TELL.
Strange! And do even the hills begin to totter?
There is stability for naught on earth.
STUSSI.
Strange tidings, too, we hear from other parts.
I spoke with one but now, that came from Baden,
Who said a knight was on his way to court,
And as he rode along a swarm of wasps
Surrounded him, and settling on his horse,
So fiercely stung the beast that it fell dead,
And he proceeded to the court on foot.
TELL.
Even the weak are furnished with a sting.
[ARMGART (enters with several children, and places
herself at the entrance of the pass).
STUSSI.
'Tis thought to bode disaster to the country,
Some horrid deed against the course of nature.
TELL.
Why, every day brings forth such fearful deeds;
There needs no miracle to tell their coming.
STUSSI.
Too true! He's blessed who tills his field in peace,
And sits untroubled by his own fireside.
TELL.
The very meekest cannot rest in quiet,
Unless it suits with his ill neighbor's humor.
[TELL looks frequently with restless expectation
towards the top of the pass.
STUSSI.
So fare you well! You're waiting some one here?