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08 - William Tell Told Again by P G Wodehouse · William Tell Told Again

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  Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen, the final chapter. There is not much more
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: of the story of William Tell. The death of Gessler
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  Speaker 1: was a signal to the Swiss to rise in revolt,
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  Speaker 1: and soon the whole country was up in arms against
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  Speaker 1: the Austrians. It had been chiefly the fear of the
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  Speaker 1: governor that had prevented a rising before. It had been
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  Speaker 1: brewing for a long time. The people had been bound
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  Speaker 1: by a solemn oath to drive the enemy out of
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  Speaker 1: the country. All through Switzerland preparations for a revolution were
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  Speaker 1: going on, and nobles and peasants had united. Directly the
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  Speaker 1: news arrived that the governor was slain, meetings of the
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  Speaker 1: people were held in every town in Switzerland, and it
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  Speaker 1: was resolved to begin the revolution without delay. All the
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  Speaker 1: fortresses that Gesler had built during his years of rule
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  Speaker 1: were carried by assault on the same night. The last
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  Speaker 1: to fall was one which had only been begun a
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  Speaker 1: short time back, and the people who had been forced
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  Speaker 1: to help to build it spent a very pleasant hour
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  Speaker 1: pulling down the stones which had cost them such labor
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  Speaker 1: to put in their place. Even the children helped. It
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  Speaker 1: was a great treat to them to break what they
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  Speaker 1: pleased without being told not to see, said Tell, as
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  Speaker 1: he watched them. In years to come, when these same
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  Speaker 1: children are gray haired, they will remember this night as
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  Speaker 1: freshly as they will remember it tomorrow. A number of
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  Speaker 1: people rushed up, bearing the pole which Gessler's soldiers had
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  Speaker 1: set up in the meadow. The hat was still on
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  Speaker 1: top of it, nailed to the wood by Tell's arrow.
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  Speaker 1: Here's the hat, shouted Ruoti, the hat to which we
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  Speaker 1: were to bow. Why shall we do with it? Cried
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  Speaker 1: several voices. Destroy it, burn it, said others, to the
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  Speaker 1: flames with this emblem of tyranny. But Tell stop them.
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  Speaker 1: Let us preserve it, he said. Gessler set it up
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  Speaker 1: to be a means of enslaving the country. We will
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  Speaker 1: set it up as a memorial of our newly gained liberty.
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  Speaker 1: Nobly has fulfilled the oath we swore to drive the
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  Speaker 1: tyrants from our land. Let the pole mark the spot
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  Speaker 1: where the revolution finished. But is it finished? Said Arnold
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  Speaker 1: of meltch Thal. It is a nice point when the
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  Speaker 1: Emperor of Austria hears that we have killed his friend
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  Speaker 1: Gessler and burnt down all his fine new fortresses. Will
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  Speaker 1: he not come here to seek revenge? He will, said Tell,
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  Speaker 1: and let him come, and let him bring all his
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  Speaker 1: mighty armies. We have driven out the enemy that was
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  Speaker 1: in our land. We will meet and drive away the
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  Speaker 1: enemy that comes from another country. Switzerland is not easy
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  Speaker 1: to attack. There are but a few mountain passes by
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  Speaker 1: which the foe can approach. We will stop these with
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  Speaker 1: our bodies and one great strength we have. We are
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  Speaker 1: united and united. We need fear no foe. Hurrah, shouted everybody.
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  Speaker 1: But who is this that approaches, said tell, He seems excited,
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps he brings news. It was Russellman, the pastor, and
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  Speaker 1: he brought stirring news. These are strange times in which
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  Speaker 1: we live, said Russelman, coming up. Why what has happened?
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  Speaker 1: Cried everybody. Listen and be amazed. Why what's the matter
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  Speaker 1: the emperor? Yes, the Emperor is dead? What dead? Dead? Impossible?
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  Speaker 1: How can you buy the news? John Mueller of Schaffhasen
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  Speaker 1: brought it, and he is a truthful man. But how
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  Speaker 1: did it happen? As the Emperor rode from Stein to Baden,
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  Speaker 1: the lords of Eschenbach and Tedgerfelden, jealous it is said
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  Speaker 1: of his power, fell upon him with their spears. His
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  Speaker 1: bodyguard were on the other side of a stream. The
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  Speaker 1: Emperor had just crossed it and could not come to
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  Speaker 1: his assistance. He died instantly. By the death of the Emperor,
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  Speaker 1: the revolution in Switzerland was enabled to proceed without check.
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  Speaker 1: The successor of the Emperor had too much to do
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  Speaker 1: in defending himself against the slayers of his father to
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  Speaker 1: think of attacking the Swiss, and by the time he
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  Speaker 1: was at leisure, they were too strong to be attacked.
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  Speaker 1: So the Swiss became free. As for William Tell, he
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  Speaker 1: retired to his home and lived there very happily ever afterwards,
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  Speaker 1: with his wife and his his two sons, who in
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  Speaker 1: a few years became very nearly as skillful in the
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  Speaker 1: use of the crossbow as their father. That's the end
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  Speaker 1: of William Tell Told again. But the original volume contained
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  Speaker 1: a rhyme story of William Tell, and this will conclude
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  Speaker 1: our narrative. The Swiss, against their Austrian foes, had narrow
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  Speaker 1: soul to lead them till Tell, as you've heard Tell,
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  Speaker 1: arose and guided them to freedom. Tells tale we tell again,
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  Speaker 1: an act for which pray no one scold us. This
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  Speaker 1: tale of tale we tell, in fact, as this tell
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  Speaker 1: tale was told us beneath a tyrant foreign yoke. How
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  Speaker 1: love of freedom waxes, especially when foreign folk come round
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  Speaker 1: collecting taxes. The Swiss, held down by Gessler's fist, would
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  Speaker 1: fain have used evasion, Yet none there seemed who could
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  Speaker 1: resist his methods of persuasion, and pride so filled this
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  Speaker 1: Gessler's soul, a monarch's pride out classing. He stuck his
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  Speaker 1: hat up on a pole that all might bow in passing.
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  Speaker 1: Then rose the patriot William Tell. We've grown neath Austrian's sway. First,
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  Speaker 1: must we be ruled by poles as well? I've just
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  Speaker 1: a word to say. First, the crowd about the pole
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  Speaker 1: at morn used various persuaders. They flung old cans to
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  Speaker 1: prove their scorn of all tin pot invaders, and cabbage
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  Speaker 1: stumps were freely dealt, and apples inexpensive and rotten eggs
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  Speaker 1: to show they felt a foreign yoke offensive, said William Tell.
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  Speaker 1: And has this cuss for conquest, such a passion he needs,
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  Speaker 1: must set his cap at us in this exalted fashion.
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  Speaker 1: And then the people gave a cry TwixT joy and
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  Speaker 1: apprehension to see him pass the symbol by with studied
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  Speaker 1: in ain. At first, the sentinel aghast glared like an
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  Speaker 1: angry dumb thing. Then hi, he shouted, not so fast,
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  Speaker 1: you're overlooking something. The sturdy Tale made no response. Then
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  Speaker 1: through the hills resounded a mighty thwack upon his sconce
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  Speaker 1: The people were astounded. Could tell an insult such as this?
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  Speaker 1: Ignore or pass? I doubt it? No, No, that patriotic
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  Speaker 1: Swiss was very cross about it. The people interested now exclaimed, here,
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  Speaker 1: stop a minute. If there's to be a jolly row,
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  Speaker 1: bitech and go, we'll be in it, said Tell. This
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  Speaker 1: sat trap of the Duke is sore, in need of gumption.
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  Speaker 1: With my good bow, I will rebuke such arrogant presumption.
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  Speaker 1: Stand back, the soldier, says, says he this rough, and
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  Speaker 1: this is unseemly. The people cried, we will be free,
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  Speaker 1: and so they were extremely They dealt that soldier thump
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  Speaker 1: on thump. He hadn't any notion when on Tell's head
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  Speaker 1: he raised that bump. Of raising this commotion, tells arrow sped.
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  Speaker 1: The people crowed and loudly cheered his action, while Tell's
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  Speaker 1: expressive features showed a certain satisfaction. Now, when the cats away,
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  Speaker 1: the mice are very enterprising. But cats return and in
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  Speaker 1: a trice. Well, Gessler nipped that rising. And when those
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  Speaker 1: soldiers lodge complaint, which truly didn't lack ground, the people
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  Speaker 1: practice self restraint and fell into the background. And tell
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  Speaker 1: before the tyrant hailed no patriot, you'd have guessed him,
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  Speaker 1: for even his doubt wasn't quailed when Gessler thus addressed him,
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  Speaker 1: as you're the crack shot of the Swiss. I've often
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  Speaker 1: heard it said, so suppose you take a shot at
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  Speaker 1: this placed on your youngster's head. So the bearing, as
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  Speaker 1: they say, of that, lay in the application, and nobody
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  Speaker 1: will wonder at apparent's agitation. That anguish filled tells bosom
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  Speaker 1: proud needs scarcely to be stated, and it will be observed.
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  Speaker 1: The crowd was also agitated, said Gessler, this is all
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  Speaker 1: my eye. Come hurry up and buck up. Remember if
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  Speaker 1: you miss, you die. That ought to keep your pluck up.
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  Speaker 1: The flying arrow may no doubt your offspring's bosom enter.
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  Speaker 1: But here there rose a mighty shout by George. He's
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  Speaker 1: scored a center. But as the arrow cleft the core,
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  Speaker 1: cried Gessler with indignation, what was the second arrow? For
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  Speaker 1: come no equivercation? You had a second in your fist
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  Speaker 1: said Tell, the missile grippin this shaft, had I that
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  Speaker 1: apple missed was meant for you? My pippin With rage,
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  Speaker 1: the tyrant said, said he it's time to stop this prating.
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  Speaker 1: I find your style of repartee extremely irritating. You'll hang
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  Speaker 1: for this be pleased to note on this. They bound
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  Speaker 1: and gagged him for Gessler's castle, booked by boat and
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  Speaker 1: through the village dragged him, but slips between the cup
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  Speaker 1: and lip. When least expected peer through, a storm arose
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  Speaker 1: upon the trip, which Tell alone could steer through. Thus
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  Speaker 1: of all hands he quickly got as you may see
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  Speaker 1: the upper and Gessler took a parting shot and hurried
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  Speaker 1: home to supper. Some say the tail related here is
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  Speaker 1: amplified and twisted. Some say it isn't very clear that
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  Speaker 1: William Tell existed. Some say he freed his country so
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  Speaker 1: the governor demolished. Perhaps he did. I only know that
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  Speaker 1: taxes aren't abolished. End of William Tell told again thank
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  Speaker 1: you for listening.