The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-07-06

hood. GOOD OLD MOtHeF Ahln came 10
see me and to comfort me in my sick
ness. She has had her share of trouble,
but is always bright and cheerful and
brings sunshine with her. Somehow the
story of William Tell came up, and when
] remarked that it was now generally set
down among the critics as myth or a
pretty fable she said ''she would not read
any such heartless scandals nor did she
believe them. The world is full of these
iconoelasts who would break up every
idol that we have worshiped. The story
os William Tell is one that is fit to be
believed and handed down from genera
tiDn to generation. Voltaire started that
fable theory because he did not like the
Swiss. Many hooks have been written on
both sides, but the old family traditions
that have come down to us for 600 years
are still as much the faith of the Swiss
people as is their religion. William Tell
is as much today their national hero
and the founder of their republic as
Washington is of ours and the little
chapel on the lake where he was drowned
is still preserved to commemorate him."
Well whether it is fact or fable
it is one of the prettiest stories ever
told and ought to be- repeated to the
children of every household 1t was in
the fourteenth century when Austria had
overridden and conquered Switzerland and
had stationed her tyrant bailiff in every
canton to subdue and humble the people
that one Gessler placed the ducal cap
upon pole in the public place and order
cd every one who passed to uncover his
head and bow to it. Tell refused and
was seized and condemned to death, but
as he was known to be the best bowman
in Switzerland he was offered the alter
native of shooting an apple from his
sons head. The boy was his idol and he
begged for some other alternative, but
Gessler refused Sixty yards was meas
ured off, the boy stationed and the apple
placed. Gessler and his cohorts looked
on while Tell bowed his knees in prayer.
Rising he looked to heaven and then let
fly the arrow and pierced the apple in
its center. The boy ran to his father
and leaped into his arms, and another
arrow that had been concealed fell upon
the ground. what was that arrow for?"
said Gessler. ITO shoot you, you brute
had I slain my son." For that he was
condemned to prison and Gessler took
IL
storm came up and Tell was unclaimed
to steer the boat He made for the
shore, leaped to a rock and with a pole
showed the boat back into the stormy
waters. Hurrying along the lake he
procured a bow and arrows from d coun-
tryman and shot Gessler as the boat
passed. TELLS Leap and TELLS Rock
are still known to every child in Switz-
erland. Later on he lost his life while
saving a lad from drowning What is
about this story? We had
a Gessler in Rome at the close of the
civil war. His name was de la Mesa, a
Spaniard who came over to fight for pay |
He did not hoist the duca1 cap, but he
stretched the flag over the sidewalk and
our female Tells (some of whom are liv- |
ing yeti would not walk under it, but |
crossed over to the other side. Then |
he stretched another across the whole |
street and they walked around the block |
II was not SO much of disrespect TO the |
flag as it was contempt for the foreign
or who unfurled it, He refused to let |
our wives and daughters receive or mail |
letters unless they came before him and
took an ironclad oath of allegiance. He
had ten of our young men and several
young ladies arrested for acting a tab
leau to raise little money to replace
pews in the churches. The pews had all
been taken out and made into troughs
to feed their horses in. He was fore
warned that night by a negro that if he |
didn't release those girls he would be |
killed before morning, and he would have |
been. Yes, Leopard Spots were all |
around here just as they were in North |
Carolina We had Gesslers and we had |
Tells, TOO.
But 1 was Illuminating about Swtzer- |
land, that historical and wonderful coun- |
try. Now. children and young people, |
listen. 1t is only a little scrap of a |
about one-fourth the size of
Georgia, and nearly half of that is taken |
up by lakes and mountains. The most
beautiful lakes in the world. Lake Lu-
cerne Chats Tell's); Lake Geneva Chats /
Calvins) Lake Wenner and Wetter-
and just think of the grand old noun
tains-the Alps and the Jura and the :
Jungfrau. Think of the hospice of the |
good st. Bernard, where they kept that
fine breed of dogs who were trained to
go out in the most fearful snow storms
in search of lost travellers and carry
food and wine to them and bring them
|
books had picture of two of these noble
dogs digging in the snow for a man
and feeding him almost dead. One of
the dogs had bottle strapped around
his neck and the other a basket of food
In another picture a little boy was on
a dogs back and his arms around his
neck and the dog was barking at the
door of the hospice for admission. Those
pictures and the stories about them were
as dear to me as the story of William
Tell.
But think of little Switzerland, with
its population of three million people
and all at work except the babies. About
half are shepherds and herdsmen on the
mountain slopes and benches, raising
sheep ard mich cows, and in the year
1900 they sold over ten million dollars
worth of butter and cheese, Down in
the valleys and around the lakes are
many towns and little cities that hum
like bee hives, for nimble fingers are
making watches, jewelry, hair work
lace. silk and cotton fabrics as fine as
gossamer and hundreds of other little
things which, taken all together, make
the commerce of that little water COW