As before ,
the train represents progress, but here it is described as a mere disturbance
in the darkness, in the endless round of meaningless history. The phrase "a
gust of hollow uproar" is particularly eloquent -- not only does it beautifully
capture the sound and feel of the train passing, but it encapsulates the brief,
busy, morally empty passage of material progress through history. The Inn of United
Italy responds to its unifying intent, but the failure of Italian unification
seems to portend the ultimate fate of progress. The description ends with a prophecy
-- the Negro on the last car, swinging a flaming torch "incessantly"
in "a circular movement," symbolizes history's endless cycle of empty,
violent ideals. Note that although the train causes a "stirring" of
the darkness, Decoud himself does not "stir," showing that his skeptical
perspective is immune to the call of such ideals.