THE PUBLIC EXCITEMENT.

73

Death had descended like a bird of night, andflapped a dark wing over the abodes of the liv-ing, casting a shadow over the whole place, andthen descended into the valley and was stillwatching its victims. There was something fear-ful in such an awful devastation by the dreadmonster.

But with this sense of the nearness of death,came another still more fearful to the mind.There was mingled with the thoughts of thedead, another of the living, which was even morehorrible to the mind. A great shadow hoveredover the place. 11 was not the shadow of theangel, which had descended, with its dark wings;it was not the unseen messenger of God ; it wasnot of the horror that walked in darkness, or thedestruction that wasted at noon of night, but ahorrible suspicion had seized the people; the hor-rid selfishness of men haunted the waking thoughtsas terrible death had the sleep of night. Cru-elty was ascribed to men, worse, even, than theawful fall and death.

That burning of the bodies was ascribed to de-sign. The impression was a general one. In-