Albrecht was not the cruel, taciturn, tyrant Swiss chroniclers and historians have pictured him. They have, in fact, confounded him with previous rulers, chiefly of the junior Habsburg line. Albrecht was bent on the aggrandizement of his house, but, if anything, less selfishly so than his father Rudolf III. He was, however, no friend of Swiss liberties, and, had he lived longer, would doubtless have checked any efforts on the part of the Swiss to gain greater freedom. But he was cut off in the very prime of life, by his nephew and ward, John of Swabia, who believed himself defrauded of his heritage. With John were other young Swiss nobles--Von Eschenbach, Von Balm, Von Wart, &c.; and by these Albrecht was stabbed, within sight of his ancestral manor, Habsburg, as he was on a journey to meet his queen, Elizabeth. He sank to the ground, and expired in the lap of a poor woman (1308). The assassins got clear away, excepting Wart. A terrible vengeance was taken on him, and on the friends and connections of the fugitives, however innocent. A thousand victims perished, by order of the bloody Elizabeth. On the spot where her husband had fallen the queen built the Monastery of Königsfelden (King's Field), a place which afterwards attained great fame and splendour. The stained windows of the church still in existence, are masterpieces of Swiss work, showing all the exquisite finish of the fourteenth century, and testifying to the former magnificence of the abbey. Once again the Habsburgs were passed over, and Henry VII. became King of Germany. To him Unterwalden owes its charter, which placed the three small states on an equal footing politically. However, he died in Italy when going to receive the imperial crown--it is thought by poison. On his decease the opposing parties elected two sovereigns, Louis of Bavaria, and Frederick the Handsome, of Austria, son of Albrecht. During a short interregnum, which occurred after the death of Henry VII., Schwyz began hostilities against the Abbey of Einsiedeln, of which the Habsburgs were stewards. This greatly vexed Frederick, and his annoyance was increased by finding that the Forest generally sided with his rival. Goaded beyond bearing, Frederick determined to deal a crushing blow against the rebellious Forest states, and, late in the autumn of 1315, hostile operations commenced. We are now in our story on the eve of the famous battle of Morgarten, which is justly regarded by the Swiss as one of the noblest of the many noble episodes in their stirring history. There is not a civilized nation in the world to which the name of Morgarten is not familiar.