"Then our cottage we forsook;
Yet as down the steeps we pass'd,
Many an agonizing look
Homeward o'er the hills we cast.

"Now we reach'd the nether glen,
Where in arms our brethren lay;
Thrice five hundred fearless men,
Men of adamant were they!

"Nature's bulwarks, built by Time,
'Gainst Eternity to stand,
Mountains, terribly sublime,
Girt the camp on either hand.

"Dim behind, the valley brake
Into rocks that fled from view;
Fair in front the gleaming Lake
Roll'd its waters bright and blue.

"'Midst the hamlets of the dale,
Stantz,' with simple grandeur crown'd,
Seem'd the Mother of the vale,
With her children scatter'd round.

"Midst the ruins of the dale
Now she bows her hoary head,
Like the Widow of the vale
Weeping o'er her children dead.

"Happier then had been her fate,
Ere she fell by such a foe,
Had an earthquake sunk her state,
Or the lightning laid her low!"

"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,
While the frantic foe drew nigh,
Grim as watching wolves we stood,
Prompt as eagles stretch'd to fly.

"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—
Till the waves were warm with blood,
Till the booming waters swell'd
As they sank beneath the flood.'

"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,
Muttering vengeance as they fled;
Hope in us, by Conquest fired,
Raised our spirits from the dead.

"From the dead our spirits rose,
To the dead they soon return'd;
Bright, on its eternal close,
Underwalden's glory burn'd.

"Star of Switzerland! whose rays
Shed such sweet expiring light,
Ere the Gallic comet's blaze
Swept thy beauty into night:-

"Star of Switzerland! thy fame
No recording Bard hath sung;
Yet be thine immortal name
Inspiration to my tongue! 2

"While the lingering moon delay'd
In the wilderness of night,
Ere the morn awoke the shade
Into loveliness and light:-

"Gallia's tigers, wild for blood,
Darted on our sleeping fold;
Down the mountains, o'er the flood,
Dark as thunder-clouds they roll'd.

"By the trumpet's voice alarm'd,
All the valley burst awake;
All were in a moment arm'd,
From the barriers to the lake.

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

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,
When the graves give up their dead,
At the trumpet's voice once more
Shall those slumberers quit their bed.

For the glen that gave them birth
Hides their ashes in its womb:
Oh! 'tis venerable earth,
Freedom's cradle, Freedom's tomb.

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
("T was an omen of our fate)
Stoop'd, and from my scatter'd flock
Bore a lambkin to his mate.

"While the Parents fed their young,
Lo! a cloud of vultures lean,
By voracious famine stung,
Wildly screaming, rush'd between.
"Fiercely fought the eagle-twain,
Though by multitudes opprest,
Till their little ones were slain,
Till they perish'd on their nest.

"More unequal was the fray
Which our band of brethren waged;
More insatiate o'er their prey
Gaul's remorseless vultures raged.

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,
Fighting in dissever'd parts,
Weak and weaker grew our hands,
Strong and stronger still our hearts.

"Fierce amid the loud alarms,
Shouting in the foremost fray,
Children raised their little arms
In their country's evil day.

"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,
Bloodier still the battle grew;-
Oh ye Spirits of the slain,
Slain on those your prowess slew:

"Who shall now your deeds relate?
Ye that fell unwept, unknown;
Mourning for your country's fate,
But rejoicing in your own.

"Virtue, valor, nought avail'd
With so merciless a foe;

When the nerves of heroes fail'd,
Cowards then could strike a blow.

"Cold and keen the assassin's blade
Smote the father to the ground;
Through the infant's breast convey'd
To the mother's heart a wound.1
"Underwalden thus expired;
But at her expiring flame,
With fraternal feeling fired,
Lo, a band of Switzers came.2

"From the steeps beyond the lake,
Like a Winter's weight of snow,
When the huge Lavanges break,
Devastating all below; 3

"Down they rush'd with headlong might, Swifter than the panting wind;

All before them fear and flight,
Death and silence all behind.

"How the forest of the foe
Bow'd before the thunder-strokes,
When they laid the cedars low,
When they overwhelm'd the oaks.

"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,
Valor's consecrated bed.

"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,
Hail! the spirits of the Dead.

"Time their triumphs shall proclaim,
And their rich reward be this,-
Immortality of fame,
Immortality of bliss."

SHEPHERD.

"On that melancholy plain,
In that conflict of despair,
How was noble Albert slain?

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,
Scowling o'er the deepest dell;

"There, like lions old in blood,
Lions rallying round their den,
Albert and his warriors stood;
We were few, but we were men.

"Breast to breast we fought the ground,
Arm to arm repell'd the foe;
Every motion was a wound,
And a death was every blow.

"Thus the clouds of sunset beam
Warmer with expiring light;
Thus autumnal meteors stream
Redder through the darkening night.

"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,
-She was childless by her look,-
With refreshing cordials came ;
Of her bounty I partook.

"Then, with desperation bold,
Albert's precious corpse I bore
On these shoulders weak and old,
Bow'd with misery before.

"Albert's angel gave me strength,
As I stagger'd down the glen ;
And I hid my charge at length
In its wildest, deepest den.

"One pale moment fix'd I stood

In astonishment severe;
Horror petrified my blood,-
I was wither'd up with fear,

"Then a sudden trembling came
O'er my limbs; I felt on fire,
Burning, quivering like a flame
In the instant to expire."

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,
Quickly quell'd the strange affright,
And undaunted o'er the field
I began my lonely flight.

"Loud the gusty night-wind blew ;-
Many an awful pause between,
Fits of light and darkness flew,
Wild and sudden o'er the scene.

"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,
They had fed their fathers' flocks,
Told their love, and pledged their truth,
In the shadow of those rocks.

"There, with shepherd's pipe and song,
In the merry mingling dance,
Once they led their brides along,
Now!Perdition seize thee, France!"

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,
To confound the guilty foe;
But the thunder will not roar
Till the flash has struck the blow.

"Vengeance, vengeance will not stay:
It shall burst on Gallia's head,
Sudden as the judgment-day
To the unexpecting dead.

"From the Revolution's flood
Shall a fiery dragon start;

He shall drink his mother's blood,
He shall eat his father's heart.

"Nurst by Anarchy and Crime,
Hebut distance mocks my sight,
Oh thou great avenger, TIME!
Bring thy strangest birth to light."

SHEPHERD.

"Prophet! thou hast spoken well,
And I deem thy words divine:
Now the mournful sequel tell
Of thy country's woes and thine."

WANDERER.

Though the moon's bewilder'd bark,
By the midnight tempest tost,
In a sea of vapors dark,
In a gulf of clouds was lost;

"Still my journey I pursued,
Climbing many a weary steep,
Whence the closing scene I view'd
With an eye that would not weep.

"Stantz―a melancholy pyre—
And her hamlets blazed behind,
With ten thousand tongues of fire
Writhing, raging in the wind.'

"Flaming piles, where'er I turn'd,
Cast a grim and dreadful light;
Like funereal lamps they burn'd
In the sepulchre of night;

"While the red illumined flood,
With a hoarse and hollow roar,
Seem'd a lake of living blood,
Wildly weltering on the shore.

"'Midst the mountains far away,
Soon I spied the sacred spot,
Whence a slow consuming ray,
Glimmer'd from my native cot.

"At the sight my brain was fired,
And afresh my heart's wounds bled;
Still I gazed:the spark expired-
Nature seem'd extinct:-I fled.

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.