Page:A cyclopaedia of female biography.djvu/94

 ARTEMISIA II, queen of Caria, wife of Mausolus, immortalized by her attachment to her husband, built for him, at his death, the celebrated and stately tomb, that was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. It was called the Mausoleum, and from it all other magnificent sepulchres have received the same name. It was built by four architects, and the expense of its construction was enormous; the philosopher Anaxagoras exclaimed, when he saw it, "How much money changed into stones!"

Artemisia frequently visited the place where her husband's ashes were deposited; mixed the earth that covered him with water, and drank it, for the purpose, as she said, of becoming the living tomb of her departed lord. She offered the richest prizes to those who should excel in composing a panegyric on his virtues. Yet in the midst of all her grief, she did not suffer it to interfere with the duties of her elevated position, but took the command of her army In a war against the Rhodians, in which she is said to have shown undaunted bravery. She took possession of the city of Rhodes, and treated the inhabitants with great severity. She caused two statues to be erected: one of the city of Rhodes, habited like a slave; and the other of herself, branding the city with a hot iron. Vitruvius adds, that the Rhodians never dared to remove that trophy from its place; such an attempt being prohibited by their religion; but they built a wall around it, which prevented it from being seen. She lived in the fourth century before Christ.

ARUNDEL, LADY BLANCHE, of the earl of Worcester, and wife of lord Arundel of Wardour, is celebrated for her heroic defence of Wardour Castle, in Wiltshire, England. She was summoned to surrender, May 2nd, 1643, by Sir Edward Hungerford, commander-in-chief of the parliamentary forces in Wiltshire, at the head of about thirteen hundred men; but Lady Arundel, whose husband was then at Oxford, replied, that she had the orders of her lord to keep the castle, and those orders she was determined to obey. On this reply the battery commenced, and continued without intermission for nearly six days, The castle contained bat twenty-five fighting-men; and wearied with exertion their strength began to fail, when the ladies and their maid-servants took their place in keeping watch, and loading their muskets. The women and chidren [sic] were repeatedly offered safely if the besieged would surrender, but they chose rather to perish than to buy their lives at the expense of those of their brave soldiers.

At length, reduced to extremity. Lady Arundel was forced to surrender, after making stipulations that the lives of all in the fortress should be spared, etc. The conditions were agreed to, but all excepting that relating to their personal safety were violated. Lady Arundel, and her children, were carried prisoners to Shaftesbury, where her two sons, children of seven and nine, were taken from her. She died October 29th., 1649, at the age of sixty-six. Her husband had died at Oxford in 1643, of wounds he received in the battle of Lansdown, in the service of Charles the First.

Lady Arundel is buried with her husband, near the altar of an elegant chapel, at Wardour Castle. On the monument Is an inscription, which, after giving their titles and ancestry, thus concludes: "This