jolni Guttenberg printed his first book in that out-of-the-way chamber ; but througli all the years that discovery of using types to ex- press ideas has been, like the flowing of a river, widening and deepening. Throngh the energizing influence of the printing-press, etnperors, kings, and despots have seen their power gi-adually weaning, and the people be- comino- their masters. MONUMENT TO GUTTENBERG. so THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER V. THE MEN WHO ASK QUESTIONS. ON an evening in October, six gentlemen and a servant ride ont from the old city of Saragossa, in Spain, taking a road which leads west- ward. They are starting at this hour of tlie day for Valladolid ; they do not expect, however, to reach it at once, for it is two hundred miles distant. They do not care to have everybody know that they are making the journey, for there are bands of armed men on the lookout for them ; especially are they on the watch for the servant of the party — Ferdinand _^ _ — a young man seventeen years old. Although a servant, he has a well- 'S Ji filled purse in his pocket, for he is going all the way to Valladolid — to get married — and has taken a liberal amount of money. Not many servants can show so large a sum. The travellers ride till daybreak, and then stop at an out-of-the-way town to rest through the day, at night travelling once more. They take by-roads and pass through obscure towns, and halt again when morning comes. Ferdinand never has seen the young lady whom he is about to marry ; but some of the gentlemen whom he serves say that she is very fair; that her features are regular; her hair a light chestnut; that she has a mild blue eye, and is modest and charming in all her ways. " She is the handsomest lady I ever be- held, and the most gracious in her manners," says one. Perhaps he thinks it will please Ferdinand thus to set forth the charms of the lady. At any rate, the praise or something else so abstracts his thoughts that, when he pays the landlord the reckoning at one of the taverns, he leaves his purse *^sl .^feM^; VALLADOLID C. I THE MEN WHO ASK QUESTIONS. SI beliind, and discovers, when he readies Valladolid, tliat lie has not a cent in his pocket! Here is a dilemma for a young man on the eve of his marriage ! Ferdinand has served his fellow-travellers faithfully. He has cared for their horses, waited upon them at table, filling their glasses with wine, and he has done it in a courtly way. The landlords, quite likely, have noticed that he is the prince of servants; but not one of them, probablj'. ISABELLA. has mistrusted that he is indeed a prince — son of the King of Aragon ; nor do they mistrust that he is travelling in disguise to be married to Isabella, Princess of Castile ; that he has taken this way to escape those who are opposed to the match, and who would lay hands upon him if 'possible. Isabella never has seen Ferdinand, who is a year younger than herself; but of all the suitors for her hand she has selected him, and is greatly 6 82 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. pleased to find him all that her fancy lias pictured. She is very religious, says her prayers, and goes regularly to confession. On the 19th of October, 1469, the niariiage is consummated, for„ CORONATION OF ISABLLI \. though Ferdinand has left his purse behind, his credit is good. There is a great gathering of grandees, nobles, and ladies — two thousand or more — wearing rich dresses; and by the marriage the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile are united, making the Spain of these later years. I THE MEN WHO ASK QUESl'IONS. 83 DOMINICAN MONK. After her marrifige she has another confessor, Thomas do Torqnemacla, n Dominican monk, wlio wears a bhick cowh " I want jou to make a promise," he says to Isabella. "What is it?" " Tliat when you come to the throne, you will exter- minate heresy." Isabella promises to do as he desires. The years go by, and after the death of her brother Henry, in 1476, Isabella is queen. There are heretics in Spain, men who dare to think for themselves. That is a terrible crime in the eyes of Thomas de Torquemada, and it must be stopped. The Pope has an institution already organized by which heretics can be rooted out — the Hol}^ OiKce, as it is called. The men connect- ed with it are Inquisitors, or men who ask questions. Thomas de Torquemada is chief questioner. The men who ask questions do it in private. If they have a suspicion that a man is an unbelievei', they may arrest him, and bring him to their secret chamber and question him. These are their rules : Any one may wit- ness against an accused person. The Holy Office may take the evidence of one heretic against another; but a heretic's evidence \\\ favor of a per- son is good for notli'mg. If two witnesses testify one in favor and the other against a person, the testimony of the first is to be rejected, while the last shall be accepted. A wife may testify agaiiist a husband, and it shall be received ; but if she testifies in \\\% favor ^ it shall be rejected; and so with the husband against the wife, or children against parents, or par- ents against children. If a witness does not testify all that the questioner desires, they may put liim to the torture. The questioning takes place in an out-of-the-way chamber, in a build- ing that has thick stone- walls — so thick that no moan or wail will reach the ears of the passer-by. There is the thumb-screw — a little vise in which the accused must put his thumb, and then the screw is turned a little. It begins to bite. An- other turn; it bites harder.. More turning, a little at a time, till the end of the thumb is as thin almost as a wafer — mashed to a jelly, and the blood oozes from every pore. There is a ring-bolt in the floor, a pulley overliead. The questioners tie the feet of the prisoners to the ring, their hands to the pulley; then tug at the rope till the arms of the accused are almost pulled from the shoul- ders, and their legs from the body. A THUMB- SCREW. THE STORY OF LIBERTY. TORTURE CHAMBER. Another instrnnieiit is the rack. Tlie prisoner is thrown npon a lad- dor and his feet tied to iron bolts in the wall, and his arms to a windlass, and men -with levers work it till the knees and arms are pnlled from their sockets. Another instrnment is the rolling bench — a table studded with projecting knobs of oak. The accused are stripped to the skin, thrown upon the table, tied hands and feet, and a heavy roller tilled with knobs rolled over them, grinding the Hesli to jelly. Tiiere are punches for punching holes in the ears and tongues of the heretics, and skewers to run through them, and pincers for pulling their tongues out by the roots, knotted whips, iron collars set with sharp teeth, chains, balls, manacles. They fasten the heads of the accused in a frame, put a gag in their mouth, propping the jaws apart. Above them is a dish filled with water, which drips into their throat. Drip, drip, di-ip, it falls hour after hour. Swallow they must till they arc filled to suffocation. I THE MliX WHO ASK QUESTIONS. 85 Men and women, uiaidens in their yonth and beantv, have the clothes torn from their backs, and they must stand exposed before these ques- tioners. The Holy Ofiice is amenable to no law. From the decision of Thomas de Torquemada there is no appeal. No one is exempt from his jurisdiction. Rich as well as poor ai'e arrested. It is easy to accuse men, and those who never have dreamed of being heretics find themselves in the clutches of Torquemada. Men who arc their enemies swear that they are heretics, to cause their ari-est, toilure, coniiscation of property, and death by burning — so taking revenge. Isabella and Ferdinand nrge the men who ask questions to do their work thoroughly — to let no heretic escape, especially if they have money, for by confiscating their property the king and queen and the Pope will replenish their purses. Thomas de Torquemada is not the n)an to let the grass grow under his feet, especially M'hen his shai'c of the [)lunder will be a goodh' poi'tion. The Holy Office is not a n.ew institution. Pope Innocent YIIL, who has appointed Thomas de Torquemada to superintend it in Spain, did not iiiaugurate it, for other popes have used it to exterminate heresy. Innocent lias set it in o[)e!'ation in Spain to bring money into his pocket. He is BELIEVE AS I BELIEVE, UK ILL KOAST YOU. 86 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. UNING A HERETIC IN WtESENOE OF THE FOPE. creedy for wealth. He puts it in operation in Kome. If a man m Kome Commits murder, or any other crime, he can go clear of pumshment by payin- a good sum to the Pope. He puts money into his pockets by h- censi^rg priests to keep taverns, play-houses, and other establishments dis- reputable for priests or anybody else to keep. Being a pnest, the Tope THE MEN WHO ASK QUESTIONS. 87 cannot marry ; but he has children, nevertheless, and appoints them to lucrative positions. He sells indulgences and pardons for any crime. One of the persons accused by Torqnemada is Seilor Pecho, who is worth a great deal of money. Torqnemada seizes it all, and puts the owner to death. The widow and children are beggars in the street ; but Isabella, as a special favor, graciously gives them a trifle, but appropriates the remainder of the estate to her own use. Not only does she appropri- ate this, but many other estates, till the Pope, seeing that she is getting more than her share of the spoils, sends a legate to look after his portion. But Isabella knows how to manage the legate. She gives him a liberal share of the plunder, and he reports that the expenses of the Office nse up pretty much all of the property of the accused. Thousands are cast into prison. More than two thousand men and women are burned — thrown into furnaces. Other thousands flee from the coimtry. " Do not take such harsh measures," is the advice of some of her friends. " It is better for the service of God that the country should be depop- ulated than that it should be polluted with heresy," Isabella replies. , /;- ^ I ■^v^ GOOD KNOUGH FOR HERETICS. 88 THE STOllY OF LIBERTY. Ainonf»- others burned is the sjood Bishop of Tarra2:ona. Manv wid- ows are condemned, especially widows of rich men. Is it that they ai-e o-reater heretics than others ? Or is it that Isabella and Torqnemada can BURNING THE BISHOP OF TARRAGONA. secure their estates ? They are working zealously to bring all the world to one way of thinking — their way. Theirs is the right way, and if any one doubts it, he is to be put to death. Liberty of conscience, liberty of thought, speech, or action, are all unknown. The Pope has decreed that THE MEN WHO ASK QUESTIONS. 89 no one sliall dissent from his decree or authority, or, if doing so, death sliall be his portion. If a witness shall swear falsely, or cause a heretic, or one who is not a heretic, to be put to death, he shall not be put to death in turn, though the Holy Office may, if it see fit, put him in prison. If a man be accused, he must ])ay the men who ask questions fur their time and ti'ouble of accusing him ! If a man be condenmed and put to death, infamy shall forever be heaped upon his children, on the ground that children are partakers of the sins of their parents. But the Pope is merciful, and the Holy Office may sell the children into slavery. If a man be condenn)ed and his propei-ty confiscated, though he may be innocent, the Holy Office is under no obligation to return it, on the ground that to be poor will make men humble ! If a man blaspheme, this is his punishment : he must stand outside of the church on Sundays when nuxss is said. But if he say anything against the Pope, the Church, the Viigin, or if he read the Bible, or do not con- fess to the priest, he shall be put to death ! If a priest swear profanely, he may be ffiied, but the public shall know nothing of it. If a man be a heretic, his wife must leave him. A man must leave his wife if she be an unbeliever. Children nmst forsake parents, and par- ents children. Persons condemned by the men who ask rpiestions are burned to death. The burning is called an auto-da-fe — the act of faith. It is a great occa- sion. Ferdinand and Isabella, all the grandees and ladies, the cardiiuxls, archbishops, bishops, priests, and multitudes of people, assemble to witness the burning. There is a grand procession. The school children ; the priests, in companies, wearing their robes, carrying crowns, banners, and candles, escort the condemned to death. The victims wear yellow gowns, upon which are embroidered black devils with hoofs, horns, and tails. Gags are thrust into the victims' months, so that they may not speak to the people. Following the condemned are the magistrates, nobles, bishops, cardi- nals, the king and (pieen, the men who ask questions carrying a blood-red flag. A great crowd surges along the streets. The procession reaches the place of burning, where a bishop or priest ])reaches a sermon praising the Pope, heaping upon the condemned the in- sulting epithets. They are dogs, vipers, wild beasts, enemies of God and man, fit only to be given over to the flames — to burn eternally. The sheriff reads their sentence ; the bishop and priests chant a psalm. 90 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. "Deal M-itli tlieni gentlv," says the judge to the executioner, who chains them to the stakes, lieaps the wood around them, and sets it on lire ; and " FRIENDS THKY HAD NON so the men and women, wdiose only crime has been dissent from believing as the Pope believes, are put to death. Ferdinand, Isabella, Torquemada, and the Pope take possession of their estates, and the children are reduced to beggary. In a short time the country is filled Math beggars, who wan- der througli the streets in rags, homeless and friendless. It is a crime to give charity to children of condemned heretics. They are outcasts, shut out from all human sympathy. While Ferdinand and Isabella are thus rooting out heresy, they are trying to drive the Moors from the country. Armies are marshalled, battles fought, cities besieged. The Moors are compelled to leave their beautiful palaces, where they have enjoyed quiet and peace for centuries; but Ferdinand and Isabella are strongest, and they are driven from the liomes where the fountains are ever flowing amidst the palm-trees in the spacious courts. The king and queen accompany the armies and an- imate the soldiers by their presence. One day a middle-aged man, a sailor, comes into camp, bringing a letter for Fernando de Talavera, Isabella's old confessor — a letter writ- ten by Talavera's friend, the good prior Father Pei'ez, of the Convent of THE MEN WHO ASK QUESTIONS. 91 Kabiada, near Palos, introducing the sailor, M'ho has an idea that the earth is round, and tliat if he were to sail west he might reach the east The sailor wants to lav the project before Ferdinand and Isabella. A MOOR S PALACE. 92 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. COURT OF THli ALlIAJlIiKA. Father Talavera receives tlie saiU or courteously, and introduces hi in to Ferdinand and Isabella, who lis- ten with interest to his project; but thej have other things on hand, and cannot aid him in fitting out an ex- pedition to explore unknown seas. The sailor, however, is not a man to be discouraged by trifles. He will wait, years will go by, and his beai'd will turn to gray ; but let him not be forgotten, for we shall see him again. The war against the Moors goes on. When Ferdinand and Isabella are in need of money to pay the troops, the rich Jews supply them, for there are many Jews in the country. They are thrifty and industrious, carry on trade, attend to their own affairs, care for their poor, and are peacefully disposed. In all Spain there are no better subjects than they. Through their aid, Ferdinand and Isabella keep their armies in the field, winning battle after battle, taking town after town, driving the Moors at last to their last stronghold, the old city of Gi-anada, in whicth is the Al- hambra, the gorgeous palace, one from which for centuries the Moor- ish flag has waved in triumph; but on the 2d of Jamiary, 1492, the ban- ner with the crescent moon upon its folds gives place to the flag bearing the cross, and Ferdinand and Isabel- la take possession of the Alhambra. In all the wide world there is no palace like this, with its massive walls, spacious halls, marble floors, elaborately chiselled columns and ar- abesque roofs ; its gardens, where the roses are always in bloom, where fountains are ever playing. For six hundred years the Moors have ruled in Granada, but to-day they surren- der all to Ferdinand and Isabella. along the corridoks of the palace. THE MEN WHO ASK QUESTIONS. 93 " Yon shall still be a free people ; you shall be treated with respect ; shall have your own customs, and shall not be molested in your religion. No Moor shall be compelled to become a Christian." It is Ferdinand's promise. Tiie Spanisli troops march into the city, the Moors lay down their arms, the crescent flag comes down, and tlie cross takes its place. In the courts of the Alliambra a Te Deum is chanted, and Father Fernando de Tala- vera, Isabella's old confessor, is appointed archbishop in a city in wliich till now there has not been a Chi-istian. All are Moors or Jews. Ferdi- nand and Isabella are masters of all Spain. All Christian heretics have been rooted out. The fires have blazed, thousands have been burned, other thousands have fled, and from the confiscated estates the king and queen, Torquemada and the Pope, have reaped rich harvests. But there are the Jews. Their ancestors crucified the Saviour. Tliey will not eat pork, and they will persist in eating meat on Fridays. They read the Old Testa- ment and the Talmud. Tliey are sharp at a bargain, and are getting rich. But what rights has a Jew? Kot any. They must become Christians, or they shall be turned over to be dealt with by Torquemada. On the oOtli of Mar(;h, 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella issue this procla- mation : "If after July 31st a Jew is fomid in the country, he shall be put to death. ls"o one shall give shelter to a Jew. ^ Any one doing so shall for- feit all his property. The Jews may sell their liouses and farms, but no one shall be permitted to cany any gold or silver out of the country." That is the order which Ferdinand and Isabella issue on the last day of March. If the Jews cannot carry gold or silver, what can tliey carry? Who will buy their farms? Wlio pay a tithe of the value of the property ? Eabbi Abarbanal is an old man who has been of great sei'vice to tlie king and queen. When they wanted money to carr}^ on the war against the Moors, he supplied them, paid the troops, and so enabled them to con- quer. He enters the Alliambra, and kneels before them on the marble pavement. " Have mercy, O king ! Use ns not so cruelly. I will pay six hundred thousand crowns of gold for the ransom of my people." " Do not take it." Isabella speaks the words. Thomas de Torquemada is her confessor, and now he rushes into the audience -chamber, with a crucifix in his hand. "Judas sold the son of God once for thirty pieces of silver, and you are going to sell him again. Do it ! Here he is. Sell Jesus !" He throws the crucifix upon the table, and runs out of the hall. The 'J4 THE STOllY OF LIBERTY. GIBRALTAR. good old rabbi turns awuv, for Ferdinand lias a deaf ear to liis entreaty. Perhaps an idea has dawned npon him. Will he not, by the contiscation of all the property' of the Jews, get more than six hundred thousand crowns ? From the ports of Carthagena, Valencia, Cadiz, Gibraltar, ships are sailing away, carrying the fugitives to Africa, Italy, and the East. Some are shipwrecked, some murdered; many die of disease, more by famine. Some are sold into slavery. Remorselessly the edict is carried out. Their property is seized, and Ferdinand grows rich npon the spoils. Through the waning summer months the stricken Jews take their de- parture : five hundred thousand are driven from the country! With theui go the thrift and industiy of Spain. Isabella, Ferdinand, and the Pope, through the Holy Office, have possession of tJie property ; but estates with- out tenants bring no income to the treasury. In driving them out, Ferdi- nand and Isabella kill the choose that laid the i::olden axsc. THE MEN WHO ASK QUESTIONS. 95 Besides the five liundied thousand Jews driveu out, more than one liundred thousand heretics are burned to death, or are thrown into prison, or lose their property by confiscation. The records of the Holy Office show how zealously Torquemada worked to excerniinate heretics. This is the record : Burned at the stake 10,220 Died in prison 6,880 Punished by confiscation of property, perpetual imprisonment, or loss of all civil rights 97,321 Total 114,421 Torquemada dies ; but Diego Deza steps into his place questioner, and the terrible machine of the Holy Office goes and day grinding men and women, humanity, liberty, justice, r truth into the dust. " The Moors must be- come Christians, or be ban- ished," says the new chief questioner to Ferdinand. " The treaty stipulates that they shall have peace- able enjoyment of their re- ligion," Ferdinand replies. " Their religion is an abomination in the sight of God. It is right to break faith with infidels." Ferdinand sees an op- portunity to fill his treasury. The Holy Office urges him to show his zeal for the Church, and he makes his decision : " The Moors must be- come Christians, or leave the country." The expulsion begins, and year after year goes on. The conquered Moslems, since their surrendei-, have as chief on night ight, and STREET SCENE IN SPAIN. 9G THE STOKY OF LIBKKTY, been dutiful snl)jects. Many of tlieni are wealthy. They offer to Lnv tlieir ransom, but they appeal to deaf ears and to stony lieaits. Pity has fled, and humanity is dead. Into the treasnry of tlie Church and the king flows the accumulated wealth of six hundred years. Some of the Moors have professedly be- come Christians; but they will eat no pork, and they will eat meat on Friday, as tlie Holy Office dis- covers, and they are huri-ied to the stake to pay the penalty with their lives. Fires blaze. Men, women, and children are burned to death. Weeping and wailing is heard on every hand ; dismay and despair are seen in the face of every Moor. On the side of Ferdinand, Isabella, and the Pope there is power; but for the Moors there is no comforter. So Ferdi- nand and Isabella rear the foun- dations of their united thrones on the graves of hundreds of thousands of the victims of their broken faith ; while the Pope joins them in exterminating the last vestige of liberty, honor, justice, and right. The king, queen, and the Pope take possession of the estates; and the country is filled with beggars, who wander liomeless, friendless, through the land, holding out their lianas to. the passers-by, in the streets of the cities, for a morsel of bread. , HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 97 CHAPTER VI. HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. IT is the mouth of February, 1492. The skies are mild, the flowers in bloom, and the birds are singing in the orange gardens of the Alhambra, in the old town of Granada. Notwithstanding this joy and gladness in nature, there is one man in Granada who has no heart to en- joy it, for he has just seen a great hope, one which he has cherished many years, go down, never to rise again, so far as he can see. He comes out from the Alhambra — leaving its magnificent colonnades, its bubbling foun- tains, its beautiful gardens, never expecting again to behold them — mounts a mule, rides out througli the narrow sti-eets, tlirougli the citv gate, with THE ALHAMBRA. 98 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. his head bowed upon his breast. He is a gray-bearded man, and time is deepening the furrows in his forehead, and on this day they are deeper than ever. He has a proud spirit, and it is hard to bear the great disap- pointment that has come to him. In bitterness of spirit, he rides away. He is a sailor, and has conceived the idea tliat by sailing west he can reach the east. He behoves that the earth is round, although nearly every- body else says that it is flat. The sailor was born in Genoa, where, when COLUMBUS. he was a boy, he helped his father comb wool. He went to school in Pavia, and studied Latin, geometry, astronomy, and navigation. When he was only fourteen years old, he went to sea with his uncle, and was in a battle with some Venetian ships. Then he sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar, coasted along Africa as far south as Guiana. Once, off the coast of Portugal, he had a terrible fight with a Venetian ship. He was a captain then. Both of the ships were set on fire, and he saved himself by swimming two miles to the shore. It was a fortunate escape, however, HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 99 for an old sea captain, wlio had a beautiful daughter, befriended liirn, and the daughter became his wife. Those were delightful days. Lis- bon was a royal city. It had a strong old castle, built of stone — the Castle of Belem — and a castle on a hill overlooking the town. Every day there were processions of priests in the streets, carrying banners and crosses. The old captain had made many voyages to the Canary Islands. He did not believe the stories told about the unknown sea far away to the west of the islands — that it was boil- ing-hot, nor that the great continent Atlantis which Plato wrote about had disappeared beneath the waves. It was from talking with his wife's father that the gray-bearded man had come to believe that by sailing west he could reach tlie Indies. He remembered that the old Carthao-inians WOOL-COMBEK. HE BELIEVES THAT THE EARTH IS BOUND. 100 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. maintained that there were green islands in the west. He had read that St. Brandon, a priest of Scotland, eight linndred years before, had been swept by a storm far away to the west, and had landed in a strange coun- try. He was informed that Martin Vincent, a sailor of Lisbon, when he was four hundred miles from land, on a voyage to the Canary Islands, once picked up a piece of wood curiously carved, which the winds had drifted from tlie west. Heeds like those brought from India had floated to the shores of Portugal, and the bodies of two men unlike any other human beings had been seen in the water by sailors when far from land. From whence came they ? Fired with enthusiasm, the sailor went to the king, John of Portugal, with his ]iroject, and made it so plain that the earth was round, that China (which Marco Polo had visited) could be reached by sailing west, that the king in part believed it. But would not great glory, honor, and advantage come from such a discovery ? Certainly ; and the king determined to secure whatever benetit might come from it. He was not a high-minded THK OLD CASTLE. HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 101 man, and, after getting all the information he could from the sailor, sent out a ship secretly to make discoveries ; but the sailors, after a few days, MARCO POLO. became frightened at finding themselves so far from land, and returned, saying that tliere was no land in that direction. "You can't reach the east by sailing west," they said. Those were dark days to the brave sailor. The king had acted per- fidiously, and now his wife died. lie could no longer stay in Lisbon, but 102 ,, , ,THE STOK'i^-.OF LIBERTY. took his little boy, Diego, and went home to his native city (Genoa), for he thought perhaps his townsmen would help him ; but they laughed at him instead. " Eeach the Indies by sailing west ?" "Yes." • " You are crazy." So he can get no help from those who know him best. He has a brother in Spain ; he will go and visit liim. He lands with his son Diego at Palos. His brotlier lives in the country. He is too poor to hire a mule, and the sailor, with his pack on his back, leading Diego, goes out over the dusty road on foot. He comes to the convent La Eabiada. Diego is hungry, for he has had little to eat. Surely the good fathers will give him a crust of bread and a drink of water. He knocks at the gate. The porter answers the knock, and goes to get a bit of bread, and while he is gone Father Perez, the prior of the convent, who lias been out for a walk, comes up. He wears a broad-brimmed hat, and has a red cross em- broidered on his robe. He is a good man, and hears the sailor's story. " Reach India by sailing west f « Yes." HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 103 " That is an idea wortli thiukino^ about. You must spend tlie night with nie. I have a learned friend, Doctor Fernandez. I will ask him to come in and spend the evening." So the sailor and Diego got a good snpper ; and Father Perez and Doctor Fernandez listen to the sailor's story, and are greatly pleased with what he has to say. Father Pei-ez gives him a letter of introduction, as we have already seen, to Father Talavera, who is Queen Isabella's con- fessor, and who has gi-eat influence at court. He is one of the men who ask questions. The sailor must go and see him, and he will introduce him to the king and queen. Meanwhile, Diego can stay at the convent and at- tend school. This is in 1486. The sailor leaves Diego with his good friend, and hastens to Cordova, where King Ferdinand is commanding a great army. All the nobles of Spain are there, and squadrons are marching to drive the Moors out of the country. The sailor delivers his letter to Father Talavera; but the queen's confessor cannot stop to notice a poor sailor, even though he comes with a i'^\^. "a MOKSKL of BKEAU FOK DIEGO, IF YOU PLEASE." letter from his friend. Father Perez; nor has the king any time to listen to his story. The army moves away, and the sailor, to keep himself from starvation, draws maps and charts, which he sells in Cordova. The days are very dark now. No money, and starvation before him. But he finds another friend (Cardinal Mendoza), Avho has gi-eat influence 104 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. with the king. Having married Isabella, and made Castile and Aragon a united country-, Ferdinand is planning new enterprises. He covets the "by sailing west, I SHALL BE ABLE TO REACH THE INUILS. kingdom of Navarre, in the Pyrenees. lie w411 seize that bj-and-by, and so rob Catherine de Foix of her dominion. But just now he is sitting by the gurgling fountains. The cardinal goes to the king. " I have made the acquaintance of a sailor who has a grand project to lay before your Majesty." " " What is it r " To reach the oast by sailing west." " Oh yes, I remember Father Talavera said something about it some time ago." '• He is no ordinary man. I have listened to his story with great in- terest : his project seems reasonable." " I will direct Father Talavera to call a council of learned men to in- vestigate the matter." The council meets in the Convent of St. Stephen, in Salamanca. Tliere are bishops, archbishops, and learned doctors from the universities, in the assembly, who hear what the sailor has to say.. " Do you mean to say that you can reach the east by going west ?" " Yes." " It is a preposterous idea." HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 105 " But tlie ancient geograpliei* Ptolemy, and the learned men of his time, maintained that tiie earth was round ; and if it is round, does it not stand to reason that we can reach India by sailing west ?" "No. To say that the earth is ronnd is contrary to the Bible, which says, in the Psalms, that the heavens are stretched out like a tent. Of course it must be flat." " The sun and moon are round, as we see ; why not the earth f the sailor replies. " If the earth is a l)all, what holds it up ?" the cai'dinal inquires. " We might ask what holds the sun and moon np," is the sailor's answer. " The idea that the earth is round is absurd. IIow can men walk with their heads hanging down and their feet upward, like flies on a ceiling '<" asks a learned doctor. "How can trees grow with their roots in the air?" intei-poses an- other. " The water would all run out of the ponds, and we should all fall off," says still anothei*. So the wise doctors reason. " The idea is based on a false philosophy, and to say that the earth is round is heresy," says one. That is their decision. Heresy ! It is an ominous word. The men who ask questions make short work with heretics. The sailor must be 106 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. careful about his belief. If he maintains that the world is round, when the doctors say it is flat, it will be worse for him. Seven years pass. The sailor is growing old, but he lias not given up his belief that he can reach India by sailing west. He has waited for Ferdinand and Isabella to drive the Moors from Spain. They have suc- ceeded — have taken the last stronghold, Granada, and are now in the grand and beautiful Alhambra, with their little girl Katherine, who is four 5n ■ l^ 1 RETURNING TO THE ALHAMBRA. years old. They sit by the gurgling fountains, walk amidst the orange- groves, and stroll along the cori-idors where the Moorish kings have lived in luxuriance and pride. The sailor has thought, now that the war is over, Ferdinand and Isabella would aid him. Vain hope; he has had his last interview with them. The queen was almost persuaded to help him, but has at last declined. Never again will he trouble her. lie is riding away, turning his back forever on Spain. "Have you seen a man on a mule — a gray-bearded man — pass out of the «:ate ?" HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING '.VEST. 107 A horseman asks the question of tlie soldier guarding the entrance to the city. "Yes; there he is, away on the plain," says the sentinel, pointing to the retreating form. The horseman sees a little speck far away, strikes the spurs into the sides of the horse, and flies like the wind along the road. « Halloo !" The sailor reins in his mule. " The queen has sent me to ask you to return." Christopher Columbus turns once moi-e to the city, and with him turns the world. It was Luis St. Angel, one of Columbus's friends, wlio saw him ride away so downhearted, who hastened to the queen to persuade her to call him back. " Think how great the gain may be, at a trifling expense, if what the sailor believes should prove true," said the earnest man. " It shall be done. I will undertake. I will pledge my jewels to raise the money. Call him back." So the horseman rides after him. He goes back to the grand palace to hold one more interview with the king and queen. Perliaps, while they are turning over the project, he plays with the little girl Katherine, taking her in his arms, maybe, and telling her a story. Let us keep Katherine in remembrance, for we shall see her by-and-by. All things are arranged. It is the 3d of August. Three little ships lie at anchor in the harbor of Palos. They are little larger than fishing- boats, and only the largest has a deck in the centre. The other two are built high, with decks at stem and stern, but open in the centre. There is a commotion on shipboard and on the shore. A great crowd has assem- bled, for the ships are about to sail away where ships never yet have sailed, over unknown seas — over that sea where the waves are boiling-hot. The sailors are loath to go. No one knows what dangers await them — what storms, what whirl[)ools, what mysterious agencies may destroy them. The admiral of the little fleet (the gray-bearded sailor, Christopher Columbus) says that the world is round ; if so, how will they ever be able to return ? Can a ship sail up-hill ? The sailors have not volunteered to go, but have been forced into service by the king. On the shore their friends are weep- ing and lamenting their departure. Never again will they behold them. The vessels are the Santa Mciria, with the adnn'ral's flag flying above it ; the Pinta, commanded by Alonzo Pinzon ; and the Niria^ commanded by Yanez Pinzon. Columbus's ever-faithful friend, the good prior of La Rabiada, stands lOS THE STORY OF LIBERTY. npon the deck of tlie Santa Maria to bestow his blessing. The last good- bye is spoken, the anchors are raised, the sails spread, and the vessels sail away, shaping their course toward the Canaries. On the third day the Pinto's signal of distress is flying ; her rudder is unhung and broken, but Captain Alonzo Pinzon is an able seaman, and THli SHIPS. secures it with ropes until the Canary Islands are reached, when a new rudder is obtained. On Saturday, the 6tli of September, the three vessels turn their prows westward. On Sunday morning they are still within sight of land ; but a fresh breeze springs up, and soon the last glimpse fades away. The sailors would be brave in a battle, but now they give way to their fears. The apprehension of experiencing something which no man has HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 109 ever expenenced — something strange and terrible — causes their cheeks to whiten and their eyes to fill with tears. The admiral calms them by his description of India — a land abound- ing with gold and silver and precious stones, which they will surely visit- Monday morning comes, and they discover the mast of a vessel float- ing in the sea, which is covered with sea-weed, and has been a long time in tlie water. Tiie sailors give way to their lamentations, Tliey too, sure- ly, will be shipwrecked. On the 13th of September the ships are two hundred miles west of the Canai'ies. Columbus notices, in the evening, that the compass no longer points to the north star, but has changed five degrees to the west. What is the meaning of it ? Is the guide to which they have always trusted to fail them now ? He knows that the sun and moon are globes ; he believes that the earth also is a globe ; but he does not know that the earth turns on its axis every twenty-four honrs — so bringing day and night. Such an idea has not yet dawned upon the mind of any man. There is a young man, howevei-, np in Poland, Nikolaus Kopernik, nineteen years old, who is studying astronomy, and wlio a few years hence -will propound the THE CANARY ISLANDS. 110 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. startling theory that the apparent movement of the sun around the earth is in reality the earth turning on its axis every twenty-four hours. There is also a man in Pisa — the city in which there is a wonderful leaning tower — Galileo, who is studying the heavens. He is twenty-seven years old ; and a few years I hence he will construct a tube with glasses in it which will bring the stars and planets so near to the earth that he will see that several moons are clustered around Jupiter — that they change their positions from day to day. But Christopher Columbus knows nothing of this ; he sees only that his compass is fail- ing him. The sailors behold it wath terror ; but he quiets their fears by saying that tlie north star is not exactly north. On, day after day, they sail. Birds hover around the ships. The water is full of sea-weed. GALILEO. -r» 1 -, i- ^^ ^ i By the 1st or October they have sailed twenty- three hundred miles — though the reckoning which Columbus shows to the sailors makes it only seventeen hundred miles. The wind blows steadily from the east; but the sailors, seeing how far they have come, fear that with the wind blowing steadily in one di- rection they never will be able to return. They are all but ready to mutiny ; but Columbus quiets them, and offers to give twenty-five dollars to the man who first discovers land. Now all eyes are turned toward the west. "Land!" A sailor shouts it. All hearts beat more quickly, but the sailor is mis-, taken : no land is to be seen, and the enthusiasm is followed by despond- ency. They murmur once more. "We are not far from land. We shall soon discover it," says Columbus. " See ! there is a bush with berries on it." They pick up a shrub fioating in the sea. Sure enough there are ber- ries on it. That did not grow in the sea. HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. Ill "These are land birds," sajs Columbus, pointing to birds that hover around the vessels, "Look there! A piece of wood. That did not grow in the sea." They pick up the wood. " What ! it is carved. These are marks of tools. It is not part of a vessel. It did not come from a ship. No ship ever sailed here. There must be land ahead." At sunset the crew kneel upon the deck, and chant the vesper-hymn, SEA-WEED. It is sixty-seven days since they left Palos. Columbus has calculated that it is three thousand miles from Spain to China, and he has sailed al- most that far. He knows from the birds around him, by the change in the temperature of the atmosphere, that he cannot be far from land. Once only has he changed his course, and that to the south-west, following the birds which fly in that direction. Ten o'clock. What is that ? A light ! There it is — far away. A moment he sees it. It is gone. There it is again. 112 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Roderigo de Friana is on the lookout at the mast-head of the Pinta. What is that ? It cannot be a bank of cloud, for the stars are brightly shining. " Land ! Land ! Land !" There is a commotion on shipboard. "Where?" " There — there. Don't you see it ?" "Land! Land! Land!" The cannon are fired. No echoes like those ever before were awakened along the shores of the Baliama Isles. Day dawns. There it is, a green and sunny isle — an earthly paradise — green trees, fragrant flowers, myriads of birds, groups of men, women, and children, gazing in wonder upon the sliips. The sailors who have been so faint-hearted, so ready to mutiny, throw themselves upon the deck and beg Columbus to forgive them. The anch- ors are dropped and the boats lowered. The banner of Spain is un- furled, and Columbus, in a scarlet robe, wearing his sword, approaches the shore. lie steps from the boat, kneels, and with clasped hands gives THE NEW WORLD. thanks to God, and then witli imposing ceremonies takes possession of the land in the name of the king and queen, and names it San Salvador. The natives gather around, wondering at what they see. From whence came now A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 113 these beings? From the clouds? Or did they rise from the sea? They accept with delight the trinkets which Columbus gives them. They throw themselves into the water and swim out to the ships, climb the sides, and in astonishment at what they behold. AVlien the cannon are lired, THE I-ANDING they fall on their faces. To them it is lightning and thunder. They bring fruits (bananas and yams and oi'anges), and birds of bright plumage (par- rots and other birds), and give them to the sailors. They wear pieces of gold attached to their ears, which they give in exchange for little tinkling bells. The Spaniards are eager to obtain gold. "Where did yon get it?" they ask, by signs, and the Indians point toward the west. Tlie sailors can see other islands lying aU->ng the hori- zon, and they enter the ships and sail away, carrying seven of the Indians, who willingly go with them. They visit island after island, gazing in wonder and delight at the ever- changing but beautiful panorama. The mountains are (ilothed with trop- ical verdure. There are myriads of bright-hued flowers, climbing vines, groves of palm and cocoa. The sea breaks on pebbled beaches, tlie skies 8 THE STOllY OF LIBEKTY. are mild, tlie air balmy and resonant with the songs of birds such as they never before have seen. They have fomid paradise. They come to an island lai-ger than the others, where rivers of sweet waters descend from the mountains. They go up a placid stream in their boats, beholding everywhere new beauties. " I could live here forever," says Columbus. The natives call this island Cuba, lie returns to the ship and coasts for three days along the shores, believing that he has reached India. The Indians bring them a fruit which grows in the ground, which they roast in a bed of hot ashes, and which is sweet and nutritious. " What do you call it?" the sailors ask, by signs. " Batatoes." This is the first eating of potatoes by Europeans. The Indians roll up a dry leaf of a plant which bears a beautiful pink flower, light one end and inhale the smoke at the other end, puffing it from their mouth and nostrils. " To-bac-co," say they. HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 115 The sailors try it, and are made sick at first, but soon enjoy it. From Cuba the vessels sail to an island which the Indians call Ilayti, but which Columbus calls Ilispaniola. He lands, and beneath the giant forest trees rears a cross and plants the standard of Spain. Thousands of parrots chatter around them, humming-birds dart swiftly througli the air, and flamingoes stalk along the shore. The sailors capture an Indian girl, but Columbus treats her kindly, and she is delighted with the necklace of little bells wliich he gives her. One of the vessels strikes upon a rock and is wrecked, but the sailors take the goods on shore. Through the Indian girl, Columbus in- duces the natives to return from the foi"est into which they have fled. They are simple-hearted, kind, and honest ; nor do they steal any of the goods. " They love their neighbors as themselves," writes Columbus in his journal. The chief gets up a grand banquet of fish, fruits, and potatoes ; and, after the feast, the natives have a dance. Columbus, in turn, orders the sailors to go through military evolutions. The Indians gaze in admiration upon the bright swords gleaming in the sunshine, but fall to the ground in REAUIXG TUE CKUSS. terror when a cannon is fired. Columbus builds a fort, and leaves a gar- rison to hold it, and sails for Spain. He I'eaches the Azores, but, soon after leaving those islands, a great storm comes on, and the ships are sep- 116 THE STORY OF LIBEKTV, ai'ated. lie fears that all will be lost; but, on the 4tli of March, he drops anchor at the mouth of the river Tagiis, ten miles from Lisbon ; and on the 15th of March he sails into the harbor of Palos. What a commotion there is ! " Christopher Columbus has come !" The cry runs over the town. Every boat is launched, and the rowers pull with all tlieir might, to be the first to reach the ship. "A new world is discovered!" fires blaze. It is not a fiction, for there are the Indians — six of them — and The bells ring, cannon thunder, bon- RKTUKNING TO SPAIN. pari'ots, flamingoes, rolls of Indian cloth, bananas, potatoes, gold ! Tlie news goes from house to house. Everybody rejoices over the wonderful intelligence. It is a triumphal march which Columbus makes to Barcelona — six- hundred miles — to pay his respects to Ferdinand and Isabella. He goes as a conqueror, noblemen accompanying him. People come from afar to see him, to gaze upon the Indians and the parrots. The king and queen receive Columbus in great state, and take delight in honoring him. And why should they not? Has he not given them a new empire ? But the doctors who ridiculed him at Salamanca are en- vious. It is not ])leasant to have all their fine theories upset, and to feel that they have made fools of themselves. Besides, this adventurer is an now A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 117 jui;i;n kkleive him in great state. Italian ; and thej do not like to think that an Italian, and not a Span- iard, is the discoverer of a new world. The Grand Cardinal invites Columbus to a dinner. The great doctors are there. One is so envious that lie cannot restrain himself from giving Colurabus a little stab. THAT IS THK WAY TO DO IT. 118 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. " Do you think that there is no man in Spain capable of making the discovery ?" he asks. Cohnnbns replies by asking a question : " Is there any one at the table who can make an egg stand on end f They try, but all fail. " Can you do it ?" " Certainly." He breaks the shell at the end, and the egg stands. " That is the way to do it." "Anybody can do that." " So anybody can go to the new land, now that I have discovered it." Very soon Columbus is sailing west again, this time with twelve ships and twelve hundred men. Thousands want to go. They take horses, pigs, cattle, and dogs, for these animals are not found in the new world. Twelve priests go to convert the Indians to the Catholic faith. He comes to the colony, but no one is there. They find skulls, bones, decayed bodies, iLL UAVE ruins. Those whom he left quarrelled among themselves, then separated and lived with tlie Indians. A powerful tribe came down one day from the mountains and killed every Spaniard, and a great many of the coast Indians. He leaves a second colony, and sails away to the west in search i HOW A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 119 of new lands, and discovers the island of Jamaica. lie finds no nionji- tains of gold, and the adventurers are disappointed. Sickness breaks out; their provisions fail. Some of the ships tnrn back to Spain, Many of those who are with him are young noblemen, who, because they do not find gold, denounce Columbus as a deceiver; but he sails on, discovers new lands, and then returns to Spain. The nobles are so jealous of him that two years pass before he can get ready for another voyage. lie sails once more, steering farther south, and, after sailing thirty-eight days, discovers an island with three mountain peaks, which he calls " The Trim'ty ;" and just beyond he beholds the main -land, South America, and sails many miles along the coast. This is in 1498. He is Governor of the Xew World. The only settlement is that in ITayti ; but the grandees are so jealous that they cannot bear to have an Italian over them. They accuse him to the king falsely, invent lies, till the king is persuaded to supersede him, and send out a vain, pompous, cruel man — Bobadilla — to be governor, who arrests Columbus, puts him in prison, rivets fetters npon his ankles, and sends him to Spain. The captain of the ship is indignant at such treatment of the noble- hearted sailor. " I will strike off the irons," he says. "No; the king commanded me to submit to whatever Bobadilla should 120 THE STORY OF LIBERTY, order in his name. I will not remove them. I will wear them, and keep them as memorials of my reward !" In irons he is taken to Cadiz. " Shame ! shajne !" The people shont it, and the king strikes off the fetters. Once more Columbus sails. He is an old man now; his beard is white, and he is not so strong as he was. He stops at Hajti, and then sails west throngh the Caribbean Sea, skirting the main-land, seeking ever to find a passage to India. He lands at a place where there is a delicious spring of water, and which to this da}' is called Columbus's Spring. His vessels are driven ashore in a storm. He is taken sick. The Indians are hostile. He needs provisions, but cannot get them from the Indians, who are planning to attack the strangers. He must make them supply hhn with food. He understands astrononiy, and knows that the moon will soon be eclipsed. Tlie Indians are superstitious, and he sends this word to the chiefs : " The Great Spirit is offended with you, because you will not supply me with provisions." The Indians laugli at the message. "You will see tlie moon fade away. The Great Spirit will cover it up and make it all dark." now A MAN TRIED TO REACH THE EAST BY SAILING WEST. 121 They laugh again. Kiglit conies, and the full moon rises, round and red ; but soon the Indians see a sliadow creeping over it, beginning at one side. "A dragon is eating it np !" thej cr}', and throw themselves upon the ground in terror. " The Great Spirit will pardon 3'on, and give you back the moon, if you bring me provisions." "We will bring them." They come with baskets filled with yams and potatoes and fruits. So he obtains provisions, but his vessels are driven ashore in a storn), and he must die there unless a vessel shall perchance sail along the coast. One day the sailors see two specks far away, and soon discover that they are two vessels. A fire is kindled, and those on board the ships, at- tracted by the smoke, sail along the shore and discover those whom they are seeking. So Columbus and his fellow-sailors are rescued from death. Twelve years have passed since Columbus discovered San Salvador, The islands which then were a paradise, the abode of simple-heai-ted peo- ple, are drenched in blood. The Spaniards have had but one thought — THE RESCUE. to get gold and to gratify passion. Thousands of the Indians have been killed, other thousands carried into slavery. The Indians had no rights which the cruel men felt bound to respect. 122 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. On the 20tli of May, 1506, at Yalladolid, Christopher Columbus, old, in poverty, begs^ing his bread, lies down to die. No one cares for him, but he dies calmly and peacefully. So closes the life of the man who led the way for the discovery of the future home of Liberty, CUL'J.MIiUS S MO^L■.MliNT, (JliN(JA. THE NEW HOxME OF LIBERTY. 123 CHAPTER VII. THE NEW HOME OF LIBERTY. THE news tliat Christopher Columbus has discovered wonderful lands in the West readies the old town of Bristol, in England. It was down past this town tliat the dust of Doctor Wicklif floated to the sea. It was a Bristol trader whose teeth were pulled out by John Lackland for refusing to give up his money. The merchants of Bristol were J^ enterprising men, and w^ere sending their si lips to France, the North Sea. Two of the sea-captains employed by the merchants were a father and son, John and Sebastian Cabot. The father was born in Venice, a city that stands in tiie sea, where the people, instead of riding in carriages, glide SKBASTIAN CABOT. along the water-ways in gon- dolas. They were brave, adventurous men, and, hearing of Columbus's discoveries, persuaded the Bristol men to fit out a fleet for the pui-pose of discovering a new route to the Indies. Tlie merchants can do nothing without first obtaining permission from the king, Henry VII. There is not much liberty in England or anywliere else. The king is supreme. Henry loves money, and when the citizens of Bristol come before him -with their petition, he sees an opportunity to impose conditions which possibly may bring money into his pockets at their expense. " If you discover any countries, they shall be mine," he says. 124 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. lie is possessed with the idea that he alone can lay daim to all coun- tries discovered, no matter who may be living upon the land. The people of England have few rights which he is bound to respect ; much less will the Indians have any rights. " That we promise," the merchants reply. " If you make any money, I must have one-fifth of it." Tliis is a hard condition. Not a dollar will he contribute toward fit- THE SEA SWAKMS WITH FISH. ting out the expedition. The merchants must be at all the expense. They may lose every cent of their investment, their vessels may be wrecked ; the king will not share in any loss. But on no other condi- tion will he permit the fleet to sail. Hard as the terms are, the mer- chants accept them. In the month of Mav, 1497, John Cabot commandinir one vessel, Se- THE NEW HOJIE OF LIBERTY. 125 bastian another, with a third to keep them company, set sail from Bristol. The tide wafts them down the Severn River, just as it w^aftcd John Wick- lif's dust. They steer westward — out upon a stormy sea, to sail where vessels never have sailed before. By the middle of June they find themselves on soundings, and the sea is swarming with fish. They catch all they want. Never before have they seen such myriads of fish. On the 24t]i of June they discover land. It is not India, for they are only sixteen hundred miles west of Ireland. They name it Prima Vista. It is newfound land. They behold dense forests of pine and cedar, but no sign that it is inhabited. They sail north-west, and discover a bleak and rocky shore, where the surf is breaking on cavern ledges — the coast of Labrador. Since the days Iff 'i ,# &iL ^ AMONG THE ICEBERGS. 126 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. S k THK ROCKY SHORE. of the old Northmen, no European eye has seen the Western continent. Cohimbus has as yet only discovered the West India Islands. Onward the vessels glide, sailing north-west, till at midnight, on the July days, the sun only disappears for a few moments beneath the horizon. They are in the frozen sea, with icebergs around them. Their provisions begin to fail ; THE NEW HOME OF LIBERTY. 127 the ice blocks tlieir farther progress ; and the brave sailors, disappointed in not being able to find a way to India, but happy in the thonglit tliat they have discovered new lands, re- turn to Bristol. Although the merchants ha\e spent much money, they resolve to fit out a second expedition. John Cabot is getting to be an old man ; but Sebastian is in the full vigor of manhood, and a skilful navigator, and they give the command to him. He sails w^est to the New-fonnd- land, but, instead of steering north after sighting its wooded shores, turns south, enters the Bay of Fun- dy, where the tide ruslies in with a roar like distant thunder, ri&ing sixty feet. Sailing still farther, he comes to Frenchman's Bay," and gazes upon Mount Desert, at whose base the sea breaks upon granite ledges, tossing the spray high in air. Day after day the vessel glides along, past bluffs and headlands, where the waves have eaten their way into rocky caverns, then past sandy beaches glowing in the sum- mer sun. If a storm comes on, Captain Cabot finds shelter behind some island. Southward the vessel sails, past Cape Ann, past Cape Cod ; then turning westward, skirts the shores of Long Island, and then the coast of New Jersey, and the low beaches of Delaware and Virojinia — sailins: till provisions fail, when the hai'dy the cavkrns. captain turns about, and reaches England, informing the king that he has 128 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. discovered a fair and virgin land in tlie west, M'liicli he may claim hh As this story unfolds, we shall see that through the enterprise of the Bristol merchants, through the discoveries of Sebastian Cabot, and through the claims of the king to the ownei'ship of all lands discovered by him, the new home of liberty became the heritage of the people of England. The King of Spain could not at that moment claim possession of the Isew World by priority of discovery ; for while Sebastian Cabot was sail- ing along the coast of Yii'ginia, Columbus was starting on his third voy- age, during which he discovered South America, as we have seen. Would the United States have been the nation that it is if Spain had first discovered North America, and established its colonies and planted its civilization on the shores of Virginia ? Far from it; for the king, who could violate his most solemn promises, as Ferdinand violated his with the Moors — the queen, Isabella, who could sit complacently by M'hile heretics were being roasted to death — the people who could drive out the Jews and Moors, and seize their estates, were not the sovereigns nor the people to establish liberty in the Western World. We shall see that it required such men as those who compelled John Lackland to sign the Magna Charta ; such men as John Wicklif, who dared to brave the Pope's authoritj^ ; such men as Geoffrey Chaucer, who dared to ridicnle the monks — men who were strong-hearted enough to resist tyr- anny, who M'ere ready to sacrifice everything they held dear rather than yield their natural rights — that it required such men to plant the seeds of a new civilization in the western hemisphere. It was not till two years after Cabot's voyage that Amerigo Yespucci sailed on his voyage of discovery; and although the continent of America bears his natne, he was far from being the first to discover it. The intelligence that the sea off Newfoundland is alive witli fish is good news to the fishermen of Northern France, for the Pope has decreed that everybody must eat fish on Friday. The fishei-men of Ilonfleur and AMERIGO VESrUCCI. THE NEW HOME OF LIBERTY. 129 other towns set sail in their little vessels for the New-fonnd-land, and drop their anchors in a bay, which they call St. Jolni's. They dress their fish, ^ i ■ . ^.>^H^'' DRESSING THKIR FISH. and dry them on tlie rocks and ledges. Tliey bnild hnrdles of brnsh, and lay the fish upon them to dry, pack them in the hold, and go back to France with their vessels loaded to the water's edge. While the fishermen of France are making these voyages to New- foundland, the Spaniards are establishing colonies in the West Indies, for they now know that the islands are not the East Indies. They make the Indians slaves, treat them cruelly, making themselves rich on the um'e- qnited labor of the simple-hearted natives. Adventurers are sailing here and there, establishing colonies and seek- ing for gold. One of the adventurers is Martin Encisco. He is at Ilayti, ready to sail into the unexplored regions of the west. Just before the anchor is hoisted, two men bring a cask on board the ship. The sails are hoisted, and the vessel speeds away over the M'aters. The sailors hear a pounding inside of the cask ; then the head falls out, and, to their amaze- ment, a young man stands before them. It is Yasco Balboa, a young Spanish nobleman, who has led a dissolute life in Spain, who has been try- 9 130 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. ing to recover his fortniie at Ilayti, but wlio has been getting deeper in debt. He has taken this method to escape from his creditors. " Who are you ?" Captain Enclsco asks. " Yasco Nuilez de Balboa." He is young, noble-looking, fearless, and well-dressed. " I will leave you on the first island I come to," says the captain, in a rage ; but he soon sees that Balboa is a man who can be of great use to him. This man from the cask has already been down to a place called Darien — a rich country, where the Indians have gold in abundance. " I will pilot you there ; we shall find gold," says Balboa. They reach Darien, make an attack upon an Indian village, and col- lect gold ornaments worth fifty thousand dollars. Encisco makes a settle- ment; but he forbids the sailors to trade j ' with the Indians. The sailors do not like that ; so they mutiny, and elect Balboa to be their leader. Tlie man from the cask sends Encisco back to Ilayti a prisoner ; but he is careful to send a large amount of gold to the royal treasurer there, who is a great favorite of the King of Spain. He has among his followers a brave but cruel man, Pizarro, who by-and-by will be heard of in Pern. One day Balboa is surprised to see two men come into his camp THE NEW HOME OF LIBERTY. 131 dressed in skins of wild beasts. They are Spaniards, deserters from a colony on the coast, and they have been living with an Indian chief, who has treated them with much kindness. The chief is rich ; and the men offer to conduct Balboa to his capital. With one hundred and thirty men he marches to the town. The chief receives them courteously ; and Bal- boa, after seeing how much gold the chief has in his possession, takes his departure, but in the night stealthily returns, falls upon the village, capt- THl lit \D OF THE CASK FALLS OUT, AND A lOUNG MAN STANDS BLFORE THEM. 132 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. nres the chief and all his family, and plunders the place. The chief com- plains bitterly of the perfidy. lie wishes to be a friend to the Spaniards, and offers his dano'hter to Balboa in marriao'e. The commander of the THE CHIEF OFFERS HIS DAUGHTER IN MARRIAGE. Spaniards sees that it will be better to have the good-will rather than the enmity of the chief, and accepts the girl as his wife, and becomes very fond of her, and she of him. In company with the chief, he visits an- other chief, who lives in a great palace four hundred and fifty feet long, and two hundred and fifty broad, built of heavy timber. The Spaniards are surprised to find an immense store of provisions, and spirituous liquors distilled from palm-juice and corn. In another building are the bodies of the dead, which have been dried by fires and wrapped in cloths, and adorned with jewels and precious stones. THE NEW HOME OF LIBERTY. 133 The chief's eldest son makes a present to Balboa of four thousand ounces of gold, which the commander distributes among his followers. In the division a quarrel arises between two men, who draw their swords to fight. The young chief steps between them, and kicks the gold-dust con- temptuously about, scattering it upon the ground. " Do you quan-el about such stuff ? Is it for this that you make slaves of us, and burn our towns ? Beyond those mountains is a great sea, and the rivers that run into it are filled with gold, and the people who live there drink from golden vessels," says the young chief. After many adventures, Balboa determines to cross the high mountains which rise in the west, and see if the stories he has heard are true. One hundred and ninety men volunteer to go with him. They are all armed, and he has a pack of ferocious blood-hounds. On the 6th of September, 1513, leaving half of his men in care of the boats — about twenty miles from the mouth of Caledonia River — with In- "do you quarrel about such stuff?'' dians to guide him, he begins to climb the mountains. They march through dark woods, where in some places the palms are so thick and tall that they shut out the sunlight, and M'here thick vines run fi-om tree' 134 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. to tree. Monkey's chatter at tliera. They see venomous snakes. It is a toilsome journey. They march beneath the burning sun. The men J: CLiaiBlNU THE MODNTAINS. are ready to drop by the way, but the adventurous commander sends the weak ones back to the boats, and the rest move on. They come to a tribe of Indians, who dispute their way, armed with slings and war- clubs; but the soldiers fire upon them, and Balboa lets slip the blood- hounds, which rush upon the Indians, leaping at their throats. The flash, THE NEW HOME OF LIBERTY. 135 the rattle, the smoke of the guns, till the Indians with astonishment, and they flee to the woods; but the Spaniards* pursue them, and do not cease the slaughter till six hundred have been cut in pieces. They move rapidly on, and at noon the next day Balboa and the sixty men with him are at the base of a tall mountain peak. " From there you will see the Great Water," says the Indian guide. The Great "W^ater ! The explorer has heard of it ; now he is to see it. SLAUGHTER OF THE INDIANS. 136 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. The men stop while Balboa goes on. He will be the fii*st to behold the great sea. There it is ! The mightiest ocean of the globe — ten thousand miles DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC. ^vide — its waves rolling upon the shore, fringing it with white foam. Bal- boa sinks on his knees, and gives thanks to God. Tlie rest climb the peak and gaze upon it, and fall prostrate upon the ground. A priest chants Te Deum Laudamus, and the whole com- pany join in tlie thanksgiving. They cut down a tree and rear a cross upon the spot, pile a heap of stones around it, and descend the western slope. Another tribe of Indians oppose tliem, but the muskets and the blood- hounds quickly win the victory. Tlie chief sues fur peace, and gives Bal- THE NEW HOME OF LIBERTY. 137 boa four Imndred pounds of gold in exchange for some little tinkling bells, and thinks that he has the best of the bargain. They reach the ocean, taste the water to see if it is salt, and then Balboa, with the flag of Spain in one hand, and his sword in the other, wades in and takes possession of the ocean for his master, the King of Spain. So the Pacific Ocean, which laves the western shore of the continent where Liberty is to have its future abiding -place, is first beheld by a European ; and so Balboa takes possession of it for the monarch who is driving the Jews out of his realm, and roasting heretics by the thou- sand. Great hardships are endured by the Spaniards before they get back to the little band on the eastern shore. They ha\e many encounters with B.VLBOA TAKING POSSESSION OF THE PACIFIC. 138 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. the Indians. One of the chiefs captured offends Balboa, and he is torn to pieces by the blood-hounds. The Spaniards find gold very abundant, and obtain so much that it becomes a burden. The soldiers cannot carry it. They are forced to climb mountains, Avade through swamps, endure terri- ble hardships. Balboa is taken sick, but his devoted followers carry him on a blanket. After months of toil they reach their boats, astonishing ^,r^^#"" ~" THE HOUNDS TEAK HIM TO PIECES. their comrades with the immense amount of gold in their possession — gold in dust, in scales, in nuggets, golden ornaments, cups, and drinking- vessels, worth liundreds of thousands of dollars. Balboa hears of lands rich in gold southward on the Pacific coast, and i-esolves to visit them. lie cuts down trees, hews the timbers and plank, compels the Indians to transport the materials across the mountains. He THE NEW HOME OF LIBERTY. 139 and his followers endure incredible hardships. One day a new governor arrives from Spain, who hates Balboa, and accuses him of treason, arrests him, and has him executed. Columbus is i-ewarded for discovering a new world by being sent home in chains; and the man who discovered the Pacific Ocean is executed. TJiat is the gratitude of Spain to her illustri- ous men. iiXECUTIOX OF BALBOA. 140 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER VIII. A BOY WHO OBJECTED TO MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIDOW. ^I^TEARLY one hundred years have passed since the monks dug iij) -^^ the bones of Doctor AVickhf. There are not many followers of the doctor iu England, for the bishops have been weeding the Lollards out. So many have been imprisoned in the Tower, in London, that one section of the edifice is called the Lollards' Prison, In one of the chambers the bishops sit in council for tlie condemnation of heretics, LOLLARDS PRISON. not that they have committed murder or tlieft, or for any other crime against society, but for reading Doctor Wicklif's translation of tlie Bible, which is a crime, in their estimation, to be punished by imprisonment or death. In Bohemia tliere has been a terrible war lasting many years. Thou- sands have been killed, and multitudes have died of starvation ; cities have been burned, and the land made desolate ; and all because the Em- peror Sigismund violated his word, and allowed John IIuss to be put to A BOY WHO OBJECTED TO MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIDOW. 141 death. Men have little more freedom than they had one hundred yearsr ago. The heretics have been snbdned everywhere. Men nnist think, speak, and act just as they are told. The Pope is superior to the State. THE COTTNCIL CHAMBKR, TOWER OF LONDON. The bishops have their own court. A priest may commit murder, and the king cannot touch him. The bishops never put a priest to death, even if he commits murder; but let a man who is not a priest be caught reading tlie Bible, and they will soon have him roasting in the fire. The Church has a " Sanctuary," a safe place. If a man has committed a crime, and makes his escape to the sanctnary, the sheriff cannot touch him for forty days ; and if he wishes to escape to another country, by taking a crucifix in his hand he can go without molestation to the sea-shore, wade into the sea up to his neck, call three times for a ship to come and take him, and then no one can arrest him. Such a privilege enables men to commit crime with impunit3^ Justice is defeated. But it brings a great deal of money into the bishops' pockets, for when a rich man seeks refuge in the sanctuary they make him pay roundly for the privilege of being there. 142 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Altliongli Doctor Wicklif preached against indulgences, the sale is go- ing on more briskly than ever before. A great scholar from Holland, THK SANCTDAUY. Doctor Erasmus, makes a visit to England. He goes to Walsingham Ab- bey, with his friend the Dean of St. Paul's; and the guide shows them the precious relics which are kept in a chest, before whicli thousands of pil- grims reverently kneel and worship, leaving purses filled with money for the priests. Tlie guide shows them something wdiite, which looks like powdered chalk. " What is that ?" Doctor Erasmus asks. " Some of the Virgin Mary's milk," saj-s the guide. They then come to a black trunk. " I have a precious relic here," says the guide, holding THE CHEST. up a dirty rag. A BOY WHO OBJECTED TO MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIDOW. 143 " Wlmt is it r " It is a fragment of St. Tiiomas's shirt." The pilgrims kneel and worship the holy relic. Doctor Erasmus does not follow tlieir example, but turns away disgusted, rather. Supposing it was a part of Tliomas's shirt, does that make it holy? Is it of any more value than any otlier rag? He returns to Holland, and writes a book EKAS.MUS. about fools, which sets people to laughing. Here and there a man sees that the people are fools, and that the priests are making money out of their simplicity. The king, Henry VII., wlio would not let the merchants of Bristol fit out the expedition mider John and Sebastian Cabot till they had promised 144 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. to give him one-fifth of all the money they made, thinks of a way where- by he can extort money from whomsoever he will. He establishes a court, which is called the Court of the Star-chamber, not only because the ceil- WESTMINSTER ABBEY AND ITS PRECINCT, ABOUT A.D. 1735. ing of the chamber in which it is held is spangled with stars, but because the Starra — a class of state papers — are ■ deposited there. It is a secret court. He establishes it in the year 1486. A man brought before it can- not have any witnesses to testify in his behalf, nor can he liave any coun- sel to defend him. He cannot make an appeal to any other tribunal. The conrt is a direct violation of the Magna Charta. The avai'icious king has two London lawyers in his employ — Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley — who, in tnrn, employ a set of ruffians called " promoters," who promote the king's cause by swearing to any and every thing which the lawyers wish them to. Many years ago a law was passed forbidding the nobles to keep any retainers or private soldiers in uniform. But the nobles have man}' house- hold servants. The Earl of Nortliumberland has a treasurer, a chamber- lain, chaplain, constables, and others — one hundred and sixty-six in all. The Earl of Oxford has a great many dependants, who live on his estates. One day the king pays tlie earl a visit. It is a grand occasion. The earl provides a magnificent banquet, and summons all the people who live on his estates to come and honor the king. He dresses them in uniform. The king notices it. "Ah, here is a chance to make some money," is tlie thought that comes to the king. " Tliese are your menial servants, I suppose ?" he says to the earl. A BOY WHO OBJECTED TO MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIDOW. 145 " Most of tliem are iny retainers, who have come to do you honor." " By my faith,! thank you for your good cheer; but I cannot allow you to break the law. My lawyers must speak to you." The lawyers do speak to him, and the earl is compelled to pav an immense sum, or be cast into prison. lie feasts the king, and is robbed besides. Lord Bergavemiy has some servants whom the Star-chamber declare are retainers, and he has to pay three hundred and Hfty thousand dollars 'to the king. Henry is a friend to the Pope. lie loves money, but gives liberally to the Church, Out west of London is Westminster Abbey, founded l)v Edward the Confessor, as long ago as 1060, The place where it stands was once a swamp in the woods ; but years before Edward's time, no one knows when, the monks reared a building there, and adopted Peter as their patron saint. There was a cleai- spring of water near by. They could catch fish in the Thames. They were near enough to London to go out with their bread-bags, to beg their living in the town. On the Sunday niglit bofoi-e the day which had been ti\ed \\[Kn\ by the bishop for the dedication of the monastery, a fisherman by the name of Edric was out on ' __ the Thames, when he saw a light and heard an old man calling to him, wanting to know if he could ferry him across the stream. It was Sun- day, but Edric was ready to do the stranger a favor, and _ rowed him a(;ross, -^ ^^^ "'- The venerable man went on to the monastery, when suddenly a host of angels made their appearance. The church was instantly as bright within as if a thousand caudles had been lighted, and the stranger and the angels dedicated it with imposing ceremonies, 10 146 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. The fisherman was greatly astonished, but soon the stranger came back. " Can 3^ou give me something to eat ?" he asked of the fisher- man. " I have been fishing all night, but have caught notliing." Then the stranger told who he was. " I am St, Peter, and have control of the ke_ys of heaven. AVhen the bishop comes to conse- crate the church, tell him what 3^ou have seen, and as for yourself, go out into the river, and you will catch all the fisli you want. I have grant- ed this on the conditions that you never again fisli on Sunday, and that you always give a portion of what you catch to the monks." The next day the bishop came to dedicate the monastery, bnt there, at the door, stands the fisherman with a salmon — a present from St. Peter to . the bishop, who iieard Edric's story, and was satisfied that St. Peter had already dedicated the building, and there was no need that he should do it. So from that time on the fisherman supplied the monks with fish. Edward the Confessor, King of England, was very religious. He was ever ready to do something for the Church, to secure an enti-ance into heaven, and selected this little monastery as one which should have his special patronage. He contributed a large sum of money, and set archi- tects and masons to work to rear an abbey. It was the beginning of the most beautiful edifice in England. One king after another added to Edward's building, till there arose a great pile — almost a city by itself— Westminster Abbey, Chapter-house, St. Margaret's Church, Hall Palace, clock -towers, infirmary, cloisters, ab- SHKINE OF KDWAKU THE CONFKSSOK. A BOY WHO OBJECTED TO MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S \VIDOW. l-iT bot's house, prior's house, sanctuary, granary, and otlier buildings. Tiie kings spent tlieir money freely, employing architects and masons, who ham- mered away at the stones, making elaborate adornments, spending such enormous sums of money that the House of Commons protested against expenditures so lavish. That did not stop the work from going on, how- ever, and year by year additions were made, not only to Westminster, but to other abbeys, till, through the exactions of the kings, and the extortions of the priests, monks, and friars, a large part of the earnings of the people was swallowed up by the Church, either in the erection of buildings or the support of the great swarm of prelates. Of all the abbeys and monasteries in England, Westminster is the most renowned. Gracefully the Gothic arches rise, springing from the massive pillars bending like the interlacing branches of the forest trees. The mel- low sunlight streams in through gorgeously painted windows, throwing a Hood of golden, puiple, and crimson light upon the long-drawn aisles, the NOKTH AMBULATORY AND CHANTKV. oaken seats, the elaborately carved work of the choir, where the priests chant the service, robed in w^hite; figures of saints and angels — carved in the enduriufr stone — entwined Avitli vines and flowers. Beneath the 148 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. abbey is the orvpt, where, in nicbes,the kings and qneens o Kngknd a e entomb d Aling the walls of the abbey are tablets and shr.nes erected "the memory of^nen who were mightier than kings-the poets, the men w>in have reigned in the realm of mind. Upon le stony pavement of the eloisters the monks of Westm.nster knelt and said their prayers, for religion in those days cons.sted maudy THK CLOISTKR.' i„ counting beads and saying Pater-nosters-going ^^^^^^^^^ „„ain and a-ain. It did not much affect the heart It d.d not '"co^n rrights of man. It consisted in fasting, praying, doing penance, and observint the cai-diiiuls : it is for them alone. Be cai-eful now," he says to the servant. Tiie servant carries tlie flagon into the arbor. " Wliy do yon put that goblet by itself ?" asks the vintner who has charge of the wine. " It is very choice wine. On]y the cardinals are to drink it." The Pope and Caesar enter the ai-bor, and the cardinals will soon be there. The Pope discovers that he has forgotten to put his charm upon liis neck. It is a precious affair — a gold locket, with a crumb of holy bread in it. A fortune-teller has assured him that so long as he wears it no harm can come to him. " Run and get it; you will find it on my table," he says to the servant who has brought in the flagon of choice wine. The servant hastens awa}'. " I am very thirsty. I will take a glass of wine, if you please," he says to the vintner. Is there any wine too good for the Pope ? The vintner thinks not. He will give him some of the choice vintage which is reserved for the fa- vored few, and brings a glass for the Pope, and another for Caesar. The cardinals come, and the Pope and Caesar receive them graciously, and all take their seats at the table. But suddenly the Pope nttei's a piercing cry, and rolls upon the ground, lie is in terrible agony ; and Caesar is also seized with excruciating pains. There is running here and there for doctors, who come in hot haste. « Poison !" They have drunk the wine which was prepared for the cardinals. Caesar recovers, but the Pope is burning up. There is a fire in his bones. His flesh grows putrid ; his tongue becomes black, and hangs from his mouth ; ulcers break out upon his body, which swells to enormous size. His servants flee. There is no one to care for him. Alone in his cham- ber, he groans till death relieves his sufferinirs. 172 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER X. THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR HIS BREAKFAST. ON that day when Christopher Cohimbus went out from the Alham- bra, sad and dejected, there was a little boy in a town in Ger- many who was experiencing a sorrowful childhood. He was born on St. Martin's Day, 14S3, and his parents have christened him Martin. They are vei-y poor. The father is a miner, and works hard in digging copper ore and smelting it. The family have little to eat better than rye bread and herrings. Martin's father is a passionate man, and his mother is a stern woman. His school-master is hard-hearted and cruel ; and between the three the boy gets many whippings. His lessons are dry as dust — the Catechism, Ten Commandments, Apostles' Creed, the Canticles, Psalms, and Latin ex- ercises. One day the brute of a master punishes him not less than fif- teen times! There is no joy in life. He hates the Catechism and the Creed, but makes good progress in Latin. The miner has sense enough to see that Martin can learn very little in such a school, and sends him to another, taught by monks, called a cw^rend school. The boys attending it sing in the churches on Sunday, and go through the villages early every morning, and sing before the burghers' houses for a bit of bread. They, carry little tin boxes with a slit in the cover, and the bui-ghers' now and then drop in money. At times Martin obtains neither money nor bread. On Christmas mornings the boys go out earl}-, Martin singing the solos, and the others joining in the choruses. The solo rises, sweet and clear, upon the wintry air : "Praises now from all on earth! 'Tis tlie day of Jesus' birtli, Of a Virgin born in sootli ; Angels glory o'er the youth. Kyrie eleeson. "Only cliild of God's own kind In a manger shepiienls find; THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR IIlS BREAKFAST. 173 God-babe sent our sins to free By suft"iing our humanity. Kyrie eleeso7i." But it is not ahva\-s Christinas, and there are days when tlie boys have little to eat. Maitin often has only a crust. . He grows thin and pale and weak. What shall he do ? His father is so poor that he cannot help him ; the monks have noth- ing to give him, and if the burghers do not supply him with food, he must starve. There comes a cold and bitter morn- ing. Martin goes out to sing through the streets, but the burgh- ers do not like to be awakened so early, and the servants are surly. He sings be- fore a house. " Go away !" It is a gruff voice that he hears, and he passes on to anoth- er residence ; but as soon as he begins to sing, the door opens, and a man's head is thrust out. " Clear out there ! Don't you know bet- ter than to disturb the master so early ?" He will get noth- ing there, and moves on to a third house and sings; but before the carol is finished " Begone, you ragamuffin !" THE EARLY 3IORNING CHAUT AT EISENACH. servant comes out with a whip. Charity is frozen on this winter morning. ^Yeak, faint, hungry, dis- 174 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. heartened, he turns away. What shall he do? Why should he sing? No one will give him bread. " I may as well go back to the convent and die," he says to himself. He is standing before Conrad Cotta's house. The owner is a rich burgher. No one is astir about the premises that he can see. The daylight is streaming up the east, and the burghers of the town will soon be eating their breakfasts ; then they will be off to their shops. Oh, if he but once in life could eat all that he wanted ! Shall he sing? Herr Cotta is one of the chief men of the town ; will he not rush out and whip him ? The tears roll down the boy's cheeks as he stands there, irreso- lute. Sing, boy ! sing ! The ages are wait- ing for you. Sing ! sing! All the world will hear you. God knows what will come of it. Sweet and clear, his voice rises on the morning air. The door opens, and Ur- sula Cotta stands upon the threshold beckoning to him. Little does Ursula Cotta know what will come from that lifting of her hand. She has seen the poor boy dri\'en from the neighbors' houses, and the harsh words addressed to him have filled her with pain. She has URSULA COTTA AND MARTIN LUTHER. THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR IIIS BREAKFAST. 175 seen him on Sunday, and has recognized his voice as being sweeter than all other voices in the choir. She will give him a good meal. lie goes up the steps. She takes him by the hand, leads him into the house. He goes to a warm breakfast and a home ; henceforth Ursula Cotta will be a mother to him. Now he can go to school and study all day, sleep sweetly at night, and have all he can eat at breakfast, dinner, and supper. The scowl disappears from his face. He is no longer dogged and sullen, but bubbling over with joy; and in a short time, so diligently does he apply himself, that he is fitted to enter the university, where he masters the Latin language, till he can speak it as fluently as his mother-tongue. One day, while in the university library looking at the books, he comes upon an old volume into which none of the students or monks ever look. He brushes the dust from the covers, opens to the title-page, and sees 176 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. that it is the Bible. He has heard of the book, but never before has he seen a copy. It is in Latin. He turns the leaves, but his eye falls upon an interesting story about a boy who tended the lamps in the sanctuary on the green hills of Shiloh. IS'ever has he read so interesting a story. Of all books in the library none are so entertaining as this. He reads the volume at every leisure mo- ment. The other stu- 1 dents spend much time in celebrating festivals, marching through the streets; but he has no time for play, and even on { holidays, when all •{ the inhabitants turn out and decorate the streets, he is busy with his books. He is thirsting for knowl- "I edge, and makes such })rogres3 in his stud- ios that before he is twenty -seven years old he is made a doctor of philosophy; and his fellow -stu- dents, proud of their young doctor, make a grand parade, con- duct him to the hall of the university, and install him as their professor's chair. THE AUGUSTINE FRIARS. teacher, with appropriate ceremonies, in hi And now, instead of reciting creeds and catechisms, he is giving lect- ures, and is so earnest and eloquent timt students come from far to listen to his teaching. There comes a night when he invites all the students to take supper with him. The}' drink his healtli in foaming mugs of beer. THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR HIS BREAKFAST. 177 lie rises to make a speech. They hurrah and clap their hands. But never have they seen the young doctor so sober. lie informs them that it is tlie last time they will meet together, lie has decided to resign his professorship and become a monk. They are astounded. " Become a monk !" " Yes." " Shut yourself ii}) in a convent, shave your head, go barefoot, and wear a hair shirt !" '^ Yes." He bids them good-bye, leaves the room, aud at midnight knocks at the gate of the convent of the Augustine monks. The door turns on its hinges, and Doctor Martin Luther passes in, and the door closes upon him. Morning comes. The professor's chair in the university is vacant, while the professor who has occupied it is kneeling on the cold stone floor of his cell, saying his prayers. He is dead to the world, and the world is dead to him : he studies ; he spends his time in praying ; he fasts, eating only a few morsels of bread ; he grows thin and pale, till he is only skin and bones — trying in this way to get rid of his sins. He begs his living. Shouldering a bag, he goes through the villages, asking the people for bread, cheese, geese, chickens — or anything that Avill support life. Martin before long, however, discovers that the monks, instead of being holier than other men, have like passions, and ai-e ready to help themselves to the best of the things given them by tlie people. There are frequent dis- putes which the prior has to settle. And what do the people receive in return for their gifts I Nothing. 12 178 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER XI. WPIAT THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR HIS BREAKFAST SAW IN ROME. THERE is a dispute between the Augustine monks of Germany and the vicar who superintends them. The monks object to some of his proceedings. It is a dispute which only the Pope — the man who can do no wrong — can settle. The monks choose Friar Martin to go to Rome and lay the matter before the Pope. Friar Martin is able and eloquent. Pie has read all the works of the fathers, and he, of all others, will best plead their cause. Although the journey is a long one, Friar Martin is pleased to make it, for Rome is the Eternal City, where dwells the head of the Church — the holy man who is God's representative on earth, who can- not possibly do anything that is not right. To visit Rome will be like going to the very gate of heaven. The monks give Brother Martin their blessing and benediction, and he starts upon his journey. Although there are thousands of monks tramping through Germany — so many that the people compare them to the grass- hoppers that eat up their fields of corn — yet they do not refuse him a bit of bread-and-cheese, and at the convents he finds good cheer among the brothers. He crosses the Rhine ; climbs the Alps, M'here the shepherds are tending their flocks ; passes along deep gorges, where the water tum- bles and foams to the lakes below, and where the rocks rise so high, so sharp and steep, that at noon it is only twilight. He sees the avalanches roll from the mountains with a roar like thunder. Fai- above him the icy peaks gleam in the sunshine. He climbs above the clouds, crosses fields of snow, goes over the summit, descends the southern slope, and finds himself, as it were, in another world. How pure the air ! How deep and tender the light! A blue haze rests upon the mountains. Fresh and green the fields; wide -spreading the chestn ut- trees ; fertile the slopes, where the peasants are planting their vineyards. He reaches the plains of Italy, and beholds ruins around him — marble pillars, beautifully sculpt- ured once, but broken now. The Italian brothers of his order -welcome him t© their monasteries ; but he is surprised to see how luxuriously they WHAT THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR HIS BREAKFAST SAW IX ROME. 170 live. Thej make themselves merry with wine, sing songs, tell unseemly stories, and then rattle off Pater-nosters and masses glibly, to get thron^i-h with them as soon as possible, that they may take another pull at the wine, or indulge in other pleasures. Italy is an old land, and Friar Martin is well acquainted \vitli its hi.s- tory — how the Empire of Rome rose and fell. He gazes ujjon the sculpt- '^-:0^an, with a lono. white bea,d. He sits in a golden chair, wearing gorgeous robes e,n- hlioned with diamonds and jewels. Palm-Snnday comes, and rtrere grand procession. The Pope bears a silver plate on Ins breast, on wlnh there is a iigure o£ the Al.nighty. It is of pure gold, surrounded by cost- '' 'Tl,e'cardinals appear in their red hats, red gown, i^d stockings, and sliplrs One of thenr is known as the "Boy-cardinal." H,s nam rs jCde' Medici, His father lived in Florence and was -ry r.cJn We,. John was only seven years old, his father bought an abbot's o" -- An abbot had charge of a monastery, and the monks ca led the boy hen father " Quite likely some of them s.niled when they thus addressed h>m. I WHAT THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR HIS BREAKFAST SAW IN ROME. 187 When he was fourteen, his father bought a cardinal's office for him, and John put on his red hat, slippers, and gown, and became one of the Pope's councillors. He owns a villa, and lives in grand style. He loves music, painting, sculpture, and poetry. He spends all of his income in giving entertainments to his brother -cardinals, and the poets, artists, and musi- cians. He sets before them the choicest wines, and all the delicions fruits of the season. Sometimes he even pawns his gold and silver dishes to ob- tain money enough to give __ _ a banquet ; for he is think- ing that the Pope may not live always, and possibly, if he is hospitable to his broth- er - cardinals and to those who influence public opin- ion, he may be elected Ju- lius's successor. In the procession are a great number of bishops — Armenian, Syrian, Greek, and Roman — wearing mag- nificent dresses, blazing with jewels. The young friai from Germany never dream- ed that there was such wealth in the world as he sees aronnd him. The Pope's chamberlain? walk by his side, carrying fans made of peacocks' tails. The cross-bearei's go before, bearing huge silver crosses. One official carries the triple crown, set with costly dia- monds and jewels. The Pope sits in his gold- en chair, on a litter, which is taken up by stout men, and borne upon their shoulders. An officer carries a golden mace — the emblem of authority; and there is a great following of princes, counts, abbots, priests, and monks. FAN-BEAREKS 188 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. On Corpus Christi Day the Pope is carried around St. Peter's Church, seated in his golden chair, witli all the prelates of the Church in his train, and his body-guard march- ing by his side with drawn swords — not that anybody will harm him, but to add to the pomp and grandeur I of the occasion. The people kneel, and the Pope throws a blessing to them from the ends of his fingers. ' Friar Martin sees won- ( derf 111 things in the churches. I In one he beholds the Holy i' Baby — a rag doll, which performs more cures than all the physicians in Rome. It IS taken to the chambers of the sick, and its presence heals disease. The people M 01 ship it, offer costly gifts, ^ ^^hich go — they know not to whom. The doll per- il forms miracles. Men fall- ing from the tops of houses have called upon the baby to save them, and have not been harmed. Drowning men have called upon it to rescue them, and they have been saved. A lady fell from the roof of a high building, and prayed to the doll, and the fall was arrested in mid-air. Tlie lady was so grateful for her preservation that she gave an immense sum of money to the doll, and had a picture painted representing the scene. Every church has its holy relics. In one are the boards of the manger in which Christ was laid at his birth. He sees the Yirgin Mary's cloth- ing, one of St. Peter's ril)s, a part of John the Baptist's skull, and no end of saintly bones — all very precious and holy. CAKKYING THK POPES CROWN. WHAT THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR HIS BREAKFAST SAW IN ROME. ISO The people worship the rehcs, and gaze upon tliem with reverential awe. In St. Peter's Church they form in a long line to kiss the foot of St. Peter's statue, which has stood there for many centui-ies : so many have pressed their lips to the great-toe that it is worn to a stub. Some scep- tical persons maintain that the statue is not Peter's, but an old heathen statue of Jupiter; that, however, does not diminish the devotion of the multitude. Julius II., the Pope, is at the head of his army. Ever since his elec- tion, in 1506, he has been at war — lighting the Venetians, the Germans, and the French, at times ; then, making alliance with the Venetians and Germans, he has waged a vigorous war against Louis XII. of France. He lights not only in the field, but in the cabinet. He has bribed Henry VIII. of England and Ferdinand of Spain to attack France, and has taken the money which the good people have contributed to support the Church to pay an army of Swiss, which he has hired to light against the French. He has issued a bull releasing the subjects of Louis from their allegiance. Just before Friar Martin arrives in Pome, the Pope goes out with his 190 THE STOllY OF LIBERTY. troops to attack the town of Miraiidola, accompanied by all tlie cardinals and bishops. His army surrounds the town. The Pope plants the cannon, directs the soldiers where to attach, and issues his oi'ders as commander-in- chief. Day after day the siege goes on. The Pope did not expfect such a stubborn resistance, but he is only the more determined to conquer ; and when at last the town surrenders, he climbs a scaling-ladder, sword in hand, mounts the wall, followed by his troops, who rush through the streets, enter the houses, plunder the people, and connnit terrible outrages upon the men, women, and children. The Pope sends an army to Ravenna, an allied army, composed of Spanish, Swiss, Germans, and Venetians, all leagued against the French. The armies meet on a plain near the cit}'. The French are commanded by a young general, Gaston de Foix, who, though he is only thirty years old, has won many victories. The commander of the Pope's army is John de' Medici, the Boy -cardinal, who hnows nothing about war, but who can give grand entertainments. There are about thirty-five thousand in each army. All day long the battle rages, but Avhen night comes the Pope's ai-my is a routed rabble, and the Boy-cardinal a prisoner. Though WHAT THE BOY WHO SUNG FOR HIS BREAKFAST SAW IX ROME. 191 tlie French have won the victory, their brave leader hes beneath a heap of slain. Each army has lost nearly ten thonsatid men in this conflict, M-hich is only one of many fought on the plains of Italy; and for M'hat? That the Pope may drive the French out of the provinces which Roderick Borgia (Alexander VI.) had given to Louis a few years before. Friar Martin did not expect to hear the beating of drums, nor the blare of trumpets, neither to behold the Pope marching at the head of his troops through the streets of holy Rome. He had thought of the city as being, as it were, a suburb of heaven ; but he finds it a military town. The Pope is such a lighter that the people call him "general." A witty man writes a paper which sets everybody to laughing, representing Julius, after he is dead, as knocking at the gate of heaven for admission. " Who is there ?" Peter asks, looking down from the top of the wall. "Julius." "Never heard of you before. AVhat have you done? Give an account of yourself." " I have been fighting for you. I have marched with my armies, captured cities. I entered one place sword in hand." "That is not satisfactory. I can't let you in." "Not let me in, after lighting so bravely?" " No." "Why not?" "My soldiers fight only with the sword of the Spirit." " If you don't let me in, I'll bring up my cannon, and batter down your walls, as I did the walls of Mirandola." And so, fearing that Julius will be as good as his word, Peter opens the gate and lets him in. People say that the learned man of Holland, Doctor Erasmus, M-rote it; but the doctor will not acknowledge that it came from his pen. Friar Martin visits one of the churches, that he may say his prayei's on the marble steps of the holy stairs up which Christ walked when he was brouglit before Pilate in Jerusalem. He kneels upon the lower step and says a Pater-noster, for which he will obtain lifty years' release from purgatory. He goes up another step, and repeats the prayer. He has gained one hundred years. He moves another step, and icpeats it. One hundred and fifty years has been gained. ^'' The just shall live by faith.'''' Who spoke ? Was it one of the monks at the foot of the stairs who takes money from those who ascend them ? Was it one of the swarm of beggars who hold out their hands at the bottom, and also at the top of 192 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. the stairs ? Was it a fellow-pilgrim ? ISTone of these. Who then ? Friar Martin certainly heard a voice. He stops in the middle of the Pater-noster, looks around, springs to his feet, and goes down the steps. Many times has he read those M'ords, and now, like a flash of light- ning from a cloudless sk}^, they blaze upon his soul. He leaves the church, greatly wonder- ing, and thinking as he never has thought be- fore. The longer he stays in Rome, the more is he dissatisfied with what he sees. He discovers that the Pope, the cardinals, bishops, and priests ai-e, for the most part, very far from being the pure men he had supposed them to be. The Pope is a military chieftain. The cardinals are liv- ing sensual lives. The money which is con- tributed by the good people of every land for the Church is squandered in riotous living or for the support of armies. It is no longer holy Rome ; the city instead is a sink of iniquity. Crime goes unpunished. Men are robbed and murdered at noonday. The offices of the Church are bought and sold, just as men buy and sell houses or cattle. The nunneries and monasteries, instead of being retreats for prayers, meditation, and holy living, are vile places. Cardinals, bishops, priests, monks, and nuns, all live upon the treasure contributed by the people, or taken from them by tithes, or obtained by the sale of indulgences and pardons. He turns his steps homeward, sick at heart with what he has seen. THE BOY- CARDINAL. 193 CHAPTER XII. THE BOY-CARDINAL. IT is a great day in Rome, the 11th of April, 1513. One of the grandest processions ever seen in the city is passing through the streets, escort- ing the newly elected Pope to St. Peter's. Julius is dead, and the cardi- nals have elected as his successor the man who was defeated at Ravenna by Gaston de Foix, the man wdio loves pictures, statues, poetry, and music, who gives sumptuous entertainments, and who pawns his silver plate to obtain money for a grand banquet — the Boy- cardinal, John de' Medici. He has had his eye on tlie Pope's chair for a long while, and all of his grand dinners have been given with the view of making himself so agree- able that when the time should come for electing a new Pope, he would step into Julius's shoes. He is no longer to be known as the Boy-cardinal, but as Leo X. He is amiable and kind-hearted. He never will mount a scaling-ladder, and enter a city sword in liand ; he will stay in Rome, and gather painters, sculptors, and poets around him. He loves their society. He loves good dinners and good wine, and drinks so much at times that he becomes limber in the legs. His garments glitter with diamonds and jewels. He rides a superb horse. Triumphal arches have been erected along the streets, marble statues set up, and banners flung to the breeze. Bright-eyed girls strew flowers along the way, and the multitude kneel as he passes by in his gorgeous coach. In the evening Leo gives a magnificent banquet. Since the days of the emperors of old Rome, there has been no such feast. The rarest and richest luxuries are spread upon the tables, and the choicest wine of Italy is drunk from golden goblets. As soon as the new Pope is seated on his throne he lays his plans for the future. He will have a new church edifice — the grandest in all Christendom. He will have it adorned with the richest marbles. Among the architects whom he employs is Michael Angelo, the greatest of all. Fortunately, that gray-bearded man, Christopher Columbus, has discov- 13 194 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. ered a new world, rich in silver and gold, and the wealth of those distant lands is beginning to flow to Europe ; while England, France, Spain, Ger- many, and Holland are increasing in riches. There are few heretics now, for the men who ask questions have roasted nearly all of them to death. Tiiii rui'E ; The people everywhere love and honor the Pope, and are ready to give liberally to enable him to build his great church. He sends the Gospel to their very doors, so that everywhere the poor, as well as the rich, can pur- chase salvation not only for themselves, but for their friends in purgatory. The Pope is very kind and accommodating. He bestows his blessings f i-eely — blessing the people, the bells in the churches, even blesses horses ! THE BOY- CARDINAL. 191 Anybody can secure salvation or buy a blessing. Priests, monks, and friars travel np and down the country selling indulgences. One of the Pope's agents for tbe sale of indulgences is a fat friar, with a thundering voice — John Tetzeb He is from Leipsic, in Germany, John does not give himself to fasting, but eats fat meat and drinks good wine. He rides in a carriage drawn by three horses. Once he committed a crime, and was sewed up in a sack, and was about to be thrown into the THK rOPE IN UlS CARRIAGK river, but the judge concluded not to put him to death; and now he is carrying the Gospel about the country, with a cavalcade of horsemen to escort him and protect him from robbers. Just before he enters a town, the sheriff passes through the streets with a trumpeter. The people hear the sounding of the trumpet, and rush out from their houses to see what is going on, " The grace of God and St, Peter is before your gates," shouts the sheriff. The good news spreads. The Gospel has come. Now they can pur- chase salvation, and lelease their friends from the pains of purgatory. 198 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. The people form in procession, the priests leading. Then come the school- children, the monks, friars, and nuns, and a great number of citizens carry- ing banners and lighted candles. They meet Friar Tetzel, and escort him, in his gilded coach, to the church, singing and shouting, for it is a joyful day. The procession enters the church, the organ peals, a chant is sung, the cross is placed in front of the altar, and the Pope's arms suspended upon it. Tetzel takes his position in the pulpit. " Come, friends, and buy my pardons, buy my indulgences. You can BLESSING HORSES. release your friends from purgatory. Do you not hear them say, ' We are enduring horrible torments V A small sura will deliver them." The people shudder at the words. Their friends in purgatory ! They will release them at once. " The very instant the money chinks in the box their souls will fly toward heaven," says Tetzel. But there are some who do not quite believe all that he says. " I will excommunicate all who doubt this blessed grace," he cries. To be excommunicated— cut off from the Church — would be terrible, and they must doubt no longer. +—4, i THE BOY- CARDINAL. 201 " Blessed, my friends, are the eyes which see what you see," and Tet- zol holds up the cash-box. "Bring your money! Bring yonr money!" He drops a piece of silver into the box to set an exauiple of benevo- lence. A king, queen, and prince must pay fifty dollars for an indulgence; counts and barons, twenty dollars; poor people, live dollars; and if they are very poor, they can get one for a less amount. For particular sins there are specitied prices. If a man has committed murder, he must pay a larger sum than he who has committed theft. The people flock to the church, and all day long the money is dropping into the cash-box. The money not only of Germany, but of all Europe, is flowing toward Rome. Tetzel travels from town to town, and after a while reaches the city of Leipsic. Little does he know of what is before hira. A gentlenuxn comes to buy an indulgence. " Can you pardon a sin which a yian intends to commit ?" he asks, " Certainly ; the Pope lias given me full power to do so." " Yery well. I should like to punish a man a little. I don't want to hurt Iiim much — just a little. How much do j'ou ask for an indulgence that will hold me harmless, so that I shall not be punished ?" " For such a sin I must have thirty dollars." " That is too much. I will give ton." " No, that is too little. I will let you have one for twenty-five." " I can't pay that. I will give fifteen." " That is not enough. I will let joxi have it for twenty." " Are you sure that it will protect me ?" "Certainly. I should like to know how any harm can come to you. It is the Pope's dispensation ; and no one may question my authority." " Very well ; here is the money." The man takes the indulgence, and goes away ; and Tetzel starts for the town of Jiiterbogk. He comes to a forest, when suddenly a party of robbers spring from behind the trees. Some of them seize Tetzel and pound him, while others ransack the carriage, find the money-box, and all flee to the woods. Who are the robbers ? The leader of tlie baud is the man who bought the indulgence, and this was the crime that he intended to commit. Tet- zel hastens to Duke George, who is Governor of Saxony. " I have been robbed." " I will have tlie robbers hanged," says the governor, and sends the sheriff to arrest them. 202 ~ THE STORY OF LIBERTY. The sheriff very soon brings them before the governor. " You are accused of robbing," lie says to the gentleman who bought the indulgence. "What have you to say for yourself?" " Tetzel has already pardoned me. This is the crime I intended to commit. I paid him twenty dollars for the indnlgence. Here it is." The governor reads the paper. " I don't see as you have any case, Mr. Tetzel." The governor cannot send the robber to prison, nor compel him to give up the money. To do so would put an end to Mr. Tetzel's business, for it would show the people that the indulgences are worthless. Ah, Mr. Tet- zel, it would have been better for you not to have taken the road to Jii- terbogk, and it would be better for you not to go there to set up your fair; but go on, for out of your going will come liberty to the world ! Although so many years have passed since Doctor Wicklifs day, the people all through Europe are still in slavery. They are taxed by em- perors and kings. Pope and priest. They are robbed systematically ; they are ignorant and degraded. If a man commits a murder, he can' flee to the shelter of a church ; or if he can once get inside of a convent door, the sheriff caimot arrest him. The civil law, then, is powerless. The bishops and priests are, many of them, ready to burn a heretic to death ; while emperors and kings are autocrats. They do as they please. There is no liberty as yet for the people. John Tetzel sets up his great red cross in the Jiiterbogk church, and begins the sale of his pardons. He is very sore over his loss. The peo- ple laugh at him, and say it was a good joke that the robber played. Jiiterbogk is only four miles from Wittenberg, where the boy who sung for his breakfast is preaching and hearing people confess their sins. All-saints-day comes. The people from all the country round flock to Wittenberg to see the procession of the holy relics, for, on this 1st of November, the images of the saints and the relics are to be carried in pro- cession through the streets. The people come to Friar Martin to confess their sins. " You must leave off sinning," he says to them. " Leave off sinning ?" " Yes ; I cannot grant absolution unless you do." " But we have liberty to sin." " Liberty to sin ! Who gave you liberty to sin against God ?" " Doctor Tetzel, over in Jiiterbogk. Here are the indulgences which we have purchased." " I care nothing for your indulgences. Unless you repent, you will J THE BOY- CARDINAL. 203 perish. I will not grant you absolution, unless you promise to leave off sinning." The people are in despair. They have paid their money for their in- dulgences, and now their confessor will not absolve them. They hasten to Jiiterbogk. " Our confessor will not absolve us. lie says that these indulgences are good for nothing." " Good for nothing !" Doctor Tetzel will see about that. He goes into the pulpit. lie is the Pope's ambassador, and is endowed with au- thority. He curses the young priest at Wittenberg, who has thus taken it upon himself to say that these in- dulgences are worth no more than blank paper. " I liave orders from the Pope to burn every heretic who dares to oppose his most holy indulgences," shouts Tetzel ; and he orders a fire to be kindled in the market-place, to let tlie people understand that he means what he says. Evening comes. In the mar- ket-place of Jiiterbogk the fire which Doctor Tetzel has kindled is burning. Over in Wittenberg, at the same hour, the people see their young confessor nailing a paper upon the door of the church. They crowd around to see what sort of a notice it may be. They read : " Those who truly repent of their sins have a full remission of guilt and penalty, and do not need an indulgence." And this : " He who gives to the poor and lends to the needy does better than he who buys an indulgence." There are ninety -five paragraphs. The people read in amazement. Here is war against Doctor Tetzel — a war between two doctors. Doctor Luther goes back to his room in the convent, little knowing what will come of his nailing up that paper — that it is the beginning of a series of events which will go on while time shall last; that out of it will come a 2;reat division in the Church ; that thrones will be tumbled NSPIREU BY SATAN. 204: THE STORY OF LIBERTY. into the dust ; that kings will go down, empires be rent asunder, lands bo desolated by war ; that there will be massacres and horri- ble outrages against the lives and liberties of men ; that for thirty years continuously war will sweep over Gei'many. If he could but lift the veil that hides the future, he would see the streets of Paris and the vine-clad valleys of Italy drenched in blood. lie would see fires kindled all over England for the burning of men, women, and children, lie would see men hurl- ed headlong from precipices, roast- ed over slow fires, starving in dun- geons, subjected to every form of cruelty ; but with all this he would see the beginning of the emanci- pation of men, the advance of jus- tice, truth, and liberty — the be- ginning of a new era in human affairs. The monk does not know it; but that paper which he has nailed upon the oaken panels of the door is, as it were, the march- ing orders of the great Army of Freedom. The people read, and go home to think about it. They see that if what Doctor Luther says is true, then Doctor Tetzel has fooled them. He has sold them worth- less slips of paper. Men do not like to be swindled. Doctor Luther does not rest content with nailing up the paper on the church door. He will call into use the invention made by THE BOY- CARDINAL. 205 that man in Ilaei-lem who loved to please his children — Laui-ence Coster — and which John Gutten- berg carried out. He prints the paper, and in a few weeks all Ger- man}' is reading it. Tetzel is ter- ribly enraged. At Frankfort lie kindles a lire in the market-place, and burns the paper. '• Wait a little, and we will have the heretic roasted," he saj's. " Uas that monk of Wittenberg an iron head and a brass nose, so that he cannot be crushed ?" asks the chief of the Dominican friars. " Such a heretic ought not to live an hour," cries James Hoch- staeter, of Cologne. Friar Martin is not friglitened in the least, but goes on preaching and writing against the sale of in- dulgences and the practices of the wicked monks. The priests say that he has sold himself to the devil. They get up a horrible picture, representing Martin as being inspired by Satan. Martin's head is a bagpipe, his nose the fliigeolet. The devil squeezes the friar's head under his arm, blows the wind into one ear, and plays upon his nose with his claws. The friends of Friar Martin set themselves to work ; and Ilans Holbein draws a powerful picture, one part of which represents the Pope and his agents selling par- dons ; and, in contrast. King Da- vid, Manasses, and the humble pub- lican are confessinsr their sins to 206 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. PAFA, DOCTOR THEOLOGI.li ET MAGIS TER FIDEI. "A long-eared ass can with the Bagpipes light, cope As well as with Theology the Pope. God, and receiving his blessing. The peo- ple see that they are being swindled. Some have seen it for a long time, but have made no open protest ; but now they speak plain- ly. They take the liberty of dissenting from what the Pope has decreed. That man who was so disgusted with St. Thomas's shirt, Erasmus, long before Martin nailed the paper on the door of the church, poked fun at the friars, and ridiculed the sale of indulgences in a book which he wrote. In the old city of Nuremberg there is a man who mends shoes, and who sings songs ridi- culing the monks — his name is Hans Sachs. The painter Holbein brings out another picture, which represents Christ as the true The pictures, the songs, the tracts, the preaching, set men everywhere to think- ing. One of the pictures published repre- sents an ass wearing the Pope's crown, and playing a bagpipe, with a couplet explaining it. So, from ridiculing the monks and friars, they began to ridicule the Pope. Lucas Cranach drew a picture which rep- resented the Pope as being cast into hell. Up to this time men have re- garded the Pope as having all pow- er — as being God's agent on earth ; but now they laugh at the idea, and consign the Pope to perdition. It is a sudden breaking of the shackles that have bound the intellects of men. It is freedom. In vain does John Tetzel set up his cross in the churches ; the people will not buy the Pope's indulgences. The money which has been flowing toward Eome ceases to go in that di- rection. Friar Martin and his follow- ers are drying up the fountains. Leo is a kind-hearted man. He would like to have everything peaceful ; but the pope cast into hell. THE BOY- CARDINAL. 209 he cannot permit an obscure monk to overthrow liis authority. He sends a summons to JMartin to appear at Rome and answer for wliat he has said and written ; but Martin will not go. And the Pope summons him to appear before a legate, Cardinal Cajetan, at Augsburg ; and Martin obeys. " Take back what you have said," is the demand of the legate. " I stand by the truth. I will not take it back." Doctor Luther knows that his life is in danger; that if Cardinal Ca- jetan could only get him once inside of a dungeon, he never would re- gain his liberty. lie has appeared and made his answer. He waits four days. " You are not safe here ; you must not remain," say his friends. He is on foot, but they supply him with a donkey, and an hour before daylight, on an August morning, he mounts the animal, picks his way through the silent streets of the old town. The birds are singing. The sunlight streams up the east. He, too, breaks into singing, for he has stood up for truth and liberty against the mightiest power on earth. Doctor Luther goes back to Wittenberg to send out more books and pamphlets, in defence of what he believes to be the truth. Peddlers carrv thein through the country. The people i-ead them, pass them from hand to hand, discuss them by their firesides. It is like the lighting of torches. Men see as they ne\er saw before. Others begin to write and preach against the authority of the Pope. Germany is stirred as never before. The works of the monk of AVittenberg are read by the mountaineers of Switzerland. They are ti'anslated into other languages ; and so the wave of intellectual iife and liberty rolls over the land. U 210 THE STOKY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER XIII. THE BOY-EMPEROR. MAXIMILIAN", Emperor of Germany, is dead, and some one must be chosen in his place. There are three individuals who desire to be elected — Henry of England, Francis of France, and Charles of Spain. Henry is twenty-six years old, Francis twenty-one, and Charles nineteen. It is not long before Henry sees that he has no chance ; but Francis and Charles are both confident of success. Francis sends ambassadors to the princes of Germany, who are to elect the emperor, promising to do great things for them ; presenting them purses filled with gold. Charles does the same. But the man who patronizes painters and sculptors down in Rome (Pope Leo) has sometliing to say about it. He uses his influence in favor of Charles, who is already King of Spain, Netherlands, and Naples, and who lays claim to a portion of Italy. The electors meet in the old council -hall in Frankfort, in Germany, and make choice of Charles ; and Francis finds that he has spent his money, and been defeated besides. He could put up with the loss of the money ; but a wounded spirit, who can bear ? It is a bitter disappoint- ment, and Charles knows that Francis will take his revenge. On a da}' in May, 1520, the people of Dover, iu England, are sur- prised to see a great fleet of Spanish war -ships sailing into the harbor. What is the meaning of it? There is the flag of the King of Spain, the Boy- emperor of Germany, as they call him, flying at the mast-head of the largest ship. The fleet comes to anchor, and the people soon learn that the young emperor has come to make a visit to his aunt Katheriuo and uncle Henry. Horsemen ride post-haste to London, and Henry sends his true friend and chief adviser, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, to Dover to offer his congratulations to his nephew, and to sa}' to Charles that he will hasten down, and that together they will ride to Canterbury, to the tomb of Thomas Becket, and cement their friendship at that shrine. Cardinal Wolsey is very much pleased to go npon such an errand, for he would like to have a little private conversation with Charles before THE BOY- EMPEROR. 211 Henry arrives ; perhaps he may be able to advance his own fort- unes, lie is getting on well in the world. When he was a boy, he carried joints of mutton and roasts of beef to the people of Ipswich, where his father was a butcher; later, his father sent him to Oxford, where he grad- uated, and became a preacher; but he led a fast life, and one day the sheriff arrested him, and he was condemned to sit in the stocks for his misdeeds — a strange spectacle to his parish- ioners ! Thomas could not be con- tent to live in a little country village where a justice of the peace could interfere with his pleasures, and so went to Lon- don. The Archbishop of Can- terbury was his friend, and in- troduced him to the king, Hen- ry VII. The king was pleased with him, and, through the arch- bishop's influence, made him a dean. Being a dean, he was in a position to push his fortunes, and soon became Bishop of York. He was so influential and able, that when Henry VIII. came to the throne, he selected him to be his prime minister. Louis XII. of France wanted to marry Henry's sister Mary; and he seeing that Wolsey had great influence at court, sent -him a purse filled with gold. Then the Boy-cardinal, in Rome, 212 THE STOIIY OF LIBERTY. when lie became Pope, desiring to secure Henry's friendship, made him a cardinal, and gave him permission to appoint all the bishops, deans, and other prelates of the Church in England. It is a power greater than that held by the king. All the Church officials, from the verger who opens the pew -door np to the Archbishop of Canter- bury, will take off their hats to him, and all the lords, earls, and barons will wait npon him. No earl of England lives in greater state. He rides a donkey, to show that he is as humble as his Master, who rode into Jeru- salem on an ass ; but he spreads a luxurious table, and drinks the best wines. He wears a gor- geous dress, with a massive gold necklace studded with diamonds and pearls. His tippet is of the finest sable, and his robe is trimmed with the whitest ermine. His shoes are of silver and gold, inlaid with diamonds. He has eight hundred men in his train — sons of barons, earls, lords, counts — fifteen knights, and forty sqnires. His servants are in livery. His cook wears a velvet-satin jacket, and a gold chain upon his neck. A lord rides before the cardinal, carrying the red hat which Leo has given him. Another lord carries a golden mace, while two priests bear massive silver crosses. His saddle - cloth is of crimson velvet, his stirrups of solid sil- ver. Men armed with spears and swords, a servants — more than a thousand in all — make np his retinue R-HOUSE, CANTERBURY. THOMAS WOLSET AND HIS COMPANIONS IN THE STOCKS. 2:rand cavalcade of horsemen, with a reo-iment of THE BOY-EMPEKOR. 213 One of the gentlemen in his train is Thomas'Cromwell, who was born in London, l-iOO. His fatlier was a blacksniitli, but this Thomas did not mean to blow the bellows or swing the sledge for a living. lie has been a clerk in a store in London and at Antwerp, but has entered Cardinal "Wolsey's service, and is on the high-road to fortune. The world will yet hear from this son of a blacksmith. So great a man as Wolsey must have a chaplain, and he has selected Edmund Bonner for that service. This pi-eacher lias graduated at Oxford. He is only twenty -five years old, but, now that he is in the cardinal's service, is getting on in the world. We shall see him again. The cardinal has a great deal of writing to be done, and he has ap- pointed as his chief and confidential secretary Stephen Gardiner, He is an able man, but artful, ambitious, and proud. lie was educated at Ox- ford, and can speak and write sever- al languages. The world will be bet- ter or worse for M-hat he will do, as we shall discover farther along. Cardinal Wolsey rides to Dover to receive tlie young emperor; but what is he thinking of as he hastens along the dusty road through the hop-fiekh-- of Kent? He is thinking of how he shall wind the Boy-emperor round his little finger. He knows what Charles has come for — not merely to make a friendly visit to Katiierine and Hen- ry, but to enlist Henry on his side in case Francis begins a war. He has come to persuade Henry to give up a friendly meeting which he is intending to have witli Francis, in June, over the Channel near Calais, where carpenters and masons are erecting a grand palace for use during the festivities. Cardinal Wolsey is turning the matter over in his mind. How mncli can Cardinal Wolsey make out of this visit? In what way can he best wind the boy round his finger, and make him pay for the winding besides? Cardinal Wolsey is taking long looks ahead. He is already master of affairs in England. The Pope will not live forever ; and when he dies, who in the world is more worthy to occnpy the pontifical chair than he who once carried juints of mut- ton and beef to the people of Ipswich, but who is now as powerful as C\1U>1N VL \\OLSI-\. 214 THE STOKY OF LIBERTY. Henry himself ? Plainly*, it will be for his interest to make Charles under obligations to him ; but if he helps the emperor, the emperor in turn must do great things for him : he must have some pay down, and the promise of a great deal more by-and-by. The cardinal arrives at Dover, and bows with great deference to the pale young man. They talk by themselves. Charles is ready to do an}^- thing for his friend the cardinal, and gives him outright a bishopric in Spain. The cardinal need not ever set foot in the country ; but he may GREAT HARRY. have all the revenue, which shall be collected and sent to liim — ten thou- sand ducats per annum ; and when Leo dies, the emperor will use his ut- most influence to secure the election of the cardinal as his successor. The cardinal, on his part, will see to it that no harm shall come to Charles from the proposed meeting between Francis and Henry. It is better, the cardinal thinks, that the meeting should take place. Henry and Katherine and the barons and lords hasten to Dover to pay their respects to Charles, and then they ride up to Canterbury to ce- ment their friendship around the tomb of Thomas Becket. Mass is per- formed in the cathedral — they have a grand banquet, and then the caval- THE BOY- EMPEROR. 315 cade takes the road to Dover once more ; for Henry and Katlierine, and all the nobles and lords and knights, are on their way to the Field of the Cloth of Gold, which we shall see in the next chapter. Henry is large-framed and strong. He can pitch a qnoit or throw an iron bar with- the best men in the kingdom. He has bine eyes and rosy cheeks ; while Charles is thin, pale, and spare, and has a heavy underjaw. They ride side by side. Katlierine accompanies them, with her little daughter Mary, four years old. So these five persons, who will have much to do with the history of liberty, journey together to Dover — the man who is managing them all riding on a donkey, and his great retinue following. Heni-y has a fleet of ships waiting for him and the nobles and knights of England. His largest ship is the Great Harry. He bids the emperor good-bye ; and the Spanish ships, amidst the thundering of cannon, spread their sails, and shape their course toward Holland ; while Henry's steer 8traie taken back again into the bosom of the Church. Cardinal Pole rises to really for the Pope. Mary and Philip and all the rest fall on their knees, and re- ceive the absolution which the Pope gives through the cardinal. "Amen ! Amen !" The voices of the as- sembled multitude echo amidst the oaken rafters. The organ peals; the choir sing a Te Deuni. Tears of joy roll down the cheeks of the queen. Her heart's desires are gratified. The nation is once more in the fold of the Church. She has been the one to lead it back. Some persons in the assembl}', in their ec- stasy and joy, throw them- selves into the arms of their friends. " We are reconciled to G od . Blessed day for Eng- land," they say. Cardinal Pole, sitting in his chamber at nn'dnight, writes to the Pope : "What great things may the Church, our mother, the bride of Christ, A GK.VNUIOE. 270 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. ^/r fancy for herself ! O piety ! O ancient faith ! tliis is the seed the I-ord hath blessed !" The letter reaches Rome, and the Pope enibi'aces the messenger, falls on his knees, says a Pater -noster, gives orders to ring all the bells in Rome, to fire the cannon of the Castle of St. Angelo, light bonfires, to give indulgences and pardons to all who want them. The Pope has given his absolution, and the nation is once more back in his fold. But how about those monasteries and abbeys which Henry tore down ? How about the lands and estates that were seized and di- . vided between the crown and the great men, and given to women who made good puddings? They must be given up. The Pope demands it. The Members of Parlia- ment have been willing to fall on their knees and receive absolution, but, having obtained it, con- clude to hold on to their spoils. They are willing that heresy shall be root- ed out, but they will not let the Pope have author- ity in England. The queen shall still be head of the Church. They are good Catholics, but they will not change Henry's will, and after Mary the crown shall go to Elizabeth. Philip wants to be crowned. Charles urges it, the Pope desires it; but there are some sturdy Englishmen who say, "No foreigner for us," and Philip is obliged to smother his resentment. The Commons, the Lords, the gi'eat men have submitted to the Pope in behalf of the nation, and now the people themselves must submit. " If any one before Easter, 1555, does not acknowledge the authoritj^ of the Pope, he shall suffer for it," is the edict. " Come and register your names," is the command given by the priests; and registers are provided in every parish. Tliere shall be no more reading the Bible, nor Pj-ayer- books; no more liberty of conscience; no more thinking for themselves. Stephen Gardiner opens his heresy court in St. Mary's Church, South- ST M\R^ 0\PK\, lOUTH-WARK THE QUEEN WHO BURNED HERETICS. 271 wark. Goodwin, Bonner, Tunstal, and three other bishops are the judges. The court is the Inquisition under another name. There are several men for wliose blood they are thirsting. Mr. John Rogers is one. He is a preacher — a learned man ; and when Tvndal and Coverdale were over in Antwerp translating the Bible into English, he went over and aided them, and is tlierefore an arch -heretic. Besides, he went to Wittenberg, and studied with that monk who, when a boy, sung for his breakfast — Martin Luther. He married a German wife, and has ten children. The Pope does not allow priests to marry. He was preaching at St. Paul's when Mary came to the throne ; he could liave fled : but he is an Englishman, and has done nothing contrary to his conscience. He will stay, come what will. He has been a prisoner for many months in Newgate, with Mr. Hooper, of Gloucester. Tlie world does not often see a man like John Hoo))er. He was edu- cated at Oxford, and was a Bachelor of Arts two years before that meet- ing on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and became a monk ; but after reading the Bible he left the monastery. When Henry was king, he had an interview -with Stephen Gardiner, who was astonished at his learning. He had to flee to France, however ; but when Edward came to the throne, he returned, and Edward made him Bishop of Gloucester. When every- body else was getting rich on the spoils of the monasteries, Bishop Hooper was making himself poor by feeding the hungry. He sat down with them at the table to let them know that he loved them. But he is a heretic ; be- sides, he is married. For a long while Gardiner has had liim in prison — confined in a room with robbers and murdereis, with nothing but straw to lie upon, and an old counterpane for a covering. He and Mr. Rogers are brought before the court, and condemned to be burned. " Shall I not be allowed to bid farewell to my \vife and children i" Rogers asks. " No," is the savage rei)ly of Gardiner. It is four o'clock in the morning, February 4th. The frost is on the window-panes. In the cold and gloomy prison Rogers is quietly sleeping. The jailer's wife taps him on the shoulder. " Bishop Bonner is waiting for you." He rises and goes out into the hall, where Bonner is Avaiting to de- grade him from his office as a priest. That done, Rogers bids farewell to Hooper, and the sheriff leads him out. It is still dark ; but the people have heard that he is to be bui-ued, and a crowd has assembled to see him die. " He will flinch," say his enemies. 272 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. His wife and children are waiting for him, and though Gardiner has said that he shall not see them, he kisses them, and goes on with a firm step to the stake. Tlie executioner binds the chain around him and heaps the fagots. In the dim gray of the winter morning the people see him standing there, looking up into heaven, with a smile upon his face. " You can have the queen's pardon if you will recant," says Sir Robert Rochester, who has come to report his behavior to Gardiner. But he has nothing to recant. The fire curls around him. He bathes his hands in the flames as if it STREET IN LONDON IN TUK TIME OF MARY. were cold water. Tliey who look to see him beg for mercy hear nothing but prayer and praise, while those who expected he would stand firm rend the air with their shouts of joy. Ah, Mary ! out fi'om those applauding ci-ies shall come liberty to the THE QUEEN WHO BURNED HERETICS. 273 ^^] BEARING FAGOTS. Imman race ! Go on, Gardiner, Bonner, and Tmistal, witli yonr court of heresy; send men and women to the stake — for the biief period of your power; but every fire which you thus kindle shall be a beacon to light the human ]-ace in its march to freedom ! " Hooper is an obstinate, false, detestable lieretic ; let him be burned in the city which he has infected with his pernicious doctrines," is the order for the burning of the aged bishop. Mr. Gardiner has nuide a mistake. If he wants to put a stop to heresy, he had better not send Bishop Hooper to the city where everybody loves him as children love a father, where he has fed the hungry and clothed the poor. Surrounded by guards, he rides out of London on horseback. He is old, feeble, and wasted almost to a skeleton with his long im- prisonment and with sleeping on his bed of straw. He eats dinner at a tavern where a w^oman rails at heretics ; but he is so tender, so childlike and forgiving that she too becomes a child before him, and with tears begs his forgiveness, and does what she can for him. Love is more potent than tire to subdue the human heart. A great crowd awaits his coming. For a mile outside of Gloucester gates the road is filled with people. It is evening, and the sheriff will give him one more Tn'ght on earth ; and the ])eople go to their homes, wondering if their good old bishop will stand tirm at the final, hour. Sir Antliony Kingston, who has often heard the bishop preach, is sent by Gardiner to see hiui burned. In the morning Sir Anthony enters the prison. " Do you know me V Sir Anthony asks. " Oh yes, Sir Anthony; and I am glad to see you in such good health. I have come here to lay down ray life for the truth." "Would you not like to live ?" " I can live ; but I never should enjoy life at the expense of my future welfare. You would not have me blaspheme my Saviour by denying him, would you ? I trust that I shall bear with fortitude all the torments which my enemies may be able to inflict." Sir Anthony is not a hard-hearted man, and the tears stream from his eyes. " I shall be sorry to see you die." 18 274 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. " It is my duty to stand for the truth." A little blind boy who has heard the bishop preach comes to bid him farewell, and he falls on his knees at the bishop's feet. " I am blind, but you have opened the eyes of my soul. May the good Lord be with you, and bring you into heaven !" The good old man lays his withered hand upon the head of the boy and blesses him. A'bigoted man comes in to revile him. " You are a wicked heretic." The man who has fed the hungry and clothed the naked makes no reply. The mayor, who has sat under the bishop's preaching, comes with the sheriff to conduct him to the stake. Gladly would the mayor give Iiim his liberty, but then he, quite likely, would be roasted alive, if he were to do so humane an act. "I could have had my life, but I would not take it here to lose it in the next world. Please, Mr. Sheriff, make the fire a hot one, so that it may be quickly over." It is nine o'clock in the morning. The winter air is chill, but all of Gloucester, and the people from the surrounding country, have gathered to see their dear old friend lay down his life. He is weak and feeble from long imprisonment. He has ridden all the way from London on horseback, and he walks with a feeble step, supporting himself with a cane ; but how brave of heart ! He looks round upon the multitude with a smile on his face. He would like to speak to his old friends, but the sheriff will not let him. Stephen Gardiner and Bishop Bonner will have no farewell address to stir the hearts of heretics ; but those lips, so elo- quent once, were never so eloquent as by their silence now. The bishop, when he arrives at the stake, throws his arms around it as if it were a friend. He kneels and prays. The sheriff holds a paper in his hand. "Here is a pardon, if you will recant." "A pardon if I will recant! Take it away !" The sheriff strips him of his garments, ties bags of powder under his arms, fastens a chain around his neck, another around his waist, a third around his legs, piles the fagots, and applies the torch. At the windows, on the house-tops, in trees, are the people. In a room over the college gates are some priests looking down to see the heretic burned. It is a damp and windy morning. The fagots are wet. The smoke smothers the martyr — the fire scorches and blisters his legs, but does not touch his body, for the wind blows the flame aside. " More fire !" THE QUEEN WHO BURNED HERETICS. 275 v-i,A The people hear the bishop calling from the j)illar of smoke. The sheriff heaps on more fagots, and the withered hands, reach- ing out from the fire, drag's them closer. A handful of flame leaps lip and scorches his face. The hands wave to and fro. " For God's love, good peo- ple, give me more fire !" The minutes go by. Ilis legs are burned to a cinder. " More fire !" he cries. Once more the fagots are piled, the flames leap up, and the powder explodes. " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Those M'ho stand nearest hear the words — the last that fall upon their ears; yet still his lips are moving. Three-quarters of an hour have passed since the fagots were lighted, and still the scorched hands are beating on his breast. It is over. He who spread the table for the pooi-, whose every act was for the good of man, whose life was pure and holy, who was the imperson- ation of good-will to men, is nothing but a cinder now. He will preach no more heresy. So, perhaps, Stephen Gardiner and Mary and the priests, with hate in their hearts, may think; but when the sun goes down at night there are more heretics in Gloucester than in the morning. At this same day and hour there is a similar scene in the town of HADLEIGH CIIUUCH. Hadleiirh, not far from London. SI. BOTOLPH S CHURCH, ALDGATB. Rev. Eowland Taylor, the minister who has preached there, has been in prison a year. It is two o'clock in the morning when he is brought out from his cell. The good man's fam- ily are on the watch,by St. Botolph's Church. All through the weary winter night they have stood there. They hear the tramp of feet — dis- cern a body of men. 276 THE STORY OF LIBLUTY. BRIDGE AT IIADLETGH. Then be kisses thein. be of ffoocl comfort. God will be a father to " Oh, mother, there the J are ; there is fa- ther!" cries the daughter Elizabeth. " Rowland, are yon there ?'' the wife asks. " I am here." The sheriff is not al- together a brutal man. " Stop a moment, and let him speak to his wife !" is his command to his men. The minister takes his little Mary in his arms, presses her to his bosom, feels once more her hands npon his neck. He puts her down, and kneels with his family, and all repeat the Lord's Prayer. " Farewell, dear Mnfe my children." " God bless thee, Mary dear, and make thee his servant." " God bless thee, Elizabeth ; stand strong in Christ." Once more he presses them to his heart, feels the scalding tears drop upon his cheek in the darkness. The streets of the old town of ITadleigli are crowded with people, who have come to see their old pastor die. They cannot see his face, for tlie sheriff has covered it with a hood, with two holes in it, so that he can see without his face being seen, children, kneels before him. " God help thee. Doctor Taylor, and succor thee, as thou hast many a time help- ed me." He passes the almshouse. Many times has he been into it to give things to the poor. The people are looking out of the window to see their old friend. "Is the blind man yet alive ?" Mr. Ta^■lor asks. At a foot-bridge a poor man, with his five ALMSHOUSES AT HAPLEIGU. THE QUEEX WHO BURNED HERETICS. 277 " Yes." "And the poor old blind woman?" " Yes." " Here is some money for them ;" and he throws a glove, in which are a few coins, into the window. He reaches the stake. No longer will he wear the hood, but tears it from his face, and the people see once mo-re the smiling and genial face of their dear old pastor. His beard is white, and he is pale from long imprisonment. He would speak to the people, but one of the sheriff's men rudely thrusts a staff into his mouth. They pile the wood around him, and a brutal fellow hurls a stick into his face. The blood trickles down his cheeks. "Oh, friend, what need of that?" Mr. Taylor mildly asks. He is placed in a barrel smeared with pitch. The Hanies whirl above his head, and then a soldier knocks out his brains. No more heresy, no more private opinions in Hadleigh. William Hunter, nineteen years old, is learning to weave silk with Thomas Taylor in London. He does not go to mass, as Mary has commanded everybody to do on Easter-morning, and the priest threat- ens to have him up before the bishop. "You had better go home for a little season," says that if AVilliam is out of the way for a little wdiile the priest will foi'get all about it; and the boy goes home to Brentwood. He strolls into the church, and sees the Bible chained to the desk. Since Mary has come to the throne, only the priests are allowed to read it ; but William dares to open it. " Beading the Bible ! AVhat right have you to read it ?" It is the shout of the beadle, who opens and shuts the doors. " I read it because I like to." The beadle runs for the priest, who comes in hot haste. " Sirrah ! who gave you leave to read the Bible ?" " I found it here, and I have read it because I wish to." " You have no business with it." " I intend to read it as long as I live." " You are a heretic." THE MARTYRS STONE. his master, hoping THE STORY OF LIBERTY. " No, I am not." The priest cannot permit any reading of the Book in his parish, and hastens to Esquire Brown, wlio sends for WilHam's father. " Your son is a heretic, I hear. Bring him to me at once, or I will put you into jaih" " Would yon have me seek my son to have him burn- ed T "Go and bring him." The constable soon lias liold of William, who, to give him a taste of what is before him, puts him in the stocks, where he remains twenty-four liours, and then brings him to Esquire Brown. " Is the bread turned to flesh when the priest blesses itf asks the squire. " I do not think it is." "You are a heretic. Ke- cant, and I will let you go." " If you will let me go, and leave me to my own conscience, I will keep my opinions to myself," " Will you go to confession ?" " No, sir." " Put him in the stocks, and feed him on bread and water." For two days and two nights he sits there, with a crust of bread and cup of water by his side ; but the brave boy will not touch them. The bishop comes to make him say that he will go to confession and mass ; but William refuses to accept liberty on those terms. "If you will recant, I will help you on in life." "Thank you, bishop; but I cannot, in my conscience, turn from what I believe to be truth." " You must go to prison and be burned, if you do not recant." " I cannot help it." On the 27th of March, 1555, the boy goes to his death. His bi-other Bobert walks by his side to comfort him. OLD CHAPEL AT BRENTWOOD. THE QUEEN WHO BURNED HERETICS. 270 "God be with thee, mj son !" says his father, bidding him farewell " We shall meet again, father." lie kneels upon the fagots and prajs. "Here is the queen's pardon if jou will recant," says the sheriff. " I cannot accept life on those terms." "Put the chains around him." ■'As you are about to burn here, so slialt thou burn in hell," says a bigoted priest. The fagots kindle. " Good-bye, William ; be of good cheer." "Good-bye, Robert. I fear neither torture nor death. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." So he lays down his life for liberty. Kp^ .|SKPn THE OLD BOCARDO PRISON, OXFORD. Bisliops Latimer and Ridley are very obnoxious to Mary. On the 16th of October, 1555, they are burned at Oxford. Archbishop Cranmer loves life. In a moment of weakness he signs a paper condemning the Reformation ; but he repents of the act, and is burned, March 21st, 1556. When the fire rises around him, he holds his right hand in the flames till it is burned to a crisp. " This unworthy hand !" he exclaims, and then commits his soul to Jesus. 280 THE STOKY OF LIBERTY. The Sheriff of Oxford makes out his bill to the queen : TO BURN LATIMER AND RIDLEY. £ s d For 3 loads of wood fagots 12 1 load of furze fagots 3 5 For the carriage of these 4 loads 2 6 A post 14 2 chains 3 4 2 staples G 4 laborers 2 8 £15 9 TO BURN CRANMER. £ g d. For 100 wood fagots for the tire 6 For 100 and ^ of furze 3 4 For the carriage of them 8 For 2 laborers 2 8 £0 12 8 Latimer, and Ridley, and Cranmer were heretics. But Mary had an- other reason for burning them : they Jiad given an opinion in the question OLD MARSHALSEA. of her mother's divorce. Henry demanded their opinion, and for giving it they must be put to death. For three years the fires blaze. It is not that Mary has any personal hatred toward the men and women whom she causes to be executed. But they will not acknowledge that the Pope is the head of the Church ; they do not believe that the bread is changed into the body of Christ \vhen the priest blesses it. They think for themselves; and that is not to be toler- ated. It is heresy, to be exterminated. Mary thinks of herself as being responsible for the eternal welfare of the people. The Church of Rome demands the rooting-out of the heretics, and she must obey, or lose her T[1E QUEEN WHO BURNED HERETICS. 281 own soul. Tlioiisands are cast into prison ; and the poor men and women suffer terrible hardships, lying on the cold stones of the Old Marshalsea ^-J-ff, or the king will have you hanged," says the Car- dinal of Lorraine, who sets the carpenters to woi'k building a gibbet in front of the Palace of Fontainebleau. The cheated creditors hear the sound of the axe and hammei-, and turn sadly away. Liberty for the king, but none for the people. In their anger, some who were Catholics turn Huguenots ; and so the Hu- guenots become a political party. TAINEULKAU. The priests erect statues of the Virgin Mary along the streets, and watch to see who bows down and worships, and M'ho passes by. The passers-by have a black mark set against their names. War breaks out. The Duke of Guise, who commands Francis's troops, is hard-hearted. He strings Huguenot captives on pales, and throws them into the river Seine. Some die firmly, without a quivering of the lip or trembling of the eyelids. "How brazen-faced and mad these wretches are! Death does not abate their pride," says the Cardinal of Lorraine. 292 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. The Huguenot leaders are exasperated. They resolve to rid the coim- tiy of the Guises, and seize the king, who is in the castle at Blois. But a traitor reveals the plot, and the Guises remove Francis to the Chateau of Amhoise, on the banks of the Loire, and seize the Huguenots. What a spectacle is that which Catherine de' Medici, Francis, and Mary, and Cath- erine's two younger sons, Henry and Charles, witness as they stand on the balcony of Aniboise ! In the yard before them are gibbets, with corpses dangling beneath them ; stakes are driven into the ground, and Huguenots are roastin.g in the flames; soldiers are hacking unarmed men to pieces, and pitching the dead bodies into the river, till it is choked with corpses. Twelve thousand Huguenots are put to death, Francis has been king fifteen months. There comes a day when there is a commotion in the royal palace. Francis has an abscess above his ear, aud he has fainted. The doctors come, but their skill is of no avail. By the bedside of the dead king stands Mary of Scotland. The brief days of happiness are ended ; henceforth her life will be full of trouble and sorrow. Charles IX. is king — a boy ten years old. Mary must return to Scot- land. With tearful eyes she bids farewell to France — to its joys and pleasures, its sunny skies and blooming fields. She has been tenderly cared for — servants in livery to wait upon her, to carry her sedan. She sails to Scotland from Calais. She sits upon the deck of the vessel, gaz- ing sadly, till the land is lost to view, and then writes an "ADIEU TO FRANCE. " Eaiewell to tliee, thoii pleasant sliore ! The loved, tlie cherished home to me, Of infant joy — a dream that's o'er ; Farewell! dear France, farewell to thee! " The sail that wafts me bears away From thee bnt half my soul alone; Its fellow-half will fondly stay, And back to thee has faithful flown. " I trust it to thy gentle care ; For all that here remains to me Lives but to think of all tliat's there. To love and to remember thee!" While Mary is thus sailing to her distant home, where we shall see her by-and-by, the boy who was fed on wine and garlic is quietlj' pursuing his studies in Paris, preparing himself for the duties of life, little knowing the part which he is to play in the great drama of history. THE MAN WHO TILLED THE WUliLL) WITH WOE. 293 CHAPTER XX. THE MAN WHO FILLED THE WORLD WITH WOE. "VTEVER before was there an assembly in Brussels like that which -^^ gathers in the great audience-cliamber of the king's palace on Oc- tober 25th, 1555. Princes, nobles, dukes, lords, ladies^ archbishops, and a crowd of church prelates are there. The clock strikes three, and those CHAKLES V. for wlioni they are waiting enter the hall. Who are they ? There comes a broad - shouldered man, with an ugly face, shaggy beard, white hair, crooked nose, and large underlip. He has lost all his teeth, except a few- stubs. Once he was straight as an arrow ; but now he walks with a crutch. i21)-J: THE STORY OF LIBERTY. and lias to lean upon another's arm. He looks to be seventy, yet is only tifty-five. It is Charles, Emperor of Germany, King of Spain, K^aples, and the Netherlands — the man before whom Doctor Lnther made his plea for liberty at Worms. For more than a third of a century Charles has been at war — his armies marching through Spain, Germany, France, and Italy. He has an empire in the New World larger than all his domains in Eu- rope, foi", since he came to the throne, Hernando Cortez has overtnnied the throne of Montezuma. They liave discovered the Pacific Ocean, have found mountains of silver and gold in Peru. They have been in the Floridas, and marched under De Soto to the Mississippi. His empire is greater tlian that ruled by Csesar. Although he is so great a potentate, the gout has got hold of him. He is an enormous eater. At five o'clock in the morning he eats a chicken fricasseed in sweetened milk ; then he lias a long nap. At twelve o'clock he has a superb dinner of twenty dishes, and drinks a bottle of wine. At four o'clock he eats his first supper, a heartier meal than his dinner, with pastry and sweetmeats, and drinks goblets of beer. At midnight he eats his second suppei-, and drinks more beer. He is always hungry, j^et everything tastes alike; for, abusing his stomach, he has lost the sense of taste. The man upon whose arm he leans is only twenty-two, tall, handsome, with dark-brown hair, broad forehead, and clearly cut features. He has brown eyes, and wears a mustache and beard. Although he is so young, he has been appointed commander-in-chief of the army which has been fighting against Admiral Coligny, general of the Fi-ench armies. People call him William the Silent and Prince of Orange. He is the son of Wil- liam called the " Rich." He came to Brussels, when he was only eleven years old, to be educated. Charles V. was here, and took a liking to the boy, making him a page at court. He Avas so fond of AVilliam that he wanted him always by his side. He revealed to him all the secrets of State. There are but few men in the throng that know more of state-craft than this young man. He is quick to hear ; he understands the intrigues that are all the time going on among kings and princes, to build up and to tear down ; but he has the faculty of keeping his thoughts to himself, or of letting them be known at the right time. Let us keep liim in remem- bi-ance, for, of all the men that walk the earth, few will do more for lib- erty than he. Behind the emperor comes Philip, with spindle-legs, a face like his father's (large mouth, heavy underjaw), twenty -eight years old, proud, gross, eater of bacon-fat. Little regard has he for justice. What cares he for the riMits and liberties of men ? Nothing. THE MAN WHO FILLED THE WORLD WITH WOE. 295 One of the bishops is Anthony Perrenot, of Arras, who can speak seven langnages. He lias been Charles's chief adviser. He detests the people, and hates heretics. The year after Charles was elected emperor he per- suaded him to issue an edict against heretics. These were some of the provisions : " No one shall print, write, copy, keep, conceal, sell, buy, or give in the churches, streets, or other places, any book written by Martin Luther or any other heretic. "Any person who teaches or reads the Bible, any person who says anything against the Church or its teachings, shall be executed. " Any person who gives food or shelter to a heretic shall be burned to death. Any person who is sus_pectedj although it may not appear that he has violated the command, after being once admom"shed, shall be put to death. " If any one has knowledge of a heretic, and does not make it known to the court, he shall be put to death. "An informer against a heretic shall recover one-half of the estates of the accused. If any one be present at a meeting of heretics, and shall inform against them, lie shall have full pardon." The Jesuits establish their torture -chamber. Thousands are put to death. The prisons are filled with accused heretics. Other thousands flee the country, seeking a refuge where no priest shall find them, or where tiiey may be free from persecution. Tlieir estates are confiscated, the property being divided between the men who ask questions, the king, and those who inform against the heretics. Charles has wrenched money from the people of Holland to enable him to carry on his wars in Germany and Italy. lie has trampled on their ancient rights and privileges, making himself a despot. But he is weary of life, and is about to resign his crown to Philip, This is the day selected for his abdication. Since he came to the throne he has burned, or hanged, or otherwise put to death, more than one hundred thousand men and women for reading the Bible. He began to burn them in 1523. The first victims were two monks, who were burned in Brussels. The priests incited the people to hunt the heretics out of the land. Not a week passed, scarcely a day, that there was not a burning of heretics ; but though so many were disposed of, they seemed to nniltiply faster than ever. In 1535, Charles issued another edict. Thus it ran : "All heretics shall be put to death. " If a man who has been a hei-etlc recants, he may be killed by the sword, instead of bein2: bui'ned to death. 296 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. " If a woman who has been a heretic repents, she may be buried alive, instead of being burned." For twenty years this has been the law of the land, and the smoke of the burning has been going up to heaven all the time. Through all these years the emperor has been plundering the Nether- landers, wrenching from them more than two million dollars per annum. Through all these years he has been crushing out the liberties of the State and trampling upon the rights of the people. While heretics are burning. BURNING THE MONKS. he gives thanks to God for permitting him to carry out such a glorious work. He is very religious — will not eat meat on Friday, goes regularly to mass, counts his beads, says his prayers, and yet looks on with glee while men and women are smouldering in the flames. The scene is over. Philip wears the crown, and Charles sails to Spain. He goes to Yalladolid ; and the bishops and priests of the Inquisition get up a jubilee in his honor — the burning of forty men, women, and children, who have dared to think for themselves. So this man — whoin we first saw counselling with Henry VIII. and Wolsey, just before the Field of the Clotli of Gold, and just after it; before whom Martin Luther stood I THE lAIAN WHO FILLED THE WORLD Willi WOE. 207 at Worms ; whose army lias sacked tlie city of Rome ; who took Francis prisoner, and treated him inhumanly; who has filled the Avorld with woe — retires to spend the remainder of his life in seclusion, not fasting and praying, but eating like a glutton, reading despatches, counselling Philip — requiring liim to hang and burn till there shall not be a heretic re- maining in all his dominions. Even in his retirement he tills the world with woe. 293 TUE STORY OF LIBEKTY. CHAPTER XXL PROGRESS OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. THE Duke of Guise has captured Calais, which England has held for a long time, and the loss is a terrible blow to Mary Tudor. " When I die, Calais will be found written on my heart," is her lament over its loss. Her life has been tilled with disappointtnent. It is just forty years since she went, with her mother Katherine, to the Field of the Cloth of Gold. She has seen her mother's divorce and humiliation. All her dreams of happiness which she had fondly indulged in regard to Philip have faded ; he has deserted her, and is over in Holland, leading a dis- reputable life. She hoped to re-establish the authority of the Pope in England ; but though she lias burned so many men, though the prisons are filled with heretics, though she has compelled thousands to flee the country, the Pope's authority is ]]ot re-established. She knows that she is hated, that her subjects will rejoice at the news of her death. She is weak, sickly, querulous, prematurely old. Possibly a sweet, sad face, smeared with blood — the countenance of a lovely, innocent girl — ma}^ haunt her at times, when she thinks of the beheading of Jane Grey. In her dreams maybe she sees the good Bishop of Gloucester, or Latimer and Pidley, or the boy of Brentwood, with steadfast faith looking into heaven amidst the flames which she has kindled. Unloved and unlovable, her life is going out in darkness. On November 17th, 1558, she ceases to breathe. This is the epitaph that may be sculptured upon her tomb : '-''Died of disappointment^ '' God save Queen Elizabeth ! Long and happily may she reign !" The Bishop of Ely (lord chancellor) proclaims it in Parliament. Bells ring, cannon thunder, bonfires blaze, tables are spread in the sti-eets. Te Deums are sung. No more burning of heretics ; no more Spanish gran- dees stalking through the streets insulting the people ; no more spying and plotting b}^ Jesuits to send men to the stake — but liberty, such as never before has been enjoyed ! Elizabeth is at IlatHeld ; but she comes to London, attended by a thou- PROGRESS OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 299 sand nobles, knights, and gentlemen and ladies, accompanied by bands of music. Companies of singers greet her with songs ; the people fall on their knees, pourjng forth their prayers and praises. So the dangliter of Anne Boleyn rides to the Tower, entering it, not now by the Traitor's Gate, bnt in regal pomp, sovereign of the realm. On the 12th of January, 1559, slie is crowned in Westminster Abbey. Never before has there been so goi'geons a pageant in London. The river swarms with boats and barges, the rowers in livery, the canopies of cloth of silver and gold. The nobles and tlieir ladies appear in their richest robes — coats and gowns of velvet or satin, trinnned with gold a)id THE KIVER AVON. silver lace. Cannon thunder once more, the chnrch-bells ring. All Lon- don is astir. Triumphal arches are ei-ected, with allegorical characters. One represents the qneen trampling Ignorance and Superstition beneath her feet. Another represents Time leading his daughter Truth by the hand, carrying a Bible, which she presents to the qneen. Elizabetli re- ceives it graciously, kissing it, and pressing it to her heart. " I thank the City for tlie gift ; I prize it above all things," is tlie queen's reply. Elizabetli is twenty-five. Slie has her mother's fair complexion, her father's proud and independent spirit. Now that she is queen, there are plenty of men -who would like to marry her. The first to offer liimself is the man wlio eats bacon-fat, Philip, who hurries on liis suit almost before 300 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Mary is in her grave. He sends an ambassador to tlie Pope to obtain per- mission to marry, without waiting to see if Elizabeth will say yes or no to :LXi^V [r IP u " ROOM IN AVIIICII SHAKSPKAKB his proposal. She does not consult the Pope, but sends her answer — No ! The King of Sweden makes proposal ; so does the Archduke Charles of Austria : but Elizabeth will not resign her independence to them. The Earl of Leicester is one of her favorites, and the court gossips are sure that he is to be the favored one. The Earl of Essex is another favorite. But Elizabeth \vill not be beholden to any man ; she will rule in her own royal right. The people love her, for any one — the poor as ^Yell as the rich, the low as well as the high — may approach her with their petitions. If she makes a promise, she never fails of keeping it. She has a wise man to advise her, Sir William Cecil, who conducts the affairs of State with great abilit3^ The bishops will not accept Elizabeth's authority as head of the Church, and she puts them in prison, and appoints others in their place. There are no more burnings; but has liberty come to the people? Not yet. The queen, by the uttering of a word, the lifting of a finger, can imprison men and women, confiscate their estates, or send them into exile, for no crime but that of incurring her displeasure. Mary Grey, Jane's sister, marries Martin Keys, who is a judge, and a good man ; but Elizabeth does not like the marriage, and both are put into prison, where Mary languishes for more than three years. Notwithstanding the queen exercises such arbitrary power, liberty ad- 3 I 'ROGHESS OF LIBERTY IN ENGLAND. 301 varices. Men can think and speak more freely than ever before. Those wlio beheve in the Pope, and those who do not beheve in him as the head of tlie Church, if they are not violent in their language, may speak their minds. A golden age for literature has come. A boy wlio was born on the banks of the Avon, down which the dust of Wicklif floated to the sea, the boy who went to school in the old town of Stratford, and sat at an oaken desk — William Sliakspeare — is reading his plays to Elizabeth, and they are being acted in the theatre of London. A people far enough advanced to read such poetry cannot long be slaves. As Geoffrey Chaucer gave a great uplift to freedom by his '• Canter- bury Tales," so does William Shakspeare by his dramas. Men behold the spectacles upon the stage, and see the weaknesses, the follies, the tyrannies SHAKSPKAUE READING ONE OF HIS PLAYS TO ELIZABETH. of kings, as never before. They begin to understand that monarchs are but men, that the Pope is but a chief priest in the Church, that all men liave certain rights, and are entitled to liberties which they never yet have enjoyed. We shall see ere long what will come from their thinking. 302 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER XXII. HOW THE POPE PUT DOWN THE HERETICS. DUKE HENEY OF GUISE is Prime Minister of France, and his bi'other, the cardinal, is his chief adviser. Tliey are proud and arro- gant, and hate the Ilnguenots. They believe in the Pope, and are ready to do his bidding. The Ilnguenots and hei-etics in France are to be put down. One Sunday the duke, with his followers, is in the country. He hears the sweet tones of a bell in the village of Vassy. "What is that bell tolling for?" he asks. " It is the bell of the Huguenots." " Are there many heretics here ?" '• Yes, and they are rapidly increasing." The duke, when disturbed in spirit, has a habit of biting his beai'd ; and now he champs it between his teeth as a horse his bit. "Forward!" It is a word of command to his followers, who draw their swords and ride into town, trampling upon the people. A man hurls ii stone, which strikes the duke in the face. The butchery begins, and when it is over there are forty- two corpses and two hundred wounded men, women, and children, weltering in their blood ! What have the people of Vass}'- done? What crime have they committed? Only this — ^peaceably met to worship God in their own way. The duke returns to Paris, but the fame of his exploit has preceded him ; and the archbishop, carrying the host — the bishops, the priests — all come out in grand procession, meeting him at the city gates, and escort- ing him through the streets as one who has done a glorious deed. What rights have the Huguenots? None. France is in uproar, for one-fourth of the people are Huguenots. Their leader is the Prince of Conde. His soul is on fire. He thirsts for revenge. He has a talk with his friend, Theodore de Beza, an old minister. " I can raise fifty thousand men to avenge this insult," he saj^s. " That may be ; but the true Church of God should endure blows, and not Q-'we them." HOW THE POPE PUT DOWN THE HERETICS. 303 " But only think of the slaughter !" " God will avenge. Remember that his anvil has used up many ham- mers. Wait !" So the old minister seeks to restrain the vengeance of the prince. The Cardinal of Lorraine issues a command for the extermination of the Huguenots. In a little town the Catholics and Huguenots have lived side by side in peace ; but, at the command of the cardinal, the Catholics surround the Huguenot church one Sunday, seize all within, take them to a high rock, and pitch them from its top into the river. The Huguenots in Nimes, maddened by the outrages, retaliate by kilHng one hundred and ninety-two of their neiglibors. It is the beginning once more of civil war. Great battles are fought, towns destro}'- cd, and the country is in terrible turmoil. No one's life is safe. Henry of Na- varre is in Paris, attending to his studies. His mother is a Huguenot ; but she is in her own dominion, in tlie Pyrenees. His father — Anthony Bourbon — is a Catholic, and is killed in battle. The Huguenots look to Henry's mother as their protector. Everybody sees that possibly her son Henry may by-and- l)y be King of France. Will he be Huguenot or Catholic ? Catherine de' Medici means that he shall be a Catholic; while his mother hopes tliat he will be a Huguenot. She comes to Paris. Catherine receives her with great demonstrations of affection ; but in a very short time Jeanne d'Al- bret discovers that, wherever she goes, officers and nobles in Catherine's interest follow her. If she rides in the park of Fontainebleau, or strolls along the walks, there are men always following her — she is a prisoner. She resolves to make her escape. One day there is a grand chase, and her nobles go out with her. Thev chase a deer throuirh the woods. Suddenlv THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 304 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Jeanne and Henry turn their horses, and a few noblemen who are in her secret turn with her. Tliey ride away, mount fresh horses, ride all day and all night, and so escape from Paris. The war goes on. France is a battle-field, and so is Europe. There is fighting in Holland, in Germany, and in Italy. Henry is in the great bat- tle of Jarnac, fighting for the Huguenots. He sees his leader, the Prince of Conde, fall, and the Huguenot army defeated. He is only fourteen 3'ears of age ; but the Huguenot nobles choose him for their leader, and he takes this oatli : " 1 swear to defend religion, and to persevere in the common cause, till death or victory has secured for all the liberty we desire." Amidst the Alps there is a beautiful valley, where for many years have lived the Vaudois. It is a small territory — only sixteen square miles. The Yau- dois are brave mountain- eers. They have always loved freedom. They are peaceable, gentle. They have always thought for themselves, and never have acknowledged the author- ity of the Pope. They have been many times per- secuted ; now they shall be exterminated. No longer shall they be permitted to read the Bible, to sing their songs in peace, or pray to God, and not to the priest. The Pope, Philip, and Catherine de' Medici join to destroy the here- tics. An army enters the valley. Jesuit priests accompany it, urging the soldiers to exterminate the Yaudois — men, women, and children ; all are to be put to death. The people flee ; the soldiers pursue them. The old are slaughtered first. Men who cannot move are stabbed in their beds ; women afilicted with palsy, and unable to lift a finger, are killed in cold blood. The soldiers seize whatever pleases them in the houses, and then apply the torch. Men and women and children who lag behind in the DE MEDICI. now THE POPE PUT DOWN THE HERETICS. 30' fliglit are cut down without inercy. In vain their cries. The Jesuits have aroused a spirit of liate in the sohliers, and their cries are unheed- ed. Weary with wielding the sword, the soldiers take tlieir unresisting prisoners to the tops of high cliffs, and pitch them upon the rocks below. To vary the work of destruction, they dig graves, and bury the women alive. When weary with that, they fill the mouths of the captives with gunpowder, and blow their heads from their bodies. They crop off their ears and nose, cut off hands and feet, and leave the poor creatui-es to die by slow degrees. Day after day the massacre goes on. Day after day a great pillar of smoke ascends from the burnins; of the homes of the Vaudois. The 'B^-^g^^^ JEANNE AND HENRY ESCAPING FROM PARIS. ground is dreiu;hed with blood. Corpses lie in the fields, by the road- side, at the foot of rocky cliffs, devoured by wolves, eaten by the eagles. Some of the Vandois have escaped to the higher Alps, and the soldiers follow ; but suddenl}' they are confronted by the brave mountaineers, who fire upon them from the heights above, who hurl rocks upon them, grind- ing them to the eartli. Other soldiers rush up, but are driven back, with great slaughter. Once more they advance. The Vaudois, concealed be- hind the rocks, take deadly aim ; every bullet tells. A pitiless storm of leaden rain beats in their faces. Twelve hundred fall. Tlie Yaudois, in- 308 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. BDRYING THE UKUETICS ALIVE. stead of surrendering, leap, like the chamois, from rock to rock, secrete themselves in caves, and, when the soldiers least expect it, assail them once more. Winter comes, and they are not subdued. Count Trinity, who commands the army, withdraws his troops. In tlie spring he will finish his work. In caves or in rude huts, li\'ing on the chamois which the hunters kill, eating the bark of trees, the Yaudois, with their wives and children, pass the terrible winter. In the spring Count Trinity returns, with ten thousand men, to com- plete the extermination. Tlie Vaudois have selected a spot in the Valley of Pra del Tor, where they have erected a barricade. Thei'e they will lay down their lives, if need be, for libert3\ In the fastness are their wives and children ; for them, for the right to think and act for them- selves, tliey will make a last stand. The drums beat, the trumpets sound. With banners and crosses, the army of Count Trinity moves up the se- cluded valley. The Italian troops are in advance ; behind them are the Spaniards. They are clad in armor — brave men ; no troops may stand against them in the open field. But now they are amidst the mountains, now THE POPE FUT DOWN THE HERETICS. )0d hunting a starving people, destitntc of everything, ready to die rather than yield; for to yield is to die at the stake. There arc ten thonsand against a few hundred. Quickly will the veterans of Spain and Italy sweep the all but famished rabble away. Up over the rocks march the infantry of Savoy. Crack! A soldier rolls down the mountain- side, shot by aji unseen foe. Abo\ e them hangs a liandful of smoke ; but no foe is in siglit. Crack ! crack ! Other soldiers go down, and others still. The bat- talions fire, but their bullets flatten against the rocks. Faster fall tlic sol- THE VALLEY OF TRA DEL TOR. diers. Only now and then can tliey see a Vandois. It is bnt a glimpse; for tliey are behind the crags, loading, and firing with deliberate aiui. Wlierever the soldiers attempt to advance, they are met by a storm of bul- 310 THE STOKY OF LIBEETY. lets. The ground is strewed with dj'iiig and dead. The soldiers hear a chorus of voices ringing out above them. It is the Vaudois chanting a psalm. God is their helper, and to him give thej thanks. For four days the Pope's troops keep up the assault. While the men defend the barricade, their wives supply them with food. Count Trinity is enraged. He will charge with his whole army, and trample the Vau- dois beneath his feet. Thus far the Italians have been in the fore- front of the attack ; but now he orders up the Spaniards. The Jesuit priests bestow their blessings, and stand with uplifted crosses, to urge the soldiers on. A mass of men ascend the rocky path. Those in front go down ; but the men behind sweep over the fallen, up to the barricade. Though they have reached it, they cannot mount it. Muskets flame in their faces. The barricade suddenly swarms with men, who beat them back, tumbling them one upon another — the dead upon the living, and the living upon the dead. In consternation they flee down the mountain-side, leaving all behind them. Soldiers and officers alike are panic-stricken. The Yau- dois, leaping from the barricade, chase them down the valley, flinging them from the precipices into the depths below. The entire army is put to flight; and the Vaudois gather up the rich booty left behind. But who can bring back the slaughtered dead — the children hacked asunder, those buried alive, those blown up with powder? No one. Priestly intolerance has ground them into the dust ; and it is yet a long, long while before men can be allowed to think for themselves. Will libei'ty never dawn ? THE QUEEN OF THE SCOTS. ■311 CHAPTER XXIII. THE QUEEN OF THE SCOTS. THE girl who bade adieu to France with many tears is in Holjrood Palace, Edinburgh. It was a stormy voyage which Mary had from Calais to Leith, on the Firth of Forth. In France she had been accus- tomed to grand pageants ; but althougli the nobles of Scotland come with their best outfits to welcome her, though the people re- ceive her w^ith joy, they can make but a sorry display. As she enters Edinburgh, the only music that greets her ears is the singing of a psalm, and the scraping of three- stringed fiddles, and the play- ing of bagpipes. She is beau- tiful and refined; but the peo- ple whom she has come to rule are uncouth. She is a Papist ; they, for the most part, Presbyterians, and in- tolerant of Papists. Before Mary lies a sea of troubles. Elizabeth never has for- gotten that Mary claims to be the i-ightfnl heir to the throne of England ; nor will Mary renounce her claim. Elizabeth wishes her to marry a man of her choosing, Robert Dudley ; but Mary will bestow her hand upon \vhom she pleases, and declines the mar- riage. She loves literature, and, besides attending to the cares of State, finds time to study Latin, and selects for her instructor George Buchanan, MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS. 312 THE STORY OF LIBERTY, who wrote lier nuptial ode when she married Francis. The tutor is fifty old. id his has been a varied life. He was a poor bov, but an uncle sent him to Paris, where he was educated. He wrote a poem exposing the wickedness of the monks. Cardinal Beaton thrust him into prison for the offence, but Buchanan made his es- cape. In Portugal, the Jes- uits arrested him again, but lie escaped a second time. He has been professor in several universities, and is a great scholar. We shall see farther along what he wiW do for liberty. Mary's cousin comes to see her — Henry Stuart — a tall, beardless young man, who can play the guitar, and sing a song. He can dance gracefully. He is Margaret's grandson — the Margai-et who spent a night in the old house at Scrooby. Henry Stuart's father is the Earl of Lennox, who has planned a marriage between his son and Mary. The son is Lord Darnley. They are privately married at Holy rood. "Te Deu?7i laudamus r^ It is done, and cannot be undone. A little, swarthy Italian, David Rizzio, Mary's secretarj^ who, it is said, is a Jesuit priest, shouts it. Why is he so jubilant? Because it will greatly strengthen, he thinks, the Pope's party in Scotland. Mary does not know what a sad mistake she has made — that her husband is a weak-brained, worthless fellow. He claims the right to rule. He is angered with Rizzio, who has great influence with Mary. He concerts with a ruflian — Lord Ruthven — to put Rizzio out of the way ; and one evening when Rizzio is in Mary's apartments, Ruthven and his fellow-conspirators creep softly up a winding stairway", and murder Rizzio in her presence. Darnley tries to persuade Mary that he had nothing to do with the murder. She partly believes him. On June 19th, 1566, Mary becomes a mother. There is gi-eat re- T.ORD DARNLEY. THE QUEEN OF THE SCOTS. 3i; joichig, not only in Scotland, but in England, over the event, for the boy will be heir to both thrones. lie is christened with much pomp and ceremony. His mother calls him James, and appoints six women to rock his cradle. Lord Darnley is so debased that he does not attend the christening, but is having a caronse with some drunken ruffians. Mary has lost all respect for him. The nobles of Scotland are rough, unscrupulous men. The Earl of Bothwell, to whom Mary has given Dunbar Castle, plans a wicked scheme to obtain a divorce from his young and beautiful wife, kill Darnley, marry Mary, and so make himself ruler of Scotland. Mary has shown him many favors, and her letters are full of tender regards. She is still kind to Lord Darnley. He has forsaken her, but, when sick with the small-pox, she does not hesitate to visit him. She remains with HOLTUOOD PAT-ACE. In'm one night till eleven o'clock. On her way back to Holyrood slie meets a man carrying a bag of gnnpowder. "What. are you going to do with it?" she asks. The man makes no reply, luit runs away. At midnight there is an ex])losion which shakes all Edinburgh. The house in which Darnley was 314 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. sick is a heap of rnins, and lie is a mangled corpse beneath the rubbish. It is soon discovered tliat Bothwell caused the powder to be placed in the cellar, and hired a man to fire it. He is arrested and tried, but, being rich and powerful, manages to escape conviction. A few weeks pass. Mary has been out to Stirling Castle to see her baby, and is quietly returning, when suddenly she meets Bothwell and a party of horsemen, who compel her to go with them to Dunbar Castle. Slie is a prisoner. Tlie earl asks her to marry him. She yields to his solicitations, and they are privately married. Scotland is in an uproar. The nobles will not permit Bothwell to be at the head of Government. They rise against him, and he is driven from the country, to end his days as a pirate. The nobles imprison Mary in a stone castle on a little island in Loch Leven, consigning her to the care of Lord and Lady Douglas. And who are they ? Everybody in Scotland knows that Lady Douglas, before marrying Lord Douglas, kept company with Mary's father, and that she is the mother of Mai-y's half-brother, the Earl of Murray. Lady Douglas claims that she was married to Mary's father, and that the Earl of Mm-ray, and not Mary, is rightful heir to the throne ; but very few per- sons believe that she was ever married to the king. Mary's best friends desert her. They fear that she knew that Both- well intended to murder Dandey, and connived at the crime. Her in- structor, George Buchanan, writes a pamphlet, in which he sets forth her guilt. Lie also writes a pamphlet entitled " De Jure Eegni" — the Eight to Rule. He begins by asking this question, "What is the source of pow- er ?" This is his answer : '-''The vnll of the 2)eo2)le is the only legitimate sottrce of j^ouier.''^ It is a discovery for which the world has been waiting. Possibly some other man may have thought the same ; but George Buchanan puts his thought into print. There is not a king, queen, pope, or priest who will agree with him. "/«! originates from, a natural, instinctive perception of the jrrinci- ple that 7nen, to have government, must have a governor ; and the same jyrinciple gives them the right to say who shall govern them.'''' Kings say that they are appointed by God to rule — their right is divine. ''The people have a right to choose their rulers, and, if they prove to he had, they have the right to dep>ose themP The world never heard such a doctrine before. People in England i-ead Buchanan's pamphlet, and begin to take new views of their rela- tions to their rulers. The nobles of Scotland, to carry out the teachings TUE QUEEN OF THE SCOTS. 315 of Buchanan, resolve to compel Mary to resign the crown in favor of her babe, who is not a year old. Two of them visit Mary at Loch Leven, and inform lier that she must lay down the sceptre. Of all the sad days of her life, this is one of the saddest. She protests — she pleads with them, with tears ; but they are inexorable. We are not to think of the nobles as acting in behalf of the people. Many years must pass before the people will have a voice in government. But if she resigns, the baby will be crowned king, and the nobles, for a long period of yeai's, will be in power, in the baby's name. She is a prisoner, and, against her will, resigns. On the 25tli of July, 1567, Mary's baby is crowned King James VI. The ceremony is performed at Stirling Castle, in the room whei'e, a quar- ter of a century before, Mary herself had been crowned. And now, through the aid of Lady Douglas's sons, Mary escapes from the Castle of Loch Leven. The nobles who believe in the Pope spring to arms, and war begins. On a hill near Dumbarton the two armies meet, and a fierce battle is fought. The ground is covered with killed and wounded ;' and when it is ended, Mary sees her followers scattered to the winds. She flees southward. Gladly would she find refuge in France, but there is no ship to bear her to those friendly shores. She reaches England, sur- rendering herself into the hands of Elizabeth, trusting that she will treat her kindly. 316 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER XXIY. ST. BARTHOLOMEW. CHARLES IX. of France is a weak-lieaded boy, and his motlier, Cath- erine de' Medici, keeps him nnder her thumb. She is a wilj woman. She hates the Huguenots, and would hke to see the last one in Fi-ance executed or driven from the kingdom. She has a plan for their exter- mination ; 3'et it is not wholly hers. The Duke of Guise and the Cardi- nal of Lorraine are knowing to it, and so is the Pope ; and all do what they can to put it in execution. They see that the Huguenots are too powerful to be crushed out in battle. They will bring about a truce, lull the Huguenots into secu- rity by fair speeches, and then crush them by stratagem. Catherine re- members that Henry of Navan-e — the boy who di'ank wine and garlic — and her daughter Marguerite are betrothed. They are not lovers. Very few princes and princesses marry for love. Henry is willing to accept Marguerite, because it will I^ heal, lie hopes, the nation's troubles ; but Marguerite is a proud- s])irited girl, and means to have something to say about her own marriage. Charles informs Marguei'ite that she shall marry Llenry whether she does or does not like him. Jeanne and Henry come to the Palace of Blois, and Charles and his mother go out to meet them. MAKGUERITK OF LORRAINE. ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 317 " I give Marguerite not only to Henry, but to the Iliigueuot party," says Charles. Little do Jeanne and Henry know wliat is behind these words. " I love you, my dear aunt," he says to Henry's mother. Charles and Catherine take their leave. " Do I play my part well ?" Charles asks of his mother. " Yes ; but it will be of no use to begiu, if you do not go on," Cath- erine replies. What sort of going-on will it be? Such as the world never saw be- fore, nor since. Catherine cannot do enough for Jeanne and Henry. She bestows rich and costly presents upon tlieni. One of her gifts to the mother is a pair of perfumed gloves. Jeanne wears them, but in a short time is taken sick. The physicians are bafSed by her disease ; their medi- cines do no good. She grows rapidly worse, till death ends her sufferings. The physicians, when ask- ed the cause of her death, shake their heads, or M'liis- per the word "Poison." The mourning for Jeanne is over, and the mar- riage of Henry and Mar- guerite is to be celebrated. All of the great men of tlie realm come to Paris to attend the festivities — all the Huguenot nobles, wearing their rich dresses. Admiral Coligny, an old man, wlio has led the Huguenot armies to battle, comes to aid in ce- menting the peace. " Don't go ; you will be assassinated," say his friends. " I confide in the word of the king." He believes that Charles will not see him harmed. The Duke of Guise and all the Catholic chiefs are in Paris. There is a whispei-ing CHARLES IX. 318 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. between Catherine and the Catholic leaders. What is the meaning of it? " We will not ask the Iliignenots to go into the Church of Notre Dame to attend the mar- riage ; we will have it in the street, before the door," says Charles ; and tlie Plu- giienots are greatly pleased at his efforts for concilia- tion. A canopy and a plat- form are erected in front of the church. All Paris is there, every house-top is covered with people, every window occupied. The la- dies of the conrt are richly robed. Drums beat ; trump- ets sound ; the bells till the air with tlieir clanging; can- non thunder, and the royal procession passes throng] i the streets to Notre Dame. The bride and bridegroom stand before the archbishop. " Will you take Henry to be your husband ?" Marguerite makes no reply. " Will you take flenry to be your husband ?" Slie does not answer, but pouts her lips and tosses her head. " Will you take Henry to be your husband ?" Never by look, or word, or gesture will she accept him. But she shall, though ! That is what her brother Charles determines. He knows that she has a proud spirit; but is the marriage to stop on that account 'i Not if lie can make it. go on. He clasps Marguerite's head in his hands, and compels her to nod assent. The archbishop smiles, and the ceremony pro- ceeds, and Margaret is married in spite of herself. Then come feastings, and tournaments, and great rejoicings; for will not this marriage, this union of the Huguenot and Catholic, heal all the divisions, and give peace to France? Tlie Huguenots hope so. But a messenger came from the Pope a few days ago, and he has an interview witli the king. ADMIRAL COLIGNY. ST. BARTHOLOMEW, 310 "What is the meaning of all this friendship for the Iieretics?" the Pope asks. " I cannot tell yon ; bnt the Pope will soon have reason to praise iny zeal," is the reply of Charles. The wedding festivities are over. The Ilngnenot leader, Coligny, makes ready to leave. He calls and pays his respects to the king, leaves the palace, and walks to his quarters. He is reading a letter as he passes along the street. Crack ! The blood spurts from his arm and stains the paper. Some one has fired a pistol at him, and the ball has passed through his arm. He looks calmly around, and' sees the smoke curling out of a window. People rush in, but no one is there; the assassin has fled. What is the meaning of it? Is there a trap behind all the feasting and rejoicing ? The king hastens to console the brave old man. " The assassin shall be snmmarily dealt with," says Charles. The wedding was on Sunday, and it is now Friday. There are mys- terious movements among the Catholics. The IIugue.nots begin to be alarmed. What is the meaning of the whispering ? Saturday afternoon comes. The Duke of Guise, Duke de lietz, and OTRE DAME. Others, are in the king's palace in the Louvi-e conferring togetlier. Cath- erine comes into the chamber where they are assembled. "It must be done to-night. The king must be brought up to issue the order. The Iluejuenots are leavino-." 320 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. That is the conclusion of the council. Catherine goes into the king's apartment. Slie is his mother, has taught him to obey her. He is twentj- one years old — weak, irresolute. " The Huguenots are going to rise against you. They have sent to Ger- many for ten thousand men, and to Switzerland for ten thousand," she says. Wimi fiii-^^ THE MAUUIAGE. It is a lie ; but she can tell a lie quite as easily as she can the truth, when it will serve her purpose. "You must nip the insurrection in the bud. Coligny is at the bottom of it; you must put him out of tlie way. If you do not, there will be another civil war." " I will not have Coligny harmed," Charles replies. Evening comes. The wax-candles are lighted in the chambers of the palace. Again Catherine enters the king's chamber. "War is inevitable urdess you put Coligny out of the way. Let him be killed, and the rest of the Huguenots will submit." Charles paces his chamber. He likes the brave old admiral. He has just bidden him a courteous farewell. Shall he turn round and strike him now? In an anteroom is the collector of taxes, Charron, and some of the chief men of Paris, and Count De Tavannes is talking with them in secret. ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 321 " You are to put the Huguenot leader, CuHgny, out of the way," says De Tavannes. " We cannot do such a deed." " Not do it ! Then you are not the king's friend. If you do not take hold of it, your own necks will be stretched." That is not a pleasant thought. Tlie king must be in earnest, and they too will be in eai'uest. "Ho ! ho ! That is the way you take it ! We swear tliat we will play our hands so well that St. Bartholomew shall from this moment be re- membered," they reply. The collector of taxes and those with him take their departm-e. It is past midnight. Paris is in slumber. Not all ai-e asleep, however. The Duke of Guise, the Duke of Anjou, Catherine de' Medici, and ruffians, with drawn swords, are awake on this Sunday morning — this Day of St. Bartholomew. At daybreak a bell will toll, and the crushing-out of the Huguenots will begin. Tlie Duke of Guise is nervous, and so is Cath- erine. So many know of what is about to happen, that they fear the Hu- guenots will hear of it. Catherine hastens to Charles's chamber once more. He is sitting ju a chair, moody, angry, silent. He has acquiesced in the plan till now ; but as the hour for its consummation approaches, is irresolute. It will be so mean to have the old admiral, and others who have confided in his Avord, assassinated. Poor weakling that he is, there is still left a little of Tin; LOUVRE. his better nature. The education that he has received from his mother — ■ that the end always justifies the means — the school of falsehood in which 21 322 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. ASSASSINATION OF COLIGNY. he has been taught, has not quite obliterated all sense of what is right and honorable. " Since you will not have the leader of the Huguenots harmed, since you ai-e bent on having war once more, permit me to retire with your brother to a place of safety." He has always obeyed her. He is a boy, with no mind of his own. He springs to his feet. ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 323 "Do it! do it! Kill him ! Kill all the Ilngnenots in Paris, that none may be left to reproach me ! Give the orders at once !" lie rushes out of the room, and into his own chamber. " Strike the bell !" A moment later, and the bell on the clinrch of St. Germain TAnxerrois begins tolling at half-past one in the morning. The brave old admiral is asleep in his chamber, with his bandaged arm lying upon the conntcrpane. A Hugnenot minister is sitting by his side, and Doctor Ambrose Parr is in a chamber near by. Boom! boom! boom! The admii-al hears the tolling. There is a tramping of feet in the street ; men are rushing np the stairway of the hotel. The admiral nnderstands it. His hoar has come. He springs from the bed and puts on a dressing-gown. " Say a prayer for me, my friend. I commit my soul to my Savionr." The doctor comes in. " What is the meaning of this commotion ?" asks the doctor. " God is calling ns, I am ready. Please leave me, and save your- selves." The minister and the doctor seek safety in flight — np-stairs, out npon the roof, reaching another house. The door of the admiral's room bursts open, and ruflians, with spears and swords, rush in. " Are you the admiral ?" " Young man, I am. Yon come against a wounded old man. You cannot much shorten my life." The spear goes into his bosom. " Oh, if it were only a man ! but it is only a horse-boy." The rufiian beats him over the head. Others enter and plunge their swords into the prostrate form. "Have you done it?" It is the Duke of Guise calling from the street. " Yes." " Throw him down." The ruffians drag the lifeless body to the window, raise the sash, and throw it out. It falls with a thud upon the ground. The Duke of Guise looks at it. The face is smeared with blood. He wipes it away with a corner of the dressing-gown. " 'Tis he, sure enough ;" and stamps his heel into the face. Ah ! Duke of Guise, gloating over the form of the noble foe who was ever j^our equal in the fleld or in the cabinet, there will come another day. God never forgets ! A soldier severs the head fi'om the body, and takes it to Catherine de' 324 THE STOEY UF LIBEETY. JUST BEFORE DAYBREAK, SUNDAY MORNING — ST. BARTHOLOME Medici. So tlie head of John the Baptist was brought to Herod's wife. To whom does Catherine send it? Who of all on earth will be most pleased to receive snch a present? Who but the Pope — her uncle! A messenger carries it to Rome, that the Pope may see with his own ejes that the great Hngiienot leader is dead. Bells are tolling in every steeple. Torches glare in the streets. Armed men are rushing frantically from house to house, breaking in doors, rush- ing into chambers, murdering men and women in their beds, or plunging their swords into their bosoms as they attempt to flee. Muskets are flash- ing. Charles himself fires upon the panic-sirickeu fugitives. All through the hours of the summer night the scene of death goes on. Henry Conde and Henry of Navarre are seized and brought before Charles. Catherine does not want tliem killed. She has other plans. "I mean to have but one religion in my kingdom. There shall be mass or death. Make your choice." It is Charles who utters it. ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 325 "You have promised libert}- of conscience to the Huguenots. I will take time to consider it," is the reply of Henry of Navarre. " As for me, I sliall remain firm in my religion though I give my life for it," Henry Conde replies. " You rebel — you son of a rebel, if you do not change your language before three days, I will have you strangled !" Of the throng of Huguenot nobles who come to Paris to attend the wedding, all are seized. The Swiss Guards of the king are let loose upon them, and all are massacred. There they lie in a heap in the court-yard of the Louvre — -two hundred of the noblest men of the kingdom. Charles, Catherine, the ladies of the court, go out and behold them — the men with whom they danced three days ago ! They gaze upon their ghastly coun- tenances besmeared with blood, and indulge in ribald laughter. So, it is said, the hyenas laugh when they have dug up the bones of the dead, and crunch them beneath their teeth. Xever before was there such a festival of St. Bartholomew. Fam- ilies are broken up. There are sud- den partings, husbands from wives, parents from children, young men from the maidens whom they lo\e, to meet no more, maybe, this side the grave. In the river are thou- sands of floating corpses — men, women, children. No age or sex is spared. "Kill the heretics!" It is the cry of the priests and the soldiers. What though fair maidens plead for mercy ? What though mothers pray that the lives of their infants may be spared? There is no pity, and the massacre goes on ; and nt)t only in Paris, but in the country — in Lyons, Bordeaux, Orleans. Sev- enty thousand men, women, and children are slaughtered. The bells of Eome are rincrino-, and the ffuns of St. Ano-elo thunder- ing ; bonfires blaze ; and Gregory XIIL, attended by cardinals, archbish- PARTING TO MEET KO MOUE. 326 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. ops, bishops, and a great throng of prelates, march in procession. A Te Deum is chanted, and the Pope commissions the painter Vasari to paint the scene of the massacre, and employs an artist to engrave a medal com- memorative of the event. The preachers in Rome deliver eloqnent ora- tions, and a messenger carries a golden rose to Charles as a present from the Pope. Fifteen months pass. Charles has acted strangely. The Venetian THE PICTURK WHICH THE POPE ORDERED TO BE PAINTED. ambassador, Cavilli, makes tlie king a visit, and writes of his appearance : " He is melancholy and sombre. He dares not look any one in the face. He drops his head, and closes his eyes. It is feared that the demon of Tengeance has taken possession of him. He is becoming crnel." He grows weak and feeble, and will have no one near him except his nnrse. His conscience is awake, and his mind racked w^ith remorse. The screeches of the victims of St. Bartholomew are ringing in his ears. ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 327 He sees men, women, and children flying tlirongh the streets crying for mercy, pursued by blood-thirsty wretches. The air is tilled with ghosts ; the ground strewed wnth ghastly corpses. "Ah, nurse ! what blood ! what murder ! Oh, what evil counsel have I followed !" Then he prays. " O God, forgive me ! Have mercy on me !" Despair sets in. " I'm lost ! I'm lost !" On July 30th, 1574, he ceases to breathe, and Henry, Duke of Anjou, Catherine's younger son, becomes Henry III., King of France. 328 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER XXV. HOW THE "BEGGARS" FOUGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS. OF all people in Europe, none are more peacefully inclined than the inhabitants of Holland. They are great workers, and have no de- sire to engage in quarrels with anybody. There was a time when a por- tion of their land was under the sea. The water was not deep, and the people built dikes — laying down bundles of brush, trunks of trees, heaping mud upon them, so fencing out the ocean. Then they erected windmills, and pumped out the water. They laid off the land into fields and gardens, built their houses, made the canals their highways, and so, as the years rolled on, there grew up a country, as it were, from beneath the sea. A DOG TEAM. HOW THE "BEGGARS" FOUGHT FOR THEHl RIGHTS. 329 I The Dutch have little time to spend in pleasure. In winter, when the canals are frozen, they get up skating parties ; but in summer the butter and cheese must be made, and the cabbages cultivated. Everybody must work. Even the dogs are put into liarness. By hard, patient labor they have become a thrifty people. Once they all accepted the Pope as the head of the Church ; but they have begun to think for themselves, and are fast becoming heretics. Charles, before he resigned his crown to Philip, began to burn and hang them. He taxed them unjustly, con- fiscated their property, cast them into prison. The men who ask questions have been sending thousands of men and women to jail. Fires blaze, and men are burned, not because they have committed crime, but because tliey read the Bible. Since Charles laid aside the crown, Philip has been crushing out the lieretics with all his might. More than one hundred thou- sand have been put to death, thrust into jail, or driven from the country. The people have risen in revolt. One of Philip's officers called them a nation of beggars ; they have accepted the term, and have elected as tlieir leader the Silent Man, William, on whose shoulder Charles leaned when he resigned his crown. The Silent Man is giving his money, his time, his energies, to the cause. He M^as a Catholic ; but he sees that men have a right to think for themselves, and is ready to lay down his life, if need be, for liberty. He has been defeated in battle again and again, has been so straitened in circumstances that he had not money enough to buy a breakfast ; but he has gathered another army, and is detei-mined to drive the Spaniards out of Holland. In 1574, the Spaniards are besieging Leyden. Philip offers the citizens of the town a pardon if they will surrender. But what have they done that they should accept a pardon ? Nothing. They have been thinking for themselves, and reading the Bible, which the Pope has forbidden ; but have they not a right to read it ? If so, they will not ask pardon of any one. ■WILLIAM THE SILENT. 330 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. I — THK GREAT CANAL. Philip is in Spain, eating bacon -fat and witnessing the bnrning of heretics. This is the answer which the people of Leyden send to hini : "As long as there is a man left, we will fight for our liberty and our religion." General Yaldez, one of Philip's officers, is sent by the Duke of Alva to level the city to the ground. After taking Leyden, he will sail up the Great Canal to Amsterdam. Five miles from Leyden is a great dike — the Land-scheiding. Three-quarters of a mile nearer is anotlier, called the Greenway. Thei-e is another still, called the Kirk\vay. Inside of these ai-e the forts and redoubts — sixty-two in all, M^hich are in the possession of the Spaniards. Half a pound of meat and half a pound of bread is all they have to eat a day, the aldermen weighing it out to each per- son in the city. On every side the Spaniards pitch their tents. The peo- ple of Leyden are shut in. Only by pigeons can they send word to the Prince of Orange. They have no soldiers ; but every citizen is a soldier, and so is every woman. May and June pass ; there are frequent skirmishes, "We will pay a bounty for the head of eveiy Spaniard," say the burgomasters of Leyden, and now and then a man steals out, kills a HOW THE "BEGGARS" FOUGHT FOR THEHl RIGHTS. 331 Spaniard, cuts off his liead, brings it in, and sticks it upon a pole on the walls, that the Spaniards may see it. The Spanish general expects to starve the " beggars " into snbnfiission. The days go by. The Prince of Orange cannot raise an army large enough to fight Valdez ; but there is one thing that can be done — he can let in the sea upon the land, and drown out the hateful myrmidons of the Pope and of Philip. The people hail the proposition with joy. " Better a drowned land than a lost land. We can pump it dry again, if we drown it; but if we yield to the Spaniards, our liberties are gone forever," they say. " Cut the sluices !" It is the order issued by the Silent Man, and men go to work with their spades digging away the dikes. But what will the people in the country do? They must leave their homes. There is a scene of confusion. They take their pigs, cattle, goats, their goods and chattels, on board their boats, and hasten to Amsterdam. It is hard to see the property disappearing beneath the waves, to behold their houses Heating away ; but better this than to give up their rights. A pigeon flies into Leyden with a letter fastened to its neck. The burgomaster reads the letter to the people : " The dikes are cut. There are two hundred vessels ready to sail to your relief loaded with provisions." The cannon thunder, the bells ring, the people sing a psalm of thanks- giving over the joyful news, for starvation is staring them in the face. THE FORTIFICATIONS The Spaniards wonder what is going on in the city. It is not long, however, before they know that something is going on outside which they 332 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. never dreamed of. The water begins to rise around them. What is the meaning of it ? It rises slowly. Light dawns upon them. The dikes are broken, and an enemy which they will be powerless to resist is stealing upon them. It rises ten inches, and comes to a stand-stilL They are safe. It will not rise any higlier. They laugh at the " beggars." " Go up the steeples, you ' beggars,' and see if the ocean is coming to your relief." The people go up and look toward the north. They can see water covering the fields, but then it is only a few inches deep, and the Spaniards' camp is still on dry land. They gaze in sorrow, for the bread and meat are nearly gone. People are already starving. There are sea " beggars " as well as land " beggars," and the " beggars " of the sea are getting ready to come to the aid of their beleaguered brethren. Admiral Poisot commands them. They are hardy sailors — twenty- five hundred in number. The man on the tower in Leyden discovers the " beggars " of the sea. There they are, only five miles awa}^, two hundred armed vessels loaded with provisions. The vessels have sailed in over the submerged land fifteen miles, passing over fields and gar- dens. The fleet reaches the great dike — the Land-scheiding, which is guarded by the Spaniards ; but the " beggars " of the sea open fire upon them. Some of them leap out of the ships, wade to the dike, and quickly ovei-power the Spaniards. None are spared, but all are put to death. Xow the " beggars " are at work with their spades breaking down the dikes, the water rushes through, and the vessels float on. The admiral seizes the second main dike, the Greenway, and breaks it down. He floats his ships to a stone bridge, a fortress in itself, swarm- ing with Spaniards. The admiral cannot take it. His vessels ground. The wind is off the shore, and the water, instead of rising, is falling away. For a week the vessels lie there imbedded in the mud. The wind suddenly whirls north-west, and the waves roll in once more. The vessels float. They are only half a mile fi-om Leyden, but between, the fleet and thQ'-city is the Kirkway, and the forts, swarming with Span- iards and bristling with guns. Oh, how dismal the days in the besieged town ! Thousands have died of starvation. Bread — there is none. All the malt-cake has been eaten. The people are eating dogs, cats, and rats. A few cows only are left. When one is killed, every scrap is eaten. They boil the hide, make it into soup. They eat the intestines, boil the horns to get the last particle of marrow. The famishing creatures strip HOW THE "BEGGARS" FOUGEIT FOR THEIR RIGHTS. 335 the leaves from the trees, dig up the roots of grass growing in the streets, and devour them. Infants starve in the ai-ms of their mothei-s, and mothers drop dead in the streets, or creep away to die in some lonely place. The watchmen, as they go their rounds, iind corpses everywhere. Eight thousand have died of starvation. The air is reeking with malaria, but still the people of Ley- den hold out. Pieter Van der Werff is burgomaster. He stands in the market-place — tall, haggard with hunger, worn out with watching. There are a few faint-hearted ones. " Give up the city," they cr}-. "Would yon have me surrender? I have taken my oath to hold the city. May God give me strength to keep it ! Here, take my sword ; plunge it into my body; divide my flesh to appease your hunger, if you will ; but, God helping me, I never will sui-render." Brave Van der Werff ! For this heroic flrmness your name shall go down the centuries, '' Ila ! ha ! How do you rat-eaters get on ? The sea hasn't come to Leyden yet." It is the taunt which the Spaniards shout, secure in the fortifications. " You call us rat-eaters. We are ; but so long as you can hear a dog bark inside of the walls, you may know that the city holds out. We will eat our left arms, and fight with our right. When we can stand no longer, we will set fire to the city, and perish in the flames, rather than give up our liberties," is the answer hurled into the teeth of the Spaniards. The night of October 1st comes. The city is at its last gasp. Day after day the \vind has been off the shore, and the fleet has lain motionless in the mud. The wind whirls south-west and blows a hurricane. Tlie sea is rolling in. The water rises. The vessels float. " Hurrah !" The ciy goes up from the " beggars" of the sea. The morning comes, the fleet is close upon two of the forts. The Spaniards are seized with a panic. They leave the fortifications, and rush along the dike. The " beggars " of the sea chase them, throwing harpoons, and striking them down just as they have harpooned the walruses of the north seas. Only one fort blocks the path of the " beggars " now. Let them but take that, and the city will be saved. Night comes on. In the morning the " beggars " will open upon the fortress with all their cannon. The waves are rolling in, dashing over the dikes. Dark and gloomy the hours. In the city everybody is astir ; for when morning comes the citizens will make a sortie, and fight their way to the fleet. Crash ! There is a sound of a falling wall. The citizens stand aghast, 336 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. for the waves have nndermined the wall of the city, and there is a wido gap through which the Spaniards can enter the town. There is a hubbub in the Spanish camp. All is lost ! No, not all. Day dawns. The forts are silent. No Spaniards are in sight, not even a sentinel pacing his beat. Just outside of the fort is the fleet. The cannon are loaded, and the men stand with lighted matches. The " beggars " of the sea are deter- mined to sweep all before them. The admiral sees a man wading through the water toward the fleet, while the people in the city see a boy waving his cap from one of the forts. What is the meaning of it ? " They are gone !" he cries. There is not a Spaniard left. At midnight they fled. The falling of the wall fllled them with consternation. They tliink the citizens are mak- ing a sortie, and flee along the dike, and now they are miles away. They might have stayed secure. The fleet might have been beaten back. Had they waited till daybreak, they might have marched into the city over the fallen wall. Up to the town sail the ships ; out from their houses creep the starv- ing citizens. The sailors are tossing meat and loaves of bi'ead on shore. The starving creatures eat as wolves eat; and then they enter the great church, fall on their knees, and, with tears upon their cheeks, give thanks to God. Never again shall the Spaniard beleaguer Leyden ; never again shall Philip encamp his armies in their fields, over which the sea is rolling. They have drowned their land, but have saved that which is worth more than houses, lands, or life — their lib- erty. From this time on they will wage war agaiust the Spaniards till they drive them from tlie country. There is great rejoicing in Amster- dam. The people send more sup- plies to their friends in Leyden. Other cities contribute. Elizabeth of England befriends them. She is greatly moved when she hears of their sufferi)]gs, and of their bravery THE OLD CUUUCH. HOW THE "BEGGARS" FOUGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS. 331 and endurance. She sends Sir William Davison with money to aid them. Sir William has a young man for his secretary, William Brewster, who performs his duties so faithfully tliat the burgomaster presents him with A-MSTEKD.VM. a gold chain. Let ns take a good look at this young man, for we shall see him by-and-by in the old manor-house at Scrooby, and on the shores of New England, laying the foundations of liberty in the New World. Sir William Davison is his friend ; and Elizabeth's great minister, Sir Thomas Cecil, has appointed him to this position. He is in high favor. He loves liberty, and his soul is greatly stirred at the outrages committed by the Spaniards. He is learning early in life that liberty is worth more than all things else. 22 I 338 THE STOKY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER XX7L WHY THE QUEEN OF SCOTLAND LOST HER HEAD. EIGHTEEN 5'€ars have passed since Mary of Scotland fled from the kingdom. She has been a pi-isoner the while. Going back to that day when she came, weary and worn, to Carlisle, we see her sending a letter to Elizabeth asking for an interview, which the Queen of England will not grant, bnt who sends Sir Francis Knollys to give a reason for the refusal. While Sir Francis is on his way, a letter comes from Catherine de' Medici. Thus it reads : " Piinces should assist each other to chastise and punish subjects who rise against them, and are rebels against their sovereigns." Catherine wants Elizabeth to march an army into Scotland to put down Mary's half-brother, the Earl of Murray, who, though ruling in the name of Mary's son, is in reality king. Sir Francis has an interview with Mary. " Some suspicions are abroad in regard to the complicity of your grace in the murder of Lord Darnley, and the queen will appoint a commission to investigate the matter," says Sir Francis. " I am not answerable to the Queen of England. Sovereigns are amenable to no one," is Mary's reply. " Princes may be deposed by their subjects in some cases — if insane, for instance, or if they have committed murder," Sir Francis replies. The tears steal down Mary's cheeks. This is the new doctrine. Kings and queens answerable to their subjects? Never. To admit it M'ill be admitting that they can do wrong. It is the doctrine which George Buchanan inculcated in that little pamphlet which he published, written in Latin, and entitled " De Jure Regni." To admit such a doctrine will be admitting that subjects can cut off the heads of sovereigns; whereas from time immemorial only sovereigns have had the right to decapitate subjects. George Buchanan is superintending the education of Mary's boy. King James. The boy is proud and wilful, and thinks that, as he is king, he WHY THE QUEEN OF SCOTLAND LOST HER HEAD. o'd'.f may do as he pleases. One of his playmates is the young Earl of Mar, who has a tame sparrow, which James Avould like to own. " Give it to me," is his demand. " I won't," the Mar boy replies, not wishing to part witii his pet. " It is mine. I am king," James retorts, and seizes it. " Take that !" and Mar gives liim a blow in the face with his tist. QUEEN ELIZABETH. "What is all this fuss about?" George Buchanan asks, as lie entei-s the room. " He has seized my sparrow," says Mar. " It was mine. I am king," James answers. "King, are you? I'll teach you not to take things by force;" and the boy-king has his ears boxed. 340 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. One day George Buchanan is reading, and James and Mar disturb him. " Be quiet !" says Buchanan. "I shall make as much noise as I please. I have the right; I am king." George Buchanan lays down his book, takes the King of Scotland over his knee, and gives him a spanking. The Countess of Mar rushes in, with her hands uplifted in horror. " How dare you lift your hand against the Lord's anointed ?" she cries. It is not a very polite reply which gruff George Buchanan makes ; but he informs her that the boy, although he is king, must behave himself, and have respect to the rights of others. Mary's friends — the Cardinal of Lorraine in France, the Duke of Nor- folk in England — are intriguing with some of the nobles of Scotland to create disaffection in England against Elizabeth. The Duke of Norfolk will rally his followers ; the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Duke of Guise will raise an army in France ; the Scots will take the field, bring about a revolution in England, dethrone Elizabeth, liberate Mary, and niake her queen not only of Scotland, but of England. The Duke of Norfolk pro- poses to marry her. He is rich and powerful, and under his lead England and Scotland shall once more be brought under the authority of the Pope. The Pope knows what is going on. He has a plan for the extermina- tion of all who will not submit to his authority. They shall be crushed out in England and France alike. " Take no prisoners, but kill all who fall into your hands," is his mes- sage to the Duke of Guise.* He sends a present to the Duke of Alva, Philip's blood-thirsty general, who is trying to crush out the liberties of the people of Holland. Fugitives from France and the Netherlands flee to England to find protection, and are protected. Shall Elizabeth release Mary from prison ? It is the one great ques- tion. It was a breach of hospitality to put her in prison. Mary came into Englajid a fugitive. Fo-r eighteen years she has been a prisoner. Why ? Because she is the central figure around whom all the conspir- ators rally. The Jesuits are travelling through the country denouncing Elizabeth. Philip of Spain is sending his spies throughout the land to stir np the people to rebel. The Duke of Guise will help. The disaf- fected Scots will rally to overthrow the Earl of Murray. On February 25th, 1570, the Pope publishes a bull absolving all Eng- * "History of the Popes," Runke, vol. i., p. 383. WHY THE QUEEN OF SCOl'LAXD LOST HER HEAD. 341 lisbmen from allegiance to Elizabeth, and enjoining them not to obey her commands. The Earls of Northnmberland and "Westmoreland begin tiie rebellion. Shall Elizabetli remain qniet, and see the affections of her sub- jects alienated ? Now comes the news that the streets of Paris are running with the blood of murdered Huguenots. If heretics are murdered in France, why may they not be in England ? On September 5th, 1570, the Bishop of London writes a letter to Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth's prime minister: "Men's hearts ache for fear that this barbarous treachery will not stop in France, but will reach us." Bishop Sandys, who owns the old manor-house at Scrooby, writes to Sir William Cecil : " Cut off the Scottish queen's head forthwith." Why does Bishop Sandys desire that Mary shall lose her head ? Be- cause that she is the one individual around whom all the powers of Spain, France, Scotland, and Eome rally, for the overthrow of the government in Church and State, established by Henry VIH., overthrown by Mary, and re-established by Elizabeth. Parliament passes a law making it treason for any one to publish the Pope's bull in England, or to deny that Elizabeth is rightful queen ; but, notwithstanding the law, the Jesuits are determined to drive Elizabeth from the throne. What care they for law ? To the Pope alone are tliey amenable. A great number of Jesuit priests — Englishmen, who have been study- ing at Douay, in France — come one by one. " Elizabeth is a usurper. She is no longer queen. Tlie Pope has de- posed her. Mary is the true queen." They whisper it to the people, to incite them to rebellion. It is not long before the priests are arrested. " We are not traitors. You persecute us because we are Catholics," say the prisoners. " For fourteen years none have been persecuted on account of their religion here in England. Do you • not support the Pope's bull ?" the judges ask. " The Pope in his bull says it is not binding on us to resist the queen, unless the bull can be executed," the Jesuits respond. That is wdiat Loyola taught. " That means that when you are strong enough you will drive the queen from the throne. If England is attacked, will you support the queen ?" The Jesuits make no reply. They are condemned as traitors, as in- citers of rebellion, and are executed. 342 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. ]^ow comes the news, in 1584, of tlie assassination of William, the Silent Man. Papists did it. All England becomes hot against the Jes- nits. They are arrested by scores, and put to death. The Jesuits are sus- pected and closely watched. Those who have been to confession, or at- tended mass in secret places, are thrown into prison. The country is in no mood to tolerate liberty of conscience. Over in Paris is Fi-ancis Walsinghara, who is beating the Jesuits at their own game. lie has his spies everywhere. Servants who wait on tables, hair-dressers, chamber-maids, valets, coachmen — men in all stations — have their eyes and ears open day and night to see and hear what is going on, and Sir Francis pays them. He discovers that there is a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne. The conspiratoi-s in France and Spain are in coi'respondence with others in England. Mary knows what is going on. The conspirators in England are arrested and executed. What shall be done with Mary ? The ministers appoint a court to try her. " I am not a subject, to be tried ; I am a queen," is Mary's protest. "You cannot try one who reigns by the command of God," say her friends. " She has resigned her crown, and is no longer queen," the judges reply. " She resigned because she was compelled to, and therefore it is not binding," her friends respond. "T/if? safety of the jpeojde is the highest law^'' say the judges, over- throwing at once the doctrine that kings and queens have rights so sacred that they cannot be dealt with. The judges have read George Buchanan's little pamphlet, and the world is beginning to understand that kings and (pieens are amenable to law as well as common people. The court declares Mary guilty, and Parliament presents an address to Elizabeth asking her to sign a warrant for her execution, for no one can be executed unless the queen signs the warrant. Elizabeth hesitates. Mary is her cousin. Shall she put her to death ? Parliament has de- clared her to be an enemy to the public peace — a conspirator. If Eliz- abeth were to die, Mary would claim the throne, and there would be no end of trouble. Henry III. of France sends a letter threatening Eliza- ])eth with vengeance if Mary be put to death. Mary's son James sends commissioners to intercede for her; while Philip II. of Spain prepares to make war on England. Elizabeth is moody and silent. Those who wait upon her hear her talkinsr to herself. WHY THE QUEEN OF SCOTLAND LOST HER HEAD. 343 " Strike, or be struck !" A letter conies from Spain : " Philip is fitting out a great fleet and army to invade England." Elizabeth appoints Earl Howard, a Catholic, as lord high admiral, to command her fleets, which gives great ofi^ence to some of her friends ; but the earl is an Englishman, and his allegiance to his sovereign is his first dut}'. Elizabeth will trust him. She talks over Mary's case with him ; what they say no one knows : but when the earl leaves her, he calls in Sir William Davison. " The queen desires you to prepare a warrant for the execution of the Queen of Scots," he says. Sir William writes it in secret, though quite likely his secretary, Wil- liam Brewster, knows what he is doing, for Sir William places implicit confidence in him. When it is ready, Sir William enters the queen's apartment, and Elizabeth signs her name in a bold hand, as she is wont to do. A messenger hastens away with the document ; and in the Castle of Fotheringay the Scottish queen, whose life has been one of so many vicissitudes, who has seen little happiness, but much sorrow, meets her sad and mournful fate. She has committed no crime ; but while she lives, the liberties of England are in danger of being overthrown, and the peo- ple breathe more freely when they hear that she is dead. AUTOGRAPH OF QUKEN ELIZABETH. 344 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHArTER XXVII. THE RETRIBUTION THAT FOLLOWED CRIME. THE Huguenots of France are not exterminated by the terrible mas- sacre of St. Bartholomew ; there are still one hundred thousand in the kingdom. Catherine de' Medici and the Duke of Guise are deter- mined to root them out, and the young king, Henry HI., is a pliant tool in their hands. " I will have but one religion in the State," is the edict of the weak boy-king. The Huguenots must give up tlieir religion, or fight for life, liberty, and property. Give uj) they will not. A terrible war begins. Henry of Navarre is the leader of the Huguenots. The whole country is disturbed. Amidst all the commotion, what is the young King of France doing ? He is down in the city of Lyons, buying all the little dogs, par- rots, and monkeys he can find — paying more than one hundred thousand crowns for them. With him are two hundred women, and as many men — ladies and gentlemen of the court, who have nothing to do but to eat and drink, dance and sing, and dawdle their time away ; while the peo- ple, with no security of life or property, with no freedom of thought or action, are plundered by the tax-collectors of their hard earnings, to main- tain the worthless, dissolute creatures in all their mock gentility. We come to 1588. The Duke of Guise has been laying a plot to get rid of Henry III., and also Henry of Navarre, the leader of the Hugue- nots, who is heir to the throne. The duke is not content with being a duke ; he must be king. But how shall he do it ? He will summon the Jesuits. He will manage to have his own immediate friends appointed chief inquisitors. He consults with the Holy League. But the king is aware of what is going on. He sees through the plan of tlie wily man, who is on liis way from Nancy, a town in Northern France, to Paris. "You must not enter Paris without my consent," is the oi-der which the king sends to him. What does the Duke of Guise care for that ? Nothing. " If you will break with the king, I will send you three hundred thou- THE RETRIBUTION THAT FOLLOWED CRIME. 3^5 sand crowns, and seven tlionsand soldiers," is the word which comes to the duke from Philip 11. The Leaguers are in Paris, secretly stirring np the people, distributing money to the rabble. " What a noble, generous man the Duke of Guise mnst be ! He does not spend his money buying poodles and monkeys !" So say the people, as the coins drop into their hands. They are ready to take up arms for such a man against the M'eak- minded Henry. At noon. May 12th, a man •in a white doublet, black cloak, tall, dignified, with a scar on his face, enters the Gate of St. Martin. All Paris is out to welcome him. " Hurrah for the Duke of Guise!" The shout runs along the streets. The people come out with their arms, and the king flies in terror to a place of safety. Then there are negotiations, and the weak, vacillating king comes to terms, accedes to all the duke's demands, pub- lishes an edict against the Hu- guenots, and another declaring that Henry of Navarre has no right to the throne. The king appoints to office all whom the duke says must be appointed — the duke himself being made lieutenant-general, conunanding the army. Christmas comes. The duke is master. The king feels his degradation. " What shall I do ?" He puts the question to one of his trusty friends. " Arrest the duke, and have him tried." " Strike him at once. He is planning your destruction. You never can try him for treason. Strike, and get rid of him," is the advice of another. HENRY III. 346 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Walls have ears ; and a servant, a spy of the duke's, hears it. The duke is sitting at dinner, when a servant hands him a note. Thus it reads : " The king intends to kill you." The duke takes a pen and writes, " He does not dare to." The duke does not know, nor does he care, who sent the note, for he is conscious of his power. To-morrow morning he is to meet the king in council, and he will make new demands more humiliating to the king. Morning comes, and the duke enters the council-chamber. It is cold and chilly. " Will you kindle a fire ?" A servant lights the wood upon the hearth, and the duke warms him- self, eating, while doing it, some plums, which another servant brings him. " WITH WHAT MEASURE YE METE, IT SHALL BE MEASURED TO TOU AGAIN. " The king would like to see you in his chamber." The Secretary of State brings the message. Now he will make his demands. Every Hu- guenot shall be exterminated. He pulls up his cloak, and takes his hat. Some of the councillors have come in. He bows to them with kingly grace, and passes through a door. Whip ! whip ! whip ! Avhip ! whip ! Five strokes from as many poniards. Nine men have been standing con- cealed in the passage-way, and five of them have plunged their weapons into his body. " God have mercy !" It is his only cry. There he lies, close by the kino-'s bed, his blood flowino; from five gliastly wounds. THE RETKIBUTIOX THAT FOLLOWED CRLME. 347 The king comes from an inner chamber. " Is it done ?" "Yes." The king bends over the body and kicks it. Who was he tliat stamped the lieel of his boot into the face of the dead Coligny. sixteen years ago, on the niglit of St. Bartholomew? The Duke of Guise, now weltering in his gore, did not stop on that eventful night to ponder the words of Christ concerning retribution, " With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to yon again." But the retributive hour has come, and the words spoken by that Carpenter of Galilee ai-e not fiction, but stern and irreversible fact. The time has been long, but the measure has come at last. " I am king." Henry speaks the words, and goes to see his mother, Catherine, old and feeble now. " How are you this morning 1^ " Better," Catherine replies. " So am I." "You have had the duke put out of the way, I hear. I hope the cut- ting is all right ; but now for the sewing." So the mother addresses the son. Thirteen days later, the grandniece of Leo X. — the woman who poisoned Jeanne d'Albret, who planned the massacre of St. Bartholomew, who poisoned her own son Charles, who has been accessory to many other crimes — lies upon her bed, weak, helpless, with death staring her in the face. " Blood ! blood ! There is a river of blood !" she cries. " See ! see ! The devils are after me ! they are dragging n^e down to hell." She is a maniac. Death steals on apace. The withered hands mov6 convulsively ; the once fair face is haggard now ; the lips quiver, and the breathing ceases. Death has come, and that is the end ! Is it ? If the good which men do lives after them, does the evil die when the pulse ceases its beatings ? No. A legacy of blood and hate, of war and crime, is what Catherine de' Medici bequeaths to France. Six months pass. The King of France and Henry of Navarre are at St. Cloud, with their armies. The land is convulsed with civil war. Paris is in the hands of the Holy Leaguers, who fain would exterminate e\ery Huguenot. It is Tuesday, August 1st, that a monk appears at St, Cloud ; he has come from Paris, with a message for the king. " You can't go in," says the guard. " Let him come in," shouts the king from his tent. The monk passes in, bows low before the king to present a paper. A poniard flashes in the air, and the monk drives it to the hilt into the king's abdomen. 3-i8 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. " He has killed me !" The shout is heard by the guards, M^ho rush in in season to see the king falling to the floor, Jacques Clement stands JACQUES CLEMENT KILLING THE KING. there, with his arms outstretched, as if to make a crucifix of himself in his fanatical hatred of the king. In a moment he is hacked to pieces. Henry of Navarre and the Duke of Sully are with the army. A horse- man rides up at a swift pace, bows to Henry, and whispers in his ear, and the three gallop to St. Cloud. The king is dying, but conscious. " Navarre is your king ; recognize him as the rightful King of France," are the words that fall from the lips of the wounded sovereign. " We will." " Swear it." The noblemen who have gathered round fall upon their knees, and lift their hands to heaven in confirmation of their promise. The dead king is borne to his tomb ; and the boy born and nurtured among the defiles of the Pyrenees, whose infant lips were wet with wine and chafed with garlic by a doting old grandfather, is King of France — Henry lY., the first of the house of Bourbon. Though Henry IV. has come to the throne, the war is not yet ended. The Leaguers are in possession of Paris, and the Duke of Mayenne, youngest brother of the Duke of Guise, their leader. The war widens. THE RETRIBUTION THAT FOLLOWED CRIME. m Queen Elizabeth of England sends over six thousand men to aid Henry. On March 14th the two armies meet on the plain of Ivry, Henry with ten thousand, and the Duke of Mayenne with thirteen thousand men. " M}' children," says the king, just as the battle is beginning, " if you lose sight of your colors, rally to my white plume : you will always find it in the path to honor and glory. The historian Macaulay tells us about the battle : " The king is come to marshal us^ in all his armor drest, And he has bound a snow-white plume upon his gallant crest. He looked upon his people, and a tear was in his eye ; He looked upon the traitors, and his glance was stern and higli. Rigiit graciously he smiled on us, as rolled from wing to wing, Down all our line, a deafening shout, 'God save our lord the king!' 'And if my standard-bearer fall, as fall full well he may, For never saw I promise yet of such a bloody fray. Press where ye see my white plume shine, amidst the ranks of war, And be your oriflamme to-day the helmet of Navarre.' " The Leaguers are utterly routed. Their commander is a fat man ; he seeks safety in flight, but is overtaken and captured. Henry treats him kindly. " Spare the French," are his orders to his troops. He will not have a Frenchman put to death. rOR THE SAKE OF PEACE, HE WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THE rOPI 350 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. But liow shall Ileni-y govern ? He is a Huguenot, while three-fourths of the people of Fi'ance are Catholics. He cares xeij little for the forms of religion ; but he believes that every man should be allowed to think for himself in religious matters. He sees that the country is torn by factions. He would have the people united ; and, to bring about a union, decides to give in his adhesion to the Roman Church. Some of the bigoted Cath- olics say that he is a hypocrite, while many of the Huguenots accuse him of being a traitor. For the sake of peace, he acknowledges the Pope as the head of the Church. He marks out his course of action. There shall be freedom of conscience to every man, and tliere shall be no more burn- ing or hanging of heretics. The country has been drenched in blood since Beruard Palissy, the potter, and his friends began to think for themselves ; but at last, after the weary years, the people may think for themselves, without fear of priest or Pope. Henry publicly alijures the Ilnguenot faith, and ranks himself a Cath- olic ; but on April 13th, 1598, in the old town of Nantes, he publishes an edict guaranteeing protection and toleration to all. So liberty, like a ship at sea, after breasting the storm and tempest, sails in calmer waters. WILLIAM BKEWSTEU AMD HIS FRIENDS. 351 CHAPTER XXVIII. WILLIAM BREWSTER AND HIS FRIENDS. ALTHOUGH sixty years have rolled away since Cardinal Wolsey made the old manor-house at Scrooby his home, some of the old people living there can remember how he distributed alms to the poor on Sunday, how he fed the lame and the blind from his kitchen-table. It is the year 1590, and the occupant of the old house is the young man, Wil- liam Brewster — Sir William Davison's secretary. He has seen the hol- lowness of court life, and is dissatisfied with it. He learns that men who will be great have no end of trouble. Elizabeth has made him one of her postmasters, and there he is, living a quiet and peaceful life, looking after the mail, and the post-i'iders, and the travellers who go by post from London up the great road to York. Great changes are taking place in England, Men are beginning to be independent in thought and action. Hobert Brown, a zealous minister, has been preaching to congregations in London. Richard Clifton — a man with a long white beard — is also preaching independently of any authority from the bishop. William Brewster believes that every man has the right to think for himself; that neither bishop, pope, king, nor queen should control men in religions matters. Many of his neighbors at Scrooby, Austerfield, Bawtry, Gainsborough, and other little hamlets, are of the same way of thinking. They believe in having a pure worship, and object to the wearing of gold-embroidered vestments by the bishops, to bowing before the altar during service, and making the sign of the cross when their children are baptized. They hate mummery, and so stay away from church, although it has been decreed that everybody in Eng- land must attend church, of which Elizabeth is the head. If they do not, the bishops will know why. They have a complicated machinery of courts to compel everybody to believe as they shall direct. Every man and woman in England must believe in the Thirty -nine Articles, which have been decreed by Parliament and the queen. Commissioners have been appointed to inquire about " heretical opinions," " seditious books," 352 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. aud to punish all who shall stay away from chnrcli on Sunday. They arrest and imprison all who disobey their commands. The bishops hang John Copping and Elias Thacker, and arrest. Henry Barrow and John Greenwood. For what ? For not believing as they believe. Although DANCING ON THE GREEN. Archbishop Whitgift is liimself a heretic, he will not tolerate a man who does not believe as he believes. If the Pope will not tolerate Archbishop Whitgift, he, in turn, will not tolerate John Copping and the rest. In the gi-eat struggle for liberty brave men lay down their lives — not on the battle-field, charging up to the cannon's mouth, but on the scaffold, or else wasting away in loathsome prisons. John Copping and Elias Thacker believe that men should lead pure lives. The English people, for the most part, are a roistering set. They love out-door sports, hunting and fishing, and games — pitching quoits, wrestling, and dancing. They go into the green-woods on bright summer days, and have a dance — men, women, and children joining in the sport. In the winter the villagers gather in a peasant's cabin, and liold their rustic balls. They are rude in their manners, and spend much of their time in play and idleness. John Copping, and others like him, think that so much dancing, feast- 23 WILLIAM BREWSTER AND HIS FRIENDS. 355 ing, and idleness are a waste of tiirie; that they arc not promotive of good morals. Sunday afternoons are given to games and dances. The good ministers believe that Sunday should not be used as a holida}', and they preach boldly for a purer way of living. The peasants are not the only ones who need reforming, for the carpenters, joiners, the tradesmen, and the well-to-do people spend a great deal of time in the ale-houses over their foaming mugs of beer. Archbishop Whitgift does not trouble him- self about such things : he has little to say against dancing on Sunday, or against their sports and drinking, or the drunlvenness, and idleness, and immorality; but he cannot tolerate a man who will not think as he thinks. He looks sharply after those who dissent from liis way of thinking. For six years he keeps Henry Barrow in prison. He does not quite dare to burn him, for the people of England do not hitend to have any more roasting of human beings ; but one morning, before London is a§tir, he has the poor man taken out to Tyburn, and speedily put to death by hanging. The same day he arrests John Penry, a Welshman, who ALE-DRINKERS. has written a pamphlet in which he maintains that every man has a right to act according to the dictates of his conscience in matters pertaining to religion. Archbishop Whitgift cannot permit any such heresy. On June 7th, 1593, John Penry is taken out and hanged. 356 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Notwithstanding the bishops are hunting down those whom they de- risively call Puritans, it does not deter the postmaster at Scrooby and his friends from thinking for themselves. More than that, Brewster invites his neighbors to come to the old manor-house on Sunday, to hear a man with a long white beard — Richard Clifton — preach: sometimes, when Clifton is not there, John Robinson preaches. After the service Brewster gives them bread and beer. He and his friends believe that any body of Christian believers may be a church, and that the minister is their bishop. They believe that the churches organized by Peter, Paul, and the other apostles were just such churches. Among those who come to hear Richard Clifton is a boy from Austerfield, William Brad- ford. The register in the Aus- terfield church contains the record of William's baptism : "William son of Will"' Bradfouith baptized the XlXth day of March Anno dm 1589." The next day, after the hanging of Penrj^ Parliament JA3IKS I. 1 . . . /. passes a law imprisoning for three months all who do not conform to the Queen's Church, with the confiscation of all their property, and perpetual banishment from Eng- land. A non-conforming church has been gathered in London ; but upon the passage of this law it is broken up, many of its members being banished, or else seeking safety in Holland. The postmaster of Scrooby and his friends, being so far away, are not molested; and Sunday after Sunday they meet in the old manor-house for worship. On March 24th, 1603, Elizabeth, who for forty -five years has been Qneen of England, draws her last breath, and James of Scotland (who was spanked by George Buchanan), through his descent from Margaret, who in lier bridal journey to Scotland stopped at tlie old manor-house, becomes King of England. He is thirty-six years old. It is to be feared WILLIAM BREWSTER AXD HIS FRIENDS. 357 that tlie spanking did liiui little good, for he is vain, self-willed, hypocrit- ical, seltish, and superstitious. lie believes that wrinkled old women sell themselves to the devil to bewitch the people; and he has been harrying witches at a fearful rate — hanging, drowning, and burning them. lie is not the only one who believes in witches. For that matter, everybody believes that they I'ide about on broomsticks at night, creeping through key -holes, and entering houses to torment the people. Everybody be- lieves that witches should be put to death. It is the spirit of the age. There are several hundred ministers in England who desii'e purer ways in the Church, and they present a petition to James, asking that there may be a new order of things. lie grants them an audience at Hampton Court — it is not a hearing, fur when they begin to present their plea, he inter- rupts them : " I will have one doctrine, one discipline, one religion. I alone will decide. I will make you conform, or I will liarrj' you out of the land, or else do worse — hang you." The bishops are delighted. The king is greatly pleased with himself. " I peppered them sound- ly," he says, in glee, to the bishops. He issues a proclamation requiring everybody to conform to the Church of which he is the head. "yVhat shall the men and women who meet in the old manor-house at Scrooby do? They value life ; but principle is worth more than property or life. They love their country ; but liberty is worth more than country. They will sell their lands, bid good-bye to old England, and find a refuge in Hol- land, where, since the Spaniards have been driven out, men may think for themselves. Not as individuals, but as a church — a body of Chris- tian believers — will they go. Why not go to the New World, beyond the Atlantic ? There is much talk about Virginia just now — its delightful climate, its fertile soil, its fruits and flowers, and inexhaustible riches. The merchants of London are fitting out a colony to settle there ; but the power of the bishops will be felt there. Nor will the king let them go. " No Englishman shall transport himself to Virginia without a license;" that is the king's proc- lamation. He will not even permit them to find a home amidst the wolves, and bears, and Indians. Nor will he let tiiem go to Holland. He has the power to banish them ; but he will not let them go of their own accord into exile. William Brewster and his friends resolve to leave the country secret- ly. It is fifty miles to the sea- coast; but they will make their way to the old town of Boston, and take a vessel to Amsterdam. Brewster has been there, and so makes all arrangements. A ship-master promises to 358 THE STOllY OF LIBERTY. take them. They sell tlieir lands, pack their goods, and make their way over the meadows and marshes to Boston. The land is so level that long before they reach the town they can see the tall towers of St. Botolph's Church rising above the horizon. They pass through the narrow streets, and go on board the ship, congratulating themselves that soon they will be beyond the jurisdiction of the bishops. But they are doomed to dis- appointment. The captain of the vessel is a knave ; he has informed the HOLLAND FAKM-HOUSE. constable, who comes with a lot of policemen, and marches them to the office of the magistrate, who thrusts them into prison, where they are kept many weeks, till he can hear from London ; but after much suffering they are allowed to go at large. Six months pass. Brewster resolves to make another attempt to reach Holland, and this time makes a bargain with a Dutch skipper to take him- self and friends on board at a lonely place on the coast. One by one the people leave their homes. The women and children go in a boat. The winds are high, and they are tossed about by tlie waves, suffering from sea-sickness. The men, carrying heavy packs, make their way througli the marshes. They reach the appointed place, but no ship is in sight The ^YILLIAM BREWt5TER AND HIS FRIENDS. 359 boat runs into a creek for shelter, for those on board are in a misera- ble plight — sick, weary, disappointed, disheartened, with no home behind them, none before them, so far as they can see. All day, all night, they lie there. The morning dawns, and their hearts are joyful, for there is the ship riding at anchor off the shore a little distance. The women and children have spent the night on the land. The ship's small boats come in and carry their goods on board. Some of the men are on the ship, some on the land, when a troop of men come rushing over the sand-hills, armed with spears and guns. The bishops' officers are upon them. Those on shore are seized — the women rudely assaulted. The Dutchman, seeing the commotion, and afraid that his ship will be seized and himself thrown into prison, hoists the anchor, spreads the sails, and steers SLway. It is a sad hour. Husbands and wives are separated, fam- ilies broken up. There is loud lamentation, for who knows whether they ever will meet again. William Bradford is on board the ship. lie is only nineteen years old; he gives this account of the scene: "Pitiful it was to see the heavy care of these poor women — what weeping and cry- ing on every side; some for their husbands carried away in the ship, others not knowing what should become of them and their little ones ; others melted in tears, seeing their poor little ones hanging about them, crying for fear and quaking with cold." The ship, instead of reaching Holland in a few hours, is caught in a tempest, and driven nearly to Norwaj^ For seven days and nights those on board see neither sun, moon, nor stars. Many times they fear that their last hour has come ; but after being tossed about for fourteen days, they are safely landed at Amsterdam. What shall the officers do with the women and children ? To im- prison them because they were going with their husbands and fathers can- not be thought of ; the people will not permit it. No use to send them back to Scrooby and Austerfield, for they have no homes ; they can only set them at liberty. King James will gain nothing by keeping them in England ; and so, after many delays, they are permitted to make their way to Holland, to join their husbands and fathers. 360 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CHAPTER XXIX. THE STAR OF EMPIRE. A CENTURY nearly lias passed since Christopher Columbus under- took to reach the east by sailing west. Duiing this period, the Spaniards have seized the West India Islands, conquered Mexico and Peru. They have a settlement in Florida, at St. Augustine. Every ship sailing to Spain from the new Western world carries silver and gold ; and the country of Ferdinand and Isabella is reaping a rich harvest. Trade and commerce feel the quickening influence of the precious metals. Through all these years neither the Fi-ench or English have made a pernianent settlement in North America. Some Huguenots who settled at Port Royal, in South Carolina, have been massacred by the Spaniards; and from St. Augustine northward there is no human habitation, save the wigwams of the Indians. It is the year 1583, when Sir Humphrey Gil- bert, of England, with authority from Queen Elizabeth, sets sail, with two ships and three barks, on a voyage of discovery. He drops anchor on the 3d of August, in the harbor of St. Johns, Newfoundland, and is surprised to find thirty-six French vessels at anchor there. The crews are catching fish, and drying them on the rocks. Sir Humphrey informs the fishermen that he takes possession of the island for Queen Elizabeth, and that they must obey the laws of England ; and if any one says anything against Elizabeth, he shall have his ears cropped, and lose all his goods : more, they must all worship in the way pi-escribed by the Church of England. Sir Humphrey grants the fishermen leave to dry their fish — a privilege which they always have exercised; but now they must pay for the privi- lege. Having established English authority, Sir Humphrey sets sail for England ; but never again is he to see his native land : his ship goes down in a storm with all on board ; but the vessel commanded by his half- brother. Sir Walter Raleigh, ari-ives safely in port. The disaster does not deter Sir Walter from making another voyage. A few months later he is abroad once more, sailing south-west till he reaches the coast of North Carolina, Mdiere he drops anchor, and makes THE STAR OF EMPIRE. 3G1 the acquaintance of the Indians, M'ho are kind and liospitahle. He makes a present t»f a tin pan to a chief, who bores a liole in tlie rim, attaches a string, and weai's it on his breast as an onmnicnt and shiehl, and in retnrn gives Sir WaUer twenty skins of wild animals, worth a crown apiece ; so that the Englishman gives away the tin pan at good profit. The climate is delightfnl, the air fragrant with flowers; and Sir Walter, who has a great admiration for Queen Elizabeth — so great that he once placed his scarlet- velvet cloak upon the mnd for her to walk on when landing at the Tower — names the country Virginia, in her lionor. Sir Walter returns to England, carrying with him some of the tobacco of Virginia. Smoking is unknown in England; and one day when Sir Walter is puffing his Indian pipe, a servant coming in, thinking he is on fire, dashes a pailful of water npon liiin, wetting him from head to foot. The next year Sir Walter sails once more, with one hundred and fifty men, and makes a settlement at Roan- oke, leaving John White to govern the colony. Mrs. Dare, wife of one of the colonists, gives birth to a daugh- ter, whom she names Virginia — the first child of English parents born in America. Sir Walter returns to England, but sails again to Virginia the succeeding year, to find the houses deserted and weeds growing around them. The colonists have disappeared, no one knows whither. Never are they heard from. On December 19th, IGOG, three small vessels glide down the river Thames, spreading their sails for a voyage across the Atlantic. The largest is of one hundred tons, the next largest forty, and the smallest twenty tons. There are one hundred and five persons on board the ves- sels. They are leaving England to found a state in a wilderness thou- sands of miles away. They will find no homes awaiting them, no fields cleared, but a land inhabited by savages. Of the party, four are carpen- ters, twelve laborers, forty-eight gentlemen, who look upon labor as a de- grading occupation. They have an indefinite idea of what is before them, and vague conceptions of wliat they will do in the land whither they are going ; but somehow they all expect to make their fortunes, or else meet SIR WALTER KNJOYING HIS I'll'li. (From an Old Print.) 362 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. with exciting adventures, M-hicli will pay for all the hardship they may be called upon to endure. Captain IS^ewport, who commands the expedition, has been in the Kew \Vorld. lie carried two crocodiles and a wild-boar to England, and pre- sented them to the king, and the king has lent his influence to help on their enterprise ; merchants have aided it. One of the poets of England has addressed an ode to the gentlemen : " You brave, heroic minds, Worthy your country's name. What honor still pursue ; While loitering hinds Lurk here at home with shame. Go and subdue. "And in the regions far Such heroes bring ye forth As those from whom we came, And plant our name Under the star Not known unto the North," One of the gentlemen is Captain John Smith, who is only thirty years of age, but who has had an adventrn'ons life. He was born only a shoi't distance from wliere Doctor Wicklif lived, in 1579. When lie was a school -boy, he had such a longing to be a sailor that he sold his books and satchel to get money enougli to go to sea; but just tlien his father died, and left him a good deal of money, and he concluded to remain in England and be a merchant. He was a headstrong boy, and so wild and reckless that his friends were glad when he entered the service of Lord Willoughby, who sent him to France with his son Peregrin. He did not get on very well with his patron, who soon dismissed liim, giv- ing him money enough to get back to England ; but John, instead of going home, enlisted with the Dutch to fight the Spaniards, and aided the "beggars" in their efforts to drive Philip out of the country. When at last he set sail for England, he was shipwrecked. Instead of going home to his friends, he went to Scotland, made the acquaintance of Mr. David Hume, who introduced him to King James — who was spanked by George Buchanan. The king had nothing for him to do, and he made his way back to England, M'ent into the woods and built a hut, and be- gan to study military science, resolving to be a general. His friends came to see him in his forest home ; but he could not stay there. He must be doing something. So he sails for Germany, to enlist in the 'THE STAR OF EMPIRE. 363 service of the emperor, who is fighting the Turks. He is robbed of all his money, and suffers for want of food ; and one day he lies down, not caring what becomes of him; but a kind-hearted man gives him food, 7 ''^^ \y- ^O^^'AVSU!,, JOHN SMITH RESOLVES TO BE A GENERAL. and supplies him with money. This is in France. He discovers the rascal who robbed him. " Yon are the villain who stole my purse." Both draw their swords. Click ! click ! click ! they go, till John has the thief at his mercy. 3G4 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. " Pay me my money, you scamp." " I have spent it." The fellow begs for pardon, and John, as kind as he is brave, allows him to go. At Marseilles he takes a ship for Italy, which is crowded with pilgrims on their way to Rome. A storm conies on. The pilgrims count their beads, and say their prayers, while John calmly looks out upon the waves which every minute threaten them witli destruction. " lie is a heretic — a wicked fellow." So the pilgrims whisper to each other. "He is a Jonah." "Let us throw him overboard." They gather around him in anger, and seize him. He makes a brave fight, but it is one against one hundred. Overboard they throw him into the yeasty waves. But he is a good swimmer, and the ship is not far from the shore. The waves toss him to and fro; they roll over him, all but strangle him; but, weak and exhausted, he reaches the shore. The next day a ship comes along, the captain takes him aboard, and in a few days he finds liimself at Alexandria, in Egypt. A Venetian vessel sails into port, and a battle ensues between the two ships, in which John makes a Itrave fight for his friends, who capture their enemy's vessels, and find it laden with silks, spices, diamonds, and jewelry. John's share of the plun- der amounts to eleven hundred dollars in money, besides a box of jewels worth a miTch larger sum. From Egypt he makes his way into Hungary, joins the Austrian army, and is made a captain of cavalry. His troop is known as the "Fiery Legion." The Austrian general. Count Meldritch, is besieging the fortress of itegal. One of the Turkish generals, Turbashaw, sends a challenge into tlie Austrian camp: "I challenge any captain of the besieging army to combat." Many brave men are i-eady to accept it, but the lot falls on the young captain of the Fiery Legion. Tlie fight is to be in the presence of all the high-born ladies. The combatants meet in the open field, the Turk, in a suit of mail wrought with gold, the boy-captain in plain armor. The Turk has eagle's wings attached to his shoulder. Three janizaries at- tend him : one to carry his lance, the others to walk by his side, and do his bidding. The ladies on the castle walls wave their mantles as the Turk rides proudly forward to meet his antagonist, and poises his lance and rides at him full tilt; but the next moment the Turk is rolling upon the ground, THE STAR OF EMriKE. 3G5 with his opponent's lance piercing- his brain. A loud wail goes np from the multitude gathered on the castle walls, while shouts of victory rend the air from the Austrian hosts. Another Turkish ireneral will avenirc the death of his friend. That JOHN SMITHS FIGHT WITH IHl TDKK young Englishman's head shall roll in the dust. lie sends a challenge. They meet; each shivers his lance; they fire their pistols, but miss; then whip out their swords. A stroke brings the Turk to the ground; another severs his head from his body ; and then Captain John challenges any 366 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. THREE TURKS HEADS. officer in tlie Turkish army to fight him. General Mnlgro accepts the challenge. The Turk comes out with a sword, battle-axe, and pistols. He swings his axe, to annihilate the captain at a stroke ; but in an instant John runs him through with his sword, and finishes him. The wdiole army escorts him into camp, amidst shouts of joy, the three Turks' lieads being borne by three horses. Count Meldi'itch makes him a present of a splendid horse, a belt adorned with jew- els, and a costly cimeter, and pro- motes him to be a major, and the emperor makes him a nobleman. His coat ot, arms is three Turks' heads, and the motto " Vincere est vivere.''^ A few days later there is a battle, and the captain of the Fiery Legion goes down amidst a heap of dead, with his blood oozing from a ghastly wound. The Austrians are driven, and he falls into the hands of the Turks, who, thinking that he is a rich nobleman, kindly care for him, ex- pecting that his friends will pay a large sum for his ransom. The pasha sends his prisoner to Constantinople, as a present to his sister. The girl sees how fair he is, and falls in love with him. To save him from being sold, she sends him to another brother, a pasha who lives in the Crimea, on the shores of the Black Sea, asking him to take good care of the fair- faced young man ; but the brother shaves the captain's head, dresses him in sheepskins, rivets an iron collar on his neck, and sets him to threshing wheat. One day the pasha rides out to see how his captive is getting on. He gives the captain a cut with his whip, but in an instant the flail in Smith's hands comes round w^th a whack upon the Turk's head. An-. other blow, and he is finished. Smith strips off the clothes of the pasha, secretes the body in a stack of wheat, fills a bag with grain, lays aside his sheepskin clothes, puts on the pasha's, mounts the horse, and flies like the wind across the fields and pasture -lands, reaching the wil- derness. The iron collar is still upon his neck, but he muflles it and rides on, day after day, night after m'ght, reaching, after fourteen days ride, the Eussian frontier. The military officers are amazed at his story, THE STAR OF EMPIRE. 3G) but help liim on, and in a few weeks lie surprises Count Meldriteh by appearing once more in camp. When the war is over, he travels through Germany and France to the Mediterranean, embarking on a French ship for Morocco; but, meeting UMllll S KSCAl'E KKOM SLAVKRV. a Spanish sliip, a battle ensues. The young captain fights like a tiger, and the Spaniards are conquered. Instead of going on to Morocco, the ship puts back to port, and, tired of adventure, Smith makes his way to Eng- land ; but he cannot rest, and now is on his way to the New World. 3G8 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. King James lias granted the colonists the exclusive right to occupy a strip of country two hundred and forty miles wide, extending from the southern boundary of the present State of Maryland to Cape Fear, The Government is to be a council and a governor appointed by the king. There can be no religion in the colony except that of the Church of Eng- land, There is not a single element of popular liberty in the charter. The colonists have no votes — no voice in anything. Besides being sub- ject in all things, in civil and religious matters, to the king, they are, at the same time, under a company of merchants who have contributed to the outfit. Liberty is not a part of the caigo. The winds are contrary, and the ships steer southward to the Canary Islands, then west to the West Indies, then north-west to the coast of Virginia. On April 26th, 1607, the vessels enter Chesapeake Bay, and drop anchor under the shelter of a point of land where the water is so smooth, the shores so peacef id and pleasant, that the colonists call it Point Comfort ; and Captain Newport names the locality Cape Charles, and the headland on the opposite side of the bay Cape Henry, for the king's two sons. The Indians who inhabit the country gaze npon the vessels with won- der. Captain Newport quiets their fears, and makes them presents, where- upon they invite him to visit their village, where they give him a feast of such luscious oysters as never w^ere seen in England, Captain Smith is sent by Captain Newport to open friendly intercourse with the great chief of the Indians, The man who has Jiad so many adventures in the East finds the chief wearing a crown of deer horns, colored red, with two eagles' feathers in his hair, and a piece of copper dangling on one side of his head. His body is painted crimson, his face blue. The chief receives him com'teously, smoking a pipe, and then handing it to Captain Smith. The ships sail up a noble river, which Captain Newport names James, in honor of the king. He comes to a beautiful island, where he selects a place for a town, erects houses and a fort, and names it Jamestown — the first permanent English settlement in the new home of libert}'. The col- onists go on shore, the stores ai-e dischai-ged, and the vessels sail away, leaving the four carpenters, twelve laborers, and forty-eight gentlemen to lay the foundations of a new order of things in the Western world. The gentlemen are unaccustomed to hardship ; they are unused to labor ; nor have they come to work. Labor is degrading. They are soldiers — ad- venturers. The summer sun blazes in the heavens like a fiery furnace, and they wilt beneath its fervent heat. Their provisions are damaged ; the water is unwholesome. Fever sets in, and in a few days neai'ly every THE STAR OF EMPIRE. 369 MliETING THE INDIANS. man, excepting the laborers, is down witli fever. Tlic gentlemen lose heart. Death makes its appearance; four die in a single night. The governor, Edward Wingtield, is a merchant — avaricious, selfish, grasping. He has come to the New World to amass wealth. He reserves 24 ^70 THE STORY OF LIBERIT. all the choice things for himself — the best tidbits and liquors. Captain John Smith, Captain John Ratcliffe, and Captain John Martin — three Captain Johns — are members of the council appointed bj the king, and are so incensed at Wingiield's course that they resolve to depose him. " You refused me a bit of chicken when I was sick, nor would you let me have a drop of beer; and you gave me mouldy corn," is Ratcliffe's accusation. " You accused me of being lazy," says Martin. " You called me a liar," shouts Smith. They seize the governor, carry him on board a small vessel, and keep him as a prisoner. Ratcliffe acts as governor. The provisions are nearly exhausted, and Captain Smith, with six men, goes in a boat to purchase corn from the Indians ; but the red men, know- ing the wants of the whites, ask a round price, and will only sell a bas- ketful. The man who cut off the heads of the three Turks is not to be trifled with. lie orders the soldiers to fire a volley, to intimidate the sav- ages. The guns flash,*' and the Indians flee in terror. The captain fol- lows them, and finds a great store of corn ; but the Indians, seeing that no harm has come to them, rally, and let fly their arrows. The soldiers tire once more, this time taking aim, and three of the Indians are killed or wounded, while the rest flee in terror, astounded at the effect of the guns. Captain Smith seizes their medicine, or idol, knowing that they will be greatly troubled at its loss. The medicine-man comes to beg him to give it up. " Fill the boat with corn, and I will restore it." The Indian is glad to comply, and his followers bring not only corn, but turkeys, ducks, and venison. Smith ascends the Chickahominy as far as he can go with a large boat, and then, with -two soldiers, in a canoe, goes on many miles. The soldiers left with the boat qnarrel with the Indians ; one is killed, the remainder flee, leaving Smith and his companions to whatever fate may await them. His two companions are killed, and he is taken prisoner. His captors lead him to their chief. He is promised his liberty if he will join in exterminating the colony. He feigns friendship, but informs them that the colonists have terrible weapons, and will destroy them all. " Send and see if it is not so." He writes a note to the colonists to fire their caimon. The Indians arrive at Jamestown with the letter, and are amazed to see that everything happens just as Smith said it would. Their captive nmst be a supernatural being, for he can make paper talk. They bring THE STAR OF EMl'IRE. 371 back some gunpowder, which they intend to sow in tlie spring, and so raise their own powder. Captain Smith is taken before tlie great cliief, Powhatan, who wears a dress made of raccoon skins, with a crown of red feathers. lie sits upon THK riKST FIGHT. platform, with liis two daughters by his side — the oldest fifteen, the youngest thirteen years of They bring a bowl of water, that lie may wash his face, and a bunch of feathers for a towel. Then he has his trial, and is condemned to die. An Indian rolls a stone into the wig- wam, and the captain's head is laid upon it. Two warriors raise their THE STORY OF LIBERTY. POCAHONTAS SHIELDS HIM FROM THEIR CLUBS. clubs to beat out his brains. His time has come; yet he does not trem- ble. The Indians shall see that the white man can die without a sign of fear. The youngest girl by the side of the great chief gazes upon tlie scene. THE STAR OF EMPIRE. 373 Iler heart is in coiniiiotion. A bonud, uiid slie is lending over liim, sliield- iiig liiiu from the chibs ready to descend ii[)uii his skull. " Do not kill him ! do not kill him !" The chief loves his daughter, and for her sake spares the captain's life, and sends twelve warriors to conduct him in safety to Jamestown. Captain Smith sends back a handsome present to the chief and his daugh- ter, lie finds the colony divided. There ai-e forty persons in all, but half of them have seized the vessel in the James, and are abandoning the place, intending to sail to England. Captain Smith loads a cannon, and aims it at the vessel. " Return, or I will sink you." The conspirators, awed by the command, return to the shore; and at the last moment the colony is saved from dissoluti(Ui, Pocahontas is their friend. She comes often to the town, bringing provisions. The Indians who come with her respect the man who had no fear of death, and who can make paper talk. "In a short time a great boat filled witli white people will come from the sea," he says to them, and a few weeks later Captain Newport sails up the James, with one hundred and twenty emigrants. Now the brave man is a prophet; he can tell what is going to happen, and they stand in fear of him. The new-comers are nearly all "gentlemen," who desjiise lal)or, but they have come expecting to find gold as plentiful as in Peru, and are a burden rather than a help. Captain Smith starts on a grand exploring expedition — up the Poto- mac, up Chesapeake Bay to the Susquehanna, and up that stream till he comes to a tribe of Indians who use copper hatchets, Avhich they obtain from the far-distant north. Upon his i-eturn, he makes a treaty with the Rappahaimocks, the chief giving up his arrows in token of friendship, and Captain Smith hanging strings of beads around the necks of three of the women of the tribe. ' After this there is a great feast and much dan- cing. From the Eappahannock River Captain Smith sails for Craney Island, near Norfolk, where the Indians attack him ; but he fires a volley at them, burns their wigwams, and so humiliates them that they bring four hundred baskets full of corn to purchase peace. At sunset, September 7th, 1G08, the party reach Jamestown, after an absence of three months and a journey of nearly three thousand miles. Another ship arrives with emigrants, among Avhom are two women — the first in the colony. Two years have passed since the colonists landed at Jamestown ; but as yet little has been done toward making a permanent settlement. The gentlemen are idlers, but Captain Smith compels them 374 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. SUBMISSION OF THE KAPl'AHANNOCKS. to work. Some of them are terribly profane, and lie makes a law that for every oath they utter they shall ha\-e a canful of cold water poured, down their backs. He discovers that the chief Powhatan, though pro- fessino- friendship, is conspiring against the colony, and resolves to seize him; but two worthless fellows flee to Powhatan with information of his intentions. And now Pocahontas comes with the counter- information that her father intends to kill all the English. Captain Smith holds a parley with the chief of the Pamunkeys, who profess to be friendly. While he is talkins: with the chief in his wigwam, a soldier rushes in. THE STAR OF EMPIUE. 375 "We are siiiTonncled by a great crowd of savages," he saA'S, pale with fear. " Never mind. Look to your gnns," is the quiet reply of the dauntless man ; then seizing the chief by the hair with his left hand, presents a pistol to his head, accuses him of treachery, threatens to blow out his ■^<^ CAPTAIN SMITH SUBDUING THE CHIEF. 376 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. brains if he does not kneel and ask forgiveness. The chief kneels, prom- ises submission, and also agrees to fill the captain's boats with corn. " If you do not, I will fill them with tlie dead bodies of your warriors." The Indians bring corn and provisions in abundance, standing in fear of sucli a man. King James appoints Lord De la Ware (Delaware) governor, who sails from England with nine ships and five hundred emigrants. Two of tlie ships are wrecked in the West Indies, where De la Ware himself remains JAMESTOWN. to refit them. Tlie others reach Jamestown. The emigrants are a worth- less set — spendthrifts for the most part, scapegraces, sons of nobles and loi-ds, so wild and reckless that their fathers are glad of an opportunity of sending them out of the country. Captain Smith has been in Virginia three years. Had it not been for him, the colony would have perished. He is terribly burned by an explo- sion of gunpowder, and resolves to return to England. He bids farewell to the colonists, some of whom are glad to be rid of a man who has com- pelled them to labor, while others cannot keep back the tears when they remember how his wisdom, endurance, and bravery more than once have THE STAR OF EMPIRE. 377 saved tlicin from destruction. He returns to England, draws a map of his explorations, wliicli he presents to King James, who holds him in high esteem. The colony numbers five hundred when he sets sail, but there is no controlling mind, no government. The new state founded on American soil in a few days is in anarchy. The idlers eat the provisions of the col- ony, but do no work. Winter comes, and provisions fail. Fever sets in. Starvation is before them. The Indians see liow weak they are, and those who go to the wigwams of the savages for food are cruelly murdered. Spring opens, and of the five hundred only sixty remain ; the four hun- dred and more have perished. The survivors, disheartened, abandon the colony, embark on their vessel, and reach Chesapeake Bay. On the mor- i-ow they will bid farewell to the shores where disaster and failure have been their portion. What do they see ? Two ships. Lord De la Ware has obtained new vessels in the West Indies, and here he is with provi- sions. Sad the morning, joyful the night. With fresh courage they go back to Jamestown, take possession of their old homes, to begin once more the work of laying the foundations of an empire in the Western world. I 378 THE STORY OF LIBEKTY. CHAPTER XXX. THE "HALF-MOON." THE storks are building their nests on the chimney -tops in Amster- dam. The spring has come in its beauty. William Brewster and his fellow-pilgrims, in this year of 1609, are hard at work ; but quite likely they have time to stop for a few moments, on this 25th day of March, to m n *V'X I i ijii's OFF CAPK NORTH. THE "HALF-MOON. take a look at a vessel, the Half-moon^ which is jnst starting for a long voyage, in searcli of a new route to China. Hendrick Hudson, an Eng- lishman, Captain John Smith's friend, is skipper. He stands upon the THE "HALF-MOON IN CHESAPEAKE BAY. deck issuing his orders. He has already been two voyages to the North, sailing amidst the icebergs ; and now he is going to try to reach China by the way of Nova Zembla. The East India Company and the Amster- dam burghers have fitted out the ship. The sailors bid good-bye to their friends, and the Half-moon slowly moves away. The winds are fair, and in less than a month Captain Hudson is at Cape North ; but there he en- counters terrible storms. The air is thick with mist. Tliere are dense fogs, and ice-fields block his way. He is not a man, however, to turn back at once to Amsterdam ; but turns westward, loses his foremast in a fear- ful storm, but reaches the Banks of Newfoundland, where the crew catch a great supply of fish, and on July 17th drops anchor in Penobscot Bay. There are tall pines on the shore, and the sailors soon have a new mast in its place. They traffic with the Indians, and then Captain Hudson sails south, coasts along Cape Cod, and on August ISth drops anchor in Ches- apeake Bay. From there he turns north, and discovers Delaware Bay. Still farther north, coasting along a sandy shore, he discovers a long, low point of land curved like a hook, and names it Sandy Hook. A little fartlier, and he drops anchor at the mouth of " the great North River of New Netherlands" — the Hudson. The Indians put out in their canoes 3S0 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. AIOON IN TUL HDD- SON. from the shores, come on board the sliip. briiig'ing to- bacco, corn, and bear-skins, which tliey gladly exchange for kni\e3 and trinkets. The next day Captain Hud- son sends a party of sailors on shore, where they find a great company of Indians, who give them tobacco and dried cnrrants. The next day Captain Hudson sails through the " Narrows,'' and finds himself in a beautiful and spacious har- bor. He sends a boat to the shore ; but suddenly the Indians let their arrows fl^', and John Coleman, one of the sailors, is killed. His comrades bury the body on a point of land, which they call Coleman's Point. On the 12th of September, tlie Half-moon begins her voyage up the THE "IIALF-MOON." 3S1 great river. The Indians, astonished at the sight, coine around the ship in great inunbers, bringing corn and tobacco, and making signs for knives and beads. Two days later the ship is amidst the Ilighhinds, and the sailors look ont upon the lofty mountains that remind them of the Rhine. On September ISth, Captain Hudson goes ashore, near the present vil- lage of Castleton, to visit the great chief of the region, who has seventeen wives, and who has corn and beans enough to load three ships like the Half-moon. The chief gives him a dinner of baked dog, and a dish of pigeons, M'hich the squaws place before them in wooden bowls painted red. The chief would like to have him stay on shore overnight ; and when he discovers that the captain is about to return to the ship, he orders his warriors to break their arrows and throw them into the fire, to let him know that no harm shall come to him. For supper they have pumpkins, grapes, and plums. The Half-moon makes her way nearly to Albany, where, finding that the ship can go no farther, Captain Hudson sends a party in boats, to ex- plore the river. He makes a feast to the Indian chiefs on board the ship, giving them brand}'. One drinks so much that he becomes intoxicated, and rolls upon the deck ; the others, not knowing what to make of it, leap into their canoes and hasten ashore ; but return, bringing presents, and are much pleased to find the chief has come to life again, and who is anxious to stay with the white men, who have such strong water. Little does Captain Hudson think that at that moment Samuel Cham- plain is only a few miles distant, exploring the shores of the lake which bears his name, and that, after a century has rolled away, the great battle for supremacy between France and England — between the old religion and the new — will be fiercely waged along its peacteful shores. Retracing his course. Captain Hudson, October 1st, drops anchor in Haverstraw Bay, where an Indian, running his canoe under the stern of the vessel, climbs into the cabin window, and steals Captain Hudson's clothes ; but the mate, seeing him, seizes a musket and shoots him. The Indians on the ship, amazed at the lightning, the smoke, and the roar of the gun, leap like frogs into the water, and swim for their boats. Captain Hudson sends a boat filled with sailors to recover the stolen goods. One of the Indians in the water lays hold of the boat to upset it, but a sailor chops off his hand, and the Indian sinks to rise no more. The next day hundreds of Indians come in their canoes to attack the ship, bnt Captain Hudson brings a cannon to bear upon them. There is a flash, a roar, a boat is smashed, and those in it killed or wounded. The others flee in consternation before the white man's thunder and lightning. After 382 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. a little while two canoes filled with savages put off from the shore and ap- proach the ship rapidly ; but there comes a second flash, and a rattle of musketry. One of the boats is riddled by the shot, and the poor creatures go down one by one, while those in the other canoe pull for the shore. They are powerless before the strangers. The Half -moon reaches the sea, spreads her sails, and on November Tth casts anchor in Dartmouth harbor, England, from whence Captain Hudson sends an account of his voyage to Holland ; but King James will not permit him to sail thither. The king is jealous of the Dutch. Henry Hudson is an Englishman, and no Englishm.an shall be permitted to aid them in making new discoveries in ihe Western world. STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. 383 CHAPTER XXXI. STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. THOSE poor people from Scrooby and Austerfield, when they reached Holland, were in a sad condition. Their property was nearly all de- stroyed. They found themselves in a strange land. They could not speak a word of the language of Holland. Tliey found the country intersected by canals, and that the people carried their cabbages and cheeses to market A HIGHWAY IN HULLANU. by water. The canals were the highways. Women, and children, and dogs tugged at the boats. A boy or girl and a dog made a little team, a woman and a donkey a big team. The fugitives find friends in Amsterdam — people from London who 384: THE STORY OF LIBERTY. have songlit refuge there. Some of them have queer ideas in regard to dress, and say that no person should wear a collar or a ruff, or any orna- ment upon the person, and are greatly troubled because Mrs. Johnson, their minister's wife, wears whalebone in her stays, and high-heeled cork-soled shoes. The fugitives from Scrooby and Austerfield are not in a condition to indulge in any superfluity of dress, for they are very poor. They re- main at Amsterdam a short time, and then remove to Leyden — the town that made such a brave resistance to the Spaniards. William Brewster, who used to entertain them in the old manor-house, is so poor that he has to teach school for a living, and while teaching he learns to set type, and establishes a printing-office. William Bradford becomes a weaver, and makes fustian cloth. One man learns to lay brick ; another is a carpenter, another a blflcksmith. In England they were all farmers, and it is hard work for them, while learning their trades, to keep the wolf from the door. On Sunday, instead of carousing in the beer-houses and going out to have a dance in the fields, they meet at the house which tliej^ have pur- chased for their pastor, John Robin- son, which stands just across the street fiom St. Peter's Church, which has been standing there for five hundred }ears, and from the top of which the people looked with longing eyes to see if the sea were coming in to drown out the Spaniards when the Silent Man cut the dikes. They sing and pray, and listen to the reading of the Bible ; and after John Robinson has finished his sermon, they eat dinner together. They call themselves Strangers and Pilgrims in the land, hoping that ere long times will change in England, and that then they can go back. They live in peace and quietness with their Dutch neighboi's, who, though they think the English are odd in dress, and rather peculiar in regard to keeping Sunday, yet like them because they are honest and truthful, and are very particular about paying their debts. ST. PLfLK & CHOKCH. i STRANGERS AN]) PlLGKl.MS. 385 As tlie years go by, tlie Pilgrims are troubled about their children. There are no English schools, atid they are too poor to educate them. They are disturbed at the thought of their becoming like the Dutch. They love the dear old land that gave them birth, even though they are exiles. What shall they do ? The men who have made such sacrifices for liberty talk over the great question, and, after much deliberation, re- solve to fitid a home beyond the sea, where they can train their childi'en to love and reverence those truths and principles which are dearer than life. Perhaps, now that they are out of England, James will permit them to go. John Carver and Robert Cushman visit London, where thev con- fer with the merchants who have aided in settling the colony at James- town. The merchants obtain permission ; but the king stipulates that they must conform to all the articles of the Church creed. That thev will not do. Having left all in England for the sake of their principles, M'ill they now surrender them ? Not thej'. Two years pass, and the exiles go on working at their trades. They have, by their industry, driven the wolf from their doors, and are better- ing their condition. They are still thiidving of the home in that far-off land, when Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, comes to see them. A new company of speculators has been formed in England, called the Plymouth Company. Earls and lords belong to it, and they have induced James to give them all the land which Captain John Smith called Xew England. They are anxious to send out a colony. William Brewster and two others go to London to see what the adventurers, as the speculators call themselves, will do. They are influential enough to get the king to promise not to molest the Pilgrims. An agreement is made, and a com- pany formed. The shares of the company are fixed at fifty dollars. Ev- ery settler sixteen years of age shall be considered as ecpial to one share ; every man who furnishes an outfit worth fifty dollars shall be entitled to an additional share ; children between ten and sixteen years of age shall be counted as half a share. All the settlers bind themselves to work to- gether for seven years, during Avliich time all shall be supported from the comuion fund, and all their labor shall go into it. At the end of the seven years, the property shall be divided according to the shares. These are hard conditions. For seven years not a penny of their earnings can they claim; they must endure all the hardships, encounter all the dangers, do all the work — putting life, labor, health, on an equality Avith the dollars advanced by Weston and his fellow-speculators. Yet, for the sake of be- ing free, for the sake of bringing up their children in the principles that are so dear to them, they accept the conditions. The merchants obtain 25 3S6 THE STORY OF LIBEHTY. two vessels — the Ifayflower, of one hundred and eighty tons, and the Speedivell, of sixty. All of the company at Leyden cannot go, but those who can make preparations for their departure. They are to sail across the Channel to Southampton, where once more they may look upon the green fields of their native land. On July 21st they meet for the last time at the house of their pastor, John Eobinson, who will stay with those who remain. They spend the morning in fasting and prayer, and the good minister preaches a solemn DliLFTSHAVEN. sermon. After the fasting, they sit down to a frugal feast, and sing once more, with the tears streaming down their cheeks, the psalms they used to sing in the manor-house at Scrooby, and which are sweeter and dearer than ever, now that they are about to take leave of their friends forever. The S2)eedioell lies at Delftshaven, fourteen miles from Leyden. In the morning they go on board the canal-boats with their friends, who ac- company them to the ship. Some come all the way from Amsterdam to bid them farewell. They spend the night in conversing with their friends, who provide a feast for them. The last hour has come, the wind is fair, and the captain in haste to be away. The beloved pastor is with them. STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. 3S0 They kneel upon tlie deck, and he offers once more a prayer. "With tears upon their cheeks, they bid each other farewelh The vessel swings from the quuy, the wind fills the sails. But there is joy in their sorrow ; they are departing in obedience to tlieir profoundest convictions of duty. Lit- tle know they of what is before them, or wliat they are about to do. God knows what will come of it, and in him they trust. They fire a parting salute with their muskets and their three pieces of cannon. At Southampton they join the Mayflower, on board of which are those who have come from England. Some of them are from London, hired by the speculators. One is John Bil- lington, a graceless fellow, so wild and reckless that his friends are rejoiced to ship him to a distant land. Thom- as Weston is there. He wants the original plan clianged, so that the con- ditions will be better for himself, and of course harder to the Pilgrims; but no change will they make, whereupon the grasping man claps liis purse in his pocket, refusing to discharge an obligation of one hundred pounds, which, according to the agreement, he ought to pay. " I'll let you stand on your own legs," he says, and returns to London. To pay their bills, they sell what they sorely need, but whicli they can best, spare — eighty firkins of butter. They will eat their bread without any butter, i-ather than be beholden to Thomas Weston, or in debt to any man. All is ready. They chose a governor for each ship, and one or two to assist him. Let us not forget this : they chose them. They are not appointed by James, or anybody else, but are elected by votes. It is the beginning of a new order of things. The Governor of Jamestown holds his commission from King James ; but John Carver, governor on board the Mayfloioei\ is elected by tlie peoj^le. The ships leave the port, but are hardly out of the liarbor when the captain of the Sj)e€chvell discovers that the vessel is leaking, and both ships put into Dartmouth for repairs. Two weeks pass, and tliey sail once more ; but they are hardly on their wa\' when the captain of the Sjpeed- well declares that they must return, or go to the bottom, and the vessels put into Plymouth. Some of the Pilgrims are discouraged ; but there are JIAYFLOWliR. 390 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. others who have not yet lost heart. There is no time to get another ves- sel, nor have they the means to obtain one. Those who are still anxious to go are crowded into the Mayjioioer, with such goods as they can carry. They are one hundred and two. On the 16th of September, the sails ai-e spread once more, and tlie Mayflower, with tlie rights of the people and the destiny of a new world for a cargo, glides out upon the broad Atlantic. Fierce storms arise, and the vessel is tossed like an egg-shell upon the waves. The main beam is wrenched from its place, and the ship is in danger of breaking in pieces. One of the Pilgrims lias a great iron screw, which he brought from Ley- den — why, he does not know — but now it is just what they need ; the beam is forced back into its place, and the vessel is saved. One passen- ger falls overboard, and is lost; but a child is born, and the parents name him Oceanus. Land ! land ! The joyful cry rings through the ship on November 19th. There it is— a long reach of sandy shore, with dark forest trees in the backijround. They sail along the coast, steering south, but soon find themselves among shoals. They dare not sail in that direction, and so bear north-west, running along a stiip of land curved as one may curve his finger, double a sandy headland, and on November 21st drop anchor in the calm waters of the harbor of Cape Cod. That wild fellow, John Billington, and the others from London, have been obliged to behave themselves on shipboard ; but, now that they are about to land, declare that they will do as they please. John Carver will have no authority on shore ; they will be in the king's domain, for John Carver holds no commission from the king, nor have the Pilgrims any (jharter. The Pilgrims will see about that. They are men who respect law and order, and intend to have order in their community. It is their right, not derived from the king, but a natural right. In the cabin of the ship they sign their names to a solemn covenant. Thus it reads : "In the name of God, Amen. We, M'hose names are underwritten, * * * by these presents, solemnly and mutualh*, in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid, and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and form such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience." The world never before has seen such a paper. That writing given in the green meadows of Runnymede by John Lackland was a compact STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. o'.)o between two parties — the Idng and the barons ; but here is only one party — the j)eoj)le. The paper is a const/' tut ion. It is fundamental — a new beginning — the founding of a state on a written law, emanating not from the king, but from themselves. John Billington's name is not down upon the paper ; but tlie majority have signed it, and thenceforth and forever the majority shall rule. Having established a government with a written constitution, the Pil- grims organize an army. It consists of only sixteen men; but they have a brave commander, Miles Standish, who has fought against the Sj)aniards in Holland. He was not a Pilgrim originally — did not come from Scrooby, but from the country west of that place. He has a lovely wife. Rose, as beautiful in person and character as the name she bears. The army of sixteen make a landing, and march into the forest. They cut down the trees, kindle a fire of cedar wood, and warm themselves by its cheerful blaze, and inhale the fragrant odor of the w^ood, sweet and refreshing after their long confinement on shipboard. It is Saturday, and when night comes all repair to the ship to keep the Sabbath as they ever have kept it. On Monda}" they are early astir. The men carry their pots and kettles on shore, the women land, carrying great bundles of dirty clothes. It is their M-ashing day. While they rub and scrub the clothes. Captain Standish and his soldiers are standing guard in the forest, and the carpenter is re- pairing their boat. On Wednesday Captain Standish marches along the coast with his army, each soldier carrying his gun, sword, and corselet. They come upon a party of Indians, who flee so swiftly that the soldiers cannot overtake them. They find fertile ])laces, where the Indians in otlier days have planted corn. Tiiey discover an iron kettle, and other indica- tions that sailors have been cast away upon the shore. They are fortunate in finding a store of corn, and bring away all they can carry, resolving, if they ever find the owners, to pay them for what they have taken. On December Tth, the great boat, large enough to carry twenty-four persons, is ready for use. The ca])tain of the Mayflower is ready with the long-boat, and they leave the ship, and row southward inside, the cape: but the waves are tempestuous ; so they sail into a creek, and wait for calmer weather. The next day they come to the place where Captain Standish discovered the corn, and find much more. Captain Jones fills his boat, and returns to the ship. They discover tM'o wigwams, but the Indians have fled. On Wednesday, December IGth, eighteen men in the large boat bid their friends fai'ewell, and sail along the shore. Tiiey are bound for a harbor across the bay, twenty-four miles" west of where the Mayflower is 3'J4 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. CA1'T\IN S1\M)ISH A1T\CKLD BY TIIL INDIANS. lying. Tlie mate of tlie vessel has been there in a former voyage ; but the waves are so high they do not dare to sail straight across the bay. The air is piercing cold. The spray dashes over them, and freezes on their clothing. At night they land, kindle a fire, eat their frugal fare, post their sentinels, and sleep as best they can. The next day half of the party march through the woods, and half creep along with the boat, and rest at night as before. The wolves howl around the men, who fire their guns to put tlie beasts to flight. They are astir before daylight, cooking their breakfast. Suddenly they hear a strange cry, and arrows fall around them. Captain Standish quickly has his army marshalled. Crack go the muskets, and one of the Indians is wounded at the first fire ; the rest flee, carrying away the wounded man. Captain Standish follows them far enough to let them know that they are not afi-aid, nor in any way dis- couraged. The Pilgrims gather the arrows, in order to send them to Eng- land, to let their friends see what weapons the savages use. The wind is favorable; they hoist their sail, and glide along the shore northward now; but suddenly the wind changes to north-east, and the waves come rolling STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. 395 breaks, and two men, with their ill. Wlien they are highest their rudder oars, are liardly able to steer the boat. "Be of good cheer; I see tlie harbor," shouts Eobert Copping, mate of the Mayflower. It is ahnost night, and tliey liasten to reach the liarbor before darkness comes on. They hoist the sail ; but the mast breaks, and the sail falls into the sea, and the boat heels over on one side : they are in danger of cap- sizing, but gather the sail on board, and the tide carries them into a cove. The breakers are rolling upon the beach. They can see the white foam through the darkness toss- ed high in the air. " The Lord be merci- ful ! My eyes never saw this place before. We must run the boat ashore," cries the mate. But a sailor sees that the boat will be swamp- ed. "About with her !" he shouts. The rowers bend to their oars, and the boat heads from the shore. They turn a sandy point, and find themselves in smooth water. Shall they go ashore ? They are weary, hungry, chilled, and wet to the skin. It will be twelve hours to daw'u. Will they not per- ish before morning ? They will land, trusting, if In- dians assail them, to defend themselves. They reach the sliore, kindle a fire, and dry their clothes, keeping watch the while for Indians. In the morning they find that they are on an island, which they name Clark's Island, for Edward Clark, one of their number. The sun is shining once more ; but they are weak and exhausted. Time is precious ; but they will i-est there through the day — Saturday — and prepare themselves to keep the Sabbath. On Monday, rested and refi'cshed, they sound the harbor, and find it 396 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. PLYMOUTH HARBUH, BECEMBEU, 1G20. safe and good. Thev pull westward to the main-land, where they find Indian -corn fields and a river of fresh water. They clinib a high hill, view the landscape, and are pleased with the prospect. Under the brow of the hill, near a brook, and near springs of pnre water, they will rear their homes. They return to the ship, and report their discoveries ; and the Mayflower spreads her sails once more, and glides across the bay. Winter has set in. The winds are chill, snow lies upon the hills. The spray freezes upon the shrouds of the vessel. The scene is cheerless— ice- bound shores, a dense forest, an nnexplored wilderness, before them ; a savage foe lurking beneath the pines ; no homes, no welcome hearth-stone ; forebodings of sickness and starvation. On Sunday Elder Brewster preaches to them on shipboard for the last time. On Monday they examine once more the ground where they propose to rear their homes ; and on Tuesday, after asking God to direct them in all that they are about to do, they take a vote as to where they shall build their houses. It is the first town-meeting ever held in Amer- ica, and the majority decide. The new State — the new order of things — has begun. Tliat which the human race has struggled for through all the i STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. 39T ages has come at last — the right of the peoj)le to rule. Old George Buchanan, Mary of Scotland's tutor, enunciated the right to the world ; but that which was theory to hitu has become a fact. Self-government has begun. Take note of it, ye lords, nobles, kings, and emperors, for of this beginning there will come a new order of things in human affairs ! The Mayflowei' is riding at anchor. The long-boat, filled with men and women, glides over the waves to the shore. They step from the boat to a rock. The new State is in possession of its future domain. Jannarj' 1st, 1621, is a gloomy day, for death begins his ravages, taking one of the citizens, Degory Priest. Captain Standish goes out, with four or iive sol- diers, to make explorations. They find Indian wigwams, but none of the savages. The citizens are hard at work building a common house, in which they can store their goods. The boat plies between the ship and the shore, bringing boxes, and bales, and furniture — chairs, chests, pots, and pans. They build their houses of logs, and cover them with thatch ; for they have not yet learned to peel the bark from the trees, or to ri\e the pines into shingles, for roofing. On Sunday, January 14th, they bare- ly escape a terrible disaster, for the thatch on the common house takes fire, and they have hard work to put it out. On the 29th of January, a great grief comes to Captain Standish. His beautiful wife. Rose, has been fading day by day. The hardships have CHAIR AND CHEST, worn her dowm. Possibly she pines for the green fields and the cheer- ful homes of Old England, which she never more will see. Heaven is 398 THE STORY OF LIBERIT. nearer than the old home. With tearful eyes and swelling hearts, the living carry her up to the burial-place upon the top of the hill. This is the entry in their journal, mournful in its briefness : ''Jan. 29. Dies Rose, wife of Captain Standishr Two days later the Pilgrims see two Indians lurking beneath the pines, WELCOME, ENGLISHMEN ] but they quickly disappear. Tliey see no other savages till March IGth, Avhen they are greatly surprised to see an Indian march boldly into the settlement, and to hear him say, " Welcome, Englishmen ^ His name is Samoset. He has been down the coast of Maine in other years, and has seen the Englishmen which have been in Sir Fernando Gorges' fishing establishment. He is kindly treated. He goes away, but soon returns with another Indian, Squanto, who was kidnapped years before by a vil- lain named Hunt, who landed and seized twenty Indians, and carried them STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS. 399 to Spain. Sqnanto has been in London, and can speak English. Samoset brings three more, who have skins for sale. He informs the Pilgrims that their great chief, Massasoit, is near by. In a few minntes the chief makes his appearance with sixty Indians. This is the account which the Pilgrims give of the interview: "After an hour the king comes to the top of an hill over against ns, with a train of sixty men. We send Sqnanto to him, who brings word we should send one to parley with him. We send Mr. Edward Winslow to know his mind, and signify that our governor desires to see him, and truck (trade), and confirm a peace. Upon this the king leaves Mr. Winslow in the custody of Quadequina, and comes over the brook wnth a train of twenty men, leaving their bows and arrows behind them. Captain Stan- disli and Master Williamson, with six musketeers, meet him at the brook, where they salute each other; conduct him to a house, wherein they place a green rug and three or four cushions; then instantly comes our gov- ernor, with drum, trumpet, and musketeers. After salutations, the gov- ernor kissing his hand and the king kissing his, they sit down. The governor entertains him with some refreshments, and then they agree ou a league of friendship. 1^7 Wp Z^^^^^^r?^^^— -^^.-^ ^\^ \ |^£^j massasoit's visit to the pilgrims. 400 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. THL P\L\( "After this tlie governor conducts liiin to the bi-ook, wlicre tliey em- brace and part, we keeping six or seven hostages for our messenger. But Qiiadeqnina coming witli his troop, we entertain and convey liini back, re- ceive our messenger, and return the hostages." Massasoit's palace is not so gorgeous as that at Hampton, in which King James lives: it is a hut in tlie woods; but the Pilgrims soon discover that the chief is a better friend than the King of England. He is a true man, and the treaty which he makes with them is faithfully kept. James has persecuted them, but Massasoit befriends them. Archbishop Whit- gift has driven them from their homes, but Massasoit bids them welcome. Their Chi-istian brothers of England are their bitterest foes ; the heathen savages of the wilderness their best friends. But a foe whom they cannot fight is npon them. Spring comes. The trailinir arbutus fills the air with its fragrance; the birds returning from I STRANGERS AND TILGRLMS. 403 tlie distant South are singing in the forest ; the sun sends down its cheer- ful beams upon the h"ttle settlement; but flowers, bird-songs, and the gen- ial warmth of spring can never fill the void of aching hearts. Fortj-six of the one hundred and one Pilgrims have finished their pilgrimage, and are at i-est in the burial-ground on the top of the hill. They level the earth, that the Indians may not know how many liave died. But the living have brave hearts. They go on with their work. On Sunday, Wil- liam Brewster preaches in the common house, where their goods are piled. No bishop has licensed him to preach ; he has assumed the right to use such gifts as he may be endowed with, and his hearers respect him as their religious teacher. He has no other authority over them. The members of the Church decide all questions that arise. William Brewster is their bishop, yet his vote counts but one. Theirs is a democratic State, and a democratic Church. Men are equals. Never before has the world seen such a community. There comes a sad day. Through the winter the Mayflower has been swinging at her anchor in the harbor, but now she is about to depart for England. The last words are spoken, the sails are spread, and the ship sails away. They who stand upon the shore see it fade in the dim dis- tance. The last tie that bound them to their old home is severed. AVhile the vessel remained, they had the means of returning; but now their des- tiny is fixed. Well for the world that it is so. Such heroic souls as they are not afraid of destiny, no matter what it may be — prosperity or priva- tion, success or failure, life or death. They may die, but Truth and Lib- erty are eternal ; for these they will live, or, if God so will it, die. Death takes them one by one. On the very day that the Maijflower sails, their beloved governor. Carver, is seized with sudden sickness, which ends in death. It is a sore stroke, for he was wise and prudent in council, brave of heart, and a righteous man. Though the governor is dead, the State lives. '•'•The ])eo2)le are the only legitimate source of power P George Buchanan wrote it. The people elected John Carver, and the same people — those that are left — elect his successor, William Bradford — he who was baptized in the little old stone church in Austerfield. So the new State perpetuates its life. The State cannot die. A new truth dawns upon the world. As long as there is an individual, there will be a State. At last, after ages of persecution and suffering, Liberty has found her home. The seed-corn of a great empire has been planted — an empire in which the lowest shall be equal with the highest ; where he alone shall be king who does kingly deeds. 4:04 THE STORY OF LIBERTY. Tlie contest is not jet ended between royal authority and the rights of men, between priestly prerogative and the consciences of individuals. King James will still persecute them ; King George will attempt to exer- cise arbitrary authoritj' ; there will be persecutions, imprisonments, and banishments for conscience' sake : men cannot at once be emancipated from the ideas of the ages. The intolerance and bigotry of the Old World, like noxious weeds, will take root in the New, and many years must go by before men can be wholly free. Tlie little company — there are only fifty of them now — have no code of laws. In the Old World, kings, barons, nobles, archbishops, and bishops have made the laws ; but tliese untitled, unlettered men assemble in town meeting and make their laws — each man voting. No edict from King James could add to the validity of their statutes ; no archbishop or noble could frame laws more wise and just; no high constable of the kingdom could make them more effective, as John Billington finds out. He speaks words disrespectful of the new governor, and the citizens condemn him to be tied neck and heels, and fed on bread and water till he begs pardon. The new State, composed of fifty individuals, elects its governor, fi-araes its laws, and enforces them. Can a king do more ? So the subject be- comes king, ruling himself in his own God -given right. From the be- ginning of time kings have assumed the right to rule; but in the wil- derness of the Western world the exiles from Scrooby and Austerfield take the sceptre into their own hands, and inaugurate a new era in liu- man affairs. Liberty is in her new home. Strong hands will subdue the wilderness, and brave hearts will establish an empire extending from the frozen re- gions of the North to the sunny climes of the South, from the stormy Atlantic to the peaceful Pacific. Througli hardship, suffering, and saci'i- fice the great republic of the Western world shall rise to become a peer among the nations. Its starry fiag shall be the emblem of the world's best hope ; for to it the oppressed of all the eartli shall turn with longing eyes, and beneath it there shall be peace and plenty, and the r^ognition of the rights of men. 1 INDEX. Alfonzo, Duke of Naples, marriage to Lucretia Borgia, and assassination, 1(!9. Alhambra, surrender to Ferdinand and Isabella, 92. Columbus's interview with Ferdinand and Isabella, 106. Alva, Duke of, accompanies Philip II. to Eng- land, 266. Commands Spanish army in Holland, 330. Receives a present from the Pope, 340. Ambassador, of the Pope, at Worms, requests Charles V. to disregard his safe-conduct to Martin Luther, 233. America, settlement of, 360. Amerigo Vespucci, 128. Amsterdam, sends provisions to Leyden, 331. Arrival of the Pilgrims in, 359. Hendrick Hudson sails from, 379. People friendly to the Pilgrims, 383. Anjou, Duke of, conspirator at St. Bartholomew, 321. Anne Askew, trial and death, 261, 262. Army of God, 17, 21, 27. Anne of Bohemia, queen of Richard II., and friend of Wicklif, 38. Protects him, 41. Anne of Bretagne, queen of Louis XII., 166. Antoinette of Bourbon at Field of Cloth of Gold, 220. Antwerp : Tyndal and Coverdale find refuge there, while translating the Bible, 271. Arch of Titus, 181. Archbishop of Bohemia burns Professor Faul- fash's books, 57. Archbishop of Canterbury, excommunicated by the Pope, 2."). St. Dunstan appointed, 34. Murdered by insurgents, 48. Decides against marriage of Ilenry VIII. and Katherine of Aragon, 152. Performs the marriage ceremonv, 156. Archbishop of Canterbury, introduces Wolsey to Henry VII., 211. Thomas Cranmer appointed by Henry VIII., 217. He will not be bound by anything contrary to his own judgment, 217. Performs ceremony at coronation of Anne Boleyn, 249. Pronounces the marriage of Ilenry and Kath- erine of Aragon illegal, 258. At Westminster Hall, 268. Cranmer signs paper recanting his faith, 279. His remorse and heroic death, 279. Whitgifc will not tolerate Non- conformists, 352. Sends John Penry and Ileiny Barrow to the gallows, 355. Archbishop of Florence at trial of John Huss, 62. Archbishop of Paris buys a Bible of John Faust, 75, 76. lie accuses Faust of being in league with the devil, 77. Heads the procession to meet the Duke of Guise on his return from the massacre of Huguenots at Vassy, 302. Archbishop of Treves questions Luther at Worms, 234. Archbishop of Valencia, Caesar Borgia, causes the assassination of his brother Frederick, 165. Drinks the poisoned wine prepared for the cardinals, 171. Archbishops, number of, at the Diet of Worms, 234. Archbishop of York at coronation of Anne Boleyn, 249. Owns a manor-house at Scrooby, 155. Arthur put to death by John, 19. Arthur, son of Henry VII., married to Kathe- rine of Aragon, and death, 152. Arundel, Earl of, 249. Austerfield, Wolsev attends church at, 252. 406 INDEX, Aiistei-fiekl people think for themselves, 351. Become Non - conformists ; listen to Richard Clifton and John Robinson ; resolve to flee to Holland secretly, 357. Are thrust into Boston jail, 358. Their last attempt, and arrival at Amsterdam, 359. Auto-da-fe', 89. Avisa, queen of John, 20. B, Balboa, Vasca, carried on sliipboard in a cask, 129. Adventures, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135. Discovers the Pacific Ocean, 136. Execution, 139. Ballads, lampooning monks, priests, and bishops, 256. Barcelona, 116. Barons, resist John and organize the Army of God, 17, 21. Compel tiie King to grant the Magna Charta, 22. Give their answer to Pope Innocent III., 24, Offer the crown to Louis of France, 25. Barrow, Henry, arrested for Non - conformity, imprisoned six years, and executed, 355. Bayfield, Thomas, burned to death for having a New Testament, 253. Beaton, Cardinal, imprisons George Buchanan, 312. Becket, Thomas, Henry II. humbled at his slirine, 51. Bedford, Earl of, at burning of Anne Askew, 262. " Beggars of the sea," 332. Bergavenny, Lord, 145, Beza, Theodore, 302. Bible, translated by Wicklif, 43. Translated by Tyndal and Coverdale, 271, Forbidden to the people, 277. Translated into French by James Lefevre, 283. Martin Luther's translation — number of copies sold, 239. Billington, John, 389, 390, 393. Bingen, 71. Bishops of England declare that the appointment of officers of the Church belongs to them, 50. Are excommunicated by the Pope ; persuade Parliament to pass a law for forfeiture of the lands of those who recognize the Pope as superior to the King, 50. Their action the beginning of liberty, 29. Compel Richard II. to revoke concessions to the people, 49. Bishops' Court, 141, Bishops of Riga and Silvius at Council of Con- stance, 61, 67. Bishop of London and Winchester at Anne Bo- leyn's coronation, 250, Bobadilla, 119, Bocardo prison, 281. Bohemia, war brought about by burning of John Huss,140. Boleyn, Anne, goes to France with Mary, sister of Henry VI IL, 157. At Field of Cloth of Gold, 220. Goes to London, 226. At Court of Henry VIII., 241. At Wolsey's banquet, 241. Coronation, 249. Beheaded, 257. Bonner, Edmund, chaplain to Wolsey, 213, Sent by Henry VIII. to the Pope, 246, -Plunders abbeys and burns heretics, 261. Repulsed in his efforts against Katherine Parr, 262. Judge for trial of heretics, 271. Bordeaux, massacre of Huguenots at, 325. Borgia, Ctesar, appointed Archbishop of Valen- cia; causes assassination of his brother Frederick, 165. Demands the daughter of the King of Naples in marriage, 166. Conspiracy with the Pope for assassination of Italian princes, 169. Drinks the poisoned wine prepared for the cardinals ; narrowly escapes deatli, 171. Borgia, Frederick, eldest son of Pope Alexander VI., assassinated by conspiracy organized by his brother Cajsar, 165. Borgia, Lucretia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI., marries Lord Sforza, 165. Divorced by the Pope, 169. Marries Alton zo of Naples, 169. Issues orders to the Holy Office in the name of the Pope, 169. Marries the Duke of Ferrara, 169. Borgia, Roderick, early years; elected Pope, 159, Imprisons obnoxious cardinals, 162. Exalts his children, 165. Proposition to Louis XIL, 166. Death from drinking poisoned wine, 171, Boston, Scrooby Congregation imprisoned at, 358, Bothwell, Earl, receives Dunbar Castle from Mary of Scotland, 313. Plans the murder of Darnley, 314. Married to Maiy, 314. Driven from the country, 314. Boy Cardinal, John de' Medici, 186. Prisoner to Gaston de Foix, 190. Elected Pope Leo X., 193. INDEX. 407 liradford, "William, his baptism at Austerfield Church, 356. Tlis account of sufferings of the Pilgrims, 3.59. Brandon, Charles, 1.57, 220, 264. Brentwood, 277. Brewster, William, Secretary to Sir "William Da- vison, 337. Postmaster at Scrooby ; resides in manor- house, 351. Believes that men have the right to think for themselves, 351. Invites those who would lead pure lives, and who believe that any body of Christians may be a church, to worship in the manor- house, 351. Entertains the congregation, 356. Agent for removal of the Pilgrims to Holland, 358. Agent for their removal to America, 385. Appointed elder, or minister, 396, 403. British Museum, 29. Brown, Robert, one of the first Non- conformist preachers, 351. Brussels, scene at abdication of Charles V., 294. Buchanan, George, writes nuptial ode at mar- riage of INIary of Scotland to Prancis II., 287. Mary's tutor, 312. Writes De Jure Regni, 314. Punishes the King of Scotland, 340. Buckingham, Duke of, his quarrel with Wolsey; imprisonment and death, 243. Bull, John, writes ballads, 45. Burgoyne, Lord, 250. Cabot, John, sails from Bristol ; discovers New- foundland and Labrador, 123, 125. Cabot, Sebastian, explores tlie coast of North America, 123, 124, 127, 128. Cadiz, Christopher Columbus carried in ciiains to, 120. Cajeton, Cardinal, 209. Calvin, John, gives opinion on divorce of Henry VIII., 246. Campagna, 179. Campeggio, Cardinal, 244. Canary Islands, 100. Canterbury, Archbishop of (See Archbishops.) Canterbury Cathedral, 25. Carver, John, 385, 389. Catherine de Foix, 104. Catherine de' Medici, birth of, 220. Queen of France, 316. Children, 316. Plans destruction of Huguenots, 316. Catherine de' Medici, sends peifmned gloves to Jeanne d'Albret, 317. Urges Charles IX. to massacre the Huguenots, 320. Sends the head of Coligny to the Pope, 324. Conversation with Ileury III., and death, 347. Cato,181. Cavilli, account of massacre of St. Bartholomew, 326. Caxton, William, sets up printing-press, 78. Cecil, Sir Thomas, Elizabeth's prime -minister, appoints William Brewster secretary to Sir William Davison, 337. Changes, 242, 243. Charles "V., King of Spain, Emperor of Germany, 210. Visit to Henry VIII., 213. Sails to Holland, 215. Second meeting with Henry, 221. Wars with Francis, 243. Protests against divorce of Ileniv VIII. and Katherine, 244. Persuades the Pope to summon Henry VIII. to Rome, 247. Brings about the marriage of Philip and Mary Tudor, 265. Issues edicts against heretics, 295, Abdication, 296. Life in retirement, 297. Charles IX., his weakness, 316. Compels Marguerite to marry Henry of Na- varre, 316. Scene at the wedding, 318. Will not have Coligny harmed, 320. Gives orders for the massacre of the Hugue- nots, 323. Tln-eatens to strangle Henry Conde', 325. Last hours, 327. Charlotte d'Albret, 166. Charron, conspirator, at massacre of St. Bartholo- mew, 320. Chaucer, Geoffrey, visits Genoa and Florence, 44. Dedicates a poem to Anne of Bohemia, 44. Writes " Canterbury Tales," 51 . Monks and friars plan to kill him ; death, 53. Clark, Edward, 395. Claude, of France, at Field of Cloth of Gold, 219. Clement, Jacques, assassinates Henry III., 348. Cleves, Anne of, marriage with Henry VIII., 257. Clifton, Richard, early Puritan preacher, 351. Coligny, commander of French army, 294. Attends wedding of Henry of Navarre and Marguerite, 317. Wounded by an assassin, 318. Killed in massacre of St. Bartholomew, 323. 408 INDEX. Coligny's head sent to the Pope, 324. Coleman, John, 380. Coliseum, 185. Columbus, Christopher. (See Chap. VI.) Compact of the Pilgrims, 390. Congregation of JScrooby in Holland, 383. Conde; Prince of, 302. Killed at battle of Jarnac, 304. Conde', Henry, 324, 325. Constance, Council of, 59, 60, 61. Copping, Robert, 395. Copping, John, executed for Non - comformity, 352. Cornwallis, Widow, makes a pudding for Henry VIII., 261. Corpus Christi in Rome, 188. Coster, Laurence, discovers a way to print, 70. Coverdale, aids Tyndale in translation of the Bi- ble, 271. Cotta, Ursula, 174. Cranmer, Thomas, his remark about the divorce of Henry VIII. and Katherine, 245. Archbishop, oaths, 247. Declares marriage of Henry and Katherine il- legal, 258. Recantation and execution, 279. Bill for his burning, 280. Cromwell, Thomas, 213. Crown of Germany, 210. Crusaders, 19. Cuba discovered, 114. Cushman, Robert, 385. D. Darnley, Lord, marries Mary of Scotland, 312. His life and death, 313, 314. Davison, Sir William, writes warrant for execu- tion of Mary of Scotland, 343. Sent by Elizabeth to aid people of Holland, 337. Dean of Pamtsburg, leads a scandalous life, 256. Dean of St. Paul's, 142. Degory, Piiest, 397. De la Ware, governor of Virginia, 376. Arrival at Jamestown, 377. Delftshaven, Pilgrims, embarkation from, 385. Doctors of Oxford, Paris, Toulon, Angiers, and Orleans on divorce of Henry VIII. and Katherine, 246. Douay, Jesuits go to England from, 341. ^ Douglas, Lord and Lady, Mary of Scotland placed in their custody, 314. Druids, 1 80. Dudley, Edmund, lawyer to Henry VII., 144. Duke Eric, of Brunswick, sends Martin Luther a tankard of beer, 237. Duke of Bavaria at Council of Constance, 67. Duke of Guise, part played in massacre of St. Bartholomew, 321. At assassination of Coligny, 323. Plot to get rid of Henry III., 344. Enters Paris in opposition to the order of the King ; assassination, 345. Dumbarton ; battle between nobles of Scotland, representing the Parliament, and those ad- hering to Mary, 315. Diirer, Albert, painter, friend of Martin Luther, 240. Edict of Mary, 268. Edicts, Charles V., against heretics, 295, 296. Edric, fisherman, story of, 145. Edward of England, son of Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour, birth, 257. Age at Henry's death, 262. Death, 2G4. Egmont, Count, sent to England by Charles V. to propose marriage between Philip and Mary Tudor, 265. Elizabeth of England, birth, 251. Proclaimed Queen ; joy of the people, 298. The journey from Hatfield to London ; her coronation ; presented with a Bible, 299. Received an offer of marriage from Philip ; receives a like offer from the King of Swe- den ; her favorites ; selects Sir William Ce- cil as prime - minister ; imprisons Mary Grey for marrying contrary to her wishes, 300. Hesitation to sign warrant for Mary of Scot- land's execution, 342. Her death, 356. Empson, Richard, lawyer to Henry VII., 144. Encisco, Martin, and Balboa, 129. Enlightenment of Germany, 209. Erasmus, Doctor, visits Walsingham Abbey, 142. Writes a book, 143. Talks with Frederick of Saxony, 229. Thomas Bilney reads his Latin translation of the New Testament, 254. Earl of, at Anne Boleyn's coronation, 250. Faber. Peter, member of Society of Jesus, 222. Faulfash, Professor, comes from Bohemia with Anne ; listens to Wicklif, 38. Preaches Wicklif 's doctrine in Bohemia, 55. What he believed, 56. Denounced by the priests, 56. INDEX. 409 Faiilfash converts John Huss, 56. His books burned, 57. Faust, John, supplies Guttenberg with money, 72. Sells Bibles in Taris, 7.'5. Accused of being in league with the devil, 77. Ferdinand of Ai'agon, his journey toValladolid,80. Marriage with Isabella, 80. Joins with Isabella in establishing the Inqui- sition, 85. His efforts to root out heresy, 90. Drives the Moors from Spain, 90. Issues a proclamation ordering the Jews to become Christians or leave the country, 93. Becomes rich througli the spoliations of the Jews, 94. Breaks his word to the Moors, and expels them from Spain, 95. Plans to seize the kingdom of Navarre, 104. Summons a council of doctors to decide upon the project of Christopher Columbus, 104. Declines to aid Columbus, 106. Consents at last, 107. Confers honors upon him, 11 6. Appoints Columbus Governor of the Xew World, II 9. Strikes off Columbus's chains, 120. Ferdinand, Archduke, brotlier of Cliarles V., at the Diet of Worms, 234, Fernando de Talavera, confessor to Isabella, 90. Field of Cloth of Gold, 215,216. Fish-dressing and fishermen, 129. Fisher, Bishop, will not take the oath of alle- giance to Elizabeth, 259. Fitzwalter, General, commands the Army of God, 1 7. Fotheringay Castle, scene of ^Mary's execution, 343. Francis I. of France desires to be elected Em- peror of Germany, 210. Sends ambassadors, and makes presents to the Electors, 210. Pope Leo X. decides against him, 210. . Determines to be revenged, 210. Seeks friendship of Henry VIII., 216. Builds a gorgeous pavilion at the Field of Cloth of Gold, 216. Personal appearance, 218. Noblemen in Iiis train, 220. Sends an army to drive Charles V. out of Na- varre, 222. Marches his army across the Alps to attack Milan, 226. Carries on a war for twelve years ; is defeated at Pavia ; taken prisoner ; humiliated bv Charles v., 243. Francis II. of France, marriage with Mary of Scotland, 287. Jjccomes King upon death of his father, Hen- ry II., who was killed in a tournament with the Duke of Montgomery of Scotland, 288. Is a spendthrift, 288. Hangs tiiose whom he owes, 291. Persecutes the Huguenots, 291. His sudden death, 292. Frederick of Saxony, talks with Erasmus, 229. The thought that came to him, and its con- nection with the progress of liberty, 239. G. Gainsborough, Richard Clifton preaches at, 351. Galileo, 110. "Game of Chess," first book printed in England, 78. Gardiner, Stephen, Secretary to Cardinal Wol- sey, 245. Dines with Thomas Cranmer, 245. Sent by Henry VIII. with Cranmer and Bon- ner to argue his divorce from Katherine be- fore the Pope, 246. Tears down abbeys and burns heretics, 261. Lays a plot against Katherine Parr; is re- pulsed by Henry VIII., 262. Sees that it will not do for Mary to cut off Elizabeth's head, 26G. Lord High Chancellor, 269. Presents the petition of the Pope's legatee, 269. Establishes a court for the trial of heretics, 270. Imprisons Bishop Hooper, 271. Condemns Bishop Hooper and John Rogers to be burned, 271. His persecution of heretics adds to their num- ber, 275. Garter, Knights of the, 268. Gaston de Foix defeats Pope Julius II. at Ra- venna, and takes the Boy Cardinal, after- ward Leo X., prisoner, 190. Geoffrey, son of John of England, 19. Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, sails on a voyage of dis- covery ; takes possession of Newfoimdland ; establishes English authority; his ship foun- ders at sea, 360. Goodwin, Bishop, judge of the court for the trial of heretics, 271. Gorges, Fernando, makes a settlement in Maine, 398. Granada, City of, 92. Gray, Thomas, "Elegy," 27. Greenwood, John, imprisoned for Non-conform- ity, 352. 410 INDEX. Grey, Jane, daughter of Mary, sister of Henry VIII., and Charles Brandon, proclaimed Queen, 264. Put to death by Mary Tudor, 2G5. Grey, Mary, and Iier husband put in prison by Elizabeth, 300. Guilford, Sir Henry, 218. Guise, Francis, Duke, at Field of Cloth of Gold, 220. Guise, Francis, Duke (2), son of Francis, takes Calais from Mary, 220, 298. Guise, Henry, Duke, prime-minister of France, 302. Massacres Huguenots at Vassy, 302. Plans massacre of St. Bartholomew, 316. Assembles Catholic chiefs in Paris, 317. Holds conference in the Louvre, 319. Fears the Huguenots will escape, 321. Takes part in Coligny's assassination, 323. Receives a message from the Pope to kill all heretics, 310. Sends agents to stir up a rebellion in England against Elizabeth, 340. Lays a plot to get rid of Henry IIL, 314. Enters Paris against the command of the King, 344. AVelcomed by the populace, 345. Assassinated by order of the King, 346. Guttcnburg, J. , apprentice to Laurence Coster, 71. Makes metal types, 72. Aided by John Faust, 72. Prints his first book, 73. H. Hadleigh Church, 275. Hans Holbein, 205, 206. Hans Sachs, 206. Hastings, battle of, 23. Hatfield, 299. Hayti discovered, 115. Henry VIL consults the Archbishop of Canterbu- ry about Henry VIIL's marriage to Kathe- rine of Aragon, his son Arthur's widow, 152. Raises an objection to the marriage, 155. Makes Thomas Wolsey a dean, 211. Extorts money from his subjects, 144, 145. Establishes the Star-chamber, 144. His lawyers, 144. Builds a chapel in Westminster, 151. Marries his daughter Margaret to James of Scotland, 155. Death, 156. Henry Vin., betrothed to Katherine of Aragon, his sister-in-law, 152. His objecticms to the match, 153. Coronation, 156. Henry VIII., bis marriage, 157. Compels his sister Mary to niarrv Louis XII., 157. Sees Anne Boleyn, 157. Meets Charles V. at Dover, goes with him to Canterbury, 210. Selects Wolsey as his prime-minister, 211. Holds a tournament at Field of Cloth of Gold, 216. Meets Anne Boleyn once more, 220. Has a second interview with Charles V., 221. Receives Anne Boleyn at court, 226. Writes a book against Martin Luther, 227. Kisses Anne Boleyn at Wolsey's banquet, 241. Receives title of Defender of the Faith, 242. Executes Duke of Buckingham, 243. Plans to obtain a divorce from Katherine of Aragon, 244, 245. Obtains opinions of learned doctors, 246. Sends ambassadors to the Pope, 246. Summoned to give an account of himself to the Pope, 247. Informs the Pope that he is a sovereign prince, 247. Appoints Cranmer Archbishop of Canterburv, 247. Secures a divorce from the Bishops' Court, 248. Married to Anne Boleyn, 248. Provides a grand pageant in honor of Anne, 248, 249. Deposes Cardinal Wolsey, 251. Appoints Sir Thomas More Lord Chancellor, 353. Marriages, divorces, and executions of his wives, 257. Sends Sir Thomas More to the block, 259. Tears down tlie monasteries and abbeys, 261. Persecutes Catholics and Non - conformists alike, 261. Repulses Stephen Gardiner, 262. Orders the Bible to be placed in the churches, 262. Makes his will ; death, 263. Henry of Navarre, birth of his grandson, 286. Gives the babe wine and garlic, 287. Henry II. of France, Francis I., and Henry VIIL at Field of Cloth of Gold; talk of his betrothal to Mary Tudor, 220. Married to Catherine de' Medici, 220. Killed in a tournament with the Duke of Montgomery, 288. Henry III. of France, weakness of his character, dissolute life ; orders the Duke of Guise not to enter Paris, 344. Assassination of, 348. Henry IV. of France, birth of, 286, 287. INDKX. 411 Henry IV. 's answer to the King of France, 288. Attends school in Paris, 803. Escapes with his motiier, 303. In the battle of Janiac, 304. Made King after the assassination of Henry III., 348. At tlie battle of Ivry, 349. Becomes a Catholic, 350. Ilispaniola discovered, 115. Hochstetter, James, calls for the burning of Mar- tin Luther, 205. Holland, lieretics put to death in, 329. Holy Office of the Inquisition, rules of, 83, 89. Instruments of torture, 83, 84, 85. Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, executed as a her- etic, 271, 272, 273, 274. Howard, Earl, Admiral of the English Navy, 343. Howard, Katherine, marriage to Henry VIII. ; execution, 257. Hubert de Burgh, Prince Arthur's jailer, 20. Hudson, Hendrick, voyage to America, 379, 380, 381, 382. Huguenots, origin of the name, 285. Boasted to death, 292. Massacred at Vassy, 302. Massacred at Nimes, 303. Massacred at St. Bartholomew, 383, 384, 385. Hunter, William, put to death for reading the Bible, 277, 278, 279. IIuss, John. (See Chap. III.) Ignorance of the people, 35. Indians enslaved by Spaniards, 129. Indulgences, sale of, 142, 197. People will not buy, 20G. Inquisition in Spai'.i, 83, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89. In Holland, 295-329. Insurgents under Wat Tyler, 4G. Isabella of Castile, 81. Married to Ferdinand of Aragon, 82. Takes possession of Senor Pecho's estate, 87. Manages the Pope's legate, 87. Present at the auto-da-fe, 89. Takes possession of property of heretics, 90. Drives Jews from Spain, 95. Isabella, wife of Count La JNIarche, 20. James of Scotland, son of Mary, birth of, 312. Coronation, 315. Becomes King of England, 35G. His belief in witches, 357. Answer to the Puritan ministers, 357. Issues a proclamation requiring conformity, 357. James of Scotland will allow no one to leave England without a license, 357. Jamestown colonists, 308. Jeanne d'Albret, daugiiter of Henry of Navarre, marries Anthony of Bourbon ; mother of Henry IV. of France, 28G. Visits Paris to attend wedding of Francis II., 287. Followed by the sjjies of Catiierine de' Medici, 303. Escapes with Henry, 304. Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola founder of tiie society of, 223. Rules of the order, 224. Their self-denial and missionary spirit, 225. They stir up sedition in England, 340. Condemned and executed, 341. In league with the Duke of Guise to get rid of Henry II I.,. 344. Jews robbed by John, 20. Siq>ply Ferdinand with money to carry on war, 92.' Driven from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella, 93, 94. John, King of England, seizes the throne, 19. Puts Arthur to death, 20. INIarries Avisa, 20. Deserts Avisa and marries Isabella, wife of Count La Marche, 20. Robs his subjects, 20. Is resisted by the people of Wales, 21. Barons rise against him, 22. Meets the Army of God at Runnymede, and signs the Magna Charta, 22. His rage, 22. Sends a copy of the Magna Charta to Pope In- nocent III., 24. Contest with the Barons, and death, 25. John of Gaunt, friend of Wicklif and Ciiaucer, 40. Johnson, Mrs., wears high-heeled shoes, 384. Jones, Captain, 393. Julius Caesar, 180. K. Katherine of Aragon, 107. Married to Arthur, son of Henry VIL, 152. Betrothal to Henry VIII., 152. Marriage, 15G. Visits Field of Cloth of Gold, 215, 219. Deserted by Henry VIII., 241. Protests against divorcement, 245. Retires from London, and writes to Charles v., 247. Appeals to the Pope, 248. Kingston, Sir Anthony, 273. 112 INDEX. Knights of the Bath, 2r)0, Kiiollys, Sir Francis, 338. Kopeinik, Nikohius, 109. L. La Marche, Count of, 20. Land of tiie Angles, 180. Laudinus, Bishop, preaches against John Huss, 61. Land-scheiding, 330. Latimer, Bishop, burned at Oxford, 279. Bill for his burning, 280. Leipsic, 197, 201. Leyden besieged by Spaniards, 329, 330, 335, 33G. Lisbon, 99. Lisle, Viscount, 250. Loch Leven, 314. Lollards, 50, 53. Prison, 140. Lorraine, Duke of (see Guise), 220. Lorraine, Cardinal, builds a gibbet at Fontaine- bleau, 291. Issues order for the extermination of heretics, 303. Intrigue with nobles of Scotland, 340. Louis XII., lGG-200. Loyola, Ignatius, 222, 223. Luis St. Angel, 107. Lyons, massacre of Huguenots, 325. M. Macaulay, Thomas Babington, ballad of " The Battle of I vry," 349. Magna Charta, 22, 23, 27, 29, 31, 48. Maine settled by Fernando Gorges, 398. Marco Polo, 101. Margaret, daughter of Henry VII., 155, 150. Marguerite of France, 31G, 317, 318. Maria of Portugal, 2G7. Marshalsea prison, 281. Martin, John, 370. Martin Luther, birth, early years, 172. Sings Christmas carols, 173. Cared for by Ursula Cotta, 174, 175. Discovers a Bible, 176. Doctor of Philosophy, 17G. Becomes a monk, 177. Visit to Rome. (See Chap. XI.) Opposes Tetzel, 202. Nails a paper on tlie door of Wittenberg church, 203. Appears before Cajeton, 209. Burns tlie Pope's bull, 228. Appeals to the Council of the Empire, 229. At the Diet of Worms, 230, 231, 233, 234, 235. Imprisoned in Wartburg Castle, 236, 237, 238. Martin Luther translates the Bible, 239. Mary Tudor, talk of her betrothal to Henry II. of France, 220. Coronation, 264. Accepts offer of marriage from Philip II. of Spain, 265. Sends Jane Grey to the block ; hangs nearly two hundred men, 265, 266. Sends Elizabetii to the Tower, 266. Marriage, 267. Restores all former edicts for crushing out heresy, 268. Makes absolution for the nation, 269. Persecutes heretics, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280,281. Disappointment and death, 298. Martin Vincent, 100. Mary (sister of Henry VIII.), 157, 220, 264. Mary of Scotland, marries Francis II. of France, '287. Francis's death, and her farewell to France, 292. Return to Scotland, 311. Marriage to Lord Darnley, 312. Relations with the Earl of Bothwell, imprison- ment and escape, 313, 314, 315. Letter to Elizabeth, 338. Declared guilty of conspiracy, and execution, 342. Massasoit, 399, 400. Mayenne, Duke of, 348, 349. "Mayflower," ship, 386. Maximilian, Emperor of Germany, 210. Meaux, 283. Melancthon, Philip, 227, 246. Mendoza, Cardinal, 103. Mentz, 70. Merindol, massacre of Huguenots, 286. Michael Angelo, 193. Meldritch, Count, 364, 368. Mile End, 48. " Miracle plays," 37. Mirandola attacked by Pope Julius II., 190. Montcalm, 29. Montgomery, Richard, 28. Morals in Rome, 192. More, Sir Thomas, 252, 253, 254, 258, 259, 260. Murray, Earl, 338. N. Netherlands, plundered by Charles V., 296. Newport, Captain, commander of expedition to Virginia, 362. Newton, Sir John, seized by Wat Tyler's insur- gents, 46. Norfolk, Duke of, informs Wolsey that his estate is confiscated, 252. INDEX. 413 Norfolk, Duke of, ;U biiniing of Anne Askew, 262. Intriguing with French and Scots in regard to Mary, 340. Proposes to marry Mary, 340. Northnmbeiland, Earl of, and Henry VII., 144. Begins rebellion against Elizabeth, 341. Number of heretics put to death by Torquemada, 95. Nuremberg Castle, torture-chamber, 240. O. Orange, Prince of, 294, 329, 331, 342. Orleans, massacre of Huguenots at, 325. Oxford, Countess of, at Anne Boleyn's corona- tion, 250. O.xford, Earl of, his retainers, 144. At Anne Boleyn's coronation, 249. Oxford, Mai-quis of, at Anne Boleyn's corona- tion, 250. Oxford, Sheriff' of, bill for burning Latimer and Ridlev, 280. P. I'alissy, Bernard, 283, 285. Palos, 102, 107, 11 G. Palm-Sunday in Rome, 186. Parliament, established, 22, 27. Decides that no cause affecting the kingdom shall be judged outside the realm, and that any one executing the Pope's order shall be punished, 247. Declare that the marriage of Henry VIII. and Katherine of Aragon was illegal, 248. That Elizabeth and not Mary is heir to the throne, 258. Makes Henry VIH. head of tlie Church, 258. Restores edicts against heretics, 268. Declares it treason to publish the Pope's bull, 341. Presents an address for execution of Mary of Scotland, 342. Passes a law for imprisonment of all who do not conform to the Church of England, 356. Parr, Katherine, marries Henry VIII., 257. Parr, Ambrose, 323. I'arson of Wentnor, 256. Pecho, Sefior, his money seized by Torqnemada, 87. Death, 87. Penry, John, executed for Non-conformity, 355. People of England, fondness for sports, 354. Perrenot, Anthony, persuades Charles V. to burn heretics, 295. Petition of ministers to James I., 357. Philip II. of Spain, 266, 267, 282, 294, 300, 342. Pigeons, 330. Pilgrims, arrival in Holland, and occupation, 383, 384. Agreement with London merchants, 385. Embarkation at Delftshaven, 386. Election of Governor, 389. Arrival at Cape Cod, 390. Explore the shores of Cape Cod, 393, 394. First town-meeting, 396. Pinzon, Alonzo, 107. Pinzon, Yanez, 107. Pizarro, 130. Plans that did not come to pass, 221. Pocahontas, 371, 373. Pope Alexander VI. (See Chap. IX.) Pope Alexander Farnese accepts service of the Society of Jesus, 224. Pope Gregory VII., his declarations, 28. Pope Gregory XIII. chants a Te Deum over the massacre of St. Bartholomew, 326. Pope Innocent III., his power, 23. Releases John from iiis oath, 24. Excommunicates the barons and Archbisliop of Canterbury, 25. Pope Innocent VIII. appoints Torqnemada in- quisitor, 85. Licenses priests to keep taverris and play- houses, 86. Declares that dissent from his decree shall be punished with death, 89. Pope Julius II. defeated by Gaston de Foix, 190. Lampooned by Erasmus, 191. Pope Leo X., election, 193, 194. Appoints Tetzel to sell indulgences, 197. Summons Martin Luther to appear before Cajeton, 209. Influence in election of Charles V., 210. Commands Martin Luther to stop preacliing, 227. Sends word to Charles V. that Luther must be silenced, 229. Upsetting of his plans, 238. Pope Paul IV., message to the Duke of Guise to take no prisoners, but to kill all heretics, 340. Publishes a bull absolving Englishmen from allegiance to Elizabeth, 341. Pope Urban VI. sends a bull ordering Wicklif to Rome, 41. Sells the offices of the Church, 42. Puts cardinals to death, 43. Sells the Bishopric of Wells, 49. Popes of Rome and of Avignon, 42, 57. Port Royal, 360. Pra del Tor, battle of, 308. Printing. (See Chap. IV.) Progress, 255, 257, 258. Putnam, Israel, 28. 414 INDEX. Rabbi Abarbanal, supplications to Ferdinand, 93. Rabiada, Convent of, 91. Raleigh, Sir Walter, voyage to America; inter- view with Indians; spreads his cloak upon the ground for Queen Elizabeth ; settlement at Roanoke, 3G1. RatcliflFe, John, 370. Relics in Rome, 187, 188. Rheinstein, 71. Richard Coeur de Lion, 18. Ridley, burned at Oxford, 279. Bill for burning, 280. Rizzio, Mary of Scotland's secretary, a Jesuit priest, murdered by Darnley and his fellow- conspirators, 312. Roanoke, settled by Sir Walter Raleigh, 361. Robinson, John, preaches in Scrooby manor- house, 356. Roger, John, studies with Martin Luther, aids Tyndal and Coverdale in translating tlie Bible, marriage, family, 271. Death, 272. Roman Forum, 180. Roper, Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas More, 258. Runny mede, 18, 20, 26. Saladin, 18. Salamanca, Council of, 105. Salisbury, Archbishop of, 152, Samoset, 398. Sandys, bishop of York, owns the manor-house at Scrooby, favors the execution of Mary of Scotland, 340, 341. Saragossa, 80. Savoy Palace, 47. Sbinco, Archbishop of Prague, 57. Scrooby manor-house, Margaret spends a night in, 155. Wolsey's residence, 252. Residence of William Brewster, 351. Richard Clifton preaches in, 356. Seymour, Jane, marriage with Henry VIII. ; mother of Edward VI., 257. Sforza, Lord, 165, 167. Shakspeare, 252, 301. Sigismund, calls Council of Constance, 59. Violates his safe-conduct to John Huss, 61. Smith, Jolin. (See Chap. XXIX.) Smithfield, execution of Thomas Bayfield, James Bainham,and Anne Askew, 253, 262. Squanto, 393. Standish, Miles, Captain, 393, 397. Standish, Rose, 393, 397. Star-chamber, 144. St. Augustine, 360. St. Bartholomew's Church, 262. St. Bartholomew, massacre of. (See Chapter XXIV.) St. Botolph's Church, 275. St. Brandon, 100. St. Dunstan, 34, 35. St. George, 35. St. John's Bay, Newfoundland, 129. St. Peter's Church, Amsterdam, 384. St. Thomas's shirt, 143. Strasburg Cathedral, 71. Suffolk, Duke of, 249, 250. Sully, Duke of, 348. Sweden, King of, 300. Swiss Guards, 325. Taragona, Bishop of, 88. Taxes in Germany, 202. Taylor, Rowland,'275, 276, 277. Taylor, Thomas, 277. Tetzel, John, 197, 201, 203, 205. Thacker, Elias, put to death for Non-conformity, 352. Thumb-screw, 83. Tobacco first used by Europeans, 114. Torquemada, Thomas, 83, 87, 88, 93, 95. Tournaments, 219, 288. Tunstal, Bishop, 253, 271. Tyburn, 355. Tyndal translates the Bible into English, 271. Valladolid,80.- Van der Werff,Pieter, burgomaster of Leyden : his bravery, 335. Vassari paints a picture of the massacre of St. Bartholomew, 326. Vassy, massacre of Huguenots by the Duke of Guise, 302. Vaudois,the Pope, Philip II., and Catherine de' Medici unite to exterminate them, 304. The massacre, 307, 308, 309. Vicars of Ledburg, Brasmyll, Stow, and dome lead scandalous lives, 256. Virgin, the iion instrument of torture in the cas- tle of Nuremberg, 240. Virgin Mary, statues of, erected in the streets of Paris, 291. Virginia, expedition for settlement of, 361. Virginia Dare, first wliite child burn in America, 361. INDEX. 41, Vittoiiii Coloiina, lier contempt for the Pope, 1G5. Von Camraeriicii, Cardiinil, at Council of Con- stance, G2. W. Walsinjrham Abbey, 142. Walsingham, ambassador to Paris, 342. Wat Tyler kills a brutal tax-collector, 46. Commands insurgents, 4G. Killed by the Mayor of London, 47. Weimar, agents of the Pope post a jiapor against Martin Luther, 230. Westminster Abbey, founded by Edward, 145, 14G. Legend, 145. How it was built, 147. Westmoreland, Earl of, engaged in a rebellion against Elizabeth, 341. Weston, Thomas, London merchant, 3S'>. White, John, Governor of Roanoke, 3G1. Wicklif, John, preaches after he is dead, .^0. Monks dig up his bones and burn them, 30. A boy at O.xford, 37. Preaches to Edward IIL,38. Arraigns the dissolute monks, .39. His doctrines ; teaches the right of individual opinion, 40. Summoned to the Bishops' Court, 40. Preaches in London, 43. Translates the Bible, 43. Wicklif, John, selects the East Midland dialect, 44. Effect of his preaching, 45. His preaching denounced by the bishops and monks, 4i). Death, 54. Wittenberg, town council, 230. Wolsey, Cardinal, meets Charles Y., 210. His boyhood, 210. Made a dean by Henry VII., 210. Created cardinal, 210. Bishop of York, 211. Prime-minister, 211. Marriages of kings, 2 13. Lays plans for future greatness, 214. Gives a banquet, 241. Disappointed in not being elected Pope ; quar- rels with Buckingham, 243. JMakes all Church appointments in England, 247, Incurs displeasm'e of Henry, 251. Compelled to resign his power ; confiscation of his estates, 252. Retires to manor-house at Scrooby,252. His lament and death, 252. Worms, meeting of the Diet at, 230, 234. Wyatt, Sir Thomas, 250, 2G5. Wyseman, Thomas, 25G. X. Xavier, Erancis, 222. THE END. RETURN ToanTeriodT HOME USE CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT Mnin Library > 1 98 Main Stacks, 12 Books may be Renewed by calling 642-3405. DUE AS STAMPED BELOW SEP 1 ^ v^o y^OBEHKELEl 1 FORM NO. DD6 ^i^^^^S^^l^l^^Xo )b 1416'