And lay an apple upon his head,
And go six score paces hym fro,
And I myselfe with a broad arrow
Will cleve the apple in two.
Percy, Reliques.
Similar feats of skill are told of Adam Bell and Clym of the Clough.
In Altorf market-place, the spot is still pointed out where Tell shot the apple from his son’s head, and a plaster statue stands where the patriot stood when he took his aim.
See Roman fire in Hampden’s bosom swell,
And fate and freedom in the shaft of Tell.
Campbell, Pleasures of Hope, i. (1799).