begged permission to choose a new sovereign, that they might not be
involved in the ruin impending over Rhodolph. This address roused
Rhodolph from his despondency, and inspired him with the energies of
despair. He had succeeded in obtaining a few troops from his provinces
in Switzerland. The Bishop of Basle, who had now become his confessor,
came to his aid, at the head of a hundred horsemen, and a body of expert
slingers. Rhodolph, though earnestly advised not to undertake a battle
with such desperate odds, marched from Vienna to meet the foe.

Rapidly traversing the southern banks of the Danube to Hamburg, he
crossed the river and advanced to Marcheck, on the banks of the Morava.
He was joined by some troops from Styria and Carinthia, and by a strong
force led by the King of Hungary. Emboldened by these accessions, though
still far inferior in strength to Ottocar, he pressed on till the two
armies faced each other on the plains of Murchfield. It was the 26th of
August, 1278.

At this moment some traitors deserting the camp of Ottocar, repaired to
the camp of Rhodolph and proposed to assassinate the Bohemian king.
Rhodolph spurned the infamous offer, and embraced the opportunity of
seeking terms of reconciliation by apprising Ottocar of his danger. But
the king, confident in his own strength, and despising the weakness of
Rhodolph, deemed the story a fabrication and refused to listen to any
overtures. Without delay he drew up his army in the form of a crescent,
so as almost to envelop the feeble band before him, and made a
simultaneous attack upon the center and upon both flanks. A terrific
battle ensued, in which one party fought, animated by undoubting
confidence, and the other impelled by despair. The strife was long and
bloody. The tide of victory repeatedly ebbed and flowed. Ottocar had
offered a large reward to any of his followers who would bring to him