A TOWN DESERTED. 



73 



same helpless beings. Except these, we were left in 

 sole possession of the town. 



It was not yet an hour since we had been roused 

 from sleep. We had not been able to procure any def- 

 inite information as to the character of the approaching 

 force. The alarm was " la gente vienne no one knew 

 or thought of more, no one paid any attention to us, 

 and we did not know whether the whole army of Car- 

 rera was approaching, or merely a roving detachment. 

 If the former, my hope was that Carrera was with 

 them, and that he had not forgotten my diplomatic 

 coat ; I felt rejoiced that the soldiers had marched out, 

 and that the inhabitants had fled ; there could be no re- 

 sistance, no bloodshed, nothing to excite a lawless sol- 

 diery. Again we walked down to the church ; old 

 women and little boys gathered around us, and wonder- 

 ed that we did not fly. We went to the door of the 

 cura's house ; the room was small, and full of old wom- 

 en. We tried to cheer them, but old age had lost its 

 garrulity ; they waited their fate in silence. We re- 

 turned to the house, smoked, and waited in anxious 

 expectation. The enemy did not come, the bell ceas- 

 ed its frightful tolling, and after a while we began to 

 wish they would come, and let us have the thing over. 

 We went out, and looked, and listened ; but there was 

 neither sound nor motion. We became positively tired 

 of waiting ; there were still two hours to daylight ; we 

 lay down, and, strange to say, again fell asleep. 



Vol. II.— K 7 



