heroic Confederates; and falling on
their foes literally slew them by thousands. Many hundreds of the
Austrians perished in the lake, the men of Zurich alone making a stand,
and falling each where he fought. Few succeeded in effecting their
escape from what was little less than a general butchery.

On that memorable day all the flower of Austria's nobility lay dead
within the country they had hoped so easily to conquer. The Duke, with a
handful of followers, alone survived, and even these were forced to
undergo many perils before they eventually arrived in safety at
Winterthur. Neither were the other attacks, under the Count of Strasburg
and the forces from Lucerne, more successful for the invaders. Both
armies were repulsed with enormous loss by the men of Unterwalden, who
gave no quarter, many of their opponents being their own countrymen from
the estates of the abbey of Interlaken. After these signal victories the
Swiss, according to ancient custom, offered up a solemn thanksgiving to
almighty God for their success and the overthrow of their enemies; and
then, having laden themselves with the spoils of the dead, they returned
to their humble occupations, whence the defence of their country and
their lives had called them away. Among the Swiss, Morgarten has always
taken the first place in the long record of heroic victories that since
1315 has made the fame of Swiss arms second to none in Europe. This
victory at once brought the Waldstaette out of their long obscurity, and
placed them in the front rank as powerful and respected states in
Switzerland.

Leopold, on his return to Austria, was so satisfied with the ability of
the "audacious rustics" to defend themselves that he made no further
attempt to enter their country.

BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN

A.D. 1314

ANDREW LANG

After the submission of Scotland in 1303, at the end of
Wallace's heroic struggle, Edward I undertook to complete
the union of that kingdom with England. "But the great
difficulty," says a historian, "in dealing with the Scots
was that they never knew when they were conquered; and just
when Edward hoped that his scheme for union was carried out,
they rose in arms once more."

The Scottish leader now was Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale
and Earl of Carrick. He had acted with Wallace, but
afterward swore fealty to Edward. Still later he united with
William Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, against the
English King