To gird th' oppress'd, had given their deep thoughts way, And brac'd their spirits for the patriot-fight, With lovely images of homes, that lay Bower'd 'midst the rustling pines, or by the torrent-spray. Now had endurance reach'd its bounds!-They came The stars, the waves, their soften'd light enshrining, And man's high soul supreme o'er mighty nature shining! Beneath that field the waters lay reposing, Stretch'd in dark stillness on their marble bed; All regions of the living and the dead Folding alike; but Grandeur's seat and throne Amidst that scene lay deep, in those men's hearts alone. Calmly they stood, and with collected mien, With the wood's whisper, and the wave's sweet flow, And three, that seem'd as chieftains of the band, For he had walk'd with God, beside the mountain streams. And his gray hairs, in happier times, might well As melts a wreath of snow. But who can tell Walter Fürst. Who through long years a Freeman's work had done, And for such holy rest strong hands must toil, He was a mate for such !-The voice that cried It was a home to die for!-As it rose Through its vine-foliage sending forth a sound But who was he, that on his hunting-spear One that should pass, and leave a name for warlike song: A memory on the mountains !-One, to stand When the hills echoed with the deepening swell Array his peasant children, to repel Her banner with a smile,-for through his veins The joy of danger flow'd, as torrents to the plains. There was, at times, a wildness in the light Werner Stauffacher. Of the free Alps, and beautifully bright, He was a creature of the Alpine sky, A being, whose bright spirit had been fed Of his loud horn, the Lammer-Geyer (10) had spread His step had track'd the waste-his soul had stirr'd Of wrongs to call down Heaven (11)!-That tale was heard Nor was it heard in vain!There all things press There leap'd a spirit and a power, to cast The weight of bondage down!-And bright and fast Burst from the desert rock, it rush'd at last Through the far valleys, till the Patriot Three, Thus, with their brethren stood, beside the Forest Sea (13). They linked their hands-they pledg'd their stainless faith, To bless such vows!-How noble men had striven, * Erni, Arnold Melchthal. They knelt, and rose in strength.-The valleys lay The Ice-vaults trembled, when that peal came rending And the flame signals through the midnight sprung, Shone out, a meteor-Heaven in its wild splendour seeming. And the winds toss'd each summit's blazing crest, Reddening the distance. Wine-cups, crown'd and bright, Then, on the silence of the snows there lay A Sabbath's quiet sunshine-and its bell Fill'd the hush'd air awhile with lonely sway, For the stream's voice was bound by winter's spell, The deep wood sounds had ceas'd. But rock and dell Rung forth, ere long, when strains of jubilee Burst from the mountain churches, with a swell Of praise to Him who stills the raging sea; For now the strife was clos'd, the glorious Alps were free! NOTES. (1) Senn, the name given to a herdsman amongst the Swiss Alps. (2) The dark azure, almost approaching to black, of an Alpine sky at midnight, has been frequently remarked by travellers. (3) Many of the highest Alpine peaks are called Domes. (4) "Like snows when winds are laid." "Come neve in Alpi senza venti."-DANTE. (5) The Lake of the Four Cantons is sometimes called the Lake of Uri. The scenery of its shores is wild and majestic in the highest degree. The rocks in many parts rise from the water like a wall, without leaving room even for a pathway at their feet. (6) The meadow of Grütli covers a little craggy platform, immediately above the Lake. (7) Tahnwind, the wind of the south-east, which blows with such impetuosity, particularly in some parts of the Canton of Uri, as frequently to lay the country waste before it. (8)" The air of the Glacier was remarkably inspiring and elating from its freshness and rarity. On a sudden, I was surprised to feel my face fanned by a sultry current from the south, which passed away, and then came again, like a Sirocco. On mentioning it to the guide, he said it was not uncommon, and that these warm winds were particularly felt on the Glacier des Bossons, owing to its being opposite several indentures or breaks of the Alpine chain, which give a passage to the currents of air from Italy and the South."-Letters on a Tour in Switzerland. (9) It is said that the Lynx is not unfrequently found in the wilder regions of the Alps. (10) The Lammer-Geyer, the largest kind of Alpine Eagle. (11) The eyes of ARNOLD MELCHTHAL's father had been torn out, by command of the Austrian Bailiffs, as a punishment for some instance of contumacy on the part of his son. (12) The Oberland. The solitudes of the Upper Alps are so called in some of the Swiss Cantons. (13) The Lake of the Four Cantons is also sometimes called the Sea of the Forest towns. (14) Surennen Alps, a chain of high mountains between the Cantons of Uri and Unterwalden. THE FESTAL HOUR. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. When are the lessons giv'n That shake the startled earth? When wakes the foe High hopes o'erthrown?-It is, When lands rejoice, Fear ye the festal hour! When mirth o'erflows, then tremble!-'Twas a night The marble shrines were crown'd; Young voices, through the blue Athenian sky, |