No More Learning

Stay, speak----

FRIESSHARDT.
I cannot. I must to the castle,
And tell them that the governor's at hand.

[Exit.

STUSSI.
If honest men, now, had been in the ship,
It had gone down with every soul on board:--
Some folks are proof 'gainst fire and water both.

[Looking round.

Where has the huntsman gone with whom I spoke?

[Exit.

Enter GESSLER and RUDOLPH DER HARRAS on horseback.

GESSLER.
Say what you please; I am the emperor's servant,
And my first care must be to do his pleasure.
He did not send me here to fawn and cringe
And coax these boors into good humor. No!
Obedience he must have. We soon shall see
If king or peasant is to lord it here?

ARMGART.
Now is the moment! Now for my petition!

GESSLER.
'Twas not in sport that I set up the cap
In Altdorf--or to try the people's hearts--
All this I knew before. I set it up
That they might learn to bend those stubborn necks
They carry far too proudly--and I placed
What well I knew their eyes could never brook
Full in the road, which they perforce must pass,
That, when their eyes fell on it, they might call
That lord to mind whom they too much forget.

HARRAS.
But surely, sir, the people have some rights----

GESSLER.
This is no time to settle what they are.
Great projects are at work, and hatching now;
The imperial house seeks to extend its power.
Those vast designs of conquests, which the sire
Has gloriously begun, the son will end.
This petty nation is a stumbling-block--
One way or other it must be subjected.

[They are about to pass on. ARMMGART throws herself
down before GESSLER.

ARMGART.
Mercy, lord governor! Oh, pardon, pardon!

GESSLER.
Why do you cross me on the public road?
Stand back, I say.

ARMGART.
My husband lies in prison;
My wretched orphans cry for bread. Have pity,
Pity, my lord, upon our sore distress!

HARRAS.
Who are you, woman; and who is your husband?

ARMGART.
A poor wild hay-man of the Rigiberg,
Kind sir, who on the brow of the abyss,
Mows down the grass from steep and craggy shelves,
To which the very cattle dare not climb.

HARRAS (to GESSLER).
By Heaven! a sad and miserable life!
I prithee, give the wretched man his freedom.
How great soever his offence may be,
His horrid trade is punishment enough.

[To ARMGART.

You shall have justice. To the castle bring
Your suit. This is no place to deal with it.

ARMGART.
No, no, I will not stir from where I stand,
Until your grace restore my husband to me.
Six months already has he been in prison,
And waits the sentence of a judge in vain.

GESSLER.
How! Would you force me, woman? Hence! Begone!

ARMGART.
Justice, my lord! Ay, justice! Thou art judge!
The deputy of the emperor--of Heaven!
Then do thy duty, as thou hopest for justice
From Him who rules above, show it to us!

GESSLER.
Hence! drive this daring rabble from my sight!

ARMGART (seizing his horse's reins).
No, no, by Heaven, I've nothing more to lose.
Thou stirrest not, viceroy, from this spot until
Thou dost me fullest justice. Knit thy brows,
And roll thy eyes; I fear not. Our distress
Is so extreme, so boundless, that we care
No longer for thine anger.

GESSLER.
Woman, hence!
Give way, I say, or I will ride thee down.

ARMGART.
Well, do so; there!

[Throws her children and herself upon the ground before him.

Here on the ground I lie,
I and my children. Let the wretched orphans
Be trodden by thy horse into the dust!
It will not be the worst that thou hast done.

HARRAS.
Are you mad, woman?

ARMGART (continuing with vehemence).
Many a day thou hast
Trampled the emperor's lands beneath thy feet.
Oh, I am but a woman! Were I man,
I'd find some better thing to do, than here
Lie grovelling in the dust.

[The music of the wedding party is again heard
from the top of the pass, but more softly.

GESSLER.
Where are my knaves?
Drag her away, lest I forget myself,
And do some deed I may repent hereafter.

HARRAS.
My lord, the servants cannot force a passage;
The pass is blocked up by a marriage party.

GESSLER.
Too mild a ruler am I to this people,
Their tongues are all too bold; nor have they yet
Been tamed to due submission, as they shall be.
I must take order for the remedy;
I will subdue this stubborn mood of theirs,
And crush the soul of liberty within them.
I'll publish a new law throughout the land;
I will----

[An arrow pierces him,--he puts his hand on his heart,
and is about to sink--with a feeble voice.

Oh God, have mercy on my soul!

HARRAS.
My lord! my lord! Oh God! What's this? Whence came it?

ARMGART (starts up).
Dead, dead! He reels, he falls! 'Tis in his heart!

HARRAS (springs from his horse).
This is most horrible! Oh Heavens! sir knight,
Address yourself to God and pray for mercy;
You are a dying man.

GESSLER.
That shot was Tell's.

[He slides from his horse into the arms of RUDOLPH
DER HARRAS, who lays him down upon the bench. TELL
appears above, upon the rocks.

TELL.
Thou knowest the archer, seek no other hand.
Our cottages are free, and innocence
Secure from thee: thou'lt be our curse no more.

[TELL disappears. People rush in.

STUSSI.
What is the matter? Tell me what has happened?

ARMGART.
The governor is shot,--killed by an arrow!

PEOPLE (running in).
Who has been shot?

[While the foremost of the marriage party are coming
on the stage, the hindmost are still upon the heights.
The music continues.

HARRAS.
He's bleeding fast to death.
Away, for help--pursue the murderer!
Unhappy man, is't thus that thou must die?
Thou wouldst not heed the warnings that I gave thee!

STUSSI.
By heaven, his cheek is pale! His life ebbs fast.

MANY VOICES.
Who did the deed?

HARRAS.
What! Are the people mad
That they make music to a murder? Silence!

[Music breaks off suddenly. People continue to flock in.

Speak, if thou canst, my lord. Hast thou no charge
To intrust me with?

[GESSLER makes signs with his hand, which he repeats
with vehemence, when he finds they are not understood.

What would you have me do?
Shall I to Kuessnacht? I can't guess your meaning.
Do not give way to this impatience. Leave
All thoughts of earth and make your peace with Heaven.

[The whole marriage party gather round the dying man.

STUSSI.
See there! how pale he grows! Death's gathering now
About his heart; his eyes grow dim and glazed.

ARMGART (holds up a child).
Look, children, how a tyrant dies!

HARRAS.
Mad hag!
Have you no touch of feeling that you look
On horrors such as these without a shudder?
Help me--take hold. What, will not one assist
To pull the torturing arrow from his breast?

WOMEN.
We touch the man whom God's own hand has struck!

HARRAS.
All curses light on you!

[Draws his sword.

STUSSI (seizes his arm).
Gently, sir knight!
Your power is at an end. 'Twere best forbear.
Our country's foe is fallen. We will brook
No further violence. We are free men.

ALL.
The country's free!

HARRAS.
And is it come to this?
Fear and obedience at an end so soon?

[To the soldiers of the guard who are thronging in.

You see, my friends, the bloody piece of work
They've acted here. 'Tis now too late for help,
And to pursue the murderer were vain.
New duties claim our care. Set on to Kuessnacht,
And let us save that fortress for the king!
For in an hour like this all ties of order,
Fealty, and faith are scattered to the winds.
No man's fidelity is to be trusted.

[As he is going out with the soldiers six
FRATRES MISERICCRDIAE appear.

ARMGART.
Here come the brotherhood of mercy. Room!

STUSSI.
The victim's slain, and now the ravens stoop.

BROTHERS OF MERCY (form a semicircle round the body, and sing
in solemn tones).

With hasty step death presses on,
Nor grants to man a moment's stay,
He falls ere half his race be run
In manhood's pride is swept away!
Prepared or unprepared to die,
He stands before his Judge on high.

[While they are repeating the last two lines, the curtain falls.




ACT V.

SCENE I.

A common near Altdorf. In the background to the right the keep
of Uri, with the scaffold still standing, as in the third scene
of the first act. To the left the view opens upon numerous
mountains, on all of which signal fires are burning. Day is
breaking, and bells are heard ringing from various distances.

RUODI, KUONI, WERNI, MASTER MASON, and many other country people,
also women and children.

RUODI.
Look at the fiery signals on the mountains!

MASTER MASON.
Hark to the bells above the forest there!

RUODI.
The enemy's expelled.

MASTER MASON.
The forts are taken.

RUODI.
And we of Uri, do we still endure
Upon our native soil the tyrant's keep?
Are we the last to strike for liberty?

MASTER MASON.
Shall the yoke stand that was to bow our necks?
Up! Tear it to the ground!

ALL.
Down, down with it!

RUODI.
Where is the Stier of Uri?

URI.
Here. What would ye?

RUODI.
Up to your tower, and wind us such a blast,
As shall resound afar, from hill to hill;
Rousing the echoes of each peak and glen,
And call the mountain men in haste together!

[Exit STIER OF URI--enter WALTER FURST.

FURST.
Stay, stay, my friends! As yet we have not learned
What has been done in Unterwald and Schwytz.
Let's wait till we receive intelligence!

RUODI.
Wait, wait for what? The accursed tyrant's dead,
And the bright day of liberty has dawned!

MASTER MASON.
How! Do these flaming signals not suffice,
That blaze on every mountain top around?

RUODI.
Come all, fall to--come, men and women, all!
Destroy the scaffold! Tear the arches down!
Down with the walls; let not a stone remain.

MASTER MASON.
Come, comrades, come! We built it, and we know
How best to hurl it down.

ALL.
Come! Down with it!

[They fall upon the building at every side.

FURST.
The floodgate's burst. They're not to be restrained.

[Enter MELCHTHAL and BAUMGARTEN.

MELCHTHAL.
What! Stands the fortress still, when Sarnen lies
In ashes, and when Rossberg is a ruin?

FURST.
You, Melchthal, here? D'ye bring us liberty?
Say, have you freed the country of the foe?

MELCHTHAL.
We've swept them from the soil. Rejoice, my friend;
Now, at this very moment, while we speak,
There's not a tyrant left in Switzerland!

FURST.
How did you get the forts into your power?

MELCHTHAL.
Rudenz it was who with a gallant arm,
And manly daring, took the keep at Sarnen.
The Rossberg I had stormed the night before.
But hear what chanced. Scarce had we driven the foe
Forth from the keep, and given it to the flames,
That now rose crackling upwards to the skies,
When from the blaze rushed Diethelm, Gessler's page,
Exclaiming, "Lady Bertha will be burnt! "

FURST.
Good heavens!

[The beams of the scaffold are heard falling.

MELCHTHAL.
'Twas she herself. Here had she been
Immured in secret by the viceroy's orders.
Rudenz sprang up in frenzy. For we heard
The beams and massive pillars crashing down,
And through the volumed smoke the piteous shrieks
Of the unhappy lady.

FURST.
Is she saved?

MELCHTHAL.
Here was a time for promptness and decision!
Had he been nothing but our baron, then
We should have been most chary of our lives;
But he was our confederate, and Bertha
Honored the people. So without a thought,
We risked the worst, and rushed into the flames.

FURST.
But is she saved?

MELCHTHAL.
She is. Rudenz and I
Bore her between us from the blazing pile,
With crashing timbers toppling all around.
And when she had revived, the danger past,
And raised her eyes to meet the light of heaven,
The baron fell upon my breast; and then
A silent vow of friendship passed between us--
A vow that, tempered in yon furnace heat,
Will last through every shock of time and fate.

FURST.
Where is the Landenberg?

MELCHTHAL.
Across the Bruenig.
No fault of mine it was, that he, who quenched
My father's eyesight, should go hence unharmed.
He fled--I followed--overtook and seized him,
And dragged him to my father's feet. The sword
Already quivered o'er the caitiff's head,
When at the entreaty of the blind old man,
I spared the life for which he basely prayed.
He swore Urphede [26], never to return:
He'll keep his oath, for he has felt our arm.

FURST.
Thank God, our victory's unstained by blood!

CHILDREN (running across the stage with fragments of wood).
Liberty! Liberty! Hurrah, we're free!

FURST.
Oh! what a joyous scene! These children will,
E'en to their latest day, remember it.

[Girls bring in the cap upon a pole. The whole stage
is filled with people.

RUODI.
Here is the cap, to which we were to bow!

BAUMGARTEN.
Command us, how we shall dispose of it.

FURST.
Heavens! 'Twas beneath this cap my grandson stood!

SEVERAL VOICES.
Destroy the emblem of the tyrant's power!
Let it burn!

FURST.
No. Rather be preserved!
'Twas once the instrument of despots--now
'Twill be a lasting symbol of our freedom.

[Peasants, men, women, and children, some standing,
others sitting upon the beams of the shattered scaffold,
all picturesquely grouped, in a large semicircle.

MELCHTHAL.
Thus now, my friends, with light and merry hearts,
We stand upon the wreck of tyranny;
And gallantly have we fulfilled the oath,
Which we at Rootli swore, confederates!

FURST.
The work is but begun. We must be firm.
For, be assured, the king will make all speed,
To avenge his viceroy's death, and reinstate,
By force of arms, the tyrant we've expelled.

MELCHTHAL.
Why, let him come, with all his armaments!
The foe within has fled before our arms;
We'll give him welcome warmly from without!

RUODI.
The passes to the country are but few;
And these we'll boldly cover with our bodies.

BAUMGARTEN.
We are bound by an indissoluble league,
And all his armies shall not make us quail.

[Enter ROSSELMANN and STAUFFACHER.

ROSSELMANN (speaking as he enters).
These are the awful judgments of the lord!

PEASANT.
What is the matter?

ROSSELMANN.
In what times we live!

FURST.
Say on, what is't? Ha, Werner, is it you?
What tidings?

PEASANT.
What's the matter?

ROSSELMANN.
Hear and wonder.

STAUFFACHER.
We are released from one great cause of dread.

ROSSELMANN.
The emperor is murdered.

FURST.
Gracious heaven!

[PEASANTS rise up and throng round STAUFFACHER.

ALL.
Murdered! the emperor? What! The emperor! Hear!

MELCHTHAL.
Impossible! How came you by the news?

STAUFFACHER.
'Tis true! Near Bruck, by the assassin's hand,
King Albert fell. A most trustworthy man,
John Mueller, from Schaffhausen, brought the news.

FURST.
Who dared commit so horrible a deed?

STAUFFACHER.
The doer makes the deed more dreadful still;
It was his nephew, his own brother's child,
Duke John of Austria, who struck the blow.

MELCHTHAL.
What drove him to so dire a parricide?

STAUFFACHER.
The emperor kept his patrimony back,
Despite his urgent importunities;
'Twas said, indeed, he never meant to give it,
But with a mitre to appease the duke.
However this may be, the duke gave ear,
To the ill counsel of his friends in arms;
And with the noble lords, von Eschenbach,
Von Tegerfeld, von Wart, and Palm, resolved,
Since his demands for justice were despised,
With his own hands to take revenge at least.

FURST.
But say, how compassed he the dreadful deed?

STAUFFACHER.
The king was riding down from Stein to Baden,
Upon his way to join the court at Rheinfeld,--
With him a train of high-born gentlemen,
And the young princes, John and Leopold.
And when they reached the ferry of the Reuss,
The assassins forced their way into the boat,
To separate the emperor from his suite.
His highness landed, and was riding on
Across a fresh-ploughed field--where once, they say,
A mighty city stood in Pagan times--
With Hapsburg's ancient turrets full in sight,
Where all the grandeur of his line had birth--
When Duke John plunged a dagger in his throat,
Palm ran him through the body with his lance,
Eschenbach cleft his skull at one fell blow,
And down he sank, all weltering in his blood,
On his own soil, by his own kinsmen slain.
Those on the opposite bank, who saw the deed,
Being parted by the stream, could only raise
An unavailing cry of loud lament.
But a poor woman, sitting by the way,
Raised him, and on her breast he bled to death.

MELCHTHAL.
Thus has he dug his own untimely grave,
Who sought insatiably to grasp at all.

STAUFFACHER.
The country round is filled with dire alarm.