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His companions laughed louder than before, and he applied the

flagon to his lips.

"Leave some for us! some for us!" cried those from the forward

car. After having taken as much as he wanted, he returned the

flagon to his companions, who passed it on; the last of the

company having emptied it, threw it on the pavement, crying,

"Long live the pestilence!" Then they commenced singing a lewd

song, in which they were accompanied by all the voices of the

horrible choir. This infernal music, blended with the tingling of

the bells, the noise of the wheels, and of the horses' feet,

resounded in the empty silence of the streets, echoed through the

houses, wringing the hearts of the very few who still inhabited

them!