Chapter XXIV: Book XVI: Switzerland--Catastrophe. 1528-1531 (4)

Cappel, at three leagues from Zurich, and about a league from Zug, was the first place they would reach in the Zurich territory, after crossing the frontier of the Five Cantons. Near the Albis, between two hills of similar height, the Granges on the north, and the Ifelsberg on the south, in the midst of delightful pastures, stood the ancient and wealthy convent of the Cistertians, in whose church were the tombs of many ancient and noble families of these districts. The Abbot Wolfgang Joner, a just and pious man, a great friend of the arts and letters, and a distinguished preacher, had reformed his convent in 1527. Full of compassion, rich in good works, particularly towards the poor of the canton of Zug and the free bailiwicks, he was held in great honour throughout the whole country.[1189] He predicted what would be the termination of the war; yet as soon as danger approached, he spared no labour to serve his country.

[1189] That armen lüten vil guts......und by aller Erbarkeit in
grossern ansähen. (Bull. iii. p. 151.)

It was on Sunday night that the abbot received positive intelligence of the preparations at Zug. He paced up and down his cell with hasty steps; sleep fled from his eyes; he drew near his lamp, and addressing his intimate friend, Peter Simmler, who succeeded him, and who was then residing at Kylchberg, a village on the borders of the lake, and about a league from the town, he hastily wrote these words: "The great anxiety and trouble which agitate me prevent me from busying myself with the management of the house, and induce me to write to you all that is preparing. The time is come......the scourge of God appears.[1190]......After many journeys and inquiries, we have learnt that the Five Cantons will march to-day (Monday) to seize upon Hitzkylch, while the main army assembles its banners at Baar, between Zug and Cappel. Those from the valley of the Adige and the Italians will arrive to-day or to-morrow." This letter, through some unforeseen circumstance, did not reach Zurich till the evening.

[1190] Die Zyt ist hie, das die rüt gottes sich wil erzeigen. (Bull.
p. 87.)

Meanwhile the messenger whom Lavater had sent--the nephew of J. Winckler--creeping on his belly, gliding unperceived past the sentinels, and clinging to the shrubs that overhung the precipices, had succeeded in making his way where no road had been cleared. On arriving near Zug, he had discovered with alarm the banner and the militia hastening from all sides at beat of drum: then traversing again these unknown passes, he had returned to Zurich with this information.[1191]

[1191] Naben den Wachten, durch umwag und gestrupp. (Bull. iii. p.
87.)

It was high time that the bandage should fall from the eyes of the Zurichers; but the delusion was to endure to the last. The council which was called together met in small number. "The Five Cantons," said they, "are making a little noise to frighten us, and to make us raise the blockade."[1192] The council, however, decided on sending Colonel Rodolph Dumysen and Ulric Funk to Cappel, to see what was going on; and each one, tranquillized by this unmeaning step, retired to rest.

[1192] Sy machtend alein ein geprög. (Ibid. p. 103.)

They did not slumber long. Every hour brought fresh messengers of alarm to Zurich. "The banners of four cantons are assembled at Zug," said they. "They are only waiting for Uri. The people of the free bailiwicks are flocking to Cappel, and demanding arms......Help! help!"

Before the break of day the council was again assembled, and it ordered the convocation of the Two Hundred. An old man, whose hair had grown gray on the battle-field and in the council of the state--the banneret John Schweizer--raising his head enfeebled by age, and darting the last beam, as it were, from his eyes, exclaimed, "Now--at this very moment, in God's name, send an advanced guard to Cappel, and let the army, promptly collecting round the banner, follow it immediately." He said no more; but the charm was not yet broken. "The peasants of the free bailiwicks," said some, "we know to be hasty, and easily carried away. They make the matter greater than it really is. The wisest plan is to wait for the report of the councillors." In Zurich there was no longer either arm to defend or head to advise.

[Sidenote: THE WAR BEGINS.]

It was seven in the morning, and the assembly was still sitting, when Rodolph Gwerb, pastor of Rifferschwyl, near Cappel, arrived in haste. "The people of the lordship of Knonau," said he, "are crowding round the convent, and loudly calling for chiefs and for aid. The enemy is approaching. Will our lords of Zurich (say they) abandon themselves, and us with them? Do they wish to give us up to slaughter?" The pastor, who had witnessed these mournful scenes, spoke with animation. The councillors, whose infatuation was to be prolonged to the end, were offended at his message. "They want to make us act imprudently," replied they, turning in their arm-chairs.

They had scarcely ceased speaking before a new messenger appears, wearing on his features the marks of the greatest terror: it was Schwyzer, landlord of the "Beech Tree" on Mount Albis. "My lords Dumysen and Funck," said he, "have sent me to you with all speed to announce to the council that the Five Cantons have seized upon Hytzkilch, and that they are now collecting all their troops at Baar. My lords remain in the bailiwicks to aid the frightened inhabitants."

This time the most confident turned pale. Terror, so long restrained, passed like a flash of lightning through every heart.[1193] Hytzkilch was in the power of the enemy, and the war was begun.

[1193] Dieser Bottschaft erschrack menklich büel. (Bull. iii. p. 104.)

[Sidenote: A FEARFUL NIGHT.]

It was resolved to expedite to Cappel a flying camp of six hundred men with six guns; but the command was intrusted to George Goldli, whose brother was in the army of the Five Cantons, and he was enjoined to keep on the defensive. Goldli and his troops had just left the city, when the captain-general Lavater, summoning into the hall of the Smaller Council the old banneret Schweizer, William Toning, captain of the arquebusiers, J. Dennikon, captain of the artillery, Zwingle, and some others, said to them, "Let us deliberate promptly on the means of saving the canton and the city. Let the tocsin immediately call out all the citizens." The captain-general feared that the councils would shrink at this proceeding, and he wished to raise the Landsturm by the simple advice of the army and of Zwingle. "We cannot take it upon ourselves," said they, "the two councils are still sitting; let us lay this proposition before them." They hasten towards the place of meeting; but, fatal mischance! there were only a few members of the Smaller Council on the benches. "The consent of the Two Hundred is necessary," said they. Again a new delay, and the enemy is on the march. Two hours after noon the Great Council met again, but only to make long and useless speeches.[1194] At length the resolution was taken, and at seven in the evening the tocsin began to sound in all the country districts. Treason united with this dilatoriness, and persons who pretended to be envoys from Zurich stopped the Landsturm in many places, as being contrary to the opinion of the council. A great number of citizens went to sleep again.

[1194] Ward so vil und lang darim gerad schlagt. (Bull. iii. p. 104.)

It was a fearful night. The thick darkness--a violent storm--the alarm-bell ringing from every steeple--the people running to arms--the noise of swords and guns--the sound of trumpets and of drums, combined with the roaring of the tempest, the distrust, discontent, and even treason, which spread affliction in every quarter--the sobs of women and of children--the cries which accompanied many a heartrending adieu--an earthquake which occurred about nine o'clock at night, as if nature herself had shuddered at the blood that was about to be spilt, and which violently shook the mountains and valleys:[1195] all increased the terrors of this fatal night,--a night to be followed by a still more fatal day.

[1195] Ein startrer Erdbidem, der das Land, auch Berg und Thal
gwaltiglich ershütt. (Tschudi; Helvetia, ii. p. 186.)

[Sidenote: THE WAR.]

While these events were transpiring, the Zurichers encamped on the heights of Cappel to the number of about one thousand men, fixed their eyes on Zug and upon the lake, attentively watching every movement. On a sudden, a little before night, they perceived a few barks filled with soldiers coming from the side of Arth, and rowing across the lake towards Zug. Their number increases--one boat follows another--soon they distinctly hear the bellowing of the bull (the horn) of Uri,[1196] and they discern the banner. The barks draw near Zug; they are moored to the shore, which is lined with an immense crowd. The warriors of Uri and the arquebusiers of the Adige spring up and leap on shore, where they are received with acclamations, and take up their quarters for the night: behold the enemies assembled! The council are informed with all speed.

[1196] Vil schiffen uff Zag faren, und hort man luyen den Uri Stier.
(Bull. iii. p. 109.)

The agitation was still greater at Zurich than at Cappel: the confusion was increased by uncertainty. The enemy attacking them on different sides at once, they knew not where to carry assistance. Two hours after midnight five hundred men with four guns quitted the city for Bremgarten, and three or four hundred men with five guns for Wadenshwyl. They turned to the right and to the left, while the enemy was in front.

Alarmed at its own weakness, the council resolved to apply without delay to the cities of the christian co-burghery. "As this revolt," wrote they, "has no other origin than the Word of God, we entreat you once--twice--thrice, as loudly, as seriously, as firmly, and as earnestly, as our ancient alliances and our christian co-burghery permit and command us to do--to set forth without delay with all your forces. Haste! haste! haste! Act as promptly as possible[1197]--the danger is yours as well as ours." Thus spake Zurich; but it was already too late.

[1197] Ylentz, ylentz, ylentz, uffs aller schnellist. (Bull. iii. p.
110.)

At break of day the banner was raised before the town-house; instead of flaunting proudly in the wind, it hung drooping down the staff--a sad omen that filled many minds with fear. Lavater took up his station under the standard; but a long period elapsed before a few hundred soldiers could be got together.[1198] In the square and in all the city disorder and confusion prevailed. The troops, fatigued by a hasty march or by long waiting, were faint and discouraged.

[1198] Sammlet sich doch das volck gmachsam. (Ibid. p. 112.)

[Sidenote: ZWINGLE'S DEPARTURE.]

At ten o'clock, only 700 men were under arms. The selfish, the lukewarm, the friends of Rome and of the foreign pensioners, had remained at home. A few old men who had more courage than strength--several members of the two councils who were devoted to the holy cause of God's Word--many ministers of the Church who desired to live and die with the Reform--the boldest of the townspeople and a certain number of peasants, especially those from the neighbourhood of the city--such were the defenders who, wanting that moral force so necessary for victory, incompletely armed, without uniform, crowded in disorder around the banner of Zurich.

The army should have numbered at least 4000 men; they waited still; the usual oath had not been administered; and yet courier after courier arrived, breathless and in disorder, announcing the terrible danger that threatened Zurich. All this disorderly crowd is agitated--they no longer wait for the commands of their chiefs, and many without taking the oath rush through the gates. About 200 men thus set out in confusion. All those who remained prepared to depart.

Then was Zwingle seen to issue from a house before which a caparisoned horse was stamping impatiently; it was his own. His look was firm, but dimmed by sorrow. He parted from his wife, his children, and his numerous friends, without deceiving himself, and with a bruised heart.[1199] He observed the thick waterspout, which, driven by a terrible wind, advanced whirling towards him. Alas! he had himself called up this hurricane by quitting the atmosphere of the Gospel of peace, and throwing himself into the midst of political passions. He was convinced that he would be the first victim. Fifteen days before the attack of the Waldstettes, he had said from the pulpit: "I know what is the meaning of all this:--it is all about me. All this comes to pass--in order that I may die."[1200] The council, according to an ancient custom, had called upon him to accompany the army as its chaplain. Zwingle did not hesitate. He prepared himself without surprise and without anger,--with the calmness of a Christian who placed himself confidently in the hands of his God. If the cause of Reform was doomed to perish, he was ready to perish with it. Surrounded by his weeping wife and friends--by his children who clung to his garments to detain him, he quitted that house where he had tasted so much happiness. At the moment that his hand was upon his horse, just as he was about to mount, the animal violently started back several paces, and when he was at last in the saddle, it refused for a time to move, rearing and prancing backwards, like that horse which the greatest captain of modern times had mounted as he was about to cross the Niemen. Many in Zurich at that time thought with the soldier of the Grand Army when he saw Napoleon on the ground: "It is a bad omen! a Roman would go back!"[1201] Zwingle having at last mastered his horse, gave the reins, applied the spur, started forward, and disappeared.

[1199] Anna Rheinhard par G. Meyr of Knonau. (Bull. iii. p. 33.)

[1200] Ut ego tollar fiunt omnia. (De vita et obitu Zwinglii,
Myconius.)

[1201] Ségur: Hist. de Napoléon et de la Grande Armée, i. p. 142.

[Sidenote: THE SCENE OF WAR.]

At eleven o'clock the flag was struck, and all who remained in the square--about 500 men--began their march along with it. The greater part were torn with difficulty from the arms of their families, and walked sad and silent, as if they were going to the scaffold instead of battle. There was no order--no plan; the men were isolated and scattered, some running before, some after the colours, their extreme confusion presenting a fearful appearance;[1202] so much so, that those who remained behind--the women, the children, and the old men, filled with gloomy forebodings, beat their breasts as they saw them pass, and many years after, the remembrance of this day of tumult and mourning drew this groan from Oswald Myconius: "Whenever I recall it to mind, it is as if a sword pierced my heart." Zwingle, armed according to the usage of the chaplains of the Confederation, rode mournfully behind this distracted multitude. Myconius, when he saw him, was nigh fainting.[1203] Zwingle disappeared, and Oswald remained behind to weep.

[1202] Nullus ordo, nulla consilia, nullæ mentes, tanta animorum
dissonantia, tam horrenda facies ante et post signa sparsim currentium
hominum. (De vita et ob. Zwinglii.)

[1203] Quem ut vidi repentino dolore cordis vix consistebam. (Ibid.)

He did not shed tears alone; in all quarters were heard lamentations, and every house was changed into a house of prayer.[1204] In the midst of this universal sorrow, one woman remained silent; her only cry was a bitter heart, her only language the mild and suppliant eye of faith:--this was Anna, Zwingle's wife. She had seen her husband depart--her son, her brother, a great number of intimate friends and near relations, whose approaching death she foreboded. But her soul, strong as that of her husband, offered to God the sacrifice of her holiest affections. Gradually the defenders of Zurich precipitate their march, and the tumult dies away in the distance.

[1204] Manebamus non certe sine jugibus suspiriis, non sine precibus,
ad Deum. (Ibid.)

[Sidenote: THE ENEMY AT ZUG.]

VII. This night, which was so stormy in Zurich, had not been calmer at Cappel. They had received the most alarming reports one after another. It was necessary to take up a position that would allow the troops assembled round the convent to resist the enemy's attack until the arrival of the reinforcements that were expected from the city. They cast their eyes on a small hill, which lying to the north towards Zurich, and traversed by the highroad, presented an uneven but sufficiently extensive surface. A deep ditch that surrounded it on three sides defended the approaches; but a small bridge, that was the only issue on the side of Zurich, rendered a precipitate retreat very dangerous. On the south-west was a wood of beech-trees; on the south, in the direction of Zug, was the highroad and a marshy valley. "Lead us to the Granges," cried all the soldiers. They were conducted thither. The artillery was stationed near some ruins. The line of battle was drawn up on the side of the monastery and of Zug, and sentinels were placed at the foot of the slope.

Meantime, the signal is given at Zug and Baar: the drums beat: the soldiers of the Five Cantons take up their arms. A universal feeling of joy animates them. The churches are opened, the bells ring, and the serried ranks of the cantons enter the cathedral of St. Oswald; Mass is celebrated; the Host is offered up for the sins of the people, and all the army begin their march at nine o'clock, with banners flying. The avoyer John Golder commands the contingent of Lucerne; the landamman Jacques Troguer, that of Uri; the landamman Rychmut, a mortal enemy of the Reformation, that of Schwytz; the landamman Zellger, that of Unterwalden; and Oswald Dooss that of Zug. Eight thousand men march in order of battle: all the picked men of the Five Cantons are there. Fresh and active after a quiet night, and having only one short league to cross before reaching the enemy, these haughty Waldstettes advance with a firm and regular step under the command of their chiefs.

[Sidenote: ARMY OF ZURICH.]

On reaching the common meadow of Zug, they halt to take the oath: every hand is upraised to heaven, and all swear to avenge themselves. They were about to resume their march, when some aged men made signs to them to stop. "Comrades," they said, "we have long offended God. Our blasphemies, our oaths, our wars, our revenge, our pride, our drunkenness, our adulteries, the gold of the stranger to whom our hands have been extended, and all the disorders in which we have indulged, have so provoked his anger, that if he should punish us to-day, we should only receive the desert of our crimes." The emotion of the chiefs had passed into the ranks. All the army bend the knee in the midst of the plain; deep silence prevails, and every soldier, with bended head, crosses himself devoutly, and repeats in a low voice five paters, as many aves, and the credo. One might have said that they were for a time in the midst of a vast and stilly desert. Suddenly the noise of an immense crowd is again heard. The army rises up. "Soldiers," said the captains, "you know the cause of this war. Bear your wives and your children continually before your eyes."

Then the chief usher (_grand sautier_) of Lucerne, wearing the colours of the canton, approaches the chiefs of the army: they place in his hands the declaration of war, dated on that very day, and sealed with the arms of Zug. He then sets off on horseback, preceded by a trumpeter, to carry this paper to the commander of the Zurichers.

It was eleven in the morning. The Zurichers soon discovered the enemy's army, and cast a sorrowful glance on the small force they were able to oppose to it. Every minute the danger increased. All bent their knees, their eyes were raised to heaven, and every Zuricher uttered a cry from the bottom of his heart, praying for deliverance from God. As soon as the prayer was ended, they got ready for battle. There were at that time about twelve hundred men under arms.

[Sidenote: BATTLE OF CAPPEL.]

At noon the trumpet of the Five Cantons sounded not far from the advanced posts. Goldli, having collected the members of the two councils who happened to be with the army, as well as the commissioned and non-commissioned officers, and having ranged them in a circle, ordered the secretary Rheinhard to read the declaration of which the Sautier of Lucerne was the bearer. After the reading, Goldli opened a council of war. "We are few in number, and the forces of our adversaries are great," said Landolt, bailiff of Marpac, "but I will here await the enemy in the name of God." "Wait!" cried the captain of the halberdiers, Rodolph Zigler; "impossible! let us rather take advantage of the ditch that cuts the road to effect our retreat, and let us everywhere raise a levée _en masse_." This was in truth the only means of safety. But Rudi Gallmann, considering every step backwards as an act of cowardice, cried out, stamping his feet forcibly on the earth, and casting a fiery glance around him, "Here--here shall be my grave!"[1205]--"It is now too late to retire with honour," said other officers. "This day is in the hands of God. Let us suffer whatever he lays upon us." It was put to the vote.

[1205] Da, da mus min Rilchhof sin. (Bull. ii. p. 118.)

The members of the council had scarcely raised their hands in token of assent, when a great noise was heard around them. "The captain! the captain!" cried a soldier from the outposts who arrived in haste. "Silence, silence!" replied the ushers, driving him back; "they are holding a council!"--"It is no longer time to hold a council," replied the soldier. "Conduct me immediately to the captain."......"Our sentinels are falling back," cried he with an agitated voice, as he arrived before Goldli. "The enemy is there--they are advancing through the forest with all their forces and with great tumult." He had not ceased speaking, before the sentinels, who were in truth retiring on all sides, ran up, and the army of the Five Cantons was soon seen climbing the slope of Ifelsberg in face of the Granges, and pointing their guns. The leaders of the Waldstettes were examining the position, and seeking to discover by what means their army could reach that of Zurich. The Zurichers were asking themselves the same question. The nature of the ground prevented the Waldstettes from passing below the convent, but they could arrive by another quarter. Ulric Brüder, under bailiff of Husen in the canton of Zurich, fixed his anxious look on the beech-wood. "It is thence that the enemy will fall upon us!" "Axes--axes!" immediately cried several voices; "let us cut down the trees!"[1206] Goldli, the abbot, and several others, were opposed to this: "If we stop up the wood, by throwing down the trees, we shall ourselves be unable to work our guns in that direction," said they.--"Well! at least let us place some arquebusiers in that quarter."--"We are already so small a number," replied the captain, "that it will be imprudent to divide the forces." Neither wisdom nor courage were to save Zurich. They once more invoked the help of God, and waited in expectation.

[1206] Ettliche schrüwend nach Achsen das man das Wäldi verhallte.
(Bull. iii. p. 118.)

At one o'clock the Five Cantons fired the first gun: the ball passing over the convent, fell below the Granges; a second passed over the line of battle; a third struck a hedge close to the ruins. The Zurichers, seeing the battle was begun, replied with courage; but the slowness and awkwardness with which the artillery was served in those days prevented any great loss being inflicted on either side. When the enemy perceived this, they ordered their advanced guard to descend from Ifelsberg and to reach the Granges through the meadow; and soon the whole army of the Cantons advanced in this direction, but with difficulty and over bad roads. Some arquebusiers of Zurich came and announced the disorder of the Cantons. "Brave Zurichers," cried Rudi Gallmann, "if we attack them now, it is all over with them." At these words some of the soldiers prepared to enter the wood on the left, to fall upon the disheartened Waldstettes. But Goldli perceiving this movement, cried out: "Where are you going?--do you not know that we have agreed not to separate?" He then ordered the skirmishers to be recalled, so that the wood remained entirely open to the enemy. They were satisfied with discharging a few random shots from time to time to prevent the Cantons from establishing themselves there. The firing of the artillery continued until three o'clock, and announced far and wide, even to Bremgarten and Zurich, that the battle had begun.

[Sidenote: THE MARCH.]

In the meanwhile the great banner of Zurich and all those who surrounded it, among whom was Zwingle, came advancing in disorder towards the Albis. For a year past the gaiety of the reformer had entirely disappeared: he was grave, melancholy, easily moved, having a weight on his heart that seemed to crush it. Often would he throw himself weeping at the feet of his Master, and seek in prayer the strength of which he stood in need. No one had ever observed in him any irritation; on the contrary, he had received with mildness the counsels that had been offered, and had remained tenderly attached to men whose convictions were not the same as his own. He was now advancing mournfully along the road to Cappel; and John Maaler of Winterthour, who was riding a few paces behind him, heard his groans and sighs, intermingled with fervent prayers. If any one spoke to him, he was found firm and strong in the peace that proceeds from faith; but he did not conceal his conviction that he should never see his family or church again. Thus advanced the forces of Zurich. Awful march! resembling rather a funeral procession then an army going to battle.

As they approached they saw express after express gallopping along the road from Cappel, begging the Zurichers to hasten to the defence of their brothers.[1207]

[1207] Dan ein Manung uff die ander, von Cappel kamm. (Bull. iii. p.
113.)

At Adliswil, having passed the bridge under which flow the impetuous waters of the Sihl, and traversed the village through the midst of women, children, and old men, who, standing before their cottages, looked with sadness on this disorderly troop, they began to ascend the Albis. They were about half way from Cappel when the first cannon-shot was heard. They stop, they listen: a second, a third succeeds......There is no longer any doubt. The glory, the very existence of the republic are endangered, and they are not present to defend it! The blood curdles in their veins. On a sudden they arouse, and each one begins to run to the support of his brothers. But the road over the Albis was much steeper than it is in our days. The badly harnessed artillery could not ascend it; the old men, the citizens, little habituated to marching, and covered with weighty armour, advanced with difficulty: and yet they formed the greater portion of the troops. They were seen stopping one after another, panting and exhausted, along the sides of the road near the thickets and ravines of the Albis, leaning against a beech or an ash tree, and looking with dispirited eyes to the summit of the mountain covered with thick pines.

They resume their march, however; the horsemen and the most intrepid of the foot-soldiers hasten onwards, and having reached the "Beech Tree," on the top of the mountain, halt to take council.

What a prospect then extended before their eyes! Zurich, the lake and its smiling shores--those orchards, those fertile fields, those vine-clad hills, almost the whole of the canton. Alas! soon, perhaps, to be devastated by the Forest-bands.

Scarcely had these noble-minded men begun to deliberate, when fresh messengers from Cappel appear before them and exclaim, "Hasten forwards!" At these words many of the Zurichers prepared to gallop towards the enemy.[1208] Toning, the captain of the arquebusiers, stopt them. "My good friends," cried he to them, "against such great forces what can we do alone? Let us wait here until our people are assembled, and then let us fall upon the enemy with the whole army."--"Yes, if we had an army," bitterly replied the captain-general, who, in despair of saving the republic, thought only of dying with glory; "but we have only a banner and no soldiers."--"How can we stay calmly upon these heights," said Zwingle, "while we hear the shots that are fired at our fellow-citizens? In the name of God I will march towards our warriors, prepared to die in order to save them."[1209]--"And I too," added the aged banneret Schweizer. "As for you," continued he, turning with a contemptuous look towards Toning, "wait till you are a little recovered."--"I am quite as much refreshed as you," replied Toning, the colour mantling on his face, "and you shall soon see whether I cannot fight." All hastened their steps towards the field of battle.

[1208] Uff rossen häftig ylttend zum augriff. (Bull. iii. p. 113.)

[1209] Ich will Kacht, in den namen Gotts, zu den biderben luten und
willig mitt und under inen sterben. (Ibid. p. 123.)

The descent is rapid; they plunge into the woods, pass through the village of Husen, and at length arrive near the Granges. It was three o'clock when the banner crossed the narrow bridge that led thither; and there were so few soldiers round it that every one trembled as he beheld this venerated standard thus exposed to the attacks of so formidable an enemy. The army of the Cantons was at that moment deploying before the eyes of the new-comers. Zwingle gazed upon this terrible spectacle. Behold, then, these phalanxes of soldiers!--a few minutes more, and the labours of eleven years will be destroyed perhaps for ever!......

A citizen of Zurich, one Leonard Bourkhard, who was ill-disposed towards the reformer, said to him in a harsh tone, "Well, Master Ulric, what do you say about this business? Are the radishes salt enough?......who will eat them now?"[1210] "I," replied Zwingle, "and many a brave man who is here in the hands of God; for we are his in life and in death."--"And I too--I will help eat them," resumed Bourkhard immediately, ashamed of his brutality,--"I will risk my life for them." And he did so, and many others with him, adds the chronicle.

[1210] Sind die Rüben gesaltzen! wer will sie ausessen. (J. J. Hott.
iii. p. 383.)

It was four o'clock; the sun was sinking rapidly; the Waldstettes did not advance, and the Zurichers began to think that the attack would be put off till the morrow. In fact, the chiefs of the Five Cantons seeing the great banner of Zurich arrive, the night near at hand, and the impossibility of crossing under the fire of the Zurichers the marsh and the ditch that separated the combatants, were looking for a place in which their troops might pass the night. "If, at this moment, any mediators had appeared," says Bullinger, "their proposals would have been accepted."

[Sidenote: BATTLE OF CAPPEL.]

The soldiers, observing the hesitation of their chiefs, began to murmur loudly. "The big ones abandon us," said one. "The captains fear to bite the fox's tail," said another. "Not to attack them," cried they all, "is to ruin our cause." During this time a daring man was preparing the skilful manœuvre that was to decide the fate of the day. A warrior of Uri, John Jauch, formerly bailiff of Sargans, a good marksman and experienced soldier, having taken a few men with him, moved towards the right of the army of the Five Cantons, crept into the midst of the clump of beech-trees that, by forming a semicircle to the east, unite the hill of Ifelsberg to that of the Granges,[1211] found the wood empty, arrived to within a few paces of the Zurichers, and there, hidden behind the trees, remarked unperceived the smallness of their numbers, and their want of caution. Then, stealthily retiring, he went to the chiefs at the very moment the discontent was on the point of bursting out. "Now is the time to attack the enemy," cried he. "Dear gossip," replied Troquer, captain-in-chief of Uri, "you do not mean to say that we should set to work at so late an hour; besides, the men are preparing their quarters, and everybody knows what it cost our fathers at Naples and Marignan for having commenced the attack a little before night. And then it is Innocents' day, and our ancestors have never given battle on a feast-day."[1212]--"Don't think about the Innocents of the calendar," replied Jauch, "but let us rather remember the innocents that we have left in our cottages." Gaspard Goldli of Zurich, brother of the commander of the Granges, added his entreaties to those of the warrior of Uri. "We must either beat the Zurichers to-night," said he, "or be beaten by them to-morrow. Take your choice."

[1211] This wood no longer connects the two hills. The present pastor
of Cappel told me that when first he went into that district the wood
was much more extensive than it is at present.

[1212] An einem solchen Tag Blut ze vergiessen. (Tschudi, Helv. ii. p.
189.)

[Sidenote: AMBUSCADE.]

All was unavailing; the chiefs were inflexible, and the army prepared to take up its quarters. Then the warrior of Uri, understanding like his fellow-countryman Tell that great evils require great remedies, drew his sword and cried: "Let all true confederates follow me."[1213] Then hastily leaping to his saddle, he spurred his horse into the forest;[1214] and immediately arquebusiers, soldiers from the Adige, and many other warriors of the Five Cantons, especially from Unterwalden--in all about 300 men, rushed into the wood after him. At this sight Jauch no longer doubts of the victory of the Waldstettes. He dismounts and falls upon his knees, "for," says Tschudi, "he was a man who feared God." All his followers do the same, and together invoke the aid of God, of his holy mother, and of all the heavenly host, They then advance; but soon the warrior of Uri, wishing to expose no one but himself, halts his troops, and glides from tree to tree to the verge of the wood. Observing that the enemy was as incautious as ever, he rejoins his arquebusiers, leads them stealthily forward, and posts them silently behind the trees of the forest,[1215] enjoining them to take their aim so as not to miss their men. During this time the chiefs of the Five Cantons, foreseeing that this rash man was about to bring on the action, decided against their will, and collected their soldiers around the banners.

[1213] Welche redlicher Eidgnossen wärt sind, die louffind uns nach.
(Bull. iii. p. 125.)

[1214] Sass ylends wiederum uff sin Ross. (Tschudi, Helv. ii. p. 191.)

[1215] Zertheilt die Hagken hinter die Bäum im Wald in grosser Stille
(Tschudi, Helv. ii. p. 191.)

VIII. The Zurichers, fearing that the enemy would seize upon the road that led to their capital, were then directing part of their troops and their guns to a low hill by which it was commanded. At the very moment that the invisible arquebusiers stationed among the beech trees were taking their aim, this detachment passed near the little wood. The deepest silence prevails in this solitude: each one posted there picks out the man he desires to bring down, and Jauch exclaims: "In the name of the Holy Trinity--of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost--of the Holy Mother of God, and of all the heavenly host--fire!" At the word the deadly balls issue from the wood, and a murderous carnage in the ranks of Zurich follows this terrible discharge. The battle, which had begun four hours ago, and which had never appeared to be a serious attack, now underwent an unforeseen change. The sword was not again to be returned to the scabbard until it had been bathed in torrents of blood. Those of the Zurichers who had not fallen at this first discharge, lie flat on the ground, so that the balls pass over their heads; but they soon spring up, saying: "Shall we allow ourselves to be butchered? No! let us rather attack the enemy!" Lavater seizes a lance, and rushing into the foremost rank exclaims: "Soldiers, uphold the honour of God and of our lords, and behave like brave men!" Zwingle, silent and collected, like nature before the bursting of the tempest, was there also halberd in hand. "Master Ulric," said Bernard Sprungli, "speak to the people and encourage them." "Warriors!" said Zwingle, "fear nothing. If we are this day to be defeated, still our cause is good. Commend yourselves to God!"

The Zurichers quickly turn the artillery they were dragging to another quarter, and point it against the wood; but their bullets, instead of striking the enemy, only reach the top of the trees, and tear off a few branches that fall upon the skirmishers.[1216]

[1216] Denn das die Aest auf sie fielent (Tschudi, p. 182.)

Rychmuth, the landamman of Schwytz, came up at a gallop to recall the volunteers; but seeing the battle begun, he ordered the whole army to advance. Immediately the five banners moved forward.

[Sidenote: BATTLE OF CAPPEL.]

But already Jauch's skirmishers, rushing from among the trees, had fallen impetuously upon the Zurichers, charging with their long and pointed halberds. "Heretics! sacrilegists!" cried they, "we have you at last!"--"Man-sellers, idolaters, impious Papists!" replied the Zurichers, "is it really you?" At first a shower of stones fell from both parties and wounded several; immediately they come to close quarters. The resistance of the Zurichers was terrible.[1217] Each struck with the sword or with the halberd: at last the soldiers of the Five Cantons were driven back in disorder. The Zurichers advanced, but in so doing lost the advantages of their position, and got entangled in the marsh. Some Roman-catholic historians pretend that this flight of their troops was a stratagem to draw the Zurichers into the snare.[1218]

[1217] Der angriff war hart und währt der Wiederstand ein gute Wyl.
(Tschudi, p. 192.)

[1218] Catholici autem, positis insidiis, retrocesserunt, fugam
simulantes. (Cochlœus, Acta Luth. p. 214.)

In the mean time the army of the Five Cantons hasten through the wood. Burning with courage and with anger, they eagerly quicken their steps; from the midst of the beech-trees there resounded a confused and savage noise--a frightful murmur; the ground shook; one might have said that the forest was uttering a horrible roar, or that witches were holding their nocturnal revels.[1219] In vain do the bravest of the Zurichers offer an intrepid resistance: the Waldstettes have the advantage in every quarter. "They are surrounding us," cried some. "Our men are fleeing," said others. A man from the canton of Zug mingling with the Zurichers, and pretending to be of their party, exclaims: "Fly, fly, brave Zurichers, you are betrayed!" Thus everything is against Zurich. Even the hand of Him who is the disposer of battles, turns against this people. Thus was it also in times of old that God frequently chastised his own people of Israel by the Assyrian sword. A panic terror seizes upon the bravest, and the disorder spreads everywhere with frightful rapidity.

[1219] Der Boden erzittert; und nit anders war, denn als ob der Wald
lut bruelete. (Tschudi, p. 123.)

[Sidenote: THE BANNER IN DANGER.]

In the meanwhile the aged Schweizer had raised the great banner with a firm hand, and all the picked men of Zurich were drawn up around it; but soon their ranks were thinned. John Kammli, charged with the defence of the standard, having observed the small number of combatants that remained upon the field of battle, said to the banneret: "Let us lower the banner, my lord, and save it, for our people are flying shamefully:"--"Warriors, remain firm," replied the aged banneret, whom no danger had ever shaken. The disorder augmented--the number of fugitives increased every minute; the old man stood fast, amazed and immoveable as an aged oak beaten by a frightful hurricane. He received unflinchingly the blows that fell upon him, and alone resisted the terrible storm. Kammli seized him by the arm: "My lord," said he again, "lower the banner, or else we shall lose it: there is no more glory to be reaped here!" The banneret, who was already mortally wounded, exclaimed: "Alas! must the city of Zurich be so punished!" Then, dragged off by Kammli, who held him by the arm, he retreated as far as the ditch. The weight of years, and the wounds with which he was covered, did not permit him to cross it. He fell in the mire at the bottom, still holding the glorious standard, whose folds dropped on the other bank.

The enemy ran up with loud shouts, being attracted by the colours of Zurich, as the bull by the gladiator's flag. Kammli seeing this, unhesitatingly leaps to the bottom of the ditch, and lays hold of the stiff and dying hands of his chief, in order to preserve the precious ensign, which they tightly grasped. But it is in vain; the hands of the aged Schweizer will not loose the standard. "My lord banneret!" cried this faithful servant, "it is no longer in your power to defend it." The hands of the banneret, already stiffened in death, still refuse; upon which Kammli violently tears away the sacred standard, leaps upon the other bank, and rushes with his treasure far from the steps of the enemy. The last Zurichers at this moment reach the ditch, they fall one after another upon the expiring banneret, and thus hasten his death.

[Sidenote: THE BANNER SAVED.]

Kammli, however, having received a wound from a gunshot, his march was retarded, and soon the Waldstettes surround him with their swords. The Zuricher, holding the banner in one hand, and his sword in the other, defends himself bravely. One of the Waldstettes catches hold of the staff--another seizes the flag itself and tears it. Kammli with one blow of his sword cuts down the former, and striking around him, calls out: "To the rescue, brave Zurichers! save the honour and the banner of our lords." The assailants increase in number, and the warrior is about to fall, when Adam Næff of Wollenwyd rushes up sword in hand, and the head of the Waldstette who had torn the colours rolls upon the plain, and his blood gushes out upon the flag of Zurich. Dumysen, member of the Smaller Council, supports Næff with his halberd, and both deal such lusty blows, that they succeed in disengaging the standard-bearer. He, although dangerously wounded, springs forward, holding the blood-stained folds of the banner in one hand, which he carries off hastily, dragging the staff behind him. With fierce look and fiery eye, he thus passes sword in hand through the midst of friends and enemies: he crosses plains, woods, and marshes, everywhere leaving traces of his blood, which flows from numerous wounds. Two of his enemies, one from Schwytz, the other from Zug--were particularly eager in his pursuit. "Heretic! villain!" cried they, "surrender and give us the banner."--"You shall have my life first," replied the Zuricher. Then the two hostile soldiers, who were embarrassed by their cuirasses, stopped a moment to take them off. Kammli took advantage of this to get in advance: he ran; Huber, Dumysen, and Dantzler of Naenikon were at his side. They all four thus arrived near Husen, half-way up the Albis. They had still to climb the steepest part of the mountain. Huber falls covered with wounds. Dumysen, the colonel-general, who had fought as a private soldier, almost reaches the church of Husen, and there he falls lifeless: and two of his sons, in the flower of youth, soon lie stretched on the battle-field that has drunk their father's blood. Kammli takes a few steps further; but halts erelong, exhausted and panting, near a hedge that he would have to clear, and discovers his two enemies, and other Waldstettes running from all sides, like birds of prey, towards the wavering standard of Zurich. The strength of Kammli sinks rapidly, his eyes grow dim, thick darkness surrounds him: a hand of lead fastens him to the ground. Then, mustering all his expiring strength, he flings the standard on the other side of the hedge, exclaiming: "Is there any brave Zuricher near me? Let him preserve the banner and the honour of our lords! As for me, I can do no more!" Then casting a last look to heaven, he adds: "May God be my helper!" He fell exhausted by this last effort. Dantzler, who came up, flung away his sword, sprung over the hedge, seized the banner, and cried, "With the aid of God, I will carry it off." He then rapidly climbed the Albis, and at last placed the ancient standard of Zurich in safety. God, on whom these warriors fixed all their hopes, had heard their prayers, but the noblest blood of the republic had been spilt.

The enemy were victorious at all points. The soldiers of the Five Cantons, and particularly those of Unterwalden, long hardened in the wars of the Milanese, showed themselves more merciless towards their confederates than they had ever been towards foreigners. At the beginning of the battle, Goldli had taken flight, and soon after he quitted Zurich for ever. Lavater, the captain-general, after having fought valiantly, had fallen into the ditch. He was dragged out by a soldier, and had escaped.

[Sidenote: TERRIBLE SLAUGHTER.]

The most distinguished men of Zurich fell one after another under the blows of the Waldstettes.[1220] Rudi Gallmann found the glorious tomb he had wished for, and his two brothers stretched beside him left their father's house desolate. Toning, captain of the arquebusiers, died for his country as he had foretold. All the pride of the population of Zurich, seven members of the Smaller Council, nineteen members of the Two Hundred, sixty-five citizens of the town, four hundred and seventeen from the rural districts: the father in the midst of his children,--the brother surrounded by his brothers,--lay on the field.

[1220] Optimi et docti viri, quos necessitas traxerat in commune
periculum patriæ et ecclesiæ veritatisque defensandæ, quam et suo
sanguine redemerunt. (Pell. Vit. MS. p. 6.)

Gerold Meyer of Knonau, son of Anna Zwingle; at that time twenty-two years of age, and already a member of the council of Two Hundred,--a husband and a father,--had rushed into the foremost ranks with all the impetuosity of youth. "Surrender, and your life shall be spared," cried some of the warriors of the Five Cantons, who desired to save him. "It is better for me to die with honour than to yield with disgrace," replied the son of Anna, and immediately struck by a mortal blow, he fell and expired not far from the castle of his ancestors.

The ministers were those who paid proportionally the greatest tribute on this bloody day. The sword that was at work on the heights of Cappel thirsted for their blood: twenty-five of them fell beneath its stroke. The Waldstettes trembled with rage when they discovered one of these heretical preachers, and sacrificed him with enthusiasm, as a chosen victim, to the Virgin and the saints. There has, perhaps, never been any battle in which so many men of the Word of God have bitten the dust. Almost everywhere the pastors had marched at the head of their flocks. One might have said that Cappel was an assembly of christian churches rather than an army of Swiss companies. The Abbot Joner, receiving a mortal wound near the ditch, expired in sight of his own monastery. The people of Zug, in pursuit of the enemy, uttered a cry of anguish as they passed his body, remembering all the good he had done them.[1221] Schmidt of Kuprach, stationed on the field of battle in the midst of his parishioners, fell surrounded by forty of their bodies,[1222] Geroldseck, John Haller, and many other pastors, at the head of their flocks, suddenly met in a terrible and unforeseen manner the Lord whom they had preached.

[1221] Es klagtend inn insonders die Züger. (Bull. iii. p. 151.)

[1222] Uff der Walstett warder funden, under und by sinen Kussnachern.
(Ibid. p. 147.)

[Sidenote: ZWINGLE'S LAST MOMENTS.]

But the death of one individual far surpassed all others. Zwingle was at the post of danger, the helmet on his head, the sword hanging at his side, the battle-axe in his hand.[1223] Scarcely had the action begun, when, stooping to console a dying man, says J. J. Hottinger, a stone hurled by the vigorous arm of a Waldstette struck him on the head and closed his lips. Yet Zwingle arose, when two other blows which struck him successively on the leg,[1224] threw him down again. Twice more he stands up; but a fourth time he receives a thrust from a lance, he staggers, and sinking beneath so many wounds, falls on his knees. Does not the darkness that is spreading around him announce a still thicker darkness that is about to cover the Church? Zwingle turns away from such sad thoughts; once more he uplifts that head which had been so bold, and gazing with calm eye upon the trickling blood, exclaims: "What evil is this? They can indeed kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul!"[1225] These were his last words.

[1223] The chaplains of the Swiss troops still wear a sword. Zwingle
did not make use of his arms.

[1224] Hatt auch in den Schenklen yween Stiche. (Tschudi, Helv. ii. p.
194.)

[1225] In genua prolapsum dixisse: "Ecquid hoc infortunii? Age! corpus
quidem occidere possunt, animam non possunt" (Osw. Myconius, Vit. Zw.)

He had scarcely uttered them ere he fell backwards. There under a tree (Zwingle's Pear-tree) in a meadow, he remained lying on his back, with clasped hands and eyes upturned to heaven.[1226]

[1226] Was er nach lebend, lag an dem Ruggen und hat seine beide händ
zamen gethan, wie die betenden, sach mit synem angen obsich in hymel.
(B. iii. p. 136.)

[Sidenote: THE FURNACE OF TRIAL.]

While the bravest were pursuing the scattered soldiers of Zurich, the stragglers of the Five Cantons had pounced like hungry ravens on the field of battle. Torch in hand, these wretches prowled among the dead, casting looks of irritation around them, and lighting up the features of their expiring victims by the dull glimmering of these funereal torches. They turned over the bodies of the wounded and the dead; they tortured and they stripped them.[1227] If they found any who were still sensible, they cried out, "Call upon the saints and confess to our priests!" If the Zurichers, faithful to their creed, rejected these cruel invitations, these men, who were as cowardly as they were fanatical, pierced them with their lances, or dashed out their brains with the butt-ends of their arquebuses. The Roman-catholic historian, Salat of Lucerne, makes a boast of this. "They were left to die like infidel dogs, or were slain with the sword, or the spear, that they might go so much the quicker to the devil, with whose help they had fought so desperately."[1228] If any of the soldiers of the Five Cantons had recognised a Zuricher against whom they had any grudge, with dry eyes, disdainful mouth, and features changed by anger, they drew near the unhappy creature, writhing in the agonies of death, and said: "Well! has your heretical faith preserved you? Ah ha! it was pretty clearly seen to-day who had the true faith......To-day we have dragged your Gospel in the mud, and you too, even you are covered with your own blood. God, the Virgin, and the saints have punished you." Scarcely had they uttered these words before they plunged their swords into their enemy's bosom. "Mass or death!" was their watchword.

[1227] Ein gross plünderen, ein ersuchen und usgiessen der todten und
der wunden. (Bull. iii. p. 135.)

[1228] Damit sie desto eher zum Teufel, damit sie mit allen vieren
fechtend, geführt würdend. (Salat.)

[Sidenote: ZWINGLE'S LAST MOMENTS.]

Thus triumphed the Waldstettes; but the pious Zurichers who expired on the field of battle called to mind that they had for God one who has said: "_If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?_"--"_Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him._" It is in the furnace of trial that the God of the Gospel conceals the pure gold of his most precious blessings. This punishment was necessary to turn aside the Church of Zurich from the "broad ways" of the world, and lead it back to the "narrow ways" of the Spirit and the life. In a political history, a defeat like that of Cappel would be styled a great misfortune; but in a history of the Church of Jesus Christ, such a blow, inflicted by the hand of the Father himself, ought rather to be called a great blessing.