“Much good will that do!” retorted the lame magistrate, Heinrich Hassfurter, of Lucerne. “In truth you had best be on your guard against this Hagenbach. I had somewhat to do with him at Salz, when I was sent there a short time ago to negotiate certain matters. What think you? He declared scornfully that the Confederates must lack able-bodied men, since they made envoys of cripples and hunchbacks! ‘That I am a cripple,’ I answered, ‘is the will of God; but I shall yet prove myself able-bodied enough for you.’” “Nay, be not so sure,” interposed another, “that the Emperor is in league with Burgundy. It is true indeed that he would gladly marry his son Maximilian[4] to the Duke’s only daughter Maria for the sake of acquiring Burgundy as her marriage portion, but Charles the Bold asks too much in return. To be King of Burgundy is not enough; he would fain extend his kingdom to the banks of the Rhine and claim as his own Alsace and Lorraine, which he now holds in fee only.” “It is shameful,” yet another declared, “the way the Alsatians are treated. A worse Governor than Hagenbach could not be found; and to add to that, the Duke employs none but foreign mercenaries there, who abuse the people cruelly.” “There are many Switzers also among them,” said Hans Vögeli; “indeed my runaway brother Heinrich is said to command a body of Hagenbach’s soldiers.” “It is disgraceful,” cried old Hassfurter, “that so many Switzers should desert their own land to seek service in foreign armies.” “Who can blame them for it?” replied Iseli the innkeeper. “Are they to sit idle here at home and increase the number of those who find it hard enough already to gain a livelihood in this impoverished land? What would have become of your brother, Herr Vögeli, had he stayed at home? I do not know the gentleman myself, it is true, but travellers have told me that he is popular among the Alsatians, and stands high in the favor, not only of Hagenbach, but also of Duke Charles himself. It is well known to foreign princes that there are no more loyal people to be found than we Switzers.” “And we well know,” burst out Vogeli, “that these foreign lords never repay our loyalty. French, Burgundian, or Austrian, they would not long keep their hands off us, had they not so great a respect for our ability to protect ourselves.” “Is it true,” asked a deputy, seeking to put an end to the discussion, “that the Emperor and the Burgundians are to unite in an expedition against the Turks?” “So it is said,” replied old Hassfurter, “but who can tell whether it will come to pass? You know how vacillating the Emperor is, and it is certain Charles the Bold will not join him in this enterprise, unless he be made King; and that the princes of the Empire will not consent to, for fear that the Electorate of Treves and other portions of their domains might be included in the new kingdom.”