Hugh, laying his finger on his nose, stepped back into his formerplace, and they proceeded in silence.
It was between two and three o"clock in the afternoon when thethree great parties met at Westminster, and, uniting into one hugemass, raised a tremendous shout. This was not only done in tokenof their presence, but as a signal to those on whom the taskdevolved, that it was time to take possession of the lobbies ofboth Houses, and of the various avenues of approach, and of thegallery stairs. To the last-named place, Hugh and Dennis, stillwith their pupil between them, rushed straightway; Barnaby havinggiven his flag into the hands of one of their own party, who keptthem at the outer door. Their followers pressing on behind, theywere borne as on a great wave to the very doors of the gallery,whence it was impossible to retreat, even if they had been soinclined, by reason of the throng which choked up the passages. Itis a familiar expression in describing a great crowd, that a personmight have walked upon the people"s heads. In this case it wasactually done; for a boy who had by some means got among theconcourse, and was in imminent danger of suffocation, climbed tothe shoulders of a man beside him and walked upon the people"s hatsand heads into the open street; traversing in his passage the wholelength of two staircases and a long gallery. Nor was the swarmwithout less dense; for a basket which had been tossed into thecrowd, was jerked from head to head, and shoulder to shoulder, andwent spinning and whirling on above them, until it was lost toview, without ever once falling in among them or coming near theground.
Through this vast throng, sprinkled doubtless here and there withhonest zealots, but composed for the most part of the very scum andrefuse of London, whose growth was fostered by bad criminal laws,bad prison regulations, and the worst conceivable police, such ofthe members of both Houses of Parliament as had not taken theprecaution to be already at their posts, were compelled to fightand force their way. Their carriages were stopped and broken; thewheels wrenched off; the glasses shivered to atoms; the panelsbeaten in; drivers, footmen, and masters, pulled from their seatsand rolled in the mud. Lords, commoners, and reverend bishops,with little distinction of person or party, were kicked and pinchedand hustled; passed from hand to hand through various stages ofill-usage; and sent to their fellow-senators at last with theirclothes hanging in ribands about them, their bagwigs torn off,themselves speechless and breathless, and their persons coveredwith the powder which had been cuffed and beaten out of their hair.
One lord was so long in the hands of the populace, that the Peersas a body resolved to sally forth and rescue him, and were in theact of doing so, when he happily appeared among them covered withdirt and bruises, and hardly to be recognised by those who knew himbest. The noise and uproar were on the increase every moment. Theair was filled with execrations, hoots, and howlings. The mobraged and roared, like a mad monster as it was, unceasingly, andeach new outrage served to swell its fury.
Within doors, matters were even yet more threatening. Lord George-precededby a man who carried the immense petition on a porter"sknot through the lobby to the door of the House of Commons, whereit was received by two officers of the house who rolled it up tothe table ready for presentation--had taken his seat at an earlyhour, before the Speaker went to prayers. His followers pouring inat the same time, the lobby and all the avenues were immediatelyfilled, as we have seen. Thus the members were not only attackedin their passage through the streets, but were set upon within thevery walls of Parliament; while the tumult, both within andwithout, was so great, that those who attempted to speak couldscarcely hear their own voices: far less, consult upon the courseit would be wise to take in such extremity, or animate each otherto dignified and firm resistance. So sure as any member, justarrived, with dress disordered and dishevelled hair, camestruggling through the crowd in the lobby, it yelled and screamedin triumph; and when the door of the House, partially andcautiously opened by those within for his admission, gave them amomentary glimpse of the interior, they grew more wild and savage,like beasts at the sight of prey, and made a rush against theportal which strained its locks and bolts in their staples, andshook the very beams.
The strangers" gallery, which was immediately above the door of theHouse, had been ordered to be closed on the first rumour ofdisturbance, and was empty; save that now and then Lord George tookhis seat there, for the convenience of coming to the head of thestairs which led to it, and repeating to the people what had passedwithin. It was on these stairs that Barnaby, Hugh, and Dennis wereposted. There were two flights, short, steep, and narrow, runningparallel to each other, and leading to two little doorscommunicating with a low passage which opened on the gallery.
Between them was a kind of well, or unglazed skylight, for theadmission of light and air into the lobby, which might be someeighteen or twenty feet below.
Upon one of these little staircases--not that at the head of whichLord George appeared from time to time, but the other--Gashfordstood with his elbow on the bannister, and his cheek resting on hishand, with his usual crafty aspect. Whenever he varied thisattitude in the slightest degree--so much as by the gentlest motionof his arm--the uproar was certain to increase, not merely there,but in the lobby below; from which place no doubt, some man whoacted as fugleman to the rest, was constantly looking up andwatching him.
"Order!" cried Hugh, in a voice which made itself heard even abovethe roar and tumult, as Lord George appeared at the top of thestaircase. "News! News from my lord!"