Holly, Yew and Box 



when the Austrian ruler wished to show how 

 he was all-powerful over his subjects, he placed 

 his hat upon a staff in Altorf market-place, and 

 ordered all the Swiss to bow down to it. When 

 it came to Tell's turn he refused to obey such a 

 ridiculous order, and as a result was condemned 

 to death. He had, however, attained great re- 

 nown as a marksman, and the Austrian Duke, 

 wishing for an exhibition of his skill, ordered him 

 to divide an apple with an arrow, shot from a 

 considerable distance, the apple being placed on 

 the head of Tell's son. The feat was performed 

 without accident, but it marked a new era in the 

 history of Switzerland, for it was the signal for a 

 general uprising by means of which the Swiss 

 were enabled to throw off the foreign yoke. 

 Through this association between William Tell 

 and the Yew-tree it is still spoken of in Switzer- 

 land as " William's Tree." 



Although the use of the bow appears to have 

 been most popular in England from the twelfth 

 to the fifteenth century, it was in use long before 

 the Battle of Hastings, whilst as a pastime archery 

 is still encouraged. Both ancient and modern 

 archery is dealt with in C. J. Longman and 

 Col. H. WalroncFs book on Archery, a book 

 which contains a vast amount of information on 

 the subject. A bow is described as being dug up 

 in Cambridge in 1855 from deep down in a bed 

 of peat. It was impossible to discover its date, 



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