THE SACRED NAME. JEHOVAH: God: Almighty: Jah: I am: AN ACROSTICAL RECOMMENDATION OF A CHILDREN'S MAGAZINE. CHILDREN, wisdom who pursue, Light and pleasure for the mind; Drawn from th' fountain-head of truth, E v'ry page instructions bear, MAGAZINE, immensely large, A mply fill'd at trifling charge; G ladly pouring forth its stores At home, and thence to distant shores. T. C. ANCIENT CASTLES. WITH THE HISTORICAL TALE OF WILLIAM TELL. HERE you have a representation of an ancient castle on the banks of the Rhine, in Germany. We have said "ancient castle," and we are glad that we should hardly be able to give a picture of a new or modern castle. In England most of the castles are in ruins. They may be interesting as ruins, but their history, if written, would tell many a sad tale of human suffering in the dark cells of their prisons. A castle was the strong place in which the lord, or baron, and his servants and soldiers dwelt, and from which they went forth to fight and destroy their enemies or to which they fled for safety when defeated by their foes. Often the lord of such a castle would be a proud, imperious man, of a tyrannical temper, and a cruel disposition. Woe to the poor people who were his vassals when this was the case, for his word was law for life or death amongst them. Sometimes the cruel tyranny of one of these feudal lords would rouse the spirit of some bold man to avenge himself. Here is an instance of that kind Albert, emperor of Germany, having formed the ambitious design of conquering Switzerland, in order to make a patrimony of it for one of his younger sons, had by degrees succeeded in subduing the greater part; and, under false pretences, had sent arbitrary governors, who exercised much cruelty and oppression upon the people. The worst of these was Gessler, a rapacious and ferocious man, whose castle in Uri was a continued scene of barbarity and plunder. Discontent had already taken place, and the people not only murmured, but had meetings on every fresh insult; when in the year 1307, Gessler, to prove his power and indulge his vanity, erected his cap on a pole in the market-place of Altorf, and insisted on the people bowing to it as they passed. "The sun already shone brightly as William Tell entered the town, and he at once advanced into the public place, where the first object which caught his eye was the handsome cap embroidered with gold, stuck upon the end of a long pole. Soldiers walked around it in respectful silence, and the people of Altorf, as they passed, bowed their heads profoundly to the symbol of power. Tell was much surprised at this new and strange manifestation of servility, and leaning on his crossbow, gazed contemptuously both on the people and the soldiers. Berenger, captain of the guard, at length observed this man, who alone, amid a cringing populace, carried his head erect. He went to him, and fiercely asked why he neglected to pay obedience to the orders of Hermann Gessler. Tell mildly replied that he was not aware of them, neither could he have thought that the intoxication of power would have carried a man so far; though the cowardice of the people almost justified his conduct. This bold language somewhat surprised Berenger, who ordered Tell to be disarmed, and then, surrounded by guards, he was carried before the governor. 'Wherefore,' demanded the incensed governor, 'hast thou disobeyed my orders, and failed in thy respect to the emperor? Why hast thou dared to pass before the sacred badge of thy sovereign without the evidence of homage required of thee ?' 'Verily,' answered Tell with mock humility, 'how this happened I know not; 'tis an accident, and no mark of contempt; suffer me, therefore, in thy clemency, to depart.' Gessler was both surprised and irritated at this reply, feeling assured that there was something beneath the tranquil and bitter smile of the prisoner which he could not fathom. Suddenly he was struck |