No more attention was here paid to
him than the stones on which he gave vent to his anguish. Many hobbled
farther in quest of something to appease the cravings of hunger and
thirst. But who could give it them? Extreme want had long prevailed in
the city; the very inhabitants had great trouble and difficulty to
obtain for money sufficient to make a scanty meal for themselves and
their families. The fainting soldier might think himself fortunate if
his solicitations procured him a crust of bread or an apple. Thousands
were not so lucky.--Such was the state of things at the magazine; such
was the spectacle exhibited in all the streets, and especially in the
market-place, where every corner provided with a shelter was converted
into an hospital. The consequences were inevitable. Many; as might
naturally be expected, perished, in the night, of hunger, agony, and
cold. Their lot was enviable--they no longer needed any human
assistance. What heart would not have bled at such scenes of
horror!--and yet it was the very countrymen of these unfortunate
wretches who seemed to care the least about them, and passed by with the
most frigid indifference, probably because they are so familiarized with
such spectacles. O ye mothers, ye fathers, ye sisters of France, had ye
here beheld your agonized sons and brothers, the sight, like a hideous
phantom, would surely have haunted you to the last moment of your lives.
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