going his rounds from house to house, at
Dartford in Kent, came to the cottage of
one WAT, a tiler by trade, and claimed the
tax upon his daughter. Her mother, who
was at home, declared that she was under
the age of fourteen; upon that, the collector
(as other collectors had already done in
different parts of England) behaved in a
savage way, and brutally insulted Wat Tyler's
daughter. The daughter screamed, the mother
screamed. Wat the Tiler, who was at work
not far off, ran to the spot, and did what
any honest father under such provocation
might have done — struck the collector dead
at a blow.

Instantly the people of that town uprose as
one man. They made Wat Tyler their
leader; they joined with the people of Essex,
who were in arms under a priest called JACK
STRAW; they took out of Maidstone prison
another priest named JOHN BALL; and,
gathering in numbers as they went along,
advanced, in a great confused army of poor
men, to Blackheath. It is said that they
wanted to abolish all property, and to declare
all men equal. I do not think this very likely;
because they stopped the travellers on the
roads and made them swear to be true to
King Richard and the people. Nor were they
at ail disposed to injure those who had done
them no harm, merely because they were of
high station; for, the King's mother, who had
to pass through their camp at Blackheath,
on her way to her young son, lying for safety
in the Tower of London, had merely to kiss a
few dirty-faced rough-bearded men who were
noisily fond of royalty, and so got away in
perfect safety. Next day the whole mass
marched on to London Bridge.

There was a drawbridge in the middle,
which WILLIAM WALWORTH the Mayor caused
to be raised to prevent their coming into
the city; but they soon terrified the citizens
into lowering it again, and spread themselves,
with great uproar, over the streets. They
broke open the prisons; they burned the
papers in Lambeth Palace; they destroyed
the DUKE OF LANCASTER'S Palace, the Savoy,
in the Strand, said to be the most beautiful
and splendid in England; they set fire to
the books and documents in the Temple;
and made a great riot. Many of these
outrages were committed in drunkenness; since
those citizens, who had well-filled cellars,
were only too glad to throw them open to
save the rest of their property; but even the
drunken rioters were very careful to steal
nothing. They were so angry with one man,
who was seen to take a silver cup at the
Savoy Palace, and put it in his breast, that
they drowned him in the river, cup and all.

The young King had been taken out to
treat with them before they committed these
excesses; but, he and the people about him
were so frightened by the riotous shouts, that
they got back to the Tower in the best way
they could. This made the insurgents bolder;
so they went on rioting away, striking off the
heads of those who did not, at a moment's
notice, declare for King Richard and the
people; and killing as many of the
unpopular persons whom they supposed to be
their enemies as they could by any means
lay hold of. In this manner they passed one
very violent day, and then proclamation was
made that the King would meet them at
Mile-end, and grant their requests.

The rioters went to Mile-end, to the number
of sixty thousand, and the King met them
there, and to the King the rioters peaceably
proposed four conditions. First, that neither
they, nor their children , nor any coming after
them, should be made slaves any more.
Secondly, that the rent of land should be
fixed at a certain price in money, instead of
being paid in service. Thirdly, that they
should have liberty to buy and sell in all
markets and public places, like other free
men. Fourthly, that they should be pardoned
for past offences. Heaven knows, there was
nothing very unreasonable in these proposals!
The young King deceitfully pretended to think
so, and kept thirty clerks up, all night, writing
out a charter accordingly.

Now, Wat Tyler himself wanted more than
this. He wanted the entire abolition of the
forest laws. He was not at Mile-end with the
rest, but, while that meeting was being held,
broke into the Tower of London and slew the
archbishop and the treasurer, for whose heads
the people had cried out loudly the day before.
He and his men even thrust their swords,
into the bed of the Princess of Wales while
the Princess was in it, to make certain that
none of their enemies were concealed there.

So, Wat and his men still continued
armed, and rode about the city. Next
morning, the King with a small train of some
sixty gentlemen — among whom was
WALWORTH the Mayor — rode into Smithfield, and
saw Wat and his people at a little distance.
Says Wat to his men, " There is the King.
I will go speak with him, and tell him what
we want."

Straightway Wat rode up to him, and began
to talk; " King," says Wat, " dost thou see
all my men there?"

"Ay," says the King. " Why ? "

"Because," says Wat, " they are all at my
command, and have sworn to do whatever I
bid them."

Some declared afterwards that as Wat said
this, he laid his hand on the King's bridle.
Others declared that he was seen to play with
his own dagger. I think, myself, that he just
spoke to the King like a rough, angry man as
he was, and did nothing more. At any rate he
was expecting no attack, and preparing for
no resistance, when Walworth the Mayor did
the not very valiant deed of drawing a short
sword and stabbing him in the throat. He
dropped from his horse, and one of the
King's people speedily finished him. So fell
Wat Tyler. Fawners and flatterers made a