gether
to the burning of the guy.

During all this time Dame Clackett cried out loudly, and in the
confusion her chair was upset, and she became liberated from her
duress. As soon as she was free, she laid about on all sides of her
with her stick, pulled off the helmet and jacket in which she had been
nearly smothered, and cried out at the top of her voice:

"I am no guy! I am Dame Clackett! For goodness' sake do not burn me
for a witch!"

She, however, kept her apron close in which the money was, and took
care not to let the seven-shilling piece fall out of her mouth.

The mob cheered. It would have been well if this had been all, but no:
as soon as ever the old lady told her story that she had been seized
for a guy, an effort was immediately made to secure the offenders. The
constable, who happened to be present, laid hold of me and cousin
Simon; several others were seized by the bystanders; and the whole,
with the exception of Quidd, were dragged off to what in the country
is called the goose-house--that is, the cage. Quidd, lawyer-like,
contrived to get out of the scrape, leaving others in it. So we were
all put into the cage, and bolted and barred. It was very dark, and as
we were terribly frightened, we all began to howl most hideously.

As to Quidd, he went homewards, as if nothing had happened, and soon
made his reappearance, prepared for the usual squibbing and cracking,
with his pockets full of squibs and crackers. He was so pleased with
the success of the scheme in which he had been so forward an actor
that he determined to have more fun before he went to bed; so he
looked about, and it was not long before he saw a fit object, as he
thought.

At the corner of the street leading to the market-place sat poor old
Hannah Grimly, as she was called. She had sold roasted chestnuts on
the fifth of November for a score of years, and many a pinch of
gunpowder had been put under the lid of the saucepan upon which the
chestnuts were laid. Quidd determined to have a good explosion, and
took the opportunity, while the chestnuts were being put into his
hand, to introduce a packet of gunpowder into the kettle. He thought
to run away before it should ignite, but there being a small hole in
the paper, the moment it touched the fire the whole went off with a
loud explosion. Quidd's hand was shattered to pieces, and he fell
stunned with the effects of the powder. He was taken home senseless,
and put to bed.

The rest o