Great men and famous women : a series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in history Volume 1 . boy-king of Eng-land, Richard the Second, so pluckilyfaced his rebellious subjects on theplain of Smithfield; of it was that SirJohn Standish who fought under theleopard-banner of King Edward at thestone mill of Crecy; and of it was that gallant soldier Miles Standish, the Puri-tan captain, the first commissioned military officer of New England, famous inAmerican history, song, and story, as the stay and bulwark of the Pilgrims ofPlymouth in thei
Great men and famous women : a series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in history Volume 1 . boy-king of Eng-land, Richard the Second, so pluckilyfaced his rebellious subjects on theplain of Smithfield; of it was that SirJohn Standish who fought under theleopard-banner of King Edward at thestone mill of Crecy; and of it was that gallant soldier Miles Standish, the Puri-tan captain, the first commissioned military officer of New England, famous inAmerican history, song, and story, as the stay and bulwark of the Pilgrims ofPlymouth in their days of struggle and beginning. Miles Standish (or Myles, as the old spelling has it) was born in Lancashire,presumably in the family manor house of Duxbury Hall, in the year 1584. Thestory of his life is simple. The absolute facts upon which it is based are meagre,but enough is known to warrant the assertion that Miles Standish was heir to thename and estates of the Standishes of Lancashire, from which, by some device noton record, he was, as he sturdily maintained in his will, surreptitiously defrauded. • Copyright, 1894, by Selmar RELICS OF MILES STANDISH. 190 SOLDIERS AND SAILORS At the beginning of the seventeenth century the provinces of the Nether-lands were batthng for Ufe against the tyranny of Spain. The Protestant Eliza-beth of England gave help and support to the Protestant Stadtholder Maurice, andmany of her fighting men carried pike or arquebus at the sack of Cadiz, foughtat Nieuport and Ostend, or served the guns in the great sea-fight off Gibraltarthat, in 1607, broke the power of Spain. Among these fighting-men was youngMiles Standish, and he fought so stoutly and to such good purpose that, before hewas twenty-one he had attained the rank and title of captain, and was knownto Englishmen in the Low Countries as a brave and gallant soldier. In 1609 camethe twelve years truce between tired Spain and not less wearied Holland, thatgave way in 1621 to the
Size: 1508px × 1656px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbiography, bookyear18
