for fear of getting lost in the crowd; all jammed together, trampled
upon, so that they could barely move; and with it all not a sound but a
buzzing, monotonous murmur; silence on both sides of the street; silence
in the windows. It was awfully solemn; half strange and half fearful. I
felt as if I were in a trance."

"But where were they going to?" his parents and sisters interposed with
growing impatience.

"Wait a bit!" he returned. "I fought my way into the thick of it, with
the crowds on both sides of the street piling in on top of me. Lord,
what a crush! They spread out like a torrent, pouring into every cranny,
sweeping people on ahead of them, into shop-doors, into the court-yards
of houses, wherever there was a yard of vacant space. As we went on,
other streams of people kept surging into the Corso from all the side
streets, which were just as closely packed; on we swept from the
Capitol; and they said that there were thousands more in the Forum.
Hordes kept pouring in from the Piazza di Spagna, from the Via del
Babbuino, from the Piazza del Popolo. Every one had something in his
hand: a wreath of flowers, a branch of olive or laurel, a banner, a rag
tied to a stick. Some carried holy images uplifted above their heads;
inscriptions, emblems, pictures of the Pope, of the King, of the
Princes, of Garibaldi; never under the sun was there such a medley and
confusion of people and things! And all the while only that low murmur,
and the great multitude moving on with a calmness, a dignity that seemed
miraculous. I felt as though I were dreaming!"

They gathered close round him without a word. "Suddenly I noticed that
the crowd had turned to the left. Round we all went; very slowly, with
the greatest difficulty, shoved, trampled on, knocked about; with our