The book was part of the series “Brave Deeds: A Series of Cheap Gift-Books”.
Preface [n. pag.]
In these pages I have tried to show how women, old and young, in many ranks of life, have proved themselves in times of trial to possess as much courage and daring as men. Some of these ‘Brave Women’ died for their Master’s sake, whilst others, in His cause, passed through dire peril and grievous suffering. All of them counted not their lives dear unto them, so long only as they might do their duty. I have designedly omitted many familiar heroines in the hope of winning attention for some whose deeds have been less widely recognised.
H.C.M.
A well-known example in section I is Alice Ayres, who saved three children during a fire in Union Street but died when she jumped out of the window. The end of her story refers to the memorial to everyday heroes in London’s Postman’s Park: [11] “In the Postman’s Park, which adjoins the General Post Office, there is a cloister bearing the inscription, ‘In Commemoration of Heroic Self-Sacrifice.’ Within it are tablets to the memory of heroes of humble life, and one of the most interesting of these is that on which is inscribed: – ‘Alice Ayres, daughter of a bricklayer’s labourer, who by intrepid conduct saved three children from a burning house in Union Street, Borough, at the cost of her own young life. April 24, 1885.’”
Contents
I. Brave Deeds of Rescue by WomenAlice Ayres and the Union Street Fire 7
Grace Bussell and the Wreck of the Georgette 12
Catherine Vasseur, the Heroine of Noyen 17
Mary Rogers, and the Wreck of the Stella 21
Madeleine Blanchet, the Heroine of Buzançais 26
Hannah Rosbotham and the Children of Sutton School 31
II. Brave Deeds of Women in the Mission Field
Jane Chalmers; Alone Amongst Cannibals 36
Anna Hinderer, and the Gospel in the Yoruba Country 46
Ann Judson
Sarah Judson Pioneer Women in Burma 84
Olivia Ogren, and an Escape from Boxers 97
Edith Nathan
May Nathan Martyred by Boxers 115
Mary Heaysman
Mary Riggs and the Sioux Rising 122
III. Brave Deeds of Women in War-Time
Mary Seacole, the Soldier’s Friend 133
Laura Secord, a Canadian Heroine 154
Lady Bankes and the Siege of Corfe Castle 163
Lady Harriet Acland, a Heroine of the American War 175
Aimée Ladoinski and the Retreat 184
Lady Sale and an Afghan Captivity 209
Ethel St. Clair Grimwood and the Escape from Manipur 217
Three Soldiers’ Wives in South Africa 225
IV. Brave Deeds of Self-Sacrifice and Devotion
Elizabeth Zane, a Frontier Heroine 230
Nellie Amos, a Friend in Need 237
Anna Gurney, the Friend of the Shipwrecked 242
Grizel Hume, the Devoted Daughter 247
Lucy Hutchinson, a Brave Wife 263
Lady Baker, an Explorer’s Companion 275