[Illustration: Franklin's Printing Office and Book Shop Benjamin Franklin, printer, was one of the greatest men of his time. He wrote philosophical essays and some doggerel verse, published “Poor Richard’s Almanac,” and became a great inventor. The painting shows Christ Church in the background.] HERO TALES FROM HISTORY BY SMITH BURNHAM, A.M. HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, WESTERN STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN _ILLUSTRATED_ [Illustration] THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY CHICAGO PHILADELPHIA TORONTO DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PRINTED IN U. S. A. PREFACE An interest in history and a love of historical reading will be most readily acquired by those children who approach this rich field of literature through the medium of stories of the great figures of the past. Such stories, if properly selected and told, give children those vivid concrete pictures of men and of events which are vitally essential to any real understanding of bygone days. At the same time such history stories may be so selected as to hold up right ideals of conduct and of character. Moreover, by their appeal to the emotions, which lie very near to the springs of conduct, they move to action. Tales of gentleness, of honor, of justice, of courage, of fortitude in suffering, of intrepidity in danger, of dauntless resolution, of iron will, inspire children to an emulation of those virtues. These “Hero Tales from History” have been written in the faith set forth in this paragraph. Through these stories the author aims to inculcate the fundamental virtues just named and at the same time to acquaint children with the names and achievements of some of those great men and women whose lives and characters are a part of our racial and national inheritance. In the selection of the tales in this book the author has drawn upon all ages. Here are mighty men of the ancient world and makers of modern America. Some of the characters chosen as the heroes of these stories are great figures in world history, but the greater part of them were selected because they are among the foremost heroes of our own country and of our own culture. Of course in a book of this size many valuable stories had to be omitted. But it is believed that all the tales included are typical and representative.