ple of capital punishment, but he would
think long before sanctioning its infliction.

He was wondering, in an idle sort of way, whether he could remember the
appearance or the name of either of these two men. He might perhaps
remember the names; he did not believe he could recall the faces.
Clearly the Dictator wanted that great gift which, according to popular
tradition or belief, always belonged to the true leaders of men--the
gift of remembering every face one ever has seen, and every name one has
ever heard. Alexander had it, we are told, and Julius Caesar, and Oliver
Cromwell, and Claverhouse, and Napoleon Bonaparte, and Brigham Young.
Napoleon, to be sure, worked it up, as we have lately come to know, by
collusion with some of his officers; and it may be that Brigham Young
was occasionally coached by devoted Elders at Salt Lake City. At all
events, it would not appear that the Dictator either had the gift, or at
present the means of being provided with any substitute for it. He could
not remember the appearance of the men he had saved from execution. It
is curious, however, how much of his time and his thoughts they had
occupied or wasted while he was waiting for the first sound that might
be expected to give the alarm.

Hamilton looked at his watch. The Dictator motioned to him, and Hamilton
turned the face of the watch towards him. Half-past one o'clock Ericson
saw. He looked tired. Hamilton made a motion towards his own bed which
clearly signified, 'would you like to lie down for a little?' Ericson
replied by a sign of assent, and presently he stretched himself half on
the bed and half off--on the coverlet of the bed as to his head and
shoulders, with his legs hanging over the side and his feet on the
floor--and he thought again, about his birthday, and so he fell asleep.

Hamilton had often seen him fall asleep like this in the immediate
presence of danger, but only when there was nothing that could
immediately, and in the expected course of things, exact or even call
for his personal attention or his immediate command. Now, however,
Hamilton somewhat marvelled at the power of concentration which could
enable his chief to give himself at once up to sleep with the knowledge
that some sort of danger--purely personal danger--hung over him, the
nature, the form, and the time of which were absolutely hidden in
darkness. Very brave men, familiar with the perils and horrors of war,
experienced duellists, intrepid