STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY 
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WAT TYLER (A.D. 1381). 
1. One day, in the little town of Dartford in Kent, 
an officer was going from house to house to gather 
the taxes, when he stopped at the cottage of a tyler 
named Wat. Wat was at his work close by, laying 
tiles on the roof of a house, and only his wife and 
daughter were at home, Wat the tyler, or Wat 
Tyler, as we call him now, saw the man go into his 
cottage, and, soon after, heard a loud sceream. In an 
instant, he jumped down from the roof, ran into his 
house, and seeing the officer rude to his daughter, 
struck him on the head with his hammer and 
killed him. 
2. Now I must telı you that in those days— 
when Richard the Second was king— the poor 
were badly treated by the rich. Some of the poorest 
people were slaves. They were made to work on 
the same farm all their lives, and could be sold 
by their masters, like pigs or horses, Even those 
who were free, and lived in towns, had to work 
hard for low wages; and they were kept down 
by the rich, and made to pay heavy taxes, when 
they could barely earn money enough to keep them- 
selves alive. 
3. So when Wat Tyler killed the brutal officer, 
all the poor people, in the villages round about, took 
his part. They agreed to go to London, to lay 
their complaints before the king, and, if need be, to 
fight for what they thought to be their rights. 
4. Before many days had passed, thousands of 
poor, rough, wild-looking men, some with bows,