4. A king can mak a belted knight, But an honest man's aboon his might- Their dignities and a' that; The pith o' sense, and pride o' worth 5. Then let us pray that come it may, That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, It's coming yet, for a' that- make. above. must not try. superiority. ROBERT BURNS. THE BATTLE OF MORGARTEN. [FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS was born in Liverpool, 25th September, 1794, and died 16th May, 1835. Her poetry is remarkable for purity and delicacy of feeling, and a fine sense of the beauty of nature.] 1. THE wine-month shone in its golden prime But a deeper sound through the Switzer's clime, A sound, through vaulted cave, Like the hollow swell of a rushing wave ;— 2. And a trumpet, pealing wild and far, And through the forest glooms And the winds were tossing knightly plumes 3. In Hasli's wilds there was gleaming steel, Up 'midst the Righi snows The stormy march was heard, With the charger's tramp, whence fire-sparks rose, 4. But a band, the noblest band of all, But amidst his Alp-domains The herdsman's arm is strong! 5. The sun was reddening the clouds of morn Where the mountain-people stood, There was stillness, as of night, When storms at distance brood. 6. There was stillness, as of deep dead night, On wound those columns bright Between the lake and wood, But they looked not to the misty height 7. The pass was filled with their serried power, All helmed and mail-arrayed, And their steps had sounds like a thunder-shower There were prince and crested knight When a shout arose from the misty height 8. And the mighty rocks came bounding down With a joyous whirl from the summit thrown— They came, like lauwine hurled When the echoes shout through the snowy world, 9. The fir-woods crashed on the mountain side, Like hunters of the deer, They stormed the narrow dell, 10. There was tumult in the crowded strait, And the empire's banner then, 11. With their pikes and massy clubs they brake And the war-horse dashed to the reddening lake The field-but not of sheaves- Strewn o'er it thick as the birchwood leaves 12. Oh! the sun in heaven fierce havoc viewed And the leader of the war With a hurrying step on the wilds afar, 13. But the sons of the land which the freeman tills Went back from the battle-toil, To their cabin homes, 'midst the deep green hills, There were songs and festal fires On the soaring Alps that night, When children sprang to greet their sires HEMANS. Battle of Morgarten." In the year 1315, Switzerland was invaded by Duke Leopold of Austria, with a formidable army. This prince declared he would trample the audacious rustics under his feet;' and that he had procured a large stock of cordage, for the purpose of binding their chiefs, and putting them to death. "The 15th October, 1315, dawned. The sun darted its first rays on the shields and armour of the advancing host; and this being the first army ever known to have attempted the frontiers of the cantons, the Swiss viewed its long line with various emotions. Montfort de Tettnang led the cavalry into the narrow pass, and soon filled the whole space between the mountain (Mount Sattel) and the lake. The fifty men on the eminence (above Morgarten) raised a sudden shout, and rolled down heaps of rocks and stones among the crowded ranks. The confederates on the mountain, perceiving the impression made by this attack, rushed down in close array, and fell upon the flank of the disordered column. With massy clubs they dashed in pieces the armour of the enemy, and dealt their blows and thrusts with long pikes. The narrowness of the defile admitted of no evolutions, and a slight frost having injured the road, the horses were impeded in all their motions; many leaped into the lake; all were startled; and at last the whole column gave way, and fell suddenly back on the infantry; and these last, as the nature of the country did not allow them to open their files, were run over by the fugitives, and many of them trampled to death. A general rout ensued, and Duke Leopold was, with much difficulty, rescued by a peasant, who led him to Winterthur, where the historian of the times saw him arrive in the evening, pale, sullen, and dismayed."-PLANTA'S Helvetic Confederacy. Wine-month.-A. German name for October. Hasli.-A wild district in the Canton of Berne. Schreckhorn (the peak of terror).—A mountain in the Canton of Berne. Righi (regina mountain, the queen of mountains).—An isolated mountain in the Canton of Schwytz, 5905 feet high. The view from its summit is the finest in Europe, and attracts great numbers of travellers. Morgarten strait.-A narrow pass between Mount Morgarten and Lake Egeri, a small lake about three miles in length, on the frontiers of the Canton of Schwytz. Mountain-people. -The Swiss. Lauwine. The Swiss name for the avalanche. DEATH'S FINAL CONQUEST. "Bird [JAMES SHIRLEY, a dramatic poet, born 1594, published in the Cage," 1633; "Gamester," 1637. He died 29th October, 1666.] 1. THE glories of our birth and state Are shadows, not substantial things; There is no armour against fate: Must tumble down, |