Nine volleys were fired, and the ranks fell
back. The bishop advanced to the head of the grave. All was hushed.
He raised his eyes to heaven; then, after a pause, in which he seemed
to be communing with the regions above him, he turned to the silent
assembly, and, in a voice collected and impressive, addressed them in
a short but affecting oration, in which he set forth the brightness
of Sobieski's life, his noble forgetfulness of self in the interests
of his country, and the dauntless bravery which laid him in the dust.
A general discharge of cannon was the awful response to this appeal.
Wawrzecki took the sabre of the palatine, and, breaking it, dropped
it into the grave. The aids-de-camp of the deceased did the same with
theirs, showing that by so doing they resigned their offices; and
then, covering their faces with their handkerchiefs, they turned away
with the soldiers, who filed off. Thaddeus sunk on his knees. His
hands were clasped, and his eyes for a few minutes fixed themselves
on the coffin of his grandfather; then rising, he leaned on the arm
of Wawrzecki, and with a tottering step and pallid countenance,
mounted his horse, which had been led to the spot, and returned with
the scattered procession to the camp.
The cause for exertion being over, his spirits fell with the rapidity
of a spring too highly wound up, which snaps and runs down to
immobility.
Pages:
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149