invaders, with a severe brow, he commanded them to lay down their arms: "Do

you think," he said, "that because we are wasted by plague, you can

overcome us; the plague is also among you, and when ye are vanquished by

famine and disease, the ghosts of those you have murdered will arise to bid

you not hope in death. Lay down your arms, barbarous and cruel men--men

whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent, whose souls are

weighed down by the orphan's cry! We shall conquer, for the right is on our

side; already your cheeks are pale--the weapons fall from your nerveless

grasp. Lay down your arms, fellow men! brethren! Pardon, succour, and

brotherly love await your repentance. You are dear to us, because you wear

the frail shape of humanity; each one among you will find a friend and

host among these forces. Shall man be the enemy of man, while plague, the

foe to all, even now is above us, triumphing in our butchery, more cruel

than her own?"

Each army paused. On our side the soldiers grasped their arms firmly, and

looked with stern glances on the foe. These had not thrown down their

weapons, more from fear than the spirit of contest; they looked at each

other, each wishing to follow some example given him,--but they had no

leader. Adrian threw himself from his horse, and approaching one of those

just slain: "He was a man," he cried, "and he is dead. O quickly bind up

the wounds of the fallen--let not one die; let not one more soul escape

through your merciless gashes, to relate before the throne of God the tale

of fratricide; bind up their wounds--restore them to their friends. Cast

away the hearts of tigers that burn in your breasts; throw down those tools

of cruelty and hate; in this pause of exterminating destiny, let each man

396

The Last Man