' All the rest of the Fordyces came down afterwards, too
anxious to stay at home. Our elders felt the matter more gravely,
thinking of what civil war might mean to us all, and what an awful
thing it was for Englishmen to be enrolled against each other.
Nottingham Castle had just been burnt, and things looked only too
like revolution, especially considering the inaction of the
dragoons. After Griff had left Bristol, there had been some
terrible scenes at the Custom House, where the ringleaders--unhappy
men!--were caught in a trap of their own and perished miserably.
However, by the morning, the order sent from Lord Hill, the arrival
of Major Beckwith from Gloucester, and the proceedings of the good-
humoured mob had put an end to poor Brereton's hesitations; a
determined front had been shown; the mob had been fairly broken up;
troops from all quarters poured into the city, and by dinner-time
Griff came back with the news that all was quiet and there was
nothing more to fear. Ellen and Emily both flew out to meet him at
the first sound of the horse's feet, and they all came into the
drawing-room together--each young lady having hold of one of his
hands--and Ellen's face in such a glow, that I rather suspect that
he had snatched a reward which certainly would not have been granted
save in such a moment of uplifted feeling, and when she was thankful
to her hero for forgetting how angry he had been with her two days
before.
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