68 REMINISCENCES OF A HUNTSMAN 



arrived at the gate, and I called out, " Gentlemen, will you sit 

 by and see this ? " In an instant such a lot of goodly legs flew 

 over their horses' manes as made it evident to me there was no 

 lack of help, and in another moment Mr. George Hawkins, Mr. 

 William Norton of Uxbridge, Mr. Baring, and, though last not 

 least, Mr. Gulley, sometime member for Pontefract, were with 

 me. There were many others equally ready and resolute, but 

 my memory does not serve me after such 'a lapse of time with 

 their names. I assure them that they are not intentionally 

 omitted. When my assistants arrived at the bani-door, to my 

 infinite amusement I saw a huge ruffian, the one who had struck 

 at me, squaring at Mr. Gulley and threatening to strike him ; 

 the latter simply collected himself, and drawing his hands 

 together on his chest, said in a calm but ominous tone, " You'd 

 better not." So thought the countryman, or some sort of 

 instinct came to his rescue, for, turning quickly away, he sought 

 some other foe in the melee which had then commenced. There 

 seemed to be among those barn-savages — for to distinguish them 

 from honest labourers I can call them nothing else — much in- 

 decision as to whether they should attempt to defend the barn 

 from being opened, or whether they had better get in and, arming 

 themselves with corn-shovels and forks, defend the barn over the 

 foot-board, or whatsoever they call the board that goes across 

 the entrance when the doors are open. At all events, among 

 red coats, dark coats, and smock-frocks, the doors came open, 

 and the countrymen slipped in and armed themselves, when, as 

 they had been joined by others, the entrance to the barn was 

 quite filled by the opposing ranks of the besiegers and the 

 besieged. The first thing I saw was the seizure of a pitchfork 

 by George Hawkins, who had stuck his glass into his eye to look 

 well for it, but when he had made up his mind, in case of a blow, 

 let it fall from his eye again. His was no slight grasp, and in 

 vain the huge labourer tugged to get his weapon free. The next 

 thing that came out of the barn was a labourer on to the handle 

 of a fork, but dragged forth on his back among the manure ; 

 then a corn-shovel or a spade was captured ; and then all the 



