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257
Cranford
·
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
141
CHAPTER
X.
THE
PANIC
I
THINK
a
series
of
circumstances
dated
from
Signor
Brunoni’s
visit
to
Cranford,
which
seemed
at
the
time
connected
in
our
minds
with
him,
though
I
don’t
know
that
he
had
anything
really
to
do
with
them.
All
at
once
all
sorts
of
uncomfortable
rumours
got
afloat
in
the
town.
There
were
one
or
two
robberies—
real
bonâ
fide
robberies;
men
had
up
before
the
magistrates
and
committed
for
trial—
and
that
seemed
to
make
us
all
afraid
of
being
robbed;
and
for
a
long
time,
at
Miss
Matty’s,
I
know,
we
used
to
make
a
regular
expedition
all
round
the
kitchens
and
cellars
every
night,
Miss
Matty
leading
the
way,
armed
with
the
poker,
I
following
with
the
hearth-brush,
and
Martha
carrying
the
shovel
and
fire-irons
with
which
to
sound
the
alarm;
and
by
the
accidental
hitting
together
of
them
she
often
frightened
us
so
much
that
we
bolted
ourselves
up,
all
three
together,
in
the
back-kitchen,
or
store-room,
or
wherever
we
happened
to
be,
till,
when
our
affright
was
over,
we
recollected
ourselves
and
set
out
afresh
with
double
valiance.
By
day
we
heard
strange
stories
from
the
shopkeepers
and
cottagers,
of
carts
that
went
about
in
the
dead
of
night,
drawn
by
horses
shod
with
felt,
and
guarded
by
men
in
dark
clothes,
going
round
the
town,
no
doubt
in
search
of
some
unwatched
house
or
some
unfastened
door.
Miss
Pole,
who
affected
great
bravery
herself,
was
the
principal
person
to
collect
and
arrange
these
reports
so
as
to
make
them
assume
their
most
fearful
aspect.
But
we
discovered
that
she
had
begged
one
of
Mr
Hoggins’s
worn-out
hats
to
hang
up
in
her
lobby,
and
we
(at
least
I)
had
doubts
as
to
whether
she
really
would
enjoy
the
little
adventure
of
having
her
house
broken
into,
as
she
protested
she
should.
Miss
Matty
made
no
secret
of
being
an
arrant
coward,
but
she
went
regularly
through
her
housekeeper’s
duty
of
inspection—
only
the
hour
for
this
became
earlier
and
earlier,
till
at
last
we
went
the
rounds
at
half-past
six,
and
Miss
Matty
adjourned
to
bed
soon
after
seven,
“in
order
to
get
the
night
over
the
sooner.”
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