Sensible, from a strange lightness in his head, and a difficulty infixing his thoughts on anything, even to the extent of bearing hiscompanions in his mind for a minute together without looking atthem, that his brain was affected by the agitation and sufferingthrough which he had passed, and to which he was still a prey, MrHaredale let them lead him where they would. As they went along,he was conscious of having no command over what he said or thought,and that he had a fear of going mad.
The distiller lived, as he had told him when they first met, onHolborn Hill, where he had great storehouses and drove a largetrade. They approached his house by a back entrance, lest theyshould attract the notice of the crowd, and went into an upperroom which faced towards the street; the windows, however, incommon with those of every other room in the house, were boarded upinside, in order that, out of doors, all might appear quite dark.
They laid him on a sofa in this chamber, perfectly insensible; butJohn immediately fetching a surgeon, who took from him a largequantity of blood, he gradually came to himself. As he was, forthe time, too weak to walk, they had no difficulty in persuadinghim to remain there all night, and got him to bed without loss of aminute. That done, they gave him cordial and some toast, andpresently a pretty strong composing-draught, under the influenceof which he soon fell into a lethargy, and, for a time, forgot histroubles.
The vintner, who was a very hearty old fellow and a worthy man, hadno thoughts of going to bed himself, for he had received severalthreatening warnings from the rioters, and had indeed gone out thatevening to try and gather from the conversation of the mob whetherhis house was to be the next attacked. He sat all night in aneasy-chair in the same room--dozing a little now and then--andreceived from time to time the reports of John Grueby and two orthree other trustworthy persons in his employ, who went out intothe streets as scouts; and for whose entertainment an ampleallowance of good cheer (which the old vintner, despite hisanxiety, now and then attacked himself) was set forth in anadjoining chamber.
These accounts were of a sufficiently alarming nature from thefirst; but as the night wore on, they grew so much worse, andinvolved such a fearful amount of riot and destruction, that incomparison with these new tidings all the previous disturbancessunk to nothing.
The first intelligence that came, was of the taking of Newgate, andthe escape of all the prisoners, whose track, as they made upHolborn and into the adjacent streets, was proclaimed to thosecitizens who were shut up in their houses, by the rattling oftheir chains, which formed a dismal concert, and was heard in everydirection, as though so many forges were at work. The flames too,shone so brightly through the vintner"s skylights, that the roomsand staircases below were nearly as light as in broad day; whilethe distant shouting of the mob seemed to shake the very walls andceilings.
At length they were heard approaching the house, and some minutesof terrible anxiety ensued. They came close up, and stopped beforeit; but after giving three loud yells, went on. And although theyreturned several times that night, creating new alarms each time,they did nothing there; having their hands full. Shortly afterthey had gone away for the first time, one of the scouts camerunning in with the news that they had stopped before LordMansfield"s house in Bloomsbury Square.