Page:Artabanzanus (Ferrar, 1896).djvu/86

78 mere glory's sake, must be absolutely insane. One, and the largest, of the beautiful ships was set on fire by the hostile cannon, and blew up with a tremendous explosion, and I saw with an astonishment which I cannot express her fragments, masts and yards, guns, officers and men, flying through the air. We are indeed on the devil's playground! Cursed are those passions which give birth to such scenes as these!

And now the real business of this remarkable day was about to commence, and the Emperor Artabanzanus commanded his chariot to be drawn to the top of a great heap of cinders which stood on one side of the square. There stood in silent ranks a battalion of Larrikin Guards; a banner was raised on high, and a salvo of artillery, sudden and awful, like the salute which Wellington gave to Badajos at midnight, shook the marble pillars. The gates of the surrounding castles flew open, and forth issued from them dense masses of soldiers of all the nations upon earth, with drums beating and colours flying—regiment after regiment, squadron after squadron. There came first a crowd of officers of the highest rank in brilliant uniforms, who formed themselves into long ranks, and marched past the Demon, saluting him with military precision. They were in fact an immense concourse of emperors, kings, dukes, governors, councillors, who delighted, when they lived on earth, in war, in tyranny, and in shedding the blood of their fellow creatures. The master whom they so faithfully served, who now sat by my side, condescended to point out to me by name many a famous hero and potentate, whose histories had been the wonder of our youthful days. Many of the greatest of these broke off after they had passed, and took their places behind the carriage of their chief.

They were succeeded by the officers of lower rank, and then by the rank and file of the world's armies, horse, foot,