bitants came trembling into the streets, to look upon the
wreck, and to convey their women and children to some safer locality.
Some ladies had to be brought from upper storeys by ladders. Tradesmen
took their account books away, for fear of further troubles. The fire
engines were brought, and vigorous help was soon obtained to work
them. By one o'clock in the morning the fires were all extinct, but at
that time all that remained of the premises of Messrs. Bourne and Mr.
Leggatt were the black and crumbling walls.

I have mentioned the attack upon the premises of W. Dakin and Co. My
own brother was manager there, and was in the very thick of the fray.
From him at the time, I had a very graphic account of the affair, and
in order that this little sketch might be as accurate as possible, I
made a special visit to his house, nearly 150 miles from Birmingham,
to refresh my memory; and the following account of the attack upon
Dakin's, and the robbery at Horton's, is in his own language:

"Remember it? Yes, I was confidential manager to Messrs. W. Dakin
and Co., tea merchants, at No. 28, High Street, where they had large
premises facing the street, and carried on a very extensive business,
having about twenty assistants living on the premises.

"It was the custom every Monday evening to remove all the goods from
the windows, so that the porters might clean the glass the following
morning, and this had been done on the night of the riots, so that
the windows were empty. There was a great crowd in the street that
evening, and I ordered the place to be closed earlier than usual,
and kept everybody on the alert. About eight o'clock, amid increasing
uproar in the street, there came a cry of 'Fire,' and on proceeding to
an upper floor I saw the glare of fire reflected in the windows of the
opposite houses. I at once collected all the assistants and porters,
and proceeding to the shop, we lighted the gas and mustered all
the 'arms' in the house. They consisted of an old sword and a horse
pistol, the latter of which we loaded with ball. The front door was
a very wide one, and here I planted one of the porters with a large
kitchen poker. In one of the windows I placed a strong man with a
crowbar, and in the other an active fellow with the sword. Presently
we heard our upper windows smashing, and simultaneously, an attack was
made upon our front door and windows by men armed with railings they
had taken from Nelson's monument. These