William Tell Told Again | Page 8

Then he said, "Put it on top of the pole." And they put it right on top of
the pole. And, last of all, he said, "Go and set up the pole in the middle
of the meadow just outside the gates of the town." And they went and
set up the pole in the very middle of the meadow just outside the gates
of the town.
Then he sent his heralds out to north and south and east and west to
summon the people together, because he said he had something very
important and special to say to them. And the people came in tens, and
fifties, and hundreds, men, women, and children; and they stood
waiting in front of the Palace steps till Gessler the Governor should
come out and say something very important and special to them.
And punctually at eleven o'clock, Gessler, having finished a capital
breakfast, came out on to the top step and spoke to them.
"Ladies and gentlemen,"--he began. (A voice from the crowd: "Speak
up!")
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began again, in a louder voice, "if I could
catch the man who said 'Speak up!' I would have him bitten in the neck
by wild elephants. (Applause.) I have called you to this place to-day to
explain to you my reason for putting up a pole, on the top of which is
one of my caps, in the meadow just outside the city gates. It is this:
You all, I know, respect and love me." Here he paused for the audience
to cheer, but as they remained quite silent he went on: "You would all, I
know, like to come to my Palace every day and do reverence to 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; and if he was
the same man who said 'Speak up!' a little while ago, the number of
scorpions should be doubled. (Loud applause.) As I was saying before I
was interrupted, I know you would like to come to my Palace and do
reverence to me there. But, as you are many and space is limited, I am
obliged to refuse you that pleasure. However, being anxious not to
disappoint you, I have set up my cap in the meadow, and you may do
reverence to that. In fact, you must. Everybody is to look on that cap as
if it were me. (A voice: 'It ain't so ugly as you!') If I could catch the
man who made that remark I would have him tied up and teased by
trained bluebottles. (Deafening applause.) In fact, to put the matter
briefly, if anybody crosses that meadow without bowing down before
that cap, my soldiers will arrest him, and I will have 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 and
cabbages whistled through the air. And the soldiers began to hustle the
crowd down the various streets till the open space in front of the Palace
gates was quite cleared of them. All this happened the day before Tell
and Walter set out for the town.


CHAPTER VII
Having set up the pole and cap in the meadow, Gessler sent two of his
bodyguard, Friesshardt (I should think you would be safe in
pronouncing this Freeze-hard, but you had better ask somebody who
knows) and Leuthold, to keep watch there all day, and see that nobody
passed by without 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," and equal 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 the pole,

which they did not want to do, so it occurred to them that an ingenious
way of preventing this would be not to cross the meadow. So they 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 our time
here?" (Friesshardt was not a very well-educated man, and he did not
speak good grammar.) "None of these here people ain't a-going to bow
down to that there hat. Of course they ain't. Why, I can remember the
time when this meadow was like a fair--everybody a-shoving and
a-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 time
here, I