splay its rage at such a high-handed
proceeding, the soldiers and their prisoners were well on their way to
Malvern.

The people felt that something must be done, but what? One by one the
citizens instinctively assembled at the court-house. No call was issued;
the meeting was not preconcerted; there was no common understanding; but
all felt that there must be a conference, a consultation, and there was
no place more convenient than the old court-house, where for long years
justice had been simply and honestly administered.

It was, indeed, a trying hour. Meriwether Clopton and his daughter Sarah
were the first to make their appearance at the court-house, and it was
perhaps owing to their initiative that a large part of the community
shortly assembled there. At first, there was some talk of a rescue, and
this would have been feasible, no doubt; but while Lawyer Tidwell was
violently advocating this course, Mr. Sanders mounted the judge's bench,
and rapped loudly for order. When this had been secured, he moved that
Meriwether Clopton be called to the chair. The motion had as many
seconds as there were men in the room, for the son of the First Settler
was as well-beloved and as influential as his father had been.

"My friends," he said, after thanking the meeting for the honour
conferred upon him, "I feel as if we were all in the midst of a dream,
and therefore I am at a loss what to say to you. As it is all very
real, and far removed from the regions of dreams, the best that I can do
is to counsel moderation and calmness. The blow that has fallen on a few
of us strikes at all, for what has happened to some of our young men may
easily happen to the rest, especially if we meet this usurpation of
civil justice with measures that are violent and retaliatory. We can
only hope that the Hand that has led us into the sea of troubles by
which we have been overwhelmed of late will lead us safely out again.
For myself, I am fully persuaded that what now seems to be a calamity
will, in some shape or other, make us all stronger and better. I am an
old man, and this has been my experience. You need have no fears for the
welfare of the young men. They may be deprived for a time of the
comforts to which they are accustomed, but their safety is assured. They
will probably be tried before a military court, but if there is a spark
of justice in such a tribunal, our young men will shortly be restored to
us. We all know that these lads neve