But active as they were the besieged were no less so.
The damage done by day was repaired by night, and still Vienna turned a
heroic face to its thronging enemies.
Furious assaults were made, multitudes of the Turks rushing with savage
cries to the breaches, only to be hurled back by the obstinate valor of
the besieged. Every foot of ground was fiercely contested, the struggle
at each point being desperate and determined. It was particularly so
around the Loebel bastion, where scarcely an inch of ground was left
unstained by the blood of the struggling foes.
Count Ruediger, although severely wounded, did not let his hurt reduce
his vigilance. Daily he had himself carried round the circle of the
works, directing and cheering his men. Bishop Kolonitsch attended the
wounded, and with such active and useful zeal that the grand vizier sent
him a threat that he would have his head for his meddling. Despite this
fulmination of fury, the worthy bishop continued to use his threatened
head in the service of mercy and sympathy.
But the numbers of the garrison grew rapidly less, and their incessant
duty wore them out with fatigue.
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