Midnight
On us , young , inexperienced and rash , has devolved their task ; but the mantle of their power and virtue has not , alas ! descended with that task to aid in its momentous accomplishment . General Lamarque 's sun went down in clouds . Midnight , deeper than Egyptian darkness , brooded over the delirious deathbed of Lafayette . Armand Carrel fell without hope ; and are we wiser than they ? How often , oh ! how often have I listened to the words of wisdom that fell from those eloquent lips , even as a boy reverently listens to a parent -- for such was Armand Carrel to me .