Great Righi's cliffs; and where Mount Pilate's height Casts o'er his glassy lake the darkness of his might.

XXIII.

Nor was it heard in vain. — There all things press
High thoughts on man. The fearless hunter pass'd,
And, from the bosom of the wilderness,
There leapt a spirit and a power to cast

The weight of bondage down—and bright and fast,
As the clear waters, joyously and free,

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. (8)

XXIV.

They link'd their hands,-they pledged their stainless faith,

In the dread presence of attesting HeavenThey bound their hearts to suffering and to death, With the severe and solemn transport given To bless such vows.- How man had striven, How man might strive, and vainly strive, they knew, And call'd upon their God, whose arm had riven The crest of many a tyrant, since He blew The foaming sea-wave on, and Egypt's might o'erthrew.

XXV.

They knelt, and rose in strength.-The valleys lay Still in their dimness, but the peaks which darted Into the bright mid-air, had caught from day

A flush of fire, when those true Switzers parted, Each to his glen or forest, steadfast-hearted, And full of hope. Not many suns had worn Their setting glory, ere from slumber started Ten thousand voices, of the mountains born— So far was heard the blast of Freedom's echoing horn!

XXVI.

The ice-vaults trembled, when that peal came

rending

The frozen stillness which around them hung; From cliff to cliff the avalanche descending, Gave answer, till the sky's blue hollows rung; And the flame-signals through the midnight sprung, From the Surennen rocks like banners streaming To the far Seelisberg; whence light was flung On Grütli's field, till all the red lake gleaming Shone out, a meteor-heaven in its wild splendour seeming.

XXVII.

And the winds toss'd each summit's blazing crest, As a host's plumage; and the giant pines,

Fell'd where they waved o'er crag and eagle's nest, Heap'd up the flames. The clouds grew fiery signs, As o'er a city's burning towers and shrines Reddening the distance. Wine-cups, crown'd and bright,

In Werner's dwelling flow'd; through leafless vines From Walter's hearth stream'd forth the festive

light,

And Erni's blind old sire gave thanks to Heaven that night.

XXVIII.

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 chain'd by Winter's spell,
The deep wood-sounds had ceased.-But rock and
dell

Rung forth, ere long, when strains of jubilee
Peal'd from the mountain-churches, with a swell
Of praise to him who stills the raging sea,-
For now the strife was closed, the glorious Alps were
free!

NOTES.

NOTE 1.

The Senn's wild horn.

SENN, the name given to a herdsman among the Swiss Alps.

NOTE 2.

-Against the Föhnwind's blast.

Föhnwind, the South-east wind, which frequently lays waste the country before it.

NOTE 3.

A father of the land.

Walter Fürst, the father-in-law of Tell.

NOTE 4.

Werner, the brave and true! &c.

Werner Stauffacher, who had been urged by his wife to rouse and unite his countrymen for the deliverance of Switzerland.

NOTE 5.

Young Erni's step had worn, &c.

Erni, Arnold Melchthal.

NOTE 6.

The Lämmer-Geyer had spread, &c.

The Lämmer-Geyer, the largest kind of Alpine eagle.

NOTE 7.

Of wrongs to call down Heaven, &c.

The eyes of his aged father had been put out, by the orders of the Austrian Governor.

NOTE 8.

Beside the Forest-Sea.

Forest-Sea. The Lake of the Four Cantons is frequently so called.

SCENES AND HYMNS OF LIFE;

WITH OTHER

RELIGIOUS POEMS.

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