and towns along the
road to join the insurgents, the leaders administered to them an oath.
The oath bound them,

1. Always to be faithful and true to King Richard.

2. Never to submit to the reign of any king named John. This
was aimed at the Duke of Lancaster, whose name was John, and
whom they all specially hated.

3. Always to follow and defend their leaders whenever called
upon to do so, and always to be ready to march themselves,
and to bring their neighbors with them, at a moment's
warning.

4. To demand the abrogation of all the obnoxious taxes, and
never to submit again to the collection of them.

In this manner the throngs moved on along the roads leading to London.
They became gradually more and more excited and violent as they
proceeded. Soon they began to attack the houses of knights, and
nobles, and officers of the government which they passed on the way;
and many persons, whom they supposed to be their enemies, they killed.
At Canterbury they pillaged the palace of the archbishop. The
Archbishop of Canterbury, then as now, drew an immense revenue from
the state, and lived in great splendor, and they justly conceived that
the luxury and ostentation in which he indulged was in some degree the
cause of the oppressive taxation that they endured.

They assaulted a castle on the way, and made prisoner of a certain
knight named Sir John Newton, whom they found in it, and compelled him
to go with them to London. The knight was very unwilling to go with
them, and at first seemed determined not to do so; but they disposed
of his objections in a very summary manner.

"Sir John," said they, "unless you go with us at once, and in every
thing do exactly as we order you, you are a dead man."

So Sir John was compelled to go. They took two of his children with
them also, to hold as security, they said, for their father's good
behavior.

There were other parties of the insurgents who made prisoners in this
way of men of rank and family, and compelled them to ride at the head
of their respective columns, as if they were leaders in the
insurrection.

In this manner the throngs moved on, until at length, approaching the
Thames, they arrived at Blackheath and Greenwich, two villages below
London, farther down than the Tower, and near the bank of the river.
Here they halted, and determined to send an embassage to the king to
demand an audience. The embassador that