"Then our cottage we forsook; "Now we reach'd the nether glen, "Nature's bulwarks, built by Time, "Dim behind, the valley brake "'Midst the hamlets of the dale, "Midst the ruins of the dale "Happier then had been her fate, "Then the mountain-echoes rang With the clangour of alarms: Shrill the signal-trumpet sang; All our warriors leapt to arms. "On the margin of the flood, "In a deluge upon land Burst their overwhelming might; Back we hurl'd them from the strand, Oft returning to the fight. "Fierce and long the combat held— "For on that triumphant day Underwalden's arms once more Broke Oppression's black array, Dash'd invasion from her shore. "Gaul's surviving barks retired, "From the dead our spirits rose, "Star of Switzerland! whose rays "Star of Switzerland! thy fame "While the lingering moon delay'd "Gallia's tigers, wild for blood, "By the trumpet's voice alarm'd, 1 The French made their first attack on the valley of Underwalden from the Lake: but, after a desperate conflict, they were victoriously repelled, and two of their vessels, containing five hundred men, perished in the engagement. 2 In the last and decisive battle, the Underwalders were over camped in their native Valley, on the borders of the Lake, and powered by two French armies, which rushed upon them from awaited the attack of the enemy. 1 The Capital of Underwalden. the opposite mountains, and surrounded their camp, while an assault, at the same time, was made upon them from the Lake. "In that valley, on that shore, For the glen that gave them birth Then on every side begun That unutterable fight; Never rose the astonish'd sun On so horrible a sight. "Once an eagle of the rock "While the Parents fed their young, "More unequal was the fray In innumerable waves, Swoln with fury, grim with blood, Headlong roll'd the hordes of slaves, And ingulf'd us with a flood. In the whirlpool of that flood, Firm in fortitude divine, Like the eternal rocks we stood, In the cataract of the Rhine.' "Till by tenfold force assail'd, In a hurricane of fire, When at length our phalanx fail'd, Then our courage blazed the higher. "Broken into feeble bands, "Fierce amid the loud alarms, "On their country's dying bed, 'Wives and husbands pour'd their breath; Many a Youth and Maiden bled, Married at thine altar, Death.2 1 At Schaffhausen.-See Coxe's Travels. 2 In this miserable conflict, many of the Women and Children of the Underwalders fought in the ranks by their Husbands, and Fathers, and Friends, and fell gloriously for their country. "Wildly scatter'd o'er the plain, "Who shall now your deeds relate? "Virtue, valor, nought avail'd When the nerves of heroes fail'd, "Cold and keen the assassin's blade "From the steeps beyond the lake, "Down they rush'd with headlong might, Swifter than the panting wind; All before them fear and flight, "How the forest of the foe "Thus they hew'd their dreadful way; Till, by numbers forced to yield, Terrible in death they lay, The AVENGERS OF THE FIELD." PART IV. The Wanderer relates the circumstances attending the Death of Albert. SHEPHERD. "PLEDGE the memory of the Brave, And the Spirits of the dead; Pledge the venerable Grave, "Wanderer, cheer thy drooping soul, This inspiring goblet take; Drain the deep delicious bowl, For thy martyr'd brethren's sake." 1 An indiscriminate massacre followed the battle. 2 Two hundred self-devoted heroes from the Canton of Switz arrived, at the close of the battle, to the aid of their Brethren of Underwalden,--and perished to a man, after having slain thrice their number. 3 The Lavanges are tremendous torrents of melting snow 189 WANDERER. "Hail!-all hail! the Patriot's grave, Valor's venerable bed : Hail! the memory of the Brave, "Time their triumphs shall proclaim, SHEPHERD. "On that melancholy plain, How didst thou, old Warrior, fare?" WANDERER. "In the agony of strife, Where the heart of battle bled, Where his country lost her life, Glorious Albert bow'd his head. "When our phalanx broke away, And our stoutest soldiers fell, -Where the dark rocks dimm'd the day, "There, like lions old in blood, "Breast to breast we fought the ground, "Thus the clouds of sunset beam "Many a mother, in despair, Turning up the ghastly slain, Sought her son, her hero there, Whom she long'd to seek in vain. Dark the evening shadows roll'd On the eye that gleam'd in death; And the evening dews fell cold On the lip that gasp'd for breath. "As I gazed, an ancient dame, "Then, with desperation bold, "Albert's angel gave me strength, "One pale moment fix'd I stood In astonishment severe; "Then a sudden trembling came SHEPHERD. "Rather like the mountain-oak, Tempest-shaken, rooted fast, Grasping strength from every stroke. While it wrestles with the blast." WANDERER. "Ay!-my heart, unwont to yield, "Loud the gusty night-wind blew ;- "For the moon's resplendent eye Gleams of transient glory shed; And the clouds, athwart the sky, Like a routed army, fled. "Sounds and voices fill'd the vale, Heard alternate loud and low; Shouts of victory swell'd the gale, But the breezes murmur'd woe. "As I climb'd the mountain's side, Where the Lake and Valley meet, All my country's power and pride Lay in ruins at my feet. "On that grim and ghastly plain Underwalden's heart-strings broke. When she saw her heroes slain, And her rocks receive the yoke, "On that plain, in childhood's hours, From their mothers' arms set free, Oft those heroes gather'd flowers, Often chased the wandering bee. "On that plain, in rosy youth, "There, with shepherd's pipe and song, SHEPHERD. "Heard not Heaven the accusing cries Of the blood that smoked around, While the life-warm sacrifice Palpitated on the ground?" WANDERER. "Wrath in silence heaps his store, "Vengeance, vengeance will not stay: "From the Revolution's flood He shall drink his mother's blood, "Nurst by Anarchy and Crime, SHEPHERD. "Prophet! thou hast spoken well, WANDERER. Though the moon's bewilder'd bark, "Still my journey I pursued, "Stantz―a melancholy pyre— "Flaming piles, where'er I turn'd, "While the red illumined flood, "'Midst the mountains far away, "At the sight my brain was fired, 1 The town of Stantz, and the surrounding villages, were burnt by the French on the night after the battle of Underwalden, and the beautiful valley was converted into a wilderness. |