[41] For these matters the reader is directed to Freeman's admirable essay on Charles the Bold. [42] The suits of armour, guns, and banners--the suit belonging to Charles's court jester who fell at Morat, is at Soleure--are stored up in the museums of various capitals. The golden seal of Burgundy is at Lucerne, whilst the town library of Zurich possesses the seal of the Great Bastard, brother of Charles. XIX. MEETING AT STANZ, 1481, &C. Grandson, Morat, and Nancy stamped the Eidgenossen as the _enfants gâtés_ of Europe, and as a nation of the highest military standing on the Continent, nay, even as an umpire in continental politics, and a guardian of the peace. Everybody lavished flattering praises on the prowess of the Swiss. Nation after nation made overtures to them--France foremost, Italy, the Pontiff, the Emperor, distant Hungary, and even England, this last desirous of breaking the French alliance. The meetings of the Federal Diet often became brilliant congresses, lasting for weeks, where princes and ambassadors vied with each other in bestowing bounties and favours on the Swiss leaders, in order to secure their aid, deeming themselves invincible if the Swiss fought on their side. The period 1476-1512--from Morat to Marignano--a noble victory and a scarcely less noble defeat, adds another glorious page to the military history of the Swiss League, but the _revers de la medaille_ shows bitter contention and moral decline. In truth, the Burgundian wars closed a glorious epoch, but brought about a baleful change in the face of more noble warfare, for Nancy is linked with that period of mercenary service and foreign pay which became the curse of Switzerland, and which could not be checked even by the grand efforts of the Reformation period. Leaving the foreign wars for the moment let us cast a glance at home matters. It is not necessary to dwell at length on the excesses indulged in by the disbanded soldiers, unoccupied and unaccustomed to regular labour after the Burgundian wars. These things nearly always result from long-continued struggles.