the dead remained in the direction of my side. From the top of the mound, I

looked far round--all was silent and deserted.

The last beams of the nearly sunken sun shot up from behind the far summit

of Mount Athos; the sea of Marmora still glittered beneath its rays, while

the Asiatic coast beyond was half hid in a haze of low cloud. Many a

casque, and bayonet, and sword, fallen from unnerved arms, reflected the

departing ray; they lay scattered far and near. From the east, a band of

ravens, old inhabitants of the Turkish cemeteries, came sailing along

towards their harvest; the sun disappeared. This hour, melancholy yet

sweet, has always seemed to me the time when we are most naturally led to

commune with higher powers; our mortal sternness departs, and gentle

complacency invests the soul. But now, in the midst of the dying and the

dead, how could a thought of heaven or a sensation of tranquillity possess

one of the murderers? During the busy day, my mind had yielded itself a

willing slave to the state of things presented to it by its fellow-beings;

historical association, hatred of the foe, and military enthusiasm had held

dominion over me. Now, I looked on the evening star, as softly and calmly

it hung pendulous in the orange hues of sunset. I turned to the

corse-strewn earth; and felt ashamed of my species. So perhaps were the

placid skies; for they quickly veiled themselves in mist, and in this

change assisted the swift disappearance of twilight usual in the south;

heavy masses of cloud floated up from the south east, and red and turbid

lightning shot from their dark edges; the rushing wind disturbed the

garments of the dead, and was chilled as it passed over their icy forms.

Darkness gathered round; the objects about me became indistinct, I

235

The Last Man