 | Wilhelm Tell |  |
ACT I.
Scene I.
A high rocky shore of the lake of Lucerne opposite Schwytz. The lake makes a bend into the land; a hut slands at a short distance from the shore; the fisher-boy is rowing about in his boat. Beyond the lake are seen the green meadows, the hamlets and farms of Schwytz, lying in the clear sunshine. On the left are observed the peaks of the Hacken, surrounded with clouds; to the right, and in the remote distance, appear the Glaciers. The Ranz des Vaches, and the tinkling of cattle bells, continue for some time after the rising of the curtain.
FISHER BOY
(sings in his boat).
Melody of the Ranz des Vaches.
The clear smiling lake wooed to bathe in its deep,
A boy on its green shore had laid him to sleep;
Then heard he a melody
Flowing and soft,
And sweet, as when angels
Are singing aloft.
And as thrilling with pleasure he wakes from his rest.
The waters are murmuring over his breast;
And a voice from the deep cries,
“With me thou must go,
I charm the young shepherd,
I lure him below.”
HERDSMAN
(on the mountains).
Air.—Variation of the Ranz des Vaches.
Farewell, ye green meadows,
Farewell, sunny shore,
The herdsman must leave you,
The summer is o'er.
We go to the hills, but you'll see us again,
When the cuckoo is calling, and woodnotes are gay,
When flow'rets are blooming in dingle and plain,
And the brooks sparkle up in the sunshine of May,
Farewell, ye green meadows,
Farewell, sunny shore,
The herdsman must leave you,
The summer is o'er.
CHAIMOS HUNTER
(appearing on the top of a cliff).
Second Variation of the Ranz des Vaches.
On the heights peals the thunder, and trembles the bridge,
The huntsman bounds on by the dizzying ridge.
Undaunted he hies him
O'er ice-covered wild,
Where leaf never budded,
Nor Spring ever smiled;
And beneath him an ocean of mist, where his eye
No longer the dwellings of man can espy;
Through the parting clouds only
The earth can be seen,
Far down 'neath the vapor
The meadows of green.
[A change comes over the landscape. A
rumbling, cracking noise is heard among
the mountains. Shadows of clouds sweep
across the scene.
(sings in his boat).
Melody of the Ranz des Vaches.
The clear smiling lake wooed to bathe in its deep,
A boy on its green shore had laid him to sleep;
Then heard he a melody
Flowing and soft,
And sweet, as when angels
Are singing aloft.
And as thrilling with pleasure he wakes from his rest.
The waters are murmuring over his breast;
And a voice from the deep cries,
“With me thou must go,
I charm the young shepherd,
I lure him below.”
HERDSMAN
(on the mountains).
Air.—Variation of the Ranz des Vaches.
Farewell, ye green meadows,
Farewell, sunny shore,
The herdsman must leave you,
The summer is o'er.
We go to the hills, but you'll see us again,
When the cuckoo is calling, and woodnotes are gay,
When flow'rets are blooming in dingle and plain,
And the brooks sparkle up in the sunshine of May,
Farewell, ye green meadows,
Farewell, sunny shore,
The herdsman must leave you,
The summer is o'er.
CHAIMOS HUNTER
(appearing on the top of a cliff).
Second Variation of the Ranz des Vaches.
On the heights peals the thunder, and trembles the bridge,
The huntsman bounds on by the dizzying ridge.
Undaunted he hies him
O'er ice-covered wild,
Where leaf never budded,
Nor Spring ever smiled;
And beneath him an ocean of mist, where his eye
No longer the dwellings of man can espy;
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The earth can be seen,
Far down 'neath the vapor
The meadows of green.
Ruodi, the fisherman, comes out of his cottage. Werni, the huntsman, descends from the rocks. Kuoni, the shepherd, enters, with a milkpail on his shoulders, followed by Seppi, his assistant.]
RUONI.
Bestir thee, Jenni, haul the boat on shore.
The grizzly Vale-King comes, the Glaciers moan,
The lofty Mytenstein draws on his hood,
And from the Stormcleft chilly blows the wind;
The storm will burst, before we are prepared.
KUONI.
'Twill rain ere long; my sheep browse eagerly,
And Watcher there is scraping up the earth.
WERNI.
The fish are leaping, and the water-hen
Dives up and down. A storm is coming on.
KUONI
(to his boy).
Look, Seppi, if the cattle are not straying.
SEPPI.
There goes brown Liesel, I can hear her bells.
KUONI.
Then all are safe; she ever ranges furthest.
RUODI.
You've a fine yoke of bells there, master herdsman.
WERNI.
And likely cattle, too. Are they your own?
KUONI.
I'm not so rich. They are the noble lord's
Of Attinghaus, and trusted to my care.
RUODI.
How gracefully yon heifer bears her ribbon!
KUONI.
Ay, well she knows she's leader of the herd.
And, take it from her, she'd refuse to feed.
RUODI.
You're joking now. A beast devoid of reason—
WERNI.
That's easy said. But beasts have reason, too,—
And that we know, we men that hunt the chamois:
They never turn to feed—sagacious creatures!
Till they have placed a sentinel ahead,
Who pricks his ears whenever we approach,
And gives alarm with clear and piercing pipe.
RUODI
(to the shepherd).
Are you for home?
KUONI.
The Alp is grazed quite bare.
WERNI.
A safe return, my friend!
KUONI.
The same to you!
Men come not always back from tracks like yours.
RUODI.
But who comes here, running at topmost speed?
WERNI.
I know the man; 'tis Baumgart of Alzellen.
CONRAD BAUMGARTEN
(rushing in breathless).
For God's sake, ferryman, your boat!
RUODI.
How now?
Why all this haste?
BAUMGARTEN.
Cast off! My life's at stake
Set me across!
KUONI.
Why, what's the matter, friend?
WERNI.
Who are pursuing you? First tell us that.
BAUMGARTEN
(to the fisherman).
Quick, quick, e'en now they're close upon my heels!
The Viceroy's horsemen are in hot pursuit!
I'm a lost man, should they lay hands upon me.
RUODI.
Why are the troopers in pursuit of you?
BAUMGARTEN.
First save my life, and then I'll tell you all.
WERNI.
There's blood upon your garments—how is this?
BAUMGARTEN.
The imperial Seneschal, who dwelt at Rossberg—
KUONI.
How! What! The Wolfshot? Is it he pursues you?
BAUMGARTEN.
He'll ne'er hurt man again; I've settled him.
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(starting back).
Now, God forgive you, what is this you've done.
BAUMGARTEN.
What every free man in my place had done.
I have but used mine own good household right
'Gainst him that would have wronged my wife—my honor.
KUONI.
And has he wronged you in your honor, then?
BAUMGARTEN.
That he did not fulfill his foul desire,
Is due to God and to my trusty ax.
WERNI.
You've cleft his scull then, have you, with your ax?
KUONI.
O, tell us all! You've time enough, before
The boat can be unfastened from its moorings.
BAUMGARTEN.
When I was in the forest felling timber,
My wife came running out in mortal fear.
“The Seneschal,” she said, “was in my house,
Had ordered her to get a bath prepared,
And thereupon had ta'en unseemly freedoms,
From which she rid herself, and flew to me.”
Armed as I was, I sought him, and my ax
Has given his bath a bloody benediction.
WERNI.
And you did well; no man can blame the deed.
KUONI.
The tyrant! Now he has his just reward!
We men of Unterwald have owed it long.
BAUMGARTEN.
The deed got wind, and now they're in pursuit.
Heavens! whilst we speak, the time is flying fast.
[It begins to thunder.
KUONI.
Quick, ferryman, and set the good man over.
RUODI.
Impossible! as a storm is close at hand,
Wait till it pass! You must.
BAUMGARTEN.
Almighty heavens!
I cannot wait; the least delay is death.
KUONI
(to the fisherman).
Push out—God with you! We should help our neighbors;
The like misfortune may betide us all.
[Thunder and the roaring of the wind.
RUODI.
The South-wind's up! See how the lake is rising!
I cannot steer against both storm and wave.
BAUMGARTEN
(clasping him by the knees).
God so help you, as now you pity me!
WERNI.
His life's at stake. Have pity on him, man!
KUONI.
He is a father: has a wife and children.
[Repeated peals of thunder.
RUODI.
What! and have I not, then, a life to lose,
A wife and child at home as well as he?
See, how the breakers foam, and toss, and whirl,
And the lake eddies up from all its depths!
Right gladly would I save the worthy man,
But 'tis impossible, as you must see.
BAUMGARTEN
(still kneeling)
Then must I fall into the tyrant's hands.
And with the port of safety close in sight!
Yonder it lies! My eyes can measure it,
My very voice can echo to its shores.
There is the boat to carry me across,
Yet must I lie here helpless and forlorn.
KUONI.
Look! who comes here?
RUODI.
'Tis Tell, Brave Tell, of Bürglen .
[Enter Tell with a crossbow.
TELL.
Who is the man that here implores for aid?
KUONI.
He is from Alzellen, and to guard his honor
From touch of foulest shame, has slain the Wolfshot,
The Imperial Seneschal, who dwelt at Rossberg.
The Viceroy's troopers are upon his heels;
He begs the boatman here to take him over,
But he, in terror of the storm, refuses.
RUODI.
Well, there is Tell can steer as well as I,
He'll be my judge, if it be possible.
[Violent peals of thunder—the lake becomes more tempestuous.
Am I to plunge into the jaws of hell?
I should be mad to dare the desperate act.
TELL.
The brave man thinks upon himself the last.
Put trust in God, and help him in his need!
RUODI.
Safe in the port, 'tis easy to advise.
There is the boat, and there the lake! Try you!
TELL.
The lake may pity, but the Viceroy will not.
Come, venture, man!
SHEPHERD and HUNTSMAN.
O save him! save him! save him!
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Though 'twere my brother, or my darling child,
I would not go. It is St. Simon's day,
The lake is up, and calling for its victim.
TELL.
Nought's to be done with idle talking here.
Time presses on—the man must be assisted.
Say, boatman, will you venture?
RUODI.
No; not I.
TELL.
In God's name, then, give me the boat! I will,
With my poor strength, see what is to be done!
KUONI.
Ha, noble Tell!
WERNI.
That's like the gallant huntsman!
BAUMGARTEN.
You are my angel, my preserver, Tell.
TELL.
I may preserve you from the Viceroy's power,
But from the tempest's rage another must.
Yet you had better fall into God's hands,
Then into those of men.
[To the Herdsman.
Herdsman, do thou
Console my wife, should aught of ill befall me.
I do but what I may not leave undone.
[He leaps into the boat.
KUONI
(to the Fisherman).
A pretty man to be a boatman, truly!
What Tell could risk, you dared not venture on.
KUONI.
Far better men than I would not ape Tell.
There does not live his fellow 'mong the mountains.
WERNI
(who has ascended a rock).
He pushes off. God help thee now, brave sailor!
Look how his bark is reeling on the waves!
KUONI
(on the shore).
The surge has swept clean over it. And now
'Tis out of sight. Yet stay, there 'tis again!
Stoutly he stems the breakers, noble fellow!
SEPPI.
Here come the troopers as hard as they can ride!
KUONI.
Heavens! so they do! Why, that was help, indeed.
[Enter a troop of Horsemen.
FIRST HORSEMAN.
Give up the murderer! You have him here!
SECOND HORSEMAN.
This way he came! 'Tis useless to conceal him!
RUODI and KUONI.
Whom do you mean?
FIRST HORSEMAN
(discovering the boat).
The devil! What do I see?
WERNI
(from above).
Is't he in yonder boat ye seek? Ride on,
If you lay to, you may o'ertake him yet.
SECOND HORSEMAN.
Curse on you, he's escaped!
FIRST HORSEMAN
(to the Shepherd and Fisherman).
You helped him off,
And you shall pay for it. Fall on their herds!
Down with the cottage! burn it! beat it down!
[They rush off.
SEPPI
(hurrying after them).
Oh, my poor lambs!
KUONI
(following him).
Unhappy me, my herds!
WERNI.
The tyrants!
RUODI
(wringing his hands).
Righteous Heaven! Oh, when will come
Deliverance to this devoted land?
[Exeunt severally.
The German is, Thalvogt, Ruler of the Valley—the name given figuratively to a dense gray mist which the south wind sweeps into the valleys from the mountain tops. It is well known as the precursor of stormy weather.
In German, Wolfenschiessen—a young man of noble family, and a native of Unterwalden, who attached himself to the House of Austria, and was appointed Burgvogt, or Seneschal, of the Castle of Rossberg. He was killed by Baumgarten in the manner, and for the cause, mentioned in the text.
Literally, the Föhn is loose! “When,” says Müller, is his History of Switzerland, “the wind called the Föhn is high, the navigation of the lake becomes extremely dangerous. Such is its vehemence, that the laws of the country require that the fires shall be extinguished in the houses while it lasts, and the night watches are doubled. The inhabitants lay heavy stones upon the roofs of their houses, to prevent their being blown away.”
Bürglen, the birthplace and residence of Tell. A chapel, erected in 1522, remains on the spot formerly occupied by his house.
Scene II.
A lime tree in front of Stauffacher's house at Steinen, in Schwytz, upon the public road, near a bridge.Werner Stauffacher, and Pfeiffer of lucerne enter into conversation.
PFEIFFER.
Ay, ay, friend Stauffacher, as I have said,
Swear not to Austria, if you can help it.
Hold by the Empire stoutly as of yore,
And God preserve you in your ancient freedom!
[Presses his hand warmly and is going.
STAUFFACHER.
Wait till my mistress comes. Now do! You are
My guest in Scwhytz—I in Lucerne am yours.
PFEIFFER.
Thanks! thanks! But I must reach Gersau today.
Whatever grievances your rulers' pride
And grasping avarice may yet inflict.
Bear them in patience—soon a change may come.
Another Emperor may mount the throne.
But Austria's once, and you are her's forever.
[Exit.
[Stauffacher sits down sorrowfully upon a bench under the lime tree. Gertrude, his wife, enters, and finds him in this posture. She places herself near him, and looks at him for some time in silence.
GERTRUDE.
So sad, my love! I scarcely know thee now.
For many a day in silence I have marked
A moody sorrow furrowing thy brow.
Some silent grief is weighing on thy heart.
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And I demand my half of all thy cares.
[Stauffacher gives her his hand and is silent.
Tell me what can oppress thy spirits thus?
Thy toil is blest—the world goes well with thee—
Our barns are full—our cattle, many a score;
Our handsome team of sleek and well-fed steeds
Brought from the mountain pastures safely home,
To winter in their comfortable stalls.
There stands thy house—no nobleman's more fair!
'Tis newly built with timber of the best,
All grooved and fitted with the nicest skill;
Its many glistening windows tell of comfort!
'Tis quartered o'er with scutcheons of all hues,
And proverbs sage, which passing travelers
Linger to read, and ponder o'er their meaning.
STAUFFACHER.
The house is strongly built and handsomely,
But, ah! the ground on which we built it totters.
GERTRUDE.
Tell me, dear Werner, what you mean by that?
STAUFFACHER.
No later since than yesterday I sat
Beneath this linden, thinking with delight,
How fairly all was finished, when from Küssnacht,
The Viceroy and his men came riding by.
Before this house he halted in surprise:
At once I rose, and as beseemed his rank,
Advanced respectfully to greet the lord,
To whom the Emperor delegates his power,
As judge supreme within our Canton here.
“Who is the owner of this house?” he asked,
With mischief in his thoughts, for well he knew.
With prompt decision thus I answered him:
“The Emperor your grace,—my lord and yours,
And held by me in fief.” On this he answered,
“I am the Emperor's viceregent here,
And will not that each peasant churl should build
At his own pleasure, bearing him as freely
As though he were the master in the land.
I shall make bold to put a stop to this!”
So saying, he, with menaces rode off,
And left me musing with a heavy heart,
On the fell purpose that his words betrayed.
GERTRUDE.
Mine own dear lord and husband! Wilt thou take
A word of honest counsel from thy wife?
I boast to be the noble Iberg's child.
A man of wide experience. Many a time,
As we sat spinning in the winter nights,
My sisters and myself, the people's chiefs
Were wont to gather round our father's hearth,
To read the old imperial charters, and
To hold sage converse on the country's weal.
Then heedfully I listened, marking well
What or the wise man thought, or good man wished;
And garnered up their wisdom in my heart.
Hear then, and mark me well; for thou wilt see,
I long have known the grief that weighs thee down.
The Viceroy hates thee, fain would injure thee,
For thou has crossed his wish to bend the Swiss
In homage to this upstart house of princes,
And kept them staunch, like their good sires of old,
In true allegiance to the Empire. Say,
Is't not so, Werner? Tell me, am I wrong?
STAUFFACHER.
'Tis even so. For this doth Gessler hate me.
GERTRUDE.
He burns with envy, too, to see thee living
Happy and free on thine inheritance,
For he has none. From the Emperor himself
Thou hold'st in fief the lands thy father left thee.
There's not a Prince i' the Empire that can show
A better title to his heritage;
For thou hast over thee no lord but one,
And he the mightiest of all Christian kings.
Gessler, we know, is but a younger son,
His only wealth the knightly cloak he wears:
He therefore views an honest man's good fortune
With a malignant and a jealous eye.
Long has he sworn to compass thy destruction.
As yet thou art uninjured. Wilt thou wait,
Till he may safely give his malice scope?
A wise man would anticipate the blow.
STAUFFACHER.
What's to be done!
GERTRUDE.
Now hear what I advise.
Thou knowest well, how here with us in Schwytz
All worthy men are groaning underneath
This Gessler's grasping, grinding tyranny.
Doubt not the men of Unterwald as well,
And Uri, too, are chafing like ourselves,
At this oppressive and heart-wearying yoke.
For there, across the lake, the Landenberg
Wields the same iron rule as Gessler here—
No fishing-boat comes over to our side,
But brings the tidings of some new encroachment,
Some outrage fresh, more grievous than the last.
Then it were well, that some of you—true men—
Men sound at heart, should secretly devise,
How best to shake this hateful thralldom off.
Well do I know, that God would not desert you,
But lend his favor to the righteous cause.
Hast thou no friend in Uri, say, to whom
Thou frankly may'st unbosom all thy thoughts?
STAUFFACHER.
I know full many a gallant fellow there,
And nobles, too,—great men, of high repute,
In whom I can repose unbounded trust.
[Rising.
Wife! What a storm of wild and perilous thoughts
Hast thou stirred up within my tranquil breast?
The darkest musings of my bosom thou
Hast dragged to light, and placed them full before me;
And what I scarce dared harbor e'en in thought,
Thou speakest plainly out, with fearless tongue.
But hast thou weighed well what thou urgest thus?
Discord will come, and the fierce clang of arms,
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If we, a feeble shepherd race, shall dare
Him to the fight, that lords it o'er the world.
E'en now they only wait some fair pretext
For setting loose their savage warrior hordes,
To scourge and ravage this devoted land,
To lord it o'er us with the victor's rights,
And 'neath the show of lawful chastisement,
Despoil us of our chartered liberties.
GERTRUDE.
You, too, are men; can wield a battle ax
As well as they. God ne'er deserts the brave.
STAUFFACHER.
Oh wife! a horrid, ruthless fiend is war.
That strikes at once the shepherd and his flock.
GERTRUDE.
Whate'er great Heaven inflicts, we must endure;
No heart of noble temper brooks injustice.
STAUFFACHER.
This house—thy pride—war, unrelenting war,
Will burn it down.
GERTRUDE.
And did I think this heart
Enslaved and fettered to the things of earth,
With my own hand I'd hurl the kindling torch.
STAUFFACHER.
Thou hast faith in human kindness, wife; but war
Spares not the tender infant in its cradle.
GERTRUDE.
There is a friend to innocence in heaven!
Look forward, Werner—not behind you, now!
STAUFFACHER.
We men may perish bravely, sword in hand;
But oh, what fate, my Gertrude, may be thine?
GERTRUDE.
None are so weak, but one last choice is left.
A spring from yonder bridge, and I am free!
STAUFFACHER
(embracing her).
Well may he fight for hearth and home, that clasps
A heart so rare as thine against his own!
What are the hosts of Emperors to him?
Gertrude, farewell! I will to Uri straight.
There lives my worthy comrade, Walter Fürst;
His thoughts and mine upon these times are one.
There, too, resides the noble Banneret
Of Attinghaus. High though of blood he be,
He loves the people, honors their old customs.
With both of these I will take counsel, how
To rid us bravely of our country's foe.
Farewell! and while I am away, bear thou
A watchful eye in management at home.
The pilgrim, journeying to the house of God,
And pious monk, collecting for his cloister,
To these give liberally from purse and garner.
Stauffacher's house would not be hid. Right out
Upon the public way it stands, and offers
To all that pass a hospitable roof.
[While they are retiring, Tell enters with Baumgarten.
TELL.
Now, then, you have no further need of me.
Enter yon house. 'Tis Werner Stauffacher's,
A man that is a father to distress.
See, there he is, himself! Come, follow me.
[They retire up. Scene changes.
Scene III.
A common near Altdorf. On an eminence in the back-ground a Castle in progress of erection, and so far advanced that the outline of the whole may be distinguished. The back part is finished; men are working at the front. Scaffolding, on which the workmen are going up and down. A slater is seen upon the highest part of the roof. All is bustle and activity.Taskmaster, Mason, Workmen, and Laborers.
TASKMASTER
(with a stick, urging on the workmen).
Up, up! You've rested long enough. To work!
The stones here! Now the mortar, and the lime!
And let his lordship see the work advanced.
When next he comes. These fellows crawl like snails!
[To two laborers, with loads.
What! call ye that a load? Go, double it.
Is this the way ye earn your wages, laggards?
FIRST WORKMAN.
'Tis very hard that we must bear the stones,
To make a keep and dungeon for ourselves!
TASKMASTER.
What's that you mutter? 'Tis a worthless race,
And fit for nothing but to milk their cows,
And saunter idly up and down the mountains.
OLD MAN
(sinks down exhausted).
I can no more.
TASKMASTER
(shaking him).
Up, up, old man, to work!
FIRST WORKMAN.
Have you no bowels of compassion, thus
To press so hard upon a poor old man,
That scarce can drag his feeble limbs along?
MASTER MASON and WORKMEN.
Shame, shame upon you—shame! It cries to heaven!
TASKMASTER.
Mind your own business. I but do my duty.
FIRST WORKMAN.
Pray, master, what's to be the name of this
Same castle, when 'tis built?
TASKMASTER.
The Keep of Uri;
For by it we shall keep you in subjection.
WORKMAN.
The Keep of Uri?
TASKMASTER.
Well, why laugh at that?
SECOND WORKMAN.
So you'll keep Uri with this paltry place!
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How many molehills such as that must first
Be piled above each other, ere you make
A mountain equal to the least in Uri?
[Taskmaster retires up the stage.
MASTER MASON.
I'll drown the mallet in the deepest lake,
That served my hand on this accursèd pile.
[Enter Tell and Stauffacher.
STAUFFACHER.
O that I had not lived to see this sight!
TELL.
Here 'tis not good to be. Let us proceed.
STAUFFACHER.
Am I in Uri, in the land of freedom?
MASTER MASON.
O, sir, if you could only see the vaults
Beneath these towers. The man that tenants them
Will never hear the cock crow more.
STAUFFACHER.
O God!
MASON.
Look at these ramparts and these buttresses,
That seem as they were built to last forever.
TELL.
Hands can destroy whatever hands have reared.
[Pointing to the mountains.
That house of freedom God hath built for us.
[A drum is heard. People enter bearing a cap upon a pole, followed by a crier. Women and children thronging tumultuously after them.
FIRST WORKMAN.
What means the drum? Give heed!
MASON.
Why, here's a mumming!
And look, the cap—what can they mean by that?
CRIER.
In the Emperor's name, give ear!
WORKMAN.
Hush! silence! hush!
CRIER.
Ye men of Uri, ye do see this cap!
It will be set upon a lofty pole
In Altdorf in the market-place: and this
Is the Lord Governor's good will and pleasure:
The cap shall have like honor as himself,
And all shall reverence it with bended knee,
And head uncovered; thus the king will know
Who are his true and loyal subjects here;
His life and goods are forfeit to the crown,
That shall refuse obedience to the order.
[The people burst out into laughter. The drum beats, and the procession passes on.
FIRST WORKMAN.
A strange device to fall upon, indeed!
Do reverence to a cap! A pretty farce!
Heard ever mortal any thing like this?
MASTER MASON.
Down to a cap on bended knee, forsooth!
Rare jesting this with men of sober sense!
FIRST WORKMAN.
Nay, were it but the imperial crown, indeed!
But 'tis the cap of Austria: I've seen it
Hanging above the throne in Gessler's hall.
MASON.
The cap of Austria? Mark that! A snare
To get us into Austria's power, by Heaven!
WORKMAN.
No freeborn man will stoop to such disgrace.
MASTER MASON.
Come—to our comrades, and advise with them!
[They retire up.
TELL
(to Stauffacher.)
You see how matters stand. Farewell, my friend!
STAUFFACHER.
Whither away! O leave us not so soon.
TELL.
They look for me at home. So fare ye well.
STAUFFACHER.
My heart's so full, and has so much to tell you.
TELL.
Words will not make a heart that's heavy light.
STAUFFACHER.
Yet words may possibly conduct to deeds.
TELL.
All we can do is to endure in silence.
STAUFFACHER.
But shall we bear what is not to be borne?
TELL.
Impetuous rulers have the shortest reigns.
When the fierce south wind rises from its chasms,
Men cover up their fires, the ships in haste
Make for the harbor, and the mighty spirit
Sweeps o'er the earth, and leaves no trace behind.
Let every man live quietly at home;
Peace to the peaceful rarely is denied.
STAUFFACHER.
And is it thus you view our grievance?
TELL.
The serpent stings not, till it is provoked.
Let them alone; they'll weary of themselves,
Whene'er they see we are not to be roused.
STAUFFACHER.
Much might be done—did we stand fast together.
TELL.
When the ship founders, he will best escape,
Who seeks no other's safety but his own.
STAUFFACHER.
And you desert the common cause so coldly!
603
A man can safely count but on himself!
STAUFFACHER.
Nay, even the weak grow strong by union.
TELL.
But the strong man is strongest when alone.
STAUFFACHER.
Your country, then, cannot rely on you,
If in despair she rise against her foes.
TELL.
Tell rescues the lost sheep from yawning gulfs:
Is he a man, then, to desert his friends?
Yet, whatsoe'er you do, spare me from council!
I was not born to ponder and select;
But when your course of action is resolved,
Then call on Tell; you shall not find him fail.
[Exeunt severally. A sudden tumult is heard around the scaffolding.
MASON
(running in).
What's wrong?
FIRST WORKMAN
(running forward).
The slater's fallen from the roof.
BERTHA
(rushing in).
Is he dashed to pieces? Run—save him, help!
If help be possible, save him! Here is gold.
[Throws her trinkets among the people.
MASON.
Hence with your gold,—your universal charm,
And remedy for ill! When you have torn
Fathers from children, husbands from their wives,
And scattered woe and wail throughout the land,
You think with gold to compensate for all.
Hence! Till we saw you, we were happy men;
With you came misery and dark despair.
BERTHA
(to the Taskmaster, who has returned).
Lives he?
[Taskmaster shakes his head.
Ill-fated tower, with curses built,
And doomed with curses to be tenanted!
[Exit.
Scene IV.
The House of Walter Furst. Walter Furst and Arnold Von Melchthal enter simultaneously at different sides.MELCHTHAL.
Good Walter Fürst.
FURST.
If we should be surprised!
Stay where you are. We are beset with spies.
MELCHTHAL.
Have you no news for me from Unterwald?
What of my father? 'Tis not to be borne,
Thus to be pent up like a felon here!
What have I done of such a heinous stamp,
To skulk and hide me like a murderer?
I only laid my staff across the fingers
Of the pert varlet, when before my eyes,
By order of the governor, he tried
To drive away my handsome team of oxen.
FURST.
You are too rash by far. He did no more
Than what the governor had ordered him.
You had transgressed, and therefore should have paid
The penalty, however hard, in silence.
MELCHTHAL.
Was I to brook the fellow's saucy words?
“That if the peasant must have bread to eat,
“Why, let him go and draw the plow himself!”
It cut me to the very soul to see
My oxen, noble creatures, when the knave
Unyoked them from the plow. As though they felt
The wrong, they lowed and butted with their horns.
On this I could contain myself no longer.
And, overcome by passion, struck him down.
FURST.
Oh, we old men can scarce command ourselves!
And can we wonder youth should break its bounds?
MELCHTHAL.
I'm only sorry for my father's sake!
To be away from him, that needs so much
My fostering care! The governor detests him,
Because he hath, whene'er occasion served,
Stood stoutly up for right and liberty.
Therefore they'll bear him hard—the poor old man!
And there is none to shield him from their gripe.
Come what come may. I must go home again.
FURST.
Compose yourself, and wait in patience till
We get some tidings o'er from Unterwald.
Away! away! I hear a knock! Perhaps
A message from the Viceroy! Get thee in!
You are not safe from Landenberger's arm
In Uri, for these tyrants pull together.
MELCHTHAL.
They teach us Switzers what we ought to do.
FURST.
Away! I'll call you when the coast is clear.
[Melchthal retires.
Unhappy youth! I dare not tell him all
The evil that my boding heart predicts!
Who's there? The door ne'er opens, but I look
For tidings of mishap. Suspicion lurks
With darkling treachery in every nook.
Even to our inmost rooms they force their way,
These myrmidons of power; and soon we'll need
To fasten bolts and bars upon our doors.
[He opens the door, and steps back in surprise as Werner Stauffacher enters.
What do I see? You, Werner? Now, by Heaven!
A valued guest, indeed. No man e'er set
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Welcome! thrice welcome, Werner, to my roof!
What brings you here? What seek you here in Uri?
STAUFFACHER
(shakes Furst by the hand).
The olden times and olden Switzerland.
FURST.
You bring them with you. See how I'm rejoiced,
My heart leaps at the very sight of you.
Sit down—sit down, and tell me how you left
Your charming wife, fair Gertrude? Iberg's child,
And clever as her father. Not a man,
That wends from Germany, by Meinrad's Cell,
To Italy, but praises far and wide
Your house's hospitality. But say,
Have you come here direct from Flüelen,
And have you noticed nothing on your way,
Before you halted at my door?
STAUFFACHER
(sits down).
I saw
A work in progress, as I came along,
I little thought to see—that likes me ill.
FURST.
O friend! you've lighted on my thought at once.
STAUFFACHER.
Such things in Uri ne'er were known before.
Never was prison here in man's remembrance
Nor ever any stronghold but the grave.
FURST.
You name it well. It is the grave of freedom.
STAUFFACHER.
Friend, Walter Fürst, I will be plain with you.
No idle curiosity it is,
That brings me here, but heavy cares. I left
Thralldrom at home, and thralldom meets me here.
Our wrongs, e'en now, are more than we can bear,
And who shall tell us where they are to end?
From eldest time the Switzer has been free,
Accustomed only to the mildest rule.
Such things as now we suffer, ne'er were known,
Since herdsman first drove cattle to the hills.
FURST.
Yes, our oppressions are unparalleled!
Why, e'en our own good lord of Attinghaus,
Who lived in olden times, himself declares,
They are no longer to be tamely borne.
STAUFFACHER.
In Unterwalden yonder 'tis the same;
And bloody has the retribution been.
The imperial Seneschal, the Wolfshot, who
At Rossberg dwelt, longed for forbidden fruit—
Baumgarten's wife, that lives at Alzellen,
He wished to overcome in shameful sort,
On which the husband slew him with his ax.
FURST.
Oh, Heaven is just in all its judgments still!
Baumgarten, say you? A most worthy man.
Has he escaped, and is he safely hid?
STAUFFACHER.
Your son-in-law conveyed him o'er the lake,
And he lies hidden in my house at Steinen.
He brought the tidings with him of a thing
That has been done at Sarnen, worse than all,
A thing to make the very heart run blood!
FURST
(attentively).
Say on. What is it?
STAUFFACHER.
There dwells in Melchthal, then,
Just as you enter by the road from Kerns,
An upright man, named Henry of the Halden,
A man of weight and influence in the Diet.
FURST.
Who knows him not? But what of him? Proceed.
STAUFFACHER.
The Landenberg, to punish some offense,
Committed by the old man's son, it seems,
Had given command to take the youth's best pair
Of oxen from his plow; on which the lad
Struck down the messenger and took to flight.
FURST.
But the old father—tell me, what of him?
STAUFFACHER.
The Landenberg sent for him, and required
He should produce his son upon the spot;
And when the old man protested, and with truth,
That he knew nothing of the fugitive,
The tyrant called his torturers.
FURST
(springs up and tries to lead him to the other side).
Hush, no more!
STAUFFACHER
(with increasing warmth).
“And though thy son,” he cried, “has 'scaped me now,
I have thee fast, and thou shalt feel my vengeance.”
With that they flung the old man to the earth,
And plunged the pointed steel into his eyes.
FURST.
Merciful Heaven!
MELCHTHAL
(rushing out).
Into his eyes, his eyes?
STAUFFACHER
(addresses himself in astonishment to Walter Furst).
Who is this youth?
MELCHTHAL
(grasping him convulsively).
Into his eyes? Speak, speak!
FURST.
Oh, miserable hour!
STAUFFACHER.
Who is it, tell me?
[Stauffacher makes a sign to him.
It is his son! All righteous heaven!
605
And I
Must be from thence! What! into both his eyes?
FURST.
Be calm, be calm; and bear it like a man!
MELCHTHAL.
And all for me—for my mad willful folly!
Blind, did you say? Quite blind—and both his eyes?
STAUFFACHER.
E'en so. The fountain of his sights dried up.
He ne'er will see the blessed sunshine more.
FURST.
Oh, spare his anguish!
MELCHTHAL.
Never, never more!
[Presses his hands upon his eyes and is silent for some moments; then turning from one to the other, speaks in a subdued tone, broken by sobs.
Oh, the eye's light, of all the gifts of Heaven,
The dearest, best! From light all beings live—
Each fair created thing—the very plants
Turn with a joyful transport to the light,
And he—he must drag on through all his days
In endless darkness! Never more for him
The sunny meads shall glow, the flow'rets bloom!
Nor shall he more behold the roseate tints
Of the iced mountain top! To die is nothing,
But to have life, and not have sight.—oh, that
Is misery indeed! Why do you look
So piteously at me? I have two eyes,
Yet to my poor blind father can give neither!
No, not one gleam of that great sea of light,
That with its dazzling splendor floods my gaze.
STAUFFACHER.
Ah, I must swell the measure of your grief,
Instead of soothing it. The worst, alas!
Remains to tell. They've stripped him of his all;
Nought have they left him, save his staff, on which,
Blind, and in rags, he moves from door to door.
MELCHTHAL.
Nought but his staff to the old eyeless man!
Stripped of his all—even of the light of day,
The common blessing of the meanest wretch.
Tell me no more of patience, of concealment!
Oh, what a base and coward thing am I,
That on mine own security I thought,
And took no care of thine! Thy precious head
Left as a pledge within the tyrant's grasp!
Hence craven-hearted prudence, hence! And all
My thoughts be vengeance, and the despot's blood!
I'll seek him straight—no power shall stay me now—
And at his hands demand my father's eyes.
I'll beard him 'mid a thousand myrmidons!
What's life to me, if in his heart's best blood
I cool the fever of this mighty anguish.
[He is going.
FURST.
Stay, this is madness, Melchthal! What avails
Your single arm against his power? He sits
At Sarnen high within his lordly keep,
And, safe within its battlemented walls,
May laugh to scorn your unavailing rage.
MELCHTHAL.
And though he sat within the icy domes
Of yon far Schreckhorn—ay, or higher, where
Vailed since eternity, the Jungfrau soars,
Still to the tyrant would I make my way;
With twenty comrades minded like myself,
I'd lay his fastness level with the earth!
And if none follow me, and if you all,
In terror for your homesteads and your herds,
Bow in submission to the tyrant's yoke,
I'll call the herdsmen on the hills around me,
And there beneath heaven's free and boundless roof,
Where men still feel as men, and hearts are true,
Proclaim aloud this foul extremity!
STAUFFACHER
(to Furst).
'Tis at its height—and are we then to wait
Till some extremity—
MELCHTHAL.
What extremity
Remains for apprehension, when men's eyes
Have ceased to be secure within their sockets?
Are we defenseless? Wherefore did we learn
To bend the cross-bow,—wield the battle-ax?
What living creature, but in its despair,
Finds for itself a weapon of defense?
The baited stag will turn, and with the show
Of his dread antlers hold the hounds at bay;
The chamois drags the huntsman down the abyss;
The very ox, the partner of man's toil,
The sharer of his roof, that meekly bends
The strength of his huge neck beneath the yoke,
Springs up, if he's provoked, whets his strong horn,
And tosses his tormentor to the clouds.
FURST.
If the three Cantons thought as we three do.
Something might, then, be done, with good effect.
STAUFFACHER.
When Uri calls, when Unterwald replies,
Schwytz will be mindful of her ancient league.
606
I've many friends in Unterwald, and none
That would not gladly venture life and limb,
If fairly backed and aided by the rest.
O sage and reverend fathers of this land,
Here do I stand before your riper years,
An unskilled youth, whose voice must in the Diet
Still be subdued into respectful silence.
Do not, because that I am young, and want
Experience, slight my counsel and my words.
'Tis not the wantonness of youthful blood
That fires my spirit; but a pang so deep
That e'en the flinty rocks must pity me.
You, too, are fathers, heads of families,
And you must wish to have a virtuous son,
To reverence your gray hairs, and shield your eyes
With pious and affectionate regard.
Do not, I pray, because in limb and fortune
You still are unassailed, and still your eyes
Revolve undimmed and sparkling in their spheres;
O do not, therefore, disregard our wrongs!
Above you, too, doth hang the tyrant's sword.
You, too, have striven to alienate the land
From Austria. This was all my father's crime:
You share his guilt, and may his punishment.
STAUFFACHER
(to Furst).
Do thou resolve! I am prepared to follow.
FURST.
First let us learn, what steps the noble lords
Von Sillinen and Attinghaus propose.
Their names would rally thousands in the cause.
MELCHTHAL.
Is there a name within the Forest Mountains
That carries more respect than thine—and thine?
To names like these the people cling for help
With confidence—such names are household words.
Rich was your heritage of manly virtue,
And richly have you added to its stores.
What need of nobles? Let us do the work
Ourselves. Although we stood alone, methinks,
We should be able to maintain our rights.
STAUFFACHER.
The nobles' wrongs are not so great as ours.
The torrent, that lays waste the lower grounds,
Hath not ascended to the uplands yet.
But let them see the country once in arms,
They'll not refuse to lend a helping hand.
FURST.
Were there an umpire 'twixt ourselves and Austria,
Justice and law might then decide our quarrel.
But our oppressor is our emperor too,
And judge supreme. 'Tis God must help us then,
And our own arm! Be yours the task to rouse.
The men of Schwytz; I'll rally friends in Uri.
But whom are we to send to Unterwald?
MELCHTHAL.
Thither send me. Whom should it more concern?
FURST.
No, Melchthal, no; thou art my guest, and I
Must answer for thy safety.
MELCHTHAL.
Let me go.
I know each forest track and mountain pass;
Friends too I'll find, be sure, on every hand,
To give me willing shelter from the foe.
STAUFFACHER.
Nay, let him go; no traitors harbor there:
For tyranny is so abhorred in Unterwald,
No minions can be found to work her will.
In the low valleys, too, the Alzeller
Wlll gain confederates, and rouse the country.
MELCHTHAL.
But how shall we communicate, and not
Awaken the suspicion of the tyrants?
STAUFFACHER.
Might we not meet at Brunnen or at Treib,
Hard by the spot where merchant vessels land?
FURST.
We must not go so openly to work.
Hear my opinion. On the lake's left bank,
As we sail hence to Brunnen, right against
The Mytenstein, deep-hidden in the wood
A meadow lies, by shepherds called the Rootli,
Because the wood has been uprooted there.
'Tis where our Canton bound'ries verge on yours;—
[To Melchthal.
Your boat will carry you across from Schwytz.
[To Stauffacher.
Thither by lonely by-paths let us wend
At midnight, and deliberate o'er our plans.
Let each bring with him there ten trusty men,
607
Consult together for the general weal,
And, with God's guidance, fix our onward course.
STAUFFACHER.
So let it be. And now your true right hand!
Yours, too, young man! and as we now three men
Among ourselves thus knit our hands together
In all sincerity and truth, e'en so
Shall we three Cantons, too, together stand
In victory and defeat, in life and death.
FURST and MELCHTHAL.
In life and death.
[They hold their hands clasped together for some moments in silence.
MELCHTHAL.
Alas, my old blind father!
Thou canst no more behold the day of freedom;
But thou shalt hear it. When from Alp to Alp
The beacon fires throw up their flaming signs,
And the proud castles of the tyrants fall,
Into thy cottage shall the Switzer burst,
Bear the glad tidings to thine ear, and o'er
Thy darkened way shall Freedom's radiance pour.
Berenger von Landenberg, a man of noble family in Thurgau, and Governor of Unterwald, infamous for his cruelties to the Swiss, and particularly to the venerable Henry of the Halden. He was slain at the battle of Morgarten, in 1315.
A cell built in the ninth century, by Meinrad, Count of Hohenzollern, the founder of the Convent of Einsiedeln, subsequently alluded to in the text.
The League, or Bond, of the Three Cantons was of very ancient origin. They met and renewed it from time to time, especially when their liberties were threatened with danger. A remarkable instance of this occurred in the end of the 13th century, when Albert, of Austria, became Emperor, and when, possibly, for the first time, the Bond was reduced to writing. As it is important to the understanding of many passages of the play, a translation is subjoined of the oldest known document relating to it. The original which is in Latin and German, is dated in August, 1291, and is under the seals of the whole of the men of Schwytz, the commonalty of the vale of Uri, and the whole of the men of the upper and lower vale of Stanz.
THE BOND.
Be it known to every one, that the men of the Dale of Uri, the community of Schwytz, as also the men of the mountains of Unterwald, in consideration of the evil times, have full confidently bound themselves, and sworn to help each other with all their power and might, property and people, against all who shall do violence to them, or any of them. That is our Ancient Bond.
Whoever hath a Seignior, let him obey according to the conditions of his service.
We are agreed to receive into these dales no Judge, who is not a countryman and indweller, or who hath bought his place.
Every controversy amongst the sworn confederates shall be determined by some of the sagest of their numbers, and if any one shall challenge their judgment, then shall he be constrained to obey it by the rest.
Whoever intentionally or deceitfully kills another, shall be executed, and whoever shelters him shall be banished.
Whoever burns the property of another shall no longer be regarded as a countryman, and whoever shelters him shall make good the damage done.
Whoever injures another, or robs him, and hath property in our country, shall make satisfaction out of the same.
No one shall distrain a debtor without a judge, nor any one who is not his debtor, or the surety for such debtor.
Every one in these dales shall submit to the judge, or we, the sworn confederates, all will take satisfaction for all the injury occasioned by his contumacy. And if in any internal division the one party will not accept justice, all the rest shall help the other party. These decrees shall, God willing, endure eternally for our general advantage.
| Wilhelm Tell | |