bout three o'clock in the afternoon, thick dark clouds coming
up from the north brought the snow, which fell without intermission all
the evening and during the whole night.

At half past four the travelers were assembled in the courtyard of the
Hotel de Normandie, from whence they were to start.

They were all still half asleep, their teeth chattering with cold in
spite of their thick wraps. It was difficult to distinguish one from
another in the darkness, their heaped-up winter clothing making them
look like fat priests in long cassocks. Two of the men, however,
recognized each other; they were joined by a third, and they began to
talk. "I am taking my wife with me," said one. "So am I." "And I too."
The first one added: "We shall not return to Rouen, and if the Prussians
come to Havre we shall slip over to England."

They were all like-minded and all had the same project.

Meanwhile there was no sign of the horses being put in. A small lantern
carried by a hostler appeared from time to time out of one dark doorway
only to vanish instantly into another. There was a stamping of horses'
hoofs deadened by the straw of the litter, and the voice of a man
speaking to the animals and cursing sounded from the depths of the
stables. A faint sound of bells gave evidence of harnessing, and became
presently a clear and continuous jingle timed by the movement of the
beast, now stopping, now going on again with a brisk shake, and
accompanied by the dull tramp of hob-nailed sabots.

A door closed sharply. All sound ceased. The frozen travelers were
silent, standing stiff and motionless. A veil of white snow-flakes
glistened incessantly as it fell to the ground, blotting out the shape
of things, powdering everything with an icy froth; and in the utter
stillness of the town, quiet and buried under its winter pall, nothing
was audible but this faint, fluttering, and indefinable rustle of
falling snow--more a sensation than a sound--the intermingling of
ethereal atoms seeming to fill space, to cover the world.

The man reappeared with his lantern, dragging after him by a rope a
dejected and unwilling horse. He pushed it against the pole, fixed the
traces, and was occupied for a long time in buckling the harness, having
only the use of one hand as he carried the lantern in the other. As he
turned away to fetch the other horse he caught sight of the motionless
group of travelers, by this time white with snow. "Why don't you get
insi