Chapter XII (1)

VAN RENSSELAER OF RENSSELAERSWYCK: THE BOY PATROON.

(_Afterward Major-General, and Lieutenant-Governor of the State of New
York._)

[A.D. 1777.]

I question whether any of my young readers, however well up in history they may be, can place the great River of Prince Maurice (_De Riviere Van den Voorst Mauritius_), which, two hundred years ago, flowed through the broad domain of the lord patroons of Rensselaerswyck. And yet it is the same wide river upon whose crowded shore now stands the great city of New York; the same fair river above whose banks now towers the noble front of the massive State Capitol at Albany. And that lofty edifice stands not far from the very spot where, beneath the pyramidal belfry of the old Dutch church, the boy patroon sat nodding through Dominie Westerlo's sermon, one drowsy July Sunday in the summer of 1777.

The good dominie's "seventhly" came to a sudden stop as the tinkle of the deacon's collection-bell fell upon the ears of the slumbering congregation. In the big Van Rensselaer pew it roused Stephanus, the boy patroon, from a delightful dream of a ten-pound _twaalf_, or striped bass, which he thought he had just hooked at the mouth of Bloemert's Kill; and, rather guiltily, as one who has been "caught napping," he dropped his two "half-joes" into the deacon's "fish-net"--for so the boys irreverently called the knitted bag which, stuck on one end of a long pole, was always passed around for contributions right in the middle of the sermon. Then the good dominie went back to his "seventhly," and the congregation to their slumbers, while the restless young Stephanus traced with his finger-nail upon the cover of his psalm-book the profile of his highly respected guardian, General Ten Broek, nodding solemnly in the magistrate's pew. At last, the sands in the hour-glass, that stood on the queer, one-legged, eight-sided pulpit, stopped running, and so did the dominie's "noble Dutch"; the congregation filed out of church, and the Sunday service was over. And so, too, was the Sunday quiet. For scarcely had the people passed the porch, when, down from the city barrier at the Colonie Gate, clattered a hurrying horseman.

"From General Schuyler, sir," he said, as he reined up before General Ten Broek, and handed him an order to muster the militia at once and repair to the camp at Fort Edward. St. Clair, so said the despatch, had been defeated, Ticonderoga was captured, Burgoyne was marching to the Hudson, the Indians were on the war-path, and help was needed at once if they would check Burgoyne and save Albany from pillage.

The news fell with a sudden shock upon the little city of the Dutchmen. Ticonderoga fallen, and the Indians on the war-path! Even the most stolid of the Albany burghers felt his heart beating faster, while many a mother looked anxiously at her little ones and called to mind the terrible tales of Indian cruelty and pillage. But the young Van Rensselaer, pressing close to the side of fair Mistress Margarita Schuyler, said soberly: "These be sad tidings, Margery; would it not be wiser for you all to come up to the manor-house for safety?"

"For safety?" echoed high-spirited Mistress Margery. "Why, what need, Stephanus? Is not my father in command at Fort Edward? and not for Burgoyne and all his Indians need we fear while he is there! So, many thanks, my lord patroon," she continued, with a mock courtesy; "but I'm just as safe under the Schuyler gables as I could be in the Van Rensselaer manor-house, even with the brave young patroon himself as my defender."

The lad looked a little crestfallen; for he regarded himself as the natural protector of this brave little lady, whose father was facing the British invaders on the shores of the Northern lakes. Had it not been one, almost, of the unwritten laws of the _colonie_, since the day of the first patroon, that a Van Rensselaer should wed a Schuyler? Who, then, should care for a daughter of the house of Schuyler in times of trouble but a son of the house of Rensselaer?

"Well, at any rate, I shall look out for you if danger does come," he said, as he turned toward the manor-house. "You'll surely not object to that, will you, Margery?"

"Why, how can I?" laughed the girl. "I certainly may not prevent a gallant youth from keeping his eyes in my direction. So, thanks for your promise, my lord patroon, and when you see the flash of the tomahawk, summon your vassals like a noble knight and charge through the Colonie Gate to the rescue of the beleaguered maiden of the Fuyck.[AL] Why, it will be as good as one of Dominie Westerlo's Northland saga-tales, won't it, Stephanus?" And, with a stately good-by to the little lord of seven hundred thousand acres, the girl hastened homeward to the Schuyler mansion, while the boy rode in the opposite direction to the great brick manor-house by the creek.

Twenty-four miles east and west, by forty-eight miles north and south, covering forest and river, valley and hill, stretched the broad _colonie_ of the patroons of Rensselaerswyck, embracing the present counties of Albany, Rensselaer, and Columbia, in the State of New York; and over all this domain, since the days of the Heer Killian Van Rensselaer, first of the lord patroons, father and son, in direct descent, had held sway after the manner of the old feudal barons of Europe. They alone owned the land, and their hundreds of tenants held their farms on rentals or leases, subject to the will of the "patroons," as they were called,--a Dutch adaptation of the old Roman _patronus_, meaning patrician or patron.

Only the town-lands of Beverwyck, or Albany, were free from this feudal right--a territory stretching thirteen miles north-west, by one mile wide along the river front, and forced from an earlier boy patroon by the doughty Peter Stuyvesant, and secured by later English governors; and at the time of our story, though the old feudal laws were no longer in force, and the rentals were less exacting than in the earlier days, the tenantry of Rensselaerswyck respected the authority and manorial rights of Stephen Van Rensselaer, their boy patroon, who, with his widowed mother and his brothers and sisters, lived in the big brick manor-house near the swift mill creek and the tumbling falls in the green vale of Tivoli, a mile north of the city gate.

And now had come the Revolution. Thanks to the teaching of his tender mother, of his gallant guardian, and of the good Dominie Westerlo, young Stephen knew what the great struggle meant--a protest against tyranny, a blow for human rights, a defence of the grand doctrine of the immortal Declaration that "All men are created free and equal." And he had been told, too, that the success of the Republic would be the death-blow to all the feudal rights to which he, the last of the patroons, had succeeded.

"Uncle," he said to his guardian, that stern patriot and whig, General Abram Ten Broek, "you are my representative and must act for me till I grow to be a man. Do what is best, sir, and don't let the Britishers beat!"

"But, remember, lad," said his uncle, "the Revolution, if it succeeds, must strip you of all the powers and rights that have come to you as patroon. You will be an owner of acres, nothing more; no longer baron, patroon, nor lord of the manor; of no higher dignity and condition than little Jan Van Woort, the cow-boy of old Luykas Oothout on your cattle farm in the Helderbergs."

"But I'll be a citizen of a free republic, won't I, Uncle?" said the boy; "as free of the king and his court across the sea as Jan Van Woort will be of me and the court-leet of Rensselaerswyck. So we'll all start fair and even. I'm not old enough to fight and talk yet, Uncle; but do you fight and talk for me, and I know it will come out all right."

And so, through the battle-summer of 1777, the work went on. Men and supplies were hurried northward to help the patriot army, and soon General Ten Broek's three thousand militia-men were ready and anxious for action. The air was full of stirring news. Brandt and his Indians, Sir John Johnson and his green-coated Tories, swarmed into the Mohawk Valley; poor Jane McCrea fell a victim to Indian treachery, and the whole northern country shuddered at the rumor that twenty dollars had been offered for every rebel scalp. And fast upon these came still other tidings. The noble General Schuyler, fair Mistress Margery's father, had, through the management of his enemies in the Congress and in the camp, been superseded by General Gates; but, like a true patriot, he worked just as hard for victory nevertheless. Herkimer had fallen in the savage and uncertain fight at Oriskany; in Bennington, stout old Stark had dealt the British a rousing blow; and Burgoyne's boast that with ten thousand men he could "promenade through America" ended dismally enough for him in the smoke of Bemis Heights and the surrender at Saratoga.

But, before that glorious ending, many were the dark and doubtful days that came to Albany and to Rensselaerswyck. Rumors of defeat and disaster, of plot and pillage, filled the little city. Spies and Tories sought to work it harm. The flash of the tomahawk, of which Mistress Margery had so lightly jested, was really seen in the Schuyler mansion. And the brave girl, by her pluck and self-possession, had saved her father and his household from the chance of Tory pillage and Indian murder. Good Dominie Westerlo kept open church and constant prayer for the success of the patriot arms through one whole anxious week, and on a bright September afternoon, General Ten Broek, with a slender escort, came dashing up to the "stoop" of the Van Rensselaer manor-house.

"What now, Uncle?" asked young Stephen, as he met the General in the broad hall.

"More supplies--we must have more supplies, lad," replied his uncle. "Our troops need provisions, and I am here to forage among both friends and foes."

"Beginning with us, I suppose," said the young patroon. "Oh, Uncle, cannot I, too, do something to show my love for the cause?"

"Something, Stephen? You can do much," his uncle replied. "Time was, lad, when your ancestors, the lord patroons of Rensselaerswyck, were makers and masters of the law in this their _colonie_. From their own forts floated their own flag and frowned their own cannon. Their word was law and from Beeren's Island to Pafraet's Dael the Heer Van Rensselaer's orders were obeyed without question. Forts and flags and cannon are no longer yours, Stephen, and we would not have it otherwise; but your word still holds as good with your tenantry as did that of the first boy patroon, Johannes the son of Killian, when, backed by his _gecommitteerden_ and his _schepens_,[AM] he bearded the Heer General Stuyvesant and claimed all Rensselaerswyck as his 'by right of arms.' Try your word with them, lad. Let me be your _gecommitteerden_ and, in the name of the patroon, demand from your tenantry of Rensselaerswyck provisions and forage for our gallant troops."

"Oh, try it, Uncle, try it--do," young Stephen cried, full of interest; "but will they give so much heed, think you, to my word?"

"Ay, trust them for that," replied the general. "So strong is their attachment to their young patroon that they will, I know, do more on your simple word than on all the orders and levies of the king's Parliament or the Continental Congress."

So, out into the farm-lands that checkered the valley and climbed the green slopes of the Helderbergs, went the orders of the boy patroon, summoning all "our loyal and loving tenantry" to take of their stock and provender all that they could spare, save the slight amount needed for actual home use, and to deliver the same to the commissaries of the army of the Congress at Saratoga. And the "loyal and loving tenantry" gave good heed to their patroon's orders. Granaries and cellars, stables and pigsties, pork-barrels and poultry-sheds, were emptied of their contents. The army of the Congress was amply provisioned, and thus, indeed, did the boy patroon contribute his share toward the great victory at Saratoga--a victory of which one historian remarks that "no martial event, from the battle of Marathon to that of Waterloo--two thousand years,--exerted a greater influence upon human affairs."

The field of Saratoga is won. Six thousand British troops have laid down their arms, and the fears of Northern invasion are ended. In the Schuyler mansion at Albany, fair Mistress Margery is helping her mother fitly entertain General Burgoyne and the paroled British officers, thus returning good for evil to the man who, but a few weeks before, had burned to the ground her father's beautiful country-house at Saratoga. Along the fair river, from the Colonie Gate to the peaks of the Katzbergs, the early autumn frosts are painting the forest leaves with gorgeous tints, and to-day, the first of November, 1777, the children are joyously celebrating the thirteenth birthday of the boy patroon in the big manor-house by the creek. For, in Albany, a hundred years ago, a children's birthday party really meant a _children's_ party. The "grown-folk" left home on that day, and the children had free range of the house for their plays and rejoicing. So, through the ample rooms and the broad halls of the Van Rensselaer mansion the children's voices ring merrily, until, tired of romp and frolic, the little folks gather on the great staircase for rest and gossip. And here the fresh-faced little host, in a sky-blue silk coat lined with yellow, a white satin vest broidered with gold lace, white silk knee-breeches, and stockings tied with pink ribbons, pumps, ruffles, and frills, is listening intently while Mistress Margery, radiant in her tight-sleeved satin dress, peaked-toed and bespangled shoes, and wonderfully arranged hair, is telling the group of girls and boys all about General Burgoyne and the British officers, and how much they liked the real Dutch supper her mother gave them one day--"suppawn and malck[AN] and rulliches,[AO] with chocolate and soft waffles, you know,"--and how General the Baron Riedesel had said that if they stayed till Christmas he would play at Saint Claes (Santa Claus) for them.

"Oh, Margery!" exclaimed Stephen, "you wouldn't have a Hessian for good old Saint Claes, would you?"

"Why not?" said Mistress Margery, with a toss of her pretty head. "Do you think you are the only patroon, my lord Stephen?"

For Santa Claus was known among the boys and girls of those old Dutch days as "the children's patroon" (_De Patroon van Kinder-vreugd_).

"I saw the Hessian baron t' other night, Margarita," said Stephen's best boy-friend, Abram Van Vechten; "he never could play at Santa Claus. He's not the right shape at all. And then a Hessian! Why, I'd sooner have old Balthazar!"

"Oh, dear, what a Saint Claes he'd make!" cried all the girls and boys, for old Balthazar Lydius was the terror of the Albany children in those days--"a tall, spare Dutchman, with a bullet head," a sort of Bluebeard to their imaginations, living in his "big mahogany house with carved beams," near the old _Kerk_, and scowling and growling at every _Kind_ who passed his door.

"No, no, Abram," protested Margery, "I'd rather have the baron, even if he is a Hessian. Only imagine old Balthazar playing at Saint Claes, girls! Why, he's as sour as a ladle of Aunt Schuyler's _kool-slaa_. Show us how he looks, Stephen; you can, you know."

"Yes, do, do!" shouted all the girls and boys. "Show us Abram's sour face. Let's see which is the best patroon."

So the boy lengthened down his face and pulled in his cheeks and looked so ferociously sour that the children fairly shrieked with delight at the caricature, and Abram cried: "That's it; that's old Balthazar as sure as you live! That's just the way he looked at me last winter when I almost ran into him as I was sliding down the long coast at Fort hill. My! I was so scared that I ran as fast as my legs could carry me from way below the _Kerk_ clear past the Van der Hayden palace."[AP]

But, in the midst of the laughter, a quick step sounded in the hall, and General Ten Broek came to the children-crowded staircase. "The Helderberg farmers are here, lad," he said to his nephew; and the young patroon, bidding his guests keep up the fun while he left them awhile, followed his uncle through the door-way and across the broad court-yard to where, just south of the manor-house, stood the rent-office. As the boy emerged from the mansion, the throng of tenants who had gathered there at his invitation gazed admiringly at the manly-looking little lad, resplendent in blue and yellow, and gold lace, and greeted him with a rousing birthday cheer--a loyal welcome to their boy patroon, their young _Opperhoofdt_, or chief.

"My friends," the lad said, acknowledging their greeting with a courtly bow, "I have asked you to come to the manor-house on this, my birthday, so that I might thank you for what you did for me before the Saratoga fight, when you sent so much of your stock and produce to the army simply on my order. But I wish also to give you something besides thanks. And so, that you may know how much I value your friendship and fealty, I have, with my guardian's approval, called you here to present to each one of you a free and clear title to all the lands you have, until now, held in fee from me as the patroon of Rensselaerswyck. General Ten Broek will give you the papers before you leave the office, and Pedrom has a goodly spread waiting for you in the lower hall. Take this from me, my friends, with many thanks for what you have already done for me."

Then, what a cheer went up! The loyal tenantry of the Helderberg farms had neither looked for nor expected any special return for their generous offerings to the army of the Congress, and this action of the boy patroon filled every farmer's heart with something more than gratitude; for now each one of them was a land-owner, as free and untrammelled as the boy patroon himself. And, as fair Portia says in the play,

"So shines a good deed in a naughty world,"

that, when young Stephen Van Rensselaer went joyfully back to his children's party, and the Helderberg farmers to black Pedrom's "spread" in the lower hall, it would have been hard to say which felt the happier--the giver or the receivers of this generous and manly gift.

The years of battle continued, but Dominie Doll's boarding-school, smoked out of 'Sopus when the British troops laid Kingston in ashes, found shelter in Hurley; and here the boys repaired for instruction--for school must go on though war rages and fire burns. The signs of pillage and desolation were all around them; but, boy-like, they thought little of the danger, and laughed heartily at Dominie Doll's story of the poor 'Sopus Dutchman who, terribly frightened at the sight of the red-coats, fled wildly across a deserted hay-field, and stepped suddenly upon the end of a long hay-rake left behind by the "skedaddling" farmers. Up flew the long handle of the rake and struck the terrified Dutchman a sounding whack upon the back of his head. He gave himself up for lost. "_Oh, mein Got, mein Got!_" he cried, dropping upon his knees and lifting imploring hands to his supposed captors, "I kivs up, I kivs up, mynheer soldiermans. Hooray for King Shorge!"

Nearly two years were passed here upon the pleasant hill-slopes that stretch away to the Catskill ridges and the rugged wildness of the Stony Clove; and then, in the fall of 1779, when the boy patroon had reached his fifteenth birthday, it was determined to send him, for still higher education, to the College of New Jersey, at Princeton. Of that eventful journey of the lad and his half-dozen school-fellows, under military escort, from the hills of the Upper Hudson to the shot-scarred college on the New Jersey plains, a most interesting story could be told. I doubt whether many, if any, boys ever went to school under quite such delightfully exciting circumstances. For their route lay through a war-worried section; past the dismantled batteries of Stony Point, where "Mad Anthony Wayne" had gained so much glory and renown; past the Highland fortresses, and through the ranks of the Continental Army, visiting General Washington at his headquarters at West Point, and carrying away never-forgotten recollections of the great commander; cautiously past roving bands of cruel "cow-boys" and the enemy's outposts around captured New York, to the battered college buildings which had alternately been barracks and hospital for American and British troops. And an equally interesting story could be told of the exciting college days when, almost within range of the enemy's guns, the boom of the distinct cannon would come like a punctuation in recitations, and the fear of fusillades would help a boy through many a "tight squeeze" in neglected lessons. But this was education under difficulties. The risk became too great, and the young patroon was finally transferred to the quieter walls of Harvard College, from which celebrated institution he graduated with honor in 1782, soon after his eighteenth birthday.

The quiet life of an average American boy would not seem to furnish very much worth the telling. The boy patroon differed little, save in the way of birth and vast estate, from other boys and girls of the eventful age in which he lived; but many instances in his youthful career could safely be recorded. We might tell how he came home from college just as the great war was closing; how he made long trips, on horseback and afoot, over his great estate, acquainting himself with his tenantry and their needs; how, even before he was twenty years old, he followed the custom of his house and married fair Mistress Margery, the "brave girl" of the Schuyler mansion; and how, finally, on the first of November, 1785, all the tenantry of Rensselaerswyck thronged the grounds of the great manor-house, and, with speech and shout and generous barbecue, celebrated his coming of age--the twenty-first birthday of the boy patroon,--now no longer boy or patroon, but a free American citizen in the new Republic of the United States.

His after-life is part of the history of his State and of his country. At an early age he entered public life, and filled many offices of trust and responsibility. An assemblyman, a State Senator, a lieutenant-governor, a member of Congress, a major-general, and the conqueror of Queenstown in Canada in the War of 1812, one of the original projectors of the great Erie Canal, and, noblest of all, the founder and patron of a great school for boys,--the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy,--he was, through all, the simple-hearted citizen and the noble-minded man. But no act in all his long life-time of seventy-five years became him better than the spirit in which he accepted the great change that made the great lord patroon of half a million acres the plain, untitled citizen of a free republic.

"Though born to hereditary honors and aristocratic rank," says his biographer, "with the history of the past before him, in possession of an estate which connected him nearly with feudal times and a feudal ancestry, and which constituted him in his boyhood a baronial proprietor, he found himself, at twenty-one, through a forcible and bloody revolution, the mere fee-simple owner of acres, with just such political rights and privileges as belonged to his own freehold tenantry, and no other." And though the Revolution, in giving his country independence, had stripped him of power and personal advantages, he accepted the change without regret, and preferred his position as one in a whole nation of freemen, to that feudal rank which he had inherited from generations of ancestors, as the Boy Patroon, the last Lord of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck.

* * * * *

From the patrician emperor of old Rome to the patrician citizen of modern America these sketches of Historic Boys have extended. They represent but a few from that long list of remarkable boys, who, through the ages, have left their mark upon their times,--lads who, even had they died "in their teens," would still have been worthy of record as "historic boys." The lessons of their lives are manifold. They tell of pride and selfishness, of tyranny and wasted power, of self-reliance and courage, of ambition and self-conquest, of patience and manliness. History is but the record of opportunities for action availed of or neglected. And opportunities are never wanting. They exist to-day in the cities of the New World, even as they did ages ago with young David in the valley of Elah, with the boy Marcus in the forum of Rome, or with the valiant young Harry of Monmouth striving for victory on the bloody field of Shrewsbury.

Whenever or wherever a manly boy says his word for justice and for right, or does his simple duty in a simple, straightforward way, regardless of consequences or of the world's far too-ready sneer or frown, the stamp of the hero may be seen; and however humble his condition or contracted his sphere there is in him the mettle and the possibilities that may make him, even though he know it not, a worthy claimant for an honored place on the world's record of Historic Boys.

THE END.

FOOTNOTES:

[AL] The Fuyck, or fish-net,--an old Dutch name for Albany.

[AM] Commissioners and sheriffs.

[AN] Mush and milk.

[AO] A kind of chopped meat.

[AP] One of the old Dutch "show houses" of Albany 100 years ago.

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A Story of the Times of Hannibal. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page
Illustrations by C. J. STANILAND, R.I. Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

When boys at school read of the history of the Punic Wars their appreciation of the merits of the struggle between the Romans and Carthaginians is usually slight. That it was at first a struggle for empire, and afterwards one for existence on the part of Carthage, that Hannibal was a great and skilful general, that he defeated the Romans at Trebia, Lake Trasimenus, and Cannae, and all but took Rome, and that the Romans behaved with bad faith and great cruelty at the capture of Carthage, represents pretty nearly the sum total of their knowledge.

To let them know more about this momentous struggle for the empire of the world Mr. Henty has written this story, which not only gives in graphic style a brilliant description of a most interesting period of history, but is a tale of exciting adventure sure to secure the interest of the reader.

_THE LION OF THE NORTH._

A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of Religion. By G. A.
HENTY. With 12 full-page Illustrations by JOHN SCHOENBERG, in
black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

In this story Mr. Henty gives the history of the first part of the Thirty Years' War, a struggle unprecedented in length, in the fury with which it was carried on, and in the terrible destruction and ruin which it caused. The issue had its importance, which has extended to the present day, as it established religious freedom in Germany. The army of the chivalrous King of Sweden, the prop and maintenance of the Protestant cause, was largely composed of Scotchmen, and among these was the hero of the story. The chief interest of the tale turns on the great struggle between Gustavus and his chief opponents Wallenstein, Tilly, and Pappenheim.

"As we might expect from Mr. Henty the tale is a clever and
instructive piece of history, and as boys may be trusted to
read it conscientiously, they can hardly fail to be profited as
well as pleased."--_The Times._

"A praiseworthy attempt to interest British youth in the great
deeds of the Scotch Brigade in the ware of Gustavus Adolphus.
Mackay, Hepburn, and Munro live again in Mr. Henty's pages, as
those deserve to live whose disciplined bands formed really the
germ of the modern British army."--_Athenaeum._

"A stirring story of stirring times. This book should hold a
place among the classics of youthful fiction."--_United Service
Gazette._

#BY G. A. HENTY.#

"Mr. Henty as a boy's story-teller stands in the very foremost
rank."--_Glasgow Herald._

_WITH WOLFE IN CANADA:_

Or, The Winning of a Continent. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page
Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,
olivine edges, 6_s._

In the present volume Mr. Henty has endeavoured to give the details of the principal events in the struggle between Britain and France for supremacy on the North American continent. The importance of this struggle can scarcely be overrated, as on the issue of it depended not only the destinies of North America, but to a large extent those of the mother countries themselves. The fall of Quebec decided that the Anglo-Saxon race should predominate in the New World, that Britain, and not France, should take the lead among the nations, and that English commerce, the English language, and English literature, should spread right round the globe. While thus of the greatest significance, this episode from the world's history lends itself pre-eminently to the romantic style of treatment of which Mr. Henty is master.

_WITH CLIVE IN INDIA:_

Or the Beginnings of an Empire. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page
Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

The period between the landing of Clive as a young writer in India and the close of his career was critical and eventful in the extreme. At its commencement the English were traders existing on sufferance of the native princes. At its close they were masters of Bengal and of the greater part of Southern India. The author has given a full and accurate account of the events of that stirring time, and battles and sieges follow each other in rapid succession, while he combines with his narrative a tale of daring and adventure, which gives a life-like interest to the volume.

"In this book Mr. Henty has contrived to exceed himself in
stirring adventures and thrilling situations. The pictures add
greatly to the interest of the book."--_Saturday Review._

"Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty
stands in the very first rank, and Mr. Gordon Browne occupies a
similar place with his pencil.... Those who know something
about India will be the most ready to thank Mr. Henty for
giving them this instructive volume to place in the hands of
their children."--_Academy._

"He has taken a period of Indian History of the most vital
importance, and he has embroidered on the historical facts a
story which of itself is deeply interesting. Young people
assuredly will be delighted with the volume."--_Scotsman._

#BY G. A. HENTY.#

"The brightest of all the living writers whose office it is to
enchant the boys."--_Christian Leader._

_THROUGH THE FRAY:_

A Story of the Luddite Riots. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page
Illustrations by H. M. PAGET, in black and tint. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

The author in this story has followed the lines which he worked out so successfully in _Facing Death_. As in that story he shows that there are victories to be won in peaceful fields, and that steadfastness and tenacity are virtues which tell in the long run. The story is laid in Yorkshire at the commencement of the present century, when the high price of food induced by the war and the introduction of machinery drove the working-classes to desperation, and caused them to band themselves in that widespread organization known as the Luddite Society. There is an abundance of adventure in the tale, but its chief interest lies in the character of the hero, and the manner in which by a combination of circumstances he is put on trial for his life, but at last comes victorious "through the fray."

"Mr. Henty inspires a love and admiration for
straightforwardness, truth, and courage. This is one of the
best of the many good books Mr. Henty has produced, and
deserves to be classed with his _Facing Death_."--_Standard._

"The interest of the story never flags. Were we to propose a
competition for the best list of novel writers for boys we have
little doubt that Mr. Henty's name would stand
first."--_Journal of Education._

_TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG:_

A Tale of the American War of Independence. By G. A. HENTY. With 12
full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

In this story the author has gone to the accounts of English officers who took part in the conflict, and lads will find that in no war in which British soldiers have been engaged did they behave with greater courage and good conduct. The historical portion of the book being accompanied with numerous thrilling adventures with the redskins on the shores of Lake Huron, a story of exciting interest is interwoven with the general narrative and carried through the book.

"Does justice to the pluck and determination of the British
soldiers during the unfortunate struggle against American
emancipation. The son of an American loyalist, who remains true
to our flag, falls among the hostile redskins in that very
Huron country which has been endeared to us by the exploits of
Hawkeye and Chingachgook."--_The Times._

"Mr. G. A. Henty's extensive personal experience of adventures
and moving incidents by flood and field, combined with a gift
of picturesque narrative, make his books always welcome
visitors in the home circle."--_Daily News._

"Very superior in every way. The book is almost unique in its
class in having illustrative maps."--_Saturday Review._

#BY G. A. HENTY.#

"Mr. Henty's books never fail to interest boy
readers."--_Academy._

_IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE:_

A Story of Wallace and Bruce. By G. A. HENTY. With 12 full-page
Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

In this story the author relates the stirring tale of the Scottish War of Independence. The extraordinary valour and personal prowess of Wallace and Bruce rival the deeds of the mythical heroes of chivalry, and indeed at one time Wallace was ranked with these legendary personages. The researches of modern historians have shown, however, that he was a living, breathing man--and a valiant champion. The hero of the tale fought under both Wallace and Bruce, and while the strictest historical accuracy has been maintained with respect to public events, the work is full of "hairbreadth 'scapes" and wild adventure.

"Mr. Henty has broken new ground as an historical novelist. His
tale is full of stirring action, and will commend itself to
boys."--_Athenaeum._

"It is written in the author's best style. Full of the wildest
and most remarkable achievements, it is a tale of great
interest, which a boy, once he has begun it, will not willingly
put on one side."--_The Schoolmaster._

"Scarcely anywhere have we seen in prose a more lucid and
spirit-stirring description of Bannockburn than the one with
which the author fittingly closes his volume."--_Dumfries
Standard._

_UNDER DRAKE'S FLAG:_

A Tale of the Spanish Main. By G. A. HENTY. Illustrated by 12
full-page Pictures by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

A story of the days when England and Spain struggled for the supremacy of the sea, and England carried off the palm. The heroes sail as lads with Drake in the expedition in which the Pacific Ocean was first seen by an Englishman from a tree-top on the Isthmus of Panama, and in his great voyage of circumnavigation. The historical portion of the story is absolutely to be relied upon, but this, although very useful to lads, will perhaps be less attractive than the great variety of exciting adventure through which the young adventurers pass in the course of their voyages.

"A stirring book of Drake's time, and just such a book as the
youth of this maritime country are likely to prize
highly."--_Daily Telegraph._

"Ned in the coils of the boa-constrictor is a wonderful
picture. A boy must be hard to please if he wishes for anything
more exciting."--_Pall Mall Gazette._

"A book of adventure, where the hero meets with experience
enough one would think to turn his hair gray."--_Harper's
Monthly Magazine._

#BY G. A. HENTY.#

"Mr. Henty is the prince of story-tellers for
boys."--_Sheffield Independent._

_THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE:_

Or, With Peterborough in Spain. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page
Illustrations by H. M. PAGET. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 5_s._

There are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so completely fallen into oblivion as those of the Earl of Peterborough. This is largely due to the fact that they were overshadowed by the glory and successes of Marlborough. His career as General extended over little more than a year, and yet, in that time, he showed a genius for warfare which has never been surpassed, and performed feats of daring worthy of the leaders of chivalry.

Round the fortunes of Jack Stilwell, the hero, and of Peterborough, Mr. Henty has woven an interesting and instructive narrative descriptive of this portion of the War of the Spanish Succession (1705-6).

_THE DRAGON AND THE RAVEN:_

Or, The Days of King Alfred. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page
Illustrations by C. J. STANILAND, R.I., in black and tint.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 5_s._

In this story the author gives an account of the desperate struggle between Saxon and Dane for supremacy in England, and presents a vivid picture of the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the ravages of the sea-wolves. The hero of the story, a young Saxon thane, takes part in all the battles fought by King Alfred, and the incidents in his career are unusually varied and exciting. He is driven from his home, takes to the sea and resists the Danes on their own element, and being pursued by them up the Seine, is present at the long and desperate siege of Paris.

"Perhaps the best story of the early days of England which has
yet been told."--_Court Journal._

"A well-built superstructure of fiction on an interesting
substratum of fact. Treated in a manner most attractive to the
boyish reader."--_Athenaeum._

"A story that may justly be styled remarkable. Boys, in reading
it, will be surprised to find how Alfred persevered, through
years of bloodshed and times of peace, to rescue his people
from the thraldom of the Danes. We hope the book will soon be
widely known in all our schools."--_Schoolmaster._

"We know of no popular book in which the stirring incidents of
the reign of the heroic Saxon king are made accessible to young
readers as they are here. Mr. Henty has made a book which will
afford much delight to boys, and is of genuine historic
value."--_Scotsman._

#BY G. A. HENTY.#

"Mr. Henty is one of the best of story-tellers for young
people."--_Spectator._

_A FINAL RECKONING:_

A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. By G. A. HENTY, With 8 full-page
Illustrations by W. B. WOLLEN. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, 5_s._

In this book Mr. Henty has again left the battlefields of history and has written a story of adventure in Australia in the early days of its settlement, when the bush-rangers and the natives constituted a real and formidable danger.

The hero, a young English lad, after rather a stormy boyhood, emigrates to Australia, where he gets employment as an officer in the mounted police.

A few years of active work on the frontier, where he has many a brush with both natives and bush-rangers, gain him promotion to a captaincy. In that post he greatly distinguishes himself, and finally leaves the service and settles down to the peaceful life of a squatter.

_ST. GEORGE FOR ENGLAND:_

A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page
Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, 5_s._

No portion of English history is more crowded with great events than that of the reign of Edward III. Cressy and Poitiers laid France prostrate at the feet of England; the Spanish fleet was dispersed and destroyed by a naval battle as remarkable in its incidents as was that which broke up the Armada in the time of Elizabeth. Europe was ravaged by the dreadful plague known as the Black Death, and France was the scene of the terrible peasant rising called the Jacquerie. All these stirring events are treated by the author in _St. George for England_. The hero of the story, although of good family, begins life as a London apprentice, but after countless adventures and perils, becomes by valour and good conduct the squire, and at last the trusted friend of the Black Prince.

"A story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible
style the author has endeavoured to show that determination and
enthusiasm can accomplish marvellous results; that courage is
generally accompanied by magnanimity and gentleness, and that
it is the parent of nearly all the other virtues, since but few
of them can be practised without it."--_Pall Mall Gazette._

"Mr. Henty has developed for himself a type of historical novel
for boys which bids fair to supplement, on their behalf, the
historical labours of Sir Walter Scott in the land of
fiction."--_Standard._

"Mr. Henty as a boy's story-teller stands in the very foremost
rank. With plenty of scope to work upon he has produced a
strong story at once instructive and entertaining."--_Glasgow
Herald._

#BY G. A. HENTY.#

"Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty
stands in the very first rank."--_Academy._

_FOR NAME AND FAME:_

Or, Through Afghan Passes. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page
Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, 5_s._

This is an interesting story of the last war in Afghanistan. The hero, after being wrecked and going through many stirring adventures among the Malays, finds his way to Calcutta, and enlists in a regiment proceeding to join the army at the Afghan passes. He accompanies the force under General Roberts to the Peiwar Kotal, is wounded, taken prisoner, and carried to Cabul, whence he is transferred to Candahar, and takes part in the final defeat of the army of Ayoub Khan.

"Mr. Henty's pen is never more effectively employed than when
he is describing incidents of warfare. The best feature of the
book--apart from the interest of its scenes of adventure--is
its honest effort to do justice to the patriotism of the Afghan
people."--_Daily News._

"Here we have not only a rousing story, replete with all the
varied forms of excitement of a campaign, but an instructive
history of a recent war, and, what is still more useful, an
account of a territory and its inhabitants which must for a
long time possess a supreme interest for Englishmen, as being
the key to our Indian Empire."--_Glasgow Herald._

_BY SHEER PLUCK:_

A Tale of the Ashanti War. By G. A. HENTY. With 8 full-page
Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, 5_s._

The Ashanti Campaign seems but an event of yesterday, but it happened when the generation now rising up were too young to have made themselves acquainted with its incidents. The author has woven, in a tale of thrilling interest, all the details of the campaign, of which he was himself a witness. His hero, after many exciting adventures in the interior, finds himself at Coomassie just before the outbreak of the war, is detained a prisoner by the king, is sent down with the army which invaded the British Protectorate, escapes, and accompanies the English expedition on their march to Coomassie.

"Mr. Henty keeps up his reputation as a writer of boys'
stories. 'By Sheer Pluck' will be eagerly read."--_Athenaeum._

"The book is one which will not only sustain, but add to Mr.
Henty's reputation."--_The Standard._

"Written with a simple directness, force, and purity of style
worthy of Defoe. Morally, the book is everything that could be
desired, setting before the boys a bright and bracing ideal of
the English gentleman."--_Christian Leader._

#BY G. A. HENTY.#

"Mr. Henty's books are always welcome visitors in the home
circle."--_Daily News._

_FACING DEATH:_

Or the Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of the Coal Mines. By G. A.
HENTY. With 8 full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, in
black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth, elegant, 5_s._

"Facing Death" is a story with a purpose. It is intended to show that a lad who makes up his mind firmly and resolutely that he will rise in life, and who is prepared to face toil and ridicule and hardship to carry out his determination, is sure to succeed. The hero of the story is a typical British boy, dogged, earnest, generous, and though "shamefaced" to a degree, is ready to face death in the discharge of duty. His is a character for imitation by boys in every station.

"The tale is well written and well illustrated, and there is
much reality in the characters."--_Athenaeum._

"If any father, godfather, clergyman, or schoolmaster is on the
look-out for a good book to give as a present to a boy who is
worth his salt, this is the book we would
recommend."--_Standard._

_YARNS ON THE BEACH._

By G. A. HENTY. With 2 full-page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth
extra, 1_s._ 6_d._

"This little book should find special favour among boys. The
yarns are spun by old sailors, and while full of romance and
adventure, are admirably calculated to foster a manly
spirit."--_The Echo._

* * * * *

#BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.#

_IN THE KING'S NAME:_

Or the Cruise of the _Kestrel_. By G. MANVILLE FENN. Illustrated by
12 full-page Pictures by GORDON BROWNE, in black and tint.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

"In the King's Name" is a spirited story of the Jacobite times, concerning the adventures of Hilary Leigh, a young naval officer in the preventive service off the coast of Sussex, on board the _Kestrel_. Leigh is taken prisoner by the adherents of the Pretender, amongst whom is an early friend and patron who desires to spare the lad's life, but will not release him. The narrative is full of exciting and often humorous incident.

"Mr. Fenn has won a foremost place among writers for boys. 'In
the King's Name' is, we think, the best of all his productions
in this field."--_Daily News._

"Told with the freshness and verve which characterize all Mr.
Fenn's writings and put him in the front rank of writers for
boys."--_Standard._

#BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.#

"Mr. Manville Fenn may be regarded as the successor in
boyhood's affections of Captain Mayne Reid."--_Academy._

_DEVON BOYS:_

A Tale of the North Shore. By GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. With 12
full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, 6_s._

The adventures of Sep Duncan and his school friends take place in the early part of the Georgian era, during the wars between England and France. The scene is laid on the picturesque rocky coast of North Devon, where the three lads pass through many perils both afloat and ashore. Fishermen, smugglers, naval officers, and a stern old country surgeon play their parts in the story, which is one of honest adventure with the mastering of difficulties in a wholesome manly way, mingled with sufficient excitement to satisfy the most exacting reader. The discovery of the British silver mine and its working up and defence take up a large portion of the story.

_BROWNSMITH'S BOY._

By GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. With 12 full-page Illustrations by GORDON
BROWNE, in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine
edges, 6_s._