An Orangeman, who may have happened to entertain a pique against a Roman Catholic, or sustained an injury from one, had nothing more to do than send abroad, or get some one to send abroad for him, a report that he had fire-arms in his possession.
No sooner had this rumor spread, than a party of these yeomanry assembled in their regimentals, and with loaded fire-arms, proceeded, generally in the middle of the night or about day-break, to the residence of the suspected person.

The door, if not immediately opened, was broken in--the whole house ransacked--the men frequently beaten severely, and the ears of females insulted by the coarsest and most indecent language.
These scenes, which in nineteen cases out of twenty, the Orangemen got up to gratify private hatred and malignity, were very frequent, and may show us the danger of any government entrusting power, in whatever shape, or arms or ammunition, to irresponsible hands, or subjecting one party to the fierce passions and bigoted impulses of another.
The noise of their horses' feet as they approached M'Loughlin's house in a gallop, alarmed that family, who knew at once that it was a domiciliary visit from M'Clutchy's cavalry.
"Raise the window," said M'Loughlin himself, "and ask them what they want--or stay, open the door," he added at the same time to another, "and do not let us give them an excuse for breaking it in.

It's the blood-hounds, sure enough," observed he, "and here they are." In a moment they were dismounted, and having found the hall door open, the parlor was crowded with armed men, who manifested all the overbearing insolence and wanton insult of those who know that they can do so with impunity.
"Come, M'Loughlin," said Cochrane, now their leader, "you ribelly Papish rascal, produce your arms--for we have been informed that you have arms consaled in the house." "Pray who informed you, Mr.Cochrane ?" "That's not your business, my man," replied Cochrane, "out with them before we search." "I'll tell you what, Cochrane," replied M'Loughlin, "whoever informed you that we have arms is a liar--we have no arms." "And right well they know that," said his son, "it's not for arms they come, but it's a good excuse to insult the family." His father (who, on looking more closely at them, now perceived that they were tipsy, and some of them quite drunk) though a man of singular intrepidity, deemed it the wisest and safest course to speak to them as civilly as possible.
"I did'nt think, Tom Cochrane," said he, "that either I or any of my family, deserved such a visit as this from, I may say, my own door neighbors.

It's not over civil, I think, to come in this manner, disturbing a quiet and inoffensive family." "What's the ribelly rascal sayin' ?" asked a drunken fellow, who lurched across the floor, and would have fallen, had he not come in contact with a chest of drawers, "what, wha-at's he say-ayin?
but I sa-ay here's to hell with the Po-po-pope--hurra!" "Ah ?" said young M'Loughlin, "you have the ball at your own foot now, but if we were man to man, with equal weapons, there would be none of this swagger." "What's tha-at the young rible says," said 'the drunken fellow, deliberately covering him with his cavalry pistol--"another word, and I'll let day-light through you." "Come, Burke," said a man named Irwin, throwing up the muzzle of the pistol, "none o' this work, you drunken brute.

Don't be alarmed, M'Loughlin, you shan't be injured." "Go go to h--l, George, I'll do what I--I li-like; sure 'all these ribels ha-hate King William that sa-saved us from brass money a-and wooden noggins--eh, stay, shoes it is; no matter, they ought to be brogues I think, for it--it's brogues--ay, brogues, the papish--it is, by hell, 'brogues and broghans an' a' the Pa-papishes wear--that saved us from bra-brass money, an--and wooden brogues, that's it--for dam-damme if ever the Papishers was da-dacent enough to wear brass shoes, never, by jingo; so, boys, it's brass brogues--ay, do they ha-hate King William, that put us in the pil-pillory, the pillory in hell, and the devils pel-peltin' us with priests,--hurra boys, recover arms--stand at aise--ha--ram down Catholics--hurra!" "Mr.M'Loughlin--" "Mislher M'Loughlin! ay, there's respect for a Pa-pish, an' from a purple man, too!" "You had better be quiet, Burke," retorted Irwin, who was a determined and powerful man.
"For God's sake, gentlemen," said Mrs.M'Loughlin, "do not disturb or alarm our family--you are at liberty to search the house, but, as God is above us, we have no arms of any kind, and consequently there can be none in the house." "Don't believe her," said Burke, "she's Papish--" He had not time to add the offensive epithet, what ever it might have been, for Irwin--who, in truth, accompanied the party with the special intention of repressing outrage against the M'Loughlins whom he very much respected--having caught him by the neck, shook the words back again, as it were, into his very throat.