Nothing but his personal interposition prevented a drunken gang from
giving Sedgwick a tin-pan serenade. As for Squire Edwards, he was glad
to purchase immunity at the expense of indiscriminate treating of the
crowd.
Whether the Supreme Court would attempt to hold its regular session
the first week in October, at Great Barrington, was a point on which
there was a diversity of opinion. Before adjourning at Springfield, it
had indeed passed resolutions that it would not be expedient to go to
Berkshire, but it was loudly declared by many that this was a mere
trick to put the people off their guard, and prevent their assembling
in arms to stop the proceedings. Accordingly, when the time came,
although the justices did not put in an appearance, a mob of several
hundred men did, and a very ugly mob it turned out to be, in fact the
worst hitherto in the entire course of the insurrection. Finding no
court to stop, and the empty jail affording no opportunity for another
jail delivery, the crowd, after loafing around town for a while and
getting thirsty, began to break into houses to get liquor. A beginning
once made, this was found to be such an amusing recreation that it was
gone into generally, and when liquor could not be found the men
contented themselves with appropriating other articles.
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