n, the quantity, subject to modifying circumstances,
being twice the amount taken or destroyed.

Distress of seizure of property being the universal mode of obtaining
satisfaction, whether for crime, breach of contract, non-payment of
debt, or any other cause, the law of distress came into operation as the
solvent of almost every dispute. Hence it is the most extensive and
important branch, if not more than a branch, of these ancient laws. Of
several words meaning distress, _athgabail_ was the most frequently
used. A person having a liquidated claim might either sue a debtor or
proceed at his peril to seize without this preliminary. In the latter
case the defendant could stop the progress of the seizure by paying the
debt, giving a pledge, or demanding a trial; and he then could choose a
Brehon. Distress was of two kinds--(1) _athgabal ar fut_ (= distress on
length, i.e. with time, with delays); and (2) _athgabail tulla_ (=
immediate distress). Which method was pursued depended partly upon the
facts of the case and partly upon the respective ranks of the parties. A
person entitled to seize property had to do it himself, accompanied, if
the amount was large, by a law agent and witnesses. No man was entitled
to seize unless he owned, or had a surety who owned, sufficient property
for indemnity or adjustment in case the seizure should be found to have
been wrongful. The formalities varied in different circumstances and
also at different times in the long ages in which these laws prevailed.
Some forms may, in the Irish as in other legal systems, have become
merely ceremonial and fictitious.

_Tellach_ (= seizure of immovable property) was made in three periods or
delays of ten days each (= 30 days). The first step was a notice that
unless the debt was paid immediately seizure would be made. Ten days
later, the plaintiff crossed the fence in upon the land, with a law
agent, a witness and a pair of horses yoked or harnessed, and in a loud
voice stated the amount of the debt and called upon the defendant to pay
it according to law. On receiving no answer, or an unsatisfactory one,
he withdrew. After an interval of ten days more, the creditor entered
with his law agent, two witnesses and four horses, went farther in upon
the land, repeated his demand, and if refused withdrew. Finally, after a
further interval of ten days, he entered once more with his law agent,
three witnesses and eight horses, drove up to the debtor's house,