The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-29
bI JOHANN (HR6TOPA FRIfDRN S(HILLER

toriceI .Assi ochuiet nnest work. His- Se..i voSai research has failed to find any h hesuge of a real Wilhelm Tell. and r1s was practically proved that there never record 5uce ce persdnage. There is no E1o or any Austrian prefect named tha hsieP; The oath Of the patriots on tne hutli is purely imaginary Yet t h the minds of the great majority of tne ordinarily informed people of ali nations these wonderful characters and scenes characterize Swiss history and codoT all their ideas of the Swiss for
 The. actual history of switzerland,s early battle for liberty is little known. We nave more exact knowledge about s sne Greeks and Romans than about the centuries. The intricate tangie of in- trigue and war between rival empires. war between church and state. inter foT inSrt ad the So1stsnt strife against all these influences at times ana at other times acted with some against the rest, make 1t impossible to follow the historical threads. Added to this there Is mass of legend and wonderfully .circumstantiaI but appar- ensly quite baseless, tradition.
 So 1t is likely that the world at large win continue to gain It's idea- and very just ohe--of the Swiss char acter and history from SchilIer's po- etical vision rather than from exact history. 7'I7'
 With mighty thunder the great foehn-wind burst on the blue Lake of Lucerne The mountain storm. gray and unearthly, Tapped down the snow clad prectpices. Cold as breath from the grave came the first heavy blasts from the dim Weather Hole among the clouds.
 A Swiss fisher, cowherd and a cha nois hunter lay in the shelter of jut- ting crag and watched the mounting sea. Suddenly the branches above par rfN nd among them--a breathless. frantic man.
 "A boat 4 boati" he cried. "Cast off! Cast off! Save me from death! The prefect's riders are close at my heelsY'
 ''Konrad Baumgartenr' exclaimed the hunter. "Konrad, there is blood on youl"
 Save me first. then will answer you" said Baumgarten. "Cast of, if you love God! The Emperor's castel- Ian. he who sat in Rossberg--"
 "Woifenschissen." said the cowherd. "Is he after you?'
 He is not after me. for have kill ed him. said Baumgarten. The rest stepped backward. Heaven save youl What have you done?"
 T have done." said Baumgarten, for getting his extremity for the moment and looking at the rest proudly and dehantly, what every free man in my place would do. The castellan assail- ed the honor of my home. My wife es- capped from him and ran to me where I was felling trees. I went straight to my house and found him there. and with my Rx struck the villain dead -
 Now has the tyrant received his proper reward" said the cowherd .-s Long has he deserved 1t from the folk of Unterwalden. Hurry. Fisher Ruodi and save this man"
 T cannot ereaned Ruodi. Took at that seaf what human hand can steer against itT' .1
 Baumgarten fell at his feet and eni- braced his Knees. Have pity on me. pity hunted man." said he. i
 Ruodi pointed to the water. White combers gIeamed like phantoms through the daytime darkness of the spinning toward the rocks and disap- peared again to give place to others. Tt cannot be done" said he.
 Baumgarten looked despairlngly to- ward Heaven. His eyes fell on a man. tall. sturdy. bearded, with a crossbow on his shoulder, who leaped for the shelter of the rock.
 What is this7' cried the newcomer. ''Who Is this that implores help?'
 "A man of Alzell," replied the hunt er He defended his honor and killed | the Wolfensciesen. The prefect's ar- mored men are after him. And now no man may cross the angry lake.
 You know the water and can han de boats yourself, Wilhelm Tell" said the fisherman. Speak! Can human strength beat through that stormy sea?'
 Try iti" said Tell where need Is everything should be dared"
 ''No man in his senses would throw himself into the jaw of he'll" said the | fisherman.
 This man must be saved" exclaim. | ed Tell Give me Vour boat"'
 With a mighty shove he drove the 1 craft into the flashing sea that tried | loomed black in the creaming white | of the surface; then 1t disappeared in | the Wind-SWept and ghrouded waters |
 The men on shore were still strain. | ing their eyes to catch another glimpse | of the struggling craft. when hoofs | and a troop of the Emperor's riders | slattered to the shore. The murder err" yelled the leader. ''The murderer | Give him up!'
 Receiving no reply they leaped from their horses and searched the rocks Then one discovered that the boat was gone. You have helped him otf," said the leader. You shall repent 1t! Fall on the herds. men! Burn the hut. pull down and destroyr
 More savage, more fatal than the storm, the mercenaries rode through the herd, spearing, sabring and smit- ing down cattle and sheep, while the l cowherd, sinking to his knees and wringing his hands. stared at the sky and moaned: Justice of Heaven | when will the savior come to aid our landT
 Meantime Baumgarten and Tell wrestled with the mountain lake. IT was well that the hand that held the sweep was the hand of one of the strongest men of Switzerland and that the eye that peered ahead through the driving mist and spray was the eye of the best shot. No other could have taken a boat across the enraged and risen sea that day; and when they landed at last in the village of Steinen in the Canton in Schwytz, they were greeted as men from the grave.
 Baumgarten was hidden at once by the men of Schwytz. for they were suffering from the prefect whom the Austrian Emperor had put over them just as were the men of Tells canton of Uri. Werner Stauffacher the lead- CT of the canton and it's richest man, had long been thinking of fomenting an uprising; and his wife. true Swiss woman, encouraged him, saying that even If all their wealth were swept away and they should become fugi- lives in the mountains in the event of failure. she would rather die from hunger and want among the hills than live amid plenty and comfort in