On Sunday, the people of Lucerne celebrated the hundredth anniversary
of the massacre of the Swiss Guard at the Tuileries. The ceremony included a procession through the town, the delivery of speeches, and a gathering at the celebrated monument. Thorwaldsen's colossal lion, carved in a recess in the living rock, though somewhat theatrical and probably badly proportioned—the lion lies dying with a broken spear in his side, but if he were to stand upright one of his legs would, it is said, be a good deal too long—is, never- theless, a fine piece of sculpture, and commemorates a noble incident. The Swiss Guard were, of course, mercenaries, and hiring oneself out to fight for a foreign Prince is not a very glorious trade. Still, the devotion they showed to what they believed. to be their duty is worthy of all praise ; and we do not wonder that their countrymen are proud of the men who declared, "We are Swiss, and the Swiss never surrender their arms but with their lives."
Previous page
