What is the subject of the next paragraph? The destruction of the entire army.
How is this ruin accomplished? Unseen in the heights above, the Tyrolese peasantry hurl down rocks, roots, and trunks of pine trees, as well as sending a "deadly hail" from their rifles along the "whole line" of the defenceless army below.
Notice the richness of detail. What words help to make the description of their destruction more vivid? "Bounding", "thundering", "gathering speed", "headlong way", "launched down", "powerless foe", "deadly hail", "fearful storm", "crushed to death", "tumbled, horse and man, into the choked and swollen river".
Notice the contrast of this paragraph with the picture in the second paragraph of this vision of the gallant invading army.
What is the subject of the last paragraph? The reflections of the author.
Of what does he speak? Of the wonders and beauties of creation and the sad power that man possesses of spoiling and staining these wonders by giving rein to his own "evil ambitions and fierce revenges".
How has he emphasized this? By the use of exclamation, question, ellipses, and the mention of the "serpent" as the symbol of evil.
How does the interrogative form of the sentence give it vividness? Contrast the effect of saying, "Who would willingly linger on the hideous details?" with "No one would willingly linger", etc. The author does not expect an answer, he throws the sentence into the question form for the rhetorical effect. The reader pays more attention to the thought by trying to find an answer to the question.
What is the value of the ellipses in "Sorrowful that man ... should come"? It is stronger than saying, "It is sorrowful that man ... should come". The subject and verb are omitted, as they are not strong words, and "Sorrowful" is placed in the most prominent position on account of its importance.