"Attention! Aim!" ordered the officer.
The young man rose from his knees. "Give me another minute," he cried; "let me sing my death-hymn!"
The officer nodded assent. Staps, stretching his arms upward, sang in a joyous voice:
"Tod du süsser für das Vaterland,
Süsser als der Brautgruss, als das Lallen
Auf dem Mutterschooss des ersten Kindes,
Sei mir willkommen!
Was das Lied nicht löset, löst—-"
"Fire!" said the commanding officer, and twelve soldiers discharged their muskets.
Frederick Staps immediately fell dead, and the blood streaming from his breast reddened his native soil. While Napoleon's cannon was proclaiming the conclusion of peace, this youthful martyr breathed his last sigh!