was no meeting to be held. The Mayor of Bristol and other Magistrates
had sworn in 800 special constables upon the occasion; in fact, the
appearance of the City was more like a besieged fortress than any
thing else. But all this parade was intended only for the purpose of
intimidating the minds of the weak and silly portion of the people and
creating a panic throughout the country. I will venture to say, that the
business of the meeting would have been carried on as quietly, and as
much without any breach of the peace, and without one window having
been broken, had there not been one soldier, or one constable or peace
officer present at the time.

Mr. Thomas Cossens, of Castle-street, manfully stood forward to support
me, and courageously braved the anger of the corrupt knaves of Bristol.
He rode through the city with me to the extremity of it, cheered all the
way by the people, unless it was in passing the new reading room, in
Clare-street, where a few of those who had been sworn in as special
constables were assembled; a little contemptible group of the abject,
dependant tools of the corporation, who, as I suppose, from the
appearance of their lips, attempted to raise a hiss, but their voices
were instantly drowned by the cheers of the multitude; and thus the
meeting passed off as peaceably as if there had not been any bustle made
by the corporation and police of the city, in order to create a riot.

A few days after this, I got a requisition signed by thirty respectable
inhabitants of the City of Bath, the exact number of the corporation
who return the members. Having placed my name at the head of them, I
waited upon the Mayor, a Mr. Anderton, an apothecary, I believe; he was
better known amongst the citizens by the name of Pump-handle. When I
laid the requisition before him, he was presiding at the justice-room at
the Guildhall. He read it over, while I kept my eyes fixed upon him, and