had been broken into, and they had been dragged out of their beds in
the dead of the night, and hurried away in irons to the dungeons of the
Boroughmongers.

When I reached home I informed my family of what it was possible might
happen, and this I did, not to alarm them, but to put them upon their
guard, that they might not lose presence of mind in case of any
nocturnal assault being made upon my house. In my own mind I had firmly
settled how to act: if any messenger from the Secretary of State's
office came to apprehend me in the _day time_, I should attend him very
quietly and peaceably; but if any nocturnal visit was intended me by the
officers of the ministers, I was determined to resist and to defend
my house to the last moment; because by so doing they would leave
themselves without the shadow of an excuse, as they always knew when and
where I was to be found in the face of day. Desperate as this plan may
appear in the eyes of many, it was that on which I was determined to
act. I took with me every night into my bed-room a brace of loaded
pistols, that never missed fire, and my double-barrelled gun, charged
and fresh primed; and any number of men less than four would not have
gained admittance alive into my house in the _night time_. I had
violated no law, I had committed no breach of the peace, and I was
resolved that I would maintain the right of an Englishman's house being
his own castle, in spite of Seditious Meeting Bills, or the suspension
of the Habeas Corpus Act. Fortunately, my coolness and determination
were never put to the test. I, however, never went to bed for many weeks
without expecting the enemy, and cautioning my family not to be alarmed
in case of any nocturnal visit being paid me.

Mr. Cobbett's leave-taking address was published, in which he pretty
clearly intimated what would be the fate of every man that remained in