slain,
fighting manfully, April 14, 1471.

Thus fell on the field of battle Richard, Earl of Warwick, in the
prime of his life, after sixteen years of deep intrigue and desperate
fighting. Had he been born in a more peaceful time he would have been
a great statesman, and have done much for the good of his country, for
his talents were more political than military, and almost alone among
the self-seeking rivals of the time, he shows something of the
instincts of patriotism. Cast as he was in the troublous times of the
Wars of the Roses, he stands out in character and genius above all
those of his generation. He was the best beloved man in the kingdom.
When he was away from England, says Hall, the common people thought
the sun had gone out of the heavens. His personality cast a charm over
even Louis XI. The heart of the Yorkist party, he was true to its
cause till he found that his service was no longer desired. He was not
the man to sit quietly under insult, and when it came from King
Edward, who owed all that he was to him, it was more than he could
endure. Yet it was only when he found his every project thwarted, and
especially those that were dearest to his heart, that he was driven
into open warfare with the king. His treason is capable of much
justification: he cannot be accused of forsaking his master. He had in
him the making of a great king, and how great and useful might have
been his career had fortune placed him over the councils of a Charles
VII. or a Henry VI.! As it is, he stands in worth and character far
above any of his time, a figure that commands not merely admiration
but affection.

HERNANDO CORTES[17]

By H. RIDER HAGGARD

(1485-1547)

[Footnote 17: Copyright, 1894, by Selmar Hess.]

[Illustration: Hernando Cortes. [TN]]

Among the millions that from age to age are born into this world there
arise in every generation one or two pre-eminent men and women who are
objects of the wonder and the envy, the admiration and the hatred of
their contemporaries, and whose names, after their deaths, stand out
as landmarks by which we shape a course across the dark and doubtful
seas of history. Caesar and Cromwell, Mahomet and Napoleon, to mention
no others, were such men, and such a man was Hernando Cortes, the
conqueror of Mexico. They have been called, and well called, Men of
Destiny, since it is impossible in studying their lives and tracing
their vast influence upon human affairs, t