ten
o'clock
The Governor was speaking from the head of the steps . Below him planters , merchants , lawyers , and politicians were now listening eagerly , now commenting sotto voce , while beyond them the nondescript population swayed and exclaimed . To one side were massed the tall plumes of the Blues . Rand saw , near these , Fairfax Cary 's handsome face , not pale as it had been between nine and ten o'clock , but alert , flushed , and -- or so Rand interpreted its light and energy -- triumphant . He went on into the house , ordered and drank a small quantity of brandy , and when he came back upon the porch was met by those near him with a cry of `` Speech ! Speech ! '' The Governor 's periods were at an end , and John Randolph of Roanoke held the impromptu tribune .