Sobieski met the Duke of Lorraine at Heilbrunn, where they concerted their plan of operations. There was a good deal to do. How it was done is inimitably told by the Polish king in the letters, preserved and published by the historian Salvandy, which he sent daily to his exacting and most unreasonable wife--letters admirable for their deep piety, their chivalric tone, their ardent patriotism, their play of fancy, and their simple force of language. He was pleased with Lorraine, who is thus graphically described :— "His nose is very aquiline, just like a parrot's beak; he is deeply marked with the smallpox, and his face has more down on it than the thistle; his uniform is grey without ornament, except some lace buttons; his hat has no plume; his boots are yellow, or rather were so three months ago; his war-horse is tolerable, but the bridle, saddle, and whole harness are much the worse for wear. Yet, for all this he has not a vulgar appearance; he looks the gentleman or even the man of distinction. . . . I shall agree with him very well, he is deserving of a higher destiny." He was pleased with the appearance of the troops :-"We may apply," he writes, "to these Germans, what we say of horses, they do not know their own strength :" the collective forces numbered seventy thousand men; he had never commanded half so many before; and at their head he deemed himself a match not only for the three hundred thousand Turks and Tartars, but for the whole infidel world. He was pleased with the fervour of the acclamations that greeted his arrival ;—they were hearty enough, and their sincerity was best shown by the fact that the sovereign princes of the empire, who would have scorned to obey an equal, took orders from him. Yet he does seem to have been a little wearied and chafed. In one letter he complains that the multiplicity of harangues, interviews, and orders that solicit his attention, prevent him not only from writing, but from taking food and rest. "Add to this," he says, "the difficulties arising from etiquette about one thing or another, as who shall march first or last; who shall have the right, who the left; then come councils without end, delays, indecisions; and all this not only wastes time, but breeds misunderstanding. Besides, numbers of princes arrive day and night from all parts of Europe; then there are counts and knights of many different nations-all these will see me, and take up my time." At length these varied troubles and obstructions, whether peddling or necessary, were overcome, and after the harassing passage of the Danube, the summit of the Khalenberg, a chain of abrupt and rugged mountains abounding with gorges and precipices, was reached on the morning of September 11th. From this point of vantage the Austrian capital and the widespread gilded tents of the Moslem formed a magnificent prospect-magnificent yet terrific

too.

Great was the astonishment of Kara Mustapha to perceive heights he had counted inaccessible glittering with Polish lances. He did not then know that "the wizard king' was there, but the unwelcome intelligence was speedily conveyed to him. Like a wise man he kept the news to himself, and like a prudent man he made the best dispositions for battle he could. Sobieski did the same; though he was at first much incommoded by. a furious wind that blew right in the teeth of his followers. "Our horsemen," said he, "can scarcely keep the saddle; one might fancy the aerial powers let loose upon us; it may well be, for the Vizier is reputed a great magician." The wind fell, however, in the afternoon, as if the elements were willing to suspend their conflict to behold the fiercer rage of man.

Early next morning, while Kara Mustapha had given orders for the slaughter of all

the defenceless captives by whom his camp was crowded, to the number it is said of thirty thousand, Sobieski, in accordance with the pious practice which he never neglected before an impending struggle, heard mass, and communicated in the chapel of the Margrave. Lord Ellesmere gives a highly-wrought and pleasing picture of the scene.

"On a space kept clear round the chapel, a standard with a white cross on a red ground was unfurled, as if to bid defiance to the blood-red flag planted in front of the tent of the Grand Vizier Mustapha. One shout of acclamation and defiance broke out from the modern crusaders as this emblem of a Holy War was displayed, and all again was hushed as the gates of the castle were flung open, and a procession of the princes of the Empire and the other leaders of the Christian host moved forward to the chapel. It was headed by one whose tonsured crown and venerable beard betokened the monastic profession. The soldiers crossed themselves as he passed, and knelt to receive the blessing which he gave them with outstretched hands. This was the famous Capuchin Marco Aviano, friend and confessor to the Emperor, whose acknowledged piety and exemplary life had earned for him the general reputation of prophetic inspiration. He had been the inseparable companion of the Christian army in its hours of difficulty and danger, and was now here to assist at the consummation of his prayers for its success. Among the stately warriors who composed his train, three principally attracted the gaze of the curious. The first in rank and station was a man somewhat past the prime of life, strong-limbed, and of imposing stature, but quick and lively in speech and gesture, his head partly shaved in the fashion of his semieastern country, his hair, eyes, and beard dark coloured. His majestic bearing bespoke the soldier-king, the Scourge and dread of the Moslem, the conqueror of Choczim, John Sobieski. His own attire is said to have been plain, but we gather from his letters that in his retinue he displayed a Sclavonic taste for magnificence which strongly contrasted with the economical arrangements of Lorraine, and even of the two electors. Painters and others studious of accuracy may be glad to know that on this occasion the colour of his dress was sky-blue, and that he rode a bay horse. An attendant bearing a shield with his arms emblazoned always preceded him, and his place in battle was marked by another who carried a plume on his lance-point, a signal more conspicuous, though less inseparable, than the famous white plume of Henry IV. On his left was his youthful son Prince James, armed with a breastplate and helmet, and, in addition to an ordinary sword, with a short and broad-bladed sabre, a national weapon of former ages; on his right was the illustrious and heroic ancestor of the present reigning house of Austria, Charles of Lorraine. Behind these moved many of the principal members of those sovereign houses of Germany, whose names and titles have been already specified. At the side of Louis of Baden walked a youth of slender frame and moderate stature, but with that intelligence in his eye which pierced in after years the cloud of many a doubtful field, and swayed the fortunes of empires. This was the young Eugene of Savoy, who drew his maiden sword in the quarrel in which his brother had lately perished. The service of high mass was performed in the chapel by Aviano, the king assisting at the altar, while the distant thunder of the Turkish batteries formed strange accompaniments to the Christian choir. The princes then received the sacrament, and the religious ceremony was closed by a general benediction of the troops by Aviano. The king then stepped forward and conferred knighthood on his son, with the usual ceremonies, commending to him as an example for his future course the great commander then present, the Duke of Lorraine. He then addressed his troops in their own language to the following effect:- Warriors and friends! yonder in the plain are our enemies, in numbers greater indeed than at Choczim, where we trod them under foot. We have to fight them on a foreign soil, but we fight for our own country, and under the walls of Vienna we are defending those of Warsaw and Cracow. We have to save to-day not a single city, but the whole of Christendomof which that city of Vienna is the bulwark. The war is a holy one. There is a blessing on our arms, and a crown of glory for him who falls. You fight not for your earthly sovereign, but for the King of kings. His power has led you unopposed up the difficult access to these heights, and has thus placed half the victory in your hands. The infidels see you now above their heads, and with hopes blasted and courage depressed, are creeping among valleys destined for their graves. I have but one command to give-Follow me! The time is come for the young to win their spurs !'"

Military music and the shouts of thousands greeted this inspiriting harangue, and forthwith five cannon shots gave the signal to advance. Sobieski commanded the right wing, Lorraine the left, and the Elector of Bavaria with the Prince of Waldeck the

THE BATTLE UNDER THE WALLS OF VIENNA.

135 centre. Lorraine was the first to feel the enemy, whose right, under the Pasha of Mesopotamia, occupied very strong and broken ground. He was engaged for some time ere the other divisions could deploy. The severity of the struggle gradually drew them to his support; and the success he achieved led to an alteration in the plan of the engagement. It had been proposed to leave the decisive encounter till next day. When a different determination suggested itself is uncertain. The Duke of Lorraine having made good the ground he had acquired, is said, when he saw the cuirasses of the Polish cavalry flash out from the neighbouring defiles, to have consulted with the Saxon Field Marshal Geltz, who gave it as his opinion they might sleep in Vienna that night. Young Prince Eugene was the medium of communication betwixt the Duke and the King. But the latter hesitated; the bulk of his artillery and ammunition carriages had not arrived, while the infantry was far in the rear; the position of the enemy in front was alike well protected and strongly occupied; and a body of Polish Hulans had already been compromised by a too rash advance. He therefore waited till about five o'clock, when the provoking composure of the Vizier whom he saw from a field-tent opposite sipping coffee and giving orders irritated him, and he directed a field-piece to be levelled at the group. A French officer, it is said, rammed home the last cartridges with his gloves, his wig, and a packet of papers. At that juncture the artillery came up from behind, while simultaneously the infantry of the centre, under the King's brother-in-law, appeared contesting a height which directly commanded the Vizier's quarters. It was gained, and forthwith the King ordered a general assault. He made towards the Vizier's tent, bearing down all opposition as he shouted the opening words of the 115th Psalm, Non nobis, non nobis, Domine Exercituum, sed nomini tuo da gloriam! His presence, hitherto unknown to the mass of the Turkish troops, was speedily recognised by Tartar and Cossack who had aforetime seen him blazing in the van of the Polish chivalry; his name, shouted from the Christian ranks, passed rapidly from one end of the Ottoman lines to the other; and a feeling of dismay struck the bravest. Allah," exclaimed the Tartar Khan of the Crimea, "the wizard is with them sure enough." The hussars, with the cry of "God for Poland!" cleared a ditch that might long have arrested the infantry, and dashed into the deep-set ranks of the foe. The shock was rude; for a brief space the conflict was dreadful; but nothing could withstand the impetuous charge. The immense hosts gave way on every side, and the Khan was borne by the stream towards the Vizier's tent. "Canst thou not help me," quoth Mustapha to the brave Tartar, "then am I lost indeed." The rejoinder was, "the Polish king is there; I know him well; did I not tell thee all we have to do is to get away as quick as possible?” Still, the Vizier essayed to make a stand; but his efforts were as bootless as if he had tried to stop the rushing tide. With tears in his eyes he embraced his sons, and then followed the universal example-flight!

That same night the victor wrote "from the Vizier's Tent" to the "only joy of my soul, charming and well-beloved Mariette." (The commencement of all his letters, with one exception, runs in these ecstatic terms.) "God be for ever praised! He has given our nation the victory-a triumph such as past ages have never beheld; all the artillery, the whole camp of the Mussulmans, with infinite riches, have become our prey. The approaches towards the city, the fields around us are covered with the dead infidels, and

the survivors flee in consternation. Every moment our men bring in camels, mules, and sheep which belonged to the enemy, besides a multitude of prisoners." In the midst of this elated description he introduces a curious paragraph: "This very night witnessed a spectacle I have long desired to see. Our baggage train set fire to the powder in several places; the explosion resembled the judgment day, but no one was hurt. On this occasion I remarked how clouds are formed in the atmosphere. But, after all, it is a bad job; there is above half a million lost." He recurs to things that were likely to interest a vain and greedy woman: "As I advanced with the first line, driving the Vizier before me, I met one of his domestics, who conducted me to his private tents; they occupy a space equal in extent to Warsaw or Leopol. I have obtained all the decorations and ensigns usually borne by him. As to the great standard of Mahomet I have sent it to the Holy Father by Talenti.* We have also rich tents, superb equipages, and a thousand fanciful things fine and valuable. Here are four or five quivers mounted with rubies and sapphires, which alone are worth many thousand ducats. So, my life, you cannot say to me what the Tartar women say to their husbands who return without booty- Thou art no warrior, for thou hast brought me nothing; none but the foremost in battle ever gain anything.""

For a contrast to this description of luxury turn to the account by Christian W. Huhn, of how the besieged fared. He writes, "On the 13th of September, the day following the relief of the city, the Poles being masters of the Turkish camp, many soldiers, citizens, and inhabitants, while as yet no gate was opened, clambered over the breaches and by the secret sally-ports to pick up what they might of provisions, ammunition, or other articles of small value. . . . . I gained the counterscarp by the Stuben gate, passing between the ruined palisades on horseback to the Turkish camp. I did not, however, dare to dismount by reason of the innumerable quantity of flies and vermin which, although at so advanced a period of the month of September, swarmed up from the bodies of more than twenty thousand dead horses and mules, so as to darken the air, and so covering my horse that not the space of a needle-point remained free from them, the which was so insufferable that he began to plunge and kick in front and rear, so that I was fain to get me clear of the press, and to make my way back to the city; but not till I had persuaded a passer-by to reach to me the bow and arrows of one who lay there, and also the cap of a Janissary, and some books which lay about that had been plundered in the country, and secured them at my saddle-bows. After the which I reentered the city, not as one ovans on foot, but triumphans on horseback with my spolia. I had no want of predecessors before, or of followers behind, for every one who had legs to carry him betook him to the camp to plunder it." Verily the spirit of Major Dugald Dalgetty seems to have possessed this Christian advocate. But, at all events, Vienna was relieved. Not only was the siege raised, but the besieging army was forced upon a disorderly retreat, continued for forty-eight hours, during which they neither halted for rest nor refreshment, till the hindermost of them had reached the Raab, a distance of fully twenty-seven German miles.

* This was a mistake. The standard actually sent was borne from church to church and from convent to convent, as an undoubted signal of God's favour to His people; but it was not the true standard. Says Ellesmere, "Previous precaution or a few moments' halt at St. Ulric enabled the Vizier to save the sacred standard of the Prophet. One of the many captured was sent by Sobieski to the Pope, under the supposition it was the famous Palladium; but it was not so."

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CHAPTER X.

THE SIEGE OF VIENNA RAISED-THE END OF KARA MUSTAPHA-CONTINUED WARS WITH GERMANY AND VENICE-LOSSES OF THE TURKS-MOHAMMED IV. DETHRONED-brief ADMINISTRATION OF THE THIRD KIUPERLI—THE GREAT BATTLE OF SÁLANKAMEN—THE REIGNs of suleimAN II., ACHMET II., and MUSTAPHA II.-RENEWED DISASTERS--THE DEFEAT OF ZENTA-THE PEACE OF CARLOWITZ AND ITS RESULTS.

T would be impossible to exaggerate in describing the joy of the Christian world over the great victory Sobieski had won. He tells himself of how he was received in Vienna: “To-day I have visited the capital; it could not have held out for more than five days longer. The Imperial palace is full of holes made by the balls; these immense bastions, full of crevices and half fallen in, look frightful. All the troops did their duty well. They ascribe the victory to God and to us. The moment the enemy gave way all the cavalry rode up to me at the right wing, the centre and left having little to do. Among these were the Elector of Bavaria, the Prince of Waldeck, &c. They embraced me, kissed my cheek; the Generals saluted my feet and hands; soldiers and officers exclaimed, Ah! unser brave Konig (Ah! our brave King). All obeyed me even better than my own soldiers. The name of Saviour, as well as embraces, has been given me. I have been in the churches where the people kissed my hands, feet, and clothes; others at a greater distance cried, 'Let us kiss your victorious hands.'" But not in Vienna alone was the transport of enthusiasm very pronounced. Protestants as well as Roman Catholics caught the enthusiasm. We are told that every pulpit "at Metz as at Venice, in England as in Spain," resounded with the praises of the illustrious victor. At Rome the rejoicings continued for a full month. Innocent IX., weeping tears of gratitude and joy, remained for hours prostrate before a crucifix. As has been recorded, the supposed standard of Mohammed was borne from church to church, from convent to convent, as the most undoubted signal of the favour of God towards His people, and the success of His lieutenant. How scurvily Sobieski was repaid is a subject that hardly falls within the scope of this history. Suffice it to say, that the reader's heart would be sickened, as certainly as his anger would be raised, by a recital of the base conduct pursued by the Emperor Leopold towards the man who had kept the crown upon his head. Once he felt it secure, there was no longer any remembrance of the promises to give an Archduchess to Prince James, to cede Hungary, or to guarantee the Polish throne. Nay, when compelled, for decency's sake, to make acknowledgment in person to his

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