JAMES THE SECOND.

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ever. The jury appeared in their box; and there was abreathless stillness. ~Tessi -

Sir Samuel Astry spoke. “Do you find the defendants, Theor any of them, guilty of the misdemeanour whereof they are verdict,impeached, or not guilty?” Sir Roger Langley answered,

“Not guilty.” As the words passed his lips, Halifax sprang Joy onheup and waved his hat. At that signal, benches and galleries peop eraised a shout. In a moment ten thousand persons, whocrowded the great hall, replied with a still louder shout,which made the old oaken roof crack; and in another momentthe innumerable throng without set up a third huzza, whichwas heard at Temple Bar. The boats which covered theThames gave an answering cheer. A peal of gun-powderwas heard on the water, and another, and another; and so,in a few moments, the glad tidings went dying past the Savoyand the Friars to London Bridge, and to the forest of mastsbelow. As the news spread, streets and squares, marketplaces and coffee-houses, broke forth into acclamations.

Yet were the acclamations less strange than the weeping.

For the feelings of men had been wound up to such a pointthat at length the stern English nature, so little used to out-ward signs of emotion, gave way, and thousands sobbedaloud for very joy. Meanwhile, from the outskirts of themultitude, horsemen were spurring off to bear along all thegreat roads intelligence of the victory of our Church andnation. Yet not even that astounding explosion could awethe bitter and intrepid spirit of the Solicitor. Striving tomake himself heard above the din, he called on the Judgesto commit those who had violated, by clamour, the dignityof a court of justice. One of the rejoicing populace wasseized. But the tribunal felt that it would be absurd to punisha single individual for an offence common to hundreds ofthousands, and dismissed him with a gentle reprimand.*

It was vain to think of passing at that moment to any otherbusiness. Indeed the roar of the multitude was such that,

* State Trials; Oldmixon, 739.; Clarendon’s Diary, June 25. 1688;Johnstone, July 2.; Cillers, July Am Adda, July -ft.; Luttrell’s Diary;Barillon, July T V