Historical Tales, Vol 5

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Historical Tales, Vol 5

Project Gutenberg's Historical Tales, Vol 5 (of 15), by Charles Morris This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Historical Tales, Vol 5 (of 15) The Romance of Reality, German
Author: Charles Morris
Release Date: August 24, 2005 [EBook #16587]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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édition d'élite
Historical Tales
The Romance of Reality
By
CHARLES MORRIS
_Author of "Half-Hours with the Best American Authors," "Tales from the Dramatists," etc._
IN FIFTEEN VOLUMES
Volume V
German
J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON
Copyright, 1893, by J.B. Lippincott Company.
Copyright, 1904, by J.B. Lippincott Company.
Copyright, 1908, by J.B. Lippincott Company.
CONTENTS
PAGE
HERMANN, THE HERO OF GERMANY 7
ALBION AND ROSAMOND 19
THE CAREER OF GRIMOALD 28
WITTEKIND, THE SAXON PATRIOT 37
THE RAIDS OF THE SEA-ROVERS 47
THE CAREER OF BISHOP HATTO 58
THE MISFORTUNES OF DUKE ERNST 64
THE REIGN OF OTHO II 69
THE FORTUNES OF HENRY THE FOURTH 77
THE ANECDOTES OF MEDI?VAL GERMANY 92
FREDERICK BARBAROSSA AND MILAN 105
THE CRUSADE OF FREDERICK II 118
THE FALL OF THE GHIBELLINES 129
THE TRIBUNAL OF THE HOLY VEHM 138
WILLIAM TELL AND THE SWISS PATRIOTS 148
THE BLACK DEATH AND THE FLAGELLANTS 162
THE SWISS AT MORGARTEN 170
A MAD EMPEROR 176
SEMPACH AND ARNOLD WINKELRIED 187
ZISKA, THE BLIND WARRIOR 198
THE SIEGE OF BELGRADE 210
LUTHER AND THE INDULGENCES 217
SOLYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT AT GUNTZ 229
THE PEASANTS AND THE ANABAPTISTS 238
THE FORTUNES OF WALLENSTEIN 252
THE END OF TWO GREAT SOLDIERS 265
THE SIEGE OF VIENNA 277
THE YOUTH OF FREDERICK THE GREAT 288
VOLTAIRE AND FREDERICK THE GREAT 305
SCENES FROM THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR 315
THE PATRIOTS OF THE TYROL 328
THE OLD EMPIRE AND THE NEW 343

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
GERMAN.
PAGE
MAXIMILIAN RECEIVING VENETIAN DELEGATION 7
RETURN OF HERMANN AFTER HIS VICTORY OVER THE ROMANS 13
THE BAPTISM OF WITTEKIND 43
THE MOUSE-TOWER ON THE RHINE 61
PEASANT WEDDING PROCESSION 65
SCENE OF MONASTIC LIFE 78
THUSNELDA IN THE GERMANICUS TRIUMPH 94
THE AMPHITHEATRE AT MILAN 109
STATUE OF WILLIAM TELL 153
THE CASTLE OF PRAGUE 175
STATUE OF ARNOLD WINKELRIED 193
STATUE OF LUTHER AT WORMS 225
THE MOSQUE OF SOLYMAN, CONSTANTINOPLE 236
OLD HOUSES AT MüNSTER 246
WALLENSTEIN 252
THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE IN VIENNA 278
STATUE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT, UNTER DEN LINDEN, BERLIN 289
SANS SOUCI, PALACE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT 315
THE LAST DAY OF ANDREAS HOFER 340
A GERMAN MILK WAGON 347
[Illustration: MAXIMILIAN RECEIVING VENETIAN DELEGATION.]

_HERMANN, THE HERO OF GERMANY._
In the days of Augustus, the emperor of Rome in its golden age of prosperity, an earnest effort was made to subdue and civilize barbarian Germany. Drusus, the step-son of the emperor, led the first army of invasion into this forest-clad land of the north, penetrating deeply into the country and building numerous forts to guard his conquests. His last invasion took him as far as the Elbe. Here, as we are told, he found himself confronted by a supernatural figure, in the form of a woman, who waved him back with lofty and threatening air, saying, "How much farther wilt thou advance, insatiable Drusus? It is not thy lot to behold all these countries. Depart hence! the term of thy deeds and of thy life is at hand." Drusus retreated, and died on his return.
Tiberius, his brother, succeeded him, and went far to complete the conquest he had begun. Germany seemed destined to become a Roman province. The work of conquest was followed by efforts to civilize the free-spirited barbarians, which, had they been conducted wisely, might have led to success. One of the Roman governors, Sentius, prefect of the Rhine, treated the people so humanely that many of them adopted the arts and customs of Rome, and the work of overcoming their barbarism was well begun. He was succeeded in this office by Varus, a friend and confidant of the emperor, but a man of very different character, and one who not only lacked military experience and mental ability, but utterly misunderstood the character of the people he was dealing with. They might be led, they could not be driven into civilization, as the new prefect was to learn.
All went well as long as Varus remained peacefully in his head-quarters, erecting markets, making the natives familiar with the attractive wares of Rome, instructing them in civilized arts, and taking their sons into the imperial army. All went ill when he sought to hasten his work by acts of oppression, leading his forces across the Weser into the land of the Cherusci, enforcing there the rigid Roman laws, and chastising and executing free-born Germans for deeds which in their creed were not crimes. Varus, who had at first made himself loved by his kindness, now made himself hated by his severity. The Germans brooded over their wrongs, awed by the Roman army, which consisted of