The Red Book of Heroes | Page 3

the foremost in fight of the men of Troy, when they fought for their city." But may I be dead, and the earth be mounded above me, ere I hear thy cry and the tale of thy captivity.'
So he went back into the battle, and never again saw his wife and child. It was in the spirit of Hector that Hannibal planned and fought and toiled, till as an old man he bit on the poison ring, and died, and was free from the Roman captivity that threatened him.
Honour and courage were the masters of the men and women whose stories are told in this book, but of them all none dared a risk so horrible as brave Father Damien in the Isle of Lepers. For his adventure among dreadful people who must give him their own dreadful disease, a Montrose or a Havelock might have had little heart, for his task had none of the excitement and glitter of the soldier's duty in war. But they are all, these men and women, good to live with, good to know, good to go with, weary camp followers as we are of the Noble Army of Martyrs, and unworthy of a single leaf from the laurel crown.
A. Lang.

CONTENTS
PAGE
The Lady-in-Chief 1
Prisoners and Captives 25
Hannibal 43
The Apostle of the Lepers 95
The Constant Prince 109
The Marquis of Montrose 135
A Child's Hero 169
Conscience or King 222
The Little Abbess 246
Gordon 281
The Crime of Theodosius 334
Palissy the Potter 352

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
COLOURED PLATES
(Engraved and Printed by André & Sleigh, Ltd., Bushey.)
'Go back!' he said [See page 350] Frontispiece
to face p. Fifteen thousand Romans fell that day 74
Father Damien went out and sat in a lonely place by the sea 106
A great army of Irishmen have swooped down on the Atholl country 150
The place was swarming with rats 208
She took all her nuns for a solemn walk 258
They saw a man in uniform shining with gold flying towards them 316
A jar of water in the figure's right hand emptied itself on his head 364
FULL-PAGE PLATES
to face p. Roger could hardly believe his eyes 6
She came forth with a golden circlet round her head 44
Hannibal was determined not to stir until the elephants were safely over 58
Under the eyes of the army the combat began 68
In vain Guedelha implored him to wait till the fatal hour was past 114
About thirty or forty of our honestest women did fall a railing on Mr. William Annan 140
'You will soon have no caste left yourself' 194
Often ... he had felt that a terrible death was very near 218
Sir Thomas sat silent 232
'What now, Mother Eve?' he answered 240
'You are mistaking me for somebody else' 248
The archers set a ladder against the wall, which the lady instantly threw down 274
Gordon found time to attend to an old dying woman 310
A shot ended his life 330
'Do not delay an instant,' he cried, 'or it will be too late' 338
'Let him die!' he said 344
The bright-eyed lizards he especially loved 354
ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT
PAGE 'Tell me what you want to say, and I will say it' 17
They sprang on the food like wolves 28
He brushed down the walls without hindrance from anyone 41
All three were apt pupils 51
The Gauls poured out of their camp shouting and screaming with delight 56
He found right in front of him a huge precipice 64
The whole four thousand climbed the ridge 77
'Let me release the Romans from their anxiety,' he said 93
He found the Prince lying unconscious on the ground 130
For two days they sought in vain for a road to take them to Caithness 162
He managed to crawl over the floor 179
The Captain obligingly did as he was asked 183
Suddenly the table began to rock 189
In another moment he would have been trampled under the feet of the Afghan cavalry 191
Not one of their movements passed unnoticed by her 201
A tired horseman rode into camp 204
The young Aide-de-camp did not waste time in arguing 213
Erasmus was astonished to notice More present Prince Henry with a roll 228
'Go away! you have no business here.' 253
She fell fainting to the ground 266
He told them stories from English history 303
He cleaned his gun while the men stood by and stared 314
Fancy poor Madame Palissy's feelings 359

THE LADY-IN-CHIEF
Everybody nowadays is so used to seeing in the streets nurses wearing long floating cloaks of different colours, blue, brown, grey, and the rest, and to having them with us when we are ill, that it is difficult to imagine a time when there were no such people. In the stories that were written even fifty years ago you will soon find out what sort of women they were who called themselves 'nurses.' Any kind of person seems to have been thought good enough to look after a sick man; it was not a matter which needed a