The Labor enquirer., 1883-12-29


should be made slaves any more Sec
ondly, that the rent of land should be
fixed at certain price in money, instead
of being paid in service. Thirdly, that
they ehould have liberty to buy and sell
/ in all markets and public places, like
other free men. Fourthly, that they
should be pardoned for past offenses.
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 charter accordingly.
Now, Wat Tyler himself wanted more
than this. He wanted the entire aboli-
ton of forest laws. He was not at Mile
end with the rest, but, while that meet
ing 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 swoards
into the bed of the Pricess of Wales
while the princess was in it to make cer-i
tain 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 small train of
some sixty gentlemen-among whom
was Walworth the mayor-rode into
Smithfeld, and saw Wat and his people
at little distance. Says Wat to his men,
"There is the king. / will go speak with
him, and tell him what we want"
straightway Wat rode up to him and
began to talk. King" says Wat, Hdost
thou see all my men there ?"
"Ahp p says, the king. "Why?"
Because" says Wat, "they are all at
my command, and have sworn to do
whatever have bid them.p
Some declared afterward that, as Wat
said this, he laid his hand on the Kings
bride. Others declared that he was seen
to play with his own dagger. 1 think
myself, that he just spoke to the king
like 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
short sword, and stabbing him in the
throat. He dropped from his horse, and
one of the kings people speedily finish
ed him. So fell Wat Tyler. Fawners
and fatterers made a mighty triumph
of it. and set up cry which will ocea-
sionally find an echo to this day. But
Wat was hard-working man, who had
suffered much and had been foully out
ragged; and it is probable that he was a
man of much higher nature and much
braver spirit than any of the parasites
who exalted them, or have exalted since,
over his defeat.
Seeing Wat down, his men immedi-
ately bent their bows to aveng his fall
If the young king had not had presence
of mind at that dangerous moment, both
he and the mayor to boot might have
followed Tyler pretty fast. But the king,
riding up to the crowd, cried that Tyler
was a traitor, and that he would be their
leader They were SO taken by surprise
that they set up great shouting, and
followed the boy until he was met at
Islington by large body of soldiers.
The end of this rising was then the
usual end. As soon as the king found he
was,safe, he unsaid all he had said, and
undid all he had done; some fifteen hun
dred of the rioters were tried (mostly in |
Essex with great rigor and executed
with great cruelty. Many of them were
hanged on gibbets, and left there as a
terror to the country people; and, be-
cause their miserable friends took some
of the bodies down 10 bury, the king
ordered the rest to be chained up-which |
was the beginning of the barbarious GUS
tom of hanging in chains. The kings
falsehood in this business makes such a
pitiful figure, that 1 think Wat Tyler ap-
pears in history as beyond comparison
the truer and more respectable man of
the two. CHARLES DICKENS.