DIVINE PROTECTION
Dinah W. Goff --CONTINUED -- 6
The rebellion was not at an end; but, though
peace and order were partially restored to our
afflicted country, yet the sad consequences still
remained; not only houses in ruins, burned and
torn in pieces by both armies, were to be seen in
all directions, but many of the rebels who were
outlawed took up their abode in caverns In the wood
of Killoughran, and sallied forth by night to commit
depredations on such of the peaceable inhabitants
as had returned to their dilapidated dwellings.
Twice they visited us, and on these occasions our
sufferings were greater than on any during the
rebellion. My father had been urged to accept the
nightly services of a guard of yeomanry, but al-
ways positively refused.
On the first night, having all retired to rest,
we were aroused by a terrific knocking with muskets
at the hail door. My dear father raised his chamber
window, and requested them to wait a few minutes,
and he would open the door; but they continued knock-
ing still louder, and swearing most awfully until he
went down. On his opening the door, they seized him,
and instantly rushed up to his room, breaking a
mahogany desk and bookcase to pieces with their mus-
kets, and demanding money. My father handed them
twenty guineas, which was all he had in the house;
but they persisted in asking for more, and swore,
in a most profane manner, that if he did not give
them more they would take his life. I slept with
a little niece in a room inside his, and we were en-
treated by my sister A. not to rise, as we should
be of no use. I endeavoured to comply with her re-
quest, and remain quiet, til I heard a dreadful
scuffle, and my father’s voice exclaiming, "Don’t
Murder me!" I could no longer keep still, but open-
ed the door, and saw one of the men, dressed in
scarlet regimentals, with full uniform, epaulettes,
a., rushing towards my father with a drawn sword
in his hand. My sister intercepted it by throwing
her arms round my father’s neck, when the point of
the sword touched her side, but not so as to injure
her. In the struggle the candle went out, and they
called most violently for light. The horror which
I felt at this awful moment can scarcely be expressed.
My sister went down towards the kitchen, and found a
man standing at the foot of the first flight of
stairs; she asked him to light the candle, when he
said she might go down, and he would stand guard,
and not allow anyone to pass. This he performed
faithfully, and she returned in safety. I could not,
after this, leave the party, but followed them
through the house. The dreadful language they used,
some of which was addressed to my sisters, impresses
me with horror to this day. Money seemed the sole
object of their visit that night, as they repeatedly
said, "Give me more money I tell you;" assuring
my father that, if he did not give them more, they
would murder him. They even said from minute to minute,
while they held a pistol to his forehead, "Now you’re
just gone." They then forced him to kneel down,
repeating the same words and presenting the pistol.
Seeing his Situation, I threw myself on my knees on
the floor, and clung with my arms round him; when
the ruffians pushed me away, saying, "You’ll be
killed if you stop there." But my father drew me
towards him more closely, saying, "She would rather
be hurt if I am." They snapped the pistol several
times, which perhaps was not charged, as it did not
go off. When they found there was no more money
they desisted, asking for watches, which were given
them, and at length they went away, after eating
and drinking all they could obtain, and charging
my father to have more money for them the next time,
or they declared they would have his life. So
saying, one of them, who appeared in a great rage,
and had a cavalry sword in his hand, cut at the
handrail of the hall stairs, the mark of which still
remains.
About a fortnight afterwards--before the family
withdrew to rest, my father had a presentiment that
the robbers night come again that night, and sat
up later than usual. After midnight they arrived,
knocking furiously as before, and fully prepared to
plunder the house. They soon emptied the drawers,
and took all the wearing apparel they could get, that
did not betray the costume of Friends; so that we
were deprived of nearly all our clothes. On per-
ceiving that they were taking all, my mother begged
one shirt and one pair of stockings for my father,
which they threw at her face in the rudest manner,
using dreadful language. They behaved most violently,
and, spreading quilts and sheets on the floor, filled
them with all sorts of clothing they could get; they
then called for victuals to eat and drink, desiring
my sister to drink their health, putting the cup of
small beer to her lips, and bidding her "wish long
life and success to the babes of the wood," as they
called themselves. This she steadfastly refused.
They then declared they would come again in two weeks,
and take us all to live with them in the wood, "and
to cut bread and butter for the babes." Their be-
haviour was so insulting, and my dear parents were
so fearful of these threats being realized, that
they determined on sending us young females to my
cousins Goff and Neville, who were then merchants in
Ross; and there we remained for some weeks, until
tranquillity was restored to the county.
After the robbers had finished their repast,
they threatened to take my father’s life, behaving
very outrageously, and saying they must take him to
their main guard at a little distance and murder him
there, as they did not like to do it in his own
house. They then led him out, and we all attempted
to follow; but they pushed my mother back, saying
that she should not come--it would be too painful a
sight for her to see her husband murdered, which they
certainly would do. It was very dark, but my sister
Arabella positively refused to leave her father, and
they allowed her to accompany him. Whilst crossing
the lawn, the root of a beech-tree, projecting above
the path, caused him to stumble; he then sat down,
and said, if they were determined to take his life,
they might as well do it there. My dear sister stood
by in a state of awful suspense. They rudely asked
him if he had anything to say, telling him his time
was come. On hearing this, he remained quite silent,
and they, not understanding it, hurried him to speak;
when he said, he prayed that the Almighty might be
merciful to him, and be pleased to forgive him his
trespasses and sins, and also to forgive them, as he
did sincerely. They said that was a good wish, and
inquired if he had anything more to say. He re-
quested them to be tender towards his wife and child-
ren; on which they said, "Good-night, Mr Goff: we
only wanted to rattle the mocuses out of you,"
--meaning guineas.
When they took my father forcibly out of the
house, my mother, though much distressed, was
favoured with her usual quietude and composure of
mind, trusting in the Lord, who had been pleased to
support her through many deep trials, and then
forsook her not. So strong was her confidence, that
she even called to the servant for some warm water,
to prepare a little negus for my dear father against
his return; when I said, "It is not likely we shall
ever see my father again alive, for they are going
to murder him:" on which she replied, with firmness,
"I have faith to believe they will never be permitted
to take his life." In about a quarter of an hour
my valued and tender parent returned, pale and ex-
hausted; and, throwing himself on the sofa, said,
"This work will finish me; I cannot hold out much
longer," which proved to be the case.
Remarkable also was the protecting care vouch-
safed to my uncle Joshua Wilson (my mother’s brother),
whose residence at Mount Prospect, near Rathangan,
was forcibly entered by a party of rebels. One
night, after the family had retired to rest, they
were aroused by a tremendous volley of musketry,
which at once shattered the hall door; and a loud
cry was raised of "Arms, money, or life!" with most
awful swearing. My uncle went hastily down in his
dressing-gown, followed by his wife, who heard them
exclaim, "You are a dead man;" and seeing one of the
men present a pistol at my uncle’s head, she rushed
between him and the ruffian, exclaiming, "Thou shalt
not, and darest not, take my husband’s life, or
touch him; for the arm of the Almighty is stronger
than thou art." The man appeared confounded, and
let the pistol drop from his powerless hand; it was
very remarkable that the whole party left the house
soon after, without doing any further injury. This
great shock, and the alarming state of the country
at that time, affected my uncle so much, that he
left next day his comfortable and handsome resi-
dence, in which he had resided happily for forty
years, and sailed for England, where he and his
wife spent the remainder of their lives at Taplow
Hill, near London.
QUEST, P.O. Box 82, Bellefonte PA 16823
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