e, a good reason for not fighting. So, in cold blood riding
on, and yet ashamed that a man should shrink where a horse went bravely,
I cast a bitter blame upon the reckless ways of Winnie.

Nearly all were scattered now. Of the noble countrymen (armed with
scythe or pickaxe, blacksmith's hammer, or fold-pitcher), who had stood
their ground for hours against blazing musketry (from men whom they
could not get at, by reason of the water-dyke), and then against the
deadly cannon, dragged by the Bishop's horses to slaughter his own
sheep; of these sturdy Englishmen, noble in their want of sense, scarce
one out of four remained for the cowards to shoot down. 'Cross the
rhaine,' they shouted out, 'cross the rhaine, and coom within rache:'
but the other mongrel Britons, with a mongrel at their head, found it
pleasanter to shoot men who could not shoot in answer, than to meet the
chance of mischief from strong arms, and stronger hearts.

The last scene of this piteous play was acting, just as I rode up. Broad
daylight, and upstanding sun, winnowing fog from the eastern hills,
and spreading the moors with freshness; all along the dykes they shone,
glistened on the willow-trunks, and touched the banks with a hoary gray.
But alas! those banks were touched more deeply with a gory red, and
strewn with fallen trunks, more woeful than the wreck of trees; while
howling, cursing, yelling, and the loathsome reek of carnage, drowned
the scent of the new-mown hay, and the carol of the lark.

Then the cavalry of the King, with their horses at full speed, dashed
from either side upon the helpless mob of countrymen. A few pikes
feebly levelled met them; but they shot the pikemen, drew swords, and
helter-skelter leaped into the shattered and scattering mass. Right and
left they hacked and hewed; I could hear the snapping of scythes beneath
them, and see the flash of their sweeping swords. How it must end was
plain enough, even to one like myself, who had never beheld such a
battle before. But Winnie led me away to the left; and as I could
not help the people, neither stop the slaughter, but found the
cannon-bullets coming very rudely nigh me, I was only too glad to follow
her.

CHAPTER LXV

FALLING AMONG LAMBS

That faithful creature, whom I began to admire as if she were my own
(which is no little thing for a man to say of another man's horse),
stopped in front of a low black shed, such as we call a 'linhay.' And
here she uttered a