cleverest
of their generals to command the proclaimed district; a man who had won a
certain sort of reputation in the disgraceful wars in which the country had been
long engaged from time to time. The newspapers were in ecstacies, and all the
most fervent of the reactionaries now came to the front; men who in ordinary
times were forced to keep their opinions to themselves or their immediate
circle, but who began to look forward to crushing once for all the Socialist,
and even democratic tendencies, which, said they, had been treated with such
foolish indulgence for the last sixty years.
    But the clever general took no visible action; and yet only a few of the
minor newspapers abused him; thoughtful men gathered from this that a plot was
hatching. As for the Committee of Public Safety, whatever they thought of their
position, they had now gone too far to draw back; and many of them, it seems,
thought that the Government would not act. They went on quietly organising their
food supply, which was a miserable driblet when all is said; and also as a
retort to the state of siege, they armed as many men as they could in the
quarter where they were strongest, but did not attempt to drill or organise
them, thinking, perhaps, that they could not at the best turn them into trained
soldiers till they had some breathing space. The clever general, his soldiers,
and the police did not meddle with all this in the least in the world; and
things were quieter in London that week-end; though there were riots in many
places of the provinces, which were quelled by the authorities without much
trouble. The most serious of these were at Glasgow and Bristol.
    Well, the Sunday of the meeting came, and great crowds came to Trafalgar
Square in procession, the greater part of the Committee amongst them, surrounded
by their band of men armed somehow or other. The streets were quite peaceful and
quiet, though there were many spectators to see the procession pass. Trafalgar
Square had no body of police in it; the people took quiet possession of it, and
the meeting began. The armed men stood round the principal platform, and there
were a few others armed amidst the general crowd; but by far the greater part
were unarmed.
    Most people thought the meeting would go off peaceably; but the members of
the Committee had heard from various quarters that something would be attempted
against them; but these rumours were vague, and they had no idea of what
threatened. They soon found out.
    For before the streets about the Square were filled,