ost savage fury, while the women and
children stood around, the latter forming a squalling orchestra, which
kept time to the blows. When matters were becoming serious, a number of
the women, handing their babies to their companions, sprang into the
fight, shrieking out, "Come out o' that, Pat!"

"Come out o' that, Tim!" and dragged their husbands, or sons, or lovers,
away from each other.

The men mostly, however, endeavoured to release themselves by leaving
their coats in the women's hands, exclaiming--

"Let me get at them, Biddy. I'll not be held back!"

The women succeeded in dragging but a very few out of the fray, and
again the combatants went at it, till one after the other was stretched
on the ground.

At length a priest arrived, and exhorted those who were of his flock to
desist; and, rushing in among them, where words were ineffectual, dealt
them pretty hard blows with his own cudgel. I was inclined to go and
assist his reverence, but Fitzgerald advised me to do nothing of the
sort.

"They treat him with some sort of respect," he observed, "but they would
treat you with none, and a broken head would be the consequence."

The tumult and uproar had made our horses restive; and as a party of the
combatants, with loud shrieks and clashing of shillelahs, came rushing
against mine, he began to kick and plunge, and at length bolted with me,
scattering the people in his course right and left.

Shouts and imprecations followed me, but though I pulled at the rein
with all my might, I could not stop him. On he went, upsetting a booth
of crockery and scattering the contents; he dashed in among a herd of
pigs, which scampered off in all directions; when finally, attempting to
leap over a tent in our course, he went through one side of it, pitching
me before him, and down he came on to the middle of the table, with his
hind legs under the bench, and very nearly on the top of me.

I scrambled out of the way, bruised and scratched, receiving no very
friendly greeting from the owner of the booth. Larry, who had seen what
was going on, followed, and assisted to extricate my steed as well as
me.

Its knees were cut and hind legs sprained, and I felt as if every bone
in my body was broken, though I managed to get on my feet, and, giving
myself a shake, had the satisfaction of discovering that nothing of the
sort had occurred.

My brothers-in-law, coming up, paid the men for the damage done to the
crockery booth