Translated from the French of Victor Hugo.
The mob was fierce and furious. They cried:
“Kill him!” the while they pressed from every side
Around a man, haughty, unmoved and brave,
Too pitiless himself to pity crave.
“Down with the wretch!” on all sides rose the cry.
The captive found it natural to die,
The game is lost—he’s on the weaker side,
Life, too, is lost, and so must fate decide.