Ges.  Then he dies this moment, and you certainly
     Do murder him whose life you have a chance
     To save, and will not use it.

Tell.  Well, I’ll do it; I’ll make the trial.

Alb.  Father!

Tell.  Speak not to me: 
      Let me not hear thy voice:  thou must be dumb,
      And so should all things be.  Earth should be dumb;
      And heaven—­unless its thunders muttered at
      The deed, and sent a bolt to stop!  Give me
      My bow and quiver!

Ges.  When all’s ready.

Tell.  Ready!—­
      I must be calm with such a mark to hit! 
      Don’t touch me, child!—­Don’t speak to me!—­Lead on!

Definitions.—­Come’li-ness, that which is becoming or graceful.  Port, manner of movement or walk.  At-tire’, dress, clothes.  Tar’-nish, to soil, to sully.  Av’a-lanche, a vast body of snow, earth, and ice, sliding down from a mountain.  Vouch-safes’, yields, conde-scends, gives.  Wan’ton, luxuriant.  Net’ted, caught in a net.  Fledge’ling, a young bird.  Rec-og-ni’tion, acknowledgment of ac-quaintance.  Pre-con-cert’ed, planned beforehand.  Cai’tiff (pro. ka’tif), a mean villain.  Thral’dom, bondage, slavery.  Scan, to examine closely.  Neth’er, lower, lying beneath.  Blanch, to turn white.  Gust, taste, relish.

Note.—­William Tell is a legendary hero of Switzerland.  The events of this drama are represented as occurring in 1307 A.D., when Austria held Switzerland under her control.  Gesler, also a purely mythical personage, is one of the Austrian bailiffs.  The legend relates that Gesler had his cap placed on a pole in the market place, and all the Swiss were required to salute it in passing in recognition of his authority.  Tell refusing to do this was arrested, and condemned to death.  This and the following lesson narrate how the sentence was changed, and the result.

LXVIII.  WILLIAM TELL. (Concluded.)

Scene 2.—­Enter slowly, people in evident distress—­Officers, Sarnem, Gesler, Tell, Albert, and soldiers—­one bearing Tell’s bow and quiver—­another with a basket of apples.

Ges.  That is your ground.  Now shall they measure thence
     A hundred paces.  Take the distance.

Tell.  Is the line a true one?

Ges.  True or not, what is ’t to thee?

Tell.  What is ’t to me?  A little thing. 
      A very little thing; a yard or two
      Is nothing here or there—­were it a wolf
      I shot at!  Never mind.

Ges.  Be thankful, slave,
     Our grace accords thee life on any terms.

Tell.  I will be thankful, Gesler!  Villain, stop! 
      You measure to the sun.

Ges.  And what of that? 
     What matter whether to or from the sun?

Tell.  I’d have it at my back.  The sun should shine
      Upon the mark, and not on him that shoots. 
      I can not see to shoot against the sun: 
      I will not shoot against the sun!