"I went across seas first time along o' Lord General Cromwell to Ireland, and he gave us our bellyful of fighting, and no mistake; but it ain't fighting that I complain of, having been always held a valiant man of my inches;" and he puffed out his broad chest and looked a very crusader.  "And you'll bear me out, sir, I wasn't one to call out at knocks.  But here's what I complains of--'twas nothing but knocks over there.  If so be you laid hands if it were but on a hen, if you 'scaped the gallows your back paid for your chicken, and as for kissing an Irish wench, they'd have hanged a colonel for doing of it!  And they great woods!  Now I've seen woods as is worth the seeing, chock full of monkeys and grapes and parrots and such like, but they Irish woods! Caramba!  I'd sooner be hanged than set eyes on them again!  So as I was saying, 'twas hard knocks and short commons and long sermons, and agues to boot; so when we come to Cork, I just turned my back on old Noll and padded the hoof to Kinsale, and there I shipped under Prince Rupert."