The morning call., 1891-02-15

bdIbc Vi tue StlueIs dS well dS tut correct resi-
oence. Any inquiry that has not The
rect name and address of the sender will
be treated as If 1t was not signed, and the
writer need not expect an answer.
WILLIAM TELL-D. Nee, Grays Harbor.
Wash. The story of William Tells skill in
shooting at and striking the apple, which
had been placed on the head of his little son
by order of Gessler, the tyranncal Austrian
bailiff Of Uri, is indeed closely bound up
with the legendary history of the Swiss Con-
federation. Both appear first in the ff-
teenth century and the Tell story is first
found in ballad, the first nine verses of
which containing the story we're certainly
written before 1874; but no mention is made
OF the names Of the bailff, or of his master,
or Of the hat placed on pole. Various YER
sions appeared thereafter until 1896, when
Tschudi, from whom all later Swiss writers
have drawn their information, undertook to
fill up gaps. smooth away Inconsistencies
and rounded off the tale, but brought in
many real historical names, whose owners
were made to perform historically impossi-
Bile acts, and introduced many small addi-
tions and connections into the story as he
had received it, speaking OF the bailiff as
Gryssler, and finally as GeSsler, knowing
that this was n real name. The story was
regarded, on the ground of want of evidence,
as suspicious by Guillim an in 1907 and by
DINERS in the meantime, and up to 1760 when
the legend was definitely attacked on the
ground OF It's similarity to the story of
okko, IN an anonymous pamphlet by Freu-
GenDerger, BeTnese pastor. This caused a
great Sur, ana u was burned publicly by or
der OF the Government Of Uri and MANY
more or less forged proofs and documents
were produced In favor of Tell. The re-
searches Of j. L. KOpp documents for the
History OF the Federal Alliance, 1885 and
1851, and his history, part ii, 1S4T frst
cleared up the real early history of the
league and overthrow the legends of the
White Book of Sarnen "a short MS. written
between 146I and 1876 probably about 1870
and based on oral tradition) and of Tschudi
Since then many writers have worked in
carefully traced the successive steps in
the growth of the legend, and il. /.
RochholZ $50 has worked out the
real history of Gessler as shown in
authentic documents. and demonstrating
that no member of the family ever played
the part attributed to the bailiff in the
legend, or could have done so, and that the
Gesslers could not have owned or dwelt at
the castle Of Kussnacht. nor could they
have been called Won Bruneck. The gen
eIa result of investigation has been 10 show
lhat NEUROLOGICAL nafkSman and an .inl-
possible Dalllh bearing tile name of real
family have been joined with confused and
distorted "reminiscences of the events of
Iz43-41, in which tie names of many
Ieal persons have been inserted and
many unauthenticated acts attributed
20 them Besides the story of the
skIulul niarksman, who succeeds in striking
some small object ON the head of man or
ciild, Is very widely spread, and is found
IN Denmark Crokko), Norway 1.-TWO YER
slonsl Iceland, Holstein, on the Rhine and
in England civilian of Cloudeslev) How
1t came to be localized in Ur is not known;