Preface [7-8]
[7] Bravery and self-sacrifice are natural qualities in men, or so we love to think; but men have no monopoly of heroism. In their capacity for suffering uncomplainingly, and in their power of patient endurance, women are, as a matter of fact, more heroic by nature than men. Naturally sensitive and timid, yet they are strong to endure; and incidents are not wanting of women who in times of extreme peril or severe physical suffering have shown a measure of fortitude to which men similarly circumstanced have not attained. And not only in stoic endurance, but in generous self-sacrifice, women have in numberless instances proved themselves truly heroic. The stories given in this volume provide proof and to spare [sic] of womanly bravery; and they are told with the hope that they may help to impress upon the minds of British girls the real nobility of heroic womanhood. Every girl should remember that she has within herself the possibilities of heroism. If not by the risk of life and limb for others’ sakes in the stress of some sudden emergency, then in the brave dis[8] charge of simple daily duty every girl may be a heroine if she will. It is in the ranks of those heroines of the home who devote their lives bravely and unselfishly to ‘the common round, the daily task’ that the bravest of the world’s women are found. It was while the wife and daughter of Angus Kerr were busy with their ordinary household duties that the call came to them to prove themselves heroines; and it was the same spirit of helpfulness which they brought to bear upon the uninteresting tasks of every day that enabled them to dare the fury of the storm in order to rescue those who appealed to them for aid. So it ever is. Opportunities for heroism lie always in the path of duty; and active service for God and humanity, no matter how lowly that service may be, is the only adequate preparation for those special occasions for supreme devotion and self-sacrifice with which God honours us now and then.
Contents
For the Gospel’s Sake [Mrs. Wilkinson in Zululand] 13The Heroine of Manipur 25
Saving the Honours 34
Twenty Hours in the Sea 38
Buried in Snow 44
The Lady with the Lamp [Florence Nightingale] 50
Derelict 62
An Ontario Romance 70
A Wife’s Devotion 76
A Missionary Heroine [Miss Haseltine] 81
The Story of Joan of Arc 87
A Lady Explorer’s Adventures in West Africa [Mary Kingsley] 97
The Story of Grace Darling 105
Saved from a Sewer 112
A Lesson in Honour 117
Grace Bussell’s Bravery 121
A Girl’s Fight with Fire 131
Saved from the Sea 140
A Heroine of the Battlefield [Marion Smith, a nurse] 145
The Child Heroine of Easedale 149
A Woman’s Fight for Life 155
Through the Waters 161
A Milkmaid’s Heroism 169
Three Brave Fisher Girls 172