In the first steps I was careful not to walk on the obstructions, and then I had to, and I dared.

My foot trembled on the hard or supple masses which peopled that sap.
On the edge of the hole--there had been a road above it formerly, or perhaps even a market-place--the trunk of a tree severed near the ground arose, short as a grave-stone.

The sight stopped me for a moment, and my heart, weakened no doubt by my physical destitution, kindled with pity for the tree become a tomb! Two hours later I rejoined the section in its pit.

We abide there, while the cannonade increases.

The morning goes by, then the afternoon.