se, was all the notice which the other would vouchsafe; but the
rustic insisted on having satisfaction, and so stubbornly did he persist
in brandishing his broomstick, and opposing his cheese, that the
gladiator, in a towering fury, at last drove at him desperately enough.
The thrust was very coolly received in the soft and savoury shield of
the countryman, who instantly repaid it by a dexterous daub with his
broom, soaking the beard and whiskers of the swordsman with its odorous
contents. A second and more furious pass at the rustic was parried with
masterly skill and activity, and rewarded by another salute from the
broomstick, which ludicrously besmeared the sword-player's eyes; the
crowd setting up a roar of merriment at his crest-fallen appearance. A
third lunge was again spent upon the cheese, amid shouts of laughter;
while the broomsman calmly mopped nose, eyes, and beard, of his
antagonist's puffing and blowing physiognomy. Entirely transported with
rage and chagrin, the champion now dropped his rapier, and came at his
ridiculous adversary with the broadsword. "Hold, hold, my good fellow,"
cried Broomstick, "so far all's fair play! but if that's the game, have
a care, for I shall certainly take your life." At this, the confounded
gladiator stood aghast, and staring at the absurd apparition before him,
cried out, amid the jeers of the mob, "Who is it? there were but two in
England that could match me! It must be Goffe, Whalley, or the Devil!"
And so it proved, for it was Goffe.

In November, came out the Act of Indemnity, by which it appeared that
Goffe and Whalley were not included in the amnesty which covered a
multitude of sins. It was nevertheless far in February before the
governor had entered upon even a formal inquiry of his council, as to
what he should do with the fugitives; a formality which, empty as it
was, must have occasioned their abrupt departure from Massachusetts. At
Newhaven, a concentrated Puritanism seems to have offered them a much
safer asylum;[41] and as a brother-in-law of Whalley's had lately held a
kind of pastoral dignity in that place, it is not improbable that they
received pledges of protection, should they choose it for their city of
refuge. One now goes from Boston to Newhaven, by railroad and steamer,
in less than a day; but in those times it was very good travelling which
brought them to their Alsatia in less than a fortnight. There they were
received as saints and confessors; an