CHAPTER VI.
"And there was mounting in hot haste: the steed,
The mustering squadron, and the clattering car,
Went pouring forth with impetuous speed,
And swiftly forming in the ranks of war:
And the deep thunder, peal on peal, afar;
And near, the beat of the alarming drum
Roused up the soldier ere the morning star;
While thronged the citizens, with terror dumb,
Or whispering, with white lips, "The foe! they come! they come!" "
Byron.
IN the foregoing chapter we touched lightly on the disturbances, and how, in the burning of the Eureka Hotel, the authorities and the people came into collision,—such constituting offences against the order of society and the laws of the land, which it was impossible to overlook. The leaders of this outbreak were, therefore, arrested and placed on their trial; the jury found them guilty, remarking, however, in their verdict, that the conduct of the Ballaarat authorities was censurable. The judge having passed extremely lenient sentences on the offenders, it was hoped that the matter would quietly end. That hope proved fallacious, for the digger population regarded the Eureka rioters as martyrs; convened meetings, and proceeded to muster,
