anguage a plain man keeps by him for
his ordinary use in the world, and how unfit it is to meet any call
upon it. For though at this very moment I can myself see that white
Somersetshire road, with the wild whirling charge of the horsemen, the
red angry faces of the men, and the gaping nostrils of the horses all
wreathed and framed in clouds of dust, I cannot hope to make it clear
to your young eyes, which never have looked, and, I trust, never shall
look, upon such a scene. When, too, I think of the sound, a mere rattle
and jingle at first, but growing in strength and volume with every step,
until it came upon us with a thunderous rush and roar which gave the
impression of irresistible power, I feel that that too is beyond the
power of my feeble words to express. To inexperienced soldiers like
ourselves it seemed impossible that our frail defence and our feeble
weapons could check for an instant the impetus and weight of the
dragoons. To right and left I saw white set faces, open-eyed and rigid,
unflinching, with a stubbornness which rose less from hope than from
despair. All round rose exclamations and prayers. 'Lord, save Thy
people!' 'Mercy, Lord, mercy!' 'Be with us this day!' 'Receive our
souls, O merciful Father!' Saxon lay across the waggon with his eyes
glinting like diamonds and his petronel presented at the full length
of his rigid arm. Following his example we all took aim as steadily as
possible at the first rank of the enemy. Our only hope of safety lay
in making that one discharge so deadly that our opponents should be too
much shaken to continue their attack.

Would the man never fire? They could not be more than ten paces from us.
I could see the buckles of the men's plates and the powder charges in
their bandoliers. One more stride yet, and at last our leader's pistol
flashed and we poured in a close volley, supported by a shower of heavy
stones from the sturdy peasants behind. I could hear them splintering
against casque and cuirass like hail upon a casement. The cloud of smoke
veiling for an instant the line of galloping steeds and gallant riders
drifted slowly aside to show a very different scene. A dozen men and
horses were rolling in one wild blood-spurting heap, the unwounded
falling over those whom our balls and stones had brought down.
Struggling, snorting chargers, iron-shod feet, staggering figures rising
and falling, wild, hatless, bewildered men half stunned by a fall, and
not knowing which