and shown after tea to his envious friends, Switzerland belonged to the
Emperor of Austria, to do what he liked with.

One of the first things the Emperor did was to send his friend Hermann
Gessler to govern the country. Gessler was not a nice man, and it soon
became plain that he would never make himself really popular with the
Swiss. The point on which they disagreed in particular was the question
of taxes. The Swiss, who were a simple and thrifty people, objected to
paying taxes of any sort. They said they wanted to spend their money on
all kinds of other things. Gessler, on the other hand, wished to put a
tax on everything, and, being Governor, he did it. He made everyone who
owned a flock of sheep pay a certain sum of money to him; and if the
farmer sold his sheep and bought cows, he had to pay rather more money
to Gessler for the cows than he had paid for the sheep. Gessler also
taxed bread, and biscuits, and jam, and buns, and lemonade, and, in
fact, everything he could think of, till the people of Switzerland
determined to complain. They appointed Walter Furst, who had red hair
and looked fierce; Werner Stauffacher, who had gray hair and was always
wondering how he ought to pronounce his name; and Arnold of Melchthal,
who had light-yellow hair and was supposed to know a great deal about
the law, to make the complaint. They called on the Governor one lovely
morning in April, and were shown into the Hall of Audience.

"Well," said Gessler, "and what's the matter now?"

The other two pushed Walter Furst forward because he looked fierce, and
they thought he might frighten the Governor.

Walter Furst coughed.