William Tell

William Tell by George Upton; Translated from the German of Ferdinand Schmidt. William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th-century Swiss chronicle. According the legend Tell, expert crossbow, killed Gessler, a tyrannic of Habsburg Austria positioned in Altdorf, Uri. Iconoclasts may deny the existence of William Tell, historians and critics may assign him to the shadowy realm of legend, but all Switzerland, even after six centuries have passed, still cherishes his memory. He typifies patriotic purpose and incorruptibility of character. The work of the critics is in vain, for the people everywhere still cling to the hero of Burglen, who defied Gessler and was leader in the uprising which resulted in throwing off the Hapsburg yoke, and no child can be convinced that the boy William, brave son of a brave father, did not stand under the lime-tree in Altdorf, with the apple on his curly head, and call: "Shoot, father! I am not afraid. I am standing still."