It is said that the
coal-merchant--who was a dandy--procured a sack, and with his own
hand emptied the coal-cellar within half an hour.
As each fresh article was confiscated, the crowd cheered anew.
Never was such a scene in Troy. Even the local aristocracy--
the _Cumeelfo_--mingled with the throng and watched the havoc as
curiously as their neighbours.
No member of the Buzza family was there, nor Mr. Moggridge. But few
others did Miss Limpenny fail to perceive as she sat with hands
hanging limply and mourned to Lavinia--
"What disgrace! What a lasting blemish upon our society! There goes
Hancock with the music-stool. To run away just before quarter-day,
and they so refined to all appearance, so--My dear, they will have
the house down. Papa told me once that during the Bristol riots--
I declare, there's the Doctor looking on! I wonder how he _can_."
And the poor lady hid her face in her hands.
By half past twelve all was over, and "The Bower" stripped of every
article of furniture or consumption for which the money was owing.
And yet, to the honour of Troy, no single theft or act of wanton
destruction was perpetrated. Save for the trampled flowers and marks
of dusty boots upon the carpets, the house was left as it stood on
the day when Mr.
Pages:
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264