chime, several hundreds of men filed in
and took possession of every vacant seat and space. The aisles were so
occupied that no one could pass, and there were probably not thirty of
the regular worshippers there. There was not a female in the church.
The men were very quiet, orderly, and well-behaved, and joined in the
responses in a proper manner. The prayers over, Mr. Close ascended
the pulpit, and took for a text, 1 _Sam._ xii., 23: "God forbid that
I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will
teach you the good and the right way." The eloquent rector was quite
equal to the occasion; he gave them a thoroughly good dressing, and
his extempore sermon lasted for two hours and a half! I watched,
during the sermon, the impatient glances of some of the men; but
they stayed the sermon out, and went away, hungrier certainly, if not
wiser, than when they came.

All through the winter of 1838 there was much excitement in the
country. Many meetings were held, at which Feargus O'Connor distinctly
advised his hearers that they had a legitimate right to resort to
force to obtain their demands. Birmingham, however, remained tolerably
quiet until the beginning of April, 1839. On the 1st of that month,
and again on the 3rd, large meetings were held, at which Feargus
O'Connor, a Dr. John Taylor, "delegates" named Bassey, Donaldson, and
Brown, made violent and inflammatory speeches. Meetings more or less
numerously attended were held almost nightly. Upon the representation
of the shopkeepers that their business was greatly hindered, the Mayor
and magistrates, on the 10th of May, issued a notice forbidding the
holding of the meetings. Of the twelve gentlemen whose signatures were
attached to this notice, only two survive--Dr. Birt Davies and Mr.
P.H. Muntz.

On the 13th of May, a number of delegates from various parts of the
country, calling themselves "The National Convention," assembled
in Birmingham. Their avowed object was to frighten Parliament into
submission to their demands. They recommended a run for gold upon
the savings banks, an entire abstinence from excisable articles, and
universal cessation from work. Their proceedings at this conference
added fuel to the fire, and the people became more audacious. Threats
were now openly uttered nightly, and people began to be alarmed,
particularly as it was rumoured that a general rising in the Black
Country had been arranged for a certain day. Hundreds of pik