_Begin! begin!_" Then for a moment there was intense stillness, made horrible by a presage of what was to come.
The king lifted his spear, and suddenly twenty thousand feet were raised, as though they belonged to one man, and brought down with a stamp upon the earth.

This was repeated three times, causing the solid ground to shake and tremble.

Then from a far point of the circle a solitary voice began a wailing song, of which the refrain ran something as follows:-- "_What is the lot of man born of woman ?_" Back came the answer rolling out from every throat in that vast company-- "_Death!_" Gradually, however, the song was taken up by company after company, till the whole armed multitude were singing it, and I could no longer follow the words, except in so far as they appeared to represent various phases of human passions, fears, and joys.

Now it seemed to be a love song, now a majestic swelling war chant, and last of all a death dirge ending suddenly in one heart-breaking wail that went echoing and rolling away in a volume of blood-curdling sound.
Again silence fell upon the place, and again it was broken by the king lifting his hand.

Instantly we heard a pattering of feet, and from out of the masses of warriors strange and awful figures appeared running towards us.