ording to the
respective disposition assigned to each. All were clothed in black; and
the multitude of human faces, that shone like so many luminous rays upon
a dark ground, dazzled the sight to such a degree that, of the four
individuals who witnessed this extraordinary scene, not one could
discern amidst the crowd a countenance with which he was familiar; the
position of the four spectators might have been compared to that of
actors, who, in presence of a numerous audience, were incapable of
distinguishing a single face among the confused mass. On the elevated
throne whence the monarch habitually harangued the assembly of the
States, was seated a bleeding corpse, invested with the emblems of
royalty. On the right of this apparition stood a child, a crown upon his
head and the sceptre in his hand; on the left an aged man, or rather
another phantom, leaned upon the throne, opposite to which were several
personages of austere and solemn demeanour, clothed in long black robes,
and seated before a table covered with thick folios and parchments; from
the gravity of their deportment the latter seemed to be judges. Between
the throne and the portion of the council-chamber above which it was
elevated, were placed an axe and a block covered with black crape. In
this unearthly assembly none seemed at all conscious of the presence of
Charles, or of the three individuals by whom he was accompanied. At last
the oldest of the judges in black robes--he who appeared to discharge
the functions of president--rising with dignity, struck three times with
his hand upon an open folio. Profound silence immediately succeeded;
some youths of distinguished appearance, richly dressed, and with their
hands fettered behind their backs, were led into the council-chamber by
a door opposite to that which Charles had opened. Behind them a man of
vigrous mould held the extremity of the cord with which their hands were
pinioned. The prisoner who marched in the foremost rank, and whose air
was more imposing than that of the others, stopped in the midst of the
council-chamber before the block which he seemed to contemplate with
haughty disdain. At the same instant the corse seated on the throne was
agitated by a convulsive tremor, and the purple tide flowed afresh from
his wounds. The youthful prisoner knelt upon the ground, and laid his
head upon the block; the fatal axe glittering in the air descended
swiftly; a stream of blood forced its way even to the