They could not be clear for the Union, yet they saw death at the door in its breaking off--death to their liberty, to their religion, and to their country." Better than any other he gives a picture of the "infinite struggles, clamor, railing, and
tumult of party." Let me give, in his own words, a description of a riot in the streets of Edinburgh:--
Of late, eternal Condor years So shake the very Heaven on high With
tumult as they thunder by, I have no time for idle cares Through gazing on the unquiet sky.
In the midst of this
tumult the voice of the president was heard to exclaim, -- "Are you playing with justice, accused, and do you dare set your fellow-citizens an example of disorder which even in these times his never been equalled?"
A great
tumult arose, in the midst of which even the noise of thunder could not have been heard.
No sooner has he gone than Creon enters with an armed guard who seize Antigone and carry her off (Ismene, the other sister, they have already captured) and he is about to lay hands on Oedipus, when Theseus, who has heard the
tumult, hurries up and, upbraiding Creon for his lawless act, threatens to detain him till he has shown where the captives are and restored them.
I heard a yelling from many throats, a
tumult of exultant cries passing down towards the beach, whooping and howling, and excited shrieks that seemed to come to a stop near the water's edge.
Suddenly, half-concealed in the
tumult of the foaming rollers I made out awash, something enormous, rising and falling - something spread out like a burst of foam, but with a more bluish, more solid look.
In the
tumult of my emotions I promised myself that if I got through this experience safely I would never suffer anything else of mine to be published; but it was not long before I offered the editor a poem myself.
"Well," said the Grand Pensionary with a melancholy smile which was habitual to him, "the gentlemen at the Town-hall expect that the people at the Hague would like to see you depart, and there is some apprehension of a
tumult."
The warmth of her bed, hard and humble as it was, combined with the great fatigue she had undergone, soon caused the
tumult of the place to fall with a gentler sound upon the child's tired ears, and was not long in lulling her to sleep.
"Father, do not you hear a
tumult in the streets?" said she.
In the midst of this
tumult old Marheyo came to my side, and I shall never forget the benevolent expression of his countenance.