THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY From the oolleotion of James Collins, Drumoondra, Ireland. Purchased, 1918. 177.7 3795- BROTHER-HELP THE HEROISM OF HUMANITY AND BENEVOLENCE IN EVERY AGE. “ Whatfoever ye would that men fhould do to you, do ye even fo to them.” — M atthew, vii. 12. INSCRIBED TO GEORGE PEABODY, ESQ. LONDON : DARTON & HODGE, HOLBORN HILL. [The Right of Tranjlation is referred.^] / 77 7 3V? TO GEORGE PEABODY, ESQ., THE MUNIFICENT BENEFACTOR TO THE POOR OF THE METROPOLIS, THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS Introduction page'- vii CHAPTER I. THE AGE OF EDUCATION BROTHER HELPERS AMONG EDUCATIONISTS. Light and darknefs. George III. Bedford, Ruflell, Cordon, Sterry, Sturge, and Fry. Peftalozzi, and his heart-work. Fellenberg, and his fchools. Jofeph Lancafter, and the education of the poor. The heroifm of his career. Mr. John Hull,* and his educational labours. Wilderfpin and Infant Schools. Brother-help of Sir Robert Peel. Importance of the Teacher. Educational hopes ------- i CHAPTER II. BROTHER HELPERS IN THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY. Nations, and their feafons of misfortune. Exodus of the Ifraelites. Ancient tyrants. Moral force. Roman patriotifm. Alfred the Great as a Brother- helper. William Wallace. Robert Bruce. William Tell. Joan of Arc. Spiritual tyranny. Luther — the Reformation. Wycliffe. Hufs. Jerome of Prague. Thomas Bilney. Martyrdom. The Geat Rebel- lion. The Puritans. Cromwell. Pym. Hampden. The Waldenfes. Louis Napoleon. Hofer. Wafhington. Garibaldi. Conftitutional Freedom - -- -- -- -- -69 CHAPTER III. BROTHER-HELP AS SET FORTH AMONG THE CLERGY AND MINISTERS OF RELIGION. The aftive benevolence of the Clergy. Wealth and poverty of the Church. An Englifh landfcape. Clerical duty. Bernard Gilpin. Bifhop Heber. * This name has been mifprinted “ Hall ” in the text. VI Contents . Oberlin, and his heroic labours. The fecret of his fuccefs. Felix Neff. Grandeur of his work. The Swedifh PaftoPs life. “High Church” and “Low Church.” Bifhop of Marfeilles. Succourers of thefick. Plague of Malta — of Eyam. Mompeffon — the good Pallor. Fenelon. Dr. Emerton. Chriftian Union, &c. - - - - - -166 CHAPTER IV. BROTHER-HELP IN RELATION TO SLAVERY, WAR, PEACE, AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. Ancient Slavery. Leo X. and Slavery. William of Naffau. The poets Southerne and Cowper. The early exertions of the Quakers. Halfey and Granville Sharp. The runaway Slave and Britifh fympathy. Friends of the Negro — Lord Mansfield, Thomas Clarkfon, Wilberforce. The fate of the Negro. Barbarous planters. Generous barrifter. Obi woman. The Peace of Faith. Society of Friends. Peace and war. Volunteers. Chriftianity and war principles. Brother-helpers in war and peace. International arbitration. Capital punilhment. Humani- zation of the penal code. Owen, and the caufe of his failure. Infi- delity - - - -231 CHAPTER V. BROTHER-HELP IN THE PRISON, HOSPITAL, ON SHIP- BOARD, AND IN SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE. Howard, and the Hate of prifons one hundred years ago. Doings of Howard — his voyages, travels, and journeys. George Baffet, the Moravian. The galleys. Mrs. Fry. School in the prifons. Croakers. The humane gaoler. Hiftory of a poor child. Singular “treat.” Old Bedlam. Hanwell Afylum. Melton. Entertainment to the infane. Afylum for Idiots. Guy, and his hofpital. The old “ Dreadnought.” Brother-help on fhip-board. Driving to a dinner-party. A deep fea hero. Colling- wood. Brother-help, focial and domeftic. The Man of Rofs. How to pay church-rates. Chriftian revenge. Richard Reynolds. Unoften- tatious benevolence. Agricultural brother-help — Mechi. Peabody. Her Majefty the Queen. The Duke of Kent. The late Prince Confort. Univerfal Charity the bond of peace among nations - 290 INTRODUCTION. “ Brother Help \" what a noble fubjeft for contem- plation ! What a field of human fympathy does it em- brace ! What a world of difinterefted benevolence does it fuggeft ! To write its hiftory, would be to tell of philanthropy in all countries and in all ages, efpecially of that higheft form of philanthropy, the Chriftian. “ If a man love God, he will love his brother alfo and how many have gone forth into the worlds dark places to manifeft this love to their fellow men, through difficulties and dangers, perils and perfecutions, and even in the face of death itfelf ? To record their exertions, to fet forth their heroic felf-facrifice and unfailing conftancy, is the object of this book. “ Brother help 99 is made illuftrious by the noble deeds of public philanthropy, but it alfo as frequently exhibits itfelf in the routine of every-day life. Kindly afts abound everywhere; deeds of generofity are as common among merchants as among monarchs. Friendfhips are as ftrong in the obfcure haunts of poverty, as in the halls of opulence. Indeed, there is no condition in life in which fympathy does not exift, or in which “ brotherly love 99 is not required ; for all men are mutually dependent. Introduction . viii Brotherly love is, indeed, the greateft of the Chriftian graces. It is the fpirit of our Lord walking abroad in the earth, feeding the hungry, healing the fick, clothing the naked, giving hearing to the deaf, and fight to the blind. Hence have arifen our inftitutions for the alle- viation of human mifery, our fchools, our hofpitals, and our afylums, with all thofe public charities which are our brighteft glory as a people. Our progrefs in fcience has been great, but the greateft of the fciences is the art of doing good, and of doing it in the right way ; and we have ftill much to learn in this matter. But of this we may be fure, that when our laft folemn hour (hall come, it will not be of fo much im- portance to us then, whether we have tunnelled moun- tains, or made the lightnings do our bidding, but rather if we have miniftered to the afflifted, and bound up the broken heart; for it is not what we have done for our - felves , but what we have done for others , that will avail us on that day, “ when the Son of Man fhall come in his glory,” and fhall fay, “ Come, ye blefled of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirfty, and ye gave me drink; I was a ftranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was fick, and ye vifited me; I was in prifon, and ye came unto me :” for “ inafmuch as ye have done it unto the leaft of thefe my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Therefore, as a parting admonition, we fay, “Let brotherly love continue.” THE AUTHOR. BROTHER-HELP CHAPTER I. BROTHER HELPERS IN EDUCATION. “ Ignorance is God’s curfe ; Knowledge the wings with which we fly to heaven.” Shakespeare. S IXTY years ago a great moral darknefs overlhadowed this land. Religion was at its loweft ebb ; the morals of the people were degraded ; the infidelity of the French philofophers and the principles of the French revolution- ifts prevailed to a great extent among the middle and working dalles. The government of thefe times, no way in advance of the people, was a fyftem of the moll abom- inable corruption, while many of the laws, political, civil, and religious, were a difgrace to the ftatute book. It may be fuppofed that the ignorance of the people was correfpondingly great : it was fo ; but the rulers found out at laft that “ ignorance was power,” juft as know- B 2- Brother Helpers in Education . ledge was power ; that the power of ignorance was the power of an idiotic demon, but that the power of know- ledge was as the power of an angel of light. Yet this truth was flow in making its way, and is at this time fcarcely recognifed ; it was for a long time con- tended by the higheft authorities in the land, by beft paid dignitaries of the church, by legal functionaries high in office, and by the majority of the ariftocracy, that “ ignorance was blifs •” that the education of the people would be followed by revolution in church and ftate, and by a total difruption of all the ties that bind fociety to- gether; that infidelity would fo increafe as to be over- whelming, and that the rights of men would be fo ex- panded as to bring down in one fearful crafh kings, nobles, and all the influential, from the higheft to the loweft. The unpaid magiftrates, the county fquires, the landed gentry, the clergy, the farmers, all looked upon “ knowledge” as their bittereft enemy, and fet their faces againft it with a pertinacity and determina- tion which would have done them credit in a better caufe. But brother helpers were at hand. There were high philofophic as well as high philanthropic minds abroad, who began to fee things in a very different light ; who looked upon education as the mighty lever which was to elevate the maffes in the fcale of being ; who believed, and that fincerely, that enlightenment was the beft hand- maid of true religion ; and who thought alfo, that unlefs the people were thoroughly inftru&ed in legal, fcientific, Light and Darknefs . 3 domeftic, and civil economy, the chances were, that Eng- land would go backwards inftead of forwards, and that her “ decline and fall ” would be inevitable. Then came a mighty conteft between the powers of darknefs and the powers of light. On one fide were Chriftian love, truth, juftice, and humanity. On the other fide were bigotry, falfehood, felf-love, and felf- intereft. Then came the great brother helpers in this caufe of promife and of hope, and they were not few nor unimportant. There was Bedford, and Ruflell, and Brougham, and Denman, and Stery, and Corfton, and Sturge, and Allen, Fry, and Gurney; the Bifiiop of Norwich, and good King George himfelf, never more fane, and never more clear-fighted, and never more true to the principles which feated him on the throne than when he faid, “ It is my wifh that every poor child in my dominions fhould be able to read the Bible.” The king was at the time furrounded by advifers, who would have been willing for him to have moved in an oppofite direftion; but the old man had too much good fenfe in him not to fee the fmall blue fpeck in the fky, which heralded a bright and glorious funfliine. He emu- lated the old-faflhioned Englilh farmer, was fond of his broad acres, of his hunters and his hounds, of rufticity in more ways than one. He was alfo felf-willed and obfti- nate; but he had a good deal of common fenfe, and Queen Charlotte had a good deal too, and fo the edu- cators found in George III. a good man and a true, and for his ftraightforward and bold condudt at this period, b 2 4 Brother Helpers in Education . when things fwang fo nicely in the balance, every friend to enlightenment, improvement, and national progrefs ought to feel greatly indebted. Education itfelf is a fubjeft of fuch a comprehenfive character, that it requires more than can be here faid to fhow its important bearings on fociety. It is yet in its leading-firings, although a million annually is fet apart by the government for its development. We can never fucceed in carrying out its benefits, but through practical men — -men wedded to the caufe from convi&ion, and who are thoroughly practical in its details; fuch men as thofe whofe exertions in the caufe we feel it a duty to mention; fuch men as Lancafler and Bell, Peftalozzi, Fellenberg, and Wilderfpin — men that worked at the break of day, through florm and tempefl, amid rocks and quickfands, through evil report and good report. In diflrefs, in penury, or the midfl of domeflic afflidlion, they were indeed true brother helpers, and their efforts, both theoretically and praftically, ought not to be forgotten. The principles they propounded, and the fkill with which they carried them out, have laid the foundation of really true and effectual education; for education, to be effectual, mull be a combination of the mofl judicious practices founded upon the fcience of mind and a due and proper eflimate of the human faculties. To legiflate fuccefsfully for them is to legiflate for focial progrefs, for happinefs, for peace, for morals, and for religion ; for the religion of love, duty, obedience, honeft induflry, integrity, and ufefulnefs, which it fhould ever be our aim to promote Tice Teacher Pe/ialozzu 5 by all the means in our power, to the glory of God and the good of man. The educator, Peftalozzi, was one of the firft brother helpers in this caufe, and is every day more and more familiar to Englifh ears. It is forty years fince his fame reached this country. In the evidence appended to the Re- port of the Education Committee, in 1818, Mr. Brougham alluded to the fchool of Peftalozzi at Yverdon ; fince that time, the principles of the Peftalozzian “ method ” have been making a gradual but flow progrefs. The govern- ment fchools of the prefent day are greatly indebted to Peftalozzi, as they are to Wilderfpin, and it is therefore interefting to know fomething about the life, efforts, prin- ciples, and exertions of this man in the great work of human improvement; for, as we have faid, the true educa- tionifts are the greateft of brother helpers, for they direfit the minds of men to the higheft iflues. Peftalozzi was born at Zurich on the 12th of January, 1 745, and by the premature death of his father, who was a phyfician, became an orphan when he was about five years old. He was brought up by his mother, who was a good and talented woman. In his early years his habits were eccentric, and he was quaintly diftinguifhed by his companions by the nick-name of Harry Oddity. He poffeffed a quiet and almoft effeminate difpofition, which made him among his fchoolfellows at once the objefit of general affefition and the unvindictive butt of their heedlefs fports. In the buftling games — in the eager fports of boyhood — he rarely joined, and was 6 Brother Helpers in Education . inferior in their manual afts of dexterity and quicknefs ; but he was warm-hearted and tender-hearted, generous and charitable in the extreme — always the firft to wipe away the tear of grief, to flay the hand of punifh- ment, to beg off offenders, and to comfort all in their diftreffes; and many inftances are recorded of his exer- cife of brother help to his companions as well as to others. On one occafion, during the troubles that afflicted his unhappy country, a poor woman, who had frequently fupplied him with a draught of milk, had her cows ftolen during the night and carried away. They were her only fupport, and the lofs of them would have reduced her to beggary. She fearched all over the diftridft in which fhe lived, but found them not, and began to defpair of their recovery. Henry heard of her diftrefs, took compaflion on her, and ftarted off by himfelf after the loft cattle. After he had travelled feveral miles among the moun- tains, making inquiry of every mountaineer he met, he at laft obtained a trace of their track. They had been taken away by fome of the recruits going to the frontiers ; the lad followed on their wake, and at laft, after two days more travelling, day and night, fcarcely allowing himfelf any time for repofe, he came up with the thieves. They ftill had the cows in their poffeffion, and were driving them before them for the fake of their milk. He boldly demanded their reftoration ; the recruits laughed at him, and threatened him with chaftifement; he expoftulated, but to no purpofe. He was fainting A Lover of Solitude . 7 for food, and begged fome of their bread, but they refufed him, and inflicted on him a fevere beating, at the fame time driving him away from the place at which they had refolved to fpend the night. The poor lad was compelled to retreat; but he did not go far, for in the middle of the night he arofe, when his cruel enemies were afleep, and got poflfeflion of the cows, which he drove in the direftion of their home, and before the morn- ing dawned he was far beyond the chance of purfuit. He fubfifted on the milk of the animals as he proceeded homewards, and at laft, after much toil, fatigue, and the want of fleep, reftored them fafe and found to their owner. This was a noble trait in his character, and there were others of a fimilar kind. He had wandered one evening a confiderable diftance from his home, for he was a lover of folitude, till he reached one of thofe rapid rivers which ferve as the boundary of fome of the Swifs cantons ; while he fat muling on the flump of a tree, he heard wailings and moanings on the other fide of the river. He was not long in afcertaining from whom the founds proceeded. They were from a poor woman, the wife of a foldier who had been killed in a lkirmilh fome miles off, who had been obliged to leave the battle field with her two infants, and they were twins, to make her way back to her canton, friendlefs and forfaken. Near the fpot at which they flood, there had been a wooden bridge, but this had been broken down by the foldiers, and there was now no way of crofling the river except at a 8 Brother Helpers in Education . ford about fix miles below. The night was fetting in, and the poor woman with her twins, in an exhaufted condition, had funk down in defpair befide the turbid ftream. What was to be done ? He called to her as loud as he could to be of good cheer. He had luckily fome bread in the bag which he ufed to carry with him in all his rambles ; but how to tranfport it acrofs the torrent was a difficulty. Obferving, however, the trunk of a large tree which had been laid low by a recent tempeft, he determined, if poffible, to launch it on the ftream ; by means of leverage, and the ufe of the branch of another tree, he got it within reach of the ftream. He feated himfelf upon it, trufting to God for protection and fuccefs, and launched out into the roaring waters. He was carried a confiderable diftance down the eddy, but neverthelefs landed fafely on the other fide, remaining with, fuftain- ing, and comforting the mother and the babes, till the following day, when affiftance prefented itfelf. Thus we fee, that although Peftalozzi was not one of thofe bright boys that illuminate fchool-rooms, aftonifh pedagogues, and give promife of intellectual brightnefs, he had that within him which paffeth fhow. Maternal folicitude and love had deeply imbued his mind with religious feeling, and developed in him that fpring dew of the foul which waters all our affections and fympa- thies. Thus, while he was looked upon by thofe who could neither comprehend nor appreciate him as a being of whom little could be hoped, energies and powers were at work within his heart, deftined to be one mighty Failure in the Pulpit , 9 engine of moral improvement to his countrymen and to the world at large. The bent of Peftalozzfs mind was for theminiftry; but alas ! he was not adapted for that, for his firft appearance in the pulpit as a candidate for ordination was a complete failure, owing to his exceffive nervouf- nefs — a nervoufnefs frequently the accompaniment of a refined genius, as in the cafe of our poet Cowper. Re- nouncing, therefore, divinity, he applied himfelf to the law ; here he alfo fortunately failed : for although the law is a profound and intellectual ftudy, and lawyers are quite equal to other men as regards probity and honour, it was not the right thing for a young man of rare and fenfitive endowments. It was, however, while applying himfelf as a probationer in the law that he firft thought upon the fubject of education, of its errors both in rulers and teachers, and of its effect upon the people. He was then only nineteen years of age ; but, being convinced that a life of idlenefs was incompatible with intellectual or moral energy, he put himfelf to a farmer, a man of high intellect and warm heart, who interefted himfelf much for the poorer clafles. He now entered upon the fmall patrimony his father had left him, purchafed a tract of wafte land in the canton of Berne, in the neigh- bourhood of Lenzburg, on which he erected a dwelling- houfe with the neceflary out-buildings, and gave it the name of Neuhof, i.e. the New Farm. Here he devoted himfelf fuccefsfully to the cultivation of his eftate, and in thefe his brighteft days fought and obtained the hand of B 3 io Brother Helpers in Education . Anne Schulthefs, a young woman on whom nature and education had vied in beftowing their accomplifhments, and who, though the daughter of one of the wealthieft merchants in Zurich, fet at defiance the voice of public opinion, and all the confiderations of worldly intereft, to {hare the affections and deftiny of a man whom it was her glory to appreciate and underftand. This marriage put Peftalozzi in poffeffion of a {hare in a flouri{hing cotton manufactory, and while it thus im- proved his worldly means, brought him in contaCt with another portion of the population ; and the obferva- tions he made among them, and his comparifons of the manufacturing with the agricultural portion of fociety, brought him back to the conclufion that the then pre- vailing fyftems of education were by no means calculated to fit mankind for the difcharge of their duties in after life, and the attainment of a tranquil and happy exiftence, and kindled in him a zeal and energy for which no facri- fice was too great, no difficulty too appalling. Peftalozzi now thought it a fit opportunity to make the experiment, how far it might be poffible by education to raife the lower claffes to a condition more confiftent with a Chriftian ftate of fociety. His eftablifhment was converted into an afylum, in which fifty orphan, or pau- per children, were provided with food, clothing, and in- ftruCtion of that kind calculated to lead them to acquire thofe practical abilities and induftrious habits by which they would be enabled to keep themfelves in a fituation favourable to their improvement. His objeCt was to Generous Intentions. 11 fhow, not how the State might provide for the poor and correct them, but how the poor might be taught to cor- rect themfelves. His defign was not fo much confined to the eftablifhment of a private charity as to effect a reform in the popular education of the country. He wifhed to purify the affe&ions, which he faw defcend into low propenfities, to fubftitute intelligence and true know- ledge in the place of cunning and ignorant routine, and to reftore to the Word of Truth, which had been per- verted into a dead creed, its proper place over the heart and life. Such were his generous intentions; but his means were in almoft every refpeft inadequate to the talk. His knowledge of human nature, and the laws by which it is governed, was deficient from youth and inexperience; on the difficult art of fostering the growth of the young mind he was quite a novice ; his eftablifhment required organization — required legiflative talents ; but thefe Peftalozzi did not poflefs. Peftalozzi entered upon his experiment with the full idea of brother-help in his mind. His heart was charged with goodnefs : his affe&ions were aroufed to the higheft pitch, his fympathies excited to the full ; but, alas ! like many other great men ardent in the purfuit of a grand objefit which aroufes and calls forth the higheft efforts of genius, he never calculated the expenfe , or he made falfe calculations of the return of the labour to be expedled of the children. The mixture of agricultural and manufac- turing labour, of domeftic economy and commercial 12 Brother Helpers in Education . operations, had alfo the effeft of bringing confusion into almoft every part of his eftablifhment, and concealing from his view the real ftate of his circumftances. His thoughts were all on the moral means he fhould employ, and thus his eftablifhment every year became more cer- tain of failure ; and as this circumftance became partially revealed to him, it had the effe£t of rendering his mind more perplexed, and the diftrefling apprehenfions that at laft arofe robbed him of much of that calmnefs and ferenity of temper which are indifpenfable in great enter- prifes. The afylum atNeuhof commenced in 1775, and clofed in 1790. During the interval, however, Peftalozzi made a feries of difcoveries, and left a highly interefting record * of them in various publications ; but his voice was as the voice of one crying in the wildernefs ; his affairs got worfe and worfe ; his friends laughed at him and reviled him ; his enemies perfecuted him ; and his creditors threatened him with imprifonment. The afylum was forced to be broken up, and his condition was indeed truly deplorable. Now was he quite deftitute of aflift- ance, treated with ingratitude, and even infult, by moft of thofe he had ferved; feparated from the few that might have been grateful, caft down by a succeffion of misfor- tunes, and tormented by the confcioufnefs of having con- tributed to them by his own mifcalculations, he confumed his days in pain and forrow, on that fpot which he had made the abode of love and mercy, while the caufe that lay neareft to his heart feemed irrevocably overthrown. Deftitute Children . l 3 In this ftate he lingered, when the French Revolution proved the danger of giving to an uneducated and brutal population political power, and revealed to Peftalozzi the danger of giving an undue impetus to that fickle feeling of the lower clafles, which prompts them continu- ally to change their inftitutions. He now learned that man uncurbed by authority is lefs likely to attain moral and intellectual improvement than when he is under the wholefome regulations of focial inftitutions; and his mind gradually arrived at the important conclufion, that the ameliorating of outward circumftances will be the effeCt, never canbe the caufe,of mental and moral improvement; or, as our Divine Lord exprefles it, “ Seek ye firft the kingdom of God and his righteoufnefs, and all thefe things will be added unto you.” Leaving his family behind him, Peftalozzi proceeded to Stantz, where the new convent of the Urfulines, then building, was affigned to him for the formation of an afylum for orphans and other deftitute children, and ample funds were provided for making the neceflary arrangements. The children prefented themfelves in numbers ; many of them were utterly deftitute, and fome had not even a place of {helter. The houfe, however, could fcarcely afford this ; the walls were damp — it was full of dirt and duft, and fcarcely any convenience exifted for the development of his plans. Moft of the children were in a diftrefling and difeafed ftate, and exhibited the phyfical, intelledual, and moral negleCt to which they had been expofed. Nor were these the only difficulties 1 4 Brother Helpers in Education . with which he had to contend : the parents diftrufted him, from his being a Proteftant, many of the children were taken away through their whims and caprices, and Peftalozzi, unfupported by the ordinary props of autho- rity, was treated with contempt as a mere hireling, and was compelled to adopt, as the great inftrument of in- ftruCtion, the extraordinary power of love as the bafis of the relation between teacher and child. While Peftalozzi was thus, in matters of difcipline, reduced to the primary motive of all virtue, he learned, in the attempt of inftruCting the children, the art of returning to the fimpleft of all knowledge. He was entirely unprovided with books or any other means of inftruCtion, and in the abfence of both materials and machinery he could not even have recourfe to the pur- fuits of induftry for filling up part of his time. The whole of the fchool apparatus confided of himfelf and his pupils, and he was therefore compelled to confider what means fhould be ufed for the accompliftiment of the object he had in view : the refult was, that he abftraCted himfelf entirely from thofe artificial elements of inftruc- tion which are contained in books, and direCted his whole attention towards the natural elements which are depo- fited in the child's mind. He taught numbers inftead of cyphers— living founds inftead of dead characters — deeds of faith and love inftead of abftrufe creeds — fubftances inftead of fliadows — realities inftead of figns — he led the intellect of children to the difcovery of truths through the application of their faculties, which he sought not to Devotion to the Work . 15 cram and overlay with fcholaftic jargon, but to develop and ftrengthen, and thus he led them to the apprehen- fion of truths which, in the nature of things, they could never forget. Inftead of loading their memories with a colleftion of words, he made them acquainted with the great fafts of nature; inftead of building up a dead mind and a dead heart on the ground of a dead letter, he drew forth life to the mind and heart from the foun- tains of life within, and thus eftabliftied a new art of education, which to follow requires, on the part of the teacher, the higheft philofophy, the acuteft obfervation, the keeneft ta fit, and which cannot be had for fixty or feventy pounds a-year. Thus, in the midft of his children did Peftalozzi for- get that there was any world befides his afylum, and as their circle was a univerfe to him, fo was he to them all in all. From morning till night he was the centre of their exiftence; to him they owed every comfort and every enjoyment; and whatever hardship they had to endure he was their fellow fufferer : he partook of their meals, and flept among them; and in the evening he prayed with them, before they dropped into the arms of {lumber. At the firft dawn of light it was his voice that called them to the light of the rifing fun, and to the praife of their heavenly Father. All day he flood among them; his hand was daily with them, joined in theirs ; his eye, beaming with benevolence, met theirs, beaming with joy; he wept when they wept, and was glad when they were glad ; he was to them a father, and 1 6 Brother Helpers in Education . they were to him as children. Such love could not fail to win their hearts ; difcontent and peevifhnefs ceafed, and between feventy and eighty children, whofe difpofi- tion had been far from kind, and whofe habits had been anything but domeftic, were thus converted in a fhort time, by the principle of fympathy, fuftained by religion, into a peaceful family circle in which it was delightful to exift. But, alas ! war, that curfe of the human race and of everything good and humanizing, deftroyed again the hopes and aims of the educator. In the fummer of 1799, the Auftrians took poffeffion of Italy, and Pefta- lozzi was forced to abandon his interefting experiment at the moment when it began to promife the fruits of fuccefs. Difappointed at feeing the works of his hands fuddenly deftroyed after the greateft difficulties and dan- gers had been conquered, and the reflection that the enemies of the caufe had now an opportunity afforded them of reviling and ridiculing what was on the point of being eftabliftied upon the evidence of inconteftable faCts, preyed heavily on his mind, and in a fit of defpondency Peftalozzi fled into the folitude of the Alps, and amidft the rocks and fteeps of the Gurnigal fought reft for his weary foul and health for his exhaufted body. But he did not long remain inaCtive in feclufion, but again determined to refume his experiments. He applied to the Helvetic Government, and, in confideration of his paft fervices, was granted a penfion of about thirty pounds a-year. He then went to Burgdorf and obtained accefs Schools in the Castle . 17 to one of the public fchools, with liberty to try his ex- periments. The fchool itfelf, however, remained under the management of its former matter, who, eyeing his new colleague with great fufpicion and fome jealoufy, contrived in a ttiort time to get him removed. He was foon after admitted into a fchool of infants, and was left at full liberty to try his plans on children between the ages of three and eight, and the good dames gave him full fway over their little innocent barbarians. This, however, did not laft long. Futtier, one of the Under Secretaries of State to the Helvetic Government, a friend of education and the experiment, had been dire£ted to organize the fchools at Burgdorf, and he thought of Peftalozzi, and to him the cattle of that place was afligned as a teacher's feminary ; but the plan was delayed from time to time, from want of funds, and, Fufher dying, Peftalozzi was left without official employ- ment ; he therefore united himfelf with a fchoolmafter named Kruefi, who was intrufted with the care of twenty-eight fatherlefs children of Proteftant defcent, who had been driven by war from their native foil. After FuflieFs death, Peftalozzi and Kruefi formed a union of their fchools in the cattle, the pofleflion of which the central government now transferred to Pefta- lozzi. Here he fet to work under difficulties of every kind ; but, through the intervention of fome members of the government, in the beginning of 1800 he was enabled to announce the opening of an eftablifhment which con- 1 8 Brother Helpers in Education . tained twenty-fix pupils. Of thefe about one-third were the fons of the reprefen tatives of the principal cantons of Switzerland; another part belonged to the wealthier clafs of tradefmen and agriculturifts, and the reft were the fons of refpedtable families, reduced by misfortunes, who were placed under Peftalozzi* s care by friends or rela- tives, fome of whom he alfo admitted at his own charge. Nor was this all. Not forgetting the claims of the poor to brother-help, he founded alfo an afylum for orphans, which was to (hare in all the educational and domeftic advantages of the great fchool. Peftalozzi was now in the zenith of his succefs. It is a fa £1, of which the life of almoft ever} 7 diftinguifhed man affords evidence, that the great mafs of the public, who are dull of comprehenfion and flow to acknowledge merit, are in the fame proportion offenfively lavifh of their admiration as foon as a man rifes thoroughly above them. Such was the cafe of Peftalozzi ; he who had been ridiculed, fpurned, ill-treated, and fneered at, now that his ftar was a little in the afcendant was extolled to the fkies as the man of the age, and fo high ran the tide of popularity in his favour, that he was chofen to be one of the deputies fent to Paris in 1802, in order to form a new conftitution for Switzerland. After fome other viciffitudes, the fchool of Peftalozzi was transferred to Yverdon, fituated on the fouth end of the Lake of Neufchatel, and here he laid down a com- prehenfive plan of inftru< 5 tion embracing every branch of human knowledge. His leading principle was to The youthful Choir . !9 begin with the education of the fenfes and to work through them to the underhand ing, which is a natural progrefs, and to build up the Chriftian foul through the word of God and the fympathies of the heart. Perhaps the educator kept the child too long in fenfual inftruc- tion — perhaps he intelledlualized too abftradtedly — per- haps he refined away the ftraightforward motives and principles of the Gofpel ; but he did certainly make a grand effort for the humanization of his pupils, for ex- tending the Saviour’s kingdom of love, holinefs, and truth, and for the adoration of the great and good Creator. One of the favourite branches of ftudy with the pupils of Peftalozzi was finging. He made it fubfervient to the affections. The cheerful fongs with which his youthful choir faluted the rifing fun, or the lonely breezes of returning fpring, or the bounty of the harveft, were true hymns of praife, adoration, and thankfgiving. Nor did they omit to bear reference to their brother man. Chriftian love, Chriftian fortitude, Chriftian hope, and Chriftian refignation, formed many of their themes ; and, like the harp of David of old, the evil fpirit was exorcifed by the mufic of the youthful choir. But Peftalozzi was of too comprehenfive a mind, he went too thoroughly againft all deep-rooted prejudices ; the image-makers were in danger, the fcholaftics were jealous of him; they felt their occupation gone, or if not gone, in exceffive danger. Perfonal enemies alfo furrounded him, and a vile wretch, one Jofeph Schmid, 20 Brother Helpers in Education . whom the great man had taken into his houfe from motives of charity, began to revile and ridicule him who had faved him from deftitution. This is not an uncommon cafe ; for gratitude is built upon a high fuperftrufture of the foul, and few attain thereto. At firft, this wretches operations were all covered ; but after Mrs. Peftalozzi^s death, in 1815, he threw off the mafk completely, and fet himfelf up in oppofition to all PeftalozzPs oldeft and moft faithful friends, and foon drove them away one after the other from his fide. Mrs. Niederer was aflailed by the bafeft calumny, and the educator himfelf was accufed of all forts of crimes, not even omitting that of blafphemy. He was accufed of making himfelf a fecond Saviour of mankind, be- caufe his pupils called him the “matter,” and his pecu- liar mode of inftruction the “ method,” and his philo- fophy the “ idea.” His enemies rallied and made frefh head againft him, ftimulated by thofe afperfions ; all his follies were refufcitated, all his miftakes — and they were not a few — brought up again to ruin him. No inftitution could ftand againft fuch an attack; it fell into diforder, for the good man*s heart was broken, and his energies were deftroyed. Thus was Peftalozzi, at the age of eighty, overwhelmed with grief and forrow of the moft intenfe kind, and with mortifications more bitter than any he had ever before experienced ; but his courage in this fevere trial did not forfake him; the confcioufnefs of his having been im- pelled by worthy motives through the whole of his career The Spirit of the Syjlem. 21 fupported him ; the reflexion that the whole defire of his heart had been the brother help of his brother man ; that for this he had renounced all worldly profit or the accumulation of wealth, lightened the heavy weight of his misfortunes. He remained calm, and hopeful, and truftful, in the midft of all his forrows, and God, who is ever merciful, and knows when to take us from the world he has fent us to illuminate, releafed Peftalozzi from the heartache and all the natural {hocks that flefh is heir to, on the 17th of February, 1827, at Brugg, * n the canton of Bafil, and his mortal remains were interred in the ground which owed its fertility to the vigorous exertions of his ripened manhood. Such is the outline of this brother-helpePs life. It is, of courfe, out of our province to go into the merits of his educational fyftem ; but this we may fay, that the fpirit of his method is deftined to live in this and in other countries, becaufe it is a fpirit of love and difinterefted goodnefs. The only difficulty in its application is to find educators completely imbued with his thorough Chriftian philofophy. The tafk which he undertook will not be accompliffied in one or two generations ; but the seeds are fown and will germinate, becaufe they are in unifon with the Gofpel. The infant- fchools have already dipped into the fpirit of PeftalozzPs “ method f the government fchools are following in their wake, and although very much at fea at prefent, and utterly in- adequate to the requirements of the nation, may, if not ftifled by the weight of official interference, or made 22 Brother Helpers in Education. vehicles of patronage and nepotifm, after a while fucceed in getting hold of a truly philofophical as well as prac- tical method of phyfical, intellectual, and moral training. The educational career of Fellenberg is equally inter- efting to us at the prefent day, connected as it is with the improved and improving ftate of education. His principles were in part identical with thofe of the great the liberator of his country by means of the lower clafles of his countrymen, when the felfiflinefs and ve- nality of mod of the great lords had confented to give it into the hands of a foreign power. The youth of Scotland's greateft hero is faid to have been pafled chiefly under the care of his uncle, a man of religious ftation, but who, contrary to the priefthood at at that time, was imbued with the noblefl: ideas of inde- pendence, and who felt for a country falling gradually into the hands of an oppreflor. This man was living at Dane- piece, and afterwards removed to Kilfpendy, a village in the rich diftridt called the Carfe of Gowrie. From thence he fent his nephew to Dundee, where he received fome “fchool learning," but to what extent is not known. Here, however, he became acquainted with John Blair, who was of his own age, and who entertained noble views of the free- born dignity of man; thus the two youths formed a ftrong The nolle Idea of Freedom. 79 friendfhip and a lafting attachment to each other. When Wallace became celebrated he did not forget his old fchool- mate — who had then become a Benediftine monk — but fent for him and appointed him his chaplain ; and it is a fubjedl of deep regret that a Latin Life of his mafter and patron, which was written by Blair, has, with the exception of a few fragments, been loft or deftroyed. It was probably at Dundee — which Edward vifited on his triumphal pro- grefs, fubfequent to the battle of Falkirk — that Wallace faw the conqueror. His father, Sir Malcolm Wallace, upon the firft publication of the order for all to come in and take their oaths of allegiance to the Englifh monarch, had fled from Elderflie into the mountainous diftrift of the Lennox, accompanied by his eldeft fon, and it is generally believed that he was, not long afterwards, flain in an encounter with the Englifti at Kyle, in Ayrfhire. His mother, meanwhile, had taken refuge with her fathers relations, and Wallace, now advancing into manhood, found himfelf driven from his paternal home, an objedl of fufpicion to the Government, and avoided by thofe cautious and timid friends who regarded Scotland as loft, and preferred the quiet fervitude of ignominy to the defperate chances of infurrecftion. Over all this — pent up in the filent reftraint which for a feafon he was compelled to obferve — he brooded and rankled in fecret ; with a mind, however, burfting with the noble idea of freeing his country from the gripe of a mercilefs oppreflor. But this great idea might never have been realized but for one of thofe accidents which fo 80 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. often decide the deftinies of nations and individuals. It appears that Wallace had formed a virtuous attachment to a beautiful lady, who refided in the town of Lanark, who had become his affianced bride, and that in paffing through the ftreets of that burgh, well armed and richly dreffed, he was recognifed by a troop of Engliffi foldiers, who furrounded and infulted him. Wallace at firft would have prudently got clear of their infolence, but a con- temptuous ftroke which one of them made againft his fword provoked him to draw, and the culprit was laid dead at his feet. A tumult now arose, and, almoft over- powered by numbers, he efcaped with difficulty into the houfe of her who was to have been his future bride, and through it, by a back paffage, into a neighbouring wood. For this ready aid the unfortunate lady was feized next day by William de Heflope, the Engliffi ffieriff, and with inhuman cruelty condemned and executed. But the revenge of Wallace, when he heard of the unhappy fate of his beloved one, was as rapid as it was ftern. That very night he collected thirty faithful and powerful partifans, who, entering the town when all were in their beds, reached the ffierifPs lodging in filence. It was a room or loft, conftrucffed like moft of the buildings of thofe times, which had to be reached by a high flair. Up this Wallace ruffied at midnight, and, beating down the door, prefented himfelf in full armour, and with his naked weapon, before the affrighted officer, who demanded whence he came. “I am William Wallace,” he replied, “ whofe life you fought yefterday, and now thou ffialt anfwer me for my poor Wallace feels his Strength. 81 maiden* s death ! ” With thefe words he feized the naked viftim by the throaty and, palling his fword through the wretches body, call it down the flair into the ftreet. He then collected his foldiers, and, as the ftir and tumult arofe, drew off through the ftreets into the woods which furrounded the town. Merited as this hot revenge was then confidered by all who fmarted under the yoke of the Englilh, it was loudly pronounced by the Government an audacious murder, and not only drew after it the ufual confequences of pro- fcription and outlawry, but excited an eager and im- mediate purfuit. Wallace, however, was intimately ac- quainted with every nook and corner of the country, and found little difficulty in defeating every effort for his apprehenfion. It is from this period that we muft date his fyftematic and determined refiftance to Edward and his mighty power of oppreflion and wrong; for this incident convinced him that there muft be for ever an irreparable breach between him and the Govern- ment which he had outraged. A feeling of his own ftrength gave an energetic confiftency to his future life, and concentrated his love of liberty and his animolity againft his oppreffors into one deep and continuous prin- ciple. “ It was from this time, therefore,” fays an ancient hiftorian, “that all who were of better mind, and who had become weary of the fervitude which was im- pofed by the domination of the Englilh, flocked to this man like bees to their fwarm, and he became their leader.” And a noble leader he was. Bold as a lion ; crafty as E 3 8s Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. a fox ; quick and deadly in his fpring as a leopard ; nimble as a cat-o^mountain. His perfeverance, his expedients, his noble exploits in battle, his fkill in retreat, his con- ftancy under misfortune, his noble behaviour when vic- torious, all prove him to be a man worthy his time and the great caufe he undertook to fuftain. But he fought an unequal battle. Edward and his vaft armies could eafily have been fubdued, for multitudes of armed men are but as fnow-flakes falling on a river, when fet againft a righteous principle ; but when a people themfelves be- come treacherous to the caufe they have undertaken to fuftain, then it is that God leaves them to their fate. The true, the heroic, the difinterefted Wallace, was hated for his virtues, envied for his fuccefs, and infamously for- faken and betrayed by his profeffing friends. He was taken by furprife in his mountain faftnefles, brought to London, tried, condemned, and executed. His head was placed upon London Bridge and his quarters diftributed through the country. The right arm was fent to New- caftle, the left arm to Berwick, the right leg to Perth, and the left to Aberdeen. “ They hewed his body,” fays Langtoft, “ into four quarters, which were hung up in four counties, as a warning to all who, like him, raifed their ftandard againft their lord, and thefe mangled remains would be gazed upon inftead of the gonfanons and ban- ners which they had once fo proudly difplayed.” The fpirit of liberty died not, however, with Wal- lace. It is an eafy thing to cut off heads and limbs and diftribute them to the four quarters of the earth. Robert Bruce. 8 3 to burn martyrs, and to fcatter their duft to the four winds of heaven — fuch things fcatter feed abroad ; and Liberty, inftead of being annihilated, fprings, phoenix- like, from its own allies. Bruce — the Bruce — now re- folved to put himfelf at the head of his countrymen, and to call them up to yet another ftruggle for their liberty and independence. He was the grandfon of Robert Bruce, the competitor for the crown with Baliol, and was now about thirty years old. His father and grandfather having adhered to the Englifh interefts in the late conteft, or having, perhaps, been forcibly de- tained by Edward under his own eye, he had till now refided at the Englifh court. That his detention here was compulfory, appears to be proved by the ftratagem to which he was obliged to refort in order to make his efcape from London. He had already been concerting his plans with fome connections in Scotland, when a friend, having learned that he was watched and in danger of being betrayed, not venturing to give him a direCt warning, fent him one day, by a fervant, a pair of fpurs and a purfe of money. The hint was fufficient— Bruce loft not a moment ; having ordered three horfes to be ftiod with the fhoes turned backwards, in order to per- plex his purfuers, he fet off, accompanied by two trufty fervants, in the middle of the fame night. When his flight was difcovered, orders were given to fcour the country in all directions; but he eluded or outrode them; and, on the 10th of February, 1306, which was the fe- venth day after he had fet out from London, he made 84 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty . his appearance in the midft of his friends at the Caftle of Lochmaben, in Dumfriesfhire. From thence he imme- diately proceeded to Dumfries, where, in an interview in the Dominican church with John, called the “ Red Comyn,” he fell into a fad grievance. It has been af- fumed, on good authority, that during the interview Bruce had obtained inconteftable proofs that the “ Red Comyn” had determined to betray him ; being a man of prompt deed, and afting from impulfe, he charged him with the faft, which the other as refolutely denied. They came to words, and fell to blows, and in the heat of the difpute, the Bruce plunged his dagger into the bread: of the traitor — that he was a traitor, was generally believed then, and is generally believed by the Scotch till this day. At all events, this affair did not weaken the caufe of Bruce. His countrymen cluftered around him ; and having made his way to Scone without oppofition, he was crowned there on the 20th of March. A fudden reverfe was, however, awaiting him ; for Edward had loft no time in collecting his ftrength, and a powerful force, under the command of Aymer de Valence, foon arrived in the neighbourhood of the royal refidence, and an engagement took place, on the 9th of June, at Methven, near Perth, which ended in the total defeat of the ill-equipped and haftily-muftered Scotch army. Several of Bruce^s moft diftinguifhed adherents were taken prifoners, and hung, drawn, and quartered, after the cuftom of thofe times. Fortitude under Reverfes. 85 The royal Bruce was now compelled to feek fafety in flight. Having placed his wife, his two lifters, and his youngeft brother Nigel in the Caftle of Kildrammie, in Aberdeenlhire — where theyfoon after fell into the hands of the ruthlefs Edward — he himfelf retreated to the wilds of Breadalbane. “ He was left,” faid Hollinlhed, tranflating from the old Scottilh chroniclers, “ fo defolate, and un- provided of all friend fliips, that he was conftrained for his refuge to withdraw into the woods and mountains, with a few others in his company, and there lived on herbs and roots oftentimes, for lack of other food. Yet,” continues the narrative, “though he was thus left defolate of all aid and fuccour, having his brethren and other of his friends murdered and flain, to his utter dif- comfort and ruin, as was then fuppofed, he neverthelefs had a conftant hope of fome better fortune, whereby, in time to come, he might, by the aid of God, recover the realm out of the enemy's hand, and reftore the ancient liberty thereof to the former eftate. As for the pains which he took in living, barely for the moft part by water and roots, and lodging ofttimes on the bare earth, with- out houfe or other harbourage, he was fo accuftomed to it, by haunting the wars in his youth, that the fame grieved him little or nothing at all. But, to conclude, fuch was his valiancy and moft excellent fortitude of mind and courage, that no injurious mifchance or froward adverfity could abafti his invincible heart and warlike breaft.” But now comes Death. He walks abroad, looking out 86 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty . for fome glorious work to do — he touches the Englifh king with his unrelenting fpear, and the proud, the vaunting, the cruel and ruthlefs king bites the duft. Pomp and ftate, armies and vaffals, cannot fave him — he is cut fhort in his career of victory and fpoliation, and fucceeded by impotency and indolence. Bruce was nei- ther dead nor afleep, but alive and awake. The young Englifh king, however, by the advice of his councillors, collected the mightieft hoft that England had ever feen, for the eternal fubjugation of Scotland. Every one is aware of the iffue, fo glorious to Bruce and the Scottifh arms. The ever-memorable battle of Bannockburn, fought on the 31ft of June, fcattered Edward’s proud armament like chaff before the wind, ftruck from Scot- land the laft link of her chain of bondage, delivered her from the curfe of war for many years, and left the great hero of her liberties on a throne which, fo long as he lived, was never again either fhaken or affailed. Bruce did not lofe in peace the renown which he had gained in war ; but, on the contrary, by the wifdom of his civil government, refembled our Englifh Alfred — and thus he greatly heightened the fame which he had ac- quired over all Europe, as well as the love aud honour in which he was held by his fubjefts at home. Nor did he purfue his enemies with continual hatred, but bemeaned himfelf as became a man — with gentlenefs and goodnefs, truth and equity. Bearing, at the fame time, the tor- tures of a cruel difease, he was kind and gentle to thofe around him, and emulous of doing the greateft of good Tyranny in Switzerland . 87 to all his fubjefitsfar and near, being, as it was said beau- tifully, in the love and truft of God, upheld to goodly works, and in the fatisfa&ion of a clear confcience, which he eftimated more than all the fame of his martial deeds or glorious victories. It is fomewhat curious, but it was at the very period in which Wallace and Bruce were battling for the liber- ties of Scotland, that a fimilar fyftem of wholefale and retail tyranny was being enacted in Switzerland. It was in the year 1289 that Albert fucceeded his father, Ro- bert, as Emperor of Auftria and Lord of Switzerland, and no fooner did the fceptre devolve upon him than he determined to govern the Helvetians with abfolute fway. He refufed to ratify the promifes made to them by his father, and refolved to ereCt their whole territory into a principality for one of his fons. He at firft attempted to bargain for three of the cantons, who had formed a bond of union for the furrender of their independence ; but, finding them inflexible in their refolution to be free, he determined to attain his object by force, and, as Duke of Auftria, fubjeCt the brave Switzers to a ftate of bond- age or vaflalage. Having, therefore, marched a confiderable force into the territory he wifhed to fubjugate, fo as to render re- fiftance ineffectual, he commiflioned a number of his officers to demand of the cantons inftant fubmiflion. The Swifs burghers and the Auftrian delegates met at the great hall of Altorf, and the former, in reply to the infolent demands of Albert, pointing to a roll of charters 88 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. which embodied their rights and privileges for many ages, replied, “ Thefe are our wealth, our facred patri- mony which we inherit from our fathers, of which we are to render an account to our children. We are neither flaves nor fubjedts to any particular prince, we are citizens of the empire, and members of the auguft body which recognizes the emperor as its head. It is to that head we are united. Homage paid to any other would be bafenefs, and we fhould be unworthy of the free- dom we have enjoyed fo long, were we to give up the rights and privileges of our country, or renounce thofe prerogatives which are dear to us a§ our honour, and far dearer than our lives.” This noble anfwer — and the more becaufe it was noble, as is always the cafe — inflamed Albert with rage. He immediately made choice of and fent to the cantons three nobles as bailiffs or governors, who were notorious for their depravity, and infamous by the corruption of their morals. Satan could not have advifed better. The names of thefe men were Gefller, Landenburg, and Wolfenchieffe. He afligned to each of them their refidence, in, of courfe, very ftrong caftles, provided with numerous military munitions — thefe caftles, with large landed territories, being fituated in the refpedlive cantons which they were directed to fubdue and bend by all forts of means to the will of the ambitious potentate. Gefller was appointed governor of the diftridt of Uri, and of all the bailiffs was the moft arbitrary and tyran- nical, for he fcrupled not to commit the moft fevere adts William Tell. 89 of oppreffion — in fact, he delighted in it, for power likes to exercife itfelf. Befides the allowance of the utmoft licence to the foldiers, the tolls were raifed, the moft flight and trivial offences punifhed by imprifonment and heavy fines, and the inhabitants everywhere treated with infolence and contempt. On one occafion, Geffler pafling on horfeback before a houfe built by Stauffacher, in the village of Steinen, cried, “ What ! fhall it be borne that thefe contemptible peafants fhould build fuch an edifice ? If they are to be thus lodged how are we to be V 9 He then commanded the inmates to be turned out, ordered that it fhould be the poll of one of his guards, and flationed in it a military company. A parallel inftance of tyranny occurred in the conduit of the young Lord of Wolfenchieffe at Underwalden. He had entered the houfe of Conrad of Baumgorton, and finding no one prefent but the lady of the hpufe and her female fervants, conducted himfelf with infamous rudenefs. He then in the moft peremptory terms ordered the ill-treated lady to prepare for a bath. While in the ait of doing fo, Conrad arrived, and having fpeedily learned the indignities to which his wife had been expofed, drew his fword, and, ruffing into the bath- room, facrificed the young nobleman on the fpot. Such aits of tyranny frequently repeated foon roufed the fpirit of the Switzers to the moft deadly refiftance, and foon their fpirits found an embodiment in the perfon of William Tell, who was born at Biirgen, a fecluded hamlet in the canton of Uri, about the year 1275, and. 90 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. like his forefathers, was the owner of a cottage, a few fields, and a vineyard. Ah ! thefe cottages, fields, and vineyards give birth to great men in all ages. Tell was endowed by nature with a bold and energetic mind, and was diftinguifhed not only by great phyfieal firength and manly beauty, but by great moral courage. He was, above all the “ lads of the village,” fkilled in the archery of the crofs-bow — the rifle of thofe days — and few men could match him. He was married and had an only fon, equally bold and noble-minded as himfelf. Tell forefaw, on the arrival of Gefller, many of the misfortunes that mull follow his iron rule, and foon aflociated himfelf with three other patriots, who were willing, as he was, to facrifice their lives for the good of their country. Thefe were Werner Stauffacher of Schwytz, Walter Furft of Uri, and Arnold de Melch- thal of Underwalden, who were concerting meafures for the deliverance of their country from the yoke of Auftria ; of thefe, Arnold was the more intimate aflociate of Tell. One evening — as is related by a German hiftorian of the time, and whofe relation may be depended on — as William Tell and his wife were fitting at the door of their cottage watching their fon, now about ten years of age, who was amufing himfelf with a bow, the father of his friend Arnold, an old man nearly eighty years of age, appeared, led by a peafant and feeling his way with a flick. Tell and his wife rufhed forward, and, to their inconceivable horror, difcovered that the poor old man was blind, his eyes having been put out with hot irons. Fearful Cruelty . 9 1 He was called upon to explain this fearful fight, and the old man, having been led to a feat, foon fatisfied their impatient curiofity. It is a picture for a tragedy — but truth is truth, and fa6l is dranger than fidtion. It appeared that old Melchthal and his fon and granddaughter were in the fields, loading a couple of oxen with produce for the market town, when an Andrian foldier prefented him- felf, and having examined the animals, which feemed to fuit his fancy, ordered the owner to unyoke the beads that he might drive them away. Adding infolence to tyranny, as is ufual, he further remarked that fuch clod- poles might very well drive their own ploughs and carts. Arnold, the old man*s fon and TelPs friend, was fo enraged at this infolence that he aimed a blow at the foldier, and broke two of his fingers. The enraged foldier then retreated, but the old man, who well knew the character of Gelller, immediately forced Arnold, much againd his inclination, to dee, and en- deavour to conceal himfelf among the mountains. But he had fcarcely departed, when a detachment of guards furrounded the old man^s dwelling and dragged him before Gedler. The haughty governor, enraged at the attack upon the foldier, called upon the father to give up his fon. The old man refolutely refufed, when Gedler replied, “ If you will not let my eyes behold your fon, yours never fhall (there is a pretty playfulnefs of wit in thefe tyrants fometimes). He then gave orders, in the cooled Audrian fafhion, jud as it has been done in our gi Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. days by Haynau ; not that he fhould be whipped — as this monfter whipped the women, and as he himfelf was whipped by the coalheavers or carters^ — but that his eyes fhould be burnt out. This was a pet cruelty of the dark ages, and the cruel mandate was immediately executed, and the poor vidflim of tyranny was difmifled, dark and blind, with eyes burning and blood ftreaming. Tell heard the ftory of Melchthal in filence, but with a heart burfting with a defire of vengeance. It is a wild juftice this vengeance, fometimes. He inquired the exadfl place of the old man’s fon’s concealment — itwas in a fecret cavern of Mount Rhigi. Tell then threw around his perfon a cloak of wolf-fkin, feized the quiver full of fharp arrows, and, taking his terrible bow, which few could bend, was foon far away among the mountains ; thofe blind eyes threw light — a fiery light — into his foul, and flood like torches of deliverance on every rocky peak. The deed of favage ferocity rode on the winds from dis- ftrict to diftrict, the Switzers faw that the meafure of their degradation was full, and from that moment all the proud hoft of Auftria were as dull, in the balance of a people’s wrong. But God fuffers people to go mad whom he determines to deftroy. Gefller faw that the ftorm was in the diftance that might break on his own head ; there was a myfteri- ous look in the eyes of the people, and a dogged silence and an infubordination couched in their very fteps. To teft it and to fubdue itwas his objedfl; fo he commanded one of his marfhals to fet up in the market-place of Altorf, a The Time for ASlion . 93 pole, upon the point of which was a cap — the ducal cap of Auftria — Nebuchadnezzar's image on a fmall fcale — and an order was promulgated to the effeft that every one who palled it (hould bow in proof of his homage, fubmiffion, and fealty to the flate. Bow, bow, bow, cringe, crawl, knock the forehead on the flints, lick the dull — this has been the cry of tyrants at all times, but it has never yet fucceeded in producing true humility or real fubmiflion ; rather has it brought things to that crifis of ripenefs which ends in utter dis- comfiture to thofe who thus vainly try to govern. As a background to this picture, numerous foldiers under arms were directed to furround the place, to keep the avenues, and compel the paflers-by to bend with proper refpedl to the “emblem;" thofe who bent not, to be puniflied with chains, imprifonment, or death — or all. Hiftory fcarcely records another inftance of tyranny fo galling and humi- liating to the opprefled, and fo infolent in the oppreflor. The proceedings of Tell, in the interval, were of the deepeft concern to the country. Having arrived within the territory of Schwytz and at the village of Steinen, he called at the houfe of Werner, and being admitted, threw at his feet a heavy bundle of lances, arrows, cross-bows, and fwords. “Werner Stauffacher," cried Tell, “the time is come for action." “ Proceed," faid Werner, grafping his hand, “ I am ready." After further brief conference, they by feparate ways carried round arms to their friends in the towns and villages. Many hours were thus confumed, and when the whole were at laft diftri- 94 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty . buted, they both returned to Stauffacher's houfe, fnatched fome flight refrelhment, and then fped on their way to Grute, accompanied by ten of the moft tried adherents. The lake of Lucerne was now reached and a boat pro- cured. Werner, perceiving the water to be agitated by a furious tempeft, inquired of Tell if his (kill would enable him to ftruggle againft the ftorm. “ Arnold awaits us,” faid William, “ and the fate of our country depends on this interview.” With thefe words he leaped into the boat, and the reft followed. Tell call loofe the agitated veflel, feized the tiller, and, hoifting fail, the little craft flew over the waters. Prefently, as it is faid, the wind moderated, and, ere they reached the oppofite fide, had ceafed altogether — a phenomonen common in thefe mountain lakes. The boat was now made fall, and the confpirators haftened to the field of Grute, where, at the mouth of a cavern of the fame name, Arnold and Walter Fiirft had arrived, each with ten other companions. Tell allowed no confidera- tion of natural feelings to filence the calls of duty, but at once came to the point. He addrefled his co-patriots — he firft gave a brief Iketch of the ftate of the country under the Auftrian bailiffs, and, having fliown the neces- fity of immediate and combined action, is related to have added, cc That the time was at length come for a£lion, that the country required the facrifice of every man's life, if necceflary.” He then drew his fword, and invoking Heaven to preferve them in their great enterprife, and to infpire them with courage and wifdom, called upon them Plan of Proceedings . 95 all to fwear implicit obedience to him as their leader. This done, he revealed to them his plan of the campaign, which was, for all the different feftions of patriots to proceed by fecret paths through the mountains to a general rendezvous, from which they were to pour down upon Altorf. The plan of future proceedings was then fketched out, and it was further refolved, that, in the enterprife upon which they were now embarked no one fhould be guided by his own private judgment, nor ever forfake his friends; that they fhould jointly live or jointly die in defence of their common caufe; that, fhould any be taken prifoners by the enemy, they would prefer torture or death to the betrayal of any fecrets. Nobler than all this, they re- folved that the Count of Hapfburg fhould be deprived of none of his lands, vaflals, or prerogatives; that the blood of the fervants or bailiffs fhould not be fpilt ; but that the freedom they had inherited from their fathers they were determined to affert and to hand down to their children untainted and undiminifhed. Then Stauffacher, Fiirft, and Melchthal, and the other patriots, again ftepped for- ward, and, railing their hands and giving each other the facred kifs of fraternity, fwore “ brother help ” to their countrymen and to each other, and that they would if neceffary willingly give up their lives for the freedom of their country. After this folemn oath, and an agreement that New Yearns Day fhould inaugurate the movement, Arnold re- turned to Tlantz, Werner to Schwytz, while Tell and 9 6 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. Fiirft took their way to Altorf. The fun already {hone brightly as Tell entered the town, and he at onee ad- vanced into the public place, where the firft object that caught his eye was the handfome cap, embroidered with gold, ftuck upon the end of a long pole. Soldiers walked round it in refpeftful filence, and the people of Altorf as they pafled bowed their heads profoundly to the emblem of power. Tell was much furprifed at this new and ftrange mani- feftation of fervility, and, leaning on his croff-bow, gazed contemptuoufly both on the people and the foldiers. The captain of the guard, at length obferving him, who alone amid a cringing populace carried his head ereft, went to him and fiercely afked why he neglefted to pay obedience to the orders of Hermann Gefller. Tell mildly replied that he was not aware of them, neither could he have imagined that the intoxication of power could carry any one fo far as to impofe fuch a degrada- tion upon the people. This bold language fomewhat furprifed the captain, who ordered Tell to be difarmed, and then, furrounded by guards, he was carried before the governor. Tell, in no way difcomfited, boldly told Geffler that fuch an aft of tyranny, fo far from fubduing a people, was the fureft mode of incenfing them ; and indeed his fpeech was fo bold and commanding, and, at the fame time, breathed fo much of true eloquence, that the governor was ftruck by it. He foon difcovered that it was Tell who fpoke. Thus far of hiftoric truth. And now comes an epifode Tradition of the Apple . 97 which is a tradition of ages, and to doubt which would be herefy in Switzerland. Philofophical refearchers, commentators, divers into dufty manufcripts, book- worms, and the doubters of our refined generation, ever anxious to exclude the imaginative and the truly heroic from our hiftories, will not have the ftory of Tell which follows; but, being a tradition of the people, orally com- municated from age to age from father to child, we muft — we cannot refrain from making it a part of our narra- tive. It appears that Gefller had the day previous captured the fon of Tell among the mountains, a lad of fome twelve years old ; and while he was converfing with Tell he was ftruck with the refemblance which exifted between him and the boy “Walter.” He ordered them to be brought into the prefence of each other, which foon convinced him of the fa£l. He had heard of Tell and of his exploits as an archer — for Tell was celebrated through the whole of Switzerland as the firft fhot — and he determined, in a fit of fportive vengeance, to try the fkill of fo celebrated a man. He forgot, as all tyrants forget, that human nature has its fympathies, its feelings, and its rights, and therefore it was a refined a£l of torture — equal to tearing by redhot pincers, or flogging with thongs of fteel — which he determined to inflift upon the patriot. He ordered the fon to be bound to a tree, placed an apple on his head, and told the wretched father to hit the apple or prepare to die. Here was a fituation for a father and fon ! Here, in F 98 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. the midft of a public fquare; with his countrymen looking on at his degradation; with a tyrant frowning and fwear- ing from his fteed upon him ; with his poor fon bound to a linden tree, and he himfelf commanded to fhoot ! Hermann Gefiler watched every motion. His long bow and one arrow were handed to Tell ; he tried the point, broke the weapon, and demanded his quiver. It was brought, and emptied at his feet. William hooped down, and, taking a long time to choofe one, managed to hide a fecond in his girdle ; the other he placed on the firing of his bow. After hefitating a long time — and, as we may fuppose, his whole foul beaming in his face, his paternal affection rendering him almoft powerlefs — he at length, uttering a mental prayer, roufed himfelf, drew the bow, aimed and fhot, and the apple, ftruck to the core, was impaled on the arrow. The market-place of Altorf was, as we are told, filled with loud cries of admiration. Walter flew to embrace his father, who, overcome by the excefs of his emotions, fell to the ground, thus expofing the hidden arrow to view. Gefller demanded concerning the concealed arrow. “ It was for you,” replied the indignant father, “ had I {lain my fon.” This fpeech fo incenfed the governor that he ordered Tell to be placed in chains, while he prepared to quit Altorf, fearing an infurredlion of the people. He determined alfo to take Tell with him, to prevent his being their leader. Tell was forthwith conducted to Fluelen, the little port of Altorf, about a league diftant, at the foot of The Jignal Fire . 99 Mount Rothftock. Geffler followed, and entered the boat, which had been prepared with the utmoft defpatch. As foon as he was aboard, Tell was brought in chains, and fafely fecured in the hold of the veflel. The whole then fet fail; there being twenty foldiers on board, Gefs- ler ordered them to row as far as Brunen, a diftance of three leagues and a half, intending, as it is faid, to land at that point, and, paffing through the territory of Schwytz, to lodge the redoubted bowman in the dun- geon of Kuflhacht, there to undergo the rigour of his fentence. The evening was fine when the boat fet out, and to Geffler everything feemed promifing. The extent of the firft fe&ion of the lake was foon pafled. Tell, meantime, loaded with chains, gazed, with eager eyes {haded with melancholy, on the defert rocks of Grute, where, the day before, he had planned with his friends the deliver- ance of their country. While painful thoughts crofled his mind, his eyes were attrafted to the neighbourhood of Altorf by a dim light which burft forth from his own houfe. Prefently this light increafed, and before long a bright blaze arofe, vifible all over Uri. The heart of the patriot beat high within him, for he felt that his friends were true, and would refcue him. Geffler and his fatel- lites obferved the flame, which was in reality the fignal- fire to aroufe the cantons — but they could not believe this. But now, with the rifing flames, the wind rofe alfo, and a fearful ftorm began to blow. In a fhort time, the F 2 ioo Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. waves rofe furioufly — the water dafhed into the boat, which became unmanageable to thofe on board, not one of whom had the requifite feamanlhip to guide her in the tempeft. The thunder rolled overhead in fearful boomings, while the lightning played from rock to rock, and quivered on the lake in {beets of flame. The pilot gave up his charge in defpair. Tell was unchained, and, known to be as good a failor as a bowman, put into temporary command. He was told that his life {hould be given to him, and alfo rewards, if he faved the veflel. “ I will try, by the grace of God, fo to do,” he replied. Guiding the obedient boat at his will. Tell pointed her head in the direftion whence they came, which he knew to be the only fafe courfe, and, encou- raging and cheering the rowers, made rapid and fteady progrefs through the water. The darknefs in which they were now enveloped prevented Gefller from difco- vering that he had turned his back on his deftination. Tell continued on his way nearly the whole night — the dying light of the fignal-fires on the mountains ferving as beacons in enabling him to approach the fhores of Schwytz, and to avoid the fhoals. Between Lefligen and Fluelen are two mountains — the greater and the lefler Achfenberg, whofe fides, hemming in and riling perpendicularly from the bed of the lake, offered not a Angle platform where human foot could ftand. When near this place, dawn broke in the eaftern fky, and Gefller, the danger appearing to decreafe, fcowled upon Tell in fullen fllence. As the prow of the Tell purfued ly GeJJler . ioi veffel was driven inland, Tell perceived a folitary table rock, and called to the rowers to redouble their efforts till they fhould have palled the precipice ahead, obferving, with ominous looks, that it was the moll dangerous point on the whole lake. The foldiers had recognized their polition, and pointed it out to Geffler, who with angry voice demanded of Tell what he meant by taking them back to Altorf. William, without anfwering him, turned his helm hard a-port, which fuddenly brought the boat clofe to the rock ; he then, feizing his faithful bow, and taking a fpring which fent the now unguided boat back into the lake, fprang lightly on the fliore, fcaled the rocks, and took the direction of Schwytz. Having thus efcaped the clutches of the governor, he made for the heights which border the main road be- tween Aol and Kuffnacht, and, choofing a fmall hollow on the road, hid himfelf under the cover of the bulh, intending to remain in ambulh until Geffler Ihould pafs that way. It appears that he had the greateft diffi- culty in getting on fhore after Tell had efcaped ; but at length they effected a landing at Brannen. Here they provided themfelves with horfes, and, proceed- ing in the direction above alluded to, advanced towards Kuffnacht. In the fpot ftill known as the “ hollow r way,” and ftill marked by a chapel, Tell overheard the threats pronounced againft himfelf fhould he be once more cap- tured, and, in default of his apprehenfion, vengeance was denounced againft his family. Tell now felt that the 102 Brother Helpers in the Canfe of Liberty. fafety of his wife and children, to fay nothing of the duty he owed to his country, required this bad man's death. He therefore, boldly fhowing himfelf, and before there was time for his apprehenfion, pierced the tyrant's heart with one of his arrows. This bold deed being ac- complifhed, the excited hero fpeedily effected his efcape, made the bed of his way to Aol, and thence foon gained the village of Steinen, where he found Warner Stauffa- cher preparing to march. The news, however, which Tell brought removed the neceffity for further immediate aftion, and prompt meafures were taken to arreft the progrefs of their allies. A joy, which deeply proved the wrongs of the people, fpread over the whole land, and although they delayed to ftrike the blow for univerfal freedom from the Auftrian yoke, the final decifion of the patriots was only the greater. On the morning of New Year's Day, 1308, the Caftle of Rofsburg, in Obwalden, was adroitly taken pofTeffion of, and its keeper, Beranger of Landenburg, made pri- soner, and compelled to promife that he would never again fet foot within the territory of the three cantons ; after which he was allowed to retire to Lucerne. Stauf- facher, during the earlier hours of the fame morning, at the head of the men of Schwytz, marched towards the Lake Lowerz and deftroyed the fortrefs of Schwazan, while Tell and the men of Uri took pofleffion of Altorf. On the following Sunday, the deputies of Uri, Schwytz, and Underwalden met and renewed that fraternal league, which has endured to this day. A Vojition in the Mountains. 103 In 1315, Leopold, fecond fon of Albert, determined to punifii the confederate cantons for their revolt, and accordingly marched againft them at the head of a con- fiderable army, accompanied by a numerous retinue of nobles. Count Otho of Strafsburg, one of her ableft generals, eroded the Brunig with a body of 4000 men, intending to attack Upper Underwalden. The bailiffs of Willifau, of Wolfhaufen, and of Lucerne, meantime armed a fourth of that number, to make a defeent on the lower divifion of the fame canton, while the emperor in perfon, at the head of his army of referve, poured down from Edgerfon on Morgarten, in the canton of Schwytz, oftentatioufiy difplaying a coil of rope, wherewith to hang the chief of the rebels ; — a hafty reckoning of viftory, which reminds one of fimilar con- duct and fimilar refults, when Wallace repulfed the invader of Scotland. Philip of Spain alfo provided his hundred boxes of gags, ferews, limbos and the like, upon the invafion of the Spanifh Armada. Auftria alfo, under Field-Marfhal Haynau, made no fecretof her preparations of whips and thongs, to be exercifed on women and children in thefe our days. The confederates, in whofe ranks were William Tell and Furft, in order to oppofe the formidable invafion, occupied a pofition in the mountains bordering on the convent of the “Lady of the Hermits.” Four hundred men of Uri and three hundred of Underwalden, had effected a junftion with the warriors of Schwytz, who formed the principal numerical force of this little army. 104 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. Fifty men, banifhed from this latter canton, offered themfelves to combat beneath their native banner, in- tending to efface, by their valour and conduct, fome of their paft deficiencies. Early on the morning of the 15th of November, 1315, fome thoufands of well-armed Aullrian knights {lowly afcended the hill on which the Swifs were polled, with the hope of deflroying them. The latter, however, advanced to meet their enemies, uttering the mofl terrific cries, after the faftiion of the old clans. The band of banifhed men, having precipitated huge flones and fragments of rocks from the hill fides and from overhanging cliffs upon their foes, rufhed from behind the fheltering influence of a thick fog, and threw the ad- vancing hofl into confufion. The Auftrians now broke — their ranks were fcattered, and prefently a complete rout, with a terrible {laughter enfued. The confederates marched boldly on, cheered by the voice and example of Henry of Osfenthal and the fons of old Redding of Biberegg. The flower of the Auftrian chivalry periflied on the field of Morgarten beneath the halberds, arrows, fcythes, iron-headed clubs, and other rude weapons of the pea- fants, led by Tell and his friends. Leopold himfelf, although he fucceeded in gaining the fhattered remnant of his forces, had a narrow efcape, while the Swifs, ani- mated by victory, marched to Underwalden, where they again defeated the Auftrians. In this battle. Count Otho had as narrow an efcape as the emperor. After thefe two well-fought fields, the confederates felt they had regained their independence — they only required Joan of Arc. 105 certain rights and liberties. They then renewed their ancient alliance, which was folemnly fworn to at Brun- nen, on the 8 th of December in the fame year. All that remains to be told of the Swifs hero’s life is the immemorial tradition that Tell was the father of Swifs liberty, was the fame man that fhot Geffler, in 1307, and that he affifted at a general meeting of the com- mune, at Uri. According to Klengenburg’s “ Chro- nicle,” written towards the clofe of the fourteenth cen- tury, “Wilhelmus Tellus,” as he calls him, “ the libe- rator of his country, became, after the battle of Mor- garten, adminiftrator of the affairs of the church of Beren- ger, where he died in the year 1354.” The patriotifm of women in regard to their country, combined frequently with the higheft loyalty to their Sovereign, well entitles them to the chara£ter of brother- helpers. There is not a more extraordinary inftance upon record than the patriotifm and devotednefs of Joan of Arc. At this time, owing to a combination of events, France was reduced aim oft to the ftate of an Englifh province. Bourges, and the territory that belonged to it, were all that remained to Charles, while Paris, and the whole of northern France, were in the pofleffion of the Englifh. Orleans was now inverted, and made a noble refiftance ; but the Duke of Bedford, with a large army, had cut off all fupplies, and it only required the aid of a few weeks of famine to infure the fall of this city, and with it all the hopes of France. But man’s neceflity is God’s opportunity; for at this F 3 io<5 Brother Helpers in the Caufe of Liberty. moment deliverance was at hand. This deliverer was not, however, a prince, a warrior, or a ftatefman, but a poor country girl — a good and devout one, an artlefs and fincere one. It was Joan of Arc, the daughter of a humble farmer, remarkable only for her piety and devo- tion; but for thefe fhe was famed all over the depart- ment in which fhe refided. Her temperament was en- thufiaftic and melancholic, and, parting much of her time among the hills, fhe there mufed in folitude over the wondrous legends of faints and virgin martyrs, which had been imprefled upon her tender infancy. The parting traveller frequently brought news of the cruel war that was defolating the fertile plains of France, and occafionally the quiet marches of Lorraine witnefled the deflrudtive progrefs of hoftile bands. From her earlieft years Joan had liftened to thefe tales of horror, and the miferies of the land became mixed with her dreams of heaven. As fhe approached towards woman- hood, her ardent imagination pictured forth the glory of fetting her country free, and of flaying the progrefs of an unnatural war ; and fhe fancied that fhe faw bright lights in the heavens, and heard angel voices calling her to the mighty work. There was an old prophecy, too, which had declared that France fhould be reftored by a fpotlefs virgin, who was to be the brightnefs of the Virgin Mary^s glory upon earth. Joan, in her devotion and enthufiafm, thought herfelf that virgin, and that a mighty million was prefented to her. She believed in her own infpira- tion, and fhe had faith in its power and fuccefs. She Fame of Joan’s SanSlity. 107 heard voices, that fpoke to her as they did to Taflo and Dante, and, long before, to Socrates, and many others. The voices were thofe of heaven — they told her what (lie {hould do; they told her that (he was to deliver her country from the hands of the Englifh, and that {he was to crown the youthful monarch of France with her own hands at Rheims. Here was enthufiafm — here was poetry and imagina- tion in oppofition to armed hods and fharp-cutting deel ; here was innocence and devotion fet up to fubdue the hard hearts and dern councils of the mod fagacious datefmen and warriors ! The girl took up her abode in the churches, and faded and prayed without any inter- miffion. The fame of her fan&ity now fpread — fhe was looked upon as a faint, and the multitude flocked to her. She was thereupon brought before the Sire de Baudricant, the French commander at Vaucouleurs. He determined to fatisfy himfelf as to the reality of her miflion. He confronted her with a prieft, armed with a dole, a crucifix, and holy water, and the clerk adjured her if {he were an evil fpirit to depart from thence. Joan crawled on her knees to embrace the crofs — a fure fign, as was fuppofed, that die was no witch or forcerefs. “ I am called,” faid die, “by a voice from heaven to deliver my country. I am called to fave my king. The voices have faid it : there is no help but in me. God is with me. Chrifl is my falvation — the holy mother of God is my guardian fpirit. I am called to go to the king.” The people of Vaucouleurs were carried away by the 108 Brother Helpers in the Canfe of Liberty. enthufiafm {he had infpired them with ; they believed that {he was deftined to fave France. They urged upon Brandrecourt the neceffity of receiving her miffion. Armour was put upon the maiden, a horfe was brought to her, fpurs were affixed to her heels, and, with two fquires to attend her, {he departed for the royal camp. The country through which {he had to travel was occu- pied by the Engliffi, and many were the perils fhe en- countered ; but there was always an angel near to deliver her. On one occafion {he was challenged by a party of Englifh horfe, and nothing but her addrefs and the fwiftnefs of her fleed prevented her from falling into their hands. “ Pafs,” faid {he, in French, and galloped through them. On another occafion the keeper of an inn where {he lodged for the night, fufpefting her to be on fome fecret embafly, fent off for affiftance, that {he might be feized ; but Joan having had intimation of it by her voices, got up and departed long before daylight, and fo evaded the danger. But at lafl: {he got fafely to Chinon; and the accomplifiiment of fuch a journey was in itfelf a miracle. Joan was introduced to the king, furrounded by his court and council ; {he entered the apartment with an undaunted air. “ Gentle dauphin,” {he faid,