vogt pressed him on
farther, and assured him of his life, whatever the arrow might have been
meant for. "Vogt," said Tell, "had I shot my child, the second shaft was
for THEE; and be sure I should not have missed my mark a second time!"
Transported with rage not unmixed with terror, Gessler exclaimed, "Tell! I
have promised thee life, but thou shalt pass it in a dungeon." Accordingly,
he took boat with his captive, intending to transport him across the lake
to Kussnacht in Schwytz, in defiance of the common right of the district,
which provided that its natives should not be kept in confinement beyond
its borders. A sudden storm on the lake overtook the party; and Gessler
was obliged to give orders to loose Tell from his fetters, and commit the
helm to his hands, as he was known for a skilful steersman. Tell guided
the vessel to the foot of the great Axenberg, where a ledge of rock
distinguished to the present day as Tell's platform, presented itself as
the only possible landing-place for leagues around. Here he seized his
cross-bow, and escaped by a daring leap, leaving the skiff to wrestle its
way in the billows. The vogt also escaped the storm, but only to meet a
fate more signal from Tell's bow in the narrow pass near Kussnacht. The
tidings of his death enhanced the courage of the people, but also alarmed
the vigilance of their rulers, and greatly increased the dangers of the
conspirators, who kept quiet. These occurrences marked the close of
1307.--_Cabinet Cyclopaedia. History of Switzerland._

* * * * *

GREAT PLAGUE IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

The early triumphs of Swiss valour were saddened by the breaking out of
that great plague, which visited with its ravages the greater part of
Europe and Asia, and of which the most vivid delineation ever written
(except that of a similar pest by Thucydides) has been preserved in the
Decameron of Boccacio. Whole towns were depopulated. Estates were left
without claimants or occupiers. Priests, physicians, grave-diggers, could
not be found in adequate numbers; and the consecrated earth of the
churchyards no longer sufficed for the reception of its destined tenants.
In the order of Franciscans alone, 120,430 monks are said to have perished.
This plague had been preceded by tremendous earthquakes, which laid in
ruins towns, castles, and villages. Dearth and famine, clouds of locusts,
and even an innocent comet, had been long before regarded as