From the palace he had sent an orderly with a command to an officer to move forward and secure the position, but still the gap was open, and the men he had ordered to advance remained where they were.

Every minute had its crisis.
As Lacey and himself left the town the misery of the place smote him in the eyes.

Filth, refuse, debris filled the streets.

Sick and dying men called to him from dark doorways, children and women begged for bread, carcasses lay unburied, vultures hovering above them--his tireless efforts had not been sufficient to cope with the daily horrors of the siege.

But there was no sign of hostility to him.