ntry as it came, and moving
onward as irresistibly and almost as destructively as a lava flow. The
emperor and his court fled in terror. Many of the wealthy inhabitants
followed, bearing with them such treasures as they could convey. The
land lay helpless under the shadow of terror which the coming host threw
far before its columns.

But pillage takes time. The Turks, through the greatness of their
numbers, moved slowly. Some time was left for action. The inhabitants of
the city, taking courage, armed for defence. The Duke of Lorraine, whose
small army had not ventured to face the foe, left twelve thousand men in
the city, and drew back with the remainder to wait for reinforcements.
Count Ruediger of Stahrenberg was left in command, and made all haste to
put the imperilled city in a condition of defence.

[Illustration: THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE IN VIENNA.]

On came the Turks, the smoke of burning villages the signal of their
approach. On the 14th of June, 1683, their mighty army appeared before
the walls, and a city of tents was built that covered a space of six
leagues in extent.

Their camp was arranged in the form of a crescent, enclosing within its
boundaries a promiscuous mass of soldiers and camp-followers, camels,
and baggage-wagons, which seemed to extend as far as the eye could
reach. In the centre was the gorgeous tent of the vizier, made of green
silk, and splendid with its embroidery of gold, silver, and precious
stones, while inside it was kept the holy standard of the prophet.
Marvellous stories are told of the fountains, baths, gardens, and other
appliances of Oriental luxury with which the vizier surrounded himself
in this magnificent tent.

Two days after the arrival of the Turkish host the trenches were opened,
the cannon placed, and the siege of Vienna began. For more than two
centuries the conquerors of Constantinople had kept their eyes fixed on
this city as a glorious prize. Now they had reached it, and the thunder
of their cannon around its walls was full of threat for the West. Vienna
once theirs, it was not easy to say where their career of conquest would
be stayed.

Fortunately, Count Ruediger was an able and vigilant soldier, and
defended the city with a skill and obstinacy that baffled every effort
of his foes. The Turks, determined on victory, thundered upon the walls
till they were in many parts reduced to heaps of ruins. With incessant
labor they undermined them, blew up the strongest b