[Transcriber's note: _William Tell Told Again_ is two children's booksin one. One is a picture book--16 full-color illustrations by PhilipDadd described in verse by John W. Houghton. The other is a humorousnovel by P. G. Wodehouse, based on the picture book. The novel has alengthier storyline, a more intricate plot, and more characterization. The bound volume intermingled the picture book with the novel, illustrations and poems appearing at regular intervals. Most picturesand verses were distant from the page of the novel that they reflected. 

For this text version, placeholders for the illustrations (with platenumbers) have been inserted following the paragraph in the novel thatdescribes the events being illustrated. The verse descriptions of theillustrations, labelled with plate numbers, have been moved to the endof the novel, so as not to disrupt the story. Each verse also has anillustration placeholder that includes the phrase from the novel shownas a description on the List of Illustrations. ]

[Illustration: Frontispiece]

WILLIAM TELL TOLD AGAIN

BY P. G. WODEHOUSE

1904

WITHILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR BY PHILIP DADDDESCRIBED IN VERSE BY JOHN W. HOUGHTON

[Dedication]TO BIDDY O'SULLIVANFOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

SOMETIMES IT WAS ONLY A BIRD [Frontispiece]

GESSLER'S METHODS OF PERSUASION [Plate I]

THEY WOULD MARCH ABOUT, BEATING TIN CANS AND SHOUTING [Plate II]

AN EGG FLEW ACROSS THE MEADOW, AND BURST OVER LEUTHOLD'S SHOULDER[Plate III]

"HERE! HI!" SHOUTED THE SOLDIERS, "STOP!" [Plate IV]

THEY SAW FRIESSHARDT RAISE HIS PIKE, AND BRING IT DOWN WITH ALL HISFORCE ON TELL'S HEAD [Plate V]

"LOOK HERE!" HE BEGAN. "LOOK THERE!" SAID FRIESSHARDT [Plate VI]

FRIESSHARDT RUSHED TO STOP HIM [Plate VII]

THE CROWD DANCED AND SHOUTED [Plate VIII]

"COME, COME, COME!" SAID GESSLER, "TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT" [Plate IX]

"I HAVE HERE AN APPLE" [Plate X]

THERE WAS A STIR OF EXCITEMENT IN THE CROWD [Plate XI]

A MOMENT'S SUSPENSE, AND THEN A TERRIFIC CHEER AROSE FROM THESPECTATORS [Plate XII]

"SEIZE THAT MAN!" HE SHOUTED [Plate XIII]

HE WAS LED AWAY TO THE SHORE OF THE LAKE [Plate XIV]

TELL'S SECOND ARROW HAD FOUND ITS MARK [Plate XV]

 The Swiss, against their Austrian foes, Had ne'er a soul to lead 'em, Till Tell, as you've heard tell, arose And guided them to freedom. Tell's tale we tell again--an act For which pray no one scold us-- This tale of Tell we tell, in fact, As this Tell tale was told us. 

WILLIAM TELL

CHAPTER I

Once upon a time, more years ago than anybody can remember, before thefirst hotel had been built or the first Englishman had taken aphotograph of Mont Blanc and brought it home to be pasted in an albumand shown after tea to his envious friends, Switzerland belonged to theEmperor of Austria, to do what he liked with. 

One of the first things the Emperor did was to send his friend HermannGessler to govern the country. Gessler was not a nice man, and it soonbecame plain that he would never make himself really popular with theSwiss. The point on which they disagreed in particular was the questionof taxes. The Swiss, who were a simple and thrifty people, objected topaying taxes of any sort. They said they wanted to spend their money onall kinds of other things. Gessler, on the other hand, wished to put atax on everything, and, being Governor, he did it. He made everyone whoowned a flock of sheep pay a certain sum of money to him; and if thefarmer sold his sheep and bought cows, he had to pay rather more moneyto Gessler for the cows than he had paid for the sheep. Gessler alsotaxed bread, and biscuits, and jam, and buns, and lemonade, and, infact, everything he could think of, till the people of Switzerlanddetermined to complain. They appointed Walter Fürst, who had red hairand looked fierce; Werner Stauffacher, who had gray hair and was alwayswondering how he ought to pronounce his name; and Arnold of Melchthal, who had light-yellow hair and was supposed to know a great deal aboutthe law, to make the complaint. They called on the Governor one lovelymorning in April, and were shown into the Hall of Audience. 

"Well, " said Gessler, "and what's the matter now?"

The other two pushed Walter Fürst forward because he looked fierce, andthey thought he might frighten the Governor. 

Walter Fürst coughed. 

"Well?" asked Gessler. 

"Er--ahem!" said Walter Fürst. 

"That's the way, " whispered Werner; "_give_ it him!"

"Er--ahem!"said Walter Fürst again; "the fact is, your Governorship--"

"It's a small point, " interrupted Gessler, "but I'm generally called'your Excellency. ' Yes?"

"The fact is, your Excellency, it seems to the people of Switzerland--"

"--Whom I represent, " whispered Arnold of Melchthal. 

"--Whom I represent, that things want changing. "

"What things?" inquired Gessler. 

"The taxes, your excellent Governorship. "

"Change the taxes? Why, don't the people of Switzerland think there areenough taxes?"

Arnold of Melchthal broke in hastily. 

"They think there are many too many, " he said. "What with the tax onsheep, and the tax on cows, and the tax on bread, and the tax on tea, and the tax--"

"I know, _I_ know, " Gessler interrupted; "I know all the taxes. Come to the point. What about 'em?"

"Well, your Excellency, there are too many of them. "

"Too many!"

"Yes. And we are not going to put up with it any longer!" shoutedArnold of Melchthal. 

Gessler leaned forward in his throne. 

"Might I ask you to repeat that remark?" he said. 

"We are not going to put up with it any longer!"

Gessler sat back again with an ugly smile. 

"Oh, " he said--"oh, indeed! You aren't, aren't you! Desire the LordHigh Executioner to step this way, " he added to a soldier who stoodbeside him. 

The Lord High Executioner entered the presence. He was a kind-lookingold gentleman with white hair, and he wore a beautiful black robe, tastefully decorated with death's-heads. 

"Your Excellency sent for me?" he said. 

"Just so, " replied Gessler. "This gentleman here"--he pointed to Arnoldof Melchthal--"says he does not like taxes, and that he isn't going toput up with them any longer. "

"Tut-tut!" murmured the executioner. 

"See what you can do for him. "

"Certainly, your Excellency. Robert, " he cried, "is the oil on theboil?"

"Just this minute boiled over, " replied a voice from the other side ofthe door. 

"Then bring it in, and mind you don't spill any. "

Enter Robert, in a suit of armour and a black mask, carrying a largecaldron, from which the steam rose in great clouds. 

"Now, sir, if you please, " said the executioner politely to Arnold ofMelchthal. 

Arnold looked at the caldron. 

"Why, it's hot, " he said. 

"Warmish, " admitted the executioner. 

"It's against the law to threaten a man with hot oil. "

[Illustration: PLATE I]

"You may bring an action against me, " said the executioner. "Now, sir, if _you_ please. We are wasting time. The forefinger of your lefthand, if I may trouble you. Thank you. I am obliged. "

He took Arnold's left hand, and dipped the tip of the first finger intothe oil. 

"Ow!" cried Arnold, jumping. 

"Don't let him see he's hurting you, " whispered Werner Stauffacher. "Pretend you don't notice it. "

Gessler leaned forward again. 

"Have your views on taxes changed at all?" he asked. "Do you see mypoint of view more clearly now?"

Arnold admitted that he thought that, after all, there might besomething to be said for it. 

"That's right, " said the Governor. "And the tax on sheep? You don'tobject to that?"

"No. "

"And the tax on cows?"

"I like it. "

"And those on bread, and buns, and lemonade?"

"I enjoy them. "

"Excellent. In fact, you're quite contented?"

"Quite. "

"And you think the rest of the people are?"

"Oh, quite, quite!"

"And do you think the same?" he asked of Walter and Werner. 

"Oh _yes_, your Excellency!" they cried. 

"Then _that's_ all right, " said Gessler. "I was sure you would besensible about it. Now, if you will kindly place in the tambourinewhich the gentleman on my left is presenting to you a mere trifle tocompensate us for our trouble in giving you an audience, and if you"(to Arnold of Melchthal) "will contribute an additional trifle for useof the Imperial boiling oil, I think we shall all be satisfied. You'vedone it? _That's_ right. Good-bye, and mind the step as you goout. "

And, as he finished this speech, the three spokesmen of the people ofSwitzerland were shown out of the Hall of Audience. 

CHAPTER II

They were met in the street outside by a large body of theirfellow-citizens, who had accompanied them to the Palace, and who hadbeen spending the time since their departure in listening by turns atthe keyhole of the front-door. But as the Hall of Audience was at theother side of the Palace, and cut off from the front-door by two otherdoors, a flight of stairs, and a long passage, they had not heard verymuch of what had gone on inside, and they surrounded the three spokesmenas they came out, and questioned them eagerly. 

"Has he taken off the tax on jam?" asked Ulric the smith. 

"What is he going to do about the tax on mixed biscuits?" shouted Klausvon der Flue, who was a chimney-sweep of the town and loved mixedbiscuits. 

"Never mind about tea and mixed biscuits!" cried his neighbour, Meierof Sarnen. "What I want to know is whether we shall have to pay forkeeping sheep any more. "

"What _did_ the Governor say?" asked Jost Weiler, a practical man, who liked to go straight to the point. 

The three spokesmen looked at one another a little doubtfully. 

"We-e-ll, " said Werner Stauffacher at last, "as a matter of fact, hedidn't actually _say_ very much. It was more what he _did_, if you understand me, than what he said. "

"I should describe His Excellency the Governor, " said Walter Fürst, "asa man who has got a way with him--a man who has got all sorts ofarguments at his finger-tips. "

At the mention of finger-tips, Arnold of Melchthal uttered a sharphowl. 

"In short, " continued Walter, "after a few minutes' very interestingconversation he made us see that it really wouldn't do, and that wemust go on paying the taxes as before. "

There was a dead silence for several minutes, while everybody looked ateverybody else in dismay. 

The silence was broken by Arnold of Sewa. Arnold of Sewa had beendisappointed at not being chosen as one of the three spokesmen, and hethought that if he had been so chosen all this trouble would not haveoccurred. 

"The fact is, " he said bitterly, "that you three have failed to do whatyou were sent to do. I mention no names--far from it--but I don't mindsaying that there are some people in this town who would have given abetter account of themselves. What you want in little matters of thissort is, if I may say so, tact. Tact; that's what you want. Of course, if you _will_ go rushing into the Governor's presence--"

"But we didn't rush, " said Walter Fürst. 

"--Shouting out that you want the taxes abolished--"

"But we didn't shout, " said Walter Fürst. 

"I really cannot speak if I am to be constantly interrupted, " saidArnold of Sewa severely. "What I say is, that you ought to employ tact. Tact; that's what you want. If I had been chosen to represent the Swisspeople in this affair--I am not saying I ought to have been, mind you;I merely say _if_ I had been--I should have acted rather after thefollowing fashion: Walking firmly, but not defiantly, into the tyrant'spresence, I should have broken the ice with some pleasant remark aboutthe weather. The conversation once started, the rest would have beeneasy. I should have said that I hoped His Excellency had enjoyed a gooddinner. Once on the subject of food, and it would have been thesimplest of tasks to show him how unnecessary taxes on food were, andthe whole affair would have been pleasantly settled while you waited. Ido not imply that the Swiss people would have done better to havechosen me as their representative. I merely say that that is how Ishould have acted had they done so. "

And Arnold of Sewa twirled his moustache and looked offended. Hisfriends instantly suggested that he should be allowed to try where theother three had failed, and the rest of the crowd, beginning to hopeonce more, took up the cry. The result was that the visitors' bell ofthe Palace was rung for the second time. Arnold of Sewa went in, andthe door was banged behind him. 

Five minutes later he came out, sucking the first finger of his lefthand. 

"No, " he said; "it can't be done. The tyrant has convinced me. "

"I knew he would, " said Arnold of Melchthal. 

"Then I think you might have warned me, " snapped Arnold of Sewa, dancing with the pain of his burnt finger. 

"Was it hot?"

"Boiling. "

"Ah!"

"Then he really won't let us off the taxes?" asked the crowd indisappointed voices. 

"No. "

"Then the long and short of it is, " said Walter Fürst, drawing a deepbreath, "that we must rebel!"

"Rebel?" cried everybody. 

"Rebel!" repeated Walter firmly. 

"We will!" cried everybody. 

"Down with the tyrant!" shouted Walter Fürst. 

"Down with the taxes!" shrieked the crowd. 

A scene of great enthusiasm followed. The last words were spoken byWerner Stauffacher. 

"We want a leader, " he said. 

"I don't wish to thrust myself forward, " began Arnold of Sewa, "but Imust say, if it comes to leading--"

"And I know the very man for the job, " said Werner Stauffacher. "William Tell!"

"Hurrah for William Tell!" roared the crowd, and, taking the time fromWerner Stauffacher, they burst into the grand old Swiss chant whichruns as follows:

 "For he's a jolly good fellow! For he's a jolly good fellow!! For he's a jolly good fe-e-ll-ow!!!! And so say all of us!"

And having sung this till they were all quite hoarse, they went off totheir beds to get a few hours' sleep before beginning the labours ofthe day. 

CHAPTER III

In a picturesque little châlet high up in the mountains, covered withsnow and edelweiss (which is a flower that grows in the Alps, and youare not allowed to pick it), dwelt William Tell, his wife Hedwig, andhis two sons, Walter and William. Such a remarkable man was Tell that Ithink I must devote a whole chapter to him and his exploits. There wasreally nothing he could not do. He was the best shot with the cross-bowin the whole of Switzerland. He had the courage of a lion, thesure-footedness of a wild goat, the agility of a squirrel, and abeautiful beard. If you wanted someone to hurry across desolateice-fields, and leap from crag to crag after a chamois, Tell was theman for your money. If you wanted a man to say rude things to theGovernor, it was to Tell that you applied first. Once when he washunting in the wild ravine of Schächenthal, where men were hardlyever to be seen, he met the Governor face to face. There was no wayof getting past. On one side the rocky wall rose sheer up, while belowthe river roared. Directly Gessler caught sight of Tell striding alongwith his cross-bow, his cheeks grew pale and his knees tottered, and hesat down on a rock feeling very unwell indeed. 

"Aha!" said Tell. "Oho! so it's you, is it? _I_ know you. And anice sort of person you are, with your taxes on bread and sheep, aren'tyou! You'll come to a bad end one of these days, that's what willhappen to you. Oh, you old reprobate! Pooh!" And he had passed on witha look of scorn, leaving Gessler to think over what he had said. AndGessler ever since had had a grudge against him, and was only waitingfor a chance of paying him out. 

"Mark my words, " said Tell's wife, Hedwig, when her husband told herabout it after supper that night--"mark my words, he will neverforgive you. "

"I will avoid him, " said Tell. "He will not seek me. "

"Well, mind you do, " was Hedwig's reply. 

On another occasion, when the Governor's soldiers were chasing a friendof his, called Baumgarten, and when Baumgarten's only chance of escapewas to cross the lake during a fierce storm, and when the ferryman, sensibly remarking, "What! must I rush into the jaws of death? No manthat hath his senses would do that!" refused to take out his boat evenfor twice his proper fare, and when the soldiers rode down to seizetheir prey with dreadful shouts, Tell jumped into the boat, and, rowingwith all his might, brought his friend safe across after a choppypassage. Which made Gessler the Governor still more angry with him. 

But it was as a marksman that Tell was so extraordinary. There wasnobody in the whole of the land who was half so skilful. He attendedevery meeting for miles around where there was a shooting competition, and every time he won first prize. Even his rivals could not helppraising his skill. "Behold!" they would say, "Tell is quite thepot-hunter, " meaning by the last word a man who always went in forevery prize, and always won it. And Tell would say, "Yes, truly am Ia pot-hunter, for I hunt to fill the family pot. " And so he did. He nevercame home empty-handed from the chase. Sometimes it was a chamois thathe brought back, and then the family had it roasted on the first day, cold on the next four, and minced on the sixth, with sippets of toastround the edge of the dish. Sometimes it was only a bird (as on thecover of this book), and then Hedwig would say, "Mark my words, thisfowl will not go round. " But it always did, and it never happened thatthere was not even a fowl to eat. 

[Illustration: Frontispiece]

In fact, Tell and his family lived a very happy, contented life, inspite of the Governor Gessler and his taxes. 

Tell was very patriotic. He always believed that some day the Swisswould rise and rebel against the tyranny of the Governor, and he usedto drill his two children so as to keep them always in a state ofpreparation. They would march about, beating tin cans and shouting, andaltogether enjoying themselves immensely, though Hedwig, who did notlike noise, and wanted Walter and William to help her with thehousework, made frequent complaints. "Mark my words, " she would say, "this growing spirit of militarism in the young and foolish will leadto no good, " meaning that boys who played at soldiers instead ofhelping their mother to dust the chairs and scrub the kitchen floorwould in all probability come to a bad end. But Tell would say, "Whohopes to fight his way through life must be prepared to wield arms. Carry on, my boys!" And they carried on. It was to this man that theSwiss people had determined to come for help. 

[Illustration: PLATE II]

CHAPTER IV

Talking matters over in the inn of the town, the Glass and Glacier, thecitizens came to the conclusion that they ought to appoint threespokesmen to go and explain to Tell just what they wanted him to do. 

"I don't wish to seem to boast at all, " said Arnold of Sewa, "but Ithink I had better be one of the three. "

"I was thinking, " said Werner Stauffacher, "that it would be a pityalways to be chopping and changing. Why not choose the same three aswere sent to Gessler?"

"I don't desire to be unpleasant at all, " replied Arnold of Sewa, "butI must be forgiven for reminding the honourable gentleman who has justspoken that he and his equally honourable friends did not meet with thebest of success when they called upon the Governor. "

"Well, and you didn't either!" snapped Arnold of Melchthal, whosefinger still hurt him, and made him a little bad-tempered. 

"That, " said Arnold of Sewa, "I put down entirely to the fact that youand your friends, by not exercising tact, irritated the Governor, andmade him unwilling to listen to anybody else. Nothing is more importantin these affairs than tact. That's what you want--tact. But have ityour own way. Don't mind _me!_"

And the citizens did not. They chose Werner Stauffacher, Arnold ofMelchthal, and Walter Fürst, and, having drained their glasses, thethree trudged up the steep hill which led to Tell's house. 

It had been agreed that everyone should wait at the Glass and Glacieruntil the three spokesmen returned, in order that they might hear theresult of their mission. Everybody was very anxious. A revolutionwithout Tell would be quite impossible, and it was not unlikely thatTell might refuse to be their leader. The worst of a revolution isthat, if it fails, the leader is always executed as an example to therest. And many people object to being executed, however much it may seta good example to their friends. On the other hand, Tell was a braveman and a patriot, and might be only too eager to try to throw off thetyrant's yoke, whatever the risk. They had waited about an hour, whenthey saw the three spokesmen coming down the hill. Tell was not withthem, a fact which made the citizens suspect that he had refused theiroffer. The first thing a man does when he has accepted the leadershipof a revolution is to come and plot with his companions. 

"Well?" said everybody eagerly, as the three arrived. 

Werner Stauffacher shook his head. 

"Ah, " said Arnold of Sewa, "I see what it is. He has refused. Youdidn't exercise tact, and he refused. "

"We _did_ exercise tact, " said Stauffacher indignantly; "but hewould not be persuaded. It was like this: We went to the house andknocked at the door. Tell opened it. 'Good-morning, ' I said. 

"'Good-morning, ' said he. 'Take a seat. '

"I took a seat. 

"'My heart is full, ' I said, 'and longs to speak with you. ' I thoughtthat a neat way of putting it. "

The company murmured approval. 

"'A heavy heart, ' said Tell, 'will notgrow light with words. '"

"Not bad that!" murmured Jost Weiler. "Clever way of putting things, Tell has got. "

"'Yet words, ' I said, 'might lead us on to deeds. '"

"Neat, " said Jost Weiler--"very neat. Yes?"

"To which Tell's extraordinary reply was: 'The only thing to do is tosit still. '

"'What!' I said; 'bear in silence things unbearable?'

"'Yes, ' said Tell; 'to peaceable men peace is gladly granted. When theGovernor finds that his oppression does not make us revolt, he willgrow tired of oppressing. '"

"And what did you say to that?" asked Ulric the smith. 

"I said he did not know the Governor if he thought he could ever growtired of oppressing. 'We might do much, ' I said, 'if we held fasttogether. Union is strength, ' I said. 

"'The strong, ' said Tell, 'is strongest when he stands alone. '

"'Then our country must not count on thee, ' I said, 'when in despairshe stands on self-defence?'

"'Oh, well, ' he said, 'hardly that, perhaps. I don't want to desertyou. What I mean to say is, I'm no use as a plotter or a counsellor andthat sort of thing. Where I come out strong is in deeds. So don'tinvite me to your meetings and make me speak, and that sort of thing;but if you want a man to _do_ anything--why, that's where I shallcome in, you see. Just write if you want me--a postcard will do--andyou will not find William Tell hanging back. No, sir. ' And with thosewords he showed us out. "

"Well, " said Jost Weiler, "I call that encouraging. All we have to donow is to plot. Let us plot. "

"Yes, let's!" shouted everybody. 

Ulric the smith rapped for silence on the table. 

"Gentlemen, " he said, "our friend Mr. Klaus von der Flue will now reada paper on 'Governors--their drawbacks, and how to get rid of them. 'Silence, gentlemen, please. Now, then, Klaus, old fellow, speak up andget it over. "

And the citizens settled down without further delay to a little seriousplotting. 

CHAPTER V

A few days after this, Hedwig gave Tell a good talking to on thesubject of his love for adventure. He was sitting at the door of hishouse mending an axe. Hedwig, as usual, was washing up. Walter andWilliam were playing with a little cross-bow not far off. 

"Father, " said Walter. 

"Yes, my boy?"

"My bow-string has bust. " ("Bust" was what all Swiss boys said whenthey meant "broken. ")

"You must mend it yourself, my boy, " said Tell. "A sportsman alwayshelps himself. "

"What _I_ say, " said Hedwig, bustling out of the house, "is that aboy of his age has no business to be shooting. I don't like it. "

"Nobody can shoot well if he does not begin to practise early. Why, when I was a boy--I remember on one occasion, when--"

"What _I_ say, " interrupted Hedwig, "is that a boy ought not towant always to be shooting, and what not. He ought to stay at home andhelp his mother. And I wish you would set them a better example. "

"Well, the fact is, you know, " said Tell, "I don't think Nature meantme to be a stay-at-home and that sort of thing. I couldn't be aherdsman if you paid me. I shouldn't know what to do. No; everyone hashis special line, and mine is hunting. Now, I _can_ hunt. "

"A nasty, dangerous occupation, " said Hedwig. "I don't like to hear ofyour being lost on desolate ice-fields, and leaping from crag to crag, and what not. Some day, mark my words, if you are not careful, you willfall down a precipice, or be overtaken by an avalanche, or the ice willbreak while you are crossing it. There are a thousand ways in which youmight get hurt. "

"A man of ready wit with a quick eye, " replied Tell complacently, "never gets hurt. The mountain has no terror for her children. I am achild of the mountain. "

"You are certainly a child!" snapped Hedwig. "It is no use my arguingwith you. "

"Not very much, " agreed Tell, "for I am just off to the town. I have anappointment with your papa and some other gentlemen. "

(I forgot to say so before, but Hedwig was the daughter of WalterFürst. )

"Now, _what_ are you and papa plotting?" asked Hedwig. "I knowthere is something going on. I suspected it when papa brought WernerStauffacher and the other man here, and you wouldn't let me listen. What is it? Some dangerous scheme, I suppose?"

"Now, how in the world do you get those sort of ideas into your head?"Tell laughed. "Dangerous scheme! As if I should plot dangerous schemeswith your papa!"

"I know, " said Hedwig. "You can't deceive _me!_ There is a plotafoot against the Governor, and you are in it. "

"A man must help his country. "

"They're sure to place you where there is most danger. I know them. Don't go. Send Walter down with a note to say that you regret that anunfortunate previous engagement, which you have just recollected, willmake it impossible for you to accept their kind invitation to plot. "

"No; I must go. "

"And there is another thing, " continued Hedwig: "Gessler the Governoris in the town now. "

"He goes away to-day. "

"Well, wait till he has gone. You must not meet him. He bears youmalice. "

"To me his malice cannot do much harm. I do what's right, and fear noenemy. "

"Those who do right, " said Hedwig, "are those he hates the most. Andyou know he has never forgiven you for speaking like that when you methim in the ravine. Keep away from the town for to-day. Do anythingelse. Go hunting, if you will. "

"No, " said Tell; "I promised. I must go. Come along, Walter. "

"You _aren't_ going to take that poor _dear_ child? Comehere, Walter, directly minute!'

"Want to go with father, " said Walter, beginning to cry, for his fatherhad promised to take him with him the next time he went to the town, and he had saved his pocket-money for the occasion. 

"Oh, let the boy come, " said Tell. "William will stay with you, won'tyou, William?"

"All right, father, " said William. 

"Well, mark my words, " said Hedwig, "if something bad does not happen Ishall be surprised. "

"Oh no, " said Tell. "What can happen?"

And without further delay he set off with Walter for the town. 

CHAPTER VI

In the meantime all kinds of things of which Tell had no suspicion hadbeen happening in the town. The fact that there were no newspapers inSwitzerland at that time often made him a little behindhand as regardedthe latest events. He had to depend, as a rule, on visits from hisfriends, who would sit in his kitchen and tell him all about everythingthat had been going on for the last few days. And, of course, whenthere was anything very exciting happening in the town, nobody had timeto trudge up the hill to Tell's châlet. They all wanted to be in thetown enjoying the fun. 

What had happened now was this. It was the chief amusement of theGovernor, Gessler (who, you will remember, was _not_ a nice man), when he had a few moments to spare from the cares of governing, to sitdown and think out some new way of annoying the Swiss people. He wasone of those persons who

 "only do it to annoy, Because they know it teases. "

What he liked chiefly was to forbid something. He would find out whatthe people most enjoyed doing, and then he would send a herald to saythat he was very sorry, but it must stop. He found that this annoyedthe Swiss more than anything. But now he was rather puzzled what to do, for he had forbidden everything he could think of. He had forbiddendancing and singing, and playing on any sort of musical instrument, onthe ground that these things made such a noise, and disturbed peoplewho wanted to work. He had forbidden the eating of everything exceptbread and the simplest sorts of meat, because he said that anythingelse upset people, and made them unfit to do anything except sit stilland say how ill they were. And he had forbidden all sorts of games, because he said they were a waste of time. 

So that now, though he wanted dreadfully to forbid something else, hecould not think of anything. 

Then he had an idea, and this was it:

He told his servants to cut a long pole. And they cut a very long pole. Then he said to them, "Go into the hall and bring me one of my hats. Not my best hat, which I wear on Sundays and on State occasions; noryet my second-best, which I wear every day; nor yet, again, the one Iwear when I am out hunting, for all these I need. Fetch me, rather, theoldest of my hats. " And they fetched him the very oldest of his hats. Then he said, "Put it on top of the pole. " And they put it right on topof the pole. And, last of all, he said, "Go and set up the pole in themiddle of the meadow just outside the gates of the town. " And they wentand set up the pole in the very middle of the meadow just outside thegates of the town. 

Then he sent his heralds out to north and south and east and west tosummon the people together, because he said he had something veryimportant and special to say to them. And the people came in tens, andfifties, and hundreds, men, women, and children; and they stood waitingin front of the Palace steps till Gessler the Governor should come outand say something very important and special to them. 

And punctually at eleven o'clock, Gessler, having finished a capitalbreakfast, came out on to the top step and spoke to them. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, "--he began. (A voice from the crowd: "Speakup!")

"Ladies and gentlemen, " he began again, in a louder voice, "if I couldcatch the man who said 'Speak up!' I would have him bitten in the neckby wild elephants. (Applause. ) I have called you to this place to-dayto explain to you my reason for putting up a pole, on the top of whichis one of my caps, in the meadow just outside the city gates. It isthis: You all, I know, respect and love me. " Here he paused for theaudience to cheer, but as they remained quite silent he went on: "Youwould all, I know, like to come to my Palace every day and do reverenceto me. (A voice: 'No, no!') If I could catch the man who said 'No, no!'I would have him stung on the soles of the feet by pink scorpions; andif he was the same man who said 'Speak up!' a little while ago, thenumber of scorpions should be doubled. (Loud applause. ) As I was sayingbefore I was interrupted, I know you would like to come to my Palaceand do reverence to me there. But, as you are many and space islimited, I am obliged to refuse you that pleasure. However, beinganxious not to disappoint you, I have set up my cap in the meadow, andyou may do reverence to _that_. In fact, you _must_. Everybody isto look on that cap as if it were me. (A voice: 'It ain't so ugly asyou!') If I could catch the man who made that remark I would have himtied up and teased by trained bluebottles. (Deafening applause. ) Infact, to put the matter briefly, if anybody crosses that meadow withoutbowing down before that cap, my soldiers will arrest him, and I willhave him pecked on the nose by infuriated blackbirds. So there!Soldiers, move that crowd on!"

And Gessler disappeared indoors again, just as a volley of eggs andcabbages whistled through the air. And the soldiers began to hustle thecrowd down the various streets till the open space in front of thePalace gates was quite cleared of them. All this happened the daybefore Tell and Walter set out for the town. 

CHAPTER VII

Having set up the pole and cap in the meadow, Gessler sent two of hisbodyguard, Friesshardt (I should think you would be safe in pronouncingthis Freeze-hard, but you had better ask somebody who knows) andLeuthold, to keep watch there all day, and see that nobody passed bywithout kneeling down before the pole and taking off his hat to it. 

But the people, who prided themselves on being what they called_üppen zie schnuffen_, or, as we should say, "up to snuff, " andequal to every occasion, had already seen a way out of the difficulty. They knew that if they crossed the meadow they must bow down before thepole, which they did not want to do, so it occurred to them that aningenious way of preventing this would be not to cross the meadow. Sothey went the long way round, and the two soldiers spent a lonely day. 

"What I sez, " said Friesshardt, "is, wot's the use of us wasting ourtime here?" (Friesshardt was not a very well-educated man, and he didnot speak good grammar. ) "None of these here people ain't a-going tobow down to that there hat. Of course they ain't. Why, I can rememberthe time when this meadow was like a fair--everybody a-shoving anda-jostling one another for elbow-room; and look at it now! It's a desert. That's what it is, a desert. What's the good of us wasting of our timehere, I sez. That's what I sez. 

"And they're artful, too, mind yer, " he continued. "Why, only thismorning, I sez to myself, 'Friesshardt, ' I sez, 'you just wait tilltwelve o'clock, ' I sez, ''cos that's when they leave the council-house, and then they'll _have_ to cross the meadow. And then we'll seewhat we _shall_ see, ' I sez. Like that, I sez. Bitter-like, yerknow. 'We'll see, ' I sez, 'what we _shall_ see. ' So I waited, andat twelve o'clock out they came, dozens of them, and began to cross themeadow. 'And now, ' sez I to myself, 'look out for larks. ' But whathappened? Why, when they came to the pole, the priest stood in front ofit, and the sacristan rang the bell, and they all fell down on theirknees. But they were saying their prayers, not doing obeisance to thehat. That's what _they_ were doing. Artful--that's what _they_ are!"

And Friesshardt kicked the foot of the pole viciously with his ironboot. 

"It's my belief, " said Leuthold (Leuthold is the thin soldier you seein the picture)--"it's my firm belief that they are laughing at us. There! Listen to that!"

A voice made itself heard from behind a rock not far off. 

"Where did you get that hat?" said the voice. 

"There!" grumbled Leuthold; "they're always at it. Last time it was, 'Who's your hatter?' Why, we're the laughing-stock of the place. We'relike two rogues in a pillory. 'Tis rank disgrace for one who wears asword to stand as sentry o'er an empty hat. To make obeisance to a hat!I' faith, such a command is downright foolery!"

"Well, " said Friesshardt, "and why not bow before an empty hat? Thouhast oft bow'd before an empty skull. Ha, ha! I was always one for ajoke, yer know. "

"Here come some people, " said Leuthold. "At last! And they're only therabble, after all. You don't catch any of the better sort of peoplecoming here. "

A crowd was beginning to collect on the edge of the meadow. Its numbersswelled every minute, until quite a hundred of the commoner sort musthave been gathered together. They stood pointing at the pole andtalking among themselves, but nobody made any movement to cross themeadow. 

At last somebody shouted "Yah!"

The soldiers took no notice. 

Somebody else cried "Booh!"'

"Pass along there, pass along!" said the soldiers. 

Cries of "Where did you get that hat?" began to come from the body ofthe crowd. When the Swiss invented a catch-phrase they did not drop itin a hurry. 

"Where--did--you--get--that--HAT?" they shouted. 

Friesshardt and Leuthold stood like two statues in armour, paying noattention to the remarks of the rabble. This annoyed the rabble. Theybegan to be more personal. 

"You in the second-hand lobster-tin, " shouted one--he meantFriesshardt, whose suit of armour, though no longer new, hardlydeserved this description--"who's your hatter?"

"Can't yer see, " shouted a friend, when Friesshardt made no reply, "thepore thing ain't alive? 'E's stuffed!"

Roars of laughter greeted this sally. Friesshardt, in spite of the factthat he enjoyed a joke, turned pink. 

"'E's blushing!" shrieked a voice. 

Friesshardt turned purple. 

Then things got still more exciting. 

"'Ere, " said a rough voice in the crowd impatiently, "wot's the good of_torkin'_ to 'em? Gimme that 'ere egg, missus!"

And in another instant an egg flew across the meadow, and burst overLeuthold's shoulder. The crowd howled with delight. This was something_like_ fun, thought they, and the next moment eggs, cabbages, cats, and missiles of every sort darkened the air. The two soldiersraved and shouted, but did not dare to leave their post. At last, justas the storm was at its height, it ceased, as if by magic. Everyone inthe crowd turned round, and, as he turned, jumped into the air andwaved his hat. 

[Illustration: PLATE III]

A deafening cheer went up. 

"Hurrah!" cried the mob; "here comes good old Tell! _Now_ there'sgoing to be a jolly row!"

CHAPTER VIII

Tell came striding along, Walter by his side, and his cross-bow overhis shoulder. He knew nothing about the hat having been placed on thepole, and he was surprised to see such a large crowd gathered in themeadow. He bowed to the crowd in his polite way, and the crowd gavethree cheers and one more, and he bowed again. 

"Hullo!" said Walter suddenly; "look at that hat up there, father. Onthe pole. "

"What is the hat to us?" said Tell; and he began to walk across themeadow with an air of great dignity, and Walter walked by his side, trying to look just like him. 

"Here! hi!" shouted the soldiers. "Stop! You haven't bowed down to thecap. "

[Illustration: PLATE IV]

Tell looked scornful, but said nothing. Walter looked still morescornful. 

"Ho, there!" shouted Friesshardt, standing in front of him. "I bid youstand in the Emperor's name. "

"My good fellow, " said Tell, "please do not bother me. I am in a hurry. I really have nothing for you. "

"My orders is, " said Friesshardt, "to stand in this 'ere meadow and tosee as how all them what passes through it does obeisance to that therehat. Them's Governor's orders, them is. So now. "

"My good fellow, " said Tell, "let me pass. I shall get cross, I know Ishall. "

Shouts of encouragement from the crowd, who were waiting patiently forthe trouble to begin. 

"Go it, Tell!" they cried. "Don't stand talking to him. Hit him akick!"

Friesshardt became angrier every minute. 

"My orders is, " he said again, "to arrest them as don't bow down to thehat, and for two pins, young feller, I'll arrest you. So which is it tobe? Either you bow down to that there hat or you come along of me. "

Tell pushed him aside, and walked on with his chin in the air. Walterwent with him, with his chin in the air. 

WHACK!

A howl of dismay went up from the crowd as they saw Friesshardt raisehis pike and bring it down with all his force on Tell's head. The soundof the blow went echoing through the meadow and up the hills and downthe valleys. 

[Illustration: PLATE V]

"Ow!" cried Tell. 

"_Now_, " thought the crowd, "things must begin to get exciting. "

Tell's first idea was that one of the larger mountains in theneighbourhood had fallen on top of him. Then he thought that there musthave been an earthquake. Then it gradually dawned upon him that he hadbeen hit by a mere common soldier with a pike. Then he _was_angry. 

"Look here!" he began. 

"Look there!" said Friesshardt, pointing to the cap. 

[Illustration: PLATE VI]

"You've hurt my head very much, " said Tell. "Feel the bump. If I hadn'thappened to have a particularly hard head I don't know what might nothave happened;" and he raised his fist and hit Friesshardt; but asFriesshardt was wearing a thick iron helmet the blow did not hurt himvery much. 

But it had the effect of bringing the crowd to Tell's assistance. Theyhad been waiting all this time for him to begin the fighting, forthough they were very anxious to attack the soldiers, they did not liketo do so by themselves. They wanted a leader. 

So when they saw Tell hit Friesshardt, they tucked up their sleeves, grasped their sticks and cudgels more tightly, and began to run acrossthe meadow towards him. 

Neither of the soldiers noticed this. Friesshardt was busy arguing withTell, and Leuthold was laughing at Friesshardt. So when the people cameswarming up with their sticks and cudgels they were taken by surprise. But every soldier in the service of Gessler was as brave as a lion, andFriesshardt and Leuthold were soon hitting back merrily, and making agood many of the crowd wish that they had stayed at home. The twosoldiers were wearing armour, of course, so that it was difficult tohurt them; but the crowd, who wore no armour, found that _they_could get hurt very easily. Conrad Hunn, for instance, was attackingFriesshardt, when the soldier happened to drop his pike. It fell onConrad's toe, and Conrad limped away, feeling that fighting was no fununless you had thick boots on. 

And so for a time the soldiers had the best of the fight. 

CHAPTER IX

For many minutes the fight raged furiously round the pole, and theearth shook beneath the iron boots of Friesshardt and Leuthold as theyrushed about, striking out right and left with their fists and theflats of their pikes. Seppi the cowboy (an ancestor, by the way, ofBuffalo Bill) went down before a tremendous blow by Friesshardt, andLeuthold knocked Klaus von der Flue head over heels. 

"What you _want_" said Arnold of Sewa, who had seen the beginningof the fight from the window of his cottage and had hurried to join it, and, as usual, to give advice to everybody--"what you want here isguile. That's what you want--guile, cunning. Not brute force, mind you. It's no good rushing at a man in armour and hitting him. He only hitsyou back. You should employ guile. Thus. Observe. "

He had said these words standing on the outskirts of the crowd. He nowgrasped his cudgel and began to steal slowly towards Friesshardt, whohad just given Werni the huntsman such a hit with his pike that thesound of it was still echoing in the mountains, and was now busilyengaged in disposing of Jost Weiler. Arnold of Sewa crept stealthilybehind him, and was just about to bring his cudgel down on his head, when Leuthold, catching sight of him, saved his comrade by driving hispike with all his force into Arnold's side. Arnold said afterwards thatit completely took his breath away. He rolled over, and after beingtrodden on by everybody for some minutes, got up and limped back to hiscottage, where he went straight to bed, and did not get up for twodays. 

All this time Tell had been standing a little way off with his armsfolded, looking on. While it was a quarrel simply between himself andFriesshardt he did not mind fighting. But when the crowd joined in hefelt that it was not fair to help so many men attack one, however badlythat one might have behaved. 

He now saw that the time had come to put an end to the disturbance. Hedrew an arrow from his quiver, placed it in his crossbow, and pointedit at the hat. Friesshardt, seeing what he intended to do, uttered ashout of horror and rushed to stop him. But at that moment somebody inthe crowd hit him so hard with a spade that his helmet was knocked overhis eyes, and before he could raise it again the deed was done. Throughthe cap and through the pole and out at the other side sped the arrow. And the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Tell standingbeside him twirling his moustache, while all around the crowd dancedand shouted and threw their caps into the air with joy. 

[Illustration: PLATE VII]

[Illustration: PLATE VIII]

"A mere trifle, " said Tell modestly. 

The crowd cheered again and again. 

Friesshardt and Leuthold lay on the ground beside the pole, feelingvery sore and bruised, and thought that perhaps, on the whole, they hadbetter stay there. There was no knowing what the crowd might do afterthis, if they began to fight again. So they lay on the ground and madeno attempt to interfere with the popular rejoicings. What they_wanted_, as Arnold of Sewa might have said if he had been there, was a few moments' complete rest. Leuthold's helmet had been hammeredwith sticks until it was over his eyes and all out of shape, andFriesshardt's was very little better. And they both felt just as ifthey had been run over in the street by a horse and cart. 

"Tell!" shouted the crowd. "Hurrah for Tell! Good old Tell!"

"Tell's the boy!" roared Ulric the smith. "Not another man inSwitzerland could have made that shot. "

"No, " shrieked everybody, "not another!"

"Speech!" cried someone from the edge of the crowd. 

"Speech! Speech! Tell, speech!" Everybody took up the cry. 

"No, no, " said Tell, blushing. 

"Go on, go on!" shouted the crowd. 

"Oh, I couldn't, " said Tell; "I don't know what to say. "

"Anything will do. Speech! Speech!"

Ulric the smith and Ruodi the fisherman hoisted Tell on to theirshoulders, and, having coughed once or twice, he said:

"Gentlemen--"

Cheers from the crowd. 

"Gentlemen, " said Tell again, "this is the proudest moment of my life. "

More cheers. 

"I don't know what you want me to talk about. I have never made aspeech before. Excuse my emotion. This is the proudest moment of mylife. To-day is a great day for Switzerland. We have struck the firstblow of the revolution. Let us strike some more. "

Shouts of "Hear, hear!" from the crowd, many of whom, misunderstandingTell's last remark, proceeded to hit Leuthold and Friesshardt, untilstopped by cries of "Order!" from Ulric the smith. 

"Gentlemen, " continued Tell, "the floodgates of revolution have beenopened. From this day they will stalk through the land burning to ashesthe slough of oppression which our tyrant Governor has erected in ourmidst. I have only to add that this is the proudest moment of my life, and----"

He was interrupted by a frightened voice. 

"Look out, you chaps, " said the voice; "here comes the Governor!"

Gessler, with a bodyguard of armed men, had entered the meadow, and wasgalloping towards them. 

CHAPTER X

Gessler came riding up on his brown horse, and the crowd melted away inall directions, for there was no knowing what the Governor might not doif he found them plotting. They were determined to rebel and to throwoff his tyrannous yoke, but they preferred to do it quietly andcomfortably, when he was nowhere near. 

So they ran away to the edge of the meadow, and stood there in groups, waiting to see what was going to happen. Not even Ulric the smith andRuodi the fisherman waited, though they knew quite well that Tell hadnot nearly finished his speech. They set the orator down, and began towalk away, trying to look as if they had been doing nothing inparticular, and were going to go on doing it--only somewhere else. 

Tell was left standing alone in the middle of the meadow by the pole. He scorned to run away like the others, but he did not at all like thelook of things. Gessler was a stern man, quick to punish any insult, and there were two of his soldiers lying on the ground with their nicearmour all spoiled and dented, and his own cap on top of the pole hadan arrow right through the middle of it, and would never look the sameagain, however much it might be patched. It seemed to Tell that therewas a bad time coming. 

Gessler rode up, and reined in his horse. 

"Now then, now then, now then!" he said, in his quick, abrupt way. "What's this? what's this? what's this?"

(When a man repeats what he says three times, you can see that he isnot in a good temper. )

Friesshardt and Leuthold got up, saluted, and limped slowly towardshim. They halted beside his horse, and stood to attention. The tearstrickled down their cheeks. 

"Come, come, come!" said Gessler; "tell me all about it. "

[Illustration: PLATE IX]

And he patted Friesshardt on the head. Friesshardt bellowed. 

Gessler beckoned to one of his courtiers. 

"Have you a handkerchief?" he said. 

"I have a handkerchief, your Excellency. "

"Then dry this man's eyes. "

The courtier did as he was bidden. 

"_Now_, " said Gessler, when the drying was done, and Friesshardt'stears had ceased, "what has been happening here? I heard a cry of'Help!' as I came up. Who cried 'Help!'?"

"Please, your lordship's noble Excellencyship, " said Friesshardt, "itwas me, Friesshardt. "

"You should say, 'It was I, '" said Gessler. "Proceed. "

"Which I am a loyal servant of your Excellency's, and in yourExcellency's army, and seeing as how I was told to stand by this 'erepole and guard that there hat, I stood by this 'ere pole, and guardedthat there hat--all day, I did, your Excellency. And then up comes thisman here, and I says to him--'Bow down to the hat, ' I says. 'Ho!' hesays to me--'ho, indeed!' and he passed on without so much as nodding. So I takes my pike, and I taps him on the head to remind him, as youmay say, that there was something he was forgetting, and he ups andhits me, he does. And then the crowd runs up with their sticks and hitsme and Leuthold cruel, your Excellency. And while we was a-fightingwith them, this here man I'm a-telling you about, your Excellency, heouts with an arrow, puts it into his bow, and sends it through the hat, and I don't see how you'll ever be able to wear it again. It's a wasteof a good hat, your Excellency--that's what it is. And then the people, they puts me and Leuthold on the ground, and hoists this here man--Tell, they call him--up on their shoulders, and he starts making a speech, when up you comes, your Excellency. That's how it all was. "

Gessler turned pale with rage, and glared fiercely at Tell, who stoodbefore him in the grasp of two of the bodyguard. 

"Ah, " he said, "Tell, is it? Good-day to you, Tell. I think we've metbefore, Tell? Eh, Tell?"

"We have, your Excellency. It was in the ravine of Schächenthal, " saidTell firmly. 

"Your memory is good, Tell. So is mine. I think you made a few remarksto me on that occasion, Tell--a few chatty remarks? Eh, Tell?"

"Very possibly, your Excellency. "

"You were hardly polite, Tell. "

"If I offended you I am sorry. "

"I am glad to hear it, Tell. I think you will be even sorrier beforelong. So you've been ill-treating my soldiers, eh?"

"It was not I who touched them. "

"Oh, so you didn't touch them? Ah! But you defied my power by refusingto bow down to the hat. I set up that hat to prove the people'sloyalty. I am afraid you are not loyal, Tell. "

"I was a little thoughtless, not disloyal. I passed the hat withoutthinking. "

"You should always think, Tell. It is very dangerous not to do so. AndI suppose that you shot your arrow through the hat without thinking?"

"I was a little carried away by excitement, your Excellency. "

"Dear, dear! Carried away by excitement, were you? You must really bemore careful, Tell. One of these days you will be getting yourself intotrouble. But it seems to have been a very fine shot. You _are_ acapital marksman, I believe?"

"Father's the best shot in all Switzerland, " piped a youthful voice. "He can hit an apple on a tree a hundred yards away. I've seen him. Can't you, father?"

Walter, who had run away when the fighting began, had returned onseeing his father in the hands of the soldiers. 

Gessler turned a cold eye upon him. 

"Who is this?" he asked. 

CHAPTER XI

"It is my son Walter, your Excellency, " said Tell. 

"Your son? Indeed. This is very interesting. Have you any morechildren?"

"I have one other boy. "

"And which of them do you love the most, eh?"

"I love them both alike, your Excellency. "

"Dear me! Quite a happy family. Now, listen to me, Tell. I know you arefond of excitement, so I am going to try to give you a little. Your sonsays that you can hit an apple on a tree a hundred yards away, and I amsure you have every right to be very proud of such a feat. Friesshardt!"

"Your Excellency?"

"Bring me an apple. "

Friesshardt picked one up. Some apples had been thrown at him andLeuthold earlier in the day, and there were several lying about. 

"Which I'm afraid as how it's a little bruised, your Excellency, " hesaid, "having hit me on the helmet. "

"Thank you. I do not require it for eating purposes, " said Gessler. "Now, Tell, I have here an apple--a simple apple, not over-ripe. Ishould like to test that feat of yours. So take your bow--I see youhave it in your hand--and get ready to shoot. I am going to put thisapple on your son's head. He will be placed a hundred yards away fromyou, and if you do not hit the apple with your first shot your lifeshall pay forfeit. "

[Illustration: PLATE X]

And he regarded Tell with a look of malicious triumph. 

"Your Excellency, it cannot be!" cried Tell; "the thing is toomonstrous. Perhaps your Excellency is pleased to jest. You cannot bid afather shoot an apple from off his son's head! Consider, yourExcellency!"

"You shall shoot the apple from off the head of this boy, " said Gesslersternly. "I do not jest. That is my will. "

"Sooner would I die, " said Tell. 

"If you do not shoot you die with the boy. Come, come, Tell, why socautious? They always told me that you loved perilous enterprises, andyet when I give you one you complain. I could understand anybody elseshrinking from the feat. But you! Hitting apples at a hundred yards ischild's play to you. And what does it matter where the apple is--whetherit is on a tree or on a boy's head? It is an apple just the same. Proceed, Tell. "

The crowd, seeing a discussion going on, had left the edge of themeadow and clustered round to listen. A groan of dismay went up at theGovernor's words. 

"Down on your knees, boy, " whispered Rudolph der Harras to Walter--"downon your knees, and beg his Excellency for your life. "

"I won't!" said Walter stoutly. 

"Come, " said Gessler, "clear a path there--clear a path! Hurryyourselves. I won't have this loitering. Look you, Tell: attend to mefor a moment. I find you in the middle of this meadow deliberatelydefying my authority and making sport of my orders. I find you in theact of stirring up discontent among my people with speeches. I mighthave you executed without ceremony. But do I? No. Nobody shall say thatHermann Gessler the Governor is not kind-hearted. I say to myself, 'Iwill give this man one chance. ' I place your fate in your own skilfulhands. How can a man complain of harsh treatment when he is made masterof his own fate? Besides, I don't ask you to do anything difficult. Imerely hid you perform what must be to you a simple shot. You boast ofyour unerring aim. Now is the time to prove it. Clear the way there!"

Walter Fürst flung himself on his knees before the Governor. 

"Your Highness, " he cried, "none deny your power. Let it be mingledwith mercy. It is excellent, as an English poet will say in a fewhundred years, to have a giant's strength, but it is tyrannous touse it like a giant. Take the half of my possessions, but spare myson-in-law. "

But Walter Tell broke in impatiently, and bade his grandfather rise, and not kneel to the tyrant. 

"Where must I stand?" asked he. "I'm not afraid. Father can hit a birdupon the wing. "

"You see that lime-tree yonder, " said Gessler to his soldiers; "takethe boy and bind him to it. "

"I will not be bound!" cried Walter. "I am not afraid. I'll standstill. I won't breathe. If you bind me I'll kick!"

"Let us bind your eyes, at least, " said Rudolph der Harras. 

"Do you think I fear to see father shoot?" said Walter. "I won't stiran eyelash. Father, show the tyrant how you can shoot. He thinks you'regoing to miss. Isn't he an old donkey!"

"Very well, young man, " muttered Gessler, "we'll see who is laughingfive minutes from now. " And once more he bade the crowd stand back andleave a way clear for Tell to shoot. 

CHAPTER XII

The crowd fell back, leaving a lane down which Walter walked, carryingthe apple. There was dead silence as he passed. Then the people beganto whisper excitedly to one another. 

"Shall this be done before our eyes?" said Arnold of Melchthal toWerner Stauffacher. "Of what use was it that we swore an oath to rebelif we permit this? Let us rise and slay the tyrant. "

Werner Stauffacher, prudent man, scratched his chin thoughtfully. 

"We-e-ll, " he said, "you see, the difficulty is that we are not armedand the soldiers _are_. There is nothing I should enjoy more thanslaying the tyrant, only I have an idea that the tyrant would slay us. You see my point?"

"Why were we so slow!" groaned Arnold. "We should have risen before, and then this would never have happened. Who was it that advised us todelay?"

"We-e-ll, " said Stauffacher (who had himself advised delay), "I can'tquite remember at the moment, but I dare say you could find out bylooking up the minutes of our last meeting. I know the motion wascarried by a majority of two votes. See! Gessler grows impatient. "

Gessler, who had been fidgeting on his horse for some time, now spokeagain, urging Tell to hurry. 

"Begin!" he cried--"begin!"

"Immediately, " replied Tell, fitting the arrow to the string. 

Gessler began to mock him once more. 

"You see now, " he said, "the danger of carrying arms. I don't know ifyou have ever noticed it, but arrows very often recoil on the man whocarries them. The only man who has any business to possess a weapon isthe ruler of a country--myself, for instance. A low, common fellow--ifyou will excuse the description--like yourself only grows proud throughbeing armed, and so offends those above him. But, of course, it's nobusiness of mine. I am only telling you what I think about it. Personally, I like to encourage my subjects to shoot; that is why I amgiving you such a splendid mark to shoot at. You see, Tell?"

Tell did not reply. He raised his bow and pointed it. There was a stirof excitement in the crowd, more particularly in that part of the crowdwhich stood on his right, for, his hand trembling for the first time inhis life, Tell had pointed his arrow, not at his son, but straight intothe heart of the crowd. 

[Illustration: PLATE XI]

"Here! Hi! That's the wrong way! More to the left!" shouted the peoplein a panic, while Gessler roared with laughter, and bade Tell shoot andchance it. 

"If you can't hit the apple or your son, " he chuckled, "you can bringdown one of your dear fellow-countrymen. "

Tell lowered his bow, and a sigh of relief went through the crowd. 

"My eyes are swimming, " he said; "I cannot see. "

Then he turned to the Governor. 

"I cannot shoot, " he said; "bid your soldiers kill me. "

"No, " said Gessler--"no, Tell. That is not at all what I want. If I hadwished my soldiers to kill you, I should not have waited for a formalinvitation from you. I have no desire to see you slain. Not at present. I wish to see you shoot. Come, Tell, they say you can do everything, and are afraid of nothing. Only the other day, I hear, you carried aman, one Baumgartner--that was his name, I think--across a rough sea inan open boat. You may remember it? I particularly wished to catchBaumgartner, Tell. Now, this is a feat which calls for much lesscourage. Simply to shoot an apple off a boy's head. A child could doit. "

While he was speaking, Tell had been standing in silence, his handstrembling and his eyes fixed, sometimes on the Governor, sometimes onthe sky. He now seized his quiver, and taking from it a second arrow, placed it in his belt. Gessler watched him, but said nothing. 

"Shoot, father!" cried Walter from the other end of the lane; "I'm notafraid. "

Tell, calm again now, raised his bow and took a steady aim. Everybodycraned forward, the front ranks in vain telling those behind that therewas nothing to be gained by pushing. Gessler bent over his horse's neckand peered eagerly towards Walter. A great hush fell on all as Tellreleased the string. 

"Phut!" went the string, and the arrow rushed through the air. 

A moment's suspense, and then a terrific cheer rose from thespectators. 

[Illustration: PLATE XII]

The apple had leaped from Walter's head, pierced through the centre. 

CHAPTER XIII

Intense excitement instantly reigned. Their suspense over, the crowdcheered again and again, shook hands with one another, and flung theircaps into the air. Everyone was delighted, for everyone was fond ofTell and Walter. It also pleased them to see the Governor disappointed. He had had things his own way for so long that it was a pleasant changeto see him baffled in this manner. Not since Switzerland became anation had the meadow outside the city gates been the scene of suchrejoicings. 

Walter had picked up the apple with the arrow piercing it, and wasshowing it proudly to all his friends. 

"I told you so, " he kept saying; "I knew father wouldn't hurt me. Father's the best shot in all Switzerland. "

"That was indeed a shot!" exclaimed Ulric the smith; "it will ringthrough the ages. While the mountains stand will the tale of Tell thebowman be told. "

Rudolph der Harras took the apple from Walter and showed it to Gessler, who had been sitting transfixed on his horse. 

"See, " he said, "the arrow has passed through the very centre. It was amaster shot. "

"It was very nearly a 'Master Walter shot, '" said Rösselmann the priestseverely, fixing the Governor with a stern eye. 

Gessler made no answer. He sat looking moodily at Tell, who had droppedhis cross-bow and was standing motionless, still gazing in thedirection in which the arrow had sped. Nobody liked to be the first tospeak to him. 

"Well, " said Rudolph der Harras, breaking an awkward silence, "Isuppose it's all over now? May as well be moving, eh?"

He bit a large piece out of the apple, which he still held. Walteruttered a piercing scream as he saw the mouthful disappear. Up till nowhe had shown no signs of dismay, in spite of the peril which he had hadto face; but when he watched Rudolph eating the apple, which henaturally looked upon as his own property, he could not keep quiet anylonger. Rudolph handed him the apple with an apology, and he began tomunch it contentedly. 

"Come with me to your mother, my boy, " said Rösselmann. 

Walter took no notice, but went on eating the apple. 

Tell came to himself with a start, looked round for Walter, and beganto lead him away in the direction of his home, deaf to all the cheeringthat was going on around him. 

Gessler leaned forward in his saddle. 

"Tell, " he said, "a word with you. "

Tell came back. 

"Your Excellency?"

"Before you go I wish you to explain one thing. "

"A thousand, your Excellency. "

"No, only one. When you were getting ready to shoot at the apple youplaced an arrow in the string and a second arrow in your belt. "

"A second arrow!" Tell pretended to be very much astonished, but thepretence did not deceive the Governor. 

"Yes, a second arrow. Why was that? What did you intend to do with thatarrow, Tell?"

Tell looked down uneasily, and twisted his bow about in his hands. 

"My lord, " he said at last, "it is a bowman's custom. All archers placea second arrow in their belt. "

"No, Tell, " said Gessler, "I cannot take that answer as the truth. Iknow there was some other meaning in what you did. Tell me the reasonwithout concealment. Why was it? Your life is safe, whatever it was, sospeak out. Why did you take out that second arrow?"

Tell stopped fidgeting with his bow, and met the Governor's eye with asteady gaze. 

"Since you promise me my life, your Excellency, " he replied, drawinghimself up, "I will tell you. "

He drew the arrow from his belt and held it up. 

The crowd pressed forward, hanging on his words. 

"Had my first arrow, " said Tell slowly, "pierced my child and not theapple, this would have pierced you, my lord. Had I missed with my firstshot, be sure, my lord, that my second would have found its mark. "

A murmur of approval broke from the crowd as Tell thrust the arrow backinto the quiver and faced the Governor with folded arms and burningeyes. Gessler turned white with fury. 

"Seize that man!" he shouted. 

[Illustration: PLATE XIII]

"My lord, bethink you, " whispered Rudolph der Harras; "you promised himhis life. Tell, fly!" he cried. 

Tell did not move. 

"Seize that man and bind him, " roared Gessler once more. "If heresists, cut him down. "

"I shall not resist, " said Tell scornfully. "I should have known thefolly of trusting to a tyrant to keep his word. My death will at leastshow my countrymen the worth of their Governor's promises. "

"Not so, " replied Gessler; "no man shall say I ever broke my knightlyword. I promised you your life, and I will give you your life. But youare a dangerous man, Tell, and against such must I guard myself. Youhave told me your murderous purpose. I must look to it that thatpurpose is not fulfilled. Life I promised you, and life I will giveyou. But of freedom I said nothing. In my castle at Küssnacht there aredungeons where no ray of sun or moon ever falls. Chained hand and footin one of these, you will hardly aim your arrows at me. It is rash, Tell, to threaten those who have power over you. Soldiers, bind him andlead him to my ship. I will follow, and will myself conduct him toKüssnacht. "

The soldiers tied Tell's hands. He offered no resistance. And amidstthe groans of the people he was led away to the shore of the lake, where Gessler's ship lay at anchor. 

[Illustration: PLATE XIV]

"Our last chance is gone, " said the people to one another. "Where shallwe look now for a leader?"

CHAPTER XIV

The castle of Küssnacht lay on the opposite side of the lake, a mightymass of stone reared on a mightier crag rising sheer out of the waves, which boiled and foamed about its foot. Steep rocks of fantastic shapehemmed it in, and many were the vessels which perished on these, driventhither by the frequent storms that swept over the lake. 

Gessler and his men, Tell in their midst, bound and unarmed, embarkedearly in the afternoon at Flüelen, which was the name of the harbourwhere the Governor's ship had been moored. Flüelen was about two milesfrom Küssnacht. 

When they had arrived at the vessel they went on board, and Tell wasplaced at the bottom of the hold. It was pitch dark, and rats scamperedover his body as he lay. The ropes were cast off, the sails filled, andthe ship made her way across the lake, aided by a favouring breeze. 

A large number of the Swiss people had followed Tell and his captors tothe harbour, and stood gazing sorrowfully after the ship as itdiminished in the distance. There had been whispers of an attemptedrescue, but nobody had dared to begin it, and the whispers had led tonothing. Few of the people carried weapons, and the soldiers were cladin armour, and each bore a long pike or a sharp sword. As Arnold ofSewa would have said if he had been present, what the people wanted wasprudence. It was useless to attack men so thoroughly able to defendthemselves. 

Therefore the people looked on and groaned, but did nothing. 

For some time the ship sped easily on her way and through a calm sea. Tell lay below, listening to the trampling of the sailors overhead, asthey ran about the deck, and gave up all hope of ever seeing his homeand his friends again. 

But soon he began to notice that the ship was rolling and pitching morethan it had been doing at first, and it was not long before he realizedthat a very violent storm had begun. Storms sprung up very suddenly onthe lake, and made it unsafe for boats that attempted to cross it. Often the sea was quite unruffled at the beginning of the crossing, andwas rough enough at the end to wreck the largest ship. 

Tell welcomed the storm. He had no wish to live if life meant years ofimprisonment in a dark dungeon of Castle Küssnacht. Drowning would be apleasant fate compared with that. He lay at the bottom of the ship, hoping that the next wave would dash them on to a rock and send them tothe bottom of the lake. The tossing became worse and worse. 

Upon the deck Gessler was standing beside the helmsman, and gazinganxiously across the waters at the rocks that fringed the narrowentrance to the bay a few hundred yards to the east of CastleKüssnacht. This bay was the only spot for miles along the shore atwhich it was possible to land safely. For miles on either side thecoast was studded with great rocks, which would have dashed a ship topieces in a moment. It was to this bay that Gessler wished to directthe ship. But the helmsman told him that he could not make sure offinding the entrance, so great was the cloud of spray which covered it. A mistake would mean shipwreck. 

"My lord, " said the helmsman, "I haveneither strength nor skill to guide the helm. I do not know which wayto turn. "

"What are we to do?" asked Rudolph der Harras, who was standing near. 

The helmsman hesitated. Then he spoke, eyeing the Governor uneasily. 

"Tell could steer us through, " he said, "if your lordship would butgive him the helm. "

Gessler started. 

"Tell!" he muttered. "Tell!"

The ship drew nearer to the rocks. 

"Bring him here, " said Gessler. 

Two soldiers went down to the hold and released Tell. They bade him getup and come with them. Tell followed them on deck, and stood before theGovernor. 

"Tell, " said Gessler. 

Tell looked at him without speaking. 

"Take the helm, Tell, " said Gessler, "and steer the ship through thoserocks into the bay beyond, or instant death shall be your lot. "

Without a word Tell took the helmsman's place, peering keenly into thecloud of foam before him. To right and to left he turned the vessel'shead, and to right again, into the very heart of the spray. They wereright among the rocks now, but the ship did not strike on them. Quivering and pitching, she was hurried along, until of a sudden thespray-cloud was behind her, and in front the calm waters of the bay. 

Gessler beckoned to the helmsman. 

"Take the helm again, " he said. 

He pointed to Tell. 

"Bind him, " he said to the soldiers. 

The soldiers advanced slowly, for they were loath to bind the man whohad just saved them from destruction. But the Governor's orders must heobeyed, so they came towards Tell, carrying ropes with which to bindhim. 

Tell moved a step back. The ship was gliding past a lofty rock. It wassuch a rock as Tell had often climbed when hunting the chamois. Heacted with the quickness of the hunter. Snatching up the bow and quiverwhich lay on the deck, he sprang on to the bulwark of the vessel, and, with a mighty leap, gained the rock. Another instant, and he was out ofreach. 

Gessler roared to his bowmen. 

"Shoot! shoot!" he cried. 

The bowmen hastily fitted arrow to string. They were too late. Tell wasready before them. There was a hiss as the shaft rushed through theair, and the next moment Gessler the Governor fell dead on the deck, pierced through the heart. 

Tell's second arrow had found its mark, as his first had done. 

[Illustration: PLATE XV]

CHAPTER XV

There is not much more of the story of William Tell. The death ofGessler was a signal to the Swiss to rise in revolt, and soon the wholecountry was up in arms against the Austrians. It had been chiefly thefear of the Governor that had prevented a rising before. It had beenbrewing for a long time. The people had been bound by a solemn oath todrive the enemy out of the country. All through Switzerlandpreparations for a revolution were going on, and nobles and peasantshad united. 

Directly the news arrived that the Governor was slain, meetings of thepeople were held in every town in Switzerland, and it was resolved tobegin the revolution without delay. All the fortresses that Gessler hadbuilt during his years of rule were carried by assault on the samenight. The last to fall was one which had only been begun a short timeback, and the people who had been forced to help to build it spent avery pleasant hour pulling down the stones which had cost them suchlabour to put in their place. Even the children helped. It was a greattreat to them to break what they pleased without being told not to. 

"See, " said Tell, as he watched them, "in years to come, when thesesame children are gray-haired, they will remember this night as freshlyas they will remember it to-morrow. "

A number of people rushed up, bearing the pole which Gessler's soldiershad set up in the meadow. The hat was still on top of it, nailed to thewood by Tell's arrow. 

"Here's the hat!" shouted Ruodi--"the hat to which we were to bow!"

"What shall we do with it?" cried several voices. 

"Destroy it! Burn it!" said others. "To the flames with this emblem oftyranny!"

But Tell stopped them. 

"Let us preserve it, " he said. "Gessler set it up to be a meansof enslaving the country; we will set it up as a memorial of ournewly-gained liberty. Nobly is fulfilled the oath we swore to drivethe tyrants from our land. Let the pole mark the spot where therevolution finished. "

"But _is_ it finished?" said Arnold of Melchthal. "It is a nicepoint. When the Emperor of Austria hears that we have killed his friendGessler, and burnt down all his fine new fortresses, will he not comehere to seek revenge?"

"He will, " said Tell. "And let him come. And let him bring all hismighty armies. We have driven out the enemy that was in our land. Wewill meet and drive away the enemy that comes from another country. Switzerland is not easy to attack. There are but a few mountain passesby which the foe can approach. We will stop these with our bodies. Andone great strength we have: we are united. And united we need fear nofoe. "

"Hurrah!" shouted everybody. 

"But who is this that approaches?" said Tell. "He seems excited. Perhaps he brings news. "

It was Rösselmann the pastor, and he brought stirring news. 

"These are strange times in which we live, " said Rösselmann, coming up. 

"Why, what has happened?" cried everybody. 

"Listen, and be amazed. "

"Why, what's the matter?"

"The Emperor----"

"Yes?"

"The Emperor is dead. "

"What! dead?"

"Dead!"

"Impossible! How came you by the news?"

"John Müller of Schaffhausen brought it. And he is a truthful man. "

"But how did it happen?"

"As the Emperor rode from Stein to Baden the lords of Eschenbach andTegerfelden, jealous, it is said, of his power, fell upon him withtheir spears. His bodyguard were on the other side of a stream--theEmperor had just crossed it--and could not come to his assistance. Hedied instantly. "

By the death of the Emperor the revolution in Switzerland was enabledto proceed without check. The successor of the Emperor had too much todo in defending himself against the slayers of his father to think ofattacking the Swiss, and by the time he was at leisure they were toostrong to be attacked. So the Swiss became free. 

As for William Tell, he retired to his home, and lived there veryhappily ever afterwards with his wife and his two sons, who in a fewyears became very nearly as skilful in the use of the cross-bow astheir father. 

EPILOGUE. 

 Some say the tale related here Is amplified and twisted; Some say it isn't very clear That William Tell existed; Some say he freed his country _so_, The Governor demolished. Perhaps he did. I only know That taxes aren't abolished!

 * * * * *

[The Illustrations and accompanying descriptive verses]

[PROLOGUE. ]

 The Swiss, against their Austrian foes, Had ne'er a soul to lead 'em, Till Tell, as you've heard tell, arose And guided them to freedom. Tell's tale we tell again--an act For which pray no one scold us-- This tale of Tell we tell, in fact, As this Tell tale was told us. 

PLATE I. 

 Beneath a tyrant foreign yoke, How love of freedom waxes! (Especially when foreign folk Come round collecting taxes. ) The Swiss, held down by Gessler's fist, Would fain have used evasion; Yet none there seemed who could resist His methods of persuasion. 

[Illustration: GESSLER'S METHODS OF PERSUASION]

PLATE II. 

 And pride so filled this Gessler's soul (A monarch's pride outclassing), He stuck his hat up on a pole, That all might bow in passing. Then rose the patriot, William Tell-- "We've groaned 'neath Austria's sway first; Must we be ruled by poles as well? I've just a word to say first!"

[Illustration: THEY WOULD MARCH ABOUT, BEATING TIN CANS AND SHOUTING]

PLATE III. 

 The crowd about the pole at morn Used various "persuaders"-- They flung old cans (to prove their scorn Of all tin-pot invaders); And cabbage-stumps were freely dealt, And apples (inexpensive), And rotten eggs (to show they felt A foreign yoke offensive). 

[Illustration: AN EGG FLEW ACROSS THE MEADOW, AND BURST OVER LEUTHOLD'SSHOULDER]

PLATE IV. 

 Said William Tell, "And has this cuss For conquest such a passion He needs must set his cap at us In this exalted fashion?" And then the people gave a cry, 'Twixt joy and apprehension, To see him pass the symbol by With studied inattention!

[Illustration: "HERE! HI!" SHOUTED THE SOLDIERS, "STOP!"]

PLATE V. 

 At first the sentinel, aghast, Glared like an angry dumb thing; Then "Hi!" he shouted, "not so fast, You're overlooking something!" The sturdy Tell made no response; Then through the hills resounded A mighty thwack upon his sconce-- The people were astounded. 

[Illustration: THEY SAW FRIESSHARDT RAISE HIS PIKE, AND BRING IT DOWNWITH ALL HIS FORCE ON TELL'S HEAD]

PLATE VI. 

 Could Tell an insult such as this Ignore or pass? I doubt it! No, no; that patriotic Swiss Was very cross about it. The people, interested now, Exclaimed, "Here! Stop a minute If there's to be a jolly row, By Jingo! we'll be in it!"

[Illustration: "LOOK HERE!" HE BEGAN. "LOOK THERE!" SAID FRIESSHARDT]

PLATE VII. 

 Said Tell, "This satrap of the Duke Is sore in need of gumption; With my good bow I will rebuke Such arrow-gant presumption. " "Stand back!" the soldier says, says he; "This roughness is unseemly!" The people cried, "We _will_ be FREE!" And so they were--extremely!

[Illustration: FRIESSHARDT RUSHED TO STOP HIM]

PLATE VIII. 

 They dealt that soldier thump on thump (He hadn't any notion, When on Tell's head he raised that bump, Of raising this commotion); Tell's arrow sped, the people crowed, And loudly cheered his action; While Tell's expressive features showed A certain satisfaction. 

[Illustration: THE CROWD DANCED AND SHOUTED]

PLATE IX. 

 Now, when the cat's away, the mice Are very enterprising, But cats return, and, in a trice-- Well, Gessler nipped that rising. And when those soldiers lodged complaint (Which truly didn't lack ground), The people practised self-restraint And fell into the background. 

[Illustration: "COME, COME, COME!" SAID GESSLER, "TELL ME ALL ABOUTIT"]

PLATE X. 

 And Tell, before the tyrant hailed, No patriot you'd have guessed him, For even his stout bosom quailed When Gessler thus addressed him:-- "As you're the crack shot of these Swiss (I've often heard it said so), Suppose you take a shot at this, Placed on your youngster's head--so!"

[Illustration: "I HAVE HERE AN APPLE"]

PLATE XI. 

 "The bearing, " as they say, "of that Lay in the apple-cation, " And nobody will wonder at A parent's agitation; That anguish filled Tell's bosom proud Needs scarcely to be stated, And, it will be observed, the crowd Was also agitated. 

[Illustration: THERE WAS A STIR OF EXCITEMENT IN THE CROWD]

PLATE XII. 

 Said Gessler, "This is all my eye! Come, hurry up and _buck_ up! Remember, if you miss, you die-- That ought to keep your pluck up. The flying arrow may, no doubt, Your offspring's bosom enter--" But here there rose a mighty shout: "By George! He's scored a centre!"

[Illustration: A MOMENT'S SUSPENSE, AND THEN A TERRIFIC CHEER AROSEFROM THE SPECTATORS]

PLATE XIII. 

 But, as the arrow cleft the core, Cried G. With indignation, "What was the second arrow for? Come, no e-quiver-cation! You had a second in your fist. " Said Tell, the missile grippin', "This shaft (had I that apple missed) Was meant for you, my pippin!"

[Illustration: "SEIZE THAT MAN!" HE SHOUTED]

PLATE XIV. 

 With rage the tyrant said, said he, "It's time to stop this prating; I find your style of repartee Extremely irritating. You'll hang for this, be pleased to note. " On this they bound and gagged him (For Gessler's castle booked by boat), And through the village dragged him. 

[Illustration: HE WAS LED AWAY TO THE SHORE OF THE LAKE]

PLATE XV. 

 But slips between the cup and lip, When least expected, peer through-- A storm arose upon the trip Which Tell alone could steer through. Thus, of all hands he quickly got (As you may see) the upper, At Gessler took a parting shot, And hurried home to supper. 

[Illustration: TELL'S SECOND ARROW HAD FOUND ITS MARK]

EPILOGUE. 

 Some say the tale related here Is amplified and twisted; Some say it isn't very clear That William Tell existed; Some say he freed his country <i>so</i>, The Governor demolished. Perhaps he did. I only know That taxes aren't abolished!