"By a hundred winters piled, When the glaciers,* dark with death, Hang o'er precipices wild,

Hang-suspended by a breath: "If a pulse but throb alarm,

Headlong down the steeps they fall; For a pulse will break the charm,—

Bounding, bursting, burying all. "Struck with horror stiff and pale, When the chaos breaks on high, All that view it from the vale,

All that hear it coming, die :

"In a day and hour accurst,

O'er the wretched land of Tell, Thus the Gallic ruin burst,

Thus the Gallic glacier fell!"

SHEPHERD.

"Hush that melancholy strain; Wipe those unavailing tears.

WANDERER.

"Nay-I must, I will complain; "Tis the privilege of years:

""Tis the privilege of wo

Thus her anguish to impart: And the tears that freely flow Ease the agonizing heart."

SHEPHERD.

"Yet suspend thy griefs a while; See the plenteous table crown'd; And my wife's endearing smile

Beams a rosy welcome round.

"Cheese, from mountain dairies prest,
Wholesome herbs, nutritious roots,
Honey, from the wild-bee's nest,
Cheering wine and ripen'd fruits:
"These, with soul-sustaining bread,
My paternal fields afford :-
On such fare our fathers fed;
Holy pilgrim! bless the board."

PART II.

After supper, the Wanderer, at the desire of his host, relates the sorrows and sufferings of his country during the invasion and conquest of it by the French, in connexion with his own story.

SHEPHERD.

"Wanderer! bow'd with griefs and years,
Wanderer, with the cheek so pale,
O give language to those tears!
Tell their melancholy tale."

More properly the avalanches; immense accumulations of ice and snow, balanced on the verge of the mountains in such subtle suspense, that, in the opinion of the natives, the tread of the traveller may bring them down in destruction upon him. The glaciers are more permanent masses of ice, and formed rather in the valleys than on the summits of the Alps.

WANDERER.

"Stranger-friend, the tears that flow
Down the channels of this cheek,
Tell a mystery of wo

Which no human tongue can speak.
"Not the pangs of hope deferr'd'
My tormented bosom tear:-
On the tomb of hope interr'd

Scowls the spectre of despair.
"Where the Alpine summits rise,
Height o'er height stupendous hurl'd;
Like the pillars of the skies,
Like the ramparts of the world:
"Born in freedom's eagle nest,
Rock'd by whirlwinds in their rage,
Nursed at freedom's stormy breast,
Lived my sires from age to age.
"High o'er Underwalden's vale,
Where the forest fronts the morn;
Whence the boundless eye might sail
O'er a sea of mountains borne ;
"There my little native cot
Peep'd upon my father's farm :-
O! it was a happy spot,

Rich in every rural charm! "There, my life, a silent stream,

Glid along, yet seem'd at rest; Lovely as an infant's dream

On the waking mother's breast. "Till the storm that wreck'd the world,

In its horrible career,

Into hopeless ruin hurl'd

All this aching heart held dear. "On the princely towers of Berne

Fell the Gallic thunder-stroke; To the lake of poor Lucerne, All submitted to the yoke. "REDING then his standard raised, Drew his sword on Brunnen's plain ;* But in vain his banner blazed,

Reding drew his sword in vain.

"Where our conquering fathers died, Where their awful bones repose, Thrice the battle's fate he tried,

Thrice o'erthrew his country's foes.t

"Happy then were those who fell

Fighting on their father's graves! Wretched those who lived to tell

Treason made the victors slaves!

* Brunnen, at the foot of the mountains, on the borders of the Lake of Uri, where the first Swiss patriots, Walter Furst of Uri, Werner Stauffacher of Schwitz, and Arnold of Melchtal in Underwalden, conspired against the ty ranny of Austria in 1307, again in 1798, became the seat of the diet of these three forest cantons.

On the plains of Morgarthen, where the Swiss gained their first decisive victory over the force of Austria, and thereby secured the independence of their country; Aloys Reding, at the head of the troops of the little cantons, Uri, Schwitz, and Underwalden, repeatedly repulsed the invading army of France.

By the resistance of these small cantons, the French General Schawenbourg was compelled to respect their independence, and gave them a solemn pledge to that

"Thus my country's life retired,

Slowly driven from part to part;
Underwalden last expired,

Underwalden was the heart.*

"In the valley of their birth,

Where our guardian mountains stand;
In the eye of heaven and earth,

Met the warriors of our land.
"Like their sires in olden time,
Arm'd they met in stern debate ;
While in every breast sublime

Glow'd the spirit of the state.
"Gallia's menace fired their blood:
With one heart and voice they rose;
Hand in hand the heroes stood,

And defied their faithless foes. "Then to heaven, in calm despair,

As they turn'd the tearless eye, By their country's wrongs they sware With their country's rights to die. "Albert from the council came(My poor daughter was his wife; All the valley loved his name;

Albert was my staff of life.) "From the council field he came :

All his noble visage burn'd;
At his look I caught the flame;

At his voice my youth return'd.
"Fire from heaven my heart renew'd,
Vigour beat through every vein;
All the powers, that age had hew'd,

Started into strength again.
"Sudden from my couch I sprang,

Every limb to life restored; With the bound my cottage rang,

As I snatch'd my fathers' sword. "This the weapon they did wield

On Morgarthen's dreadful day;
And through Sempach'st iron field

This the ploughshare of their way.
Then, my spouse! in vain thy fears
Strove my fury to restrain;

O my daughter! all thy tears,

All thy children's, were in vain.

purport; but no sooner had they disarmed, on the faith of this engagement, than the enemy came suddenly upon them with an immense force; and with threats of extermination compelled them to take the civic oath to the new constitution, imposed upon all Switzerland.

The inhabitants of the lower valley of Underwalden

"Quickly from our hastening foes, Albert's active care removed, Far amidst th' eternal snows,

Those who loved us,-those beloved.*

"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 !"

SHEPHERD.

"By the lightning's deadly flash Would her foes had been consumed! Or amidst the earthquake's crash Suddenly, alive, entomb'd!

"Why did justice not prevail?"

WANDERER. "Ah! it was not thus to be !"

SHEPHERD.

"Man of grief! pursue thy tale To the death of liberty."

PART III.

mission to the new constitution, and the immediate surrender, alive or dead, of nine of their leaders. When the demand, accompanied by a menace of destruction, was read in the assembly of the district, all the men of the valley, fifteen hundred in number, took up arms, and devoted themselves to perish in the ruins of their country.

† At the battle of Sempach, the Austrians presented so impenetrable a front with their projected spears, that the Swiss were repeatedly compelled to retire from the attack, till a native of Underwalden, named Arnold de Winkelried, commending his family to his countrymen, sprung upon the enemy, and burying as many of their spears as he could grasp in his body, made a breach in their line; the Swiss rushed in, and routed the Austrians with a terrible slaughter.

battle and massacre of Underwalden.

WANDERER.

"FROM the valley we descried,

As the Gauls approach'd our shores, Keels that darken'd all the tide,

Tempesting the lake with oars.

* Many of the Underwalders, on the approach of the French army, removed their families and cattle among the higher Alps; and themselves returned to join their brethren, who had encamped in their native valley, on the borders of the lake, and awaited the attack of the enemy + The capital of Underwalden.

"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: O! 'tis venerable earth,

Freedom's cradle, freedom's tomb.

"Then on every side begun

That unutterable fight; Never rose th' astonish'd sun

On so horrible a sight.

"Once an eagle of the rock

('Twas 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 th' 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.+

* At Schaffhausen.-See Coxe's Travels.

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 ;O 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, valour, naught avail'd

With so merciless a foe; When the nerves of heroes fail'd,

Cowards then could strike a blow.

"Cold and keen th' assassin's blade Smote the father to the ground; Through the infant's breast convey'd To the mother's heart a wound."

"Underwalden thus expired; But at her expiring flame, With fraternal feeling fired,

Lo, a band of Switzers came.t

"From the steeps beyond the lake,
Like a winter's weight of snow,
When the huge lavanges break,
Devastating all below.‡

"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,

Valour's consecrated bed.

"Wanderer, cheer thy drooping soul,

This inspiring goblet take; Drain the deep delicious bowl,

For thy martyr'd brethren's sake.

* An indiscriminate massacre followed the battle. 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.

The lavanges are tremendous torrents of melting snow that tumble from the tops of the Alps, and deluge all the Country before them.

WANDERER.

"Hail!-all hail! the patriot's grave,

Valour'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.

"Miracles our champions wroughtWho their dying deeds shall tell! O how gloriously they fought!

How triumphantly they fell!

"One by one gave up the ghost,

Slain, not conquer'd,-they died free.

Albert stood, himself a host:

Last of all the Swiss was he.

"So, when night with rising shade Climbs the Alps from steep to steep

Till, in hoary gloom array'd,

All the giant mountains sleep;

High in heaven their monarch* stands, Bright and beauteous from afar,

Shining unto distant lands

Like a new-created star.

* Mont Blanc; which is so much higher than the surrounding Alps, that it catches and retains the beams of the sun twenty minutes earlier and later than they, and, crowned with eternal ice, may be seen from an immense distance purpling with his eastern light, or crimsoned with his setting glory while mist and obscurity rest on the mountains below.

"While I struggled through the fight, Albert was my sword and shield; Till strange horror quench'd my sight, And I fainted on the field.

"Slow awakening from that trance,

When my soul return'd to day,

Vanish' were the fiends of France,

But in Albert's blood I lay.

"Slain for me, his dearest breath

On my lips he did resign; Slain for me, he snatch'd his death From the blow that menaced mine. "He had raised his dying head,

And was gazing on my face; As I woke, the spirit fled,

But I felt his last embrace."

SHEPHERD.

"Man of suffering! such a tale

Would bring tears from marble eyes!"

WANDERER.

"Ha! my daughter's cheek grows pale !"

WANDERER'S WIFE.

"Help! O help! my daughter dies!"

WANDERER.

"Calm thy transports, O my wife! Peace! for these dear orphans' sake!"

WANDERER'S WIFE.

"O my joy, my hope, my life,

O my child, my child, awake!"

WANDERER.

"God! O God, whose goodness gives;

God! whose wisdom takes awaySpare my child."

SHEPHERD.

"She lives, she lives!"

WANDERER.

"Lives?-my daughter, didst thou say?

"God Almighty, on my knees,

In the dust will I adore

Thine unsearchable decrees;

-She was dead:-she lives once more."

WANDERER'S DAUGHTER.

"When poor Albert died, no prayer

Call'd him back to hated life:

O that I had perish'd there,

Not his widow, but his wife!"

WANDERER.

"Dare my daughter thus repine?
Albert, answer from above;
Tell me,-are these infants thine,
Whom their mother does not love?"

WANDERER'S DAUGHTER. "Does not love-my father, hear; Hear me, or my heart will break ; Dear is life, but only dear

For my parents', children's sake.

"Bow'd to Heaven's mysterious will,

I am worthy yet of you; Yes!-I am a mother still,

Though I feel a widow, too."

WANDERER.

"Mother, widow, mourner, all,

All kind names in one,-my child; On thy faithful neck I fall; Kiss me, are we reconciled ?"

WANDERER'S DAUGHTER.

"Yes, to Albert I appeal:
Albert, answer from above,
That my father's breast may feel
All his daughter's heart of love."
SHEPHERD'S WIFE.

"Faint and wayworn as they be With the day's long journey, sire, Let thy pilgrim family

Now with me to rest retire."

WANDERER.

"Yes, the hour invites to sleep; Till the morrow we must part:Nay, my daughter, do not weep,

Do not weep and break my heart. "Sorrow-soothing sweet repose

On your peaceful pillows light; Angel hands your eyelids closeDream of Paradise to-night."

PART V.

The Wanderer, being left alone with the shepherd, relates his adventures after the battle of Underwalden.

SHEPHERD.

"WHEN the good man yields his breath,

(For the good man never dies,) Bright, beyond the gulf of death, Lo! the land of promise lies.

"Peace to Albert's awful shade,

In that land where sorrows cease; And to Albert's ashes, laid

In the earth's cold bosom, peace."

WANDERER.

"On the fatal field I lay,

Till the hour when twilight pale, Like the ghost of dying day, Wander'd down the darkening vale.

"Then in agony I rose,

And with horror look'd around, Where, embracing friends and foes, Dead and dying, strew'd the ground.

"Many a widow fix'd her eye,

Weeping, where her husband bled, Heedless, though her babe was by, Prattling to his father dead