snatched spears and shields from their foes.
They had no thought of fear. They only thought of their homes and
their dear native land. And they won at last.
Such a battle no one ever knew before. But Switzerland was saved, and
Arnold Wink-el-ried did not die in vain.
THE BELL OF ATRI.
A-tri is the name of a little town in It-a-ly. It is a very old town,
and is built half-way up the side of a steep hill.
A long time ago, the King of Atri bought a fine large bell, and had it
hung up in a tower in the market place. A long rope that reached
almost to the ground was fas-tened to the bell. The smallest child
could ring the bell by pulling upon this rope.
"It is the bell of justice," said the king.
When at last everything was ready, the people of Atri had a great
holiday. All the men and women and children came down to the market
place to look at the bell of justice. It was a very pretty bell, and
was, pol-ished until it looked almost as bright and yellow as the sun.
"How we should like to hear it ring!" they said.
Then the king came down the street.
"Perhaps he will ring it," said the people; and everybody stood very
still, and waited to see what he would do.
But he did not ring the bell. He did not even take the rope in his
hands. When he came to the foot of the tower, he stopped, and raised
his hand.
"My people," he said, "do you see this beautiful bell? It is your
bell; but it must never be rung except in case of need. If any one of
you is wronged at any time, he may come and ring the bell; and then
the judges shall come together at once, and hear his case, and give
him justice. Rich and poor, old and young, all alike may come; but no
one must touch the rope unless he knows that he has been wronged."
Many years passed by after this. Many times did the bell in the market
place ring out to call the judges together. Many wrongs were righted,
many ill-doers were punished. At last the hempen rope was almost worn
out. The lower part of it was un-twist-ed; some of the strands were
broken; it became so short that only a tall man could reach it.
"This will never do," said the judges one day. "What if a child should
be wronged? It could not ring the bell to let us know it."
They gave orders that a new rope should be put upon the bell at
once,--a rope that should hang down to the ground, so that the
smallest child could reach it. But there was not a rope to be found in
all Atri. They would have
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