At length one whispered his companion, who

Whispered another, and thus it went round,

And then into a hoarser murmur grew,

An ominous, and wild, and desperate sound;

And when his comrade's thought each sufferer knew,

'T was but his own, suppressed till now, he found:

And out they spoke of lots for flesh and blood,

And who should die to be his fellow's food.