They knelt, and rose in strength.—The valleys lay
Still in their dimness, but the heights which darted
Into the blue mid-air, had caught from day
A flush of fire, when those true Switzers parted,
Each to his glen or forest, stedfast-hearted,
And full of hope. Nor many suns had worn
Their setting glory, ere from slumber started
Ten thousand voices, of the mountains born;
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 Peaks (14)[1] like banners streaming
To the far Selisberg, whence light was flung
On Grütli’s field, till all the red lake gleaming,
And the winds toss'd each summit's blazing crest,
As a host's plumage; and the giant pines
Fell'd where they wav'd 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 out the festive light,
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 bound by winter's spell,
The deep wood sounds had ceas'd. But rock and dell
Rung forth, ere long, when strains of jubilee
Burst from the mountain churches, with a swell
Of praise to Him who stills the raging sea;
NOTES.
- ↑
(1) Senn, the name given to a herdsman amongst the Swiss Alps.
(2) The dark azure, almost approaching to black, of an Alpine sky at midnight, has been frequently remarked by travellers.
(3) Many of the highest Alpine peaks are called Domes.
(4) "Like snows when winds are laid."
"Come new in Alpi senza venti."—Dante.
(5) The Lake of the Four Cantons is sometimes called the Lake of Uri. The scenery of its shores is wild and majestic in the highest degree. The rocks in many parts rise from the water like a wall, without leaving room even for a pathway at their feet.
