The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1868-06-24

that took place was the looping off the long
peaked toes of the boots that the gentlemen
wore chained to their knees, and which wo'd
have impeded them on foot; since it had
been decided that the horses were too much
tired to be serviceable in the action.
''There was lacing then of helmets bright,
And closing ranks amain,
The peaks they hewed from their boot points
Might wellnigh load vain.
They were drawn up in a solid compact
body, presenting an unbroken line of spears
projecting beyond the wall of gay shields
and polished impenetrable armor.
The Swiss were not only few in number,
hut arluor Was scarce among them; some
had only boards fastened on their arms by
way of shields, some had haIberts, which
had been used by their fathers at the battle
of Morgarten, others two-handed swords
and battle axes They drew themselves up
in form of a wedge, and
''The gallant Swiss confederates then
They prayed to God aloud,
And He displayed His rainbow fair,
Against swarthy cloud"
Then they rushed upon the serried spears,
but in vain. ''The game was nothing
sweet"
The banner of Lucerne was in the utmost
danger, the Landamman was slain, and six
ty of his men, and not an Austrian had been
wounded. The flanks of the Austrian host
began to advance so as to enclose the small
peasant force, and involve it in irTemediable
destruction A moment of dismay and still
ness ensued. Then Arnold Won Winkelried
of Unterwalden, with an eagle glance saw
the only means OF saving his country, and,
with the decision of man who dares by
dying to do all things, shouted aloud: 81
will open passage"
90 Il have virtuous wife at home,
A wife and infant son:
leave them to my country's care,
The field shall yet be wonl
He rushed against the Austrian, band
In desperate career,
And with his body, breast and hand,
Bore down each hostile spear;
Four lances splintered on his crest
Six shiVered in his side,
Still on the serried files he pressed.
He broke their ranks and died!"
The very weight of the desperate charge
of this self-devoted man opened a breach in
the line of spears. In rushed the Swiss
wedge, and the weight of the nobles' armor
and length of their spears was only encumb-
ering. They began to fall before the Swiss
blows, and Duke Leopold was urged to fly.
81 had rather tie honoIably than live with
dishonor," he said. He saw his standard
bearer struck to the ground, and seizing his
banner from his hand, waved it over his
head, and threw himself among the thickest
of the foe His corpse was found amid q
heap of slain, and no less than 1000 of his
companions perished with him, of whom q
third are said to have been counts. barons,
and knights.
''Then lost was banner, spear, and shield
At Sempach in the flight;
The cloister vaults at Konigsfeldt
Hold many an Austrian knight
The Swiss only lost 200; but as they were
spent with the excessive heat of the July
sun, they did not pursue their enemies
| They gave thanks on the battlefield to the
| God Of Victories, and the next day buried
the dead, carrying Duke Leopold and TWEEN
ty-seven of his most nlusrious companions
to the Abbey of Konigsfeldt where they
buried him in the old tomb of his forefath
ers, the lords of Aargau, who had been lait
there in the good old times, hefore the hous'
of Hapsburg had grown arrogant with sue
cess.
As to the master-slnger, he tells rs o
himself that
"a merry man was he, wot,
The night he made the lay,
Returning from the bloody spot
Where God had judged the. day.
On every 9th of July subsequently,; tn
people of the country have been wont to as
semble ON the battlefield, around four ston
crosses which mark the spot. A priest from
a pulpit in the open air gives thanksgivin!
sermon on the victory that insured the free
dom of Switzerland, and another reads tn
narrative of the battle, and the roll of tn
500, who, after Winkehied's example, gav
their lives in the cause. All this is in th
cause. All this is in the face of the noun
tains and the lake now lying IN summe
stiffness, and the harvest fields whose crop
are secure frCm marauders, and the congre
cation then proceed to the small chapel, tn
walls of which are painted with the deed O
Arnold Won Winkelried, and the other dis
tinguished achievements of the confederate
and masses ere sung for the souls of thos
who were slain. No wonder that men thu
nurtmed in the memory of such actions WEI
even to the fall of the French monarchy
among the most trustworthy soldiery O
Eurype.