the dead man disposed of, and the crowd being under the necessity of providing some other entertainment for itself, another brighter genius (or perhaps the same) conceived the humour of impeaching casual passers-by, as old bailey spies, and wreaking vengeance on them. chase was given to some scores of inoffensive persons who had never been near the old bailey in their lives, in the realisation of this fancy, and they were roughly hustled and maltreated. the transition to the sport of window-breaking, and thence to the plundering of public-houses, was easy and natural. at last, after several hours, when sundry summer-houses had been pulled down, and some area-railings had been torn up, to arm the more belligerent spirits, a rumour got about that the guards were coming. before this rumour, the crowd gradually melted away, and perhaps the guards came, and perhaps they never came, and this was the usual progress of a mob.