A RAVAGED WORLD. 261 



odour, while he made his disgusting meal unseen and unmo- 

 lested. Amidst this abhorrent crew some of whose gigantic 

 forms occasionally crossed our window we could not per- 

 ceive a single human being, or one domestic quadruped or 

 bird. The latter had no doubt been nearly exterminated by 

 parasitic and blood-sucking infesters turned from mites to 

 monsters, with appetites augmented in proportion to their 

 bulk. As for our fellow-men, we could only conclude, that 

 what with the ravages of swollen vermin of the like descrip- 

 tion, the wounds of monstrous biters and stingers, lack of 

 food, and terror, numbers had been brought to a fearful end ; 

 while others, hidden within the temporary and partial shelter 

 of their houses, were probably awaiting a fate such as must 

 soon inevitably befall ourself. 



" The sooner the better !" we mentally groaned, as we 

 turned with loathing from the window to a sight yet more 

 sickening within that, to wit, of the body of the hapless 

 Martha, as it lay beside that of her bloated murderess ; "but 

 first," we continued, "let us inter these poor remains; and 

 that will we do in the very teeth of these demoniac monsters 

 which have taken possession of the earth." We took a spade 

 from a corner of the kitchen, and were just about to issue 

 forth in pursuance of our purpose, when we felt the floor 

 tremble beneath our feet the walls shook and in another 

 second we found ourselves in the midst of ruins, and in nearly 

 total darkness. Stunned and stupefied, we knew not at first 



