But one St Peter’s Even (31 July) as they went singing through the streets “entending no harm nor displeasure to the said Abbot” and “being in good peace of our sovereign lord the King,” about twenty of the Abbot’s servants set upon the merrymakers and “did shamefully and cruelly beat and hurt” divers of them. They thought this must be by the Abbot’s command, though, as they declared, he had no cause to use them so. When they complained to him, he assured them he knew nothing of the matter, which was not of his will, and asked them all to come up to the Abbey on St Thomas’ Even (20 December) “and there he would give to them half a barrel of beer to drink and make good cheer.” But when on the appointed evening they came singing through the town and began to go up the “great hill having a very narrow way towards the said Abbey,” the Abbot’s servants from the top of the hill “riotously cast down a great number of great stones as much as they could lift” upon the mariners. They “entreated in good and gentle manner the said servants of the Abbot to keep the King’s peace and cease their strokes,” and seeing they were not welcome, they turned back to a friend’s house, to help him with his bonfire and brood upon the lost half-barrel of beer. Here their enemies attacked them again. The cautious mariners admitted that some of the Abbot’s servants might have been hurt in the second fray. Some of the mariners themselves certainly were injured. The defence ends with the usual protestation that the defendants had done nothing wrong, and in any case had a pardon for it[183].