What was it, then? The tocsin, beyond a doubt. They were ringing, and frantically too, from all the belfries, in every parish, and in every village, and yet not a sound could be heard.
This was owing to the distance, combined with the sea-wind, which, blowing from the opposite direction, carried all sounds from the shore away beyond the horizon.
All these frantic bells ringing on every side, and at the same time this silence; what could be more appalling?
The old man looked and listened.
He could not hear the tocsin, but he could see it. Seeing the tocsin is rather a strange sensation.
Against whom was this fury directed?
Against whom was the tocsin ringing?