ownlands, a few more spectators hove
in sight, but at no point could more than a dozen be counted. As the
sun now shone through the western sky it revealed a picturesque as
well as interesting scene.

Like a huge red serpent with black head and tail, the convoy wound
gradually up a slight hill, the scarlet thrown into relief by the long
line of grey walls on either side, beyond which lay green fields and
clumps of trees dyed with the myriad hues of autumn, the distance
being filled in by the purple mountains beyond Lough Mask. Presently
came the angle which marks the extremity of Captain Boycott's land.
Taking the road to the right, we approached the house under ban, and
around which a crowd of peasants had been expected. The only human
beings in sight were the police guarding the entrance by the lodge,
and those stationed near the hut on a slight eminence to the right.
Here the surrounding trees contrasted vividly with the animated and
highly coloured scenes beneath. Completely enclosed by foliage was an
encampment of the most picturesque kind.

On the greenest of all possible fields in front of the tents the
officers commanding the escort, the leaders of the Ulster Brigade, and
the resident magistrates were received by Mr. Boycott, who appeared in
a dark shooting-dress and cap, and carried a double-barrelled gun in
his hand. A little further on stood Mrs. Boycott and her nephew and
niece, the house itself seeming almost deserted. The workmen, like the
troopers, formed in line, and appeared to be equally well armed.

Presently the arduous task of stowing the uninvited Northern
contingent was undertaken. The troops, who had remained on the ground
all night, and had been reduced to straits by the failure of the
commissariat, had, after some reflection and the exercise of
considerable patience, taken care of themselves as best they might.
Sheep had been slain, and chickens and geese had lent savoury aid to
the banquet of the warriors, who also, in the absence of other fuel,
were constrained to make short work of Lord Erne's trees. But they had
done their work cheerfully in the cold and wet, and had pitched tents
for the Ulster men. When the belligerent "agriculturists" came to be
told off into these tents an amusing difficulty, illustrative of the
light handling necessary to the conduct of affairs in Ireland,
interrupted the dulness which had hitherto oppressed all present.

Those "agriculturists" who hailed from Cava