156 A LIFE'S WORK IN IRELAND. 



been killed at it with a year's rent in his pocket, 

 which was never seen after. 



Part of a regiment of militia from the north of 

 Ireland had been quartered at the small town near, 

 to keep the district quiet. It was known that some 

 of the men had been tampered with by the rebels. 

 So the militia were ordered to march one morning for 

 Cork, whilst some regulars were sent from Cork to 

 take their place. 



My friend the guardian described it : " They 

 went along the old road as far as the Big Cross 

 (marked on the Ordnance map still as Croppy's 

 Cross). There the rebels were waiting for them in 

 the fields. The captain was on horseback, and he 

 stood upon the bit of grass in the middle, where the 



roads meet, and the sergeant by his side. Jack 



he put up his gun to shoot the officer, and before he 



could do it, the sergeant shot him. Then Jim he 



shot the sergeant; and they were just going at it 

 hammer and tongs (no doubt in hopes to master and 

 kill the officers and loyal men) when, sure enough, 

 the army from Cork was seen coming over the hill 

 along the road, not a quarter of a mile off. Then 

 they ran away down the fields as hard as they could 



go, and the soldiers after them. And then Peter , 



and Mick , and Pat , and Denis , with a 



dozen others whose names he mentioned as fathers, 

 or uncles, or related to people one knew about were 

 all killed." 





