The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1860-02-01
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From Pictures from the History of the Swist J
THE THIEVIsH RAVEN AND THE MIS-
| CHIEF HE CAUSED.

THE THIEVISH RAVEN AND The mis-
CHIEF HE CAUSED.
The Helvetians remained so long in peaceful
submission to R>ine that they lost their bra
very and hardhood ; and in the year of our
! L:rd 800, great calamities overlook them in
consequence First, savage German warriors
called Allcmanni, conquered them, burned
their cities, and made them slaves.
Soon afterwards, the Huns overran the couu-
try, destroying everything they could find
| They were barbarians, and so hideous in their
looks, that they seemed scarcely to be men.
Next followed the Burgundans. They, al
Sc, conquered part of the country. They
we're more civilized than the Huns and Allem-
ami They built fu1tresses, and founded anew
some of the cities They made subjects Of
the Heivetians. but did not give them equal
privileges with themselves.
Then came the Goths. They allowed the
people their old customs, but compelled them
to labor like slaves.
Finally. the Franks conquered all Helvetia ;
and after five hundred years of war and change,
the people were united under one government
as in the time of the Romans The poor Hell
vetians were in very sad co"dition. They
were looked upon as little better than cattle.
and were given, with their houses, farms. and
all their possessions, hy the Frankish king, Di-
etbert, to his warriors. They could own no
property, being themselves the property of
their lords
Amidst all this sorrow, there were some
CLEANS of light, where, here aud there, good
| men preached the gospel to the ignorant mul-
| ttude. The piety of that time was By 10
means pure. Whoever was baptized, and had
learned prayer, attended church. and made
the sign of tie cross, called christian
But some were really humble disciples OF the
| l,a,r orl-
Of value. Schools were established in some o !
the converts, and many books were collected
and copied in them the art of printing being
then unknown.
The most powerful of the Frankish kings
was Charemagne. He was king of France,
Italy and great part of Germany, which he
combined into powerful empire. But after
his death. his sons and grandsons did not agree
well together. They divided his kingdom and
were constantly at war with each other. In
this confusion, the great officers such as dukes
and counts, would obey no-one, but ruled indie
pendently, each over his own province. Even
! the bishops kept large bodies of troops. and
| fought where and as they pleased. Only a
common danger united them. Once, savage
people, all on horse back, came from the East.
! They were Hungarians. They swept over the
country with fire and sword They did not at
tack fortressas because they did not understand
| the art of taking them. So the emperor or
dered all large villages to be surrounded by
walls and bitches To these villages the peo-
pie could fly for safety. Each man was obliged
to keep spear sword, to pay taxes and contri-
buttons to the state, and to have fire bucket
always in his house Markets were established
in these villages, which increased in population
and became cities. The security they offered
led to greater industry in manufactures and
| the mechanic arts.
The mobiles and knights disliked to see the
cities so prosperous, AID they endeavored to in
crease the number of their own serfs and re-
! tainers. Those who best understood their in
| terests, lightened the burdens of their people.
They divided the land into farms, furnished
materials for the house, plough and cart,
seeds for sowing, a COW. pig, and some hens; I;
and required the householders to pay rent,
partly in lasor. and partly in The produce of
the ground. When the father died, the lord
took the best dress, the best piece of furniture,
and the best from the stable. The family kept
the rest. But the serfs gained greatly in com
fort. and in reased in prosperity.
The mobiles lived in strong castles which
could not be easily taken, because gunpowder
was then unknown. They had many servants,
and they also kept bands of soldiers. Arms
and the chase were their favarite occupations,
| and the sword and falcon their greatest treas
ures.- Their hunting feaStS were among their
highest festivities. Magnificent tents were
pitched for the ladies. from which those might
see the destruction of the game who did not
wish to join in the pursuit. In the evening,
banquet was served in the forest. Blazened
torches were fastened among the houghs.-
The tables elttered with silver. Lively music
aided to the gayety. Late at night, the guests
returned to their homes to the sound of the
hunting horns. -
AS the mobiles feared no one, they often did
cruel and wicked things Count Henry of
Toggenburg built his castle on the very edge
of a high rock, of which it seemed almost
pa-t He was an irritable man. and kept his
family in constant trouble with his fault find
;ng. He was called brave, because he WAS not
afraid of his enemies but he who conquers
his passions is much Drawer than he who fights
we'll in battle His wife's name was Ida
She was 50 beautiful that all great lords who
visited her husband admired her extremely,
and were delighted when they could serve her.
But she was not happy, because her husband
often ill treated her household and she was
obliged to see much injustice which she could
not remedy. -a
One day, she sitting in her dressing
room, which, for security, was high up in one
of the towers. 1t was very pretty place
The Count had taken pleasure in fitting it up
for her when she became his bride. The floor