CHAPTER XXVII.
The summit of the wall is gain'd
All in the silent night,
And now the fortress is attain'd!
We do not fear the light.
Now, let us sound the battle cry,
And be it "Death or victory!"
Schiller.
Duke Ulerich appeared before the gate of Stuttgardt, called the Red Hill Gate, on the night previous to the holiday of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Having captured the little town of Leonberg on his way, he prosecuted his march on the capital without further interruption. The news of his being in the country spread through the land like wild-fire, and judging by the numbers that joined his colours, as well as by the joy with which he was everywhere received, he had reason to suppose the people would rejoice to see their legitimate Prince re-established in his rights, and the hateful government of the League abolished.
The intelligence of his advance had reached Stuttgardt, and had caused much difference of feeling amongst its inhabitants. The nobility scarcely knew what they had to expect from the Duke; the shameful surrender of Tübingen being an event of too recent a date to leave them wholly without fear of his wrath. But the recollection of the brilliant court of Ulerich von Würtemberg and the merry days they had formerly passed under his sway, compared to the oppressions the League had inflicted on them, led them to incline to submission. Not a few, however, among them had reason to dread his return. The citizens could scarcely restrain their joy; and, quitting their houses, assembled in groups about the streets, talking over coming events. They cursed the League in strong terms, but silently, clenching their fists in their pockets, and were beyond measure patriotically inclined, and full of pugnacious propensities. Calling to mind the illustrious ancestors of their exiled Prince, whose name of Würtemberg they themselves bore; they reckoned up the many noble lords sprung from the same family, under whom they and their fathers had lived happily, and whose glorious deeds had spread their country's fame abroad. But the most important topic of their conversation was, that upon them depended, in a great measure, the decision of the struggle between the League and the Duke, as the whole country would now look upon the Stuttgardters as the fuglemen in the contest. They were, however, no way inclined of themselves to create an insurrection against the garrison of the League, whom they still feared, but they whispered to each other: "Brother, wait a little, and we'll soon have an opportunity to show those Leaguists what we Stuttgardters are made of."