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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rambles in the Islands of Corsica and
+Sardinia, by Thomas Forester
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Rambles in the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia
+ with Notices of their History, Antiquities, and Present Condition.
+
+Author: Thomas Forester
+
+Release Date: April 6, 2009 [EBook #28510]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAMBLES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Carlo Traverso, Barbara Magni and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://dp.rastko.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at
+http://gallica.bnf.fr)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+RAMBLES
+
+IN
+
+CORSICA AND SARDINIA.
+
+
+
+ WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
+
+ I.
+
+ RAMBLES IN NORWAY, 1848-1849; including Remarks on its Political,
+ Military, Ecclesiastical, and Social Organization. With a Map,
+ Wood Engravings, and Lithographic Illustrations. 1 vol. 8vo.
+ Longman and Co., 1860.
+
+ * * A few copies only of this Edition are on hand.
+ *
+
+ II.
+
+ THE SAME, in 1 vol. post 8vo. without the Illustrations.
+ (_Traveller's Library._) Longman and Co., 1855.
+
+ III.
+
+ EVERARD TUNSTALL: A South-African Tale. Bentley, 1851.
+
+ * * A New Edition is in preparation.
+ *
+
+ IV.
+
+ THE DANUBE AND THE BLACK SEA. A Memoir on their Junction by a
+ Railway and Port; with Remarks on the Navigation of the Danube,
+ the Danubian Provinces, the Corn Trade, the Antient and Present
+ Commerce of the Euxine; and Notices of History, Antiquities,
+ &c. With a Map and Sketch of the Town and Harbour of
+ Kustendjie. 1 vol. 8vo. E. Stanford, 6 Charing Cross, 1857.
+
+
+ LONDON:
+ PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO.
+ NEW-STREET SQUARE.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+ RAMBLES
+
+ IN THE ISLANDS OF
+
+ CORSICA AND SARDINIA.
+
+
+ WITH
+
+NOTICES OF THEIR HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, AND PRESENT CONDITION.
+
+
+ BY THOMAS FORESTER
+
+ AUTHOR OF “NORWAY IN 1818-1819,” ETC.
+
+
+
+
+ LONDON
+
+ LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, AND ROBERTS.
+
+ 1858
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+Nearly a century ago, James Boswell made an expedition to Corsica, and
+was entertained with distinction by Pascal Paoli. Next to conducting
+Samuel Johnson to the Hebrides, the exploit of penetrating to what was
+then considered a sort of _Ultima Thule_ in southern Europe, was the
+greatest event in the famous biographer's life; and, next to his
+devotion to the English sage, was the homage he paid to the Corsican
+chief.
+
+Soon after his return from this expedition, in 1767, Boswell printed his
+Journal, with a valuable account of the island; but from that time to
+the present, no Englishman has written on Corsica except Mr. Robert
+Benson, who published some short “Sketches” of its history, scenery, and
+people in 1825. During the war of the revolution, Nelson's squadron hung
+like a thunder-cloud round the coast, and for some time an
+expeditionary force of British troops held possession of the island. Our
+George the Third accepted the Corsican crown, but his reign was as
+ephemeral as that of King Theodore, the aspiring adventurer, who ended
+his days in the Fleet Prison.
+
+These occurrences, with any knowledge of the country and people arising
+out of them, have passed from the memory of the present generation; and
+it may be affirmed, without exaggeration, that when the tour forming the
+subject of the present work was projected and carried out, Corsica was
+less known in England than New Zealand. The general impression
+concerning it was tolerably correct. Imagination painted it as a wild
+and romantic country,—romantic in its scenery and the character of its
+inhabitants; a very region of romance and sentiment; a fine field for
+the novelist and the dramatist; and to that class of writers it was
+abandoned.
+
+Corsica had yet to be faithfully pictured to the just apprehension of
+the discerning inquirer. Naturally therefore the author, whose
+narratives of his wanderings in more than one quarter of the globe had
+been favourably received, was not indisposed to commit to the press the
+result of his observations during his Corsican rambles. Just then,
+translations of an account of a Tour in the island by a German
+traveller, appeared in England, and being written in an attractive
+style, the work commanded considerable attention. It seemed to fill the
+gap in English literature on the subject of Corsica; and though the
+writer of these pages felt that M. Gregorovius' pictures of Corsican
+life were too highly coloured, he was inclined to leave the field in the
+hands which had cultivated it with talent and success. Eventually,
+however, being led to think that Corsica was still open to survey from
+an English point of view, and that it possessed sufficient legitimate
+attractions to sustain the interest of such a work as he had designed,
+the author was induced to undertake it.
+
+If the field of literature connected with Corsica was found barren when
+examined in prospect of this expedition, that of Sardinia presented an
+_embarras de richesses_. The works of La Marmora, Captain, now Admiral,
+Smyth, and Mr. Warre Tyndale, had seemingly exhausted the subject, with
+a success the mere Rambler can make no pretensions to rival; but the
+former being a foreign work, and the two latter out of print, neither of
+them is easily accessible. They have been sometimes used, in the
+following pages, to throw light on subjects which came under the
+author's own observation. He has also consulted a valuable work,
+recently published at Naples, by F. Antonio Bresciani, of the Society
+of Jesus[1], on the manners and habits of the Sardes compared with those
+of the oldest Oriental nations. The comparisons are chiefly gathered
+from scenes and usages depicted in the narratives of Homer and the
+Bible, still singularly reflected in the habits and traditions of the
+primitive and insular people of Sardinia.
+
+Some of these are noticed in the present volume, and the author intended
+to draw more largely on the rich stores accumulated by the researches of
+the learned Jesuit; but time and space failed. Like truant boys, the
+Ramblers had loitered on their early path, idly amusing themselves with
+very trifles, or stopping to gather the wild flowers that fell in their
+way, till the harvest-field was reached too late to be carefully
+gleaned. For a work, however, of this description, attention enough has
+perhaps been paid to the subject of Sarde antiquities; it being intended
+to be amusing as well as instructive, to convey information on the
+character of the people on whom it treats, as well as on their
+institutions and monuments.
+
+If, in conclusion, it be mentioned that the delay in bringing out the
+volume, long since announced, has been caused by ill health and other
+painful circumstances, the Author is only anxious that it should not be
+misinterpreted, as attaching to the work an importance to which it does
+not pretend. But there is the less reason for regretting this delay, as
+it has afforded him another opportunity of visiting Sardinia, as well as
+of witnessing the operation of laying down the submarine electric
+telegraph cable between Cagliari and the African coast; an event in
+Sardinian history, some notice of which, with the accompanying trip to
+Algeria, may form a not uninteresting episode to the Rambles in that
+island.
+
+ May, 1858.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+ Inducements to the Expedition.—Early impressions concerning
+ Corsica.—Plan of the Tour.—Routes to Marseilles.—Meeting
+ there Page 1
+
+
+CHAP. II.
+
+ Marseilles.—Cafe de l'Orient.—Cannebière and Port.—Sail to the
+ Islands in the Gulf.—The Château-d'If and Count de
+ Monte-Cristo.—A sudden Squall 8
+
+
+CHAP. III.
+
+ Embark for Corsica.—Coast of France and Italy.—Toulon.—Hyères
+ Islands, Frejus, &c.—A stormy Night.—Crossing the Tuscan Sea
+ 21
+
+
+CHAP. IV.
+
+ Coast of Capo Corso.—Peculiarity of Scenery.—Verdure, and
+ Mountain Villages.—Il Torre di Seneca.—Land at Bastia 28
+
+
+CHAP. V.
+
+ Bastia.—Territorial Divisions.—Plan of the Rambles.—Hiring
+ Mules.—The Start 38
+
+
+CHAP. VI.
+
+ Leave Bastia.—The Road.—View of Elba, Pianosa, and
+ Monte-Cristo.—The Littorale.—An Adventure.—The Stagna di
+ Biguglia 44
+
+
+CHAP. VII.
+
+ Evergreen Thickets.—Their remarkable Character.—A fortunate
+ Rencontre.—Moonlight in the Mountains.—Cross a high
+ Col.—Corsican Shepherds.—The Vendetta.—Village Quarters 53
+
+
+CHAP. VIII.
+
+ The Littorale.—Corsican Agriculture.—Greek and Roman
+ Colonies.—Sketch of Mediæval and Modern History.—Memoirs of
+ King Theodore de Neuhoff 65
+
+
+CHAP. IX.
+
+ Environs of Olmeta.—Bandit-Life and the Vendetta.—Its
+ Atrocities.—The Population disarmed.—The Bandits exterminated
+ 77
+
+
+CHAP. X.
+
+ The Basin of Oletta.—The Olive.—Corsican Tales.—The Heroine of
+ Oletta.—Zones of Climate and Vegetation 90
+
+
+CHAP. XI.
+
+ Pisan Church at Murato.—Chestnut Woods.—Gulf of San
+ Fiorenzo.—Nelson's Exploit there.—He conducts the Siege of
+ Bastia.—Ilex Woods.—Mountain Pastures.—The Corsican Shepherd
+ 102
+
+
+CHAP. XII.
+
+ Chain of the Serra di Tenda.—A Night at Bigorno.—A hospitable
+ Priest.—Descent to the Golo 117
+
+
+CHAP. XIII.
+
+ Ponte Nuovo.—The Battle-field.—Antoine's Story 129
+
+
+CHAP. XIV.
+
+ Filial Duty, Love, and Revenge: a Corsican Tale 134
+
+
+CHAP. XV.
+
+ Morosaglia, Seat of the Paolis.—Higher Valley of the
+ Golo.—Orography of Corsica.—Its Geology 145
+
+
+CHAP. XVI.
+
+ Approach to Corte.—Our “Man of the Woods.”—Casa Paoli.—The
+ Gaffori.—Citadel.—An Evening Stroll 156
+
+
+CHAP. XVII.
+
+ Pascal Paoli more honoured than Napoleon Buonaparte.—His
+ Memoirs.—George III. King of Corsica.—Remarks on the
+ Union.—Paoli's Death and Tomb 164
+
+
+CHAP. XVIII.
+
+ Excursion to a Forest.—Borders of the
+ Niolo.—Adventures.—Corsican Pines.—The Pinus Maritima and
+ Pinus Lariccio.—Government Forests 179
+
+
+CHAP. XIX.
+
+ The Forest of Asco.—Corsican Beasts of Chase.—The
+ Moufflon.—Increase of Wild Animals.—The last of the Banditti
+ 191
+
+
+CHAP. XX.
+
+ Leave Corte for Ajaccio.—A Legend of Venaco.—Arrival at
+ Vivario 200
+
+
+CHAP. XXI.
+
+ Leave Vivario.—Forest of Vizzavona.—A roadside
+ Adventure.—Bocagnono.—Arrive late at Ajaccio 205
+
+
+CHAP. XXII.
+
+ Ajaccio.—Collège-Fesch.—Reminiscences of the Buonaparte
+ Family.—Excursion in the Gulf.—Chapel of the Greeks.—Evening
+ Scenes.—Council-General of the Department.—Statistics.—State
+ of Agriculture in Corsica.—Her Prospects 213
+
+
+CHAP. XXIII.
+
+ Leave Ajaccio.—Neighbourhood of Olmeto.—Sollacaró.—James
+ Boswell's Residence there.—Scene in the “Corsican Brothers”
+ laid there.—Quarrel of the Vincenti and Grimaldi.—Road to
+ Sartene.—Corsican Marbles.—Arrive at Bonifacio 227
+
+
+CHAP. XXIV.
+
+ Bonifacio.—Foundation and History.—Besieged by Alfonso of
+ Arragon.—By Dragut and the Turks.—Singularity of the
+ Place.—Its Medieval Aspect.—The
+ Post-office.—Passports.—Detention.—Marine Grottoes.—Ruined
+ Convent of St. Julian 242
+
+
+CHAP. XXV.
+
+ ISLAND OF SARDINIA.—Cross the Straits of Bonifacio.—The
+ Town and Harbour of La Madelena.—Agincourt Sound, the Station
+ of the British Fleet in 1803.—Anecdotes of Nelson.—Napoleon
+ Bonaparte repulsed at La Madelena 258
+
+
+CHAP. XXVI.
+
+ Ferried over to the Main Island.—Start for the Mountain Passes
+ of the Gallura.—Sarde Horses and Cavallante.—Valley of the
+ Liscia.—Pass some Holy Places on the Hills.—Festivals held
+ there.—Usages of the Sardes indicating their Eastern Origin
+ 272
+
+
+CHAP. XXVII.
+
+ The Valley narrows.—Romantic Glen.—Al fresco Meal.—Forest of
+ Cork Trees.—Salvator Rosa Scenery.—Haunts of Outlaws.—Their
+ Atrocities.—Anecdotes of them in a better Spirit.—The Defile
+ in the Mountains.—Elevated Plateau.—A Night March.—Arrival
+ at Tempio, the Capital of Gallura.—Our Reception 280
+
+
+CHAP. XXVIII.
+
+ Tempio.—The Town and Environs.—The Limbara
+ Mountains.—Vineyards.—The Governor or Intendente of the
+ Province.—Deadly Feuds.—Sarde Girls at the
+ Fountains.—Hunting in Sardinia.—Singular Conference with the
+ Tempiese Hunters.—Society at the Casino.—Description of a
+ Boar Hunt 295
+
+
+CHAP. XXIX.
+
+ Leave Tempio.—Sunrise.—Light Wreaths of Mist across the
+ Valley.—A Pass of the Limbara.—View from the Summit.—Dense
+ Vapour over the Plain beneath.—The Lowlands unhealthy.—The
+ deadly Intempérie.—It recently carried off an English
+ Traveller.—Descend a romantic Glen to the Level of the
+ Campidano.—Its peculiar Character.—Gallop over it.—Reach
+ Ozieri 310
+
+
+CHAP. XXX.
+
+ Effects of vast Levels as compared with Mountain
+ Scenery.—Sketches of Sardinian Geology.—The primitive Chains
+ and other Formations.—Traces of extensive Volcanic
+ action.—The “Campidani,” or Plains.—Mineral Products 320
+
+
+CHAP. XXXI.
+
+ Ozieri.—A Refugee Colonel turned Cook and Traiteur.—Traces of
+ Phenician Superstitions in Sarde Usages.—The Rites of
+ Adonis.—Passing through the Fire to Moloch 331
+
+
+CHAP. XXXII.
+
+ Expedition to the Mountains.—Environs of Ozieri.—First View of
+ the Peaks of Genargentu.—Forests.—Value of the Oak
+ Timber.—Cork Trees; their Produce, and Statistics of the
+ Trade.—Hunting the Wild Boar, &c.—The Hunters' Feast.—A
+ Bivouac in the Woods.—Notices of the Province of
+ Barbagia.—Independence of the Mountaineers 344
+
+
+CHAP. XXXIII.
+
+ Leave Ozieri.—The New Road, and Travelling in the
+ Campagna.—Monte Santo.—Scenes at the Halfway House.—Volcanic
+ Hills.—Sassari; its History.—Liberal Opinions of the
+ Sassarese.—Constitutional Government.—Reforms wanted in
+ Sardinia.—Means for its Improvement 358
+
+
+CHAP. XXXIV.
+
+ Alghero—Notice of.—The Cathedral of
+ Sassari.—University.—Museum.—A Student's private
+ Cabinet.—Excursion to a Nuraghe.—Description of.—Remarks on
+ the Origin and Design of these Structures 376
+
+
+CHAP. XXXV.
+
+ Sardinian Monoliths.—The Sepolture, or “Tombs of the
+ Giants.”—Traditions regarding Giant Races.—The Anakim, &c.,
+ of Canaan.—Their supposed Migration to Sardinia.—Remarks on
+ Aboriginal Races.—Antiquity of the Nuraghe and
+ Sepolture.—Their Founders unknown 389
+
+
+CHAP. XXXVI.
+
+ Oristano.—Orange-groves of Milis.—Cagliari.—Description
+ of.—The Cathedral and Churches.—Religious
+ Laxity.—Ecclesiastical Statistics.—Vegetable and Fruit
+ Market.—Royal Museum.—Antiquities.—Coins found in
+ Sardinia.—Phenician Remains.—The Sarde Idols 407
+
+
+CHAP. XXXVII.
+
+ Porto-Torres.—Another Italian Refugee.—Embark for Genoa.—West
+ Coast of Corsica.—Turin.—The Sardinian Electric
+ Telegraph.—The Wires laid to Cagliari 422
+
+
+CHAP. XXXVIII.
+
+ Sardinian Electric Telegraph.—The Land Line completed.—Failures
+ in Attempts to lay a Submarine Cable to Algeria.—The Work
+ resumed.—A Trip to Bona on the African Coast.—The Cable
+ laid.—Importance of Cagliari as a Telegraph Station.—Its
+ Commerce.—The return Voyage.—CONCLUSION 432
+
+
+
+
+ INDEX TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ LITHOGRAPHS.
+
+ AJACCIO _frontispiece_
+ MAP OF CORSICA AND SARDINIA _facing p._ 1
+ ERSA, CAPO CORSO “ 33
+ CORTE “ 157
+ VIVARIO “ 205
+ BONIFACIO “ 242
+ VALLEY OF THE LISCIA, SARDINIA “ 275
+ THE LIMBARA, FROM TEMPIO “ 296
+ THE PLAN OF OZIERI “ 318
+
+
+ WOOD ENGRAVINGS.
+
+ CORSICA.
+
+ MARSEILLES, FROM THE RAILWAY 7
+ ISLETS OFF MARSEILLES 12
+ CHÂTEAU-D'IF 14
+ MARSEILLES, FROM THE CHÂTEAU-D'IF 17
+ FRENCH COAST, OFF CIOTAT 23
+ OFF TOULON 24
+ IL TORRE DI SENECA 34
+ ISLE OF MONTE-CRISTO 47
+ MEETING OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN NEAR BASTIA 48
+ OLMETA 77
+ ISLE OF MONTE-CRISTO, THROUGH A GORGE 91
+ BETWEEN OLMETA AND BIGORNO 95
+ PONTE MURATO 103
+ CAPO CORSO, FROM CHESTNUT WOODS 107
+ NEAR BIGORNO 122
+ CITADEL OF CORTE 161
+ PINUS MARITIMA 185
+ PINUS LARICCIO 185
+ CONE OF THE PINUS LARICCIO 186
+ BARK OF THE PINUS LARICCIO 186
+ BOCAGNONO 209
+ HARBOUR OF AJACCIO 217
+ BONIFACIO, ON THE SEA-SIDE 240
+ OUTLINE OF SARDINIA, FROM BONIFACIO 253
+ CAVES UNDER BONIFACIO 255
+ BONIFACIO, FROM THE CONVENT IN THE VALLEY 256
+
+
+ SARDINIA.
+
+ LOOKING BACK ON CORSICA 259
+ A SALVATOR ROSA SCENE 282
+ DESCENT TO THE CAMPIDANO 313
+ THE CAMPIDANO 321
+ EXTERIOR OF A NURAGHE 379
+ ENTRANCE TO A NURAGHE 381
+ INTERIOR OF A NURAGHE 381
+ SEPOLTURA DE IS GIGANTES 390
+ THE SAME 391
+ SARDO-ROMAN COIN 417
+ CARTHAGINEAN COIN 418
+ SARACEN COIN 418
+ PORTO-TORRES 425
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: CORSICA AND SARDINIA (MAP)]
+
+
+
+
+RAMBLES
+
+IN
+
+CORSICA AND SARDINIA.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+ _Inducements to the Expedition.—Early impressions concerning
+ Corsica.—Plan of the Tour.—Routes to Marseilles.—Meeting
+ there._
+
+
+It would be difficult to say, and it matters little, what principally
+led to the selection of two islands in the Mediterranean, not generally
+supposed to possess any particular attractions for the tourist, as the
+object for an autumn's expedition with the companion of former rambles.
+At any rate, we should break fresh ground; and I imagine the hope of
+shooting _moufflons_ was no small inducement to my friend, who had
+succeeded in the wild sport of hunting reindeer on the high Fjelds of
+Norway. If, too, his comrade should fail in climbing to the vast
+solitudes in which the bounding _moufflon_ harbours, there were boar
+hunts in the prospect for him; not such courtly pageants as one sees in
+the pictures of Velasquez, but more stirring, and in nobler covers.
+
+Should these prove to be false hopes, the enthusiastic sketcher, and the
+lover of the grand and beautiful in nature, must find ample compensation
+in the scenery of mountains lifting their snowy peaks from bases washed
+by the sunny Mediterranean,—mountain systems of a character yet
+unvisited, and with which we could at least compare those of Norway and
+Switzerland. This power of comparison is what imparts the most lively
+interest to travelling; and thus it becomes, for the time,
+all-engrossing, the eyes and the memory alike employed at every turn on
+contrasts of form, colour, and clothing.
+
+Not less attractive, to any one desirous of extending his knowledge of
+human kind, would be the prospect of studying the races inhabiting
+islands as yet unknown to him. The oldest writer of travels, bringing on
+the stage his hero-wanderer along the shores of the Mediterranean, gives
+the finishing touch to his character in two significant words, νόον
+ἐγνῶ.[2] Not only did he “visit the abodes of many people,” but he
+“studied their Νοῦς;” all that the term involves of its impress on
+character, habits, and institutions was keenly investigated by the
+accomplished navigator. And what studies must be afforded by these
+singular islanders, who, we were informed, in the centre of the
+Mediterranean, at the very threshold of civilisation, combined many of
+the virtues, with more than the ferocity, of barbarous tribes!
+
+My own impressions regarding Corsica were early received. In my younger
+days, there was the same sort of sympathy with the Corsicans which we
+now find more noisily, and sometimes absurdly, displayed for the Poles.
+I had seen Pascal Paoli, and talked with General Dumouriez about his
+first campaign against the Corsican mountaineers, of which his
+recollections were by no means agreeable. Pascal Paoli had found an
+asylum in England, where he maintained a dignified seclusion, not always
+imitated by patriot exiles. His memory has almost passed away, and it is
+quite imaginable that some stump orator may reckon him among the exiled
+Poles of former days. Pascal Paoli was, however, a truly great man. In
+my boyish enthusiasm—all “Grecians” are in the heroics about patriots
+who have fought and struggled for their country's liberty—I compared him
+with Aristides or Themistocles; the Corsicans were heroes; the country
+which rudely nursed those brave mountaineers—I had also a touch of
+sentiment for the sublime and beautiful in nature which a schoolboy does
+not always get from books,—such a country must be romantic. Should I
+ever ramble among its mountains, forests, and sunny valleys?
+
+At last, long after the chimera, for such it inevitably was, of Corsican
+independence had vanished, my cherished hopes have been realised,—with
+what success will appear in the following pages. I will only say for
+myself, and I believe my fellow-traveller participates the feeling, a
+more delightful tour I never made.
+
+Corsica had an ugly reputation for _banditisme_, and Sardinia for a
+deadly _intempérie_; but we did not attach much importance to such
+rumours. The enthusiastic traveller disregards danger. If told that
+there is “a lion in his path,” he only goes the more resolutely forward.
+As for the banditti, we would fraternise with them if they, best knowing
+the mountain paths, would track the moufflons for us.
+
+The true traveller must “become all things to all men,” if he desires to
+familiarise himself with the habits and characters of other races.
+Without forgetting that he is an Englishman, he will cast off that
+self-conceit and cold exclusiveness which make so many of your
+countrymen ridiculous in the eyes of foreigners, and, adapting himself
+to the situation, become, if needs be, a bandit in Corsica, a bonder in
+Norway, drink sour milk without a wry face in a Caffre's kraal, take
+snuff with his wives—be any thing except a Turk in Turkey; though even
+there, when he comes to talk the language, he will adopt the eastern
+custom of taking his pipe, his coffee, and his repose, not chattering,
+but sententiously uttering his words between whiffs of smoke, which,
+meanwhile, he _drinks_, as the Turks well express it.
+
+We envy not the man, the T. G. (travelling gent.) of society, whose
+principal aim in travelling is to gratify a miserable vanity; to be able
+to boast of crossing or climbing such a mountain; to have to say, “I
+have been here, I have been there; I have done Bagdad; I have seen the
+Nile,” or such and such a place. The true traveller is unselfish. Though
+to him it is food, breath, a renewal of life, a fresh existence, to
+travel,—half his pleasure is to carry home from his wanderings, to an
+English fireside, a tale of other lands. That happy English home is ever
+present to his mind, and, with all his enthusiasm, he meets with nothing
+in his rambles he would exchange for its blessings.
+
+Being strongly recommended to defer our visit to Sardinia until the
+latest possible period of the autumn, the plan finally laid was to take
+Corsica in detail from Capo Corso to Bonifaccio, and then cross the
+straits, as best we might, there being no regular communication. Having
+landed in Sardinia, we should continue the tour through that island as
+long as circumstances permitted; leaving it by one of the Sardinian
+government's steam-boats which ply between the island and Genoa and so
+take the route by Turin, over the Mont-Cenis, to Lyons, Paris, and
+Boulogne.
+
+As these islands lie on the same parallel of longitude (11° 50' E.
+nearly cutting the centre of both), by the route thus chalked out, we
+should make a straight course from north to south, with no considerable
+deviations, the islands being, as every one knows, in the form of
+parallelograms of much greater length than breadth.
+
+Marseilles was finally arranged to be our port of embarkation, and the
+postponement of the visit to Sardinia till November leaving time on our
+hands, we had ample leisure for the accomplishment of some secondary
+projects, which brought us into training for the _grand coup_. My friend
+pushed through the more frequented parts of Switzerland for Zermatt and
+the Matterhorn. He was much struck by the remarkable contrast of that
+stupendous obelisk of rock, piercing the clouds, with the vast, but
+still sublime, expanse of the high Fjelds of snow we had seen in Norway;
+and the remark applies generally to the grand distinctive features of
+the two countries. Descending the valley of Aosta, my friend travelled
+by Genoa and Nice through the Maritime Alps to Marseilles, going on to
+Avignon with some friends he happened to fall in with on the way;—such
+meetings with those we know, and sometimes with those we do not know,
+being among the pleasures of travelling in the more frequented routes.
+Agreeable acquaintances are made or renewed; perhaps a day or two is
+spent in travelling together, with a charm that is very delightful; and
+you part with the hope of meeting again.
+
+Meanwhile the author, who had been delving in the Norman Chronicles till
+every castle and abbey through the length and depth of the old Duchy
+were become familiar names, feeling a strong desire to revisit scenes
+thus brought fresh to his memory, shouldered his knapsack at Dieppe, and
+spent a most delightful fortnight in rambling through that fine
+province.
+
+Many a pleasant story he could tell of wayside greetings and fireside
+hospitalities among the Norman peasantry. The old soldier of the empire
+stopped his _camarade_, as something in our _tenue_ led him to imagine,
+asking eager questions about the coming war and the united service, both
+which seemed to be popular; while market and fair, and the communal
+school, each in their turn, drew forth amusing companions for the road.
+But these episodes, and more serious talk of Norman abbeys buried in the
+depths of forests or girded round by the winding Seine—rich in memories
+of the past, but ruins all—and of Norman churches and cathedrals, in all
+their ancient grandeur, or well restored, are beside the present
+purpose.
+
+Hastening southward by _diligence_ and _chemin-de-fer_, the first
+vineyards appeared between Chartres and Orleans, with an effect much
+inferior, as it seemed, to that produced by the orchards of Normandy,
+loaded as they were with ruddy fruit; but this may be the prejudice of a
+native of the West of England. From Lyons, one of the long narrow
+steamboats afforded a most agreeable passage down the stream of the
+rapid Rhone to Avignon. The autumn rains, which sometimes caused a weary
+march through the byroads of Normandy, had cooled the air, freshened
+vegetation, and made travelling in the south of France pleasant. While
+journeying on, every hour and every league bringing me nearer to the
+intended meeting, it was natural to feel some anxiety lest in such great
+distances to be traversed, with little or no intermediate communication,
+something might go wrong, and our plans, however well laid, be delayed
+or frustrated. The last stage of the journey commenced—should I be first
+at the rendezvous, or was my companion for the future waiting my
+arrival?
+
+ [Illustration: MARSEILLES FROM THE RAILWAY.]
+
+At last, after spending the warm noon of an unclouded day amongst the
+noble ruins of Arles, the train landed me at the station at Marseilles,
+and my friend was on the platform. The pleasure of casual meetings _en
+route_ has been just adverted to. How joyous was that of two travellers,
+wanderers together in times gone by, who now met so far from home, after
+their separate courses, with a fresh field opening before them!—the
+recognition, doubt and uncertainty vanishing, the glorious chat,—all
+this the warm-hearted reader will easily imagine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. II.
+
+ _Marseilles.—Café de l'Orient.—Cannebière and Port.—Sail to the
+ Islands in the Gulf.—The Château d'If and Count de
+ Monte-Cristo.—A sudden Squall._
+
+
+We met then at Marseilles in the second week of October, punctual to the
+appointed day. Our several lines of route had well converged. Want of
+companionship was the only drawback on the pleasure they had afforded;
+but they were only preludes to the joint undertaking on which we now
+entered. Each recounted his past adventures, and measures were concerted
+for the future.
+
+Steamboats leave Marseilles three times every week for Corsica;—I like
+to be particular, especially when one gets beyond Murray's beat. One of
+these boats calls at Bastia on its way to Leghorn; the others make each
+a voyage direct to Calvi, or l'Isle de Rousse, and Ajaccio.
+
+It suited us best to land at Bastia, but we were detained three days at
+Marseilles waiting for the boat. That also happened to suit us. We had
+hitherto travelled in the lightest possible marching order, and some
+heavier baggage, containing equipments for our expedition in the
+islands, had not yet turned up. Knapsack tours are not the style beyond
+the Alps. In the south and east, all above the lowest grade ride. It is
+so in Corsica; still more in Sardinia,—where all is eastern. We trudged
+on foot sometimes in Corsica, to get into the country, and should have
+been considered mad; but, as Englishmen, we were only eccentric. We
+waited then for our baggage, which contained, among other things,
+English saddles,—a great luxury. My companion thought it a professional
+duty to reconnoitre the fortifications of Toulon. By travelling in the
+night, going and returning, he contrived to get a clear day for the
+purpose.
+
+Marseilles had interest enough to occupy my attention during his
+absence. Being the great _entrepôt_ of commerce, and centre of
+communication, in the Mediterranean, all the races dwelling on its
+shores, and many others, are represented there.
+
+“Let us go to the _Grand Café_,”—I think it is called _Café de
+l'Orient_—said my companion, the evening we met.
+
+Any one who has merely visited Paris may imagine the brilliance of this
+vast _salon_, the lights reflected on a hundred mirrors. But where else
+than at Marseilles could be found such an assemblage as now crowded it?
+
+See that Turk, with the magnificent beard. What yards of snowy
+gauze-like cambric, with gold-embroidered ends, are wound in graceful
+folds round the fez, contrasting with the dark mahogany colour of his
+sun-burnt brow. And what a rich crimson caftan! Perhaps he is from Tunis
+or Barbary. He sits alone, smoking, with eyes half-closed, grave and
+taciturn.
+
+They must be Greeks,—those two figures in dark-flowing robes. They too
+wear the red fez. Mark the neat moustache, the clean chiselled outline
+of their features, the active eye. They are eagerly conversing over that
+round marble table while they sip their coffee. Their talk must be of
+the corn markets. Now is their opportunity, as the harvest in France
+has failed. And see that man with the olive complexion, keen features,
+and ringlets of black hair and pendent ear-rings under his dark
+_barrette_. He may be the _padróne_ of some felucca from Leghorn or
+Naples. Beside him is a Spaniard. He, too, seems a seafaring man; and no
+felucca-rigged vessels in the Mediterranean are smarter, finer-looking
+craft than the Spanish.
+
+There are plenty of Arabs, swarthy, high-cheeked-boned, keen-eyed
+fellows, in snowy bournouses, with hair and moustache of almost
+unnatural blackness. French officers of every arm in the service are
+grouped round the tables, drinking _eau-sucré_ and playing at dominoes
+or cards, or lounge on the sofas reading the gazettes. The _garçons_ in
+scarlet tunics, relieved by their white turbans and cambric trowsers,
+are hurrying to and fro at the call of the motley guests.
+
+“Those two gentlemen just entering are Americans, not of the Yankee
+type, with free and easy air, and tall lanky forms. I made their
+acquaintance in the steam-boat down the Rhone. They are men of great
+intelligence, perfect _savoir-vivre_, and calm dignity of manner,
+patrician citizens of a republic. One of them wore his plaid as
+gracefully as a toga. I set him down for a senator from one of the
+Southern states.”
+
+“I have seen no English here,” said my companion. Next day he met his
+friend Captain H—— returning on leave from Malta to England. Marseilles
+is on the highway to all the East, and on the arrival or departure of
+the packets connected with the “Overland Route” there must be a strong
+muster of our countrymen, and women too.
+
+Turning out of the shady avenue of the Corso on a sultry afternoon, I
+sauntered down the _Rue de la Cannebière_ towards the port. It was the
+busiest part of the day, for there seemed to be no idle time for the
+_siesta_ here. The streets and quays were thronged with people of the
+same varieties of race we had seen in the _café_; most of them, of
+course, of an inferior class. There can be no mistaking that
+wild-looking creature, bare-legged, and in a white bournouse, who is
+staring with curious eyes at the splendid array of jewellery and plate
+displayed to his eager gaze in that shop window. Again he pauses before
+that elegant assortment of silks and shawls. What tales of European
+luxury will the child of the desert carry back to the tents of the
+Bedouins!
+
+I found the port crowded with ships of all nations, the quays encumbered
+with piles of _barriques_ and mountains of Egyptian wheat discharged in
+bulk. What blinding dust as they shovel it up! What a suffocating heat!
+What smells in this hollow trough which receives the filth of all the
+town! How curiously names on the sterns of vessels, and _annonces_ over
+the shops of _traiteurs_ and ship-chandlers, in very readable Greek,
+carry the mind back to the Phocæan founders of this great emporium of
+commerce!
+
+It was a cooler walk along the _Rue de Rome_, and by the
+_Marché-aux-Capucins_, gay with fruits and flowers, to the Museum
+library, in search of books relating to Corsica. There was some
+difficulty in discovering it. Literature and science do not appear to be
+much in vogue in this seat of commerce. The Museum was closed, the
+_custode_ absent, but a good-humoured porter allowed me a stranger's
+privilege, and took me into the library; giving me also some details of
+Corsican roads from his personal knowledge. The only book I discovered
+was Vallery's Travels. I made a few extracts, and found no reason to
+desire more. Few foreigners write travels in a style suited to the
+English taste. They are at home among cities, and galleries, and works
+of art, but have little real feeling for natural objects, and ill
+disguise it by pompous phrases, glitter, and sentiment.
+
+“Let us take a boat and sail over to the islands lying off the harbour,”
+said my fellow-traveller one afternoon.
+
+“With all my heart.”
+
+ [Illustration: ISLETS OFF MARSEILLES.]
+
+These islets, most of them mere rocks, form a sort of sheltered strait,
+or roadstead, of which the island of Rion, with Cape Morgion on the
+mainland opposite, are the extreme points. Pomègue and Ratoneau are
+connected by a breakwater.
+
+“_Garçon_, put a roast fowl and some _pâtés_, with a loaf of bread and a
+bottle of Bordeaux, into a _corbeille_ and send it down to the port.”
+
+We bought some grapes as we went along. There are landing-stairs at the
+upper end of the harbour, where pleasure-boats lie. We stepped into one,
+and were rowed down in a narrow channel between four or five tiers of
+ships, loading and unloading at the quays on each side. An arm of the
+Mediterranean, a thousand yards long, forms a noble harbour; but, foul,
+black, and stagnant, how different were its waters from the bright sea
+without! After passing the forts defending the narrow entrance, we
+hoisted sail. On the right was the new harbour of _La Joliette_,
+connected with the old port by a canal. At present it did not appear to
+be much frequented, but, during the war in the East, both scarcely
+sufficed for the vast flotilla employed in conveying troops and stores.
+It must be difficult for any one who has not witnessed it to conceive
+the scene Marseilles then presented.
+
+We now discussed the contents of our hamper with great _goût_, the
+boatman occasionally pulling an oar as the wind was scant. But we had
+sufficiently receded from the shore to command a view of the basin in
+which Marseilles stands, and the amphitheatre of hills surrounding it,
+studded with the country-houses of the citizens; small cottages, called
+_bastides_, thousands of which spot the slopes of the hills like white
+specks.
+
+High upon a rocky summit stands the chapel of _Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde_,
+held in great reverence, and much resorted to, by mariners and
+fishermen; the walls and roof being hung with votive offerings,
+commemorating deliverances from shipwreck and other ills to which
+mariner-flesh is heir.
+
+Seaward lay the islands for which we were bound, but without any
+immediate prospect of reaching them, as the wind died away. It was
+pleasant enough to lie listlessly floating on the blue Mediterranean,
+with such charming views of the coast and the islands, and the
+picturesque craft in every direction becalmed like our own skiff: but we
+had another object in our evening's excursion; so, lowering the lateen
+sail, my companion took one of the oars, and the boatman, reinforced by
+a strong and steady stroke, pulling with a will, we soon landed at the
+foot of the black and frowning rock, crowned on the summit by the square
+massive donjon of the _Château d'If_.
+
+ [Illustration: CHÂTEAU D'IF.]
+
+The whole circuit of the cliffs, containing an area of, perhaps, two
+acres, is surrounded by fortifications. Climbing some rocky steps, we
+waited in the guardroom till the _concièrge_ brought the keys of the
+castle. It was formerly used as a state prison; and the vaulted
+passages, echoing to the clang of keys and bolts, and deep and gloomy
+dungeons, from which air and light were almost excluded by the thick
+walls, reminded one of the unhappy wretches, victims of despotic or
+revolutionary tyranny, who had been immured there without trial and
+without hope. The island now serves as a depôt for recruits to fill up
+the regiments serving in Algiers; and some of the larger apartments of
+the château are used as a caserne.
+
+But the _Château d'If_ is probably best known to many of my readers as
+connected with a remarkable incident in the adventures of the Count de
+Monte-Cristo, the hero of the celebrated novel of Alexandre Dumas. The
+story is shortly this:
+
+Dantès (the count) being thrown into one of the dungeons, remains in
+hopeless captivity for a great number of years. In the end, by working
+his way through the massive walls, he establishes a communication with
+the cell of another prisoner, who was in a still more deplorable
+condition. His fellow-prisoner dies, and Dantès effects his escape by
+contriving to insert himself in the sack in which the corpse of his
+friend was deposited; having first dressed the body in his own clothes,
+and placed it in his bed, to deceive the gaolers. In the dead of the
+night the sack is thrown into the sea from the castle walls, and Dantès
+sinks with a thirty-two-pound shot fastened to his feet. He cuts the
+cord with a knife he had secreted, and, disengaged from the sack, rises
+to the surface and swims to a neighbouring island.
+
+We were looking over the battlements towards these islands. One of them
+is covered by a vast lazzeretto,—a place, for the time, only a few
+degrees worse than the prison. The isles of Ratoneau and Pomègue lay
+nearest. Farther off was Lémaire, to which Dantès is described as
+swimming. They are all mere rocky islets washed by the sea, the group
+being very picturesque.
+
+“_Mon ami_,” said I, pointing to the isle of Lémaire, “do you think you
+could do what the count is represented to have done.”
+
+“What! swim from hence to that island? I would try, if I was shut up in
+this horrid place, and had the chance.”
+
+The distance I reckoned to be about three miles; and as my friend has
+since swum across the Bosphorus, where the current is strong, he would
+probably have found no difficulty in that part of the affair.
+
+“But how about cutting the cord to get rid of the thirty-two-pound shot,
+and extricating yourself from the sack?”
+
+“_Ça dépend!_ All this is not impossible for a strong man in good
+health; for a prisoner, exhausted by fourteen years' captivity in a
+dungeon—_c'est autre chose_. Have you read the book?”
+
+“Not much of it; I tried, but could not get on. That class of works is
+by no means to my taste.”
+
+“French literature of this school is, I admit, bad for the weak: it is
+pastime to the strong, and serves to wile away an idle hour. This work
+exhibits great genius, and a powerful imagination.”
+
+“So, indeed, it seems; but may not the _vraisemblable_ be preserved even
+in works of fiction? Let us have a story which, _se non è vero, è ben
+trovato_. Writers of this school, my dear fellow, create, or pander to,
+a vicious taste.”
+
+“In a play or novel, I grant you, the plot, characters, and incidents,
+in order to enlist our sympathies, should be true to nature and real
+life. But who looks for this in a romance? such works are not read for
+profit, and the boldest nights of fancy, and some extravagance, are
+fairly admissible.”
+
+“_Ah, mon cher_, my age is double yours, and that makes a great
+difference in our views on such subjects.”
+
+The recruits flocked round us, asking for _eau-de-vie_. Many of them
+were Italians, deserters from the armies in Lombardy, Piedmont, and
+the Papal states, glad to change their service for better pay and
+treatment under the French flag, even on the burning plains of Africa.
+Perhaps some of them were drafted into that “foreign legion” which
+rivalled the Zouaves in the Crimea,—_âmes perdus_, the most reckless
+before the enemy, the most licentious in the camp. These were merry
+fellows, launching witty shafts against Austrians, Pope, and
+Cardinals,—_maladetti tutti_, and good-humoured gibes at their
+comrade, who, standing in an embrasure, bent his back with laudable
+patience to the right angle for an easel, while my friend was making
+sketches of the rocky islets and lateen-sail vessels reflected on the
+mirror-like sea, or of the amphitheatre of mountains at the foot of
+which Marseilles stands.
+
+ [Illustration: MARSEILLES FROM THE CHÂTEAU D'IF.]
+
+Others, leaning over the battlements, whiled away the listless evening
+hours, watching fishermen drawing the seine at the foot of the rocks.
+
+We pulled round to the cove and watched them too; a very different set
+of fellows from the _malbigatti_ stationed above. Fine, athletic,
+muscular men, their heads bare, except that a few wore the red cap so
+common in the Mediterranean,—in woollen shirts, with naked feet planted
+on the slippery rocks, they were hauling up and coiling the rope,
+singing cheerily.
+
+The wind had shifted some points while we were on the island, and it now
+freshened to a stiff breeze,—one of those sudden squalls for which these
+seas are remarkable. The craft, which an hour before lay sleeping on the
+waters, had caught the breeze. A brigantine came dashing up the straits
+under all sail, her topgallants still set, though the poles quivered;
+and smaller craft, with their long, pointed sails, like sea-fowl with
+expanded wings, were crossing in all directions on their several tacks,
+making for the harbour or inlets along the coast.
+
+The sea was already lashed into foam, and tiny waves broke on the rocks.
+Loud and hoarse rung the fishermen's voices as they hauled away to save
+their nets. It was time for us to make for the port. A few strokes
+shoved the boat from under the lee of the island; the oars were shipped,
+and the lateen sail run up by all hands. Hauling close to the wind, my
+friend seized the tiller: it was doubtful if we could make the harbour,
+which the little craft, struggling with the breeze, just headed; the
+towers of St. Victor being the point of sight in the increasing haze.
+
+“_Comme les Anglais font des braves marins_,” said the _padróne_, as he
+stood by the halyards, looking out ahead, after all was made snug.
+
+We were, indeed, in our element. The sudden squall had stirred our
+blood. Many such rough cruises we had shared together in old times.
+
+The boat flew through the water, which roared and broke over the bows.
+“It will be a short run,” said the steersman, “if the wind holds on.”
+
+“_Port, monsieur, port!_” cried the _padróne_, who had learnt some
+English nautical phrases.
+
+But it would not do. Approaching the land, the wind veered and headed
+us.
+
+“We must make a short tack to gain the harbour.”
+
+“_Je l'ai prévu_,” said the _padróne_.
+
+“About” it was. She stayed beautifully, even under the single sail, and
+in a trice was lying well upon the other tack, as we stood out to sea.
+In five minutes we went about again, fetching under the stern of a
+felucca, also beating into the port; perhaps from Algiers or the Spanish
+coast. It was now a dead race with the felucca, which had forged ahead
+while we were in stays.
+
+“_Nous gagnerons, j'en gagerais une bouteille de vin!_” cried the
+_padróne_, much excited, for he was proud of his boat.
+
+“_Vous l'aurez, toutefois, pour boire à la santé de vos camarades
+Anglais._”
+
+Again we flew through the water, making a straight course for the
+harbour. The felucca had much the advantage of us in breadth of canvas
+and her high-peaked sails; but being heavily laden, she was deep in the
+water. As it turned out, we did not overhaul her till just before she
+lowered her foresail at the _consigne_ office, to wait for her _permis
+d'entrer_, when we shot ahead right into the port.
+
+We made out the evening at the theatre, well entertained by a _petite
+comédie_. “One is sure to be amused,” said my companion; “and it is good
+practice. It helps to get up one's French.”
+
+“_Monsieur ne manque que d'être plus habitué_,” as it is politely
+suggested when one is at a loss for a phrase.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. III.
+
+ _Embark for Corsica—Coast of France and Italy.—Toulon.—Hyères
+ Islands, Frejus, &c.—A Stormy night.—Crossing the Tuscan Sea._
+
+
+Once more we are at the water stairs. A stout boat is ready to convey us
+with our baggage to _L'Industrie_, one of Messrs. Vallery's fine
+steam-boats, in turn for Bastia. Just as we are pushing off, a carriage
+drives to the quay, with a niece of General the Count di Rivarola,
+formerly in the British service. She is returning to Corsica. We do the
+civil, spread plaids, and place her in the stern sheets; and she is very
+agreeable.
+
+It is Sunday morning. The bells of the old church of St. Victor are
+ringing at early mass. The ships in the port have hoisted their colours.
+There is our dear, time-honoured jack, “the flag that has braved,” &c.,
+as we say on all occasions; and the stars and stripes, the crescent and
+star, and the towers of Castille; with crosses of all shapes and
+colours, in as great variety as the costumes we saw in the _café_. The
+tricolor floated on the forts of St. Jean and St. Nicholas, as well as
+on French craft of all descriptions.
+
+All was gay, but not more joyous than our own buoyant spirits. Time had
+been spent pleasantly enough at Marseilles, but it was a delay; and
+there is nothing an Englishman hates more than delays in travelling.
+Thwarted in his humour, he becomes quite childish, and frets and chafes
+more at having to wait two or three days for a steamboat than at any
+other hindrance I know. Now, when _L'Industrie_, with her ensign at the
+peak, had, somehow or other, with a din of unutterable cries in maritime
+French, been extricated from the dense tiers of vessels along the quay,
+and hauling out of the harbour, we were at last fairly on the high road
+to Corsica, never did the sun appear to shine more brightly; the
+Mediterranean looked more blue than any blue one had seen before, there
+was a ripple from the fresh breeze, the waves sparkled, and seemed
+positively to laugh and partake of our joy.
+
+We hardly cared to speculate on our fellow-passengers, as one is apt to
+do when there is nothing else to engross the thoughts; and yet there
+were some among them we should wish to sketch. Besides French officers
+joining their regiments in the island, there was one, a Corsican, who
+had served in Algeria, returning home on sick leave. It was to be feared
+that it had come too late, for the poor invalid was so feeble, worn, and
+emaciated that it seemed his native country could offer him nothing but
+a grave. There was a Corsican priest on board, a pleasant, well-informed
+man, who met our advances to an acquaintance with great readiness, and
+was delighted with our proposed visit to his island. Some Corsican
+gentlemen, a lady or two, and commercial men _en route_ for Leghorn,
+completed the party. We seemed to be the only English. I was mistaken.
+
+“After all, there is a countryman of ours on board,” I said, pointing to
+a pair of broad shoulders, disappearing under the companion-hatch. I
+caught sight of him just now; a fine, hale man, rather advanced in
+years, with a fair complexion, ruddy, and a profusion of grey hair. He
+wears a suit of drab; very plain, but well turned out.
+
+“Unmistakeably English, as you say; it may be pleasant. I wonder we did
+not make him out before among these sallow-faced and rather
+dirty-looking gentry in green and sky-blue trousers.”
+
+We were soon abreast of the group of rocky islets off the harbour,
+passing close under the _Château d'If_. The sea was smooth, the sky
+unclouded, but a gentle breeze deliciously tempered the heat, and
+vessels of every description—square-rigged ships, and coasting feluccas
+and xebecs—on their different courses, gave life to the scene. Thus
+pleasantly we ran along the French coast, here much indented and
+swelling into rocky hills of considerable elevation.
+
+ [Illustration: FRENCH COAST OFF CIOTAT.]
+
+We had an excellent _déjeûner_, for which we were quite ready, having
+only taken the usual early cup of coffee. The genial influence of this
+meal had the effect of putting us on the best footing with our
+fellow-voyagers. Pacing the deck afterwards with the Corsican priest, we
+were joined by the stout Englishman. Observing our disappointment at
+hearing we should be probably baulked of shooting in Corsica, he
+expressed a hope that we would extend our excursion to Tuscany, where,
+he was good enough to say, he would show us sport. He had been settled
+there many years, and was now returning to his family by way of Leghorn.
+Under a somewhat homely exterior, which had puzzled us at first as to
+his position, we found our new acquaintance to be a man of refined
+taste, great simplicity, as well as urbanity, of manners, and keenly
+alive to the beautiful in nature and art. Such a specimen of the hearty
+old English gentleman, unchanged—I was about to say uncontaminated—by
+long residence abroad, it has been rarely my lot to meet with.
+
+On rounding a projecting headland, we peeped into the mouth of Toulon
+harbour, and every eye and glass were directed to the heights crowned
+with forts, and the bold mountain masses towering above them.
+
+ [Illustration: OFF TOULON.]
+
+Presently, we were threading the channel between the main land and the
+Hyères Islands. They appeared to us a paradise of verdure, on which the
+eye, weary of gazing at the bare and furrowed mountain-sides bounding
+this coast, rested with delight. One imagined orange groves and myrtle
+bowers, impervious to the summer's sun and sheltered by the lofty ridges
+from the northern blasts—all this verdure fringing the edge of a bright
+and tideless sea. Elsewhere, except rarely in the hollows, the mountain
+ranges extending along this coast exhibit no signs of vegetation; the
+whole mass appearing, with the sun full on them, not only scorched but
+actually burnt to the colour of kiln-dried bricks.
+
+All the afternoon we continued running at the steamer's full speed along
+the shores of France and Italy. Notwithstanding their arid and sterile
+aspect, nothing can be finer than the mountain ranges which bound this
+coast, as every one who has crossed them in travelling from Nice well
+knows. Glimpses, too, successively of Frejus, Cannes, and Nice, more or
+less distant, as, crossing the Gulf of Genoa, we gradually increased our
+distance from the shore, together with a capital dinner, were pleasant
+interludes to the grand spectacle of Alps piled on Alps in endless
+succession, and glowing a fiery red, which all the waters over which we
+flew—deep, dark, or azure—could not quench.
+
+Towards evening there were evident tokens in the sky, on the water, and
+in the vessel's motion, of a change of weather. We were threatened with
+a stormy night; and as we now began to lose the shelter of the land,
+holding a course somewhat to the S.E. in order to round the northern
+point of Corsica, there was no reason to regret that the passage across
+the Tuscan sea would be performed while we were in our berths.
+
+However, we walked the deck long after the other passengers had gone
+below; enjoying the fresh breeze, though it was no soft zephyr wafting
+sweet odours from the Ausonian shore. It is a sublime thing to stand on
+the poop of a good ship when she is surging through the waves at ten
+knots an hour in utter darkness, whether impelled by wind or steam;
+especially when the elements are in strife. Nothing can give a higher
+idea of the power of man to control them. With no horizon, not a star
+visible in the vault above, and only the white curl on the crest of the
+boiling waves, glimmering in our wake, on—on, we rush, the ship dipping
+and rising over the long swells, and dashing floods of water and clouds
+of spray from her bows.
+
+But whither are we driving through these dark waters, and this
+impenetrable, and seemingly boundless, gloom? The eye rests on the light
+in the binnacle. We stoop to examine the compass; the card marks S.S.E.
+Imagination expands the dark horizon. It is not boundless: the island
+mountain-tops loom in the distance. They beckon us on; we realise them
+now; at dawn the grey peaks of Cape Corso will be unveiled; we shall
+dream of them to-night.
+
+One of the watch struck the hour on the bell. “It is ten o'clock; let us
+turn in.” There is an inviting glimmer through the cabin skylights. We
+are better off in this floating hotel than has often been our lot,
+baffling with storm and tempest, benighted, weary, cold and wet, in
+rough roads, forest or desert waste, with dubious hopes of shelter and
+comfort at the end of our march.
+
+We paused for a moment, leaning over the brass rail which protected the
+quarter deck. Below, on the main deck, a number of French soldiers,
+wrapped in their grey coats, were huddled together, cowering under the
+bulwarks, or wherever they could find shelter from the bitter night
+wind.
+
+The cabin lamps shed a cheerful light, reflected by the highly-polished
+furniture and fittings. All the passengers were in their berths. We had
+chosen ours near the door for fresher air. My companion climbed to his
+cot in the upper tier, above mine.
+
+“If you wake first, call me at daylight. We shall be off the coast of
+Corsica. _Felicissima notte!_”
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. IV.
+
+ _Coast of Capo Corso.—Peculiarity of Scenery.—Verdure, and
+ Mountain Villages.—Il Torre di Seneca.—Land at Bastia._
+
+
+The voyage from Marseilles to Bastia is performed, under favourable
+circumstances, in eighteen hours; but we had only just made the extreme
+northern point of Corsica when I was hastily roused, at six o'clock,
+from a blissful state of unconsciousness of the gale of wind and rough
+sea which had retarded our progress during the night.
+
+Hurrying on deck, the first objects which met the eye were a rocky islet
+with a lighthouse on a projecting point, and then it rested on the
+glorious mountains of Capo Corso, lifting their grey summits to the
+clouds, and stretching away to the southward in endless variety of
+outline. We were abreast of the rocky island of Capraja; on the other
+hand lay Elba, with its mountain peaks; Pianosa and Monte-Cristo rose
+out of the Tuscan sea further on. Behind these picturesque islands, the
+distant range of the Apennines hung like a cloud in the horizon. The sun
+rose over them in unclouded glory, no trace being left of the
+night-storm, but a fresh breeze, and the heaving and swelling of the
+deep waters.
+
+Banging along the eastern coast of Capo Corso, at a short distance from
+the shore, with the early light now thrown upon it, the natural
+features of the country—groups of houses, villages, and even single
+buildings of a marked character—were distinctly visible. We were not
+long in discovering that Corsican scenery is of a peculiar and highly
+interesting character.
+
+The infinite variety existing in all the Creator's works is remarkably
+exhibited in the physical aspect of different countries, though the
+landscape be formed of the same materials, whether mountains, forests,
+wood, water, and extended plains, or a composition of all or any of
+these features on a greater or less scale. The change is sometimes very
+abrupt. Thus, the character of Sardinian scenery is essentially
+different from the Corsican, notwithstanding the two islands are only
+separated by a strait twenty miles broad. Climate, atmosphere,
+geological formation, and vegetable growth, all contribute to this
+variety. The impress given to the face of nature by the hand of man,
+whether by cultivation, or in the forms, and, as we shall presently see,
+the position, of the various buildings which betoken his presence, give,
+of course, in a secondary degree, a difference of character to the
+landscape.
+
+Remarks of this kind occurred in a conversation with our stout English
+friend and my fellow-traveller, while they were sketching the coast of
+Capo Corso from the deck of the _Industrie_. Trite as they may appear,
+it is surprising how little even many persons who have travelled are
+alive to such distinctions. What more natural than to say, “I have seen
+Alpine scenery in Switzerland; why should I encounter the difficulties
+of a northern tour to witness the same thing on a smaller scale in
+Norway? What can the islands in the Tuscan sea have to offer
+essentially different from Italian scenery with which I am already
+familiar?”
+
+Only a practised eye can make the discrimination, and it requires some
+knowledge of physical geography, and the vegetable kingdom, to be able
+to analyse causes producing these diversified effects. Every class of
+rock, every species of tree, the various elevations of the surface of
+the globe, and the plants which clothe its different regions, have each
+their own forms and characteristics; and, of course, a landscape, being
+an aggregate of these several parts, ought to reflect the varieties of
+the materials composing it. An artist must have carefully studied from
+nature to have acquired a nice perception of these varied effects, and
+even should he be able to grasp the result, he may not succeed in
+transferring it to his sketch. Far less can words convey an adequate
+idea of the varied effects of natural scenery; so that one does not
+wonder when the reader complains of the sameness of the representation.
+
+In the present instance, were there pictured to his imagination the
+distant peaks of Elba on the one hand, and on the other the long
+mountain ranges of Capo Corso, bathed in purple light, as the sun rose
+in the eastern horizon, the grey cliffs of rocks and promontories
+bordering the coast, contrasted with the verdure of the valleys and
+lower elevations, vineyards and olive grounds on the hill-sides, and the
+landscape dotted with villages, churches, and ancient towers, we should
+doubtless have a very charming sketch, but it would not convey a
+distinct idea of the peculiarities of Corsican scenery.
+
+What struck us most, independently of the general effect, was the
+extraordinary verdure and exuberance of the vegetation which overspread
+the surface of the country far up the mountain sides, not only as
+contrasted with the sterile aspect of the coasts of the continent we had
+just left, but as being, in itself, different from anything which had
+before fallen under our observation in other countries, whether forest,
+underwood, or grassy slope. For the moment, we were unable to conjecture
+of what it consisted; but we had not long set foot on shore before we
+were at no loss to account for our admiration of this singular feature
+in Corsican, and in this particular, also, of Sardinian scenery.
+
+Not to dwell now on the peculiar character of the mountain ranges of
+Corsica, I will only mention one other peculiarity in the landscape
+which strikes the eye throughout the island, but is nowhere more
+remarkable than in the views presented as we ranged along the coast of
+Capo Corso. As the former instance belongs to the department of physical
+geography, this comes under the class of effects produced by the works
+of man. The peculiarity consists in the villages being all placed at
+high elevations. They are seen perched far up the mountain sides,
+straggling along the scarp of a narrow terrace, or crowded together on
+the platform of some projecting spur; churches, convents, towers, and
+hamlets crowning the peaked summits of lower eminences almost equally
+inaccessible. The only extensive plains in the island are so
+insalubrious as to be almost uninhabitable, and this has been their
+character from the time the island was first colonised. For this reason,
+probably, in some measure, but more especially for defence, in the
+hostilities to which the island has been exposed from foreign invaders
+during many ages, as well as by internal feuds hardly yet extinct,
+nearly the whole population is collected in the elevated villages or
+_paese_ forming this singular and picturesque feature in Corsican
+scenery. They are visible from a great distance, and sometimes ten or a
+dozen of them are in sight at one time.
+
+Capo Corso is not, as might be supposed, a mere cape or headland, but a
+narrow peninsula, containing a number of villages, and washed on both
+sides by the Tuscan sea; being about twenty-five miles long, though only
+from five to ten miles broad. Nearly the whole area is occupied by a
+continuation of the central chain which traverses the island from north
+to south. The average height of the range through Capo Corso, where it
+is called _La Serra_, does not exceed 1500 feet above the level of the
+sea, but it swells into lofty peaks; the highest, _Monte Stella_,
+between Brando and Nonza, rising 5180 feet above the shore of the
+Mediterranean.
+
+ [Illustration: ERSA, CAPO CORSO.]
+
+From the central chain spurs branch off to the sea on both coasts,
+forming narrow valleys at the base and in the gorges of the mountains,
+of which the principal on the eastern side are Lota, Cagnano, and Luri;
+the last-named being the most fertile and picturesque, as well as the
+largest of these mountain valleys, though only six miles long and three
+wide. On the western side lie the valleys of Olmeta, Olcani, and
+Ogliastro; Olmeta being the largest. The valleys are watered by mountain
+torrents, often diverted to irrigate the lands under tillage, as well as
+gardens and vine and olive plantations. Each _paese_ has its small tract
+of more fertile land, marked by a deeper verdure, where the valleys open
+out and the streams discharge their waters into the Mediterranean. At
+this point, called the _Marino_, there is generally a little port, with
+a hamlet inhabited by a hardy race of sailors engaged in the traffic
+carried on coastwise between the villages of the interior and the
+seaports.
+
+This mountainous district contains a considerable population, and the
+inhabitants are distinguished for their industry and economy. They live
+in much comfort on the produce obtained by persevering labour from the
+small portions of cultivated soil. Numerous flocks of sheep are herded
+on the vast wastes overhanging the valleys. The olive and vine flourish,
+and extensive chestnut woods supply at some seasons the staple diet of
+the poorer classes. The slopes of the hills about the villages are
+converted into gardens and orchards, in which we find figs, peaches,
+apples, pears,—with oranges and lemons in the more sheltered spots. The
+wines are in general sound, and we found them excellent where special
+care had been bestowed on the manufacture.
+
+The Corsicans are generally indolent, but it is said that there are no
+less than a hundred families in the mountainous province of Capo Corso
+who are considered rich, some of them wealthy; and all these owe their
+improved fortunes to the enterprising spirit of some relative who left
+it poor, and after years of toil in Mexico, in Brazil, or some other
+part of South America, returned with his savings to his native village.
+
+One valley after another opened as the steamer ran down the coast, each
+with its _Marino_ distinguished by a fresher verdure, and its cluster of
+white houses on the beach. The night mists still filled the hollows, and
+villages and hamlets hung like cloud-wreaths on the mountain-sides and
+the summits of the hills; the most inaccessible of which were crowned
+with ruins of castles and towers.
+
+Tradition asserts that one of these towers was the prison of Seneca the
+Philosopher. _Il Torre di Seneca_, as it is called, stands on an
+escarped pinnacle of rock, terminating one of the loftiest of the
+detached sugar-loaf hills.
+
+ [Illustration: IL TORRE DI SENECA.]
+
+Seneca spent seven years in exile, having been banished to Corsica by
+the emperor Claudius, on suspicion of an illicit intercourse with the
+profligate Julia. The islands in the Tuscan sea were the Tasmania of the
+Roman empire, places of transportation for political offenders, and
+those who fell under the imperial frown—which was the same thing. Some
+smaller islands off the Italian coast, Procida, Ischia, &c., served the
+same purpose. _Relegatio ad insulam_ was the legal phrase for this
+punishment. Augustus banished his grandson Agrippa to the desolate
+island of _Planosa_, the Pianosa mentioned just before in connection
+with Elba. There he was strangled by order of Tiberius.
+
+In some of his Epigrams, and the Books _de Consolatione_, composed
+during his exile, Seneca paints the country and the climate in the
+darkest colours. There is no doubt but these islands, though in sight of
+the coast of Italy, appeared to the polished Romans as barbarous and
+full of horrors as our penal settlements at the antipodes were
+considered long after their first occupation; so that the picture of
+Corsica, drawn by Seneca, may have been much exaggerated by his
+distempered and splenetic state of mind. The probability is, that he
+resided during his exile at one of the Roman colonies on the eastern
+coast, Aleria or Mariana. What is called the _Torre di Seneca_ is the
+ruin of a stronghold or watch-tower of the middle ages; and it is not
+likely that the spot was occupied by the Romans at any period of their
+dominion in Corsica, their possessions consisting only of the two
+colonies, and some harbours on the coast.
+
+But those lonely towers standing close to the shore, which we see from
+time to time as we coast along—massive, round, and grey with lichens as
+the rocks at their base; what do their ruins tell of times past? Were
+they a chain of forts for the defence of the coast against Saracen, or
+other invaders, in the middle ages? They appear too small to hold a
+garrison, and too insulated for mutual support. More probably they were
+watch-towers, from which signals were made when the vessels of the
+corsairs hovered on the coast, that the inhabitants might betake
+themselves, with their cattle and goods, to the fortified villages and
+castles on the hills. We are told that, at the beginning of the
+eighteenth century, there were fifteen of those towers on the north
+coast of the island, and eighty-five in its whole circuit; but many of
+them are now fallen to ruin.
+
+At length, Bastia appeared in sight, rising in an amphitheatre to a
+ridge studded with villas; the houses of the old town being crowded
+about the port. Sweeping round the mole, we found ourselves in a
+diminutive harbour, among vessels of small burthen. This basin is
+surrounded on three sides by tall gloomy buildings, of the roughest
+construction, piled up, tier above tier, to a great height. A
+man-of-war's boat shoves off from the shore in good style, and lands the
+Count's niece with due honours. Other boats come alongside the steamer,
+and all is confusion.
+
+“Did you see the meeting between the two Corsican brothers—the sallow,
+fever-worn soldier from Algiers, our poor fellow-traveller, and the
+hearty mountaineer?”
+
+“No; I was paying my last _devoirs_ to _madame_.”
+
+“The contrast between the two was striking. I shall never forget the way
+they were laced in each other's arms, and the glance of keen anxiety
+with which the mountaineer looked into his sick brother's face, marking
+the ravages which time and disease had worked on those much-loved
+features.”
+
+In the air of his mountain-village that brother, we would hope, grew
+strong again. Perhaps, having rejoined his regiment, his bones are left
+in the Crimea; perhaps, he again survives, and breathes once more his
+native air. Who can tell?
+
+Our hale English friend remained on board to pursue the voyage to
+Leghorn. What a din, what frantic gestures, what a rush of these
+irascible Corsicans at our baggage! It is borne off to the
+custom-house, and undergoes an examination far from rigorous. We mount
+several flights of steps, leading from one narrow street to another in
+this old quarter of the town, and are led to an hotel, which had much
+the air of a second or third-rate Italian _locanda_—lofty and spacious
+apartments, neither clean nor well arranged; and the _déjeûner_ was a
+sorry affair. _N'importe_; we shall not stay longer in Bastia than is
+necessary, and we may go further and fare worse. Meanwhile, a battalion
+of French infantry were on parade, with the band playing in the
+barrack-yard under our windows. We threw them open to enjoy the fresh
+breeze and sweeten the room. They commanded a fine view of the coast we
+had passed, now seen in profile under the effect of a bright sunshine,
+with the waves washing in wreaths of foam on every jutting point and
+rock.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. V.
+
+ _Bastia.—Territorial Divisions.—Plan of the Rambles.—Hiring
+ Mules.—The Start._
+
+
+I cannot imagine any one's loitering in Bastia longer than he can help.
+Its only attractions are the sea and the mountain views from the
+environs; and those are commanded equally well from many points along
+the coast. What the old town is we have already seen—narrow and crooked
+streets, with gaunt houses piled up about the port; and there is the old
+Genoese fortress frowning over it, and the church of St. John, of Pisan
+architecture, the interior rich in marbles and gilding, but the _façade_
+below notice as a work of art. A new quarter has been added to the town,
+higher up, in which there are some handsome houses, particularly in the
+_Rue de la Traverse_.
+
+In early times a few poor traders from Cardo, a _paese_ on the heights,
+settled at the mouth of a stream which formed here a small harbour. It
+was their _Marino_, so that Cardo may be said to be in some sort the
+Fiesole of Bastia. About the close of the fourteenth century, the
+Genoese built the Donjon, which is still standing, to defend the port,
+then becoming of importance. From this _bastióne_, the new town derived
+its name. It was the capital of the island during the Pisan and Genoese
+occupation, and so continued under the French government till 1811, when
+the prefecture and general administration of affairs were transferred
+to Ajaccio, where also the Council-general of Corsica, now forming a
+department of France, holds its sessions. Bastia, however, is still the
+_Quartier-général_ of the military in the island, and the seat of the
+_Cour de Cassation_ and _Cour d'Appel_, tribunals exercising superior
+jurisdiction over all the other courts. It is also the most populous
+town in Corsica (14,000 souls being the return of the last census), and
+has by far the largest commerce, exporting olive-oil and wine, fruits
+and fish; and importing _corn_, groceries, tobacco, and manufactured
+articles of all kinds.
+
+Bastia was the standing point from which the old division of Corsica
+into the _di quà_ and the _di là dei monti_—the country on this side and
+the country on the other side of the mountains—was made; the line of
+intersection commencing at the point of Gargalo, below Aleria, on the
+eastern coast, and following a range of mountains westward to the
+_Marino_ of Solenzara. The division was by no means equal; the country
+_di quà_, including the present arrondissements of Bastia, Corte, and
+Calve, being one-third larger than the _di là_, comprising the
+arrondissements of Ajaccio and Sartene.
+
+Another ancient division of Corsica was into _pieves_, originally
+ecclesiastical districts,—and _paeses_, which, I imagine, are equivalent
+to parishes, including the village and the hamlets belonging to them. A
+detached farm-house, such as are scattered everywhere in England, is
+hardly to be seen in Corsica, the inhabitants being gathered in these
+villages and hamlets, invariably built, as already observed, on elevated
+points. By what corruption these were called _paeses_, _countries_, one
+does not understand; but it sounds rather droll to a stranger, when he
+is told in Corsica, that he may travel many miles, _senza vedère uno
+paése_, without seeing a country.
+
+Bastia must, doubtless, from the circumstances mentioned, have good
+society; but we thought Ajaccio a much pleasanter place, and Corte, in
+its rudeness, has a nobler aspect than either, and is associated with
+glorious recollections. We were for escaping the _di quà_ of Bastia and
+the _littorale_, and getting as soon as possible _di là_ the mountains,
+not, however, according to the old political division of the island, but
+in the sense of crossing the central chain by one of the nearest passes.
+
+The plan we sketched, after consulting our maps, was to cross the Serra
+by a _col_ leading into the valleys in the south-west of Capo Corso,
+and, after rambling through that district, to descend into the upper
+valley of the Golo, and pursue it in the direction of Corte, making
+Ajaccio our next point. There are good highroads throughout the island,
+with regular _diligences_ all the way from Bastia to Bonifaccio; but to
+avail ourselves of these, taking up our quarters in the towns and making
+excursions in the neighbourhood, was not to our taste. We proposed,
+therefore, to hire mules for the expedition, sending our heavier baggage
+forward to Ajaccio by _voiture_, and retaining only the indispensables
+for a journey of more than 150 miles, in the course of which not a
+single decent _albergo_ was to be met with, except at Corte.
+
+The horses in Corsica are diminutive and of an inferior breed, mules
+being almost exclusively employed for draught on the great roads, and as
+beasts of burthen in the byways and mountain tracks. In Sardinia, on the
+contrary, though lying so much further south, the mules disappeared, and
+were replaced by hardy and active horses.
+
+We inquired for mules. There are generally to be found hanging about
+foreign hotels people ready to undertake anything the traveller may
+require, little as they may be competent to fulfil their engagements.
+One of this class presented himself, his appearance by no means
+prepossessing; but the view he took of our present scheme afforded us
+some amusement.
+
+“Are you well acquainted with the roads in Corsica?”
+
+“I have had the honour to conduct _signore forestiere_ throughout the
+island from Bastia to Bonifaccio.”
+
+“We shall not travel _en voiture_. We require mules for the baggage and
+riding. Can you supply them?”
+
+“_Ça serait possible, mais, à l'improviste, un peu difficile_.”
+
+“It is indispensable, as we mean to cross the mountains and make a
+_détour, en route_ to Corte by slow stages, resting in the villages.”
+
+The man's countenance assumed a rueful expression. He had probably been
+used to make easy work of it from town to town, and there was evidently
+a ludicrous struggle between the temptation of a profitable job and his
+disinclination for rugged roads and a spare diet.
+
+“Are _messieurs_ aware that there are no _auberges_ in the villages
+offering accommodations fit for them?”
+
+“It is very possible; that does not occasion us any uneasiness.”
+
+“_Les chemins sont affreux._”
+
+“_N'importe_; we have travelled in worse.”
+
+“In some places they are dangerous, absolutely precipitous.”
+
+“We shall walk; _en effet_, it is possible we may walk great part of the
+journey.”
+
+That our muleteer could not understand at all: “_la fatigue serait
+pénible_;” and with true Corsican indolence, he protested against being
+included in that part of our plan.
+
+“Then you can ride.”
+
+So far all objections were dismissed. The banditti had not been
+mentioned among the lions in our path, but I imagined they were darkly
+shadowed forth in the guide's picture of horrors; so I put the question
+to him point blank.
+
+“Are the roads safe in these districts? Are there no bad people
+(_mauvais gens_—_cattive genti_) abroad?”
+
+His only reply was a shrug of the shoulders, the foreign substitute for
+a Burleigh shake of the head; leaving us to infer that we must not make
+too sure of coming off with a whole skin. Knowing well enough that all
+apprehensions of that kind were imaginary, we had been only amusing
+ourselves with him. If there had been any danger, he seemed just the
+fellow to be in league with the brigands.
+
+All topics of intimidation being now exhausted, our muleteer, with the
+best grace he could, professed himself ready to comply with our wishes.
+
+The hire demanded for the mules was five francs per day each, exclusive
+of their keep; and their return journey was to be paid for at the same
+rate. The latter part of the demand was an imposition, but we had only
+“Hobson's choice,” and made no difficulties.
+
+When would it be our pleasure to depart? As early in the afternoon as
+possible. “It would be late;” and a last effort was made to induce us to
+remain at the hotel till the next morning, but we were inexorable.
+
+“Would there be time for us to reach the first village on the road
+before dark?”—“We might.”—“Then we will go. Our baggage will be ready by
+three o'clock. Be punctual.”
+
+We disliked the man, and determined to discharge him at Corte unless
+things turned out better than we expected. As it happened, we were under
+his convoy for a much shorter space. We found the Sard _cavallante_, a
+much finer race, trudging on foot through all the roughest part of the
+tracks, and perching themselves at the top of a much heavier load of
+baggage on the pack-horse, when they were tired of walking.
+
+It was a strange “turn out,” that, by unusual exertions, appeared at the
+door within an hour of the time appointed. The mules were no bigger than
+donkeys.
+
+“_Queste bestie non sono muli; sono dei asini._”
+
+It was vexatious; but we laughed too much to be seriously angry; the
+muleteer, too, deprecating our wrath by assuring us that his mules had
+first-rate qualities for scrambling up and down precipices. So we took
+it all in good part, and, more amused than annoyed, assisted in
+contriving to adjust the girths of the English saddles to the poor
+beasts' wizened sides; and then, declining a march through Coventry with
+such a cavalcade, walked forward, leaving the guide to load the baggage
+and follow with the mules.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. VI.
+
+ _Leave Bastia.—The Road.—View of Elba, Pianosa, and
+ Monte-Cristo.—The_ Littorale.—_An Adventure.—The Stagna di
+ Biguglia._
+
+
+The Corsicans are apt to say, that the national roads were the only
+benefit Napoleon conferred on his native country. Like all his great
+works of construction, they are worthy of his genius. One of these
+traverses the whole eastern coast of the island from Bastia, by Cervione
+and Porto-Vecchio, to Bonifaccio. Another line branches off near
+Vescovato, about ten miles from Bastia, and following the valley of the
+Golo, is carried among the mountains to Corte, whence it is continued
+through a wild and mountainous district to Ajaccio. Similar engineering
+skill is displayed in its continuation on the western side of the
+mountains to Sartene, and thence to Bonifaccio, where it also
+terminates.
+
+On clearing Bastia, we found ourselves on this high road,—a magnificent
+causeway carried nearly in a straight line for many miles through the
+plain extending between the sea and the mountains. Orange groves
+embowering sheltered nooks in the environs of the town, and hedges of
+the Indian fig (_cactus opuntia_), betokened the warmth of this southern
+shore; and, as we advanced, the rank growth of vegetation on the flats
+realised all we had heard of the teeming richness of the _littorale_.
+It was hot walking, and the causeway and flats would have been
+monotonous enough but for the glorious views on either hand.
+
+To the left, the Mediterranean was calmly subsiding from the effects of
+the gale, its undulations still sparkling in the sunbeams. Far within
+the horizon was the group of islands which lend a charm to all this
+coast, and are associated with great historical names. There rises Elba,
+with the sharp outline of its lofty peaks and dark shores, too narrow
+for the mighty spirit which ere long burst the bounds of his Empire
+Island. Far away in the southern hemisphere I had visited that other
+island, where the chains were riveted too firmly for release, except by
+the grave over which I had pondered. Now we stood on the soil that gave
+him birth. Why was not this the “Island Empire?” The Allied Sovereigns
+were disposed to be magnanimous. It was offered to him; why did he
+refuse it? Was it that, with far-sighted policy, he considered Corsica
+too bright a gem in the crown of France for him to pluck, without sooner
+or later giving umbrage to the Bourbons? May his refusal be cited as a
+further proof of the little love he bore for the land of his birth? Or
+was it that, when once hurled from the throne of his creation, the
+conqueror of kingdoms could not descend to compare one petty island with
+another? “At Elba he found the horizon, the sky, the air, the waves of
+his childhood; and the history of his island-state, would be to him a
+constant lesson of the mutability of human things.”[3]
+
+Napoleon emperor in Corsica! On this spot, with Elba in view, one dwells
+for a moment on the idea! Then, indeed, Corsica's long-cherished dreams
+of national independence—it was her last chance—would have been
+strangely realised. But her fate was sealed. She had sunk to the rank of
+an outlying department of France, and so remained; with what results we
+may perhaps discover.
+
+Near Elba, and strongly contrasting with its bold outline, lies the
+little island of _Pianosa_, the ancient Planosa. Its surface is flat, as
+the name indicates. That island, too, has its tale of imperial exile.
+The young Agrippa, grandson of Augustus, and heir-presumptive to an
+empire wider than that of Napoleon's most ambitious dreams, was banished
+to Planosa by his grandfather, at the instance of Livia. Augustus is
+said to have visited him there. It was Agrippa's fate to find a grave,
+as well as a prison, in the Mediterranean island; the tyrant Tiberius,
+with the jealousy of an eastern monarch, having caused his rival to be
+strangled on his own accession to the empire.
+
+Soon after Napoleon's arrival in Elba he sent some troops to take
+possession of Pianosa; which, ravaged by the Genoese in the thirteenth
+century, had never since flourished. The fallen emperor himself could
+not help laughing at this mighty expedition, for which thirty of his
+guards, some Elban militia, and six pieces of artillery were detailed;
+exclaiming, as he gave orders to erect batteries and fire upon any
+enemies who might present themselves, “Europe will say that I have
+already made a conquest.” Napoleon partially restored the fortifications
+of an old castle, which had been bombarded by an English squadron,
+landing the marines, in 1809, during the revolutionary war. The island
+now belongs, with Elba, to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany.
+
+Further to the south appears the rocky island of Monte-Cristo. This,
+too, has its tale of exile, insignificant as it looks except for its
+sharply serrated outline, and a worldwide fame. The emperor Diocletian
+banished here St. Mamilian, Archbishop of Palermo. A convent was
+afterwards founded on the site of the Saint's rude cell. The monks of
+Monte-Cristo flourished, as they deserved; the worthy fathers having
+founded many hospitals in Tuscany and done much good. Saracen corsairs
+carried off the monks; the convent was laid in ruins; and the lone
+island remained uninhabited for a long course of years, except by wild
+goats. It was in this state when Alexandre Dumas made it the scene of
+his hero's successful adventure after his escape from the _Château
+d'If_, and adopted it as the title of his popular novel. The island
+having been recently purchased and colonised by Mr. Watson Taylor, he
+has built a house on it for his own residence.
+
+ [Illustration: ISLE OF MONTE-CRISTO.]
+
+It is about nine miles in circumference, and I should judge from its
+appearance that the greatest part of the surface is rocky, though not
+without green hollows, dells, and verdant slopes. But the olive and the
+vine usually thrive, and are largely cultivated, on such spots; and if,
+as I should imagine, the natural vegetation and the climate are similar
+to those of the other islands in the Tuscan sea with which we are
+acquainted, happy may the lord of Monte-Cristo be; for, in the hands of
+a wealthy English gentleman, such a spot may be made an earthly
+paradise.
+
+After about an hour's walk we halted for the muleteer to come up. A
+glorious point of view it was, embracing a wide expanse of the bright
+sea, with the islands which had supplied so many striking and pleasant
+recollections. Looking backward, the purple mountains of Capo Corso now
+appeared massed together in endless variety of outline, with Bastia at
+their base, the citadel and white houses glowing in the evening
+sunshine. Turning to the right, the eye caught the fine effect of the
+meeting of the plain and mountains—the interminable level, stretching
+far away till it was lost in distance, and teeming with luxuriant
+vegetation, but with only here and there a solitary clump of trees,—and
+the long mountain-range line after line rising into peaks above the
+gracefully rounded hills that swelled up from the level of the plain.
+Woods, orchards, vineyards overspread the lower slopes, the hollows were
+buried in thickets of evergreen, and picturesque villages and towers
+appeared, though rarely, on the summits of the hills.
+
+ [Illustration: MEETING OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN, NEAR BASTIA.]
+
+Who would not linger at the sight of Furiani, the most important of
+these villages, its ivy-mantled towers crumbling to ruins?—Furiani,
+where the Corsicans, in a national assembly, first organised their
+insurrection against the Genoese, and elected the prudent and intrepid
+Giaffori one of their leaders; with cries of “_Evviva la libertà! evviva
+il popolo!_”—Furiani, where, in almost their last struggle, two hundred
+Corsicans held the fortifications long after they were a heap of ruins,
+and at length cut their way by night to the shore.
+
+The muleteer at last made his appearance with his sorry cavalcade, and
+my companion having taken advantage of our halt to make the sketch of
+the “Meeting of the mountains and plain,” which was not quite finished,
+that we might not lose time, as the sun was descending behind the
+mountains, one of the mules was tied to a stake, in order that my friend
+might overtake us, while we made the best of our way forward.
+
+I still preferred walking, and pushed on at a pace which suited none of
+my company, human or asinine. We had got ahead about a mile, when shouts
+from behind opened a scene perfectly ludicrous. There was the little
+mule trotting up the road at most unusual speed, impelled by my friend's
+shouts and the big stones with which he was pelting the miserable beast.
+He too came up at a long trot, rather excited, and calling to the
+muleteer, “Catch your mule, Giovanni! I'll have nothing more to do with
+the brute.”
+
+“What is it all about?”
+
+It appeared that my friend, having finished his sketch, prepared to
+mount and push after us. The mule, however, had a design diametrically
+opposed to this. No sooner was it loosed from the stake to which it was
+tied, than the poor beast very naturally felt a strong impulse to return
+to its stable at Bastia. Could instinct have forewarned it what it
+would have to encounter before midnight, the retrograde impulse would
+have been still stronger. Every one knows how difficult it is to deal
+with a mule when it is in the mood either not to go at all, or to go the
+wrong way. Having driven a team of these animals—fine Calabrian mules
+they were, equal to the best Spanish—all the way from Naples to Dieppe,
+I can boast of some experience in the mulish temperament.
+
+To make matters worse, the English saddle being all too large for its
+wizened sides, in spite of all our care in knotting the girths, it
+twisted round in the attempt to mount, and my very excellent friend—no
+disparagement to his noble horsemanship, for one has no firm seat even
+when mounted on a vicious pony—before he could bring the saddle to a
+level and gain his equilibrium, was fairly pitched over the side of the
+road. Mule having now achieved that glorious _libertà_, the instinctive
+aspiration of Corsican existence, whether man, mule, or moufflon,
+started forward alone, my friend following, I have no doubt, in rather a
+thundering rage.
+
+“At every attempt I made to take the mule by the head”—such was his
+account—“he reversed his position, and launched his heels at me with a
+viciousness that rendered the enterprise not a little dangerous, for I
+do not know anything so funky as an ass's heels. Had it not been for
+saving the saddle, mule might have taken himself off to Bastia, or a
+worse place, for any trouble I would have taken to stop him.”
+
+It may be supposed that this story was not told or listened to without
+shouts of laughter, the muleteer being the only one of the party who was
+seriously disconcerted.
+
+“_Andiamo, Giovanni_,” said I, cutting short all discussion, and moved
+forward. We had lost time, and the evening was closing in.
+
+“Won't you ride, then?—try the other mule.”
+
+“No, I thank you; I am not in the least fatigued, and have no desire to
+be pitched into a bush of prickly cactus, or rolled down the bank of the
+causeway.”
+
+“Let us push on, then; if we are belated, we may have worse adventures,
+this first day of our rambles in Corsica, before we get to our night's
+quarters; and where we are to find them, I am sure I have no idea.”
+
+We walked on at a smart pace, and gradually drew far ahead of Giovanni
+and his mules. They were not to be hurried, and if they had been gifted
+like Balaam's ass, I imagine they would have agreed with Giovanni in
+wishing _l'Inglesi all'Inferno_. I don't know, speaking from
+experience, which is worst, riding, leading, or driving a malcontent
+mule.
+
+The rays of the setting sun were now faintly gleaming on a vast sheet of
+shallow stagnant water, the _Stagna di Biguglia_, between the road and
+the sea, from which it is only separated by a low strip of alluvial
+soil. It was a solitary, a melancholy scene. A luxuriant growth of reeds
+fringes the margin of the lagoon, and heat and moisture combine to throw
+up a rank vegetation on its marshy banks. The peasants fly from its
+pestiferous exhalations, and nothing is heard or seen but the plash of
+the fish in the still waters, the sharp cry of the heron and gull,
+wheeling and hovering till they dart on their prey, and some rude
+fisherman's boat piled with baskets of eels for the market at Bastia.
+
+This vast sheet of water was formerly open to the sea, forming a noble
+harbour, in which floated the galleys of the powerful republics that in
+the middle ages disputed the empire of the Mediterranean and the
+possession of its islands. On a hill above stood the town of Biguglia,
+the capital of the island under the Pisans and Genoese, till in the
+fourteenth century Henri della Rocca, with the insurgent Corsicans,
+carried it by assault. The Genoese then erected the fortress at Bastia,
+which, with the town growing up under its protection, became the chief
+seat of their power in the island, and Biguglia fell to decay.
+
+Mariana, a Roman colony, stood on the coast near the lower extremity of
+this present lagoon; and Aleria, another still further south, on the
+sea-line of the great plain extending for forty miles below Bastia. Our
+proposed route led in another direction, and, not to interrupt the
+thread of the narrative, a notice of these colonies is reserved for
+another opportunity.
+
+We had reached the neighbourhood at which, according to calculation, we
+ought to strike off from the high-road towards the mountains. Now, if
+ever, a guide was needed; but Giovanni and his mules had fallen far in
+the rear. A by-road turned to the right, apparently in the desired
+direction. At the angle of the roads we took counsel,—should we venture
+to take the by-path, or wait till Giovanni came up?—which involved a
+loss of time we could ill spare at that period of the day. A mistake
+might be awkward, but we had carefully studied the bearings of the
+country on our maps, and deciding to risk it, struck boldly into the
+lane. For a short distance it led between inclosures, but presently
+opened, and we found ourselves on the boundless waste, with only a
+narrow track for our guidance through its mazes. We were in the bush,
+the _Macchia_ as the natives call it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. VII.
+
+ _Evergreen Thickets.—Their remarkable Character.—A fortunate
+ Rencontre.—Moonlight in the Mountains.—Cross a high
+ Col.—Corsican Shepherds.—The Vendetta.—Village Quarters._
+
+
+A slight ascent over a stony bank landed us at once on the verge of the
+thickets. It had been browsed by cattle, and scattered myrtle-bushes, of
+low growth, were the first objects that gladdened our eyes. A new
+botany, a fresh scenery was before us. The change from the littoral,
+with its rank vegetation, close atmosphere, and weary length of
+interminable causeway, was so sudden, that it took us by surprise.
+Presently we were winding through a dense thicket of arbutus,
+tree-heaths, alaternus, daphne, lentiscus, blended with myrtles, cystus,
+and other aromatic shrubs, massed and mingled in endless variety—the
+splendid arbutus, with its white bell-shaped flowers and pendulous
+bunches of red and orange berries, most prevailing.
+
+The _Macchia_ is, in fact, a natural shrubbery of exquisite beauty. We
+travelled through it, in the two islands, for many hundred miles, and I
+feel confident that, to English taste, it forms the unique feature in
+Corsican and Sardinian scenery. This sort of underwood prevails also, I
+understand, in Elba, and, more or less, in the other islands of the
+central Mediterranean basin. We now fully comprehended how it was that,
+when sailing along the coast, our attention had been so riveted on the
+rich verdure clothing the hills and mountain-sides of Capo Corso,
+although at the time we were unable to satisfy ourselves in what its
+striking peculiarity consisted.
+
+The air is so perfumed by the aromatic plants, that there was no
+exaggeration in Napoleon's language when conversing, at St. Helena, of
+the recollections of his youth, he said:
+
+“_La Corse avait mille charmes; tout y était meilleur jusqu'à l'odeur du
+sol même. Elle lui eût suffi pour la deviner, les yeux fermés. Il ne
+l'avait retrouvée nulle part._”
+
+A trifling occurrence in my own travels gives some faint idea of the
+sentiment which dictated this remark. At St. Helena the flora of the
+North and South singularly meet. Patches of gorse (_Ulex Europæa_)—that
+idol of Linnæus and ornament of our English and Cambrian wastes—grow
+freely on the higher grounds, rivalling the purple heath in their golden
+bloom, and shrubs of warmer climates in their sweet perfume. Returning
+to England after lonely wanderings in the southern hemisphere, I well
+remember how the sight and the scent of this rude plant, dear in its
+very homeliness, recalled former scenes associated with it. I recollect,
+too, that the mettlesome barb which bounded over the downs surrounding
+Longwood did not partake of my sympathy for the golden bough I had
+plucked. The smooth turf and the yellow furze had no charms for the
+exile of St. Helena. Never was the “_lasciate ogni speranza_” more
+applicable than to his island-prison, and in his melancholy hours his
+thoughts naturally reverted, with a gush of fond tenderness, to the land
+of his birth, little as he had shown partiality for it in his hour of
+prosperity.
+
+On its picturesque scenes we were now entering, with everything to give
+them the highest zest. The autumn rains had refreshed the arid soil,
+and the aromatic shrubs filled the air with their richest perfume.
+Escaped from cities, and from steam-boats, redolent of far other odours,
+and having turned our backs on marsh, and _stagna_, and wearisome
+causeway, well strung to our work, and gaining fresh vigour in the
+evening breeze, we brushed through the waving thickets with little
+thought of Giovanni and his mules, left far behind, and as little
+concern whither our path would lead us. It was a beaten track, and must
+be our guide to some habitation. A few hours ago we set foot on shore,
+and we were already engaged in some sort of adventure—and that, too, in
+Corsica, which has an ugly reputation! “_N'importe_; it is our usual
+luck; it will turn out right.” But let us push on, for the sun has long
+set, and the twilight is fading.
+
+Fortune favoured us, for the enterprise on which we had stumbled turned
+out rather a more serious affair than we anticipated. It was getting
+dark, when the footprints of a mule on the sandy path attracted our
+notice, the fresh marks pointing in the direction we were taking. Soon
+we caught sight of a small party winding through the tall shrubbery. The
+turning of a zigzag on a slight rocky ascent brought the party full in
+view, and we closed with it. There were two girls riding astride on the
+same mule, with a stout peasant trudging behind. It was a pleasant
+rencontre.
+
+“Good evening, friend. How far is it to the next village?”
+
+“Three hours.”
+
+“What is it called?”
+
+“Olmeta.”
+
+“Is the road good?”
+
+“Mountainous and very steep.”
+
+“Allow us to join your party?”
+
+“By all means.” “_Allons donc_; we shall be late.”
+
+And the party moved on. Antoine, our new acquaintance, was, like most
+Corsicans, of the middle size, with a frame well knit. He had a pleasant
+expression of countenance, with a frank and independent air, the very
+reverse of our muleteer, Giovanni. We amused ourselves at having given
+him the slip, and continued to question our new guide.
+
+“Shall we be able to procure beds and something to eat at Olmeta?”—the
+“_qualche cosa per mangiare_” being always a question of first
+importance.
+
+“Never fear; you will find hospitality?”
+
+We had no misgivings of any kind. Under Antoine's guidance we could now
+proceed boldly, quite at ease to enjoy all the charms of our wild
+adventure.
+
+ “E pur per selve oscure e calli obliqui,
+ Insieme van, senza sospetto aversi.”—ARIOST. Canto I.
+
+ “Together through dark woods and winding ways
+ They walk, nor on their hearts suspicion preys.”
+
+In about an hour, the moon, then at her full, rose above the hills on
+our left, shedding a soft and silvery light on the mountain-tops; our
+narrow path through the thickets being still buried in gloom. Presently
+a full tide of lustrous radiance was poured on the waving sea of verdure
+and the face of the mountains. We made good speed, for the family mule,
+homeward bound, stepped on briskly under its double burden. Sometimes we
+kept up with the party, joining in the talk of the good peasants; at
+others, falling behind to enjoy the stillness of the scene, and abandon
+ourselves to the contemplation of its ever-varying features. Now we
+threaded the bank of a mountain torrent far beneath in shade, the depth
+of which the eye was unable to penetrate as we plunged downwards through
+the thickets; then, crossing the stream and scrambling up the opposite
+bank, once more emerged from the gloom, and, standing for a few instants
+on the summit we had gained, the grey mountain-tops again showed
+themselves touched with the silver light, and the quivering foliage of
+the evergreen shrubs, which covered the undulating expanse beneath,
+twinkled like diamond sprays.
+
+In these alternations of light and shade, and precipitous descents which
+led on to still increasing altitudes, we followed our rocky path for
+about two hours, when Antoine halted his party to prepare for
+surmounting the main difficulty of the route, in evident surprise all
+the while at finding two Englishmen engaged in an adventure of which he
+could not comprehend the motive. And yet Antoine had seen something of
+the world beyond the narrow bounds of his native island. He had been a
+_matelot_, he said,—made a long voyage, and once touched at an English
+port. Antoine seemed to be now leading a vagabond life. He was not
+communicative as to why he left his country or why he returned, and was
+gay and melancholy by fits. He did not belong to Olmeta, but had friends
+there, to whom he was conducting the girls.
+
+It is not often that the Corsican women ride while the men walk, the
+reverse being generally the case. But Antoine was gallant, and, on the
+whole, a good fellow. The girls, we have said, rode astride; but now, in
+preparation for the ascent, one of them slipped off the mule, over the
+crupper, with amusing agility, relieving the poor beast of half its
+burden, and they afterwards rode by turns.
+
+We now began the ascent of the pass, the Col di S.to Leonardo, leading
+into the valley of Olmeta. The Col is nearly 3000 feet above the level
+of the sea, and the passage proved to be almost as difficult as any I
+recollect having encountered. We had no idea, when we left Bastia, of
+attempting it that evening, and, had we not parted from Giovanni, should
+probably have made for some village near the high-road, and lost the
+splendid effects of moonlight on such scenery. The face of the mountain
+is scaled either by rocky steps or by terraces cut in the escarped
+flanks, with quick returns, in the way such elevations are usually
+surmounted. The passing and repassing, as we traversed the successive
+stages, brought out the effects of light and shade even better than we
+had remarked them below. The path, too, was extremely picturesque.
+Masses of grey rock, half in shade, jutted out among the shrubbery with
+which the mountain-side was covered; giant heaths, five or six feet
+high, hung feathering, and the arbutus threw its broad branches, over
+our heads.
+
+We had made some progress, and stood, as it were, suspended over the
+valley, when Antoine's quick ear caught sounds from below. We halted to
+take breath and listen. Presently, the sounds became more distinct, and
+we made out the tramp of mules coming up the path, but still far
+beneath. It was probably Giovanni with his mules, following our steps.
+Again we stood and listened, looking over the precipice at an angle
+which commanded the descent for many hundred feet beneath. The thicket
+shrouding the narrow track was so dense, that nothing could be seen,
+even in that bright moonlight, but its glistening slope. The sounds
+from below rose more dearly. Thwack, thwack, fell Giovanni's cudgel on
+the ribs of his unfortunate mules; and we could hear them scrambling,
+and his hoarse voice uttering strange cries, as he urged them on.
+
+We were too much amused at having given him the slip to think much of
+the great tribulation in which he was panting and toiling to overtake
+us. Vain hope! “He will be in time for supper; let us push
+on;”—beginning to think that the sooner we realised the comforts which
+Antoine had encouraged us to expect, the better.
+
+“Are we near the top of the pass?”
+
+“Do you see that rock with the bush hanging from it?” pointing to a
+huge, insulated mass, its sharp outline clearly defined against the blue
+sky; “it is a thousand feet above the spot on which we stand. The path
+lies round the base of that rock. In an hour we shall reach it.”
+
+We climbed on, the ascent becoming steeper and steeper as we mounted
+upwards, often casting wistful looks at the beacon rock. Just before we
+gained the summit, smoke was seen curling up from the copse at a little
+distance from the path.
+
+“_Ci sono pastori_,” cried Antoine.
+
+“Perhaps they can give us some milk.” We had need enough of some
+refreshment, the breakfast at Bastia having been our only meal.
+
+“_Vedéremmo_,” said Antoine; and he led the way through the bushes.
+
+Some rough dogs leapt out, fiercely barking at the approach of
+strangers. They were called off by the shepherds, who, wrapped in their
+shaggy mantles, the Corsican _pelone_, were sitting and lying round a
+fire of blazing logs, under the shelter of a rock. A mixed flock of
+sheep and goats lay closely packed round the bivouac. Unfortunately
+they had no milk to give us.
+
+The Corsican shepherds are a singular race. We found them leading a
+nomad life in all parts of the island. They wander, as the season
+permits, from the highest mountain-ranges to the verge of the cultivated
+lands and vineyards, where the goats do infinite mischief; and drive
+their flocks in the winter to the vast plains of the littoral, and the
+warm and sheltered valleys. Home they have none; the side of a rock, a
+cave, a hut of loose stones, lends them temporary shelter. Chestnuts are
+their principal food; and their clothing, sheepskins, or the black wool
+of their flocks spun and woven by the women of the valleys into the
+coarse cloth of the _pelone_. Their greatest luxuries are the immense
+fires, for which the materials are boundless, or to bask in the sun, and
+tell national tales, and sing their simple _canzone_. But though a rude,
+they are not a bad, race; contented, hospitable, tolerably honest, and,
+as we found, often intelligent. We were not fortunate in our first
+introduction to these people. Antoine exchanged a few words with them;
+but they were sullen, and showed no signs of surprise or curiosity on
+the sudden appearance of strangers at their fireside. The sample was far
+from prepossessing. One of the men, who seemed to eye us with suspicion,
+had just the physiognomy one should assign to a bandit.
+
+It was perhaps this idea which led me to question Antoine on a subject
+we had hitherto avoided.
+
+“Are there any outlaws harboured in these wild mountains?”
+
+“Not now; they have been hunted out; all that is changed; but blood has
+been often spilt in this _maquis_. One terrible _vendetta_ was taken not
+far from hence; but that was many years ago. I will show you the spot.”
+
+Antoine strode rapidly onward; and we overtook the women, who had rode
+on. In ten minutes we were rounding the mass of rock crowning the pass.
+
+“This was the spot,” said Antoine, taking a step towards me, the rest of
+the party having passed; and he added calmly, but with decision, and a
+slightly triumphant air, “I did it myself.” (“_J'ai donné le coup
+moi-même._”)
+
+It may be well supposed that I stood aghast. We had not then learnt with
+what little reserve such deeds of blood are avowed in Corsica; how
+thoroughly they are extenuated by the popular code of morals or honour.
+Such avowals were afterwards made to us with far less feeling than
+Antoine betrayed; indeed, with the utmost levity. “_Je lui ai donné un
+coup_,” mentioning the individual and giving the details, was the climax
+of a story of some sudden quarrel or long-harboured animosity. It was
+uttered with the _sang froid_ with which an Englishman would say, “I
+knocked the fellow down;” and it might have been our impression that
+nothing more was meant, but for the circumstances related, which left no
+doubt on the subject. When a Corsican says that he has given his enemy a
+_coup_, the phrase is a decorous ellipse for _coup-de-fusil_.
+Occasionally, perhaps, it may mean a _coup-de-poignard_, which amounts
+to much the same thing; but since carrying the knife has been rigorously
+prohibited by the French Government, stabbing has not been much in vogue
+in Corsica. Now, it is to be hoped, the murderous _fusil_ has equally
+disappeared.
+
+There was no time for asking what led to the quarrel or encounter.
+Antoine coolly turned away, saying, “The descent is easy; we shall have
+a good road now down the hill to Olmeta;” and, most opportunely, the
+view which opened from the summit of the pass was calculated to divert
+my thoughts from what had just occurred.
+
+It has been often remarked, that the Corsican villages are most commonly
+built on high ground. We now counted, by their cheerful lights, nine or
+ten of them dotting the hills in all directions; some perched on the
+heights beyond the Bevinco, which wound through the valley beneath, the
+moonlight flashing on patches of the stream and faintly revealing a dark
+chain of mountains beyond—the Serra di Stella, dividing the valley of
+the Bevinco from that of the Golo.
+
+The descent was easy, according to Antoine's augury. We tear down the
+hill, pass the village church at a sharp angle, its white _façade_
+glistening in the moonbeams; and a straight avenue, shaded by trees,
+brings us into a labyrinth of narrow lanes, overhung by tall, gaunt
+houses of the roughest fabric and materials. Antoine bids us stop before
+one of these gloomy abodes; an old woman appears at the door of the
+first story with a feeble oil-lamp in her hand. The ground-floor of
+these houses, as usual in the South, are all stables or cellars. After a
+short conference, Antoine disappears, and we see him no more that night.
+We mount a flight of steep, unhewn stone steps, at the risk of breaking
+our necks, for there is no rail; the good dame welcomes us to all that
+she has, little though it be, and we land in a grim apartment containing
+the usual raised hearth for cooking, with a very limited apparatus of
+utensils—a few shallow kettles of copper and iron, a table, some
+chairs, and a very questionable bed in a corner.
+
+There were two other apartments, _en suite_, the next being a _salle_,
+with a brick floor like the kitchen, tolerably clean. A few Scripture
+prints on the walls, a large table, some rickety chairs, and a settee,
+convertible, we found, into a very satisfactory shakedown, composed the
+furniture. The inner apartment, which contained a really good bed,
+seemed to be the widow's wardrobe and storeroom of all her most valuable
+effects; being crowded with chests, and tables covered with all sorts of
+things, helped out by pegs on the walls. These were ornamented with
+little coloured prints of the Virgin, and Saints, and there was a
+crucifix at the bed's head. After showing her apartments, the widow
+placed the lamp on the table in the _salle_, with the usual _felice
+notte_, and there was a running fire of questions and answers between
+her and the two hungry travellers about the _qualche cosa per mangiare_.
+The larder was of course empty, and the discussion resolved itself into
+some rashers of bacon, a loaf of very sweet bread, and a bottle of the
+light and excellent wine for which Capo Corso is famous, procured from a
+neighbour.
+
+This was not accomplished without a great deal of bustle and screeching,
+and running to and fro of the widow and some female friends, withered
+old crones, who had come to her aid on so unexpected an emergency as our
+appearance on the scene. This continued after supper till the chests in
+the inner apartment had delivered up their stores of sheets, coverlets,
+and towels, all as white as the driven snow. How we ate, drank, and
+lodged during our rambles is not the most agreeable of our
+recollections, and can have little interest except as affording glimpses
+of the habits of the people. This first essay of Corsican hospitality
+was not amiss.
+
+Just as we had finished our frugal meal, Giovanni made his appearance.
+Wishing to give him his _congé_, we expected a sharp altercation; to
+avoid which, and not forfeit our engagement that he should conduct us to
+Corte, it was proposed to him to leave the malcontent mule till his
+return, procuring at Olmeta a more serviceable beast, or to proceed with
+the others only. Giovanni was crestfallen; he had had enough of it, and
+did not bluster, as we expected. Though disliking him, we had amused
+ourselves at his expence, and could hardly now refrain from laughing at
+his piteous aspect. Giovanni, however, was quite as ready to be quit of
+us as we were to get rid of him. His reply to our proposal about the
+mule was quite touching:—
+
+“_Je ne veux pas me séparer de mon pauvre âne!_”
+
+So the inseparables were dismissed to return to Bastia, after an
+equitable adjustment, and we parted good friends. Giovanni was no
+favourite of ours, but that touch of sentiment for his “_pauvre âne_”
+was a redeeming trait. As for ourselves, we were left without a guide,
+which did not matter, and without the means of carrying forward our
+baggage, which did. This dilemma did not spoil our rest; it was such as
+weary travellers earn.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. VIII.
+
+ _The_ Littorale.—_Corsican Agriculture.—Greek and Roman
+ Colonies.—Sketch of Mediæval and Modern History.—Memoirs of
+ King Theodore de Neuhoff._
+
+
+Let us now return for a short space to the point at which we quitted the
+high-road from Bastia. More attractive metal drew us off to the
+mountain-paths; but the _Littorale_ is not without interest, especially
+as the seat of the earliest and most thriving colonies in the island.
+These and its subsequent fortunes claim a passing notice.
+
+It may be recollected that our road lay for some miles through the plain
+between the mountains and the Mediterranean. This level is between fifty
+and sixty miles long. Intersected by the rivers flowing from the central
+chain, alluvial marshes are formed at their mouths, and there are also,
+from similar causes, several lagoons on the coast, of which the Stagna
+di Biguglia, near which we turned off into the _maquis_, is the largest.
+The exhalations from these marshes and waters render the climate so
+pestiferous, that the _littorale_ is almost uninhabited. The soil is
+extremely fertile, producing large crops where it is cultivated, and
+affording pasturage to immense herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. The
+country people inhabit villages on the neighbouring hills, descending
+into the plains at the seasons when their labour is required for
+tilling and sowing the land, and harvesting the crops; and but too
+frequently carrying back the seeds of wasting or fatal diseases.
+
+Even under the double disadvantages of exposure to malaria, and the
+natural indolence of the Corsican peasant, this district supplies a very
+large proportion of the corn consumed in the island. So great is this
+indolence, that not more than three-tenths of the surface of Corsica is
+brought under cultivation, although it is calculated that double that
+area is capable of it. I was unable to ascertain the number of acres
+under tillage, planted with vines and olive-trees, or otherwise
+requiring agricultural labour; but it might have been supposed that a
+population of 230,000 souls would at least have met the demand for
+labour on the portion of the surface thus occupied. So far, however,
+from this being the case, it is a curious fact that from 2000 to 3000
+labourers come into the island every year from Lucca, Modena, and Parma,
+to engage in agricultural employment. They generally arrive about the
+middle of April, and take their departure in November. They are an
+intelligent, laborious, and frugal class; and as the savings of each
+individual are calculated at 100 or 110 francs, no less a sum than
+200,000 francs is thus annually carried to the Continent instead of
+being earned by native industry. The climate of Corsica is described by
+many ancient writers as insalubrious; but there does not seem to be any
+foundation for the statement, except as regards the _littorale_, the
+only part of the island which appears to have been colonised in early
+times, and with which they were acquainted.
+
+Who were its primitive inhabitants and first colonists, whether Corsus,
+the supposed leader of a band of immigrants, who gave his name to the
+island, was a son of Hercules or a Trojan, are facts lost in the mist of
+ages, through which the origin of few races can be penetrated. An
+inquiry into such traditions would be a waste of time, and is foreign to
+a work of this kind.
+
+There is reason to believe that the light of civilisation first beamed
+on its shores from Sardinia—an island which some brief records, and,
+still more, its existing monuments, lead us to consider as civilised
+long before the period of authentic history.
+
+The island of Sardinia, placed in the great highway from the East, was a
+convenient station for the people who, in the first ages, were driven
+thence by a providential impulse towards the shores of the West, and,
+with the torch of civilisation in their hands, passed successively by
+Asia Minor and the islands of Crete, Sicily, and Sardinia to Greece, to
+Italy, and the other countries of the West.
+
+A smaller branch of the torrent of this great and primitive emigration
+poured from the mountain ranges in the north of Sardinia, and, crossing
+the straits, overspread the south of Corsica, bearing with it the
+civilisation of the East, of which records are found in the most ancient
+Corsican monuments. Some of these are identical with those in Sardinia,
+which will be mentioned hereafter. Such are the Dolmen, called in
+Corsica _Stazzone_; and the Menhir, to which they give the fanciful name
+of _Stantare_. When a child at play stands on its head with its heels
+self-balanced in the air, making itself a pyramid instead of cutting a
+pirouette, that is, in the language of mothers and nurses, _far la
+Stantare_.
+
+However this may be, there are numerous testimonies that the island of
+Corsica was known and visited in the most remote times by navigators of
+the several races on the shores of the Mediterranean—Phœnicians,
+Pelasgians, Tyrrhenians, Ligurians, and Iberians. Herodotus, who calls
+the island Cyrnos, describes an attempt at colonisation by Phocæans,
+driven from Ionia, who founded the city of Alalia, afterwards called
+Aleria, 448 years before the Christian era. But the genuine history of
+Corsica commences with the period when the Roman republic, on the decay
+of the Carthaginian power, began to extend its conquests in the
+Mediterranean.
+
+In the year 260 B.C., Lucius Cornelius Scipio led an expedition into the
+island, which was crowned with success. Every traveller who has visited
+Rome must have been interested in one of the few relics of the
+republican era, remarkable for its primitive simplicity—the tomb of the
+Scipios. It chanced that the writer, when there, procured a model of the
+sarcophagus which contained the ashes of this first of a race of heroes,
+L. C. Scipio. The monuments of Rome were not of marble in the times of
+the republic, and this sarcophagus being cut out of a block of the
+volcanic _peperino_, so common in the Campagna, the author had his model
+made of the same material, with the inscription cut in rude characters
+round the margin; that is to say, such part of it as had been preserved,
+so that it is a perfect fac-simile. He reads on it—
+
+ HEC CEPIT CORSICA ALERIAQUE URBE.
+
+That fragment contains the earliest record of Roman conquest in Corsica.
+But the conquest was incomplete, and for upwards of a century the
+Corsicans maintained an unequal struggle against the Roman legions,
+strong in their mountain fastnesses, while the Roman armies appear to
+have seldom advanced beyond the plains. The natives held their ground
+with such obstinacy that, on one occasion, after a bloody battle, a
+consular army, under Caius Papirius, was so nearly defeated, when rashly
+entangled in the gorges of the mountains, that the Corsicans obtained
+honourable terms of peace. The Roman historians relate that this battle
+was fought on “The Field of Myrtles,” a name appropriate to a Corsican
+_macchia_; and they do not otherwise describe the locality.[4] It is
+easy to imagine the scenes and the issue of a deadly struggle between
+the mountaineers and the disciplined legions, on ground such as that
+described in the preceding chapter.
+
+In these wars great numbers of the natives were carried off as slaves to
+Rome, and the annual tribute paid on submission consisted of wax, which
+was raised to 200,000 lbs. after one defeat.
+
+A two hours' walk over the plains from the point at which we quitted the
+high-road would bring us to the ruins of Mariana, a colony founded by
+Marius on the banks of the Golo, and to which he gave his name. Not a
+vestige of Roman architecture can now be found on the spot.
+
+During the civil wars, the rivals, Marius and Sylla, established each a
+colony in Corsica. That of Sylla (Aleria) stood forty miles further down
+the coast, at the mouth of the Tavignano, the seat of the ancient Greek
+colony of Alalia. Sylla restored it, sending over some of his veteran
+soldiers, among whom he distributed the conquered lands, and it became
+the capital of the island during the Roman period, and so continued
+during the earlier part of the middle ages. Sacked and laid in ruins by
+the Arabs, some iron rings on the Stagna di Diana, the ancient port,
+large blocks of stone on the site of a mole at the mouth of the
+Tavignano, some arches, a few steps of a circus, with coins and cameos
+occasionally turned up, are the sole vestiges of the Roman colonisation
+in Corsica. Their only road led from Mariana by Aleria to Palæ, a
+station near the modern Bonifaccio, from whence there was a _trajectus_
+to Portus Tibulus (Longo Sardo), in Sardinia; and the road was continued
+through that island to its southern extremity, near Cagliari.
+
+In the decline of the Roman power, Corsica shared the fate of the other
+territories in the Mediterranean attached to the eastern empire. Seized
+by the Vandals under Genseric, despotically governed by the Byzantine
+emperors, pillaged by Saracen corsairs, protected by Charlemagne, and,
+on the fall of his empire, parcelled out, like the rest of Europe, among
+a host of feudal barons, mostly of foreign extraction—who, from their
+rock-girt towers, waged perpetual hostilities with each other, and
+tyrannised over the enthralled natives—claimed by the Popes in virtue of
+Pepin's donation, and granted by them to the Pisans,—after a long
+struggle between the two rival republics contending for the supremacy of
+the Mediterranean, the island at last fell under the dominion of the
+Genoese.
+
+This dominion the republic of Genoa exercised for more than four
+centuries (from the thirteenth to the eighteenth) in an almost
+uninterrupted course of gross misrule. Instead of endeavouring to
+amalgamate the islanders with her own citizens, she treated them as a
+degraded cast, worthy only of slavery. A governor, frequently chosen by
+the republic from amongst men of desperate circumstances, had the
+absolute sovereignty of the island: by his mere sentence, on secret
+information, without trial, a person might be condemned to death or to
+the galleys. The venality of the Genoese tribunals was so notorious,
+that the murderer felt sure to escape if he could pay the judge for his
+liberation.[5]
+
+The Corsicans were not a race which would tamely submit to this tyranny,
+and their annals during this long period exhibit a series of bloody
+struggles against the Genoese republic, and devoted efforts to maintain
+their rights and recover their independence. In these contests the
+_signori_ either allied themselves with the Genoese, or took part with
+their countrymen, as their interest inclined; while a succession of
+patriot leaders, such as few countries of greater pretensions can
+boast—Sambucchio, Sampiero, the Gaffori, the Paoli—all sprung from the
+ranks of the people; the bravest in the field and the wisest in council,
+carried aloft the banner of Corsican _libertà_.
+
+The hostilities were not confined to the parties immediately interested
+in the quarrel. Foreign aid was invoked on the one side and on the
+other, and for a long period the little island of Corsica became the
+battle-field of the great European powers; Spaniards, Austrians, French,
+and English, at one time or the other, and especially in the decay of
+the Genoese republic, throwing their forces into the scale, and
+occupying portions of the island, but with no definitive result, until
+its final absorption in the dominion of its present masters.
+
+Little interest would now attach to the details of a struggle confined
+to so insignificant a territory, and having so little influence on
+European politics; and it would be alike foreign to the province of a
+traveller, and wearisome to the reader, that the subject should be
+pursued, except incidentally, where events or persons connected with the
+localities he visits call forth some passing remarks. An exception may
+perhaps be allowed in the course of this narrative for some account of
+the English intervention in Corsican affairs. It is little known that
+our George III. was once the constitutional king of Corsica. Nelson,
+too, performed there one of his most dashing exploits.
+
+Just now we have been talking of Aleria, a place identified with a
+curious and somewhat romantic episode in Corsican history. Corsica
+cradled and sent forth a soldier of fortune, to become in his
+aspirations, and almost in effect, the Cæsar of the western empire.
+Corsica received into her bosom a German adventurer, who, for a brief
+space, played on this narrow stage the part of her crowned king. That
+there is but a short interval between the sublime and the ridiculous,
+was exemplified in the career of these upstart monarchs. Both sought an
+asylum in England. The one pined in an island-prison, the other in a
+London gaol.
+
+
+THEODORE DE NEUHOFF, KING OF CORSICA.[6]
+
+On the 25th March, 1736, a small merchant-ship, carrying the English
+ensign, anchored off Aleria. There landed from it a personage of noble
+appearance, with a suite of sixteen persons, who was received with the
+deference due to a monarch. He superintended the disembarkation of
+cannon and military stores, and gratuitously distributed powder,
+muskets, and other accoutrements, to the Corsicans who crowded to the
+shore.
+
+The imagination exercises a powerful sway over the people of the South.
+The mystery which surrounded this personage, his dignified and polished
+manners, the important succour he brought, and even the fantastical and
+semi-Oriental cast of his dress, all contributed to produce a great
+influence on ardent minds naturally inclined to the marvellous. This was
+Theodore de Neuhoff.
+
+Theodore Antoine, Baron de Neuhoff, a native of Westphalia, had been in
+his youth page to the Duchess of Orleans, and afterwards served in
+Spain. Returning to France, he attached himself to the speculations of
+Law, and partook the vicissitudes of splendour and misery which were the
+fortunes of his patron. When that bubble burst, our adventurer wandered
+through Europe, seeking his fortune with a perseverance, combined with
+incontestable talent, which, sooner or later, must seize some
+opportunity of accomplishing his schemes.
+
+At Genoa he fell in with Giaffori and some other Corsican patriots, then
+exiled; and representing himself to be possessed of immense resources,
+and even to have it in his power to secure the support of powerful
+courts, offered to drive the Genoese out of the island, on condition of
+his being recognised as King of Corsica. The patriot chiefs, seduced by
+these magnificent promises, and, perhaps, too apt to seek for foreign
+aid wherever it could be found, accepted Theodore's offers.
+
+Not to follow him through all the course of his romantic adventures, it
+appears that he found means of credit—perhaps from the Jews, with whom
+he was already deeply involved—for a considerable sum of ready money,
+and the arms, ammunition, and stores necessary for his expedition.
+Landing in Corsica, in the manner already described, the Corsican
+chiefs, although they had concerted his descent on the island, had the
+address to cherish the popular idea that Theodore's arrival was a mark
+of the interest taken by Heaven in the liberty of the Corsicans.
+
+In a popular assembly held at the Convent of Alesani, a Constitution was
+resolved on, by which the kingdom of Corsica was settled hereditarily in
+the family of the Baron de Neuhoff; taxation was reserved to the Diet,
+and it was provided that all offices should be filled by natives of the
+island. The baron, having sworn on the Gospels to adhere to the
+Constitution, was crowned with a chaplet of laurel and oak in the
+presence of immense crowds, who flocked to the ceremony from all
+quarters, amid shouts of “_Evviva Teodoro, re di Corsica!_”
+
+Theodore took possession of the deserted episcopal residence at
+Cervione, where he assumed every mark of royal dignity. He had his
+court, his guards, and his officers of state; levied troops, coined
+money, instituted an order of knighthood, and created nobility, among
+whom such names as _Marchese_ Giaffori and _Marchese_ Paoli (Pasquale's
+father) singularly figure. His manifesto, in answer to Genoese
+proclamations denouncing his pretensions and painting him as a
+charlatan, affected as great a sensitiveness of insult as could exist in
+the mind of a Capet. For some time all things went well; Theodore became
+master of nearly the whole island except the Genoese fortresses, which
+he blockaded. These were, in fact, the keys of the island. But the
+succours which he had boasted of receiving did not arrive, and, after
+employing various artifices to keep alive the expectations of foreign
+aid and fresh supplies of the muniments of war, finding, when he had
+held the reins of power about eight months, that his new subjects began
+to cool in their attachment to his person, and did not act with the same
+ardour as before, he determined to go over to the Continent, with the
+hope of obtaining the means of carrying on the war, and thus reinstating
+himself in the confidence of the Corsicans.
+
+Appointing a regency to conduct the affairs of his kingdom during his
+absence, he went to Holland, and, though even his royal credit was
+probably at a discount, after long delay, he succeeded in negotiating a
+considerable loan, at what rate of interest or on what security we are
+not told. However, a ship was freighted with cannon and other warlike
+stores, on board of which he returned to Corsica two years after he had
+quitted the island. But it was too late; the French were then in
+possession of the principal places, the patriot leaders were negotiating
+with them, and the people had lost all confidence in their mock-king.
+Theodore found, to use a colloquial expression, that “the game was up,”
+and wisely retracing his steps, found his way to England, the last
+refuge of abdicated monarchs.
+
+Fortune still frowned on him. Pursued by his relentless creditors, the
+ex-king was thrown into the King's Bench prison. His distresses
+attracted the commiseration of Horace Walpole, who, as Boswell informs
+us, “wrote a paper in the ‘World,’ with great elegance and humour,
+soliciting a contribution for the monarch in distress, to be paid to Mr.
+Robert Dodsley, bookseller, as lord high treasurer. This brought in a
+very handsome sum, and he was allowed to get out of prison.” “Walpole,”
+he adds, “has the original deed by which Theodore made over the kingdom
+of Corsica in security to his creditors.” Mr. Benson's statement, which
+is more exact, and agrees with the epitaph, is, that the subscription
+was not sufficient to extricate King Theodore from his difficulties, and
+that he was released from gaol as an insolvent debtor. However that may
+be, he died soon afterwards. Former writers have stated that he was
+buried in an obscure corner, among the paupers, in the churchyard of St.
+Anne's, Westminster, but they are mistaken. We find a neat mural tablet
+fixed against the exterior wall of the church of St. Anne's, Soho, at
+the west end, on which, surmounted by a coronet, is inscribed the
+following epitaph, written by Horace Walpole:—
+
+ [Illustration: coronet]
+
+ “Near this place is interred
+ THEODORE, KING OF CORSICA,
+ Who died in this parish
+ Dec. 11, 1756,
+ Immediately after leaving
+ The King's Bench Prison
+ By the benefit of the Act of Insolvency;
+ In consequence of which
+ He registered his kingdom of Corsica
+ For the use of his Creditors.
+
+ The grave, great teacher, to a level brings
+ Heroes and beggars, galley-slaves and Kings:
+ But Theodore this moral learned, ere dead:
+ Fate poured his lesson on his living head,
+ Bestow'd a kingdom, and denied him bread.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. IX.
+
+ _Environs of Olmeta.—Bandit-Life and the Vendetta—Its
+ Atrocities.—The Population disarmed.—The Bandits exterminated._
+
+ [Illustration: OLMETA.]
+
+
+Olmeta stands, like most Corsican villages, on the point of a hill,
+forming one side of an oval basin, the slopes of which are laid out in
+terraced gardens and vineyards. Here and there, in sheltered nooks, we
+find plantations of orange-trees, now showing green fruit under their
+glossy leaves. Some fine chestnut and walnut trees about the place, and
+the magnificent elms (_olme_) from which it derives its name, soften the
+aspect of its bleak, exposed site, and gaunt houses.
+
+Charming as the natural landscapes are in Corsica, one finds most of the
+villages, however picturesque at a distance, on a nearer approach, a
+conglomeration of tall, shapeless houses, black and frowning, with
+windows guarded by rusty iron _grilles_, and generally unglazed.
+Altogether, they look more like the holds of banditti than the abodes of
+peaceful vinedressers; while the filth of the purlieus is unutterable.
+Throwing open the double casements of the widow's sanctum, I may not
+call it boudoir, when I leapt out of bed to enjoy the fresh morning
+air,—underneath was a noisome dunghill, grim gables frowned on either
+hand, but beyond was the _riant_ landscape just described. Here truly
+God made the country, man the town.
+
+While my friend was sketching, I strolled up to the pretty church we had
+seen by moonlight. Close by is a large, roomy mansion, which belonged to
+Marshal Sebastiani. He was a native of Olmeta, and, from an obscure
+origin, arriving at high rank as well as great wealth, partly, I
+understood, through a brilliant marriage, bought a large property in the
+neighbourhood, which has been recently sold for 150,000 francs to a
+French _Directeur_. I went over the château: to the original mansion the
+marshal had added a handsome _salle_, and a lofty tower commanding
+varied and extensive views towards Fiorenzo and the Mediterranean. My
+conductor was a gentleman of Olmeta, who accidentally meeting me,
+proffered his services, pressing me afterwards to take breakfast with
+him. We had done very well at the widow's long before, with delicious
+bread, eggs, apples, and figs, and coffee in the smallest of cups. We
+brewed our own tea in a bran-new coffee-pot, purchased for that purpose
+at Bastia. Butter and milk were wanting, but whipped eggs make a very
+tolerable substitute for the latter.
+
+My new acquaintance informed me that the decree, passed the year before
+for disarming the whole population, combined with measures for
+increasing the force of the _gendarmerie_, and making it highly penal to
+harbour the bandits or afford them any succour, had been actively and
+rigorously carried out, and were completely successful. The life of a
+citizen is as safe in Corsica as in any other department of France. “You
+may walk through the island,” added my informant, “with a purse of gold
+in your bosom.”
+
+This was true, I imagine, with regard to strangers, in the worst of
+times; their security from molestation being nearly allied to the
+national virtue of hospitality, which is not quite extinct. Nor were the
+Corsican banditti associated, like those of Italy, for the mere purpose
+of plunder, though they have heavily taxed the peaceable inhabitants,
+both by drawing from the poor the means for their subsistence in the
+woods and mountains, and by levying, under terror, direct contributions
+in money from the more wealthy inhabitants in the towns and villages.
+These are, however, but trifling ingredients in the mass of crime for
+which Corsica has been so painfully distinguished. Would, indeed, that
+robbery and pillage were the sins of the darkest dye which have to be
+laid to the account of the Corsican bandit! Most commonly, his hands
+have been stained with innocent blood, shed recklessly, relentlessly,
+in private quarrels, often of the most frivolous description, and not in
+open fight, as in the feuds of the middle ages, not in the heat of
+sudden passion, but by cool, premeditated murder.
+
+Philippini, the best Corsican historian, who lived in the sixteenth
+century, states that in his time 28,000 Corsicans were murdered in the
+course of thirty years. A later Corsican historian calculates that
+between the years 1683 and 1715, a period of thirty-two years, 28,715
+murders were perpetrated in Corsica; and he reckons that an equal number
+were wounded. The average, then, in their days, was about 900 souls
+yearly sent to their account by the dagger and the _fusil_ in murderous
+assaults; besides vast multitudes who fell in the wars.
+
+It was still worse in earlier ages; but those of which we speak were
+times of high civilisation, and Corsica lay in the centre of it. What do
+we find in recent times, up to the very year before we visited the
+island?
+
+I have before me the _Procès verbal_ of the deliberations of the Council
+General of the department of Corsica for each of the years 1850, '51,
+and '52. From these I gather that 4,300 _assassinats_ had been
+perpetrated in Corsica since 1821; and, in the three years before
+mentioned, the “_Assassinats, ou tentatives d'assassiner_,” averaged
+ninety-eight annually from the 1st of January to the 1st of August, to
+which day the annual reports are made up; so that, reckoning for the
+remaining five months in the same proportion, the list of these heinous
+crimes is brought up to the fearful amount, for these days, of 160 in
+each year.
+
+Well might M. le Préfet observe, in his address at the opening of the
+session of 1851: “_La situation du département à cet égard est sans
+doute profondément triste. Le nombre des crimes n'a pas diminué
+sensiblement_.” So low, however, is the moral sense in Corsica with
+regard to the sanctity of human life, that these atrocities excite no
+horror, and the sympathies of vast numbers of the population are with
+the bandits. They are the heroes of the popular tales and _canzoni_; one
+hears of them from one end of the island to the other, round the
+watchfires of the shepherds on the mountains, in the remote _paése_, by
+the roadside. They are the tales of the nursery,—the Corsican child
+learns, with his Ave Maria, that it is rightful and glorious to take the
+life of any one who injures or offends him.
+
+To a passionate and imaginative people, these tales of daring courage
+and wild adventure have an inconceivable charm; though stained with
+blood, they are full of poetry and romance. Such stories have been
+eagerly seized upon by writers on Corsica,—they make excellent literary
+capital. Unfortunately, _banditisme_ forms so striking a feature in
+Corsican history, that it must necessarily occupy a conspicuous place in
+a faithful review of the genius and manners of the people. There are
+doubtless traits of a heroism worthy a better cause, and sometimes of a
+redeeming humanity, in the lives of the banditti; but one regrets to
+find, though happily not in the works of the English travellers who have
+given accounts of Corsica, a tendency to palliate so atrocious a system
+as blood-revenge. _Vendetta_, the name given it, has a romantic sound;
+and it is treated as a sort of national institution, originating in high
+and laudable feelings, the injured sense of right, and the love of
+family; so that, with the glory shed around it by a false heroism, it is
+almost raised to the rank of a virtue.
+
+To take blood for blood, not by the hand of public justice, but by the
+kinsmen of the slain, was, we are reminded, a primitive custom,
+sanctioned by the usages of many nations, and even by the laws of Moses.
+We know, however, that among our Anglo-Saxon ancestors the laws humanely
+commuted this right of revenge for fines commensurate with the rank of
+the murdered person. But while the Mosaic law forbad the acceptance of
+any pecuniary compensation for the crime of manslaughter, and expressly
+recognised the right of the “avenger of blood” to exact summary
+vengeance, it provided for even the murderer's security until he were
+brought to a fair trial. But Corsica, alas! has had no “Cities of
+Refuge,” and examples drawn from remote and barbarous times can afford
+no apology for the inveterate cruelties of a people enjoying the light
+of modern civilisation and professing the religion of the New Testament.
+
+The _vendetta_ is also represented as a kind of rude justice, to which
+the people were driven in the long ages of misrule during which law was
+in abeyance or corruptly administered. There is, no doubt, much truth in
+this as applied to those times; but the prodigious amount of human
+slaughter shown in the statistics just quoted, as well as the
+continuance of this atrocious system to the present day, long after the
+slightest shadow of any pretence of legal injustice has vanished, seem
+to argue that the ferocity which has shed such rivers of blood, if not
+instinctive in the national character, at least found a soil in which it
+took deep root.
+
+For more than half a century, there can be no question but, under a
+settled government, strict justice has been done by the ordinary
+proceedings of the courts of law, in all cases of injury to person or
+property, submitted to them. But the turbulent Corsicans were ever
+impatient of regular government—one great cause of their ultimate
+degradation, not a little connected also with the growth of
+_banditisme_; and the failure of justice has not lain with the
+authorities, but with the population which harbours and screens the
+criminals, and with the juries who refuse to convict them.[7]
+
+The only other instance in the present day of crimes similar to those
+which have been the scourge of Corsica, is found in the case of unhappy
+Ireland. There, however, the blood-revenge has been mostly confined to
+cases of supposed agrarian grievances, and the number of victims
+sacrificed to it is comparatively limited; more innocent blood having
+been shed in Corsica in a single year, than in Ireland during, perhaps,
+a quarter of a century.
+
+The _vendetta_, is also palliated as vindicating wrongs for which no
+courts of law, however upright, can afford redress. Among the most
+polished nations, “the point of honour” has been held to justify an
+injured man for challenging his adversary to mortal combat. But the
+duel, from its first origin among our Scandinavian ancestors, savage as
+they were, and through all its forms, whether legalised or treated as
+felonious, to its last shape in civilised society, has nothing
+practically in common with the Corsican _vendetta_. In the one, the
+appeal to arms has always been tempered by a punctilious chivalry, which
+recoiled from the slightest unfairness in the attendant circumstances;
+in the other, the enemy is, if possible, taken unawares, shot down by a
+cowardly miscreant lurking behind a tree or a rock, or suddenly stabbed
+without an opportunity of putting himself on his defence. The practice
+of the _vendetta_ is mere assassination.
+
+Stript of the colouring shed round it by sentiment and romance,
+_banditisme_, in its latter days at least, has been a very common-place
+affair. Great numbers of the Corsicans, too indolent to work, were happy
+to lead a vagabond life, harbouring in the woods and mountains with a
+gun on their shoulders, and as ready to shoot a man as a wild beast.
+“_C'est qu'en général_,” said the Préfet, in the address already quoted,
+“_ces crimes proviennent moins du banditisme que de la déplorable
+habitude de marcher toujours armés, par suite de laquelle les moindres
+rixes dégénèrent si souvent en attentats contre la vie._” One hears
+continually for what trifles assassinations have been perpetrated; and a
+recent traveller informs us that his life was threatened for having
+merely resisted the extortionate demand of his guide to the mountains.
+
+The hardships to which the bandit is exposed in his wild life in the
+_maquis_ cannot be much greater than those of the shepherd who, from
+fear or favour, shares with him his chestnuts, his goat's milk, and
+cheese. The _gendarmes_, indeed, are sometimes on his track, but there
+is stirring adventure in eluding their pursuit, triumph in the ambuscade
+to which they become victims, glory even in death heroically met. With
+all its perils and hardships, such a life of lawless independence has
+its charms; and the bandit knows that his memory will be honoured, and
+his death, if possible, revenged. But who laments the unfortunate
+_gendarme_ who falls in these encounters? Who pities the widow and
+orphans of men as bold, resolute, and enterprising as those against whom
+they are matched? In the tales of banditti life, the ministers of
+justice are _sbirri_, conventionally a term of disgrace; all the
+sympathy is with the culprit against whom the _gendarmerie_ peril their
+lives in an arduous service.
+
+The brigands must live by plunder in one shape or another. It is not
+likely that bands of armed men, the terror of a whole neighbourhood,
+would be always content with the mere subsistence wrung from the scanty
+resources of the poor shepherds. Not that they robbed on the highways;
+it answered better to levy contributions, under pain of death, from such
+of the defenceless inhabitants as were able to pay them. Mr. Benson
+tells a story of one of the most celebrated of the bandit chiefs, who
+levied black mail in the wild districts bordering on the forest of
+Vizzavona.
+
+“Leaving Vivario, we heard from the lips of the poor _curé_, that
+Galluchio and his followers were in the _maquis_ of a range of mountains
+to our right. The _curé_ was busy in his vineyard when we passed, but as
+soon as he recognised our French companion, he left his work for a few
+moments to join us. ‘Sir,’ said he, addressing himself to M. Cottard, ‘I
+feel myself in imminent danger; Galluchio and his band are in yonder
+mountains, and only a few evenings ago I received a peremptory message
+from him, requiring 300 francs, and threatening my speedy assassination
+should I delay many days to comply with his demand. I have not the
+money, and I have sent for some military to protect me.’”[8]
+
+There is reason to believe that these forced contributions have not
+diminished since Mr. Benson's journey. We were told of a case in which a
+wealthy man, having received notice to pay 10,000 francs, under penalty
+of being shot, was so terrified, that after shutting himself up in his
+house for a year in constant alarm, his health and spirits became so
+shattered by the state of continual terror and watchfulness in which he
+lived, that he sank under it, and was carried out dead. In another case,
+a young man of more resolute character was called upon for 1000 francs,
+and having no ready money, was allowed three months to raise it, on
+giving his bill for security. He armed himself, and went to the
+appointed rendezvous. The brigand was waiting for him; he made him lay
+down his arms, and searched him. The young man had filled his pockets
+with chestnuts, and had contrived to secrete a small pistol about his
+person, which escaped discovery. The brigand, producing paper and ink,
+ordered his victim to draw the bill. The young man excused himself on
+the ground that he was so frightened, and his hand trembled so that he
+could not write;—he would sign the bill if the other drew it out. The
+brigand knelt down by the side of a flat stone to do so. Meanwhile the
+young man walked up and down eating his chestnuts, and throwing the
+shells carelessly away. Some of them struck the brigand. “What are you
+doing?” said he, startled. “Eating my chestnuts;” and he took out
+another handful. Occasionally he stopped and looked down on the bandit
+while engaged in writing; still, with apparent _sang froid_, munching
+his chestnuts. Presently the bill was finished; he pretended to look it
+over, found some error, which he pointed out, and while the brigand
+stooped to correct it, drew his concealed pistol and shot him through
+the head.—The so-called _vendetta_ has shrunk more and more to the level
+of vulgar crime. It is even notorious that bandits have become hired
+assassins, employed by others to take off persons against whom they had
+a grudge,—“_mais plus pour amitié que pour argent_,” said my informant,
+giving the fact the most favourable turn.
+
+It seems surprising that such enormities should have been permitted in a
+European country, at an advanced period of the nineteenth century. Could
+a strong national government have been established in Corsica—which,
+however, seems to have been impracticable with so lawless and factious a
+people—its first duty would have been, as was the case under Pascal
+Paoli's administration, to give security to life, _coûte que coûte_. The
+successive Governments of France appear to have been too much occupied
+by their own affairs to pay any regard to the social state of their
+Corsican department, flagrant as was the disgrace it reflected on them.
+Perhaps they were impressed with the idea that the passion of revenge,
+the thirst for blood, were so inherent in the native character, that law
+and force were alike powerless, and the _vendetta_ could only be
+extirpated by a moral change more to be hoped for than expected. Thus
+speaks the Préfet, in his inaugural address of 1851:—“_Ici, messieurs,
+vous en conviendrez, l'administration est sans force. C'est à la
+religion seule qu'appartient la touchante prérogative de prêcher l'oubli
+des injures:_” and a traveller who spent some time in the island during
+the year following, gives the result of his observations in the
+following words:—“There is probably no other means of certainly putting
+down the blood-revenge, murder, and bandit-life, than culture; and
+culture advances in Corsica but slowly.”[9]
+
+The same author says of the general disarming, proposed in 1852:
+“Whether, and how, this will be capable of execution, I know not. It
+will cost mischief enough in the execution; for they will not be able to
+disarm the banditti at the same time, and their enemies will then be
+exposed, unarmed, to their bullets.” These doubts and forebodings are
+proved to have been imaginary. It might have been long, indeed, before
+preaching and moral culture had eradicated evils so deeply rooted in the
+genius of the people. In such an extreme case, the exercise of a
+despotic power was required to put an end to the reign of terror and
+blood which has desolated this fair island for so many centuries. One
+bold stroke has broken the spell; the measures adopted for the
+suppression of _banditisme_ have completely succeeded. “The prisons are
+full,” said my informant; “in the last year, 400 of the brigands have
+been sentenced or shot down, and as many more driven out of the country:
+the land is at peace.”
+
+The only wonder is that the experiment was not tried before.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. X.
+
+ _The Basin of Oletta.—The Olive.—Corsican Tales.—The Heroine of
+ Oletta.—Zones of Climate and Vegetation._
+
+
+We found that no mules could be hired at Olmeta, and intending to wander
+for a few days in the neighbouring valleys, and on the skirts of the
+mountainous district of Nebbio, though we preferred walking, were at
+some loss how to get forward our baggage. The Bastia muleteer was
+dismissed, and as we were travelling somewhat at our ease, the luggage
+was more than could be conveniently carried. In this dilemma, Antoine
+proffered the services of himself and the mule which had done its work
+so well the evening before. His offer was readily accepted, and we had
+much reason to be pleased with the change we had made in our conductor.
+Antoine relieved us from all care as to our baggage and entertainment,
+knew the roads, and where we could best put up, had by heart many a
+story of times past, and something to tell of all the places we visited,
+and, having been a rover himself, entered into the spirit of our
+rambles: altogether, as I have observed before, Antoine was an excellent
+specimen of a Capo Corso peasant. To be sure, he had killed his man, but
+that was in a _duello_, according to Corsican ideas; as singular, if one
+may jest on such a subject, as Captain Marryat's famous triangular duel.
+
+The valleys of Olmeta, Oletta, and some others, form a sort of basin
+between the mountains bounding the _littorale_, already spoken of, and
+the Serra di Tenda, a noble range in the western line of the principal
+chain. Broken by numberless hills, the whole basin is a scene of fertile
+beauty, similar to the picture drawn of Olmeta—vineyards, olive-grounds
+and gardens, orange, citron, fig, almond, apple, and pear-trees,
+clustering at every turn with groups of magnificent chestnut-trees, and
+alternating with spots devoted to tillage. The country people were now
+sowing wheat or preparing the ground with most primitive ploughs, of the
+Roman fashion, drawn sometimes by a single ox or mule. Patches, on which
+the green blade was already springing, showed that it is the practice to
+sow wheat as soon as possible after the autumnal rains.
+
+ [Illustration: ISLE OF MONTE-CRISTO, THROUGH A GORGE.]
+
+Retracing our steps of the preceding night nearly to the summit of the
+pass, under the persuasion that it commanded a fine prospect, we turned
+to the right, and strolled along a terrace above the broad valley
+through which the Bevinco flows into the Stagno di Biguglia, somewhat
+below the point at which we left it. Looking backward, we had a charming
+peep at the Mediterranean through a gorge in the mountains, with the
+lonely island of Monte-Cristo, seen from this point of view detached
+from the rest of the group of islands to which it belongs. Across the
+valley was a range of mountains, a branch of the central chain dividing
+it from that of the Golo. Mists hung about them, pierced by the Cima dei
+Taffoni, the most elevated point of the range, which rose magnificently,
+being about 3000 feet high, twenty miles to the south-east. The ridge
+along which we strolled was covered partly by patches of the
+never-failing evergreen shrubbery, rendered more beautiful by the
+quantities of cyclamen, one of the prettiest plants we have in our
+greenhouses at home, now in full flower under the shelter of the arbutus
+and other shrubs. Small flocks of sheep, all black, and no larger than
+our Welsh mountain breed, were browsing among the barren patches of
+heath, and sometimes crossed our path, with their tinkling bells. There
+was a slight shower; but it soon cleared off, and the sun shone out, and
+the air and surface of the ground, cooled and freshened by the gentle
+rain, were in the best state for the continuation of our rambles.
+
+The cultivation, as may be supposed, is indolent and imperfect, the
+surface being merely scratched, and little care taken to free it of
+weeds. We need not, therefore, be surprised at finding that the average
+produce of the wheat-crop throughout Corsica is only an increase of nine
+on the seed sown. Of maize, or Indian corn, it is thirty-eight or forty.
+
+The canton of Oletta is called by the Corsicans “the pearl of the
+Nebbio.” It contains two or three hamlets, the principal village seeming
+to hang on the rocky slope of a hill, embowered in fruit trees. The
+olive flourishes particularly well here; and Oletta takes its name from
+its olive-trees, as Olmeta does from its elms. Many of them are of
+great age and size, and, with their silvery leaves, have a soft and
+pleasing effect, especially when contrasted with the richer foliage of
+the spreading chestnut-trees. The olive-yards are neatly dug and kept
+clear of weeds; and we observed that the soil was drawn round the stems
+of the trees, probably in well-manured heaps, such a produce as the
+olive truly requiring to feed on the fat of the land. The berries were
+now full formed, but had not begun to fall. I believe they hang till
+Christmas, when they are collected, and carried to the vats. When
+pressed, twenty pounds of olives yield five of pure oil. It is stored in
+large pottery jars, and forms the principal export from Corsica; this
+district, with the Balagna and the neighbourhood of Bonifaccio,
+producing the largest quantity. An inferior sort of oil is used in the
+lamps throughout the island; the lamps being of glass, with tall stems
+containing the oil, and crowned by a socket, through which the cotton
+burner is passed, and having nothing of the antique or classical about
+them. The birds scattering the berries in all directions, and carrying
+them to great distances, the number of wild olive-trees is immense. An
+attempt was made to count them, by order of the Government, in 1820,
+with a view to foster so valuable a source of national wealth by the
+encouragement of grafting; and it is said that as many as twelve
+millions of wild olive-trees were then counted.
+
+There is a story of love and heroism connected with Oletta. One hears
+such tales everywhere in Corsica—by the wayside, at the shepherd's
+watch-fire, lying in the shade, or basking in the sun. Antoine was an
+excellent _raconteur_; so are all such vagabonds. I possess a
+collection of these tales by Renucci, published at Bastia[10], and
+proposed to interweave some of them into my narrative. They may be
+worked up, with invention and embellishment, into pretty romances; but
+that is not our business. In Renucci, we have stories of _Ospitalità_,
+_Magnanimità_, _Fedeltà_, _Probità_, _Generosità_, _Incorruttibilità_,
+all the virtues under the sun with names ending in _tà_, and many
+others. One wearies of the eternal laudation lavished on these
+islanders, not only by their own writers, but by all travellers, from
+Boswell downwards.
+
+The story of the heroine of Oletta is told by Renucci[11], and, more
+simply, by Marmocchi.[12] During the occupation of Capo Corso by the
+French, in 1751, some of the villagers were sentenced to be broken on
+the wheel for a conspiracy to seize the place, which was garrisoned by
+the French; their bodies were exposed on the scaffold, and their friends
+prohibited, under severe penalties, from giving them Christian burial.
+But a young woman, _giovinetta scelta e robusta_, as she must have been
+to perform the exploit assigned to her in the tale, eluded the sentries,
+and, taking the body of her lover, one of the conspirators executed, on
+her shoulders, carried it off. The general in command, struck by her
+exalted virtue, pardons the offence, and she is borne home in triumph
+amidst the shouts of the villagers.
+
+All honour to the French marquis for his gallantry to a woman, though
+his tactics were somewhat savage for the reign of Louis XVI.; and all
+glory to Maria Gentili of Oletta, stout of heart and strong of limb, fit
+to be the wife and mother of bandits; still better, to have fought at
+Borgo, where Corsican women, in male attire, with sword and gun, rushed
+forward in the ranks of the island militia which triumphantly defeated a
+French army, composed of some of the finest troops in Europe.[13]
+
+But let us proceed with our rambles; and, before we change the scene
+from the region of the vine and the orange to that of the chestnut and
+ilex, a short digression on the climatic zones of Corsica may not be out
+of place.
+
+ [Illustration: BETWEEN OLMETA AND BIGORNO.]
+
+The island may be divided, as to climate and vegetation, into three
+zones, corresponding with the degrees of elevation of its surface. The
+_first_, ranging to about 1,700 feet above the level of the
+Mediterranean, and embracing the deeper valleys of the island, as well
+as the sea-coast, has the characteristics conformable to its latitude;
+that is to say, similar to those of the parallel shores of Italy and
+Spain. Properly speaking, there is no winter; they have but two seasons,
+spring and summer. The thermometer seldom falls more than a degree or
+two below the freezing point, and then only for a few hours. The nights
+are, however, cold at all seasons.
+
+When we were at Ajaccio, towards the end of October, the heat was
+oppressive; my thermometer at noon stood at 80° in the shade, in an airy
+room closed by Venetian blinds. In January, we were told, the sun
+becomes again powerful, and then for eight months succeeds a torrid
+heat. The sky is generally cloudless, the thermometer rises from 70 to
+80 and even 90 degrees in the shade, and scarcely any rain falls after
+the month of April; nor indeed always then, so that there are often long
+and excessive droughts.
+
+The indigenous vegetation is generally of a class suited to resist the
+droughts, having hard, coriaceous leaves. Such is the shrubbery
+described in a former chapter, which, exempt from severe frosts on the
+one hand, and thriving in an arid soil and parching heat on the other,
+clothes half the surface of the island with perpetual verdure. There
+have been seasons when even these shrubs were so burnt up that the
+slightest accident might have caused a wide-spread conflagration. When
+we travelled, the leaves of the rock-roses, which here grow to the
+height of four or five feet, were hanging on the bushes scorched and
+withered by the summer heat, somewhat marring the beauty of the
+evergreen thickets.
+
+Most of the fruit-trees suited to flourish in such a climate have been
+already noticed in passing. We saw also almonds, pomegranates, and
+standard peaches and apricots. To the list of shrubs which most struck
+us, I may also add the brilliant flowering oleander, and the tamarisk.
+Corsica is said to be famous for its orchids, verbenas, and cotyledinous
+and caryophyllaceous plants; but I only speak of what I saw, and these
+were out of season.
+
+The _second_ zone ranges from about 2000 feet to between 5000 and 6000
+feet above the level of the Mediterranean, the climate corresponding
+with that of the central districts of France. The temperature is,
+however, very variable, and its changes are sudden. Frost and snow make
+their appearance in November, and often last for fifteen or twenty days
+together. It is remarked, that frost does not injure the olive-trees up
+to the level of about 3800 feet; and snow even renders them more
+fruitful.
+
+The chestnut appears to be the characteristic feature in the vegetation
+of this zone. Thriving also among hills and valleys of a lower
+elevation, here it spreads into extensive woods, till at the height of
+about 6000 feet it is exchanged for the pine, and Marmocchi says[14], I
+think incorrectly, _cède la place_ to the oak and the _beech_. We
+certainly found the oak, both evergreen (ilex) and deciduous, growing
+very freely and in extensive woods in close contiguity with the chestnut
+at an elevation far below the limit of the _second_ zone, as well as
+mixed with the pine in the forest of Vizzavona, also below that limit.
+But, from my own observation, I should class the oak of both kinds
+among the trees belonging to the second zone, though the chestnut is its
+most characteristic feature; and should much doubt its flourishing at
+the height of between 6000 and 7000 feet above the sea-level,—still more
+the beech. The highest point at which we found the beech was the Col di
+Vizzavona, on the road from Vivario to Bocagnono, 3435 feet above the
+level of the Mediterranean, and I was surprised to see it flourishing
+there.
+
+While the principal cities and towns in Corsica stand within the limits
+of the first zone, it is in the second that by far the greatest part of
+the population live,—dispersed, as we have often had occasion to remark,
+in valleys and hamlets placed on the summits or ridges of hills. The
+choice of such positions is a necessary condition of health, as in this
+region, no less than in the former, the valleys are notorious for the
+insalubrity of the air.
+
+The _third_ zone, ranging from an elevation of about 6000 feet to the
+summits of the highest mountains, is a region of storms and tempests
+during eight months of the year; but during the short summer the air is
+said to be generally serene, and the sky unclouded. This elevated region
+has, of course, no settled inhabitants, but during the fine season the
+shepherds occupy cabins on its verge, their sheep and goats browsing
+among the dwarf bushes on the mountain sides. The vegetation is scanty.
+Even the pine cannot thrive at such an elevation, and the birch, which
+one generally finds, though dwarf, still higher up the mountains, I did
+not happen to see in Corsica, though it is mentioned in _Marmocchi's_
+list of indigenous trees.
+
+The summits of the Monte Rotondo and Monte d'Oro are capped with snow at
+all seasons, and beautiful are snowy peaks, piercing the blue heavens
+in the sunny region of the Mediterranean, and well does the glistening
+tiara, marking from afar their pre-eminence among the countless domes
+and peaks which cluster round them, or break the outline of a long
+chain, assist the eye in computing their relative heights. We had no
+opportunity of ascertaining how low perpetual snow hangs on the sides of
+the highest Corsican mountains. According to M. Arago, Monte Rotondo is
+2762 _mètres_ (about 8976 feet) above the level of the sea; and he says
+that there are seven others exceeding 2000 _mètres_ (about 6500 feet).
+Among these must be included Monte d'Oro, which figures in Marmocchi's
+list at 2653 _mètres_, or about 8622 feet. The season was too late for
+our making an ascent with any prospect of advantage; but at that time of
+the year (the end of October) none of the peaks we saw, except the two
+named, though some of them are only from 500 to 800 feet lower than
+Monte d'Oro, had snow upon them.
+
+While rounding the base of Monte d'Oro, we observed long streaks on the
+side of the cone, descending, perhaps, 1000 feet below the compact mass
+on the summit; but they had the appearance of fresh-fallen snow, and
+from our observing that all the other summits were free from snow, I am
+inclined to assign the height of about 7500 or 8000 feet above the level
+of the Mediterranean as the line of perpetual snow in Corsica.
+
+In Norway, between 59°-62° N. latitude, we calculated it at about 4500
+feet on the average, the line varying considerably in different seasons.
+In the summer of 1849 there was snow on the shores of the Miös-Vand,
+which are under 3000 feet, while the summer before the lakes on the
+table-land of the Hardanger Fjeld, 4000 feet high, were free from ice,
+and throughout the passage of the Fjeld the surface covered with snow
+was less than that which was bare. In 1849, crossing the Hardanger from
+Vinje to Odde, the whole of the plateau was a continued field of
+snow.[15] Taking the entire mountain system of central Norway, from the
+Gousta-Fjeld to Sneehættan and the Hörungurne, with elevations of from
+5000 to near 8000 feet, the average of the snow-level may be taken, as
+before observed, at about 4500 feet; that of the Corsican mountains,
+with elevations of from 6000 to nearly 9000 feet, being, as we have
+seen, from 7000 to 8000 feet.
+
+In Switzerland, where the elevations are so much greater, the snow-line
+varies from 8000 to 8800 feet above the level of the sea.[16] On Mont
+Blanc it is stated to be 8500 feet. The height differs on the northern
+and southern faces of the chain within those portions of the Alps that
+run east and west, but 8500 feet may be taken as the average.
+
+We may be surprised to find that congelation rests at the same, or
+nearly the same, level in the Alps of Switzerland, and on the Corsican
+mountains eight degrees further south. But difference of latitude is no
+determinate rule for calculating the level to which the line of
+perpetual snow descends. There are other influences to be taken into the
+account, such as the duration and intensity of summer heats, the
+comparative dryness of climate, the extent of the snow-clad surface in
+the system generally, and more especially the height and exposure of
+particular mountains.[17] Thus the snow-line on the southern slope of
+the Alps is in some cases as high as 9500 feet. It may be conceived that
+as the great extent of snow-clad surface on the high Fjelds of Norway so
+much depresses the level of the snow-line in that country, so the great
+superincumbent mass resting on the summits of the higher Alps has a
+similar effect, reducing the average snow-line in Switzerland to nearly
+that of the Corsican mountains. The wonder is that Monte Rotondo and
+Monte d'Oro,—rising from a chain surrounded by the Mediterranean, in
+insulated peaks of no very considerable height, without glaciers or
+snowy basins to reduce the temperature,—should, in a climate where the
+sun's heat is excessive for eight months of the year, have snow on their
+summits in the months of July and August. I have observed the _Pico di
+Teyde_ in Teneriffe with no snow upon it in the first days of November,
+though it is 3000 feet higher than Monte Rotondo, and only five degrees
+further south. Mount Ætna, also, nearly 11,000 feet high, in about the
+same latitude as the Peak of Teneriffe (37° N.), is free from perpetual
+snow; but that may arise from local causes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XI.
+
+ _Pisan Church at Murato.—Chestnut Woods.—Gulf of San
+ Fiorenzo.—Nelson's Exploit there.—He conducts the Siege of
+ Bastia.—Ilex Woods.—Mountain Pastures.—The Corsican Shepherd._
+
+
+Murato, a large, scattered village, which formerly gave its name to a
+_piève_, and is now the _chef-lieu_ of a canton, stands on the verge of
+a woody and mountainous district. Just before entering the village, we
+were struck by the superior character of the _façade_ of a little
+solitary church by the roadside. We afterwards learnt that it was
+dedicated to St. Michael, and reckoned one of the most remarkable
+churches in the island, having been erected by the Pisans, before the
+Genoese established themselves in Corsica. The _façade_ is constructed
+of alternate courses of black and white marble, and put me in mind of
+the magnificent cathedrals of Pisa and Sienna, of which it is a model in
+miniature. Indeed, most of the churches in Corsica are built on these
+and similar Italian models, though few of them with such chaste
+simplicity of design as this little roadside chapel.
+
+The smiling aspect of the vine-clad hills, umbrageous fruit-orchards,
+and silvery olive-groves of the canton of Oletta now changed for a
+bolder landscape and wilder accompaniments. Soon after leaving Murato,
+the ilex began to appear, scattered among rough brakes, and a sharp
+descent led down to the Bevinco, here a mountain-torrent, hurrying along
+through deep banks, tufted with underwood, the box, which grows largely
+in Corsica, being profusely intermixed. The road—like all the other
+byroads, merely a horse-track—crosses the stream by a bold arch.
+
+ [Illustration: PONTE MURATO.]
+
+Immediately in front of the bridge stands a pyramidal rock, remarkable
+for all its segments having the same character, and for the way in which
+evergreen shrubs hang from the fissures in graceful festoons,
+contrasting with some gigantic gourds, in a small cultivated patch at
+the foot of the rock, and sloping down to the edge of the stream.
+
+Higher up we entered the first chestnut wood we had yet seen. At the
+outskirts it had all the character of a natural wood; the trees were
+irregularly massed, and many of them of great age and vast dimensions.
+Further on they stood in rows, this tree being extensively planted in
+Corsica for the sake of the fruit. We were just in the right season for
+this important harvest, it being now ripe, and the ground under the
+trees was thickly strewed with the brown nuts bursting from their husky
+shells.
+
+It being about noon, we halted in the shade by the side of a little
+rill, trickling among the trees into the river beneath, to rest and
+lunch. Nothing could be more delightful, after a long walk in the sun;
+for the temperature of the valleys is high even at this season. Antoine
+had charge of a basket of grapes, with a loaf of bread and a bottle of
+the excellent Frontigniac of Capo Corso; to these were added handfuls of
+chestnuts, so sweet and tender when perfectly fresh; so that, tempering
+our wine in the cool stream, we fared luxuriously.
+
+While we sip our wine and munch our chestnuts, seasoned by talk with
+Antoine, the reader may like to hear something of a crop which is of
+more importance than might be supposed in the agricultural statistics of
+Corsica.
+
+There are several cantons, Murato being one of the principal, in which
+the chestnut woods, either natural or planted, are so extensive that the
+districts have acquired the name of _Paése di Castagniccia_. The
+Corsican peasant seldom sets forth on a journey without providing
+himself with a bag of chestnuts, and with these and a gourd of wine or
+of water slung by his side, he is never at a loss. Eaten raw or roasted
+on the embers, chestnuts form, during half the year, the principal diet
+of the herdsmen and shepherds on the hills, and of great numbers of the
+poorer population in the districts where the tree flourishes. They are
+also made into puddings, and served up in various other ways. It is said
+that in the canton of Alesanni, one of the Castagniccia districts just
+referred to, on the occasion of a peasant making a feast at his
+daughter's marriage, no less than twenty-two dishes have been prepared
+from the meal of the chestnut.
+
+I recollect that the innkeeper at Bonifaccio, boasting his culinary
+skill, said that he could dress a potato sixteen different ways, and
+though we earnestly entreated him not to give himself the trouble of
+making experiments not suited to our taste, it was with great
+difficulty, and after several failures, we made him comprehend that an
+Englishman preferred but one way—and that was “_au naturel_.”
+
+The cultivation of the potato has made considerable advance in Corsica,
+and there are now seventeen or eighteen hundred acres annually planted
+with it. But in many parts of the island the chestnut fills the same
+place which the potato once occupied in the dietary of the Irish
+peasant. A political economist would find no difficulty in deciding that
+in both cases the results have been similar, and much to be lamented.
+Indeed, the Corsican fruit is still more adapted to cherish habits of
+indolence than the Irish root, as the chestnut does not even require the
+brief exertion, either in cultivation or cookery, which the potato does.
+It drops, I may say, into the Corsican's mouth, and living like the
+
+ “Prisca gens mortalium.”
+
+“the primitive race of mortals,” of whom the poet sings, who ran about
+in the woods, eating acorns and drinking water, the Corsicans are, for
+the most part, satisfied with their chestnuts literally “_au naturel_.”
+
+Most French writers on Corsica declare war against the chestnut-trees
+for the encouragement they afford to a life of idleness, and M. de
+Beaumont does not scruple to assert, that a tempest which levelled them
+all with the ground would, in the end, prove a great blessing. There is
+some truth in these opinions, but humanity shudders at the misery such a
+catastrophe—like the potato blight, which truly struck at the root of
+the evil in Ireland—would entail on tens of thousands of the poor
+Corsicans, to whom the chestnut is the staff of life. In the interests
+of that humanity, as well as from our deep love and veneration for these
+noble woods, we say, God forbid!
+
+Many years ago, an attempt was made to discountenance the growth of
+chestnuts, by prohibiting their plantation in soils capable of other
+kinds of cultivation; but shortly afterwards the decree was revoked on
+the report of no less a political economist than the celebrated
+Turgot.[18] _Vivent donc ces châtaigniers magnifiques, quand même!_ And
+may the Corsicans learn not to abuse the gifts which Providence
+gratuitously showers from their spreading boughs!
+
+Our _al fresco_ repast on chestnuts and grapes being concluded, we left
+Antoine to load his mule, which had been grazing in the cool shade, and
+following a track through the wood, it became so steep that we soon
+gained a very considerable elevation. Of this we were more sensible
+when, turning round, we found that our range of sight embraced one of
+the finest views imaginable. In the distance, the long chain of
+mountains intersecting Capo Corso appeared grouped in one central mass,
+with their rocky summits and varied outlines more or less boldly
+defined, as they receded from the point of view. The western coast of
+the peninsula stretched far away to the northward, broken by a
+succession of mountainous ridges, branching out from the central chain,
+and having their bases washed by the Mediterranean, point after point
+appealing in perspective.
+
+ [Illustration: CAPO CORSO FROM THE CHESTNUT WOODS.]
+
+Of these indentations in the coast, the nearest, as well as the most
+important, is the Gulf of San Fiorenzo, one of the finest harbours in
+the Mediterranean. The town stands on a hill, above the marshy delta of
+the Aliso, the course of which we could trace through the most extended
+of these high valleys. Close beneath our standing point, as it appeared,
+lay the basin of Oletta, with its villages on the hill-tops, and its
+gentle eminences, with slopes and hollows richly clothed, now grouped
+together like the mountain ranges above, but in softer forms. This view,
+whether as partially seen in our first position through the glades and
+under the branching canopy of the chestnut wood, or shortly afterwards,
+still better, from a more commanding point on the summit of the ridge,
+had all the advantages which the most exquisite colouring, and the
+finest atmospheric effects could lend. Indeed, I felt persuaded, that
+the extraordinary richness of the warm tints on some of the mountain
+sides was not merely an atmospheric effect, but aided by the natural
+colour of the formation.
+
+The whole country lying beneath, the ancient province of Nebbio, with
+the Gulf of San Fiorenzo for its outlet, guarded by the mountain ridges
+and embracing the districts of Oletta, Murato, and Sorio, is of such
+importance in a strategical view, that the fate of Corsica has often
+been decided by campaigns conducted on this ground; and it is said that
+whatever power obtains possession of it, will sooner or later become
+masters of the whole island.
+
+San Fiorenzo, a fortified place, was bombarded in 1745 by an English
+fleet acting in concert with the King of Sardinia for the support of the
+Corsicans against the Genoese, and on the surrender of the place it was
+given up to the patriots. Then first the British Government interfered
+in Corsican affairs; but shortly afterwards, when some of the patriot
+leaders sent emissaries to Lord Bristol, our ambassador at the court of
+Turin, offering to put themselves under the protection of the English
+Government, the court of St. James's, deterred probably by the
+jealousies then subsisting among the supporters of the patriotic cause,
+civilly declined the offer, and withdrew their fleet. Having thus lost
+by their own misconduct the powerful co-operation of England, the
+Corsicans, left to their own resources, after a long and determined
+struggle, at length yielded to a power with which they were unable to
+cope.
+
+San Fiorenzo was again the scene of British intervention, when the
+Corsicans, throwing off in 1793 the yoke of the French revolutionary
+government, applied to Lord Hood, the commander-in-chief in the
+Mediterranean, for assistance. In consequence, Nelson, then commanding
+the “Agamemnon,” and cruising off the island with a small squadron, to
+prevent the enemy from throwing in supplies, made a sudden descent on
+San Fiorenzo, where he landed with 120 men. Close to the port the French
+had a storehouse of flour adjoining their only mill, Nelson threw the
+flour into the sea, burnt the mill, and re-embarked in the face of 1000
+men and some gun-boats, which opened fire upon him. In the following
+spring, five English regiments were landed in the island under General
+Dundas, and Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir John) Moore having taken
+possession of the heights overlooking the port of San Fiorenzo, the
+French found themselves unable to hold the place, and sinking one of
+their frigates, and burning another, retreated to Bastia.
+
+Nelson's dashing enterprise was succeeded by another of far greater
+moment, characteristic of the times when our old 74's had not been
+superseded by costly screw three-deckers, and our naval commanders,
+though not wanting in discretion, acted on the impulses of their own
+brave hearts, without any very nice calculations of responsibilities and
+possible consequences.
+
+On a _reconnaissance_ made by Nelson on the 19th of February, when he
+drove the French under shelter of their works, it appeared that the
+defences of Bastia were strong. Besides the citadel, mounting thirty
+pieces of cannon and eight mortars, with seventy embrasures counted in
+the town-wall near the sea, there were four stone redoubts on the
+heights south of the town, and two or three others further in advance;
+one a new work, with guns mounted _en barbette_. A frigate, “La Flèche,”
+lay in the harbour, but dismasted; her guns were removed to the works.
+These works were held by 1000 regular troops, 1500 national guards, and
+a large body of Corsicans, making a total of 4000 men under arms.[19]
+
+To attack this formidable force, manning such defences, Nelson could
+only muster 218 marines, 787 troops of the line under orders to serve as
+such, the admiral insisting on having them restored to this service, 66
+men of the Royal Artillery, and 112 Corsican chasseurs, making a total
+of 1183 troops. To these were added 250 sailors. Meanwhile, the English
+general made a _reconnaissance_ in force from San Fiorenzo, and retired
+without attempting to strike a blow, though he had 2000 of the finest
+troops in the world lying idle; declaring that the enterprise was so
+rash that no officer would be justified in undertaking it. He even
+refused to furnish Lord Hood with a single soldier, cannon, or store.
+
+The Admiral replied, that he was most willing to take upon himself the
+whole responsibility, and Nelson, nothing daunted, landed his small
+force on the 9th of April, three miles from the town, and the siege
+operations commenced. Encamping near a high rock, 2500 yards from the
+citadel, and the seamen working hard for several days in throwing up
+works, making roads, and carrying up ammunition, the fire was opened on
+the 12th of the same month. The works of the besiegers were mounted with
+four 13-inch and 10-inch mortars, an 18-inch howitzer, five 24-pounder
+guns, and two 18-pounder carronades. I give these details in order to
+show with what small means the daring enterprise was accomplished.
+
+Lord Hood had sent in a flag of truce, summoning the city to surrender;
+to which M. La Combe St. Michel, the Commissioner of the National
+Convention, replied, “that he had red-hot shot for our ships and
+bayonets for our troops, and when two-thirds of his men were killed, he
+would trust to the generosity of the English.”
+
+The place being now regularly invested, there was heavy firing on both
+sides, “the seamen minding shot,” as Nelson characteristically wrote to
+his wife, “no more than peas.” The besiegers' works were advanced, first
+to 1600 yards, and afterwards to a ridge 900 yards from the citadel; and
+on the 19th of May, thirty-five days after the fire was opened, the
+enemy offered to capitulate. The same evening, while the terms were
+negotiating, the advanced guard of the troops from San Fiorenzo made
+their appearance on the hills above the place, and on the following
+morning the whole army, under the command of General D'Aubant, who had
+succeeded Dundas, arrived just in time to take possession of Bastia.
+
+Nelson had anticipated this, for in a letter to his wife, written
+during the siege, he says, “My only fear is, that the soldiers will
+advance when Bastia is about to surrender, and deprive our handful of
+brave men of part of their glory.”
+
+But the work was already done, and Nelson writes after the surrender of
+the place, “I am all astonishment when I reflect on what we have
+achieved.” A force of 4000 men in strong defences had laid down their
+arms to 1200 soldiers, marines, and British seamen.
+
+The political results of these operations, which for the time numbered
+the Corsicans among the willing subjects of the British crown, will
+claim a short notice on a fitting opportunity. History is not our
+province, but a traveller may be allowed to trace the footsteps of his
+countrymen during their brief occupation of a soil fiercely trodden by
+all the European nations; and, on a standing point between Fiorenzo and
+Bastia, naturally lingers for a moment on a feat of arms memorable among
+our naval exploits in the Mediterranean.
+
+After leaving the chestnut woods, the wildness of the scene increased at
+every step. Our track skirted a forest of ilex spreading far up the base
+of the mountains, and filling the glens below, round the gorges of which
+the path led. The trees were of all ages, from the young growth, with a
+shapely _contour_ of silvery grey foliage, to the gigantic patriarchs of
+the forest, spreading their huge limbs, hoar with lichens, in most
+fantastic and often angular forms, and their boles black and rugged with
+the growth of centuries. Some were rifted by the tempests, and bared
+their scathed and bleached tops to the winds of heaven. Others had
+yielded to the storms or age, and lay prostrate on the ground, charred
+and blackened by the fires which the shepherds in these wilds leave
+recklessly burning. The destruction thus caused to valuable timber
+throughout the island is enormous. Among the ilex were scattered a few
+deciduous oaks, contrasting well in their autumnal tints with their
+evergreen congeners. We thought the colouring was not so rich as that of
+our English oak woods at this season, being of a paler or more tawny
+hue, resembling the maple and sycamore. Precipitous cliffs and insulated
+masses of grey rock broke the outline of the forest, and the charming
+cyclamen still tufted the edge of the path with its delicate flowers,
+nestling among the roots of the gigantic oaks; between the tall trunks
+of which glimpses were occasionally caught of the distant mountain
+peaks.
+
+We had been ascending, generally at a pretty sharp angle, from the time
+we crossed the Bevinco, and had walked about three hours, when, emerging
+from the skirts of the ilex forest, we found ourselves on an elevated
+ridge connected with the vast wastes of which the greater part of the
+east and north-east of the province of Nebbio is composed. The surface
+is bare and stony, with a very scanty herbage among aromatic plants and
+bushes of low growth, consisting principally of the branching cistuses,
+which, however they may enliven these barren heaths by their flowers in
+the earlier part of the year, increased its parched and arid appearance
+now that the leaves hung withered on their stems.
+
+Yet on these barren solitudes the Corsican shepherd spends his listless
+days and watchful nights. He has no fixed habitation, and never sleeps
+under a roof, but when he piles some loose stones against a rock to form
+a hut. Roaming over the boundless waste as the necessity of changing
+the pasturage of his flock requires, he finds his best shelter in the
+skirts of the forest, and his food in the chestnuts, which he
+luxuriously roasts in the embers of his watchfire when he is tired of
+eating them raw. The ground was so undulating that at one view we could
+see a number of these flocks on the distant hill sides; the little black
+sheep in countless numbers dotting the heaths, and the shepherds, in
+their brown _pelone_, either following them as they browsed in scattered
+groups, or perched on strong outline on some rocky pinnacle commanding a
+wide area over which their charge was scattered. Their bleating and the
+tinkling of the sheep-bells were wafted on the breeze, and more than
+once a flock crossed our path, and we had a nearer view of the wild and
+uncouth conductor.
+
+My companion sat down to sketch, while I walked on. This often happened.
+Indeed, his rambles were often discursive, so that I lost sight of him
+for hours together; once in Sardinia, when there was reason to fear his
+having been carried off to the mountains by banditti. Thus, each had his
+separate adventures; on the present occasion I had opened out a new and
+splendid view, and, having retraced my steps to lead him to the spot, he
+related his.
+
+Intent on his sketch, my friend was startled, on raising his head, at
+seeing a wild figure standing at his elbow. Leaning on a staff, its keen
+eyes were intently fixed on him. My friend at once perceived that one of
+the shepherds had crept upon him unawares. A year before, when they all
+carried arms, there would have been nothing in his exterior to
+distinguish him from a bandit, but an ingenuous countenance and a gentle
+demeanour.
+
+The young shepherd seemed much interested in my friend's occupation, the
+object of which, however, he could not comprehend. His face brightened
+with pleasure and surprise on learning that the visitor to his wilds was
+an Englishman. The memory of the red-coats, who came to espouse the
+cause of Corsican liberty, lingers in Corsican traditions, and the
+English are esteemed as their truest friends. It was something new in
+the monotonous existence of the young shepherd to fall in with one of
+that race, though he had not the slightest idea where on the face of the
+earth they lived; still he was intelligent, inquisitive, and hospitable.
+
+“Would the stranger accompany him to his hut?”
+
+“It would give me pleasure, but it is growing late.”
+
+“We are poor, but we could give you milk and cheese. You would be
+welcome.”
+
+“I know it. Like you, I love the forest and the mountain, the shade and
+the sunshine; but yours must be a rough life.”
+
+“It is our lot, and we are content. We toil not, and we love our
+freedom.”
+
+“It is well.”
+
+“I should like some memorial of having met you, anything to show that I
+have talked with an Englishman.”
+
+My friend rapidly dashed off a slight sketch, a rough portrait, I think,
+of his gaunt visitor—no bad subject for the pencil.
+
+“I would rather it had been your own portrait; but I shall keep it in
+remembrance of you.”
+
+And so they parted; the civilised man to tell his little story of human
+feeling and native intelligence, “spending their sweetness in the
+desert air,”—the shepherd to relate his adventure over the watchfire,
+and perhaps draw forth from some sexagenarian herdsman his boyish
+recollections of the fall of San Fiorenzo and Bastia, and the march of
+the English red-coats over the mountains.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XII.
+
+ _Chain of the Serra di Tenda.—A Night at Bigorno.—A Hospitable
+ Priest.—Descent to the Golo._
+
+
+After crossing for some distance an elevated plateau of this wild
+country, we came to a boundary wall of rough boulders, and turned to
+take a last view of the gulf of San Fiorenzo and the blue Mediterranean.
+A heavy gate was swung open, and, on advancing a few hundred yards, the
+scene suddenly changed. We found ourselves on the brink of a steep
+descent, with a sea of mountains before us, branching from the great
+central chain, and having innumerable ramifications. This part of the
+chain is called the Serra di Tenda; and its highest peak the Monte Asto,
+upwards of 5000 feet above the level of the sea, rose directly in front
+of our point of view. A single altar-shaped rock crowned the summit,
+from which the continuation of the ridge, right and left, fell away in a
+singularly graceful outline, the face of the mountain being precipitous
+with escarped cliffs. In other parts of the line, the summits were
+sharply serrated. Northward it was lost in the far distance among clouds
+and mist, but to the south-west of Monte Asto a similar, but more
+blunted peak towered above all the others. I observed on our maps that
+several of the summits in this range have the name of _Monte Rosso_; and
+the centre of the group was indented by a deep gorge richly wooded, as
+were other ravines, and forests hung on some of the mountain sides.
+
+We were struck with the extraordinary warmth of colouring which pervaded
+the surface of the vast panorama, the slopes as well as the precipitous
+cliffs. They had the ruddy hue of the inner coating of the ilex bark,
+with a piece of which we compared it on the spot. Again, I felt
+convinced that this colouring was not merely an atmospheric
+effect,—though doubtless heightened by the bright sunshine through so
+pure a medium as the mountain air—but that the brilliance indicated the
+nature of the formation. Whether it was granitic or porphyritic, I had
+no opportunity of examining, but incline to think it belonged to the
+latter.
+
+Of the general features of the geological system of Corsica, an
+opportunity may occur for taking a short review. Our present position,
+embracing so vast an amphitheatre, was excellent for forming an idea of
+the physical structure of this lateral branch from the central range.
+Various as were its ramifications, appearing sometimes grouped in wild
+confusion, the general unity of the whole formation, both in colour and
+form, was very observable, from the loftiest peak to the offsets of the
+ridge which gradually descended to the level of the valleys, just as the
+peculiar character of a tree runs through its trunk and boughs to the
+minutest twig. Through a gorge to the northward we traced the pass, the
+Col di Tenda, the summit being 4500 feet, through which a road is
+conducted to Calvi and l'Isle Rousse, on the western coast; while
+immediately under us lay the valley through which the Golo, rising in
+the central chain, makes its long and winding course to the _littorale_,
+eastward.
+
+The bason, on which we now looked down, was distinguished by the same
+features as that of Oletta,—gentle hills, wooded slopes and glens, and
+olive groves, vineyards, and orchards, in almost equally exuberant
+richness. A dozen villages were within view, crowning, as usual, the
+tops of the hills, or perched far up the mountain sides. Of these, Lento
+and Bigorno are the most considerable, although Campittello gives its
+name to the canton. The strong position of Lento caused it to be often
+contested during the wars for Corsican independence, and it was General
+Paoli's head-quarters before his last and fatal battle.
+
+We selected Bigorno, a small village, as our quarters for the night. The
+descent to it, about 1000 feet from the level of the sheep-walks, is
+extremely rapid; the village itself being still many hundred feet above
+the banks of the Golo, which is seen pouring its white torrent several
+miles distant. The approach was interesting, winding through the
+evergreen copse and scattered ilex, with the sound of the church-bell at
+the _Ave-Maria_ rising from below in the still air as we descended the
+mountain side.
+
+Our quarters here were the best we had yet met with. My companion having
+staid behind to sketch the village, and taken shelter from a shower of
+rain, had been courteously invited by a gentleman, who passed, to accept
+the accommodations of his house for the night, but, in the meantime,
+Antoine had conducted me and the baggage to another house. It belonged
+to a small proprietor, who was profuse in his politeness, but, we
+thought, lacked the really hospitable feeling we had found in houses of
+less pretensions. Curiosity or civility brought about us quite a
+_levée_ of the better class while we were arranging our toilet. The
+supper was execrable, consisting of an _olla podrida_ of ham, potatoes,
+and tomatoes stewed in oil and seasoned with garlick, and the wine and
+grapes were sour. However, we had excellent beds. In my room there was a
+small collection of books, on a dusty shelf, which I should not have
+expected to find in such hands. Among them were some old works of
+theological casuistry, Metastasio, a translation of Voltaire's plays,
+and a geographical dictionary in Italian. I learnt that they had
+belonged to the proprietor's uncle, a _medico_ at Padua, and were
+heirlooms with his property, which our host inherited. The position of
+these small proprietors is much to be pitied. By great penuriousness
+they contrive to make a poor living out of a vineyard and garden with a
+few acres of land, having neither the spirit nor industry, and perhaps
+very little opportunity, to better their condition. There was evidently
+some struggle in the mind of our host between his poverty and
+gentility—added to what was due to the national character for
+hospitality—when we came to proffer some acknowledgment for our
+reception. It was just an occasion when, travelling in this way, one is
+rather puzzled how to act, but we were relieved from our difficulty by
+finding that our offering was received without much scruple.
+
+Next morning, to my great surprise, for I was too sleepy to notice it on
+going to bed, I found a gun standing ready loaded on one side of the
+bed, in curious contrast to the crucifix and holy-water pot on the
+other,—succour close at hand against both spiritual and mortal foes. We
+had walked through the country without any alarm, and concluded that
+the reign of the rifle and stiletto was ended in Corsica. But how came
+the gun to be loaded? was it from inveterate habit even now that
+fire-arms were proscribed, or was Louis Napoleon's decree still eluded?
+
+I shall never forget the view from my chamber windows as I threw open
+the long double casement at six o'clock in the morning. It was my first
+view of Monte Rotondo, the loftiest of the Corsican mountains. A long
+ridge and its crowning peak were capped with snow. The range to the
+eastward was in deep shade, but with a rich amber hue behind them as the
+sun rose. I watched its kindling light as it touched the snowy top of
+Monte Rotondo, and spread a purple light over the sides of the eastern
+ridge. The night mists had not yet risen from the valley of the Golo. We
+hastened to descend towards it, after the usual small cup of _café noir_
+and a piece of bread. The environs of Bigorno on this side are very
+beautiful. Groves of olive with their silvery leaves and green berries
+not yet ripened mingled with vines planted in terraces, the vines
+festooning and running free, as one sees them in Italy. Gardens full of
+peach and fig trees filled all the hollows—a charming scene through
+which the path wound down the hill. Antoine brought us fresh figs from
+one of the gardens—a relish to the dry remains of our crust. Before the
+sun had gained much elevation, it became exceedingly warm on a southern
+exposure; the green lizards darted from crevices in the vineyard walls,
+all nature was alive and fresh, and the air serene, with a most heavenly
+sky.
+
+All this was very delightful. Nothing can be more so than this style of
+travelling in such a country, with a friend of congenial spirit and
+taste. My companion was very well in this respect; but, as I before
+observed, his genius led him to be rather excursive in his rambles, so
+that he was sometimes missing when he was most wanted. Now, we had just
+started on this very agreeable morning walk with the prospect of
+breakfast in due time at the post-house on the banks of the Golo. But,
+instead of our enjoying this together, my friend, by a sudden impulse,
+leaped over a vineyard wall, and saying he should like to take a sketch
+from that point, desired me to saunter on, and he would soon overtake
+me.
+
+ [Illustration: NEAR BIGORNO.]
+
+What with a Pisan campanile, a Corsican manse, festooning vines, a
+cluster of bamboo canes—indicative of the warm south—and the group of
+mountains with the truncated peak in the distance, a very clever sketch
+was produced, though not one of my friend's best;—and I have great
+reason to be obliged to him for his sketches, without which I fear this
+would be a dull book. At that moment, indeed, I would have preferred his
+companionship. However, bating this feeling and a certain hankering for
+my breakfast in the course of a two hours' walk, I trudged on alone in a
+very pleasant frame of mind. Nothing could be more charming than the
+green slopes round which the path wound, with occasional glimpses of the
+Golo beneath,—its rapid stream white as the milky Rhone,—after leaving
+behind the orchards and gardens. The rest of the descent lay through
+evergreen shrubbery so frequently mentioned, and a more exquisite piece
+of _máquis_ I had not seen. Thus sauntering on, sometimes talking with
+Antoine, a species of shrub, which I had not much observed before,
+attracted my particular attention among the arbutus and numerous other
+well-known varieties. It was a bushy evergreen, of shapely growth, five
+or six feet high, with masses of foliage and clusters of bright red
+berries, having an aromatic scent.
+
+“What do you call this shrub, Antoine?” plucking a branch.
+
+“_Lustinea_; the country people express an oil from the berries for use
+in their lamps.”
+
+“Ah! I perceive it is the _Lentiscus_.” In Africa and the isle of Scios
+they make incisions in the stems, from which the gum mastic is procured.
+The Turks chew it to sweeten the breath. It grows also in Provence,
+Italy, and Spain.
+
+Presently, I sat down on a bank, casting anxious glances up the path
+after my friend, and, basking in the sun, finished Antoine's basket of
+figs, which only whetted my appetite, while I was endeavouring to
+indoctrinate Antoine with the persuasion that our countrymen in general
+are neither “_Calvinistes_” nor “_Juives_.” Antoine, who had been asking
+a variety of questions about “_Inghilterra_” and “_Londra_” was not
+better informed on this subject than a great many foreigners I have met
+with in Catholic countries, who, by the former term, class all
+Protestants with the Reformed churches of the Continent. I have often
+had to inform them, to their manifest surprise, that we have bishops,
+priests and deacons, cathedrals, choirs, deans and canons, vestments,
+creeds, liturgies and sacraments, in the English church, and were, in
+short, very like themselves, at least in externals. Matters of faith I
+did not feel inclined to meddle with.
+
+The discussion ended as we struck the level of the valley of the Golo,
+not far from Ponte Nuovo. The heat in this deep valley became
+suffocating, and the dusty high road was an ill exchange for the fresh
+mountain paths. Here, then, I made a decided halt, and this being the
+battle-field on which, in 1769, the French, after a desperate struggle,
+gained a decisive victory over General Paoli and the independent
+Corsicans, I had just engaged Antoine in pointing out the positions of
+the two armies, and tracing the tide of battle which, they say, deluged
+the Golo with blood and corpses for many miles,—when my lost companion
+came rushing down the hill-path among the rustling evergreens.
+
+“You have been waiting long—excuse me; I have had a little adventure.
+That has detained me.”
+
+“Humph!” My friend's sketching propensities often led him into a “little
+adventure,” ending in a story which, I should almost have imagined, he
+coined for a peace-offering, but that I had chapter and verse for the
+main incidents. There was that story of his being kicked off the mule,
+and—only the evening before—his _rencontre_ with the interesting young
+shepherd.
+
+“What now?”
+
+“But you want your breakfast.”
+
+“I should think I do.”
+
+“I have had mine.”
+
+“The deuce you have, you are luckier than I am.”
+
+“Now, my dear old fellow, we will push on to Ponte Nuovo, and you will
+soon get your's. I really am very sorry, but I could not help it.”
+
+“But this is the famous battle-field, you know, and Antoine was just
+going to describe it.”
+
+“That will keep. We will make our _reconnaissance_ after you have had
+your breakfast. As we go along, I will tell you how I got mine.”
+
+The story shall be told as nearly as possible in my friend's own words.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+“After you left me, I sat down to sketch in a little terraced garden,
+shaded by fig-trees and vines. My sketch was nearly finished, and I was
+thinking how I should overtake you, when a bright-eyed young maiden came
+up, and, with the childlike wonder of a race of people living far out of
+the track of sketching tourists, asked me ‘what I was doing.’
+
+“‘Sit down, pretty maiden, and you shall see.’
+
+“She obeyed with a _naïve_ simplicity, and we soon prattled away, she
+telling me that she had never gone beyond the neighbouring villages, and
+could not understand how I should come so far from _Inghilterra_, a
+country she had never heard of, to draw pictures of their wild
+mountains.
+
+“‘Ah! you cannot comprehend how it is that I love your wild mountains,
+and children of nature like yourself.’
+
+“‘Will you come again?’—a question put with a spice of _espièglerie_
+which, from some other pretty lips, would be rather flattering. ‘Yes,
+you will come again, and I shall be grown up.’
+
+“She did not seem, I found, quite pleased at being called ‘_mon enfant_’
+by a young stranger, though it was all very well from her uncle, who, I
+learnt, was the priest of the church in my sketch. Presently, away she
+ran, blushing and smiling, to tell her uncle that there was a traveller
+come from a far-off land who must be hungry, and who must eat and rest
+under their roof.
+
+“The good priest received me with much _empressement_, having been
+brought out to meet me by the little Graziella, as I was following the
+path to the cottage door.
+
+“‘Ah! you are English, you are a Protestant, no doubt. It matters not;
+the stranger is welcome under my humble roof were he a Jew or a Turk. We
+are all brothers.’
+
+“I found the priest well informed on English affairs, into which, and
+matters connected with them, we soon plunged. Meanwhile, Graziella, with
+the assistance of a hard-faced but kindly old crone, prepared a repast
+of fruits, eggs, coffee; and the priest brought out a bottle of wine,
+the produce of his own vineyard, which I have seldom found equalled. It
+was all very appetising. I only wished you were there.”—
+
+“I was just then, curiously enough, indoctrinating Antoine, nothing
+loath, with the priest's sentiment of universal brotherhood, a simple
+Gospel truth, which, overlaid with ecclesiastical systems, never took
+deep root, and is sadly out of vogue now-a-days. I imagine we shall find
+the Sards far more bigoted than their neighbours here.”
+
+“And you were doing your good work, fasting, while I feasted. It was all
+tempting, but I was puzzled how to eat my egg; there were no spoons.”
+
+“Why not ask for one; you were talking French? Had you been attempting
+Italian, you might have stuck fast. _Cucchiaio_ is one of the most
+uncouth words in that beautiful language. Well I remember it being one
+of the first I had to pronounce, when, in early days, I got out of the
+line of French _garçons_: _cuc—cucchi_,—give me our Anglo-Saxon
+monosyllables for such things as spoons, knives, and forks,—at last I
+blurted out _cucchiaio_, in all its quadrosyllabic fulness. The Rubicon
+was passed (by the way, it was on the _carte_ of my route); after that I
+stuck at nothing, though for some time it was the _lingua Toscana—in
+bocca—Inglese_.—But how did you manage your egg?”
+
+“Why, it is good manners, you know, to do at Rome as others do, so I
+watched the priest. He removed the top, as we do, and then very nicely
+sipped the contents of the shell, which—charming Graziella! excellent
+_duenna!_—were done to a turn, just creamy.”
+
+“Ah! I perceive it was suction, a primitive idea, when spoons were not.
+Now I understand the old proverb about not teaching our venerable
+progenitors ‘to suck eggs.’”
+
+“Old fellow, cease your banter, or I shall never get to the end of my
+story. As to the eggs, I did not manage mine as cleverly as the priest
+did his. I made a mess of it, bestowing good part of the yolk on my
+moustache, much to Graziella's amusement. I perceived she could hardly
+refrain from tittering. But she was soon sobered,—the conversation
+turning on the last days of Corsica—and tears came in her eyes. Alas!
+the ruthless spirit of _vendetta_ in this wild country had cost her the
+lives of her father and brothers; and, her mother being dead, she was
+left an orphan under the care of the good priest.”
+
+“‘Uncle, persuade him to stay, if only for another hour. I should like
+to hear more of those countries where there is no _vendetta_; where they
+plough and reap and dwell in safety; where fathers and brothers are not
+compelled to flee from their villages to the wild _máquis_ and the
+mountain crags.’
+
+“‘My pretty child, I cannot stay now. Perhaps some day I may return.’
+
+“‘_Addio!_ then. _Evviva! Evviva!_ In two years I shall be grown up, and
+uncle will no longer call me child, and you shall tell me more of lands
+I shall never see. But ah! I know it will never be. _Bon voyage!_ Forget
+not the priest's home among the mountains of Corsica.’
+
+“I shall not forget it. How often one says hopefully ‘I will come back,’
+when it would be idle ever to expect it; and yet I would wish to see
+once more the little girl who said, ‘Come, if it is but for an hour!’
+
+“I rushed down the mountain side, and found you scorched with a burning
+sun, thirsty, breakfastless,—the very image of the knight of tho woeful
+countenance,—I all joy and fun with my morning's adventure, you
+perplexed, out of patience, hungry, and tired. I cannot help laughing at
+the contrast.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XIII.
+
+ _Ponte Nuovo.—The Battle-field.—Antoine's Story._
+
+
+Half an hour's walk along the high-road brought us to the solitary
+building of which we were in search. Uniting the character of an
+_albergo_ and a fortified post, of which there are several scattered
+throughout the island on commanding spots, the loop-holed walls, with
+projecting angles for a cross-fire, and the barrack round a court
+within, still occupied by a small party of _gendarmes_, were striking
+mementos of the state of insecurity in Corsica, and what travelling was
+at no very distant period. Shut in by the mountains, the air of the
+valley is close and stifling, disease marked the countenances of the few
+inmates, and the barrack-room into which we climbed, with its benches
+and tables, were all miserably dirty. The promise of a dish of fresh
+trout from the Golo was a redeeming feature in the aspect of affairs to
+one who had waited long, and walked far, without his breakfast. But the
+dish reeked as if the Golo ran oil, and the fish were still floating in
+the unctuous stream, spite of my injunctions to the weird priestess of
+the mysteries of the cave beneath—“_Senza olio, senza olio_,” reversing
+the phrase in the Baron de Grimm's story of the Frenchman, who, having
+sacrificed his own _goût_ to his guest's _penchant_ for asparagus _au
+naturel_, on his friend's falling down in a swoon, rushed to the top of
+the staircase, shouting to his cook, “_Tout à l'huile, tout à l'huile_.”
+
+We stood on the bridge of Ponte Nuovo, just beneath the post, the scene
+of the last struggle for Corsican independence; and there Antoine
+pointed out the details. The Corsicans, under Pascal Paoli, having
+occupied the strong position in the Nebbio through which we had been
+rambling for the last few days, the Count de Vaux, the French
+generalissimo, concentrated his forces, amounting to forty-five
+battalions, four regiments of cavalry, and a powerful artillery,
+determined to crush Paoli's brave but ill-organised militia, and finish
+the war by a single blow. The French commenced the attack on the 3rd of
+May, 1769. For two days it was an affair of outposts, but, on the 3rd,
+De Vaux pressed Paoli with such vigour in his fortified camp at Murato,
+that the Corsican general was forced to retire beyond the Golo. He
+established himself in the _pieve_ of Rostino, a few miles above the
+bridge, leaving orders for Gaffori to hold the strong heights of Lento,
+while Grimaldi was to defend Canavaggia,—two points by which the French
+might penetrate into the interior. Bribed by French gold, Grimaldi—“_Ah!
+il traditore!_” exclaimed Antoine,—and Gaffori, unmindful of his
+honourable name, offered no resistance to the advance of the French.
+
+On the 9th of May, the militia left by Paoli to defend the passes into
+the valley, finding themselves unsupported, abandoned their posts and
+fled.
+
+“Down the pass we descended this morning from Bigorno,” said Antoine,
+“through those other gorges you see in the mountains, our people poured
+in wild confusion, closely pursued by the enemy. They thronged to the
+bridge. It was held by a company of Prussians, who had passed from the
+Genoese to the Corsican service; and a thousand Corsican militia lined
+the river bank. If the French carried the bridge, all was lost. The
+Prussians were the only regular troops in Paoli's army. They stood firm
+in their discipline. The fugitives threw themselves upon them, charged
+with the bayonet by the French in the rear. The Prussians had to hold
+their position against friends and foes, indiscriminately, after a vain
+attempt to rally the flying Corsicans. Unfortunately they fired into the
+mass. A cry of ‘Treachery!’ was raised, the panic became general,
+disorder spread throughout the ranks, the enemy profited by it to secure
+their victory; the rout was complete, and the Corsicans scattered
+themselves among the mountains and forests. The Golo was red with blood,
+and the corpses of my countrymen, mingled with their enemies, floated in
+its current for many miles. It was a day of woe, a fatal day!”
+
+The feeling of nationality still lingers in Corsica, though without an
+object, without a hope. Men such as Antoine, the mountaineers, the
+shepherds,—all true-hearted Corsicans treasure up the traditions of
+former times, and, with the scene before his eyes, Antoine traced the
+action of Ponte Nuovo with as lively an enthusiasm, as deep an interest,
+as if it had been an affair of yesterday, in which he had borne a part.
+
+But the vision passed away. Antoine had pressing cares of immediate
+interest, to which he now gave vent. Here we were to part; we had an
+opportunity of forwarding our baggage to Corte by the _voiture_ which
+daily passes Ponte Nuovo, and there was no further need of the services
+of Antoine and his mule. He would gladly have followed our steps to the
+extremity of Corsica—to the end of the world, and we were sorry to part
+from him. Short as our acquaintance was, he had become attached to us.
+Our rambles had brought us into close intimacy, and suited his taste.
+
+We sat down on the river bank, and he unbosomed his mind more freely
+than he had yet done. We learnt, on our first acquaintance, that he had
+left his country and sailed to foreign parts. What forced him to
+emigrate had been inferred from a fearful disclosure to which no
+reference had been since made. Now, on the eve of parting, he told us
+all his story, and opened out his hopes for the future. For reasons into
+which we did not inquire, there seemed to be no apprehensions as to his
+personal safety; but, lamenting the want of means and opportunity for
+bettering his condition at home, his thoughts again reverted to
+emigration. It was the best thing he could do; and, reminding him of the
+success of many of his neighbours from Capo Corso, who sought their
+fortunes in South America, we exhorted him not to indulge the indolence
+natural to his countrymen, but apply himself manfully to an enterprise
+for which he had many qualifications, and heartily wished him success.
+
+The point on which his story turned was, as I suspected, a tale of love,
+jealousy, revenge. He related the catastrophe with more than usual
+feeling, but without any seeming remorse. He was justified by the
+Corsican code of honour. The details, though simple, might be worked up
+into one of those romantic and sentimental tales for which Corsican life
+supplies abundant materials. But neither is that my _rôle_, nor am I
+willing to betray Antoine's confidence. My readers shall have, instead,
+a similar tale—of which, as it happens, a namesake of Antoine is the
+hero—developing the same powerful passions. It is not one of the stock
+stories borrowed from books which one finds repeated in writers on
+Corsica, but, I believe, from the source from which I derived it, an
+original as well as authentic tale. The scene lies at a village in the
+mountains, not far from Ponte Nuovo, our present halting-place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XIV.
+
+ FILIAL DUTY, LOVE, AND REVENGE: A CORSICAN TALE.
+
+
+On a fine spring morning, some thirty years ago, there was an unusual
+stir in a _paese_ standing near the high-road between Bastia and
+Ajaccio. The village, like most others in Corsica, clustered round a
+hill-top, and stood on the skirts of a deep forest, with which the eye
+linked it through intervening groves of spreading chestnut and other
+fruit-trees. It was Sunday; and, after mass, the whole population
+flocked to the market-place, a large open area in front of the _Mairie_,
+to witness one of those trials of skill in shooting at a mark, formerly
+common in Corsica as well as in Switzerland.
+
+Above the roof of the _Mairie_ sprung a grim tower, serving at once for
+a prison, in which criminals were confined, and for the barracks of the
+_gendarmerie_ stationed in that wild district. On the present occasion
+the target was set up at the foot of this tower, and all the young men
+of the village were, in turn, making a trial of skill with their long
+guns, while the old peasants stood near giving advice, and the village
+girls, ranged in _costume de fête_ round the palisades inclosing the
+place, rewarded the most successful of the competitors with smiles and
+glances of encouragement.
+
+The contest had lasted for some time, and many shots were fired without
+the mark—fixed at the distance of about 300 paces—having been hit, when
+a young man, armed with a short Tyrolese rifle, came up to the barrier.
+He was dressed after the fashion of his fathers, but with great
+neatness. Short breeches of green velvet descended to the knees, and the
+calves of his legs were encased in deer-skin gaiters fastened by metal
+buttons. A broad belt of red leather girded his loins. It concealed a
+small pouch of cartridges, but the hilt of a strong dagger peeped from
+underneath the belt. His open shirt exposed to view a manly breast. He
+wore a sort of jacket of the same stuff as the breeches, but faced with
+crimson, and garnished, after the Spanish fashion, with a number of
+small silver studs. A high-crowned hat of black felt was cocked jantily
+on one side of his head, and a medallion of the _Madre dei Dolori_ stuck
+in the band, completed the picturesque costume of the Corsican peasant.
+
+The young man, on his arrival, received a cordial welcome from all the
+competitors for the honours of the day, and, among the village maidens,
+many a bright eye beamed with a tender but modest delight on his manly
+form, shown to advantage in the national costume. Still he gave no sign
+of an intention to take any part in the sport for which they were
+assembled.
+
+In consequence, after a short interval, during which the firing had
+ceased, an old villager thus addressed him:—
+
+“How is it, Antonio, that you, the best marksman in the village, have
+joined us so late? The sport flags; let us have one of your true,
+unerring shots.”
+
+“Excuse me, father Joachimo, I am in no humour to-day to partake in the
+gaiety of my friends.”
+
+Pressed, however, by repeated entreaties, the young man at last
+yielded, and, advancing to the barrier, and unloosing his rifle from the
+slings, took a cartridge from his pouch, and proceeded to charge his
+piece with much deliberation. While doing this, his eyes were fixed on a
+crevice in the tower, from which was hanging a little iron cage
+containing the mouldering remains of a human skull. At this spectacle
+his countenance changed from its usual ruddy hue to a mortal paleness,
+and tears were seen to fill his eyes.
+
+Having charged his rifle, Antonio took his position in the attitude of
+firing; but, it was remarked, that in taking aim, he levelled the barrel
+higher than the mark at the foot of the tower. A moment of solemn
+silence was followed by a flash, a sharp crack,—and the whizzing bullet
+struck the skull in the cage. The shock brought both to the ground, and,
+at the same instant, the young man, quick as thought, leaped over the
+palisades, and, gathering up the fragments of skull, quickly
+disappeared. The spectators of this strange scene asked each other what
+it meant; and, in the midst of the hubbub, Joachimo, the old peasant who
+had invited Antonio to try his skill in the feat of arms, raised his
+voice to satisfy their curiosity.
+
+“My children,” he said, “Corsican blood has not degenerated; of this you
+have witnessed a striking proof in the act of Antonio. The skull, which
+hung on the tower wall, was that of a man unjustly condemned to death,
+of a man whose only crime was, his having taken vengeance with his own
+hand for the insult offered his wife by an inhabitant of the continent.
+The skull was that of Antonio's father; and a son, a true Corsican,
+could not submit to having his father's remains dishonoured. This day he
+has wiped out the ignominy,—henceforth Antonio is an outlaw, proscribed
+by the men of law, by the French; but we Corsicans shall ever esteem him
+a man of honour and of courage.”
+
+The crowd then dispersed, full of admiration for the brave Antonio, and
+the event of the morning became the theme of the evening's conversation
+in all the families of the neighbourhood.
+
+Meanwhile Antonio, having gained the forest, rapidly threaded its
+tangled paths for nearly an hour. He then stopped in one of its deepest
+recesses, and, having keenly reconnoitred every avenue of approach,
+threw himself weary at the foot of a tree, and opening the handkerchief
+in which he had wrapped his father's skull, gave vent to a flood of
+tears.
+
+“Oh, my father!” he said, “my father! why could I not take vengeance on
+the authors of your death? why could I not avenge myself on the
+descendants of the base Frenchman who insulted my mother? why could I
+not wash out, in their blood, the shame that has fallen on our family,
+and embittered our existence?”
+
+At the thought of vengeance the eyes of the young islander flashed fire,
+his tears dried up, and that heart, just now so open to tender emotions,
+would have prompted him to plunge his dagger in the bosom of those who
+were the cause of his misery.
+
+Again, the fit changed; for, in the midst of this storm of passion, a
+name quivered on his lips, like the star seen in the drifting clouds
+when the tempest is raging.
+
+“Madaléna!” he cried, “all is now finished between us;—Antonio is a
+bandit.”
+
+Then, exercising a strong power over himself, he passed his hand over
+his forehead, as if to drive evil thoughts from his brain, and,
+unsheathing his strong dagger, dug a hole at the foot of the oak, in
+which he deposited his precious burthen. A cross, carved by his dagger
+on the trunk of the tree, served for a memorial of his father's
+fate:—ah! what thoughts, what sorrows, did that cross recall to his
+mind!—and, after a short prayer, he hastened from the spot which had
+witnessed his last act of filial duty.
+
+Wretched Antonio! a solitary outcast, abandoned by all, what refuge was
+left for you but the forest and the _máquis_?—what protector, but your
+good rifle—what hope, but in the grave! Nay, another passion, another
+image, was deeply graven on his heart! Love—that divine passion, which
+ennobles a man, which gives him courage, which fills him with
+heroism—afforded him strength to survive so many calamities.
+
+Some days after these occurrences, a young maiden crept stealthily at
+early dawn from among the houses in the village of Allari, fifteen
+leagues distant from Bastia, and gained unseen the _purlieus_ of the
+neighbouring wood before any of the villagers were abroad. The maiden's
+age was about eighteen years; her step was light, her form slender and
+graceful; health sparkled in her dark eyes; her enterprise lent a
+ruddier hue to her olive skin, and a profusion of raven-black tresses
+floated on her shoulders, as she brushed through the evergreen shrubbery
+on the verge of the wood, where, concealed in the hollow of an aged
+chestnut tree, a young man had been waiting her arrival for upwards of
+an hour. This young man was Antonio, the maiden Madaléna.
+
+On perceiving her approach, Antonio hastened to quit his hiding place,
+and came to meet her.
+
+“How kind you are, Madaléna,” he said: “you, so rich, so young, so
+beautiful—to expose yourself for me to the cold morning air; to brave,
+perhaps, the anger of your parents, for one of whom you know so little.
+
+“It is true that you told me once that you loved me; and love knows no
+obstacles, and makes nothing of distances. But I must not abuse your
+confidence. Madaléna, my bosom labours with a secret which I have too
+long preserved. I have done wrong; I have deceived you. I feared, I
+dreaded, that in disclosing it to you, I should forfeit your love, your
+esteem; that you would avoid me as the world does a man to whom society
+gives an ill name. Yes, Madaléna, you have to learn—Madaléna, hitherto I
+have not had the courage to tell it to you—learn that I am a....”
+
+Antonio shrunk from giving utterance to a word which would probably
+crush all his hopes, and break the last tie which held him to the world.
+So, changing his purpose, he continued in an altered tone:—
+
+“Why should I embitter the moments which ought to be given to love? Is
+it not true, Madaléna, that you love me for myself? Ah! tell me that you
+love me, for there is great need that I should hear it from your own
+lips, and without this love I should be wretched indeed. Tell me that
+you do not want to know my past; that you love me because our hearts
+understand each other; because our two souls, breathed into us by the
+Author of our existence, were formed to love each other for ever.”
+
+Madaléna, perceiving the feebleness of her lover, took his hand, and
+fixing on him an eager gaze, made him sit by her side. On touching that
+much-loved hand, the young man started, and a sudden shivering ran
+through his veins. The maiden perceived it, and a gleam of
+satisfaction, and almost coquetry, sparkled in her eyes. Poor woman's
+heart! Even in the most solemn moments she is always a coquette. Such is
+her nature.
+
+“Antonio,” she said, “you vow that you love me; why then hesitate to
+confide to me your secrets, your sorrows? Am I not some day to be your
+wife? I have sworn it before God and my mother, and I shall be. Why then
+do you defer telling me the cause of your long sufferings. I have long
+perceived that your heart is oppressed by some secret thought. Can it be
+that you are in love with another, Antonio? Tell me if it is so; you
+shall have my forgiveness, and I will say to the woman who is the choice
+of your heart, ‘Love him, for he is worthy of it!’ And if it were
+required that I should shed my blood for your happiness, I would not
+hesitate a single moment to make the sacrifice.”
+
+“Oh no, no, Madaléna, think not so! Do you suppose me capable of
+betraying you, of casting you off? I, who love you with a perfect love,
+a love as pure as that which makes the bliss of angels,—with which a
+child loves its mother? For one fond look from you I would brave the
+fury of men—of men and the elements. Drive this suspicion from your
+heart, and God grant that, when you have learnt my secret, you may
+continue to entertain the same sentiments towards me.”
+
+Thus speaking, Antonio drew near to the maiden, and, hiding his face in
+her hands, whispered in her ear:—
+
+“Madaléna, Madaléna, I am—a bandit.”
+
+The young girl shrieked with terror, and fainted in his arms. Antonio
+laid her on the grass, and, having sprinkled her face with the fresh
+morning dew, knelt by her side. Presently, Madaléna opened her eyes, and
+seeing Antonio kneeling, and still holding her hand, roused herself
+with a sudden effort, and, casting on him a look of mingled horror and
+scorn, said to him,—
+
+“Leave me, Antonio, you make me shudder, your hands are stained with the
+blood of the innocent.”
+
+Antonio, crazed with love, crawled to her feet and wept; but having,
+after much difficulty, prevailed with her to hear him, he related to her
+the story of the skull, the only crime for which he was a bandit. After
+this explanation, Madaléna seemed to be reassured, and her lover awaited
+his final sentence from her lips in breathless suspense. The maiden's
+heart was touched by his tale, and observing him with an air of less
+severity, she said:—
+
+“I am satisfied that you speak the truth; but I have a mother and
+father, and I think, that after this disclosure, I could never become
+your wife without abandoning them for ever. At this moment I am too much
+agitated to come to any decision; return to morrow, and you shall know
+my final resolve. Meanwhile, rest assured that I pity and love you
+still, considering you more unfortunate than guilty, and that I will
+either be your wife, or the wife of no other man.”
+
+Thus saying, she hastened from the spot.
+
+Antonio saw her depart without having the courage to address to her
+another word. That man so brave, who knew no fear, recoiled from no
+danger, wept like a child. A sad presentiment told him that it was his
+last meeting with Madaléna, though her concluding promise tended in some
+degree to reassure him.
+
+Madaléna shut herself up in her chamber and shed floods of tears—tears
+not of love, but of shame. For her—the daughter of a wealthy citizen of
+Ajaccio, brought up in the manners, and tinctured with the prejudices
+of the continent, who knew nothing of the world but its empty phantoms,
+nor of love but its coquetry—it was disgrace to love and be loved by the
+son of a bandit, by one who was himself a bandit.
+
+From that day Madaléna never returned to the wood. Every morning the
+unhappy Antonio retraced his steps to the place of meeting, but only to
+have his hopes crushed. He was forgotten, perhaps scorned. Love, the
+sentiment of the heart, had yielded to the influence of the frivolous
+ideas of society, the conventional maxims of the world. This young
+maiden had not the courage to affirm in the face of all, “I love
+Antonio, because he is not guilty of any crime; I love him because he
+has avenged his father, because he is a true son of Corsica.” But she
+had not the spirit, the strength of mind, to say this. The Corsican
+blood had degenerated in her veins, or she would have felt that it was
+no crime for Antonio to achieve the removal from public view of the
+horrid spectacle which was a continual witness of shame and
+ignominy,—exposed by a relic of barbarism, called law, to the gaze and
+scorn of all who passed along the streets,—that no stain rested on the
+memory of Antonio's father, because, as a husband and a father, he had
+avenged the honour of his wife and his children.
+
+A year after these events, the whole population of the village of Allari
+was again astir. Its only bell clanged incessantly, and gay troops of
+both sexes, in holiday dress, flocked through the streets in the
+direction of the _Mairie_. It was a bright morning of the month of
+April; joy floated in the air, and pleasure sparkled in every eye.
+Presently, a nuptial procession was formed, and took its way towards
+the church. All eyes rested on the bride and bridegroom; they did not
+wear the Corsican dress, but adopted French fashions. Everything about
+them betokened wealth, and an affectation of continental manners.
+
+As soon as the procession had entered the church, the streets became
+deserted; but a young man, who from an early hour had concealed himself
+in the cemetery, now glided round the church, casting anxious glances on
+every side, as if apprehensive of being discovered. His clothes, torn to
+tatters, his unshorn beard and long, dishevelled, hair, blood-shot eyes,
+and haggard countenance, betokened the extremity of anguish and want.
+His feet were naked, and he carried in his hand a short rifle.
+
+Arrived at the church door, and having glanced within, he paused for a
+moment, leaning against the pillar. The nuptial ceremony had reached the
+point where the minister of God, after pronouncing the mystic words,
+demands of the betrothed their assent to the marriage union; when, just
+as the bride was in the act of uttering the word which binds for ever
+the destinies of both, the barrel of the rifle, held by the man
+stationed at the door, was levelled, and the _fiancée_ fell, pierced in
+the breast with a mortal wound. The man, who fired, threw down his
+rifle, and, dashing into the church like one demented, took the dying
+woman in his arms, and cried,—
+
+“Madaléna, you broke your troth to me; you rendered me desperate; we die
+together!”
+
+And, unsheathing his dagger, he plunged it several times into his
+breast, falling on the dying woman, who opened her eyes, and,
+recognising her lover, expired with the name of “Antonio” on her lips.
+
+Her betrothed was conveyed away by his relations, and the recollection
+of this terrible scene disturbed for a long while the tranquillity of
+the village. The church in which it took place was, after the
+catastrophe, stripped of all its sacred ornaments, and left to decay.
+Its ruins may still be seen on a point of rising ground, and, if an
+inquiring traveller takes a turn behind the church, he will find in the
+cemetery, on the spot where Antonio was concealed, a grave-stone
+inscribed with the names of Madaléna and Antonio, surmounted by a rude
+representation of a rifle and a dagger.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XV.
+
+ _Morosaglia, Seat of the Paolis.—Higher Valley of the
+ Golo.—Orography of Corsica.—Its Geology._
+
+
+On crossing to the right bank of the Golo at _Ponte Nuovo_, we enter the
+canton of Morosaglia, the former _piève_ of Rostino, and the home of the
+Paoli family. The canton takes its present name from a Franciscan
+convent, still standing, and part of it used as an elementary school,
+founded by the will of Pascal Paoli.
+
+It is about two hours' walk from Ponte Nuovo to the hamlet in which the
+Paolis were born. The house is one of those gaunt, misshapen, rude
+structures, built of rough stones, and blackened by age, which one sees
+everywhere in the mountain villages; without even glass to the windows.
+Standing on the craggy summit of an insulated rock, the access to it is
+by a rough wooden staircase. Here Pascal Paoli resided, as a simple
+citizen, after the manner of his fathers, polished as his manners were,
+and highly as he was accomplished, after he had attained to almost
+sovereign power. The rooms are so small that he transacted public
+business in the neighbouring convent of Morosaglia.
+
+There also his brother, Clemente Paoli, had a cell to which he often
+retired. His was a singular character. Of a saturnine cast of
+disposition, he seldom spoke to those by whom he was surrounded; a great
+part of his time was spent in religious observances, and in the practice
+of the most rigid austerities. In short, he was the monk when at home,
+and the most intrepid warrior when engaged with the enemy of his
+country. The sanctity of his private life procured him singular
+veneration, and his presence in battle produced a wonderful effect on
+the patriots. Even when pulling the trigger to destroy his enemy, he is
+said to have prayed for the soul of his falling antagonist.[20] After
+the fatal field of Ponte Nuovo, declining to follow his brother to
+England, he spent twenty years in prayer and penance in the Benedictine
+Abbey of Vallombrosa, that shady and sequestered retreat in the heart of
+the Apennines, returning to his native Corsica only to die. Such was
+Clemente Paoli. Of his brother Pasquale, a fitting place for some more
+extended notice will be found at Corte, the seat of his island throne.
+
+The country on the right bank of the river is rugged; rude _paése_ crown
+the heights, and the hollows are shrouded in magnificent chestnut woods.
+The mountains seen from beyond Bigorno shut in the valley of the Golo so
+closely in some places, that it is a mere defile giving passage to the
+river and the road. The river is a torrent, and the valley is ascended
+at a sharp angle. At _Ponte à la Leccia_, we recrossed to the left bank
+of the river; the valley expanded, and there was much cultivated land,
+though the soil was poor. Rounded hills in the foreground were backed by
+a serrated range of mountains, Monte Rotondo being just visible.
+
+Approaching now, through the high valleys, the central region of the
+mountain system of Corsica, this may be a proper place for a brief
+survey of the main features in its orography and geological structure.
+We have hitherto spoken of a central chain and its ramifications in a
+loose manner; but it would be desirable to convey more precise ideas of
+the structure of this mountain island; and, as the system happens to be
+very simple and intelligible, it affords an example, on a small scale,
+which may give the unscientific reader a general idea of the nature of
+grander operations. Having traversed the island from north to south, and
+from east to west, not without an eye to its general structure and
+composition, though making no pretensions to exact scientific knowledge,
+I may be able to furnish a not unfaithful digest of the observations of
+the foreign geologists _Elie de Beaumont_, _Raynaud_, _Gueymard_ and
+others, as I find them quoted in Marmocchi's work.
+
+
+OROGRAPHY OF CORSICA.
+
+At first sight, Corsica presents the aspect of a chaos of mountains
+piled one on another, with their escarped sides rising from the sea to
+great elevations; but on a closer examination, and with the assistance
+of an accurate map, it is soon perceived that these mountains,
+apparently heaped up in wild confusion, are distinctly arranged in three
+principal directions,—from north-east to south-west, from north-west to
+south-east, and from north to south.
+
+The point which forms the main link of the whole system lies high, near
+the snowy sources of the Golo. This elevated part of the island, with
+the districts immediately surrounding it,—an Alpine and forest region
+in which the principal rivers and streams take their rise,—this region
+so sublime in its vast solitudes, so poetic, so savagely wild, so
+picturesque,—may be called the Switzerland of Corsica.
+
+From this central link two great chains, forming, so to speak, the
+backbone of the island, diverge in opposite directions. One section,
+tending to the south-east, traverses the centre of the island, where the
+Monte Rotondo and Monte d'Oro lift to the skies their ever snowy peaks,
+and terminates at the Monte Incudine. This high chain throws out its
+longest branches to the south-west, each of them forming at its
+extremity a lofty promontory washed by the Mediterranean, and the
+successive ridges inclosing delightful and fertile valleys.
+
+The other section of the central chain describes a curved line to the
+north-north-east, as far as Monte Grosso; and, over the Bevinco, links
+itself with the system of Capo Corso by the offsets of Monte Antonio and
+San Leonardo, by which latter _col_ we crossed the ridge on the evening
+of our landing in Corsica. The spurs from this second chain take, in
+general, a north-west direction towards the sea. Less considerable than
+those connected with the first, they inclose narrower valleys, and form
+promontories less _saillants_, and of inferior elevation on the western
+coast.
+
+The mountains of Capo Corso, extending in a chain nearly north and
+south, at a short distance from the east coast, form the third
+orographic division of the island; this chain, as observed in a former
+chapter, being cut by deep valleys of short extent, the channels of
+torrents discharging themselves into the Tuscan Sea.
+
+Between this long chain, extending from Monte Antonio to Monte
+Incudine, and the tortuous ranges detached obliquely from it, lies a
+central area equal in surface to a fifth part of the whole island of
+which it forms the heart—the interior. The general inclination of this
+area, with the openings of the valleys, tends to the east. It does not
+form one single bason, but, intersected as it is in various directions
+by secondary ranges, and by mountains linking the principal chain, its
+_contour_ is composed of a series of deep and generally narrow valleys,
+rising one above the other. The grandest as well as the most elevated of
+these basons is that of the _Niolo_, the citadel of Corsica.
+
+These lofty mountain chains, with the numerous ramifications detached
+from them, and extending in all directions, render the communications
+between one place and another, between the coasts on opposite sides of
+the island, extremely difficult. The passage from the western to the
+eastern shore can only be effected by climbing to great elevations,
+through long and narrow gorges, through deep ravines of savage aspect,
+and covered with dense forests. The Corsicans give a lively idea of some
+of these toilsome paths by calling them _scale_,—ladders,
+staircases;—and such, indeed, they are, the steps, often prolonged for
+miles, being partly the work of Nature, partly cut in the rock by the
+hand of man.
+
+
+GEOLOGY OF CORSICA.
+
+In the present state of science there can be no difficulty in ascribing
+the origin of the three great lines of the Corsican mountains, to which
+all the others are subordinate, to three vast upheavings of the soil in
+the direction they take. The order of these elevations above the
+surface of the ancient sea thrice repeated in the long series of past
+ages, giving the first existence to the island, and by successive
+conglomerations shaping its present bold and irregular profile, may be
+also distinctly traced.
+
+The masses first raised to the surface of the sea, supposed to be of
+igneous origin, lifted by the intense action of fire or subterranean
+heat from vast depths, and called by English geologists “Plutonic
+rocks,” as differing from “Volcanic,”—these masses constitute nearly the
+whole south-western coast of Corsica, one half of the whole island.
+
+If an ideal line be drawn diagonally from a point so far north-west as
+Cape _Revellata_, near Calvi, to the point of _Araso_, far down the
+south-east coast near Porto Vecchio, this primary eruption may be traced
+in the several ranges, perpendicular to the ideal line and parallel with
+each other, which descending to the sea in the direction of from
+north-east to south-west, terminate in the principal promontories on the
+western coast, and form the numerous valleys which appear in succession
+from the Straits of Bonifacio to the Gulf of Porto.
+
+Thus at the earliest epoch the principal axis of the island had its
+direction from the north-west to the south-east. The Capo Corso of those
+times lifted its head above the Sea of Calvi, and who can say how far
+the island extended at the opposite extremity? All we know is, that the
+group of rocky islets called the _Isole Cerbicale_, south-west of Porto
+Vecchio, with the _Isola du Cavallo_, and that _Di Lavazzi_ off the
+coast at Bonifacio; and again, the islets _Die Razzoli_ and _Budelli_ on
+the opposite side of the Straits, with the larger islands of _La
+Madaléna_ and _Caprera_, all of a similar formation with the primary
+Corsican range,—like detached fragments of some vast ruined
+structure,—appear to form the links of a chain which united Corsica with
+the mountain system of the north-eastern portion of the island of
+Sardinia.
+
+These primitive masses are almost entirely granitic; and thus, at the
+epoch of its first emergence from the waters of the Mediterranean, no
+spark of animal or vegetable life existed in the new island.
+
+So also one half of the masses raised by the _second_ upheaval, having
+the same general direction, are granitic. But, as we advance towards the
+north-east, the granites insensibly resolve themselves into _ophiolitic_
+rocks,—a name given by French geologists to certain volcanic eruptions
+of the cretaceous era,—which are also found in the Morea.[21] There are
+but few traces remaining of this second upheaval, which evidently laid
+in ruins great part of the northern extremity of the former one, cutting
+it at right angles to the east of the Gulf of Porto. This line, ranging
+from the south-west to the north-east into the heart of the _Nebbio_, is
+broken up and destroyed through nearly its whole length.
+
+The disorder and ruin of these several points of the original system,
+and the almost total destruction of its northern part, were undoubtedly
+caused by the _third_ and last upheaval which gave the island the form
+it presents at the present day. Its direction was from north to south,
+and so long as the mass then raised did not come in contact with the
+land created by former upheavals, it preserved its regular line, as we
+find in the mountain-chain of Capo Corso. But when, on emerging above
+the surface of the sea, this mass had to overcome at its southern
+extremity the resistance of the primary rocks upheaved long before, and
+now become hard and consolidated,—in that terrible shock, on the one
+hand, it changed, crushed, or ruined all that obstructed its progress,
+while, on the other, it varied its own direction and was itself broken
+up in many places, as appears from the openings of the valleys
+communicating from the interior with the plains of the eastern littoral
+and giving a passage to the torrents which fall into the sea on this
+coast,—the Bevinco, the Golo, the Tavignano, the Fiumorbo.
+
+The fundamental rocks brought up by this third and last upheaval are
+ophiolitic, and metamorphic, or primary, limestone, overlaid in some
+places by secondary formations. “The granites on the west, as well as
+the south, of the island include some beds of _gneiss_ and _schistes_ at
+their extremities.”—(_Gueymard_). Almost everywhere the granite is
+covered—an evident proof that the epoch of its eruption preceded that
+when the deposits were formed in the depths of the sea, and deposited in
+horizontal strata on the crystalline masses of the granite.
+
+Masses of euritic and porphyritic rocks intersect the granites, and a
+distinct formation of porphyries crowns Monte Cinto, Vagliorba, and
+Pertusato, the highest summits of the _Niolo_, covering the granite.
+These porphyries are pierced by greenstone two or three feet thick, and
+the granites are intersected by numerous veins of amphibolite
+(hornblende) and greenstone, generally running from east to west.
+
+Transition rocks, as they are called, occupy the whole of Capo Corso and
+the east of the island. They consist of talcose-schiste, bluish-grey
+limestone, talc in beds, serpentine, black marble similar to the oldest
+in the Alps, quartz, feldspar, and porphyries.
+
+The tertiary strata are only found at certain points in isolated
+fragments. One of these occupies the bottom of the Gulf of San Fiorenzo
+and part of its eastern shore. There the beds rest with a strong
+inclination against the lower declivities of the chain of Capo Corso,
+rising from upwards of 600 to 900 feet above the level of the
+Mediterranean,—a distinct proof that their formation at the bottom of
+the sea was anterior to the upheaval of that chain, and of the whole
+system of mountains having their direction north and south.
+
+In the deep escarped valleys between San Fiorenzo and the tower of
+_Farinole_, the tertiary deposits are seen in successive layers forming
+beds which in some places are in the aggregate from 400 to 500 feet
+thick, and the calcareous beds contain great quantities of fossil
+remains of marine animals of low organisation, such as sea-urchins,
+pectens, and other shells; forming a compact mass, of which the greater
+part of the formation consists. The singular phenomenon of the presence
+of rounded boulders of euritic porphyry, resembling that of the _Niolo_,
+embedded in these strata, proves to a certainty that at an epoch
+anterior to the upheaval of the system running north and south, and of
+the mountains of _La Tenda_ depending on it, the high valleys of the
+present bason of the Golo, and especially that of the Golo, were
+prolonged to the sea.
+
+A _second_ tertiary deposit exists near _Volpajola_, on the left bank of
+the Golo, nearly eight miles from the eastern coast. The beds lying
+horizontally are full of shells.
+
+We find a third fragment of a tertiary formation on the part of the
+_littorale_ stretching from the mouth of the Alistro to that of the
+Fiumorbo, in the middle of which stood the ancient city of Aleria. In
+some places these beds have been lifted without any sensible alteration
+of their original form of deposit in horizontal strata, and throughout
+they bear a close resemblance to the tertiary formation of San Fiorenzo.
+
+A _fourth_, and more striking, example of the same formation is
+exhibited at the southern extremity of the island. There we find an
+horizontal _plateau_ from 200 to 300 feet high between the Gulf of
+Sta-Manza and Bonifacio. The promontory on which that town and fortress
+stands, and the whole adjoining coast along the straits, present exactly
+the same appearances as the white chalk cliffs of Dover; and at the
+_Cala di Canetta_ these calcareous rocks rise _à pic_ over the sea 150
+and 200 feet. There is a perfect analogy between this formation and
+those of San Fiorenzo and the Fiumorbo already mentioned. Only, this
+last contains a much greater variety of fossil remains, both animal and
+vegetable, consisting of lignites, oyster-shells, large pectens,
+operculites, and fragments of sea-urchins, polypi, &c. We shall have an
+opportunity of mentioning hereafter the curious caverns worn in the soft
+calcareous rock by the force of the waves lashing this coast with so
+much violence in the storms to which the Straits of Bonifacio are
+exposed.
+
+Coming now to the alluvial deposits, we find them extending over the
+great plains on the eastern coast of the island, the _littorale_
+mentioned in an early chapter of this work. The plain of Biguglia, for
+instance, was formed by one of those vast inundations which have
+received the name of diluvial currents, and swept away a great number
+of species of animals. In fact, we find traces of one of these
+inundations in a breccia formed of the fossil bones of animals in the
+hills near Bastia. Among these fossil bones Cuvier has remarked the head
+of a _lagomys_, a little hare without any tail,—a species still existing
+in Siberia.[22] It would too much lengthen these remarks were we to
+enter on an inquiry into the age and character of these osseous breccia,
+but the curious reader is referred to Lyell's “Elements”[23] for some
+interesting observations on fossil mammalia found in alluvial deposits
+alternating with breccia. We are not aware, however, that the hills near
+Bastia are connected with volcanic action as those of Auvergne, to which
+Mr. Lyell refers.
+
+Indeed, in concluding this notice of Corsican geology, we have only to
+remark that, although Corsica has no existing volcanoes, it would
+appear, from fragments preserved in the cabinets of Natural History,
+that, here and there, a few rare traces of extinct volcanoes of very
+ancient date have been discovered, in the neighbourhood of Porto
+Vecchio, Aleria, Cape Balistro, in the Gulf of Sta Manza, and some other
+places.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XVI.
+
+ _Approach to Corte.—Our “Man of the Woods.”—Casa Paoli.—The
+ Gaffori.—Citadel.—An Evening Stroll._
+
+
+At Ponte Francardo we left the valley of the Golo, and followed up a
+stream tributary to it, among hills and woods; being now on the
+outskirts of one of the great forest districts of Corsica.
+
+When mounting the last hill in the approach to Corte we were joined by
+an inhabitant of the town, who at first seemed disposed to amuse himself
+at our expense. He was surprised, as we afterwards found, at meeting two
+foreigners of somewhat rough exterior, without baggage or attendance,
+engaged on rather a forlorn enterprise. He told us that not very long
+before he had met an Englishman under similar circumstances, and related
+some ridiculous stories respecting him. But as I do not believe that any
+of our countrymen have been recently tourists in Corsica, I am disposed
+to think that the person he made his butt was a German traveller,—a
+mistake we have often found occurring in our own case in remote parts of
+the Continent. We got, however, into conversation, and it turning on
+forests,—a subject on which we happened to be rather at home,—finding us
+to be practical people, and, much as we admired his wild country, not
+inclined to over-indulgence in sentiment and romance, he altered his
+tone, and even went into the opposite extreme of supposing that our
+journey was connected with a speculation in timber. That being his
+hobby, we soon became great friends. He informed us that he possessed
+some large tracts of forest, which he should be happy to show us, and
+our “man of the woods” not only performed his promise, but, being a
+person of considerable intelligence, gave us much valuable information,
+and rendered us many services during our stay in Corte.
+
+ [Illustration: CORTE.]
+
+The approach to Corte on this side is sufficiently striking, though not
+so picturesque as from the point of view on the road to Ajaccio, from
+which my friend's sketch, lithographed for this work, was taken. After
+winding up along a steep ascent, the town suddenly burst on our sight
+from the summit of the ridge. Its position is admirable. Seated nearly
+in the centre of the island, in the heart of the elevated _plateau_
+described in the preceding chapter, and surrounded by lofty mountains,
+the passes of which admit of being easily defended, with a bold
+insulated rock for the base of its almost impregnable fortress, the
+houses of the town clustering round it, and, beneath, a valley of
+exuberant fertility, watered by two rivers, having their confluence just
+above, it seems formed to be the capital of an island-kingdom, of a
+nation of mountaineers. Such it was under the government of Pascal
+Paoli, and during the earlier period of the English occupation.
+
+We entered the town by the Corso, its modern _boulevard_,—a long avenue
+planted with trees. This and a suburb beyond the castle, built down the
+slope of the hill towards the bridge over the Tavignano, are the only
+regular streets in the place. Roomy and well-furnished apartments were
+found at the Hotel Paoli on the Corso, where we met with most kind
+treatment and excellent fare. My notes mention the mutton and trout as
+being of superior flavour, and a very good red wine of the country. The
+_confitures_—of which an _armoire_ in the _salle à manger_ contained
+great store, the pride of our hostess, and the perfection of her
+art—were delicious, especially one composed of slices of pear and other
+fruits, larded with walnuts, and preserved in a syrup of rich
+grape-juice. The coffee, of course, was excellent. Tea we found nowhere,
+except from our own packets, and made, much to the general amusement, in
+the coffee-pot we improvised at Bastia.
+
+True to his appointment, our “man of the woods” called upon us after we
+had dined, and accompanied us to the principal _café_. It was noisy and
+disorderly, and we soon adjourned to the hotel and spent the evening in
+very interesting conversation. An excursion to his forest was arranged.
+He told us that it abounded in game; but it was mortifying to find that
+it was out of his power to afford us any sport, the prohibition to carry
+fire-arms being so rigorously enforced that no relaxation was allowed in
+favour of anyone. So the _chasse_ was deferred till we landed in
+Sardinia.
+
+The next morning was devoted to a survey of the town. The houses and
+churches are mean, the only objects of interest being the Casa Paoli and
+the citadel. The house inhabited by Pascal Paoli, when Corte was the
+seat of his government, is but little changed, though converted into a
+college founded by the general's will. It has an air of rude simplicity.
+There is still the homely cabinet in which he wrote, his library, and a
+laboratory. The library contained about a score of English books; but
+we did not discover among them any of those presented by Boswell. In
+the _salle_ are some second-rate paintings presented by Cardinal Fesch.
+The college did not seem to be flourishing. Perhaps the most curious
+thing in the house are some remains of the supports of a canopy for a
+throne, which tradition says Pascal Paoli caused to be erected in the
+_salle_ on an occasion when his council of state met, the canopy being
+surmounted by a crown. If Paoli affected royalty, he received no
+encouragement from his council, and never sat on the throne.
+
+Nearly opposite is an old house formerly belonging to Gaffori, one of
+the patriot leaders during the Genoese wars. Assaulted by the enemy
+during the general's absence, his heroic wife, with the help of a few
+adherents, barricaded the doors and windows, and, herself, gun in hand,
+made such a stout resistance, rejecting all terms of capitulation, and
+threatening to blow it up and bury herself in the ruins rather than
+submit, that she held it for several days against all attacks, until her
+husband brought a strong force to rescue her. The shot-holes made in the
+walls by the fire of the assailants are still pointed out.
+
+There is another story connected with the Gaffori family, which the
+inhabitants of Corte relate with great pride. During the War of
+Independence, the general's son was carried off by the Genoese and
+imprisoned in the citadel of Corte, which they then held. Assaulted by
+the Corsicans with great vigour, the Genoese had the inhumanity to
+suspend the boy from an embrasure where the enemy's fire was the
+hottest. At this spectacle the assailants paused in their attack, till
+the general ordered them to continue their fire. Renucci, who works up
+the story in his usual florid style, makes Gaffori exclaim, “_Pera il
+figlio; pera la mia famiglia tutta, e trionfi la causa della patria._” I
+prefer the version given me by a native of Corte, whose father was an
+eye-witness of the scene:—“_J'étais citoyen avant que je n'étais père._”
+We shuddered as we looked up from below at the battlement from which the
+child was suspended. The fire was renewed with still more vigour; but
+the child marvellously escaped, and the garrison was forced to
+surrender.
+
+A _permis_ to visit the castle having been obtained from the French
+commandant, we climbed the rocky ascent by corkscrew steps. At present,
+the whole area of the rock is embraced by the fortifications which at
+different periods have grown round the massive citadel on its summit,
+founded by Vincintello d'Istria in the fifteenth century. Recently the
+French have cleared away some old houses within the _enceinte_ to
+strengthen the works.
+
+“What can be the use,” I said to our conductor, “of strengthening this
+place now?”
+
+“_Chi sà?_” was the short reply. Our friend, like many other Corsicans
+we met with, still nourished the visionary hopes which had caused his
+country so much blood and misery during her long and fruitless struggles
+for a national independence.
+
+“_Là_,” said he, pointing to the _grille_ of a dungeon, “_mon père était
+prisonnier._”
+
+On going our rounds, we came to the platform of a bastion formed on the
+site of some of the demolished houses.
+
+“Here,” he said, with emotion, planting his stick on a particular spot,
+“my mother gave me birth. Here we lived twenty-five years. She used to
+talk of the English red-coats and the house of King George.”
+
+It is now the residence of the family of Arrhigi, Duc de Padoue, and
+contains a portrait of Madame Buonaparte, Napoleon's mother, and several
+pictures connected with the events of the emperor's life.
+
+One of the sketches in my friend's portfolio was taken in the recess of
+a bastion, and it required some manœuvring to interpose our Corsican
+friend's portly person between the sketcher and the French sentry, as he
+passed and repassed—an office which our patriotic guide performed with
+much satisfaction—while a liberty was taken contrary to the rules of
+fortified places.
+
+ [Illustration: CITADEL OF CORTE.]
+
+The view from the top of the citadel, the centre of so magnificent a
+panorama, may be well imagined. We now commanded the confluence of the
+two rivers, the Tavignano and the Restonica, beneath the walls, the eye
+tracing up the torrents to the gorges from which they rushed, while the
+details of the town, the gardens, and vineyards, and the ruined convents
+on the neighbouring hills, were brought distinctly under view; and the
+mountains towered above our heads, fitting bulwarks of the island
+capital.
+
+In the evening we strolled down the eastern suburb, and, crossing the
+bridge over the Tavignano, rambled on to the hill above, and the ruins
+of the Franciscan convent where Paoli assembled the legislative
+assembly, and in which the Anglo-Corsican parliament met while Corsica
+was united to England. The lithographic sketch of Corte was taken from
+beyond the bridge. Faithful as it is, one feels that neither pen nor
+pencil can do justice to such a scene. Art fails to lend the colouring
+of the tawny-orange vines, the pale-green olive-trees, the warm evening
+tints glowing on the purple hills, the mass of shade on the mountain
+sides first buried in twilight, the grey rocks, and, far away, aērial
+peaks vanishing in distance.
+
+A pleasant thing is the evening stroll on the outskirts of town or
+village, where life offers so much novelty. How graceful the forms of
+those girls at the fountain, dipping their pitchers of antique form and
+a glossy green! Poising them on their heads with one arm raised, how
+lightly they trip back to the town, laughing and talking in the sweetest
+of tongues—sweet in their mouths even in its insular dialect!
+
+A lazy Corsican is leading a goat, scarcely more bearded and shaggy than
+its owner. Others, still lazier, and wrapped in the rough _pelone_
+hanging from their shoulders like an Irishman's frieze coat, bestride
+diminutive mules, while their wives trudge by the side, carrying
+burdens of firewood or vegetables on their heads and shoulders. Waggons,
+drawn by oxen and loaded with wine-casks, slowly creak along the road.
+
+It is dusk as we lounge up the suburb, and the rude houses piled up
+round the base of the citadel look gloomier than ever. Light from a
+blazing pine-torch flashes from the door of a _cave_; it is a wine
+vault. The owner welcomes us to its dark recesses. Smeared with the
+juice of the ruddy grape, he is a very priest of Bacchus; but the
+processes carried on in his cave are only initiatory to the orgies. Here
+are vats filled with the new-pressed juice; there vats in the various
+stages of fermentation. Jolly, as becomes his profession, he gives us to
+taste the sweet must and drink the purer extract. He explains the
+process, and tells us that the vintage is a fair average, though the
+vine disease, the oïdion, has penetrated even into these mountains.
+_Evoe Bacche!_ The fumes of the reeking cave mount to our heads, the
+floor is slippery with the lees and trodden vine-leaves. We reel to the
+door, glad to breathe a fresher atmosphere.
+
+Calling at the _café_ on the Corso, not from choice but by appointment
+with our “man of the woods,” we find it, as before, dirty, disorderly,
+and noisy. Where, we ask ourselves, are the gentlemen of Corte? But what
+has any one, above the classes who toil for a livelihood, to do in
+Corte, except to lounge the long day under the melancholy elms in the
+Corso, and wile away the evenings by petty gambling in its wretched
+_cafés_?
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XVII.
+
+ _Pascal Paoli more honoured than Napoleon Buonaparte.—His
+ Memoirs.—George III. King of Corsica.—Remarks on the
+ Union.—Paoli's Death and Tomb._
+
+
+The suppression of brigandage, security for life and property, the
+stains of blood washed from the soil, the shame in the face of Europe
+wiped out,—these are signal benefits which claim from the Corsicans a
+warmer homage to the younger Napoleon than they ever paid to the first
+of that name. Not even the honour of having given an emperor to France,
+a conqueror to continental Europe, enlisted the sympathies, the
+enthusiasm, of the islanders in the wonderful career of their
+illustrious countryman. A party, a faction, the Salicete, the Arena, the
+Bacchiochi, the Abatucci, rallied round him in the first steps of his
+political life, and the Cervoni, the Sebastiani, soldiers of fortune, of
+the true Corsican stamp, fought his battles, and were richly rewarded.
+Some of his countrymen, to their honour, adhered to him to the end,
+sharing his exile in St. Helena. But the great emperor was never popular
+in his own country; he neither loved, nor was beloved by, his own
+people. He did nothing for them, as before remarked, but construct the
+great national roads; and that was purely a military measure. He left
+them—designedly, it would seem—to cut one another's throats, and
+despised them for their barbarism.
+
+Pascal Paoli was, and ever will be, the popular hero of the Corsicans.
+He fought their last battles for the national independence; moulded
+their wild aspirations for liberty and self-government into a
+constitutional form; administered affairs unselfishly, purely, justly;
+encouraged industry, and checked outrage. He was a man of the people,
+one of themselves, and he never forgot it; nor have they.
+
+In an Englishman's eyes, Pascal Paoli has the additional merit of having
+conceived a just idea of the advantage his country would derive from the
+closest union with the only European power under whose protection a weak
+State struggling for freedom could hope for repose. He did homage to our
+principles, and the public feeling was with him in England as well as in
+Corsica.
+
+A work on Corsica that did not tell of banditti, that did not speak of
+Pascal Paoli, would fail in the two points with which the name of this
+island is instinctively associated. References to the great Corsican
+chief have repeatedly occurred in these Rambles, connected with
+localities, and may again. We have visited his birthplace, the scenes of
+his last campaign and disastrous defeat, and now the seat of his
+government, Corte. We must not leave it, though impatient to proceed on
+our journey and by no means wishing to fill our pages with extraneous
+matter, till we have linked together our desultory notices by a summary
+review of the principal occurrences in Pascal Paoli's remarkable life,
+and of the strange event which terminated his political career,—the
+creation of an Anglo-Corsican kingdom united for a time to the British
+Crown.
+
+Pascal (Pasquale) Paoli was born at Rostino on the 25th of April, 1725,
+being the second son of Giacinto Paoli, one of the leaders of the
+Corsican people in their last great struggle against the tyranny of the
+Genoese. Compelled by the course of events to retire to Naples in 1739,
+Giacinto Paoli was accompanied by his son Pascal, who, inheriting his
+father's talents and patriotism, there received a finished education,
+both civil and military. Being much about the court, the young Corsican
+acquired, with high accomplishments, those polished manners for which he
+was afterwards distinguished; and he held a commission in a regiment of
+cavalry, in which he did good service in Calabria.
+
+Recalled to Corsica in 1755, at the early age of thirty, to take the
+supreme management of affairs in consequence of the divisions prevailing
+among the patriot leaders, the expulsion of the Genoese became his first
+duty; and he soon succeeded, at least, in freeing the interior of the
+island, and confining their occupation to the narrow limits of the
+fortified towns on the coasts. His next step was to remodel, or rather
+to create, the civil government; and in so doing he introduced an
+admirable form of a representative constitution, founded as far as
+possible on the old Corsican institutions. It was, in fact, a republic,
+of which Pascal Paoli was the chief magistrate, and commander of the
+forces. One of the earliest acts of his administration was a severe law
+for the suppression of the bloody practice of the _vendetta_, followed
+in course of time by measures for the encouragement of agriculture, and
+by the foundation of a university at Corte. The necessity of meeting the
+Genoese on their own element led him to get together and equip a small
+squadron of ships, no country being better fitted than Corsica, from its
+position and resources, to acquire some share of naval power in the
+Mediterranean. With this squadron, after repulsing the Genoese fleet, he
+landed a body of troops in the island of Capraja, lying off the coast of
+Corsica, and succeeded in wresting it from the Republic.
+
+Intestine divisions had always been the bane of Corsican independence,
+and even Paoli's just and popular administration could not escape the
+rivalry of Emanuel Matra, a man of ancient family and great power, who
+became jealous of Paoli's pre-eminence. All attempts at conciliation on
+the part of Paoli proving useless, Matra and his adherents rose in arms,
+and, calling the Genoese to their aid, it was only after a long and
+bloody struggle, and some sharp defeats, that Paoli and the Nationals
+were able to crush the insurrection; Matra falling, after fighting
+desperately, in the battle which terminated the war.
+
+Pascal Paoli, being now firmly seated in power, and the island, settled
+under a regular form of government, growing in strength, the Genoese
+found themselves unequal to cope with a brave and united people. After
+some further ineffectual attempts, they once more applied to France for
+succour, and engaged her to occupy the strong places in the island, as
+she had already done from 1737 to 1741. French troops accordingly,
+landing in Corsica, established a footing which has never been
+relinquished, except during the short period of English occupation. But
+by the Treaty of Compiegne, signed before the expedition sailed (1764),
+the French limited their support of the Genoese to a term of four years.
+During that period they maintained a strict neutrality towards the
+Corsican Nationals, confining themselves to the limits of their
+occupation. Their generals maintained harmonious relations with Pascal
+Paoli, and, the Genoese power in the island having shrunk to nothing,
+the patriots had the entire possession of the country, except the
+fortified places, and the Commonwealth flourished under the firm and
+active administration of its wise chief. It was at this time that James
+Boswell visited the island. Residing some time with General Paoli, and
+admitted to familiar intercourse with him, he collected the materials
+from which he afterwards compiled “An Account of Corsica, and Memoirs of
+Pascal Paoli,” published in London in 1767,—a work, the details of which
+are only equalled by his _Johnsoniana_ for their minute and vivid
+portraiture of his hero's life, opinions, character, and habits. The
+“Account of Corsica” has been the standard, indeed the only English,
+work relating to that island from that day to the present.
+
+The time fixed by the Treaty of Compiegne for the evacuation of Corsica
+by the French troops was on the point of expiring. They had already
+withdrawn from Ajaccio and Calvi, when the Genoese, finding themselves
+utterly incapable of retaining possession of the island, offered to cede
+their rights to the king of France. This was in 1768. The Duc de
+Choiseul, the minister of Louis XV., lent a willing ear to a proposal
+which opened the way to the conquest of Corsica—a prize, from its
+situation, its forests, its fertility, worthy the ambition of the _Grand
+Monarque_. The French generals, receiving immediate orders to cross the
+neutral lines, soon made themselves masters of Capo Corso, and pushed
+their successes on the eastern side of the island.
+
+Pascal Paoli, his brother Clemente, and the other national leaders, were
+not wanting in this crisis of the fate of Corsica, and the people rose
+_en masse_ against the overwhelming force that threatened to crush
+them. The war, though necessarily short, was marked by obstinate bravery
+on the part of the Corsicans. The French troops having met with many
+repulses, received a signal defeat at Borgo. There is scarcely a village
+in the interior that is not illustrious for its patriotic efforts at
+this period. Chauvelin, the French general-in-chief, was recalled, and,
+ultimately, the Count de Vaux, an officer of experience, took the field
+as generalissimo of the French army, swelled by successive
+reinforcements to the vast force of 40,000 men.
+
+The great blow which decided the fate of Corsica was struck at the
+battle of Ponte Nuovo, of which some particulars are given in a former
+chapter.[24] This defeat entirely demoralised the island militia, and
+crushed Paoli's hopes of maintaining the nationality of Corsica.
+Retiring to Corte, and thence, almost as a fugitive, to Vivario, in the
+heart of the mountains, though he might still have maintained a
+_guerilla_ warfare against the French, he resolved to abandon a forlorn
+hope, and, pressed by a large body of the enemy's troops, embarked in an
+English frigate at Porto Vecchio, with his brother Clemente and 300 of
+his followers.
+
+The conquest of Corsica cost France largely both in men and money, it
+appearing by the official returns, that the loss sustained in killed and
+wounded was 10,721 men, while the expense of the war was estimated at 18
+millions of livres. The fate of the Corsicans met with general sympathy.
+Rousseau on this occasion accused the French people of the basest love
+of tyranny:—“_S'ils savoient un homme libre à l'autre bout du monde, je
+crois qu'ils y iroient pour le seul plaisir de l'exterminer._”
+
+After a short stay in Italy, Pascal Paoli proceeded to England, landing
+at Harwich on the 18th of September, 1769. The succeeding twenty years
+of his life were spent in London. He was well received by the king and
+queen, and the ministers paid him the attention due to his rank and
+services. But, though an object of much general interest, he shunned
+publicity, living in Oxford Street in a dignified retirement. He joined,
+however, in good society, and associated with the most eminent literary
+men of the day, among whom it was observed that his talents and
+accomplishments as much fitted him to shine, as at the head of his
+patriotic countrymen. Boswell had the happiness of introducing him to
+Johnson, and revelled in the glory of exhibiting his two lions on the
+same stage.
+
+The French Revolution opened the way for Pascal Paoli's return to
+Corsica, with the prospect of again devoting himself to the service of
+his country under a constitutional monarchy, the form of government he
+most approved. At Paris, the unfortunate Louis XVI. and his queen
+received him with marks of favour, La Fayette greeted him as a brother,
+and the National Assembly gave him an enthusiastic reception. He was
+named President of the Department of Corte and Commander of the National
+Guard.
+
+Landing in Corsica, amidst the congratulations of his countrymen, all
+flocked round him, and mothers raised their babes in their arms that
+they might behold the common father of their country. The hopes of the
+Corsicans again revived; for, if they had not a national and independent
+government, they were members of a free state, with the man of their
+choice to administer affairs.
+
+Paoli was, however, soon disgusted with the excesses of the French
+Revolution, and, like all citizens of distinguished merit, he fell under
+the suspicions of the, so-called, Committee of Public Safety. Summoned
+to the bar of the National Convention, and declining to appear, he was
+proclaimed an enemy of the Republic, and put out of the protection of
+the law. Preparations were made for exterminating the Paolists, who flew
+to arms, resolved once more to assert the nationality of the Corsican
+people, and throw off their dependence on France. But intestine
+divisions again weakened the efforts of the patriots, and Corsica was
+divided into two parties—the Paolists and the Republicans; the
+Buonaparte family at this time supporting the patriot chief.
+
+In the face of the new invasion threatened by the French Republic, Paoli
+perceived that there was nothing to be done but to call the English,
+whose fleet hovered on the coast, to the aid of the Nationals, and place
+the island under British protection. The firstfruits of this alliance
+were the reduction of San Fiorenzo and the surrender of Bastia to the
+bold attack of Nelson already described.[25] The fall of these
+fortresses was succeeded by the siege of Calvi, in which Nelson also
+distinguished himself; and on the reduction of that place—Ajaccio and
+Bonifacio being already in the hands of the patriots—the French troops
+withdrew from the island.
+
+Corsica being once more free to establish a national government, the
+representatives of the people, assembled in a convention at Corte on the
+14th of June, 1794, accepted a constitution framed by Pascal Paoli, in
+conjunction with Sir Gilbert Elliot, the British Plenipotentiary. By
+this national act the sovereignty of Corsica was hereditarily conferred
+on the King of Great Britain with full executive rights; the legislative
+power, including especially the levying of taxes, being vested in an
+assembly called a parliament, composed of representatives elected in the
+several _pièves_ and towns. All Corsicans of the age of twenty-five
+years, possessed of real property (_beni fondi_), and domiciled for one
+year in a _piève_ or town, were entitled to vote at the elections. The
+king's consent was required to give force to all laws, and he had the
+prerogative of summoning, proroguing, and dissolving the parliament. A
+viceroy, appointed by the sovereign, with a council and secretary of
+state, were to execute the functions of government. The press was to be
+free. In short, the kingdom of Corsica—so called even under the dominion
+of the Genoese Republic—was to be a limited monarchy, with institutions
+nearly resembling those of Great Britain, except that there was no House
+of Peers.
+
+The subject has some interest, even at this present day, as showing how
+the principles of a limited monarchy were adapted by such a man as
+Pascal Paoli to a _quasi_-Italian nation, than which none could be more
+ardent in their love of freedom, or have made greater struggles in its
+cause. The Constitutional Act[26] will be found in the appendix to Mr.
+Benson's work. It is curious also to find that in the time of our
+George III. a kingdom in the Mediterranean was as closely united to the
+Crown of Great Britain, as the kingdom of Ireland was at that time.
+
+Sir Gilbert Elliot was appointed viceroy. Unfortunately, with the best
+dispositions, his government was not administered with the tact required
+to conciliate so irascible a people as the Corsicans. While the viceroy
+was personally esteemed and beloved, he pursued a course of policy
+little calculated to calm the irritation which speedily arose. Pascal
+Paoli felt disappointment at not having been nominated viceroy, and was
+suspected of secretly fomenting the disaffection to the government. So
+far from this, he published an address to his countrymen, endeavouring
+to allay the ferment, and induce obedience to the English authorities.
+Jealousy, however, of his great and well-earned influence over the
+Corsicans appears to have led to his removal from the island. Towards
+the close of the year 1795 the king's command that he should repair to
+England was conveyed to him, couched, however, in gracious terms. He
+immediately obeyed, and arrived in London towards the end of December.
+
+No sooner had Paoli departed than discontent assumed a more alarming
+form. His presence and example had kept many calm who had been secretly
+hostile to the English, but who now openly displayed their animosity.
+Petitions were presented to the viceroy by some of the leading
+inhabitants assembled at Bistuglio, declaring the grounds of Corsican
+opposition, and proposing means of conciliation; while many bodies of
+the disaffected assembled in the wild neighbourhood of Bocagnono. These
+disorders, coupled with the mutual distrust with which the Corsicans and
+English viewed each other, finally led to the abandonment of the island
+by the latter; and, accordingly, between the 14th and 20th of October,
+1796, the viceroy and troops, under the protection of Nelson, embarked
+for Porto Ferrajo, leaving the island once more a prey to French
+invasion.
+
+Foreign writers sneer at the ignorance and mismanagement which so soon
+alienated the minds of the Corsicans from those whom they had lately
+hailed as their liberators and protectors; and it may perhaps be
+lamented that so noble a dependency of the British Crown was thus lost.
+Its commanding position in the Mediterranean, its fine harbours and
+magnificent forests, made it a most desirable position, at least during
+the revolutionary war. Such was Nelson's opinion, expressed in a letter
+to his wife when a descent on the coast was first contemplated. Added
+to these, its products of corn, wine, and oil, capable of almost
+indefinite augmentation under a good system of government, gave it great
+value as a permanent possession. What are Malta and Gibraltar? Merely
+rock fortresses, compared with such an island, capable of defence by the
+bravest people in the world, and possessed of such resources that, so
+far from being a burden on the finances, a very considerable surplus of
+the revenue now flows into the Imperial exchequer. Nothing was wanting
+but to reconcile the natives to the rule of their new masters, making
+it, as it constitutionally professed to be, national. This was doubtless
+a difficult task with a spirited people, alien in race, religion, and
+habits. The ministers of the day committed a great error in not giving
+the vice-royalty to Pascal Paoli. He was a thorough Anglo-Corsican, and
+perfectly understood the working of a constitutional government. The
+union had been his policy, and he alone could have carried it out.
+
+Whether the annexation of the island to the British Empire would have
+survived the deliberations of the Congress of Vienna is another
+question. One does not see why it should not have done so. We retained
+the Ionian Islands, less important in many respects, and with a
+population as turbulent, it seems, and as alien, as the Corsicans. The
+possession of Corsica by the Bourbons was very recent, and acquired by
+the most flagrant injustice. The French were scarcely more popular than
+the English with the national party; nor are they, according to the
+impression made during our Rambles, at the present day. The island had
+been offered to Napoleon, and might have become his island-empire. Had
+it even followed the fate of Genoa, its former mistress, and been
+assigned to Sardinia, there would be reason now for all friends of
+constitutional government to rejoice; and the Corsicans, essentially an
+Italian people, would more easily have amalgamated with their rulers.
+
+However, these are mere speculations. Pascal Paoli's retirement left his
+native island no resource but submission to the French, and it became
+once more a department of France, one and undivided. On his return to
+England, Paoli had a small pension from the English Government, which he
+shared with other exiles from his own country. Little is known of the
+latter years of his life. He probably resumed, as far as his advanced
+years admitted, the habits he had formed during his former residence in
+London. He died there, on the 25th of February, 1807, at the age of
+eighty-two, and was interred in the burial-ground of Old St. Pancras. It
+is ground especially hallowed in the estimation of Roman Catholics; and
+if any reader should chance to turn his steps in that direction, he will
+be surprised to see what a large proportion of the monuments and
+gravestones in the vast area are inscribed to the memory of foreigners
+of all ranks, who, during a long course of years, have ended their days
+in London. The little antique church, too—one of the oldest, if not the
+oldest, in London—is well worth a visit, as an interesting specimen of
+Romanesque architecture, well restored a few years ago.
+
+In the south-western corner of the churchyard, not far from the boundary
+wall, he will find a rather handsome tomb marking the spot in which the
+remains of the great Corsican are deposited. It bears on one face a long
+Latin inscription, said to have been penned by one of his countrymen,
+and the east slab bears a coronet, on what authority we are at a loss
+to conceive. So also the more humble monument of Theodore of Corsica at
+St. Anne's, Soho, is dignified with a shadowy crown. The mock king
+created Giacinto Paoli, Pascal's father, and one of his first ministers
+of state, a marquis or count. Can it be that, under that patent, Pascal
+Paoli assumed the insignia of nobility in his intercourse with the
+courtly circles of London? Was it a weakness in the man of the people,
+who, simple as his general habits were, had high breeding, and, as we
+learn from Boswell's gossip, was not entirely free from aristocratic
+tendencies,—nay, is said to have aspired to a royal crown?[27] Or is the
+coronet on his tomb an unauthorised device of the officious friends who
+are said to have spent 500_l._ in giving the exile a pompous funeral?
+
+Peace to his memory! In death, as in life, his heart was with the people
+he had loved and served so well. Still caring for their best interests,
+by a codicil to his will he appropriated the annual sum of 200_l._ to
+the endowment of four professors in a college he proposed to found at
+Corte. They were to teach—1st. The Evidences of Christianity;—2nd.
+Ethics and the Laws of Nations;—3rd. The Principles of Natural
+Philosophy;—and 4th. The Elements of Mathematics. He also bequeathed a
+salary of 50_l._ to a schoolmaster in his native _piève_ of Rostino, who
+was to instruct the children in reading, writing, and arithmetic. It
+appears to have been the object of Mr. Benson's journey to Corsica to
+carry into effect these wise and benevolent provisions, and Paoli's
+bequests to his poor relations.
+
+Paoli said when dying:—“My nephews have little to expect from me; but I
+will bequeath to them, as a memorial and consolation, this Bible—saying,
+‘I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging their
+bread.’”
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XVIII.
+
+ _Excursion to a Forest.—Borders of the
+ Niolo.—Adventures.—Corsican Pines.—The Pinus Maritima and Pinus
+ Luriccio.—Government Forests._
+
+
+Our excursion to the forest came off on the day before we left Corte,
+under the auspices of our “man of the woods.” He procured us mules, and
+our hostess supplied a basket of provisions and wine; for it promised to
+be a hard day's work, carrying us far into the heart of the mountains.
+
+Leaving Corte by the Corso, we soon turned up a valley to the left,
+winding among hills of no great elevation and cultivated to their
+summits. Not much farther than a mile from the town, we passed a lone
+house, the door of which was riddled with bullets. The brigands attacked
+it not long before. It was an affair, I believe, of summary justice for
+some trespass on property.
+
+“No one was safe,” said our conductor, “two years ago, outside the town.
+If you had been in the island then, you would have seen half Corsica
+armed to the teeth.”—
+
+“The disarming has been complete, for since our landing we have only
+once seen fire-arms except in the hands of the military. Then the
+banditti, of whom we have heard more than enough, no longer exist?”
+
+“No; they have been shot down, brought to justice, or driven out of the
+island. Many of them escaped to Sardinia; if you go there, you will
+find things just in the same state they were here; perhaps worse, if our
+outlaws are roaming there. I will tell you, some time, the story of the
+last of the banditti. Not far from hence they fell in a desperate
+conflict with the gendarmes.”
+
+The hollows between some of the hills among which we wound were
+embosomed in chestnut-trees, and the husks were beginning to burst and
+shed the nuts on the ground.
+
+“The harvest is approaching,” said our guide. “Soon every house will
+have great heaps gathered in for the winter's store.”
+
+We were on the borders of the mountainous district of the _Niolo_, the
+most primitive, not only geologically, as we have lately seen, but in
+point of manners, of any in Corsica. This it owes to its sequestered
+situation, hemmed in by the southern branch of the great central chain.
+It is approached by difficult paths and steps hewn out of the rock, the
+best being the pass of the _Santa Regina_. The interior of the bason is,
+however, extremely fertile. We had now in view the Monte Cinto and Monte
+Artica, the principal summits of the Niolo group, nearly 8000 feet high;
+and from part of our route Monte Rotondo was seen rising, with its snowy
+crest, a thousand feet higher, further to the south.
+
+The country now assumed a wilder and more rugged character, cultivation
+disappeared, and the surface was either rocky or thickly covered with
+the natural shrubbery so often mentioned. Once more we were in the
+_Macchia_, threading it by a rough and narrow path. Flocks of sheep and
+goats were browsing among the bushes; and the sight of rude shepherds'
+huts, with their blazing fires, gave us to understand that we had
+reached the wilds beyond human habitation. At last, a steep ascent
+through the thickets by a slippery path surmounted a ridge commanding
+the prospect of one flank of a mountain, the forest property of our “man
+of the woods.” A furious torrent, its natural boundary, tumbled and
+dashed in its rocky channel far beneath. Our mules slid down the almost
+precipitous descent clothed with dense underwood; we forded the stream,
+and met our friend's forester, who was expecting our arrival, and had
+shouted to us as we crossed the ridge.
+
+A storm of rain poured down in torrents while we were clambering up the
+opposite heights, making for shelter with as much speed as such an
+ascent permitted. Our place of refuge was a well-known haunt of the
+shepherds and banditti. It could not be called a cave, but was a hollow
+under a mass of insulated rock, worn away in the disintegrated granite,
+the harder shell of which formed an umbrella-shaped canopy, protecting
+us from the rain. It was miserably cold; but there were no dry materials
+at hand for lighting a fire, though the blackened rock and heaps of
+ashes and half-burnt logs looked very tempting.
+
+Under such circumstances, the best thing to be done was to apply
+ourselves to the contents of Madame ——'s basket, as we had still harder
+work before us. The contents were just displayed when my
+fellow-traveller made his appearance. I had lost sight of him in the
+bush while hurrying on, he having dismounted, and left his mule to be
+led up by a shepherd. He, too, had sought shelter in the nearest rock he
+could find. It had a cavity with a low aperture, into which he thrust
+himself head-foremost. What was his surprise at beholding a pair of
+eyes glaring at him through the gloom! The thing—whether it were man or
+beast he could not at the moment distinguish—shrunk back. He, too,
+recoiled and made a sudden exit. Presently he saw a pair of legs
+protruding on the further side of the rock, which it appeared was
+perforated from both extremities, and the thing, serpent-like, gradually
+wriggled itself out. Then stood erect, shaggy and rough as a wild beast
+startled from its lair, one of the shepherd boys, who had also crept
+into the cavity for refuge from the storm. He cast one look of
+astonishment at the intruder, turned round, and, leaping into the bush,
+disappeared without uttering a word.
+
+“Perhaps he took you for a detective in plain clothes, conscience-struck
+for having assisted to harbour the proscribed brigands!”
+
+Our meal despatched, and the weather clearing, we began clambering up a
+mountain side, as steep as the ridge of a house; and the mules, being
+useless, were sent down in charge of the muleteer to the ford of the
+torrent. Signor F——'s forest spread over the whole face of the mountain,
+and how much further he best knew. We understood that he had a larger
+tract in another direction.
+
+Trackless pine forests—some belonging to the communes, others to private
+individuals,—clothe the lower ranges of the mountains through all this
+part of the island. Vizzavona, which we crossed on our way to Ajaccio,
+and Aitona, lying to the south-west of the Niolo, belong to the State,
+and the French Admiralty draw from them large supplies of timber shipped
+to Toulon; especially the finest masts used in their navy. The Corsican
+pine-forests have been famous from early times. Theophrastus[28]
+mentions a ship built by the Romans with this timber, of such large
+dimensions as to carry fifty sails; and Sextus Pompeius, seizing this
+island as well as Sicily and Sardinia, drew from its forests the means
+of maintaining his naval supremacy.
+
+Our “man of the woods” appeared to have hardly earned, and well to
+merit, the noble property in the possession of which he rejoiced. Yet he
+described himself as poor in the midst of his seeming wealth,
+impoverished to get together vast tracts of country, from which, at
+present, he received no return. His object was to obtain a market for
+sale of his timber, which he said could be floated down the rivers to
+the sea-coast at a moderate expense. Having seen, as we had, the
+Norwegian timber floating down rivers, precipitated over rapids, and
+rafted over immense lakes, during a _flottage_ to the sea which it
+sometimes takes two years to accomplish[29], we could find no difficulty
+in believing that advantage might be taken of the rivers on either
+watershed of the central chain in Corsica, to bear this, the only wealth
+of these elevated regions, to the coast, which is nowhere more than
+about fifty miles distant. Of the anchorage and depth of water at the
+mouths of the rivers, I have no precise information, except so far that
+Signor F—— assured us there would be no difficulty in shipping his
+timber.
+
+I had not counted on such an exhausting effort as climbing a thousand
+feet nearly perpendicular on the rocky and rugged surface of a mountain
+forest in Corsica demanded. Accustomed to traverse some of the finest
+pine-forests of Norway in a light _carriole_ on excellent roads, or to
+canter along their avenues on little spirited horses, its native breed,
+without any feeling of fatigue, I had imagined our present enterprise to
+be much easier than it proved. Indeed, had it not been that the tangled
+roots of the pines, forming a network on the denuded surface of the
+rocks, afforded secure footing and a firm hold, and that, clasping the
+giant stems, one could take breath on the edge of the shelving cliffs, I
+should never have scrambled, and pulled myself, up to the summit.
+
+ [Illustration: PINUS MARITIMA.]
+
+ [Illustration: PINUS LARICCIO.]
+
+ [Illustration: CONE OF THE PINUS LARICCIO.]
+
+Our “man of the woods,” notwithstanding his great bulk, was agile as a
+mountain-goat, leaping from crag to crag, and striking off in every
+direction where he could show us trees of the largest growth. Marmocchi
+mentions four species of the pine in his catalogue of the indigenous
+trees growing in Corsica. Of two of these, _Pinus Pinea_ (the stone
+pine), and _Pinus Sylvestris_ (our common Scotch fir), I did not remark
+any specimens in the forests we had an opportunity of examining, nor do
+they equal the others in grandeur and value. But both the _Pinus
+Lariccio_ and the _Pinus Maritima_ are magnificent trees. They were
+mingled in the forest I am now describing, the _Lariccio_ prevailing.
+
+The _Pinus Maritima_, so well known to all travellers in Italy and
+Greece, and to others by its picturesque effect in the landscapes of
+Claude, has often its trunk clear of boughs till near the top, which
+spreads out in an umbrella-shaped head, with a dense mass of foliage;
+and, where the stem is not so denuded, the tree has the same rounded
+contour of boughs. Both are figured and described in Lambert's
+magnificent work on the GENUS PINUS; but, unfortunately, from very
+insignificant specimens; those of the Pinus Maritima being taken from a
+tree at Sion House, only twenty feet high. The spines of the Pinus
+Maritima are longer than those of the Pinus Lariccio, and the branches
+more pensile. The engravings for the present work are from specimens
+brought from Corsica. Mr. Lambert's description, however, coincides with
+my own observations in the Corsican forests. He says:—“The branches are
+very numerous, and bear long filiform leaves. The cones are nearly the
+same size as Pinus Rigida. They are so remarkably smooth and glossy,
+that they at once distinguish their species. In shedding their seeds,
+they seem to expand very little.”[30] Mr. Lambert considers it to be the
+same species as the πεύκος, _Pinus Picea_ of Greece, which grow on the
+high mountains, Olympus, Pindus, Parnassus, &c.; and quotes an extract
+from Dr. Sibthorp's papers, published in Walpole's _Turkey_, remarking
+that the πεύκος furnished a useful resin, used in Attica to preserve
+wine from becoming acid, and supplying tar and pitch for shipping. “The
+resinous parts of the wood,” he says, “are cut into small pieces, and
+serve for candles.”
+
+The _Pinus Lariccio_ is more disposed to retain its lower branches than
+the Pinus Maritima, and has a more angular character both in the boughs
+and the footstalks of its tassels. The spines are shorter. The boughs
+slightly droop, but by no means in the degree of the spruce fir or the
+_larch_. From this circumstance, however, it probably derives its name,
+though it has nothing else in the slightest degree common with the
+larch; and writers who speak of the “Corsican larch” betray their
+readers into serious error. The Pinus Lariccio is figured in Mr.
+Lambert's work from two specimens in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris,
+about thirty feet high and three feet in girth, in 1823. Their age is
+not mentioned. Don, quoted in this work, remarks that “this pine is
+totally distinct from all the varieties of Pinus Sylvestris, with which,
+however, it in some respects agrees. It differs in the branches being
+shorter and more regularly verticellate. The leaves are one-third
+longer; cones shorter, ovate, and quite straight, with depressed scales,
+opening freely to shed the seed. The wood is more weighty, resinous,
+and, consequently, more compact, stronger, and more flexible than Pinus
+Sylvestris. Its bark is finer and much more entire.” The Pinus Lariccio
+is also at once distinguishable from the Pinus Maritima growing in the
+same forest, by the bark alone. Drawings are here given of (1) the
+exterior and (2) interior coats, from specimens brought from Corsica.
+They are very thick, and peel off in large flakes, the inner layer being
+most delicately veined, and of a rich crimson hue.
+
+ [Illustration: BARK OF THE PINUS LARICCIO.]
+
+“I observed,” says Mr. Hawkins, quoted by Lambert, “on Cyllene,
+Taygetus, and the mountains of Thasos, a sort of fir, which, though
+called πεύκος by the inhabitants, and resembling that of the lower
+regions, has the foliage much darker, and the growth of the tree more
+regular and straight. The elevated region on which it grew leads me to
+suspect it must be different from the common πεύκος.”[31] Mr. Lambert
+adds:—“The Pinus Lariccio is, I have no doubt, the tree here mentioned,
+especially as it is known to grow in Greece, and has been found by Mr.
+Webb near the summit of Mount Ida, in Phrygia.”[32] We are inclined,
+however, to think that this remark requires confirmation by more exact
+details.
+
+The Pinus Lariccio grows to a greater height than the Pinus Maritima. In
+this forest Signor F—— estimated some of the finest specimens of the
+latter at from sixty to seventy feet in length, while those of the
+Lariccio could not be less than 120 feet, and perhaps more, with an
+average circumference of about nine feet. Some little experience enabled
+us to confirm this estimate.
+
+But these dimensions are often exceeded. In the neighbouring forest of
+Valdianello, which, again, abuts on that of Aitona, the chief of the
+government reserves, there lately stood a Pinus Lariccio, called by the
+Corsicans “_Le Roi des Arbres_.” At five feet from the ground its girth
+was upwards of nineteen feet. The height of the tree is not mentioned.
+The king of the forest is dead, but it boasts a successor worthy of its
+honours, the girth being, as Marmocchi relates on report, twenty-six
+feet at one mètre (three feet three inches) from the ground, and only
+reduced to twenty-one feet where the trunk is fifty-eight feet high.
+Its entire height is 150 feet, and its branches cover a circumference
+nearly 100 feet in diameter.
+
+These dimensions are large for European pines, about averaging those of
+the Norwegian. Growing in a rocky soil, I can easily believe that the
+timber is, as represented, extremely durable. It was surprising to see
+in Signor F——'s forest trees of such magnitude springing from fissures
+in the granite cliffs, and from ledges of rocks having only a scanty
+covering of barren soil. The growth must be slow; by counting the rings
+in some of the fallen trees, I calculated that they had stood about two
+centuries. The choicest specimens were usually grouped on some platform,
+or in hollows of the precipitous cliffs. In these positions they are
+often exposed to the worst of enemies, such spots being the haunts of
+the brigands and shepherds; and it was lamentable to observe the
+destruction caused by their fires in all parts of the wood. Huge
+half-burnt logs lay at the foot of some of the finest pines, and the
+flames had not only scorched all vegetation within reach, but eaten into
+the heart of the trees.
+
+This may be considered as one of the few virgin forests remaining in
+Corsica. The vast consumption by the Genoese, and afterwards by the
+French, governments, has greatly exhausted the forests; and it is only
+in the inaccessible parts of the country, where there are no roads, that
+timber of large dimensions is found. Even here they were felling the
+smaller trees, sawing them into planks, and carrying them away on mules,
+one plank balancing another on each side of the pack-saddle. We ventured
+to suggest to our “man of the woods” the advantages of sawmills, a
+machinery of the simplest possible construction, adopted in North
+America, Norway, and all forest countries, where, as here, there is
+abundant water-power. All such industrial resources are wanting in
+Corsica, but our friend was too shrewd not to be alive to the value of
+the suggestion.
+
+Our course through the forest had led us round to the flank of the
+mountain, shelving down to the torrent we forded on our arrival. A
+descent is generally considered an easy affair: so we found this in
+comparison with the ascent; but the declivity was formidable, there
+being no sort of path, and we had to work our way over and amongst huge
+masses of rock and slippery boulders, and jumping from crag to crag,
+sliding, rolling, and tumbling, not without some severe falls, we at
+last reached the bottom.
+
+Remounting our mules, a very pleasant change—active, light-stepping
+beasts as they were,—we rode slowly on our return to Corte, often
+looking back at the broad forest-clad mountains, with the snowy dome of
+Monte Rotondo in the distance. Signor F——, anxious to supply us with all
+the information we required, lost no opportunity of pointing out
+remarkable objects.
+
+“Do you see that _paése_?” he said, pointing to some grey buildings
+about five miles off, on the right bank of the Golo; “that is Soveria,
+the birth-place of Cervione, one of Napoleon's best generals. He fell in
+the battle of Ratisbon. His last words to the emperor, when ordered on a
+desperate attack,” said our friend, with Corsican feeling “were, ‘_Je
+vous recommande ma famille_.’”
+
+Valery relates an amusing anecdote of this General Cervione. Having the
+command at Rome, which he exercised with great severity, it became his
+duty to convey the order to Pope Pius VII. for abdicating his temporal
+power and being sent away, which he executed harshly. When Pius VII.
+was afterwards at the Tuileries, Cervione, with other generals, came to
+pay him his respects. The pope, struck by his pure Italian
+pronunciation, complimented him on it. “_Santo Padre_,” said Cervione,
+“_sono quasi Italiano._”—“_Come?_”—“_Sono Corso._”—“_Oh! oh!_”—“_Sono
+Cervione._”—“_Oh! oh! oh!_” At this terrible recollection the pope
+shrank aghast, hastily retreating to the fireside.
+
+“Further on,” said our conductor, “I see it plainly, there is an old
+grey house on the top of a rock; a poor place, but the birthplace of
+Pascal Paoli. He resided there after he became our chief, but would not
+have the home of his fathers altered.”
+
+Near Soveria is Alando, the native place of Sambuccio, the patriot
+leader in the first insurrection against the Genoese. All the
+neighbourhood of Corte is classic ground in Corsican history.
+
+We returned there to a late dinner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XIX.
+
+ _The Forest of Asco.—Corsican Beasts of Chase.—The
+ Moufflon.—Increase of Wild Animals.—The last of the Banditti._
+
+
+Our good “man of the woods” joined us at dinner. It was a just source of
+pride to him that he had shown his magnificent forest to foreigners as
+enthusiastic as himself, and who might, perhaps, forward his designs for
+making it profitable. In this view he now wrote the subjoined
+particulars.[33]
+
+We had already inquired what sport such covers afforded, and the account
+given of deer and wild boars, not to speak of smaller game, was very
+tempting. There were bears in the forests in the time of Flippini the
+historian, but for the last century they have been extinct. There are no
+wolves; but the foxes are plentiful, and so strong that they venture to
+attack the flocks of sheep and goats. The Corsican _cerf_ is like the
+red deer. Their colour is ferruginous. In size they are a little larger
+than fallow deer with a heavier body, and stronger horns, springing
+upright, spreading less than any other variety, and slightly palmated.
+Both male and female have a dark line down the back, rump, and scut. The
+_moufflon_ or _muffori_ is a most curious animal, almost peculiar, I
+believe, to this island and Sardinia, though a variety of the species is
+found in Morocco. Something between a sheep, a deer, and a goat, the
+male has spiral horns like a goat, rather turned back, with the legs and
+hind-quarter of a goat, but the head of a sheep. The colour is a reddish
+brown, with some admixture of black and white, brown predominating. The
+skin is fine-grained, not woolly but fine-haired, like a deer. It is
+extremely agile, jumping from rock to rock with surprising leaps, and so
+wild that, like the chamois and the reindeer, it frequents only the
+highest mountains, close to the snow-line, in summer, descending, as the
+snow extends, to lower regions. When the winters are very severe, and
+the snow covers the ground, it is driven into some of the higher
+valleys, and has been known to take refuge in the stables among the tame
+sheep and goats. The _moufflon_ goes in troops of from four to twenty.
+The females drop their young on the edge of the snow in the month of
+May. There are full-grown specimens of the _moufflon_ in the Zoological
+Gardens, Regent's Park, and in the _Jardin de Plantes_, at Paris.
+
+Of smaller game, Corsica abounds in hares and red partridges, the only
+species found in the island. In winter there are woodcocks, snipes, and
+water-fowl, and a _grande chasse_ of thrushes, which, feeding on the
+berries of the arbutus, the lentiscus, and the myrtle, become very fat,
+have a fine flavour, and are esteemed a great delicacy.
+
+But all these varieties of game were forbidden fruit, as a _permis_ to
+carry fire-arms could not be obtained by any class of persons, or for
+any purpose whatever. The shepherds have only their dogs to protect
+their flocks. If the prohibition continues long, the wild animals must
+become the pest of the island, and with their natural increase there
+will be splendid shooting when the use of fire-arms is again allowed.
+But for the hope of better sport in Sardinia, we thought of getting up a
+boar hunt, with spears, in the fashion so picturesquely seen in old
+pictures, and a much more spirited affair than shooting pigs. For deer
+and birds there is nothing left but to fall back on bows and arrows, as
+long as the Corsicans cannot be trusted with fire-arms, lest the _genus
+homo_ should be their prey.
+
+It was the last evening we spent with our “man of the woods.” He was
+very communicative, and, among other things, told us many stories of the
+heroic deeds of his countrymen in former times, and of the wild life of
+Corsica, which has only just expired. I preserve one of his tales,
+relating a recent event, which happily closes the bloody chapter of
+Corsican banditism.
+
+
+_The Last of the Banditti._
+
+Two brothers, Pierre-Jean and Xavier-Saverio Massoni, men of
+extraordinary vigour and desperate courage, banded with Arrhigi, another
+determined outlaw, had for many years been the terror of the wild
+district of the _Niolo_ in which they harboured, and of the neighbouring
+country. Many were the families they had reduced to misery by cutting
+off their fathers and brothers; but they had numerous friends, whom they
+protected. They shared the scanty fare of the shepherds in the
+mountains, and the people entertained them in their houses; some, _par
+amitié_, with cordiality and kindness, others from fear. Such was the
+renown of these banditti chiefs that the authorities used every effort
+to exterminate them, offering large rewards for their heads, and
+threatening with severe penalties any who should supply them with the
+means of existence.
+
+At length a shepherd, who had received some injury from one of the band,
+betrayed their hiding-place in the fastnesses of the _Niolo_ to the
+_gendarmes_. Led by him through tracks known only to the shepherds and
+banditti, before daylight on a morning of the month of October, 1851, a
+body of the _gendarmerie_, twenty or thirty in number, reached the
+neighbourhood in which the three resolute bandits were concealed. It was
+a place called Penna-Rosa, near Corscia, a village in the canton of
+Calacuccia, not very far from Corte.
+
+The bandits are in the habit of separating for their greater security.
+At this time Pierre Massoni was alone in one of the caves among the
+rocks; Xavier Massoni and Arrhigi together occupied another. The
+_gendarmes_, as active and resolute as the banditti, their mortal foes,
+with whom they often had desperate encounters, crept towards the cave
+occupied by Pierre, who, seeing the disparity of numbers, crept into the
+bush, and attempted to escape, probably intending to join his friends,
+and with them make a determined resistance. The _gendarmes_ fired a
+volley, and Pierre fell mortally wounded.
+
+Xavier and Arrhigi had, somehow, received intelligence of the approach
+of the _gendarmes_, and hastening to the spot found them posted in front
+of the cave. A shot from each of the brigands brought down two of their
+enemies; and during the confusion caused by this unexpected diversion,
+the _gendarmes_ drawing off, Xavier Massoni, supposing that his brother
+was concealed in the cave, shouted to him—
+
+“Pierre, come out; I have cleared the way.”
+
+This cry drew the attention of the _gendarmes_, and at the same moment
+he was shot in the thigh by one of the party. A general fire was then
+opened, but Xavier contrived to creep into the bush, and afterwards made
+his escape over the mountains, while Arrhigi fled for refuge to a deep
+and almost inaccessible cavern. The party followed him, and posted
+themselves, under cover of the rocks, near the mouth of the cave into
+which they supposed he had retired, for they had not seen him enter; and
+as the access was so narrow that it could only be attempted by one at a
+time, the attempt to reconnoitre would have been certain death.
+
+The _gendarmes_, though numbering at least twenty to one, thus held at
+bay by one man, the bravest of the brave, sent a messenger to Corte to
+demand a reinforcement. Four hundred troops were detached for this
+service. They were accompanied by the _sous-préfet_, the _procureur
+imperial_, a captain of engineers, and men with ammunition to blow up
+the cave. It was a four hours' march from Corte, and they arrived late
+in the day.
+
+Meanwhile the _gendarmes_ beleaguered the spot, keeping under cover. The
+brave Arrhigi kept close, watchful no doubt. He must have had a stout
+heart; but we do not paint, we only give the leading details; the
+reader's imagination will supply the rest.
+
+At length the troops marched up. A French _gendarme_, boldly or
+incautiously, approached the entrance; he was shot dead on the spot.
+Then, no doubt was left that Arrhigi was there. Either to spare life, or
+because no one was found bold enough to lead the forlorn hope in
+storming the entrance, it was resolved to blow up the cave. The
+engineers set to work, a shaft was sunk from above, a barrel of
+gunpowder was lodged in it—the explosion was ineffectual; it left the
+massive vault and sides of the narrow cavern as firm as ever. It was too
+deep to be reached without regular mining. Besides, the night was
+bitter, and the whole party shaking with cold.
+
+Engineering operations were abandoned. As they could neither beard the
+bandit in his den, nor blow him up, it was determined to starve him out.
+The troops bivouacked, fires were lighted, and sentinels posted. The
+siege was converted into a blockade, all in due military order.
+
+“_Centinelle, prend garde à vous!_” was passed from post to post.
+“_Centinelle, prend garde à moi!_” answered the bold Arrhigi from his
+rocky hold.
+
+The blockade was maintained for five days and four nights, not without
+some loss on the part of the besiegers, for Arrhigi opened fire from
+time to time, as opportunity offered, and no less than seven of his
+enemies were struck down by his unerring bullets. Some were wounded.
+
+“Brave soldiers of Napoleon,” cried Arrhigi, “carry off your wounded
+comrades, who want your assistance.”
+
+It seems extraordinary that 400 troops should be held at bay by a single
+man for so long a period; but such was the fact. Perhaps the officials
+hoped to take him alive, or they might wish to spare a further effusion
+of blood in actual conflict with the desperate bandit. Arrhigi's cavern
+had a small store of provisions and some gourds of water. When these
+were expended, he resolved on making a last effort to force his way
+through the troops. Could he have stood out a day longer, he might
+probably have escaped, as the weather became so tempestuous that it
+would have been impossible for them to maintain their exposed position
+in those bleak mountains.
+
+On the fourth night, just before the dawn of day, he made the attempt.
+Dashing from the cavern, and shooting down the nearest sentries right
+and left with his double-barrelled gun, he gained the thickets. An alarm
+was raised, and there was a general pursuit. Arrhigi fled towards the
+Golo, intending, probably, to place that river between him and his
+pursuers. It was now daylight, and they were upon him before he reached
+it. Again brought to bay, he took his stand sheltered by a rock. The
+soldiers cried out to him to surrender; but the resolute bandit,
+refusing quarter, continued to resist till he was shot through the head.
+
+We left Xavier Massoni escaping into the _maquis_, but slightly wounded
+in the thigh. The _gendarmes_ were so occupied with his brother Pierre
+and Arrhigi, that he reached, unpursued, a distant forest in the heart
+of the mountains. Soon, however, an officer of the _Gendarmerie Corse_,
+with a detachment of forty or fifty men, was laid on his track. After
+seven days they discovered the lone cave in which, the last of his band,
+he had hoped for concealment. It was high up the face of the mountain,
+but the party scaled it, and summoning Xavier to surrender, he gave his
+_parole_. Just at that moment a _gendarme_ offering a shot, the bandit
+levelled his gun at him and killed him. He then threw down his arms and
+came out of the cave, prepared to surrender himself. A sentry posted
+near, imagining that he intended to escape, shot him dead without
+challenging him or allowing him time to give himself up. The sentry was
+punished, as they wished to take the bandit alive, hoping that he would
+discover those who were in league with him.
+
+Thus fell, with a gallantry worthy of a better cause, these renowned
+banditti chiefs, who for many years had infested the country, and filled
+it with alarm and grief. The rest of the band dispersed, were killed, or
+taken prisoners. Arrhigi's heroic defence closed the series of romantic
+stories on which the Corsicans delight to dwell. His example might have
+encouraged the outlaws to emulate his daring resistance; but the unusual
+force brought against him convinced them that the authorities were no
+longer to be trifled with. The brigands became thoroughly disheartened,
+and we hear of no more desperate encounters with the _gendarmerie_. In
+the course of the following year, the deep solitudes of the Corsican
+forests and mountains, echoing no longer to the crack of the rifle, were
+left in the undisturbed possession of the shepherds and their flocks,
+the foxes and the _moufflons_.
+
+There is another version of the story of the Massoni and Arrhigi,
+cleverly wrought up, and giving it, what was scarcely needed, a more
+romantic character. It differs from that here given in many of the
+circumstances, and in passing, perhaps, from hand to hand, even the
+scene has been transferred to the neighbourhood of Monte Rotondo, many
+miles distant from the spot where the events occurred. My informant was
+not likely to omit any actual occurrence of a striking nature; and as he
+lived at Corte, and his occupation often led him to the canton of
+Callacuccia, he had the best opportunities of learning the facts, if
+indeed he was not present at the time. His simple narrative is therefore
+adhered to.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XX.
+
+ _Leave Corte for Ajaccio.—A legend of Venaco.—Arrival at
+ Vivario._
+
+
+The distance from Corte to Ajaccio is about fifty miles; the most
+interesting objects on the road being the great forest of Vizzavona, and
+Bocagnono embosomed in chestnut woods. In order to take these leisurely,
+mules were bespoken at Vivario, a mountain village at the foot of Monte
+d'Oro, as far as which we determined to avail ourselves of the
+_diligence_ passing through Corte, _en route_ from Bastia to Ajaccio.
+For the first two stages after leaving Corte we knew that there was
+little temptation to linger on the way; and it is unadvisable to waste
+time and strength by walking or riding on high-roads when coach or rail
+will hurry you on to a good starting point for independent rambling. To
+travel systematically from one great town to another by such
+conveyances, with perhaps an occasional excursion in the neighbourhood,
+is a very different affair.
+
+We were called at midnight, and walking to the _bureau_, shortly
+afterwards the _voiture_ came rumbling up, a small primitive vehicle,
+drawn by three mules. It contained five passengers, “booked through;”
+three rough fellows, all smoking, and a woman with a squalling
+_bambino_, dignified by the name of Auguste. Under these circumstances,
+we proposed taking our seat on the roof, as there was no _banquette_.
+The _commis du bureau_ objected;—we should fall off, and he would be
+blamed; it was _contre les régles_; and every traveller knows how
+despotically the rules are administered by foreign officials. He must
+submit to be a mere machine in their hands, to be stowed away and
+conveyed like his portmanteau. The rules are, however, generally
+enforced with great civility; but the _commis_ was not civil. Early
+rising, or sitting up late, had put him out of temper, and the passion
+into which he worked himself about this trifle was very amusing. “There
+was room inside, and why could not _messieurs_ accommodate themselves in
+the _voiture_ like sensible people?”
+
+We did not lose our temper, and carrying our point, had every reason to
+rejoice in our victory. The moon was up, and showed the sort of scenery
+through which we passed, by a very hilly but well-engineered road, to
+great advantage, in its various aspects. Now we were slowly ascending a
+bare hill-side in the full light; then plunging into hollows buried in
+the deepest shade of chestnut woods branching over the road. Then there
+were scattered groups of the rugged ilex, with its pale green leaves
+silvered by the moonbeams; and, where the land was cultivated, there was
+the livelier green of the young wheat, and the dark verdure of luxuriant
+crops of sainfoin: scarcely a house was passed; a solitary habitation is
+a rare sight in Corsica.
+
+Our position also gave us the advantage of the _voiturier's_
+conversation, which, under the inspiration of the scene, the woods, and
+moonlight on a lonely road, was well spiced with stories of banditti. At
+that corner they stole from the thicket, and gave their victim a mortal
+stab. There was a cross over his grave, but it has been removed. A
+deadly shot from behind that grey rock struck down another. Here they
+had a bloody fight with the _sbirri_. Such tales, as it has been already
+remarked, are heard everywhere. I forget the particulars; but they are
+all variations of one wild strain, of which the key-note is blood.
+
+One legend of another kind I remember. The _voiturier_ related it as we
+approached Venaco:—
+
+“A long while ago—it was in the tenth century, I believe—there lived
+here a Count of Corsica, by name Arrhigo Colonna, who was so handsome
+that he was called _Il Bel Messere_. He had a beautiful wife and seven
+beautiful children. Feuds arose in the country, and his enemies, jealous
+of his great power, slew the Count and his seven children, and threw
+their bodies into a little lake among the hills. There was deep
+lamentation among the vassals of the _Bel Messere_; and his wife, having
+escaped, led them against the assassins, who had taken refuge in a
+neighbouring castle, stormed it, and put them all to the sword. Often
+are the ghosts of the _Bel Messere_ and his seven children seen flitting
+by the pale moonlight—on such a night as this—among the woods and on the
+green hills of Venaco; and the shepherds on the mountains all around
+preserve the tradition of their sorrowful fate.”
+
+We reached Vivario before daylight, and leaving the _voiture_, scrambled
+up a lane, then some dark stairs, and found ourselves in the gaunt rooms
+of a rude _locanda_. The people were astir, expecting us, and the best
+sight was, not indeed a blazing fire of logs—though Vivario is close to
+the forest, such fires are not to be seen indoors—but at least some
+lighted embers on the cooking-hearth, giving promise of a speedy cup of
+hot coffee, for we were very cold. The mountain air was keen, Vivario
+standing nearly 2000 feet above the level of the sea. The best news was
+that the mules for our journey were forthcoming. Meanwhile, we got our
+wash, and, it being too early to eat, had our _déjeûner_ of bread and
+wine, grapes and ham, packed in a basket, to be eaten on the road.
+
+We were objects of much curiosity. Whence did we come? where were we
+going? what was our business?—were questions of course.
+
+“From London.”
+
+“_Sono chiesi in Londra?_”
+
+“_Inglesi—sono tutti Christiani?_”
+
+It may easily be imagined that the communal schools in Corsica give
+little instruction in ethnology; and even intelligent persons, like our
+former guide Antoine, appeared to doubt our right to be called
+Christians. That was often questioned, the people seeming little better
+informed than they were when Boswell travelled in Corsica, almost a
+century ago.
+
+“_Inglesi_,” said a strong black fellow to him, “_sono barbare; non
+credono in Dio grande._”
+
+“Excuse me, sir,” replied Boswell; “we do believe in God, and in Jesus
+Christ too.”
+
+“_Um,_” said he, “_e nel Papa?_” (and in the Pope?)
+
+“No.”
+
+“_E perche?_” (And why?)
+
+This was a puzzling question under the circumstances, for there was a
+great audience listening to the controversy. So Boswell thought he would
+try a method of his own, and he very gravely replied:—
+
+“_Perche siamo troppo lontano._” (Because we are too far off.) A very
+new argument against the universal infallibility of the Pope. It took,
+however; for his opponent mused awhile, and then said:—
+
+“_Troppo lontano! Ha—Sicilia è tanto lontano che l'Inghilterra; e in
+Sicilia si credono nel Papa._” (Too far off! why Sicily is as far off as
+England; yet in Sicily they believe in the Pope.)
+
+“Ah!” said Boswell, “_Noi siamo dieci volte più lontano che la
+Sicilia._” (We are ten times farther off than Sicily.)
+
+“_Aha!_” said the questioner; and seemed quite satisfied. “In this
+manner,” concludes Boswell, “I got off very well. I question much
+whether any of the learned reasonings of our Protestant divines would
+have had so good an effect.”
+
+_Barbari_, _heretici_, whatever we were, we parted on good terms with
+our kind hostess. Two mules were at the door, attended by a lad, who, at
+first sight, appeared too young for the long and rather fatiguing
+journey before us; but he had a most intelligent countenance, with hair,
+eyes, and features of the true Italian character, and he handled his
+mules well, and proved a most active and agreeable attendant.
+
+ [Illustration: VIVARIO.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXI.
+
+ _Leave Vivario.—Forest of Vizzavona.—A roadside
+ adventure.—Bocagnono.—Arrive late at Ajaccio._
+
+
+It was broad daylight when we wound up a narrow path to the heights
+above the village of Vivario, thus saving an angle of the
+well-engineered high-road by which the _voiture_, preceding us, had
+gained the summit. Here we seated ourselves on a bank while my friend
+sketched. His view, reproduced in these pages, happily dispenses with
+the necessity of any lengthened description. Below, the eye rested on
+the tall and graceful _campanile_ of the village church, with the houses
+radiating from it, half concealed by the groves of chestnut-trees
+embowering the valley. The slope beneath our point of view, as well as
+that on the left under the high-road, was covered by vineyards in
+terraces and gardens. The contrast of this verdure with the bare ridge
+beyond the fertile basin, still in deep shade, and the atmospheric
+effects of a soft and not overpowering light on the foreground, as well
+as of the vapour rising in the gorge, and hanging in aërial folds about
+the mountain tops, can only be imagined.
+
+Smoke now began to curl up from the village hearths, and men, in rough
+jackets of black sheep's wool, with axes slung in their belts, are seen
+slowly winding up the steep to their work in the forest. The villages on
+the tops of the hills under the mountain ranges, of which we counted
+ten or more, reflect the early sunlight. A small fortified barrack,
+garrisoned by a party of _gendarmes_, held in check the banditti, whose
+strongest fastnesses were in this wild neighbourhood, and commands the
+high-road.
+
+This we now follow; and the views from it are exceedingly picturesque,
+the engineers having obtained their level for it by pursuing the
+sinuosities of the defiles round Monte d'Oro, the rival monarch with
+Monte Rotondo of the Corsican Alps. Its snowy summit is continually in
+sight on our right, and we observe streaks of new-fallen snow for some
+distance beneath. On the left, we have the great forest of Vizzavona,
+which we shortly entered. Having before described a Corsican pine-forest
+of similar character, repetition would be wearisome. The trees here are
+of the same species, with some admixture of oak, many of them on a scale
+of equal or greater magnificence. The finest masts for the French navy
+have been drawn from this forest.
+
+Heat and hunger now combined to make us look out for a rill of water at
+a convenient spot for taking our _déjeûner_, and a torrent crossing the
+road, with a rude bridge over it, we sat down on the low parapet, and,
+opening our baskets, the boy, Filippi, fetched water from the pure
+stream to cool and temper our wine. Bread, slices of ham, and grapes,
+were rapidly disappearing, when unexpected visitors appeared on the
+scene, in the shape of two country girls, travellers to Ajaccio like
+ourselves.
+
+We had not been so much struck, to speak the truth, as some travellers
+seem to have been with the beauty and gracefulness of the Corsican
+women; but these really were two very pretty girls, of the age of
+fifteen or sixteen, brunettes, bright eyed, slightly formed, and with
+pleasing and expressive features. They were lightly clad, and one of
+them carried a small bundle. Accosted by Filippi, we learnt that they
+came from Corte, and were on their way to Ajaccio, in search of domestic
+service. Filippi appeared to know some of their family. To desire the
+boy to share with them the meal he was making at some little distance
+was only returning Corsican hospitality. The girls were shy at first,
+and it was only by degrees that we were able to establish a chat with
+them; and I was struck with the manner in which the eldest, taking a
+handful of new chestnuts from a bag, offered the contribution to our
+pic-nic. Poor girls! chestnuts and the running brooks were probably all
+they had to depend upon for refreshment during their journey. Happily,
+both were easily to be found.
+
+Our road lying the same way, and the girls having walked from Vivario,
+while we had been riding, they were offered a ride on the mules, and,
+after some hesitation, the offer was accepted. With Filippi for their
+squire, the trio being about the same age, they were a merry party,
+making the glades of the old forest ring with their laughter and the
+sound of their young voices in the sweetest of tongues. The girls were
+in such glee, Filippi pressing the mules to a gallop, that though we
+enjoyed the fun, we really feared they would be thrown off. Our fears
+were groundless; riding astride, as is the fashion of the country—but
+with all propriety—they had a firm seat, and laughed at our
+apprehensions.
+
+With all this exuberance of spirits, there were the greatest modesty and
+simplicity in the demeanour of these poor girls. When they proceeded in
+a more sober mood, we joined in the conversation, asking questions
+about their prospects at Ajaccio, and the schooling they had received.
+They had no friends at Ajaccio; but the “Mother of Mercy” would guide
+and protect them!
+
+The number of the girls receiving education at the communal and
+conventual schools in Corsica is very disproportionate to that of the
+boys. Marmocchi states the number of the former, in 1851 or 1852, as
+2362, while the males receiving public instruction were 14,196. Of the
+girls, only 546 are educated in the communal schools, and 1816 in the
+establishments of the _Sœurs de St. Joseph_ or the _Filles de Marie_.
+The proportion of boys frequenting the Corsican schools, relatively with
+those of France, is 137 to 100 in the winter, and 226 to 100 in the
+summer; but that of the girls is in the inverse, the relative number
+being much smaller in Corsica—12 only to 100 in the winter, and 21 to
+100 in the summer.
+
+Our fellow-travellers were among the favoured number. Bridget, the
+eldest, opened her bundle, and took from among the folds of their
+slender stock of clothes two little books, which she showed us with
+modest pride. They contained catechisms, the _Pater-noster_, the _Ave
+Maria_, and a short litany to the Blessed Virgin. Poor girls! their
+trust was in Heaven! They had little else to trust in; but there was a
+“Mother of Mercy” to befriend her loving children. That was the most
+comfortable article in their creed—ideal, but very beautiful.
+
+At the highest point of the _Col_ of Vizzavona, nearly 4000 feet above
+the level of the sea, we find a loopholed barrack, surrounded by a
+ditch, where a small force of the _gendarmerie_ is stationed to operate
+against the brigands. Standing among bare rocks, with the precipices of
+Monte d'Oro frowning above it, the position is most dismal. Fancy that
+bleak barrack in the long, dreary winter of such an elevation, when ice
+and snow reign over the whole _plateau_! And what must have been the
+severity of the service when the bleak forest was the hiding-place, and
+Bocagnono, just under, the head-quarters, of the most desperate
+banditti!
+
+ [Illustration: BOCAGNONO.]
+
+We still walked on, really preferring it, and glad not only to give the
+girls a lift, but to spare the mules, while carrying their light weight,
+for the hard service yet before them. After passing the _col_, we had a
+splendid view of Bocagnono and its hamlets, buried in trees, with bold
+mountains beyond. The pines now gave way to beech woods, and soon
+afterwards we reached the level of the chestnut. The fall of the ground
+became rapid, but, as usual in such cases, the face of the hill being
+traversed by stages of inclined planes, blasted by gunpowder in the
+rocks, the gradients of the road were easy.
+
+The chestnut trees in the valley are of extraordinary size, and a rich
+_contour_ of growth. Scattered capriciously among the groves are no less
+than ten hamlets, all attached to Bocagnono. It is a wild and romantic
+neighbourhood; and the principal village, though surrounded with
+verdure, has a most desolate aspect, the houses being built of unhewn
+stone, black with age, and the windows unglazed.
+
+Walking down the long, straggling street, noting appearances, a little
+in advance of our singular cavalcade, we observed a very magnificent
+officer of police, with a cocked hat and feathers, and sword by his
+side, sitting on a bench, smoking his pipe. He scrutinised us closely as
+we passed, munching chestnuts, and carelessly throwing the shells not
+very far from his worshipful presence. Filippi soon following with the
+mules, he was stopped by this important personage, who questioned him
+sharply about us. Appearances were rather against us. The spruce
+_gendarme_ might possibly not understand—and it is often a puzzle—how
+gentlemen in light coats and stout shoes, bronzed, dusty, and
+travel-stained, could be walking through the country quite at their
+ease. Foreigners make themselves up for travelling in a very different
+style. Our juvenile _suite_ also was somewhat singular, and, altogether,
+as I have said, circumstances were suspicious. We might be the last of
+the bandits, making their escape to the coast in disguise, with part of
+their little family. The orders to arrest such characters were very
+strict.
+
+However, it is to be presumed that the official was satisfied with
+Filippi's report, and we escaped a detention which might have caused us
+loss of time and patience. Having cleared the town, we took counsel
+together. The day was wearing away, and we were still some thirty miles
+from Ajaccio. It was Saturday, and we wished to get to the end of our
+journey in order to enjoy a quiet Sunday. There was nothing on the road
+to tempt us to linger, and no probability of finding decent
+accommodations; while at Ajaccio, we should be in clover, and get a
+fresh outfit, our baggage having been forwarded there. On the other
+hand, it was a long pull, and Filippi remonstrated on behalf of the
+mules and himself. The first objection was overruled, and the other
+removed by our engaging to take the boy _en croupe_ by turns. Our female
+attendants we dismissed with the means of procuring lodgings for the
+night; and we relieved Bridget of her burthen, desiring her to call for
+it at the hotel at Ajaccio.
+
+Bocagnono stands in the gorge of a long valley, watered by the Gravone.
+This river falls into the sea a little south of Ajaccio, and the road,
+for the most part following its course, is generally easy. After leaving
+Bocagnono, the valley opened. We were among green hills, with the river
+flowing through a rich plain; the Alpine range, from which we had just
+descended, making a fine background to this pleasant landscape. Further
+on, some very picturesque villages, perched as usual on heights,
+increased its interest.
+
+We kept the mules to as sharp a trot as was consistent with the work
+still before us. Unfortunately, in the jolting, poor Bridget's bundle
+got loose, and the contents being scattered on the road, the wardrobe of
+a Corsican girl was exposed to profane eyes, and it became incumbent on
+me, in discharge of my trust, to restore it to order with all possible
+neatness and security. Again we pricked on, and crossing the Gravone at
+the Ponte d'Usciano, the road began to ascend, carrying us for some
+miles over a rugged spur of the mountains. Here we found ourselves again
+among the shrubbery which forms so characteristic a feature in the
+landscape of these islands. Having passed the ruins of a house, the
+inmates of which, even to the infant in the cradle, had been butchered
+in one of the feuds so common in Corsica, we halted at a roadside
+_albergo_, near a _baraque_ of the _gendarmerie_. Bread and grapes, with
+new wine, were spread for us under the shade of a tree, and we refreshed
+ourselves while our mules got their feed of barley.
+
+We had now nearly a level road all the way to Ajaccio. The plain was
+well cultivated, and we remarked some irrigated fields of maize. Soon
+afterwards it became dark, and the mules being much distressed, we could
+only proceed at a slow pace. The fatigue of riding was much lessened by
+having an English saddle; still it was a hard day's travelling: but the
+air was deliciously balmy, and the glowworm's lamp and cricket's chirp
+helped to cheer the weariness of a road which seemed interminable.
+Presently, we met country people returning from the market at Ajaccio,
+lights were seen more frequently on the hills, and, at last, the lantern
+on the pier-head—a welcome beacon—came in view. Half an hour afterwards,
+we dismounted at an hotel on the Corso.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXII.
+
+ _Ajaccio.—Collège-Fesch.—Reminiscences of the Buonaparte
+ Family.—Excursion in the Gulf.—Chapel of the Greeks.—Evening
+ Scenes.—Council-General of the Department.—Statistics.—State of
+ Agriculture in Corsica—Her Prospects._
+
+
+Sunday morning we attended high-mass at the cathedral of Ajaccio, a
+building of the sixteenth century, in the Italian style, having a belfry
+and dome, with the interior richly decorated. The service was well
+performed, there being a fine-toned organ, and the music of the mass
+well selected. The congregation was numerous, the girls' school
+especially. I was struck with the pensive cast of features in many of
+the girls, so like the Madonnas of the Italian masters. There were
+formerly six dioceses in Corsica, Mariana being the principal; for many
+years they have been all administered by the Bishop of Ajaccio, who is
+at present a suffragan of the Archbishop of Aix, in France.
+
+After service, we called on one of the professors of the
+_Collège-Fesch_, to whom we had letters of introduction. This college
+and the _Séminaire_ are the best buildings in Ajaccio, both being finely
+situated fronting the sea. The _Séminaire_ is confined exclusively to
+the education of theological students intended for the clerical orders.
+In the other, founded and endowed by Cardinal Fesch, the course of
+study is that generally pursued in the French colleges. The cardinal
+appears to have had more affection for his native place than any other
+member of the Bonaparte family, giving a proof of it in this noble
+foundation. He also bequeathed to his native place a large collection of
+pictures, few of them, however, of much merit. His remains are deposited
+with those of Madame Letizia, his sister, in a chapel of the cathedral
+of Ajaccio, having been brought from Rome; where I recollect seeing him
+in 1819,—short and portly in person, with a mild and good-humoured
+expression of countenance. He had been a kind guardian of the young
+Bonapartes, and carefully administered the small property they
+inherited.
+
+The _Collège-Fesch_ is a large building, with spacious lecture-rooms,
+long and lofty corridors, and a yard for exercise; the windows of the
+front looking out on the Gulf of Ajaccio and the mountains beyond. The
+professor's apartments had all the air of the rooms of a college fellow
+and tutor in one of our universities, carpets _et aliis mutandis_; only
+they were more airy and spacious. There are fifteen professors, of whom
+the Abbate Porazzi is one of the most distinguished. We were indebted to
+him for many good offices during our stay at Ajaccio. The number of
+students at this time was 260. They appeared to be of all ranks and
+ages; some of them grown men.
+
+Everything here has the southern character. We find rows of lemon-trees
+on the Corso; and the cactus, or Indian fig, flourishes in the
+environs,—the bright oleander thriving in the open air. The heat was
+excessive, my thermometer standing at 80° at noon, in the shade of an
+airy room. From the Corso, a short street leads into the market-place, a
+square, bounded on one side by the port, and embellished by a fountain.
+During the last year it has been further ornamented by a statue of the
+first Napoleon, of white marble, standing on a granite pedestal, and
+facing the harbour. Concealed during the reigns of the restored
+Bourbons, its erection was a homage to the rising fortunes of the
+President of the French Republic. Ajaccio, being the modern capital of
+Corsica, the _chef-lieu_ of the department, and seat of the _préfetture_
+and administration, is more French in habits and feeling than any other
+town in the island. But even here, I apprehend, there has never been
+much enthusiasm for the Bonapartes.[34] Among the native Corsicans,
+Pascal Paoli is the national hero.
+
+We visited, of course, the house in which the first Napoleon was born,
+standing in a little solitary court dignified with the name of the
+_Piazza Lucrezia_, near the market-place. It has been often described.
+Uninhabited, and without a vestige of furniture, except some faded
+tapestry on the walls, the desolate and gloomy air of the birthplace of
+the great emperor struck me even more than the deserted apartments at
+Longwood, from which his spirit took its flight. There, sheaves of corn
+and implements of husbandry still gave signs of human life, singularly
+as they contrasted with the relics of imperial grandeur recently
+witnessed by the homely apartments. A man, born in the first year of the
+French Revolution, and who has followed the career of its “child and
+champion” with the feelings common to most Englishmen, can have no
+Napoleonic sympathies; yet, without forgetting the atrocities, the
+selfishness, and the littleness which stained and disfigured that
+career, it is impossible that such scenes could be contemplated by a
+thoughtful mind, not only without profound reflection on the
+vicissitudes of life, but without a full impression of the genius and
+force of character which lifted the Corsican adventurer to the dangerous
+height from whence he fell.
+
+One afternoon we hired a boat in the harbour, and sailed down the Gulf
+of Ajaccio. This fine inlet, opening to the south-west, is from three to
+four leagues in length and breadth, and forms a basin of about twelve
+leagues in circumference, from the northern extremity, where the old
+city stood, to its outlet between the _Isles Sanguinaires_ and the Capo
+di Moro, on the opposite coast. A range of mountains, considerably
+inferior in elevation to the central chain from which they ramify, rises
+almost from the shore, and stretches along the northern side of the
+gulf. The other coast is more indented, and swells into the ridges of
+the Bastelica, embracing the rich valley of Campo Loro (_Campo del'
+Oro_), washed by the Gravone. The Gulf of Ajaccio, like many others, has
+been compared to the Bay of Naples; but, I think, without much reason,
+except for the colouring lent by a brilliant and transparent atmosphere
+to both sea and land. In the case of Ajaccio, the effects are heightened
+by a still more southern climate, and the grander scale of the mountain
+scenery.
+
+ [Illustration: HARBOUR OF AJACCIO.]
+
+There were only a few small vessels, employed in the coasting trade, in
+the port. We rowed round the mole, under the frowning bastions of the
+citadel, a regular work covering a point stretching into the bay; and
+then hoisting sail, stood out into the gulf. The wind was too light to
+admit of our gaining its entrance; we sailed down it, however, for four
+or five miles in the mid-channel, the rocky islands at the northern
+entrance gradually opening; one crowned with the tower of a lighthouse,
+another with a village on its summit. The coast to our right was
+clothed with the deep verdure of the ever memorable Corsican shrubbery,
+breathing aromatic odours as we drifted along: otherwise, it appeared
+desolate; not a village appeared, and the barren and rugged mountain
+chain towered above.
+
+Finding that we made but little progress, the boat was steered for a
+little reef of rocks on the northern shore, and landing, we dismissed
+the boatman, determining to walk back to Ajaccio along the water's edge.
+Meanwhile we sat down on the rocks while my companion sketched.
+Presently I strolled up to a little chapel, standing by the side of the
+road which winds round the gulf towards _les Isles Sanguinaires_. A
+simple and chaste style of Italian architecture distinguished the white
+_façade_, rising gracefully to a pediment, crowned with a cross;
+pilasters, supporting arches, divided the portico beneath into three
+compartments, the central one forming the entrance. The door was closed,
+but the interior was visible through a _grille_ at the side. The nave
+was paved with blue and white squares, and marble steps led up to the
+sanctuary, forming, with two side chapels, a Greek cross. There was no
+ornament, no furniture, except two or three low chairs for kneeling.
+Under the portico was a marble tablet, inscribed in good Latin, to the
+pious memory of a Pozzo di Borgo[35], who restored the chapel in 1632. I
+read on another tablet:—
+
+ _“Per gli Orfanelli dei Marinari Naufragati.”_
+
+Under an arch supported by pillars of green marble, a lamp was feebly
+glimmering, fed perhaps by the offerings of loving mothers and fond
+wives who here offered their vows for the safe return of those dear to
+them.
+
+The sun was setting behind the islands at the mouth of the gulf, perfect
+stillness reigned, broken only by a gentle ripple on the granite rocks
+forming ledges from the water's edge to the base of the chapel. Struck
+with its singular interest, and wishing to learn more about it, on
+returning to my friend, who was still sketching, I found him in
+conversation with some loungers from the town. They could only tell us
+that it was called “The Chapel of the Greeks,” and, laughing, turned on
+their heels when I pursued my inquiries. Did they suppose that we
+Northerns had no sentiment in our religion, or had they none themselves?
+I afterwards heard two traditions respecting the Chapel of the Greeks.
+One, that it was founded by the remains of a colony from the Morea, who,
+having been expelled with great loss from their settlement at Cargese,
+were granted an asylum here;—the other, that the original building was
+erected, by Greek mariners, in acknowledgment of their escape from
+shipwreck on this coast.
+
+It would be difficult, I imagine, to find a more favourable point of
+view, or a happier moment, than that of which my friend availed himself
+to make the sketch of Ajaccio, which has been selected for the
+frontispiece of this volume. The gulf was perfectly calm, and of the
+deepest green and azure, a slight ripple being only discernible where a
+boat lay in one of the long streams of light reflected from the mass of
+orange and golden clouds in which the sun was setting behind the
+islands; while, to the east, flakes of rosy hue floated in the
+mid-heaven. The sails of the feluccas, becalmed in the gulf, faintly
+caught the light, and it gleamed on the houses of Ajaccio, particularly
+those of the modern town, distinguished by its white walls and red roofs
+from the old buildings about the cathedral. Behind were sugar-loaf
+hills; and the mountain-sides across the gulf glowed with the richest
+purple. Then came gradual changes of colour, softer and deeper hues,
+till, at last, a steamy veil of mist from seaward stole over the gulf. A
+faint glimmer from the lighthouse at the entrance of the harbour was
+scarcely visible in the blaze left behind by the glorious sunset.
+
+The lights began to twinkle from the windows of Ajaccio, and the
+cathedral bells tolling for the Ave Maria, stole on the ear across the
+gulf in the silence of the twilight hour. Reluctant to leave the scene,
+we lingered till it was shrouded from view, and an evening never to be
+forgotten closed in. Then we wound slowly towards the city along the
+shore, at the foot of hills laid out in vineyards hedged by the prickly
+cactus, or lightly sprinkled with myrtles and cystus, and all those
+odoriferous plants which now perfumed the balmy night air. Embowered in
+these, we had remarked some mortuary chapels, the burying-places of
+Ajaccian families. One of them, high up on the hill-side, was in the
+form of a Grecian temple; and we now passed another, standing among
+cypresses, close to the shore. Nearer the city, two stone pillars stand
+at the entrance of an avenue leading up to a dilapidated country-house,
+formerly the residence of Cardinal Fesch, and where Madame Bonaparte and
+her family generally spent the summer. Among the neglected shrubberies,
+and surrounded by the wild olive, the cactus, the clematis, and the
+almond, is a singular and isolated granite rock, called Napoleon's
+grotto, once his favourite retreat.
+
+On our return, we found the streets thronged; braziers with roasted
+chestnuts stood at every corner; strings of mules, loaded with wine
+casks suspended on each side, were returning from the vineyards; and
+there was a gay promenade on the Corso—ladies with no covering for their
+heads but the graceful black _faldetta_, French officers in not very
+brilliant uniforms, and a sprinkling of ecclesiastics in _soutanes_ and
+prodigious beavers.
+
+Professor Porazzi took us to the only bookseller's shop in Ajaccio,
+where we made some purchases. It was a small affair, the book trade
+being combined with the sale of a variety of miscellaneous articles. The
+_préfetture_, a handsome building, lately finished, contains a library
+of 25,000 volumes. We were introduced there to M. Camille Friess, the
+author of a compendious history of Corsica, who was kind enough to show
+us some of the archives, of which he has the custody. Among the
+documents connected with the Bonaparte family is a memorial, addressed
+by Napoleon to the Intendant of Corsica, respecting his mother's right
+to a garden. I jotted down the beginning and end:—
+
+ “_Memoire relative à la pépinière d'Ajaccio._
+
+“_Letizia Ramolini, veuve de Buonaparte, d'Ajaccio, a l'honneur de vous
+exposer...._
+
+ “_Votre très humble
+ et très obeissant serviteur_,
+ “BUONAPARTE[36], _Officier d'Artillerie_.
+
+“_Hotel de Cherbourg_,
+
+ “_Rue St. Honoré, Paris, le 9 Nov. 1787._”
+
+The claim for a few roods of nursery garden was made by a young man who
+afterwards distributed kingdoms and principalities! It is said that in
+the division of some property which fell to the family after he became
+emperor, his share was an olive-yard in the environs of Ajaccio.
+
+M. Friess obligingly gave me copies of the _procès-verbals_ of the
+proceedings of the Council-General of the Department for the preceding
+years. These reports are printed annually, and, I believe, similar ones
+are made in all the departments of France. Those I possess are models of
+good arrangement in whatever concerns provincial administration. They
+have supplied more information on the present state of Corsica and its
+prospects of improvement than all the books of travel, and works of
+greater pretensions, it has been my fortune to meet with.
+
+The Council-General, as many of my readers know, is a body elected by
+the people; each canton, of which there are sixty-one in Corsica,
+sending representatives in proportion to the population. The _préfet_,
+who is _ex-officio_ president, opens the session by a speech, in which
+he reviews the affairs of the department under the heads of finance,
+public works, education, &c., &c., and presents a budget, with detailed
+reports on the various branches of administration. All these are
+printed, with a short _procès-verbal_ of the debates, and the divisions
+when the Council-General comes to a vote. The proceedings are submitted
+to the Minister of the Interior, who approves or rejects the proposals
+made. Virtually, however, although the Council has no power to act on
+its resolutions until they are confirmed by the central government,
+whatever relates to the assessment of taxes, police, roads, and other
+works, all matters of local interest not only come under discussion in
+these provincial assemblies, but are shaped and decided by them. The
+services thus rendered must therefore be very valuable, and it is worth
+considering whether our over-worked House of Commons might not be
+relieved of some of its burthens, and the business better done, by
+similar representative bodies, entrusted with legislative powers so far
+as concerns matters of local interest. Such assemblies would well accord
+with our Anglo-Saxon institutions. But to give them a fair field, with
+sufficient weight, impartiality, and importance, a considerable area
+should be embraced in each jurisdiction. Durham might be united with
+Yorkshire; the three western counties, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall,
+might form a province; North and South Wales, each one. And what a
+valuable body of statistics would be furnished by an annual report,
+corresponding with those which have led to these remarks!
+
+We gather some general statistics from these documents and other
+sources.
+
+By the census of 1851, the population of Corsica was 236,251 souls, of
+whom 117,938 were males, and 118,313 females. All but 54 were Roman
+Catholics. There were no less than 32,364 proprietors of land. The
+day-labourers were 34,427; government officials, 1229; clergy, 955;
+regular troops, _gendarmes_, &c., 5000. The number of students in all
+the public colleges and schools was from 16,000 to 17,000, of which
+15,000 were male, and only from 2000 to 3000 females. The proportion of
+males frequenting the schools is greater than in France, it being as 137
+to 100 in the winter, and 226 to 100 in the summer; while that of the
+girls is the reverse, being as 12 to 100 in the winter, and 21 to 100 in
+the summer. This disproportion between male and female scholars in
+Corsica is very remarkable.
+
+The superficies of the island is estimated at somewhat less than two
+millions and a quarter of English acres. Of this surface, only a
+six-hundredth part is, on an average, under cultivation, an area which,
+it is said, might be doubled. Vast portions of the soil belong to the
+communes, and measures are in contemplation for their improvement.
+
+Wheat produces, on an average of years, an increase of nine times the
+seed sown; barley and oats, twelve or thirteen; maize, thirty-eight to
+forty; and potatoes, twenty.
+
+The rate of daily wages for the year 1851 was fixed by the
+Council-General at 75 _centimes_ for the towns of Ajaccio and Bastia,
+and 50 _centimes_ for all the other communes.
+
+Among the most important subjects brought to notice by the
+_procès-verbal_ of 1851 is the state of agriculture in the island; on
+which the _Préfet_ finds little to congratulate the Council-General
+except an increase in the cultivation of lucerne and in the plantations
+of mulberry-trees. The obstacles to its progress are found in the
+insecurity of life, the want of inclosures, and the unbounded rights of
+common enjoyed by the shepherds; in the richest plains being
+uninhabited, and their distance from the villages; in the pestilential
+air of these plains, and the want of roads.—A stranger will be disposed
+to add to this list the indolence of the natives. So far as the
+obstacles to improvement can be surmounted by judicious legislation and
+encouragement, the _procès-verbals_ of the Council-General exhibit
+enlightened ideas far in advance of the opinions and habits of the
+people; and there is much good sense and right feeling in the
+observation with which the _Prèfet_, in one of his addresses, concludes
+his statement of the position of affairs:—
+
+“Si la Corse,” he says, “devait passer subitement à l'état des
+civilisations avancées, elle courait risque de perdre dans cette
+transformation (et ce serait à jamais deplorable) tout ce qu'il y a de
+primitif, de généreux, d'énergetique dans ses mœurs séculaires. Je n'en
+citerai qu'un exemple. Le mouvement civilisateur trouve, à certains
+égards, résistance dans la force des sentiments de famille, dans la
+cohésion des membres qui la composent. Et, cependant, qui d'entre vous
+consentirait à acheter les progrès de la civilisation au prix du
+rélâchement de ces liens sacrés qui sont la clef de voûte de toute
+société organisée?”
+
+Delivered from the scourge of _banditisme_ and the _vendetta_ by severe
+measures, supposed to be strongly opposed to the popular instinct, and
+with hopes held out of such further improvement in civilisation as the
+progress of ideas will admit, Corsica may, perhaps, have no reason to
+regret that she failed in her long struggles for national independence.
+But France will not have performed her duty to this outlying department
+of the empire till she promotes the manufactures and commerce of the
+island. It is a part of the protective system to which she clings to
+discourage all direct foreign trade, just as England formerly engrossed
+the commerce of her colonies. The result is that the poor Corsicans,
+compelled to purchase the commodities they require—manufactured goods,
+colonial produce, and even corn and cattle—in the French market, buy at
+enormously high prices. The balance of trade is much against them,
+their annual exports to France being only a million and a half of
+_francs_, while they import from thence articles of the value of three
+millions. The present Emperor of France is understood to entertain
+enlightened views on the subject of free trade; and it is to be hoped
+that, when he is able to carry them out, Corsica will share in the
+benefits of an unrestricted commerce.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXIII.
+
+ _Leave Ajaccio.—Neighbourhood of Olmeto.—Sollacaró.—James
+ Boswell's Residence there.—Scene in the “Corsican Brothers”
+ laid there—Quarrel of the Vincenti and Grimaldi.—Road to
+ Sartene.—Corsican Marbles.—Arrive at Bonifacio._
+
+
+We were quite as well served, and the accommodations were as good, at
+Ajaccio as in any provincial city of France. They gave us a delicate
+white wine made in the neighbourhood, an agreeable beverage, which, we
+thought, resembled _Chablais_; and a _confiture_ of cherries preserved
+in jelly, which was exquisite. I had told the story of our adventure
+with the poor girls from Corte to the mistress of the house, and, on
+Bridget's appearing the day after our arrival to claim her wardrobe, she
+informed me, with great joy, that our good hostess had taken her into
+her service.
+
+On leaving Ajaccio, Sartene was our next point. The road crosses the
+Gravone and the Prunelle, flowing into the gulf through fertile valleys,
+and then winds through a wild and mountainous country, in which Cauro is
+the only village, till, surmounting the Col San Georgio, 2000 feet above
+the level of the sea, it descends into a rich plain, watered by the
+Taravo. In its upper course its branches water two romantic valleys,
+which formed the ancient fiefs of Ornano and Istria, the seats of
+powerful lords in the old times. Picturesque scenery, ruins of castles,
+and mediæval tales lend a charm to this region, in which we would
+gladly have wandered for some days, but that Sardinia was before us.
+
+There are few finer spots in the island than the _paese_ of Olmeto, the
+principal village being surrounded by mountains, with a plain below,
+extending to the deep inlet of the Mediterranean, called the Gulf of
+Valinco, and rich in corn-lands, olive, and fruit trees. At Olmeto we
+were served with a dish of magnificent apples, some of them said to
+weigh two pounds. On the Monte Buturetto, 3000 feet high, are seen the
+ruins of the stronghold of Arrigo della Rocca; and, further on, near
+Sollacaró, another almost inaccessible summit was crowned by a castle,
+built by his nephew, Vincentello d'Istria—both famed in Corsican story.
+
+It was at Sollacaró, standing at the foot of this hill, that our
+countryman, Boswell, first presented himself to Pascal Paoli, in a house
+of the Colonna's, with letters of introduction from the Count de
+Rivarola and Rousseau. Boswell remained some time with Paoli, who was
+then keeping a sort of court at Sollacaró, and admitted him to the most
+familiar intercourse. His conversations with the illustrious Corsican,
+jotted down in his own peculiar style, form the most interesting part of
+the account of his tour, published after his return to England. “From my
+first setting out on this tour,” he states, “I wrote down every night
+what I had observed during the day. Of these particulars the most
+valuable to my readers, as well as to myself, must surely be the memoirs
+and remarkable sayings of Pascal Paoli, which I am proud to record.”[37]
+
+
+Boswell was treated with much distinction, and appears to have been
+flattered with the character, which ignorance or policy attributed to
+him, of being _Il Ambasciadore Inglese_. “In the morning,” he says, “I
+had my chocolate served up on a silver salver, adorned with the arms of
+Corsica. I dined and supped constantly with the general. I was visited
+by all the nobility; and when I chose to make a little tour, I was
+attended by a party of guards. One day, when I rode out, I was mounted
+on Paoli's own horse, with rich furniture of crimson velvet and broad
+gold lace, and had my guards marching along with me.” His vanity so
+flattered, and with what he calls Attic evenings, “_noctes, cœnæque
+Deûm_,” giving scope to his ruling passion, James Boswell must have been
+in the seventh heaven while Paoli's guest at Sollacaró.
+
+But the most amusing part of the affair is the efforts he made to
+ingratiate himself with the lower classes of the Corsicans, his
+admiration of whom is sometimes chequered by a wholesome fear of their
+wild instincts. “I got a Corsican dress made,” he says, “in which I
+walked about with an air of true satisfaction. The general did me the
+honour to present me with his own pistols, made in the island, all of
+Corsican wood and iron, and of excellent workmanship. I had every other
+accoutrement.[38] The peasants and soldiers became quite free and easy
+with me. One day, they would needs hear me play upon my German flute. I
+gave them one or two Italian airs, and then some of our beautiful old
+Scotch tunes—‘Gilderoy,’ ‘The Lass of Patie's Mill,’ ‘Corn-riggs are
+bonny.’ The pathetic simplicity and pastoral gaiety of the Scotch music
+will always please those who have the genuine feelings of nature. The
+Corsicans were charmed with the specimens I gave them.
+
+“My good friends insisted also on having an English song from me. I
+endeavoured to please them in this, too, and was very lucky in what
+occurred to me. I sung to them ‘Hearts of oak are our ships; hearts of
+oak are our men.’ I translated it into Italian for them; and never did I
+see men so delighted with a song as the Corsicans were with ‘Hearts of
+Oak.’ ‘_Cuore di querco_,’ cried they, ‘_bravo Inglese!_’ It was quite a
+joyous riot.”
+
+Boswell's correspondence during this tour is also characteristic. He
+informs us that he walked one day to Corte, from the convent where he
+lodged, purposely to write a letter to Mr. Samuel Johnson.—“I told my
+revered friend, that from a kind of superstition, agreeable in a certain
+degree to him as well as to myself, I had, during my travels, written to
+him from LOCA SOLEMNIA, places in some measure sacred. That, as I had
+written to him from the tomb of Melancthon, sacred to learning and
+piety, I now wrote to him from the palace of Pascal Paoli, sacred to
+wisdom and liberty; knowing that, however his political principles may
+have been represented, he had always a generous zeal for the common
+rights of humanity.
+
+“Mr. Johnson was pleased with what I wrote here; for I received, at
+Paris, an answer from him, which I keep as a valuable charter. ‘When you
+return, you will return to an unaltered and, I hope, unalterable friend.
+All that you have to fear from me is the vexation of disappointing me.
+No man loves to frustrate expectations which have been formed in his
+favour, and the pleasure which I promise myself from your journals and
+remarks is so great, that perhaps no degree of attention or discernment
+will be able to afford it. Come home, however, and take your chance. I
+long to see you and to hear you; and hope that we shall not be so long
+separated again. Come home, and expect such a welcome as is due to him
+whom a wise and noble curiosity has led where, perhaps, no native of
+this country ever was before.’”[39]
+
+We have a certain sympathy for Boswell. He was the first Englishman on
+record who penetrated into Corsica, and none but ourselves, as far as we
+have any account, have followed his steps for nearly a century. Not to
+weary the reader, we have done him injustice in only making extracts
+from his work betraying the weak points of his character; for his
+account of Corsica is valuable for its research, its descriptions, and
+its history of the times. His _memorabilia_ of Pascal Paoli supply ample
+materials for any modern Plutarch who would contrast his character with
+that of his rival countryman, Napoleon Bonaparte. Commencing their
+political career in unison, widely as it diverged, both ended their
+lives in exile on British soil. Though Paoli's sphere was narrow, so was
+that of some of the greatest men in Grecian history; and, like theirs,
+it had far extended relations. The eyes of Europe were upon him; Corsica
+was then its battle-field, and the principles of his conduct and
+administration are of universal application.
+
+But Sollacaró may have more interest for the public of the present day
+from its connection with a romance of Alexandre Dumas, and the play
+founded upon it, than from Paoli's having held court, or Boswell's visit
+to him, there. We have traced the wizard's footsteps, in one of his
+works of genius, at the Château d'If and Monte Cristo[40], we meet them
+again in the wilds of Corsica. Few of my readers can follow us there;
+but let them go to the “Princess's” when “The Corsican Brothers” is
+performed, and they will realise much that we have told them of the
+Corsican temperament and Corsican life. How true to nature is the reply
+of Fabian, in the first act, to the suggestion of his friend, “Then you
+will never leave the village of Sollacaró?”—“It seems strange to you
+that a man should cling to such a miserable country as Corsica; but what
+else can you expect? I am one of those plants that will only live in the
+open air. I must breathe an atmosphere impregnated with the life-giving
+emanations of the mountains and the sharp breezes of the sea. I must
+have my torrents to cross, my rocks to climb, my forests to explore. I
+must have my carbine, room, independence, and liberty. If I were
+transported into a city, methinks I should be stifled, as if I were in a
+prison.”
+
+The scene of the first act is laid in an old mansion of the Colonna's at
+Sollacaró, perhaps that in which Boswell lodged. The action turns upon
+an antient feud between the Orlandi and Colonne, which is with
+difficulty extinguished by the intervention of Fabian, one of the
+Corsican brothers. A short dialogue tells the story:—
+
+“FABIAN. ‘You come among us to witness a _vendetta_; well! you will
+behold something much more rare—you will be present at a
+reconciliation.’
+
+“ALFRED. ‘A reconciliation?’
+
+“FAB. ‘Which will be no easy matter, I assure you, considering the point
+to which things are come.’
+
+“ALF. ‘And from what did this great quarrel originate, which, thanks to
+you, is on the eve of being extinguished?’
+
+“FAB. ‘Why, I confess I feel some difficulty in telling you that. The
+first cause was—’
+
+“ALF. ‘Was what?’
+
+“FAB. ‘The first cause was a hen.’
+
+“ALF. (_astonished_) ‘A hen!’
+
+“FAB. ‘Yes. About ten years ago, a hen escaped from the poultry-yard of
+the Orlandi, and took refuge in that of one of the Colonne. The Orlandi
+claimed the hen. The Colonne maintained it was theirs. In the heat of
+the discussion, an Orlando was imprudent enough to threaten that he
+would summon the Colonne before the _Juge de Paix_, and put them on
+their oath. At this menace, an old woman of the Colonna family, who held
+the hen in her hand, twisted its neck, and threw it in the face of the
+mother of Orlando. “There,” said she, “if the hen be thine, eat it!”
+Upon this, an Orlando picked up the hen by the claws, and raised his
+hand, with the hen in it, to strike her who had thrown it in the face of
+his mother; but at the moment he lifted his hand, a Colonna, who
+unfortunately had his loaded carbine with him, without hesitation,
+fired, and shot him in the breast, and killed him.’
+
+“ALF. ‘Good heavens! And how many lives has this ridiculous squabble
+cost?’[41]
+
+“FAB. ‘There have been nine persons killed and five wounded.’
+
+“ALF. ‘What! and all for a miserable hen?’
+
+“FAB. ‘Yes.’
+
+“ALF. ‘And it is, doubtless, in compliance with the prayers of one of
+these two families that you have interfered to terminate this quarrel?’
+
+“FAB. ‘Oh! not at all. They would have exterminated one another to the
+very last man rather than have made a single step towards each other.
+No, no; it is at the entreaty of my brother.’” ...
+
+The action of this scene consists in the formal but unwilling
+reconciliation of the two clans, represented by their chiefs, in the
+presence of a _juge de paix_; in token of which a hen was to be
+presented by the Orlando to the Colonna. The situation affords scope for
+ludicrous disputes whether it should be a white hen or a black one—dead
+or alive—which should hold out his hand first, and so on; mixed with the
+more serious question, whether they met on equal terms, only four
+Orlandi having been slain against five Colonne, but four Orlandi wounded
+to one Colonna—the Colonne “counting the wounded for nothing,” if they
+did not die of their wounds.
+
+The main plot is beside our purpose. The scene changes to Paris, and
+the catastrophe may be imagined from the words of Fabian in the last
+act, which give, alas! too true a picture of what the social state of
+Corsica was.
+
+“‘A Corsican family is the ancient hydra, one of whose heads has no
+sooner been cut off than there springs forth another, which bites and
+tears in the place of the one that has been severed from the trunk. What
+is my will, sir? My will is to kill him who has killed my brother!’
+
+“‘You are determined to kill me, sir! How?’
+
+“FAB. ‘Oh, be satisfied! Not from behind a wall, not through a hedge, as
+is the mode in my country, as is the practice there; but, as it is done
+here, _à la mode Française_, with a frilled shirt and white gloves;—and
+you see, sir, I am in fighting costume.’”
+
+ * * * * *
+
+But we must return to our Rambles, trusting to the indulgent reader's
+forgiveness, if our pen sometimes rambles too. On leaving Olmeto, the
+road skirts the Gulf of Valinco, and, after touching the little port of
+Propriano, ascends to Sartene. This town, the seat of one of the five
+_sous-préfettures_ into which the island is divided, stands on the
+summit of a hill, the plain below being covered with olive-yards and
+fruit-trees, with vineyards on the slopes, and groves of ilex further
+up. The place has a melancholy aspect, all the houses being of the
+rudest construction, built of unhewn granite, black with age, and very
+lofty. It is divided into two quarters; one inhabited by wealthy
+families, among which, we were told, there are fifteen worth 200,000
+_francs_ each; and the other by the lower class of people, a turbulent
+race, between whom and the patricians there have long been bloody feuds,
+breaking out into open war.
+
+The country between Sartene and Bonifacio is wild and mountainous; and
+the road winding along the sides of the hills, many fine points of view
+are presented. To the northward, the eye rested on the lofty peak of
+Monte Incudine, and the long ridge of the Cascione, the high pasturages
+of which are occupied during the summer months by the shepherds of
+Quenza and other villages of the Serra. Southward, we have the coast,
+deeply indented, the blue Mediterranean, and, at about two hours from
+Sartene, the distant mountains of Sardinia, in faint outline. Now, there
+is in sight the grey tower of one of the old feudal castles, overgrown
+with wood, and rising among pinnacles of rock; vast forests clothe some
+of the mountain-sides, and everywhere we find the arbutus, the myrtle,
+and evergreen shrubbery. Here it contrasts well with the red and grey
+rocks we see around. That reddish rock is a compact granite, evidently
+admitting of a high polish. There are quarries by the side of the road,
+which is cut through it; and we are informed that it is sent to Rome for
+works of art.
+
+Corsica is rich in valuable marbles, as yet turned to little account.
+Not far from Olmeto, in this route, in the canton of Santa Lucia, is
+found a beautiful granite, peculiar to the island. They call it
+_orbicularis_. It has a blueish cast, with white and black spots. I have
+observed it among the choice specimens with which the chapel of the
+Medici, at Florence, is so richly inlaid. The Corsican mountains present
+a variety of other fine granites, with porphyry and serpentine, in some
+of which agates and jaspers are incorporated. Of marbles proper, there
+are quarries in the island of a statuary marble, of a pure and dazzling
+whiteness, said to be equal to the best Carrara. Blocks of it, from
+five to eight feet thick, can be obtained from a single layer.
+Blueish-grey and pale yellow marbles are found near Corte and Bastia.
+But of metalliferous rocks and deposits the island cannot boast; a few
+iron mines, that of Olmeta in particular, one of copper, another of
+antimony, and one of manganese, form the scanty catalogue. It is to the
+island of Elba that we must look for mineral wealth.
+
+Connected with the mineralogy of Corsica, I would just mention, in
+passing, that the island abounds in warm, sulphureous, and chalybeate
+springs, some of them strongly impregnated with carbonic acid gas. Those
+of Orezza, Puzzichello, and the Fiumorbo, are in great repute; and I
+collect from the _procès-verbals_ of the Council-General, that the
+mineral waters of Corsica are considered objects of much importance,
+considerable sums being annually voted for making baths, with roads to
+them, and encouraging parties engaged in opening them to the public.
+
+Descending from the heights, after halting at a solitary post-house, we
+cross a large tract of partially-cultivated flats, through which the
+Ortolo flows sluggishly into the Gulf of Roccapina. Again we climb a
+ridge, and the mountains of Sardinia rise distinctly before us over the
+straits and islands beneath us. The road now approaches the
+Mediterranean, crossing the heads of the small Gulfs of Figari and
+Ventiligni. Many streams flow into them through a country uninhabited,
+and said to be unhealthy.
+
+Some miles succeed of the undulating shrubbery of the _maquis_, over a
+poor and rugged surface, till we surmount the last ridge, and, suddenly,
+Bonifacio appears across the harbour, crowning a rocky peninsula rising
+boldly from the sea, which washes almost the whole circuit of its base.
+The chalk cliffs are of a dazzling whiteness, and scooped out by the
+action of the waves and the weather into the most fantastic shapes.
+Their entire _enceinte_ is surrounded by fortifications, screening from
+sight most of the town; the church domes, with watch-towers and a
+massive citadel, alone breaking the picturesque outline. At the foot of
+the road, along the harbour-side, lies the _Marino_, inhabited by
+fishermen, and the seat of a small coasting trade and some commerce
+across the straits with the island of Sardinia.
+
+ [Illustration: BONIFACIO ON THE SEA-SIDE.]
+
+To this Marino we rumble down the steep bank on the opposite side of the
+creek, through ilex woods festooned with wild vines, and, lower down,
+through olive groves. We travelled in the _coupé_ of the _diligence_
+from Sartene with a young Corsican officer in the French service, who
+had come on leave from Dieppe to bid farewell to his family at
+Bonifacio, expecting to be employed in the expedition to the East. We
+talked of the coming war, with an almost impregnable fortress before us,
+memorable for its obstinate resistance to sieges, as remarkable in old
+times as that in which both, probably, of my fellow-travellers were,
+twelve months afterwards, engaged. On approaching the place, we
+witnessed a scene which gave us some idea of the warmth of family
+feeling among the Corsicans. At the foot of the descent, a mile from the
+town, the _diligence_ suddenly stopped. By the road-side a group, of all
+ages and both sexes, was waiting its arrival. What fond greetings! what
+tender embraces! A young urchin seized his brother's sword, almost as
+long as himself; the mother and sisters clung to his side. Leaving him
+to walk to the town thus happily escorted, we are set down on the quay.
+The only access to the town itself is by a steep inclined plane, with
+slopes and steps cut in the rock. No wheel carriage ever enters the
+place. We pass under a gloomy arch in the barbican, surmounted by a
+strong tower, and establish ourselves in a very unpromising _locanda_,
+after vainly searching for better quarters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXIV.
+
+ _Bonifacio.—Foundation and History.—Besieged by Alfonso of
+ Arragon.—By Dragut and the Turks.—Singularity of the Place.—Its
+ Mediæval Aspect.—The Post-office.—Passports.—Detention.—Marine
+ Grottoes.—Ruined Convent of St. Julian._
+
+
+Boniface, Marquis of Tuscany, one of the noblest and bravest of
+Charlemagne's peers, was entrusted by his feeble successor with the
+defence of the most salient point in the southern frontier of his
+dominions against the incessant ravages of the Saracen Corsairs from
+Barbary and Spain. Created Count of Corsica, Boniface founded, in 830,
+the strong fortress, on the southern extremity of the island, which
+bears his name. A massive round tower, called _Il Torrione_, the
+original citadel, still proudly crowns the heights, having withstood for
+ages the storms of war and the tempests which lash its exposed and
+sea-girt site. Three other ancient towers, including the barbican
+already mentioned, strengthened the position; and others, with ramparts,
+curtains, and bastions, were added to the works in succeeding times,
+till the whole circuit of the rocky _plateau_ bristles with defensive
+works. Within these the town is closely packed in narrow streets;—but of
+that hereafter.
+
+ [Illustration: BONIFACIO]
+
+Of its history it need only be mentioned, that after passing to the
+Pisans, the Genoese got possession of the place by a stratagem, and it
+remained for many centuries under their protection, but enjoying great
+independent privileges. Genoese families of distinction settled there,
+and, during the wars with the Corsicans and their allies, Bonifacio
+steadfastly adhered to the fortunes of the Republic.
+
+In the course of these wars, the place sustained two sieges, so
+signalised by the vigour and obstinacy of the attack and defence,
+especially by the heroic resistance of the Bonifacians and the extremity
+of suffering they endured, that these sieges are memorable amongst the
+most famous of either ancient or modern times.
+
+In 1420, Alfonso of Arragon, having pretensions on Corsica, invested
+Bonifacio by sea and land with a powerful force, supported by his
+partisan, Vincintello d'Istria, at the head of his Corsican vassals. The
+siege, which lasted five months, was vigorously pressed on the part of
+the Spaniards, and met by a defence equally determined. Night and day, a
+terrible shower of stone balls and other missiles was hurled at the
+walls and into the town by the besiegers' engines, both from the fleet
+and the position occupied by the king's army on a neighbouring hill. The
+besiegers also threw arrows from the ships' towers and round-tops, and
+leaden acorns from certain hand-bombards, of cast metal, hollow, like a
+reed, as they are described by the Corsican historian, these leaden
+acorns being propelled by fire, and piercing through a man in armour.
+Artillery, the great arm in modern sieges, thus helped to sweep the
+ranks of the devoted Bonifacians. Seventy years before, it had been
+employed, in a rude shape, by the English at the battle of Créci. The
+walls and towers crumbled under the storm of heavier missiles discharged
+by the machines of ancient warfare, and the houses were laid in ruins.
+Twice, practicable breaches were effected, and the Spaniards, bravely
+mounting to the assault, which lasted several days, were repulsed with
+severe loss; the women of Bonifacio, as well as the priests and monks,
+vyeing with the townsmen in heroic courage while defending the breaches.
+Then, both sexes and every age worked night and day in throwing up
+barricades and repairing the walls.
+
+In the face of this obstinate defence, Alfonso, despairing of being able
+to carry the place by assault, determined on forcing the enemy to
+surrender from starvation, during a protracted siege; and, still pouring
+missiles incessantly into the place, he maintained a close blockade by
+sea and land, drawing chains across the harbour to prevent supplies
+being thrown in. The corn magazine had been burnt; and the besieged,
+reduced to the last extremity, were compelled to devour the most
+loathsome herbs and animals. Many, wounded and helpless, would have been
+carried off by hunger had not the compassion of the women afforded them
+relief; for the kind-hearted women of Bonifacio, we are told, actually
+offered their breasts to their brothers, children, blood-relations, and
+sponsors; and there was no one during the terrible siege of Bonifacio
+who had not sucked the breast of a woman. They even, it is said, made a
+cheese of their milk, and sent it to the king, as well as threw bread
+from the walls, to disguise their state of distress from the Spaniards.
+
+The republic of Genoa, receiving intelligence of the extremity to which
+its faithful town was reduced, lost no time in fitting out a fleet to
+convey to its aid a strong reinforcement, with supplies of arms and
+food; but the season was so stormy that for three months, between
+September and January (1421), the expedition was detained in the harbour
+of Genoa.
+
+Meanwhile, the townsmen, almost in despair, listened to the honourable
+terms offered by the King of Arragon, and at last agreed to capitulate
+if no relief arrived within forty days. But the king refusing to allow
+them to send messengers to Genoa, they hastily built a small vessel, and
+lowering it by ropes from the rock, then let down the devoted crew, who,
+at every peril, were to convey the magistrates' letters to the senate of
+Genoa. Followed to the point of rock by multitudes of the citizens, the
+women, it is said, by turns offered them their breasts: food there was
+little or none to take with them.
+
+After fifteen days of terrible suspense, during which the churches were
+open from early morning till late at night, the people praying for
+deliverance from their enemies and for forgiveness of their sins, and
+going in procession, barefoot, though the winter was severe, from the
+cathedral of St. Mary to St. Dominic and the other churches, chanting
+litanies;—at last, when hopes were failing, the little vessel crept
+under the rock by night, and the crew, giving the signal and being drawn
+up by ropes, brought the joyful news to the anxious crowd that the
+Genoese fleet was close at hand. The period for the surrender was come,
+when sorrow was turned to joy. The bells pealed, fire signals were
+lighted on all the towers, and shouts of exultation rose to heaven. The
+Arragonese thundered at the gates, demanding the surrender, for the
+relieving fleet was not yet descried. The Bonifacians asserted that
+relief had arrived in the night; and, to countenance the assertion,
+there appeared bands of armed men, who marched round the battlements,
+with glittering lances and armour, and the standard of Genoa at their
+head; for the women of Bonifacio had put on armour, so that, like the
+female peasantry of the coast of Cardigan, in their red whittles, when
+the French landed during the war of the revolution, the force opposed to
+the enemy was apparently doubled or tripled.
+
+Alfonso of Arragon, seeing this, exclaimed, “Have the Genoese wings,
+that they can come to Bonifacio when we are keeping a strict blockade by
+land and by sea?” And again he gave orders for the assault, and his
+engines shot a storm of missiles against the place. Three days
+afterwards, the relieving fleet anchored off the harbour, and some brave
+Bonifacians, swimming off to the ships, horrified the Genoese by their
+haggard and famine-worn features. After a terrible fight, which lasted
+for seven hours—ship jammed against ship in the narrow channel, and the
+Bonifacians hurling firebrands, harpoons, and all kinds of missiles on
+such of the enemy's ships as they could reach from the walls and
+towers—the Genoese burst the chain across the harbour, and unbounded was
+the joy of the famished townsmen when seven ships, loaded with corn,
+were safely moored along the Marino. Alfonso of Arragon raised the
+siege, and, abandoning his enterprise in deep mortification, sailed for
+Italy.
+
+The citizens of Bonifacio displayed equal heroism in defence of their
+town in 1554. It was then the turn of Henry IV. of France to invade
+Corsica. Invited by Sampiero and the other patriot chiefs, the French
+troops, acting in concert with the island militia, drove the Genoese
+from all their positions except some fortified places on the coast;
+while the Turks, the natural enemies of the republic, co-operating with
+the French, appeared off the island with a powerful fleet, under the
+command of their admiral, Dragut, and laid siege to Bonifacio.
+
+The defence offered by the townsmen was all the more obstinate from
+their being inspired with the sentiment that it was a religious duty to
+fight against the Infidel. Again the women rushed to the ramparts, and
+fell gloriously in the breach. The Turks had been repulsed with great
+slaughter in repeated assaults, and Dragut had drawn off his forces to
+some distance, disconcerted, and almost resolved to raise the siege,
+when an unexpected occurrence brought it to an end. An inhabitant of
+Bonifacio was entrusted by the senate of Genoa to carry over a sum of
+money, and announce the approach of succour to the besieged town.
+Landing at Girolata, he was making his way through the island, when,
+betrayed by one of his guides, he was arrested, and brought to De
+Thermes, the French general. Means were found of inducing the Genoese
+emissary to betray his employers. He was instructed to proceed to
+Bonifacio with Da Mare, a Corsican noble, and engage the authorities to
+surrender, informing them that the Genoese could afford them no relief.
+
+The stratagem succeeded. The letters of credence with which the traitor
+had been furnished at Genoa satisfied the commandant of the truth of his
+mission, and he consented to deliver up the place to Da Mare, on
+condition that the town should be saved from pillage, and the soldiers
+conducted to Bastia, and embarked for Genoa. But when the Turks saw
+those brave men, who had foiled all their assaults by an obstinate
+defence, file out of the place, they fell on them, and massacred them
+without mercy. Moreover, Dragut demanded that Bonifacio should be put
+into his hands, or that he should receive an indemnity of 25,000
+crowns. It was impossible to deliver up a town to be sacked by the
+Turks, the inhabitants of which it was policy to conciliate, nor could
+De Thermes provide the sum required. He promised, however, speedy
+payment, and sent his nephew to the Turks as an hostage. Dragut then
+sailed for the Levant, in dudgeon with his allies, and disgusted with an
+enterprise which had terminated so little to his honour. Bonifacio, with
+the rest of Corsica, was soon afterwards restored by the treaty of
+Château-Cambresis to the Genoese, who repaired and considerably added to
+the fortifications.
+
+One easily conceives that the rock fortress must have been impregnable
+in ancient times, if bravely defended. Even now it is a place of
+considerable strength, garrisoned by the French, who have erected
+barracks and improved the works. But the place still singularly
+preserves the character of a fortified town of the Middle Ages. Nothing
+seems changed except that French sentries pace the battlements instead
+of Genoese. There are the old towers, walls, churches, and houses;—the
+houses, tall and gloomy, many of them having the arms of Genoese
+families carved in stone over the portals. A network of narrow and
+irregular streets spreads over the whole _plateau_ within the walls,
+which rise from the very edge of the cliffs. There is not a yard of
+vacant space, except an esplanade and _place d'armes_, where the
+promontory narrows at its southern extremity. The only entrance is under
+the vaulted archway of the barbican, still as jealously guarded as if
+Saracen, Turk, or Spaniard threatened an attack. This tower commands the
+approach from the Marino by the broad ramp, a long inclined plane, at a
+sharp angle, the ascent of which, _en échelon_, by the troops of
+diminutive mules and asses employed for conveying all articles necessary
+for subsistence and use in the town, it was painful to witness. The
+streets are as void of every kind of vehicle as those of Venice, and
+almost as unsavoury as its canals. There is scarcely room for two loaded
+mules to pass each other. Every morning, nearly the whole population
+pours forth, with their beasts of burthen, to their labour in the
+country, there being no villages in the canton; returning to their homes
+in the evening. They are an industrious race, snatching their
+subsistence from a barren soil.
+
+Few strangers visit Bonifacio, and those who do must be content with
+very indifferent accommodations. We were lodged _au premier_ of a gaunt
+_locanda_, our last resource, after exploring the place for better
+quarters. Its best recommendation was the zeal and kindness of the host;
+and even the resources of his culinary skill, which, I believe, could
+have produced a _ragout_ from a piece of leather, failed for want of
+materials on which to exercise it. The supplies of flesh, fowl,
+and—strange to say—fish, were scanty and bad. The French officers in
+garrison messed, _en pension_, at our hotel, but their fare, limited by
+a close economy, was not only meagre, but, with all the accompaniments
+of the table, absolutely disgusting.
+
+To make matters worse, we were detained several days beyond our allotted
+time in this ill-provisioned fortress by an unexpected mischance. Armed
+with Foreign Office passports, current at least through the friendly
+states of France and Sardinia without the slightest hindrance, we had
+taken the additional precaution of proposing to have them _visé_ by the
+French and Sardinian Legations in London, that there might be no sort of
+obstacle to our crossing from one of the two islands in our route to
+the other. The _visé_ was refused as perfectly unnecessary; and even at
+Ajaccio, where we passed some hours at the _Préfeture_, our passports
+were returned to us on mere inspection. Greatly, however, to our
+mortification, we discovered, at Bonifacio, that international
+conventions between friendly governments had no force in this
+out-of-the-way corner of the civilised world. We could not be allowed to
+embark for Sardinia without authority from the Administration at
+Ajaccio, which it would take at least forty-eight hours to procure. All
+arguments were vain; the Foreign Office passport could not be
+recognised; the orders were precise for a strict _surveillance_ of all
+persons endeavouring to cross the Straits. As private individuals and
+English gentlemen, we were on particularly pleasant terms with the
+_maire_ and his son; but, officially, such was their language, they had
+nothing to show that we were not brigands meditating escape. Officials
+generally, and foreign officials especially, are not to be moved by any
+force of circumstances from their regular track.
+
+Unwilling to submit, and anxious to get forward, we lost twenty-four
+hours of precious time in vainly negotiating with the master of a small
+vessel to smuggle us over. He would be well paid, and we proposed going
+to some unfrequented part of the coast, from whence he could take us
+off. But, tempting as the offers were, after much deliberation, they
+were rejected. Such things were common a short time before, and hundreds
+of the banditti had been ferried over to the coast of Sardinia; but now
+there was a sharp look-out, and discovery would be ruin. Insignificant
+as is the commerce of Bonifacio, it is well watched by a staff of
+_douaniers_, consisting of a captain, four _sous-officiers_, and
+thirteen or fourteen _préposés_, _matelots_, &c., besides _officiers de
+santé_ and swarms of _gendarmes_. They were everywhere: at our landing;
+while sketching; always in pairs; and seeming to dodge our steps. Two
+presented themselves while we were at supper the evening after our
+arrival. The passports had been exhibited;—what could they want with us?
+what offence had we committed? Their business was with the innkeeper; he
+had omitted to fix a lantern at his door! He hated the French like a
+true Corsican. He would not pay even decent respect to the officers, his
+guests, and boasted of starving them to the last fraction his contract
+for the mess allowed; while nothing was good enough for the Englishmen.
+
+Piétro was, indeed, a true Corsican; had killed his man, given a _coup_,
+as he called it, to his enemy, was condemned to death, but bought off.
+_Encore_; a man he had offended came to his hotel, and called for food.
+They sat down to table in company, Piétro observing that his enemy
+frequently kept his hand on a side-pocket. After supper, the man asked
+for a chamber to sleep. Piétro replied that they were all occupied, but
+he might sleep with him. The other was staggered at his coolness, and,
+hesitating to comply, Piétro seized him, and finding a pistol secreted
+on his person, doubled him up, and kicked him down stairs.
+
+Our host was not singular in his disaffection to the French. The
+Bonifacians feel their thraldom more perhaps than any other people in
+Corsica, overshadowed as their small population is by a strong garrison
+and a host of _douaniers_ and _gendarmes_. Republican ideas prevail; and
+they have not forgotten the days when their important town was more an
+ally, than a dependance, of Genoa. Now, from their small population, a
+single deputy represents them in the departmental council, while
+Ajaccio sends twenty-nine and Bastia twenty-five members. The
+Bonifacians despise their masters. “The French are inconstant,” said an
+inhabitant, high in office, with whom I was talking politics; “they have
+_tant de petitesses_; they have no national character: we have, and
+you;—our very quarrels, which are deep and lasting, show it.”
+
+Everything is primitive in Bonifacio, except the emblems of French
+domination. On the evening of our arrival, having threaded my way alone
+with some difficulty through a labyrinth of dark streets and lanes to
+the Post Office, I found it closed; and there being no apparent means of
+announcing my errand, was departing in despair, when a neighbour
+good-humouredly cried out, “_Tirate la corda, signore!_” After some
+search, for it was getting dark, I discovered a string, running up the
+wall of the house to the third story. Pulling it lustily, at last a
+window opened, and an old woman put her head out, inquiring, in a shrill
+voice, “_Que volete?_” Having made known my wants, after some delay,
+steps were heard slowly descending the stairs. Admitted at length into
+the _bureau_, the old crone, spectacle on nose, proceeded very
+deliberately to spell over, by a feeble lamplight, the addresses of a
+bundle of letters taken from a shelf. The process was excruciating,
+anxious as we were for news from home. She could make nothing of my
+friend's truly Saxon name;—what foreign official can ever decipher
+English names? Mine was more pronounceable, and as I kept repeating
+both, she caught that, and, incapable as I should have thought her of
+making a pun, she exclaimed at last, in despair, “_Forestier, ecco! sono
+tutti forestière_,” tossing me the whole bundle to choose for myself.
+Happily, I was not disappointed.
+
+We shall not easily forget Bonifacio. Our detention within the narrow
+bounds of the fortress-town afforded us leisure to realise the scenes
+which the crowded _enceinte_ must have offered during its memorable
+sieges. The combined effects, too, of loathsome smells—the filth of the
+purlieus being indescribable—of bad diet, confinement, and the
+irritation natural to Englishmen under detention, brought on suddenly
+severe attacks of diarrhœa, though we were both before in robust health.
+Our sufferings shadowed out, however faintly, the miseries endured by a
+crowded population during the sieges, and again when half the
+inhabitants of Bonifacio became victims to the plague in 1582—a scourge
+which then devastated Corsica and parts of Italy.
+
+Gasping for pure air, we were forbidden by the everwatchful _gendarmes_
+to walk on the town ramparts. From early dawn till late evening, the
+eternal clang of hand cornmills forbade repose in our _locanda_. The
+neighbouring country has few attractions, even if we had been in a state
+to profit by them. All interest is concentrated in the place itself. Our
+steps were therefore especially attracted to the open area forming the
+southern extremity of the Cape, as already mentioned. There at least we
+could breathe the fresh air, look down on the blue Mediterranean washing
+the base of the chalk cliffs, far beneath, and trace the outline of the
+coast of Sardinia across the Straits. The Gallura mountains rose boldly
+on the horizon, and the low island of Madaléna, our proposed
+landing-place, was distinctly visible. It needed not that we should
+indulge imagination in picturing to ourselves Castel Sardo, and other
+places along the coast, which we hoped soon to visit. The esplanade was
+generally solitary, and suited our musings. One evening, the silence was
+broken by a melancholy chant from the chapel of a ruined monastery
+within the guarded _enceinte_. It was a service for the dead, at which a
+prostrate crowd assisted in deep devotion. The sentries on the walls
+rested on their arms, and we stood at the open door, facing the western
+sky and the rolling waves, listening to strains of wailing which would
+have suited the times of the siege and the plague.
+
+ [Illustration: OUTLINE OF SARDINIA FROM BONIFACIO.]
+
+Nearer the town stands the old church of the Templars, dedicated to St.
+Dominic, of fine Gothic architecture, full of interest for its armorial
+and other memorials of the knightly defenders of the faith, and of noble
+Genoese families. Over the edge of the cliff towers the massive
+_Torrione_, the original fortress of the Marquis Bonifacio, consecrated
+in memory as long the bulwark of the island against the incursions of
+Saracen corsairs. Here, is the spot where the hastily-built galley, with
+its adventurous crew, was lowered down the face of the cliff, to convey
+to Genoa the intelligence of the extremity to which the citizens of
+Bonifacio were reduced when besieged by Alfonso of Arragon. There, is a
+ladder of rude steps, cut in the chalk cliffs to the edge of the water,
+two hundred feet beneath, the descent of which it made one dizzy to
+contemplate. Perhaps, under cover of night, the now ruinous steps have
+been boldly trodden in a sally for surprising the enemy, or stealthily
+mounted by emissaries from without, conveying intelligence to the
+beleaguered party. Perhaps, in the Genoese times, some Romeo and Juliet,
+of rival families, found the means of elopement by this sequestered
+staircase. One could imagine shrouded figures gliding from the convent
+church close by—the perilous descent, the light skiff tossing beneath,
+with its white sails a-peak, waiting to bear off the lovers to freedom
+and bliss. For what legends and tales of romance, real or imaginary,
+have we materials here!
+
+ [Illustration: CAVE UNDER BONIFACIO.]
+
+It is by sea only that one can escape from Bonifacio, except by miles of
+dreary road. To the sea we looked for ours. _En attendant_, we tried our
+wings to the utmost length of the chain which bound us to the rock.
+Procuring a boat, we pulled out of the harbour, and round the jutting
+points crowned by the fortress, half inclined to pitch the _padrone_
+overboard, and make a straight course for the opposite coast of
+Sardinia. Not driven to that extremity, we wiled away the time
+pleasantly enough in a visit to the caverns worn by the sea in the chalk
+cliffs, which front its surges. Some of these are exceedingly
+picturesque. Their entrances festooned with hanging boughs, they
+penetrate far into the interior of the rocks, and the water percolating
+through their vaulted roofs, has formed stalactites of fantastic shapes.
+The boat glides through the arched entrance, and we find ourselves in
+the cool and grateful shade of these marine grottoes. Fishes are
+flitting in the clear water; limpid streams oozing through the rocks
+form fresh-water basins, with pebbly bottoms; and the channels from the
+blue sea, flowing over the chalk, become cerulean. These are, indeed,
+the halls of Amphitrite, fitting baths of Thetis and her nymphs. Poetic
+imagination has never pictured anything more enchanting.
+
+ [Illustration: BONIFACIO FROM THE CONVENT IN THE VALLEY.]
+
+One afternoon, we walked a mile out of the town, up a narrow valley in
+the limestone cliffs, to the ruined convent of St. Julian. The bottom of
+the valley is laid out in gardens, with cross walls, and channels for
+irrigation. The gardens appeared neglected, but there were some vines
+and fig-trees, pomegranates, and crops of a large-growing kale. The
+ruins lie at the head of the glen, facing Bonifacio and the sea; the
+walls of the convent and church still standing, approached by a broad
+paved way on a flight of marble steps. Seated on these, we enjoyed at
+leisure a charming view.
+
+Vineyards and plots of cultivated land overspread the slopes on either
+side of the valley. There were scattered olive-trees, and bamboos waving
+in the wind. The old convent walls, mantled with ivy, contrasted with a
+chapel at the foot of the steps, having a handsome dome, covered with
+bright glazed tiles of green, red, and black, and surmounted by a
+cross—the only portion of the conventual buildings still perfect. In the
+distance was the little landlocked haven, with a brig and some small
+lateen-sailed vessels moored alongside the Marino. Above it rose the
+fortress-town, with its towers and battlements. The sound of the church
+bells tolling for vespers rose, softened by distance, up the valley.
+Ravens were croaking over the ruins of the convent, and lizards frisking
+on the banks and the marble steps on which we reposed. It was a fitting
+spot for a Sunday afternoon's meditation—our last in Corsica!
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXV.
+
+ ISLAND OF SARDINIA.—_Cross the Straits of Bonifacio.—The Town and
+ Harbour of La Madelena.—Agincourt Sound, the Station of the
+ British Fleet in 1803.—Anecdotes of Nelson.—Napoleon Bonaparte
+ repulsed at La Madelena._
+
+
+Released, at length, from our irksome detention by the return of the
+courier with the passports _visés_ from Ajaccio, and a boat we had
+hired, meanwhile, lying ready at the Marino to carry us over to
+Sardinia, not a moment was lost in getting under sail to cross the
+straits.
+
+The Bocche di Bonifacio were called by the Romans _Fossa Fretum_, and by
+the Greeks _Tappros_, a trench, from their dividing the islands of
+Corsica and Sardinia like a ditch or dyke. These straits are considered
+dangerous by navigators, from the violence of the squalls gushing
+suddenly from the mountains and causing strong currents, especially
+during the prevalence of winds from the north-west during nine months of
+the year. Lord Nelson describes them during one of these squalls as
+“looking tremendous, from the number of rocks and the heavy seas
+breaking over them.” In another letter he says, “We worked the ‘Victory’
+every foot of the way from Asinara to this anchorage, [off La Madelena,]
+blowing hard from Longo Sardo, under double-reefed topsails.” The
+difficulties of the Bonifacio passage can hardly be understood by a
+landsman who has not visited the straits, but they are stated to have
+been so great, “and the ships to have passed in so extraordinary a
+manner, that their captains could only consider it as a providential
+interposition in favour of the great officer who commanded them.”[42]
+
+ [Illustration: LOOKING BACK ON CORSICA.]
+
+It has been my fortune to pass these straits on three several occasions
+when they were perfectly calm. During the passage from Corsica in an
+open boat, which I am now relating, there was so little wind that, with
+all the spread of high-peaked sails a Mediterranean boat can carry, we
+made but little way, and the surface was so unruffled that my friend was
+able to sketch at ease the outline of the Corsican mountains, from which
+we were slowly receding. It was, however, pleasurable to linger midway
+between the two islands, retracing our route in the one by the lines of
+its mountain ranges, and anticipating fresh delight in penetrating those
+of the Gallura now in prospect. The appearance of a French revenue
+cutter to windward tended to reconcile us to the failure of our plan of
+getting smuggled across the straits, which might have led to more
+serious consequences than the detention we suffered.
+
+The coast line on both sides of the channel, as on all the shores of
+the two islands, is remarkably bold; and the scene was diversified by
+the groups of rocky islets scattered across the straits, and described
+in a former chapter as the broken links of a chain which once united
+Corsica with the mountain system of the north-east-portion of the island
+of Sardinia. They are composed entirely of a fine-grained red granite.
+In some of the islets lying nearest the Corsican coast quarries were
+worked to supply blocks and columns for the temples and palaces of
+imperial Rome. Quarries of the same material were also worked by the
+Romans, as we shall find presently, on the coast of Sardinia, opposite
+these islands.
+
+With two exceptions, these “Intermediate Islands” are uninhabited. They
+were considered of so little importance that, till the middle of the
+last century, it was considered a question which of them belonged to
+Sardinia and which to Corsica. It was then easily settled by drawing a
+visual line equidistant from Point Lo Sprono on the latter, and Capo
+Falcone on the former; it being agreed that all north of this line
+should belong to Corsica, and all south of it to Sardinia.
+
+The distance between the two capes is about ten nautical miles. To the
+westward of Capo Falcone lies the small harbour of Longo Sardo, or
+Longone, the nearest landing-place from Bonifacio, from which it has
+long carried on a contraband trade; its proximity to Corsica also making
+it the asylum of the outlaws exiled from that island. A new town, called
+Villa Teresa, built on a more healthy spot on the neighbouring heights,
+has received a considerable access of population from the same source.
+
+The Capes Falcone, with La Marmorata close by, and La Testa forming the
+north-west point of Sardinia, are all of the same formation as the
+rocky islands in the straits already mentioned, and, like them, this
+district furnished the Romans with many of the granite columns which
+still form magnificent ornaments of the Eternal City. Those of the
+Pantheon are said to have been excavated near Longone; and several
+similar ones, as well as rude blocks, may still be seen in the quarries
+on the promontory of Santa Reparata, near which the remains of some
+Roman villas have also been discovered. In later days we find the value
+of the Gallura granite appreciated by the Pisans. Their Duomo, built by
+Buschetto in 1063, soon after their possession of Sardinia, shows the
+beauty of the Marmorata rocks; and the Battisterio, built in 1152 by
+Dioti Salvi, has also much of Gallura material in its construction.
+
+La Madelena is the largest island in the Sardinian group, and while
+Porto Longone is a poor place, the town and harbour of La Madelena are
+much frequented in the communications and trade between Corsica and
+Sardinia. Our course therefore was shaped for the latter, though twice
+the distance from shore to shore. The island of La Madelena, the _Insula
+Ilva_, or _Phintonis_, of the Romans, is about eleven miles in
+circumference. Till about a century ago it was only inhabited or
+frequented by shepherds, natives of Corsica, who led a nomad life, and
+by their constant intercourse with Corsica and Sardinia, and by
+intermarriages with natives of both, formed a mixed but distinct race,
+as the Ilvese are still considered. The town of La Madelena was only
+founded in 1767, some Corsican refugees being among its first settlers;
+but from its fine harbour, the healthiness of its site, and its
+convenience for commerce with Italy, it rapidly became a place of
+considerable population and trade.
+
+There are numerous channels and many sheltered bays frequented by ships
+between the group of islands of which La Madelena is the principal. Our
+own course from the north-west led us through a strait between the main
+land of Sardinia and the islands of Sparagi, Madelena, and Caprera,
+which opened to view all the points of interest in its most celebrated
+harbour. Right ahead, it was almost closed by the little rocky islet of
+Santo Stefano, now defended by a fort, and remarkable for having been
+the scene of a severe repulse received by Napoleon at the outset of his
+long successful career. A point to the south, on the main land of
+Sardinia, marking the entrance of the Gulf of Arsachena, is called the
+Capo dell'Orso, from a mass of granite so exactly resembling the figure
+of a bear recumbent on its hind legs, that it attracted the notice of
+Ptolemy 1400 years ago. The island of Caprera, probably deriving its
+name from the wild goats till lately its sole inhabitants, presents a
+ridge of rugged mountains, rising in the centre to a ridge called
+Tagiolona, upwards of 750 feet high, with some little sheltered bays,
+and a few cultivated spots on its western side.
+
+Sheltered by Caprera, La Madelena, and Santo Stefano, we find the fine
+anchorage of Mezzo Schifo; the town of La Madelena, for which we are
+steering, lying about half a mile south-west of the anchorage. This
+harbour, named by Lord Nelson “Agincourt Sound,” was his head-quarters
+while maintaining the blockade of Toulon, from 1803 to 1805. He formed
+the highest opinion of its position for a naval station, as affording
+safe and sheltered anchorage, and ingress and egress with any winds. His
+public and private correspondence at that period shows the importance
+he attached to its possession, and his anxiety that it should be secured
+permanently to the crown of England.
+
+“If we could possess the island of Sardinia,” he says, in a letter to
+Lord Hobart, “we should want neither Malta nor any other island in the
+Mediterranean. This, which is the finest of them, possesses harbours fit
+for arsenals, and of a capacity to hold our navy,—within twenty-four
+hours' sail of Toulon,—bays to ride our fleets in, and to watch both
+Italy and Toulon.” In another letter, he says:—“What a noble harbour is
+formed by these islands! The world cannot produce a finer. From its
+position, it is worth fifty Maltas.” This opinion we find repeated in a
+variety of forms, and with Nelson's characteristic energy of expression.
+
+When at anchor in Agincourt Sound, he kept two or three frigates
+constantly cruising between Toulon and the Straits of Bonifacio, to
+signal any attempt of the enemy to leave their port; occasionally
+cruising with his whole fleet, and then retreating to head-quarters. His
+sudden appearance and disappearance off Toulon, in one of these
+exercises, with the hope of alluring the French to put to sea, led their
+admiral, M. Latouche-Tréville, to make the ludicrous boast, that he had
+chased the whole British fleet, which fled before him. This bravado so
+irritated Nelson, that it drew from him the well-known threat, contained
+in a letter to his brother: “You will have seen by Latouche's letter how
+he chased me, and how I ran. I keep it; and, if I take him, by God, he
+shall eat it!”
+
+Our boatman pointed out to us the channel through which Lord Nelson led
+his fleet when at length, after more than two years' watching, the
+object of all his hopes and vows was accomplished by the French fleet
+putting to sea. This, the eastern channel, of which the low isle of
+Biscie forms the outer point, is the most dangerous of all, from the
+sunken rocks which lie in the fairway, and its little breadth of sea
+room. Yet Nelson beat through it in a gale of wind, in the dusk of the
+evening, escaping these dangers almost miraculously. Our sailor pointed
+out all this with lively interest, for Nelson's name and heroic deeds
+are still household words among the seafaring people of La Madelena.
+
+It was on the 19th of January, 1805, that the look-out frigate in the
+offing signalled to the admiral that the French fleet had put to sea. At
+that season there was much gaiety, in dances, private theatricals, and
+other amusements, on board the different ships in the harbour, and
+preparations for an evening's entertainment were going on at the moment
+the stirring signal was discovered. It was no sooner acknowledged on
+board the “Victory” than the responding one appeared, “Weigh
+immediately!” The scene of excitement and confusion ensuing the sudden
+departure and interruption of festivities may be easily conceived. It
+was a dark wintry evening; but the suddenness of the order to get under
+way was equalled by the skill and courage with which it was executed.
+The passage is so narrow that only one ship could pass at a time, and
+each was guided only by the stern lights of the preceding vessel. At
+seven o'clock, the whole of the fleet was entirely clear of the passage,
+and, bidding a long farewell to La Madelena, they stood to the southward
+in pursuit of the French fleet. The daring and determined spirit
+exhibited by Nelson on this particular occasion was the subject of
+especial eulogy in the House of Lords by his late Majesty, then Duke of
+Clarence; being cited as the greatest instance of his unflinching
+courage and constant activity.
+
+Thus, as we have already found Corsica, we now see Sardinia, witnessing
+some of the boldest achievements of our great naval hero.
+
+Further interest attaches to La Madelena from its having repulsed the
+attack of Napoleon, and driven him to a precipitate retreat from his
+first field of arms. The young soldier, after being for some months in
+garrison at Bonifacio, was attached, by order of Paschal Paoli, to the
+expedition which sailed from thence in February, 1793, to reduce La
+Madelena. He acted as second in command of the artillery, the whole
+force being under the command of General Colonna-Cesari. A body of
+troops having effected a lodgment on the island of Santo Stefano by
+night, and a battery having been thrown up and armed, a heavy fire was
+opened by Bonaparte on the town and its defences. They were held by a
+garrison of 500 men, and the fire was returned by the islanders with
+equal fury. The opposite shore of Gallura was lined by its brave
+mountaineers, who, on the French frigate being dismasted and bearing up
+for the Gulf of Arsachena, embarked from Parao, and attacked Santo
+Stefano. Their assault was so vigorous that Bonaparte found himself
+compelled to make a precipitate retreat from the island with a few of
+his followers, leaving 200 prisoners, with all the _matériel_, baggage,
+and artillery. In passing between the other islands, the fugitives were
+also attacked by some Gallurese, who, concealing themselves near Capo
+della Caprera, by the precision of their firing committed great havoc on
+the flying enemy.
+
+Mr. Tyndale states that many of the Corsicans and Ilvese who witnessed
+this action, being still living when he visited La Madelena, and
+relating various circumstances relative to it, he heard the following
+story from an old veteran, who was an eyewitness of the fact:—
+
+“Bonaparte was superintending the firing from the battery, and watching
+the effect of it with his telescope, when observing the people at
+Madelena going to mass, he exclaimed, ‘_Voglio tirare alla chiesa, per
+far fuggire le donne!_’ (‘I should like to fire at the church, just to
+frighten the women!’) While in garrison at Bonifacio, as lieutenant [?
+captain] of artillery, he had mortar and gun practice every morning, and
+had on all occasions shown the greatest precision in firing. In this
+instance he was no less successful, for the shell entered the church
+window, and fell at the foot of the image of N.S. di Madelena. It failed
+to burst in this presence, and this miraculous instance of religious
+respect had its due weight with the pious islanders, by whom it was
+taken up, and for a long time preserved among the sacred curiosities of
+the town. A natural cause was, however, soon discovered for the
+harmlessness of the projectile. Napoleon continued his firing; but
+finding that the shells took no effect, though they fell on the very
+spot he intended, he examined some of them, and found that they were
+filled with sand. ‘_Amici_,’ he exclaimed, burning with indignation;
+‘_eccole il tradimento_;’ and the troops, who had been suffering much by
+the fire from Madelena, imagining that the treason was on the part of
+General Cesari, would have put him _alla lanterna_, had he not made his
+escape on board the frigate.”
+
+It has, indeed, been said that Paoli, reluctantly obeying the orders of
+the French Convention to undertake the expedition against Sardinia,
+entrusted the command to Colonna-Cesari, his intimate friend, with
+instructions to secure its failure, considering Sardinia as the natural
+ally of their own island. However this may be, the affair terminated by
+the retreat of the general with the rest of his force, having thrown
+from Santo Stefano 500 shells and 5000 round shot into Madelena, without
+much effect.
+
+We found in the harbour a Sardinian steam-ship of war[43], and ten or
+twelve vessels of very small tonnage, engaged in the trade with Corsica,
+Leghorn, and Marseilles. About twenty of this class belong to the port;
+besides which it is frequented annually by from 200 to 300 other small
+vessels, principally Genoese, their united tonnage amounting to about
+5000 tons. Besides this legitimate commerce, the Ilvese carry on a
+prosperous contraband trade, taking advantage of the numerous little
+creeks and bays along the rocky coasts of the island. They are naturally
+a seafaring people, while the Sardes manifest a decided repugnance to
+engage in seafaring pursuits. The quays round the port of Madelena are
+spacious, and the town, straggling up the side of a hill, has a neat
+appearance, is said to be healthy, and is cleaner than any Sardinian
+town we saw.
+
+There are tolerable accommodations at Santa's Hotel. The reception of
+foreign guests is however, I imagine, a rare occurrence, and the means
+of supplying the table from the resources of the island appeared scanty;
+so that we should have fared ill but for the kindness of an English
+officer long settled at Madelena, who sent some substantial
+contributions to our comforts, in addition to his own hospitality. The
+name of Captain Roberts, R.N., is so well known to all visitors, as well
+as among the Sardes, that it is public property, and I may be allowed to
+bear testimony to the high esteem in which the hearty and genial old
+sailor is generally held. His loss would occasion a blank at Madelena
+not easily filled up; and I was happy to hear on my last visit to
+Sardinia that his health had improved.
+
+More English, I believe, are settled in the neighbourhood of La Madelena
+than in the whole island of Sardinia; if, indeed, there are any to be
+found, we did not hear of them. The English visitors consist principally
+of officers on shooting excursions from Malta. We had a very pleasant
+walk along the shore to the villa of an Australian colonist who, after
+wandering about the world, had, seemingly to his content, settled down
+on a small farm on the slopes of a valley a mile or two from the town. A
+man fond of cultivation might be very happy here, with such a climate,
+and the means of commanding a profusion of vegetables, fruits, and
+flowers. Irrigation was effected from a well provided with the simple
+machinery for lifting the water common in such countries, and by its aid
+the gardens just seeded and planted for the spring, or rather winter,
+crops, so early is vegetation, looked greener and fresher than anything
+we had seen for a long time. The cauliflowers and peas were already
+making forward progress; the latter, indeed, grow wild in this
+neighbourhood. But while these carried us in imagination to the latter
+days of an English spring, the hedges of prickly pear bore witness to
+the arid nature of the soil and the heat of the climate; of that,
+indeed, we were very sensible in our walks, though the month of November
+had now commenced.
+
+A cottage occupied, it was said, by an English botanist was pointed out
+to us; and an English family has been settled for some time in the
+solitude of the island of Caprera, of whose improvements great things
+were said. Every one spoke especially of Mrs. C.'s beautiful flower
+garden, and an anecdote was told respecting it, characteristic, I think,
+rather of Sarde than of English feeling. On some occasion when the king
+visited La Madelena, Mrs. C. having been requested to contribute flowers
+to the decorations of the festa in preparation to do honour to the royal
+visit, she is said to have replied: “I cultivate my flowers for my own
+pleasure—_pour m'amuser_—not to ingratiate myself with a court. If his
+majesty desires to see them, he must come to Caprera.” I cannot vouch
+for the truth of the story, though it was in every one's mouth. What
+amused me was, that the islanders considered this as evincing a truly
+English spirit of independence, which they heartily approved.
+
+The principal church of La Madelena, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, is
+a neat structure of granite and marble. Its decorations are less gaudy
+than those one usually sees, the most valued ornaments being a pair of
+massive altar candlesticks and a crucifix, all of silver, the gift of
+Lord Nelson, in acknowledgment of the kindness and hospitality he
+received from the islanders while his fleet lay in the harbour. On the
+base of the candlesticks are enchased the arms of Nelson and Brontë,
+with this inscription:
+
+ VICE COMES
+ NELSON NILI
+ DUX BRONTIS ECC.E
+ ST.E MAGDAL.E INS.E
+ ST.E MAGDAL.E
+ D.D.D.
+
+It is said that when the town publicly thanked Lord Nelson for the
+donation, he replied: “These little ornaments are nothing; wait till I
+catch the French outside their port. If they will but come out, I am
+sure to capture them; and I promise to give you the value of one of
+their frigates to build a church with. I have only to ask you to pray to
+La Santissima Madonna that the French fleet may come out of Toulon. Do
+you pray to her for that, and as for capturing them, I will undertake to
+do all the rest.”
+
+We landed at La Madelena on the anniversary of the day when Nelson first
+anchored his fleet off the town just fifty years before. As we trace his
+career among the Mediterranean islands, recollections of those eventful
+times crowd on our memories. In the half century that has intervened,
+how has the aspect of affairs changed!
+
+It was the eve of the feast of All Saints (1st Nov.), devoutly observed,
+with that of All Souls on the day following, in all Catholic countries.
+From daylight till ten at night the bells of St. Magdalene incessantly
+clanged, and the church was thronged with successive crowds, absorbed
+in pious and affectionate devotion to the memories of their departed
+friends, according to the rites of the Roman Church. How thrilling are
+the deep tones of the _De Profundis_ from the compositions of a good
+musical school! And what observance can be more touching than this
+periodical commemoration of the dead? There is none that more harmonises
+with the best feelings of our nature; and yet of all the dogmas rejected
+by ecclesiastical reforms, I know of none which has less pretensions to
+Scriptural authority or has been more mischievous, corrupting alike the
+priesthood and the laity, than that which makes the masses and prayers
+incident to the commemoration of the dead propitiatory for sins
+committed in the flesh.
+
+The solemn festival brought out all the women of La Madelena, never
+perhaps seen to more advantage than in a costume of black silk, suited
+to the solemnity, with the Genoese mantle of white transparent muslin
+attached to the back of the head, and falling gracefully over the
+shoulders.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXVI.
+
+ _Ferried over to the Main Island.—Start for the Mountain Passes
+ of the Gallura.—Sarde Horses and Cavallante.—Valley of the
+ Liscia.—Pass some Holy Places on the Hills.—Festivals held
+ there.—Usages of the Sardes indicating their Eastern Origin._
+
+
+The halt at La Madelena was only a step in our route to the main island.
+We had still to cross a broad channel, and landing at Parao, on the
+Sardinian shore, horses were to be waiting for us. This arrangement,
+kindly made by Captain Roberts, required a day's delay. We were to
+proceed to Tempio, in the heart of the Gallura Mountains, under guidance
+of the courier in charge of the post letters.
+
+Ferried across the channel in less than an hour, we found the horses
+tethered among the bushes. House there was none, which must be
+inconvenient when the weather is too tempestuous for crossing the strait
+from Parao. We took shelter from the heat under a rook, making studies
+of a group of picturesque shepherds, and amusing ourselves with some
+luscious grapes,—baskets of which were waiting for the return of the
+passage-boat to La Madelena,—while a pack-horse was loaded with our
+baggage.
+
+The outfit for this expedition was more than usually cumbersome, as it
+comprised blankets and other appendages for camping out, if occasion
+required. The cavallante, however, made nothing of stowing it away,
+cleverly thrusting bag and baggage into the capacious leather pouches
+which hung balanced on each side of the stout beast, with a portmanteau
+across the pack-saddle. When all was done, the cavallante mounted to the
+top of the load, where he perched himself like an Arab on a dromedary.
+
+The cavallo Sardo _par excellence_, such as the higher classes ride, is
+a strong spirited barb, highly valued. These horses are carefully broken
+to a peculiar step, called the “portante,” something between an amble
+and a trot, for which we have neither a corresponding word or pace. I
+cannot say that I admired the pace. It only makes four or five miles an
+hour, and, to my apprehension, might be described as a shuffle, not
+being so easy as a canter, nor having the invigorating swing of a trot.
+The natives, however, consider the movement delightful; and a writer on
+Sardinia says: “_Il viaggiare in Sardegna è perciò la più dolce cosa del
+mondo; l'antipongo all'andare in barca col vento in poppa_”—“The
+travelling in Sardinia is, on this account, one of the pleasantest
+things in the world; I prefer it to sailing in a vessel with the wind
+astern.”
+
+The ordinary Sarde horse is a hardy, sure-footed animal, undersized, but
+capable of carrying heavy burthens. Great numbers of them are kept, as
+the poorest native disdains walking. They are ill fed, and have rough
+treatment. As pack-horses they convey all the commodities of home
+produce, or imported and interchanged, throughout the interior of the
+island, there being scarcely any roads, and consequently no
+wheel-carriages employed, except on the Strada Reale, through the level
+plains of the Campidano, between Cagliari and Porto Torres.
+
+The _viandanti_ who conduct this traffic are a numerous and hardy class
+of people, much enduring in the long and toilsome journeys through such
+a country as their vocation requires them to traverse. We found them
+civil, patient, and attentive, but hard at a bargain,—so that this mode
+of travelling is more expensive than might be expected,—and occasionally
+rather independent. A curious instance of this occurred at Tempio. We
+had made a bargain, on his own terms, with one of these people, for
+horses to proceed on our route, and they were brought to the door ready
+for loading up and mounting, when the cavallante refused to allow our
+using our English saddles. Not wishing to lose time, we took
+considerable pains to point out that the saddles being well padded would
+not wring his horses' backs, conceiving that to be what he apprehended.
+But it was to no purpose; there seemed to be no other reason for the
+scruple than that a Sarde horse must be caparisoned _à la Sarde_, with
+high-peaked saddle and velvet housings. The cavallante, persisting, led
+his horses back to the stable, losing a profitable engagement rather
+than being willing to submit to their being equipped in a foreign
+fashion. After a short delay we procured others from a cavallante who
+made no such difficulties, and proved a very serviceable and attentive
+conductor.
+
+ [Illustration: VALLEY OF THE LISCIA.]
+
+After leaving Parao, and calling at a solitary _stazza_ or farm, the
+track we pursued led through a wide plain watered by the Liscia. The
+river made many windings among meadows clothed with luxuriant herbage,
+and fed by numerous herds of cattle, and sheep, and goats; forming a
+pastoral scene of singular beauty, of which my companion's sketch,
+here annexed, conveys a good idea. The valley is bounded by ridges of no
+great elevation, partially covered with a shrubbery of myrtle, cistus,
+and other such underwood, among rocks and cliffs worn by the waters into
+fantastic shapes. We occasionally crossed spurs of these ridges,
+commanding extensive views of the Straits of Bonifacio, with the
+mountains of Corsica in the distance on the one hand, and the nearer
+island of Madelena on the other.
+
+Nearly all the province of Gallura, washed by the Mediterranean on three
+sides, consists of mountainous tracts, with valleys intervening, similar
+to this of the Liscia. There is scarcely any cultivation, and they are
+uninhabited; almost all the towns and villages of the Capo di Sopra
+lying on the coast. On these plains a few shepherds lead a nomad life
+during the healthy season, being driven from them by the deadly
+_intempérie_ prevailing in summer and autumn. Until lately, the whole
+district was notorious for the crimes of robbery and vindictive murder,
+for the perpetration of which, and the security of the offenders, its
+solitudes and natural fastnesses afforded the greatest facilities.
+
+Continuing our route we crossed some park-like glades, with scattered
+forest trees, and fringed by the graceful shrubbery, the _macchia_,
+common to both the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. At some distance on
+our left (south-east) appeared a beautifully wooded hill, with a chapel
+on the summit, Santa Maria di Arsachena, one of the sanctuaries held in
+great veneration by the Gallurese. To these holy places they flock in
+great numbers on certain festivals, when the lonely spots, often
+hill-tops, surrounded by the most wild and romantic scenery, witness
+devotions and festivities, to which the revels form the chief
+allurement.
+
+There is a still holier place further to the south of our track, the
+Monte Santo, and I think its lofty summit, with a small chapel scarcely
+visible amid the dark verdure of the surrounding woods, was pointed out
+to us. It overhangs the village of Logo Santo, well described as the
+“Mecca of the Gallurese.” The sanctity of the place was established in
+the thirteenth century, the tradition being that the relics of St.
+Nicholas and St. Trano, anchorites and martyrs here A.D. 362, were
+discovered on the spot by two Franciscan monks, led to Sardinia by a
+vision of the Virgin Mary at Jerusalem. A village grew up round the
+three churches then erected in honour of the Saints and the Blessed
+Virgin, with a Franciscan convent, long stripped of its endowments, and
+fallen to ruin.
+
+On the occurrence of the festivals celebrated at these holy places, the
+people of the neighbouring parishes assemble in multitudes, marching in
+procession, with their banners at their head; and the sacred flag of
+Tempio, surmounted by a silver cross, is brought by the canons of the
+cathedral and planted on the spot. The devotions are accompanied by
+feasting, dancing, music, and sports, the people prolonging the revels
+into the night, as many of them come from far, and the festivals occupy
+more than one day.
+
+That Christian rites were, from very early times, blended with
+festivities accordant to the national habits of the new converts, with
+even some alloy of pagan usages, is understood to have been a policy
+adopted by the founders of the faith among semi-barbarous nations—a
+concession to the weakness of their neophytes. Our own village wakes
+and fairs, with their green boughs and flags, cakes and ale, originally
+held in the precincts of the church on the feast-day of the patron
+saint, partook of a similar character as the festivals of the Gallurese;
+but with us the religious element has been long extinct.
+
+The festivals are not confined to the Gallura; they have their stations
+throughout the island, every district having some shrine of peculiar
+sanctity. Their celebration is distinguished by some peculiarities,
+which, in common with many other customs of the Sardes, and numerous
+existing monuments and remains, leave no doubt of Sardinia having been
+early colonised from the East. Traces may also be found in the customs
+of the Sardes of similarity with the Greek life and manners, derived
+indeed by the Greeks from the same common source.
+
+Thus the usages of the Sardes afford, in a variety of instances, a
+living commentary, perhaps the best still existing, on the modes of life
+and thought recorded in Homer and the Bible. This they owe to their
+insular position, their slight admixture with other races, and the
+consequent tenacity with which they have adhered to their primitive
+traditions.
+
+Of some of these indications of origin we may take occasion to treat
+hereafter, as they fall in our way. For our present purpose may we not
+refer to the worship in “high places” and in “groves,” to which the
+Sardes are so zealously addicted, as a relic of practices often
+denounced in the Old Testament, when the sacrifice was offered to idols?
+They appear also to have been common and legitimate in the patriarchal
+age and the earlier times of the Israelitish commonwealth, Jehovah alone
+being the object of worship. What more biblical, as far as the Old
+Testament is concerned, than the idea that worship and prayer are more
+acceptable to the Almighty when offered on certain spots, holy ground,
+remote, perhaps, from the usual haunts of the worshipper! What a living
+picture we have in the festivities of the religious assemblies at Logo
+Santo and Santa Maria di Arsachena, of the feasting and music, the songs
+and dances accompanying the rites of Israelitish worship in common with
+those of other eastern nations; not to speak of the festive character of
+Greek solemnities, derived, indeed, from the same source, vestiges of
+which, left by the Hellenic colonies, may also be traced.
+
+However contrary these ideas and practices may be to the spirit and
+precepts of the Gospel, they are so inherent in the genius and
+traditions of the Sarde people, that I have heard it asserted that these
+festas give, at the present day, almost the only vitality to the
+ecclesiastical system established in the island. Their religious
+character has almost entirely evaporated, though the forms remain. The
+“solemn meetings,” instead of merely ending in innocent merriment, have
+degenerated into scenes of riot, and often of bloodshed.
+
+I was informed by the same person who made the remark that the festas
+were the main prop of the priesthood in Sardinia—and a more competent
+observer could not be found—that, from his own observation, men of the
+most sober habits of life lost all command of themselves, became
+absolutely frantic when tempted by the force of example, and led by what
+may be called an instinctive national passion to participate in these
+religious orgies. And Captain Smyth, R.N., who gives an interesting
+account of one of these feasts, at which he was present[44], after
+mentioning that “prayers, dances, poems, dinner, and supper concluded
+[occupied] the day,” remarks, “that the feast of Santa Maria di
+Arsachena has seldom been celebrated without the sacrifice of three or
+four lives.” “The year preceding my visit,” he states, “two of the
+carabiniere reale had been killed; and I was shown a young man who, on
+the same occasion, received a ball through the breast, but having thus
+satisfied his foe according to the Sarde code of honour, and fortunately
+recovering, was, with his wife and a beautiful child, now enjoying the
+gaieties of the day.”
+
+Captain Smyth adds:—“I could not learn why there were no carabineers in
+attendance on this anniversary; but the consequence was a numerous
+concourse of banditti from the circumjacent fastnesses, notwithstanding
+the presence of a great many ‘barancelli,’[45] who, it is known, will
+not arrest a man that is only an assassin.”
+
+The themes suggested by wayside objects have led us away from our track,
+and we have still a long and rugged road to Tempio. We shall be in the
+saddle for hours after sunset. Let us devote another chapter to the
+continuation of our journey.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXVII.
+
+ _The Valley narrows.—Romantic Glen.—Al fresco Meal.—Forest of
+ Cork Trees.—Salvator Rosa Scenery.—Haunts of Outlaws.—Their
+ Atrocities.—Anecdotes of them in a better Spirit.—The Defile in
+ the Mountains—Elevated Plateau.—A Night March.—Arrival at
+ Tempio, the Capital of Gallura.—Our Reception._
+
+
+After following the course of the Liscia for about an hour, we struck up
+a lateral valley, the water of which stood in pools, separated by pebbly
+shallows, but overhung by drooping willows, and fringed with a luxuriant
+growth of ferns and rank weeds. The hills were covered with dense woods,
+intersected by rare clearings and inclosures on their slopes. Here and
+there stood a solitary _stazza_, as the stations or homesteads of the
+few resident farmers are here called. We observed that they were
+generally fixed on rising ground. At some of these the courier stopped,
+his errands consisting not in the delivery of letters, that office
+appearing to be a sinecure in this wild track, but in leaving packets of
+coffee, sugar, &c., and, in one instance, a cotton dress,—commodities
+none of which had probably been taxed to the Customs at La Madelena.
+
+The valley narrowed, and its water quickened into a lively trout stream,
+gurgling over a rocky bed, bordered on one side by thick underwood,
+feathering down to its edge. The myrtles here were thirty feet high,
+and, blended with the tall heath (Erica arborea), the branching arbutus,
+the cistus, lentiscus, with scores of other shrubs, formed thickets of
+as exquisite beauty as any we had seen in Corsica. The stream on its
+hither bank washed a narrow margin of grass beneath the woods. Here we
+rested our horses and dined. Wayfarers in such countries generally
+select the right spot for their halt. This was a delightful one, and we
+fared well enough on the contents of a basket provided at La Madelena.
+Such rough _al fresco_ meals, the uncertainty when you will get another,
+even when and where your ride will end, the living in the present, with
+fresh air and sunshine, and perpetual though gradual change of scene,
+with the absence of all care about the future—these form the charms of
+such travelling as ours.
+
+Again in the saddle, we soon afterwards entered a forest of magnificent
+cork trees, festooned with wild vines, relieving the sombre tints of the
+forest by the bright colours of their fading leaves. It hung on a
+mountain's side, and the gloomy depth of shade became deeper and deeper,
+as, after a while, the dusk of evening came on, and we began to thread
+the gorges which led to the summit of the pass.
+
+Salvator Rosa himself might have studied the wild scenery of Sardinia to
+advantage. If I recollect right, we are informed that he did. Nor would
+it require much effort of the imagination to add life to the picture in
+forms suited to its savage aspect,—to conjure up the grim bandit
+bursting from the thickets on his prey, or lurking behind the rock for
+the hour of vengeance on his enemy. Such scenes are by no means
+imaginary.
+
+ [Illustration: A SALVATOR ROSA SCENE.]
+
+Even now, numbers of the _fuorusciti_ find shelter in the fastnesses of
+the Gallura; the remnant of bands once so formidable that they spread
+terror through the whole province, bidding defiance alike to the law and
+the sword. Only within the present century the government has succeeded
+in quelling their ferocity, but not without desperate resistance to the
+troops employed, eighty of whom were destroyed by a party of the bandits
+in a single attack.
+
+Still, though a better spirit begins to prevail, and outrages have
+become less common and flagrant, we found, in travelling through the
+island, a prevailing sense of insecurity quite incompatible with our
+ideas of the supremacy of law under a well-ordered government. Some of
+the mountainous districts were in so disturbed a state that we were
+cautioned not to approach them; and every one we met throughout our
+journey was armed to the teeth.
+
+For ourselves, we felt no apprehensions, and took no precautions. In the
+first place, we were not to be easily frightened by possible dangers;
+and, in the second, we knew that a peaceable guise, in the character of
+foreign travellers, was our best protection. The violences of the
+_fuorusciti_ are, it is well understood, mingled and tempered with a
+strong sense of honour. I imagine, indeed, that they originate for the
+most part in that principle, developed in _vendetta_, though
+degenerating into rapine and robbery. Outlaws must find means of
+subsistence as well as honest men, and are not likely to be very
+scrupulous as to the mode of obtaining them. Among such characters there
+will be miscreants capable of any crime, and therefore there is always
+danger. But, still, the virtue of hospitality to strangers, so inherent
+amongst the Sardes, as in most semi-barbarous races, is not extinguished
+in hearts which are hardened against every other feeling of humanity. As
+the stranger is secure when he has “eaten salt” in the tent of the
+Bedouin, the Caffre's kraal, or the wigwam of the Red Indian, so there
+are numerous instances of the Sarde outlaws having afforded shelter and
+assistance to strangers throwing themselves on their honour and
+hospitality. Mr. Warre Tyndale relates such an adventure by a friend of
+his. We will venture to give the details.
+
+“In passing over the mountains from Tempio to Longone he fell in with
+five or six _fuorusciti_, who, after the usual questions, finding that
+he was a stranger in the country, offered to escort him a few miles on
+his road, for ‘security.’ According to his story of the occurrence, he
+could not at all comprehend the meaning of their expression; for the
+fact of finding himself completely at the mercy of six men, any one of
+whom might, could, or would in an instant have deprived him of life,
+gave him very different ideas as to the meaning of the word. In thanking
+them for their offer he elicited their interpretation of the phrase, and
+was not a little amused and comforted by their assurance that the
+proffered security consisted in delivering him safely into the hands of
+the very party with whom they were waging deadly warfare. ‘_Incidit in
+Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim_,’ thought my friend; but having no
+alternative he accepted their offer, and, after partaking of an
+excellent breakfast with them, they all proceeded onwards. For three
+hours they continued their slow and cautious march through defiles to
+which he was a perfect stranger; and while in conversation with them on
+matters totally unconnected with the dangers of the place, they made a
+sudden and simultaneous halt. Closing in together, a whispering
+conference ensued among them, and as my friend was excluded from it, he
+began to suspect he had been ensnared by the offer of escort, and that
+the fatal moment had arrived when he was to fall their dupe and victim.
+His suspicions were increased by seeing one of the party ride forward,
+and leave his companions in still closer confabulation; but the
+suspense, though painful, was short, for in a few minutes the envoy
+returned, and an explanation of their mysterious halt and secrecy took
+place. It appeared that the keen eyes and ears of his friends had
+perceived their foes, who were concealed in the adjoining wood, and
+that, having halted, one of them had gone as ambassador with a flag of
+truce and negotiated an armistice for his safe escort. My friend parted
+from his first guard of banditti with all their blessings on his head,
+and having traversed a space of neutral ground, was received by the
+second with no less kindness, and treated with no less honourable
+protection. They accompanied him till he was safely out of their
+district, assuring him that his accidental arrival and demand on their
+mutual honour and hospitality did not at all interfere with their
+dispute and revenge; and that if they were to meet each other the day
+after they had discharged the duty of safely escorting him, they would
+not be deterred by what had happened from instantaneously shedding each
+others' blood.
+
+“This scene,” adds Mr. Warre Tyndale[46], “took place in the forest of
+Cinque-Denti, or ‘five-teeth,’ a tract of several miles in extent, said
+to contain upwards of 100,000,000 trees and shrubs, principally oak,
+ilex, and cork, with an underwood of arbutus and lentiscus; and such is
+the thickness of the foliage, that the sunbeams and the foot of man are
+said never to have entered many parts of it.”
+
+Another instance of the honourable feeling and forbearance hospitably
+shown by the Sarde mountaineer outlaws, under circumstances of great
+temptation to plunder, was related to me by a friend long resident in
+the island, as having occurred in his own experience.
+
+Not many years ago, he was passing through the wild district in the
+defiles of which we have just described ourselves as being engaged. My
+friend had a considerable sum of money in his possession, more, he
+remarked, than he should have liked to lose. “_Cantabit vacuus coram
+latrone viator_”—“A traveller who meets robbers with his purse empty may
+hope to escape scot free.” That was not my friend's case when he fell in
+with a party of outlaws armed to the teeth. The rencontre was not very
+pleasant, but putting the best face on it, he replied to their inquiries
+“whither he was bent,” that he was in search of _them_; knowing that
+they were in the neighbourhood, and would give him shelter, as night was
+approaching, and on the morrow put him on his way, which he had lost.
+This appeal to their best feelings had the desired effect. Pleased with
+my friend's assurance of the confidence he placed in them, the outlaws
+conducted him to their place of refuge, treated him with the best they
+had, and, next morning, escorted him to the high-road, where they parted
+from him with good wishes for the prosecution of his journey. “These men
+must have known,” said my friend, “from the weight of my valise, which
+they handled, that I had a large sum of money with me. It was no less
+than 600_l._” The weight of such an amount of _scudi_ could not have
+escaped their notice.
+
+Pages might be filled with tales of the secret assassinations and
+wholesale butcheries perpetrated, at no very distant period, by the
+_malviventi_ who swarmed in the woods and mountains of Sardinia; of
+deadly feuds in which families, and sometimes whole villages, were
+involved with an implacable thirst for revenge; of places sacked, and of
+travellers murdered and plundered in lone defiles. Some instances of a
+generous sympathy for adversaries in distress, and more of a gallantry
+displayed by some of the bandits which would have graced a better cause,
+might serve to relieve the dark shades of these pictures. But enough of
+this kind has found a place in our chapters on Corsica. I prefer
+relating a story which may leave on the mind pleasing recollections of
+the Robin Hoods of the Sardinian wilds. My friend, lately mentioned, who
+is universally esteemed and respected by all classes of the Sardes
+throughout the island, has been thrown by circumstances into
+communication with the better sort of outlaws, and occasionally been the
+medium of communication between them and the Sardinian authorities, to
+their mutual advantage. He has thus acquired considerable influence over
+those unhappy men, enjoying their full confidence, without which the
+circumstances I am about to relate could not have occurred.
+
+It appeared that, not very long since, my friend had kindly undertaken
+to conduct an English party from La Madelena to Tempio, the same route
+on which we are now engaged. The party consisted of an officer and his
+lady, and I believe some others. The lady was fond of sketching;
+attractive subjects, we know, are not wanting, and the indulgence of her
+taste caused frequent delays on the road, notwithstanding my friend's
+repeated warnings of the ill repute in which that district was held in
+consequence of its proximity to the haunts of the banditti. Of all
+things the tourists would have rejoiced to have seen a real bandit, but,
+probably, under any other circumstances than in a wild pass of the
+Gallura mountains. So when the shades of night were closing in, as they
+do very soon after sunset in southern latitudes, and the party became
+apprehensive that they should be benighted in those dreary solitudes,
+there was considerable alarm:—what was to be done?
+
+My friend, having politely suggested that he had not been remiss in
+pointing out the consequences of delay, replied that they must make for
+shelter in some _stazza_, which they might possibly reach. Accordingly
+he led the way by a rough track through dusky thickets, and after
+pursuing it for some time, great was the joy of his companions at
+discovering a house, where they were received with great hospitality,
+and the promise of all the comforts a mountain farm could offer.
+
+The ladies had thrown aside their travelling equipments, the table was
+spread, and, congratulating themselves on having found such an asylum,
+the party sat down to supper, in all the hilarity which their escape
+from the perils and inconveniences of a night spent in the forest was
+calculated to promote. The occurrence was regarded as one of those
+unexpected adventures which give a zest to rough travelling.
+
+While, however, their gaiety was at the highest, it was interrupted by
+loud knocking at the house door, and hoarse voices were heard without,
+demanding immediate admittance. A short consultation took place between
+my friend and their host, who agreed that no resistance could be
+offered, that the door should be opened, and they must all submit to
+their fate. Then the banditti rushed in with fierce gestures; truculent
+men, with shaggy hair and beards, wrapped in dark _capotes_, with long
+guns in their hands, and daggers in their belts and bosoms. “Spare our
+lives, and take our money, and all that we have,” was the cry of some of
+the travellers. Nor were the bandits slow in falling upon the _sacs_ and
+_malles_, and beginning to rummage their contents, without, however,
+offering the slightest molestation to any of the party, who stood aghast
+witnessing their movements.
+
+So far from it, suddenly, as if by a concerted signal, the outlaws,
+relinquishing their booty, throw off their dark mantles, disclosing all
+the bravery of the picturesque costume of Gallurese mountaineers, and
+grouping themselves round the table, leaned on the slender barrels of
+their fusils with a proud expression of countenance which seemed to
+say:—“We are outlaws, indeed; but we hold sacred the laws of hospitality
+and honour.”
+
+The travellers found that they were safe, and, recovering from their
+panic, finished their supper with renewed gaiety. The outlaws withdrew,
+but shortly returning, some of them accompanied by their wives and
+children _en habits de fête_, the evening was spent in the exhibition of
+national dances, with songs and merriment.
+
+This formed the concluding scene in the little drama which my informant
+had got up for the gratification of his friends. Travellers might
+naturally wish to see specimens of a race so unique and so celebrated as
+the Corsican and Sardinian bandits, if they could do so with impunity,
+just as they would a lion or a tiger uncaged and in his native woods,
+from a safe point of view. My informant was able to gratify his friends
+at the expense of a temporary fright. Perhaps they might have been
+better pleased if the “_Deus ex machinâ_” had not appeared to disclose
+the plot, and they had been suffered to consider the happy _dénouement_
+as the natural result of the outlaws' magnanimity. Such, by all
+accounts, it might have been.
+
+But I can assure my readers that it requires a stout heart, and a strong
+faith in what one has heard of the redeeming qualities in the outlaws'
+character, to meet them in the open field without shuddering. It was in
+the dusk of early morning, that, soon after leaving a village on the
+borders of the Campidano, where we had passed the night, we suddenly
+fell in with a party of ten or twelve of these men, who crossed our
+track making for the hills. They were mounted on small-sized horses,
+stepping lightly under the great weight they carried; for the bandits
+were stalwart men, and heavily accoutred. Their guns were, variously,
+slung behind them, held upright on the thigh, or carried across the
+saddle-bows; short daggers were stuck in each belt, and a longer one
+hung by the side; a large powder-horn was suspended under the arm.
+Saddles _en pique_, with sheepskin housings, and leathern pouches
+attached on both sides, supplying the place of knapsack and haversack,
+completed the equipment. The “cabbanu,” a cloak of coarse brown cloth,
+hung negligently from the shoulders, and underneath appeared the
+tight-fitting pelisse or vest of leather; and the loose white linen
+drawers, which give the Sardes a Moorish appearance, were gathered below
+the knee underneath a long black gaiter tightly buckled.
+
+Already familiar with the garb and equipments of a Sarde mountaineer,
+these details were caught at a glance. The gaze was riveted on the
+features of these desperate men,—the keen black eyes flashing from their
+swarthy countenances, to which a profusion of hair, falling on the
+shoulders from beneath the dark _berette_, gave, with their bushy
+beards, a ferocious aspect;—and, above all, the resolute but melancholy
+cast of features which expressed so well their lot of daring—and
+despair.
+
+Whether the party was bent on a plundering raid, or returning from some
+terrible act of midnight murder, there was nothing to indicate; but the
+impression was that they were the men “to do or die” in whatever
+enterprise they were engaged. The party kept well together, riding in
+single file with almost military precision. Their pace was steady, with
+no appearance of haste, though they must probably have been aware that
+some carabineers were stationed in the place hard by, which we had just
+left. It was a startling apparition,—these “children of the
+mist”—sweeping by us in grim cavalcade over a wild heath, in the cold
+grey dawn of a November day, every hand stained with blood, every bosom
+steeled to vengeance. They took no notice of us, though we passed them
+closely, not even exchanging salutations with our _cavallante_. We gazed
+on them till they were out of sight.
+
+No such thoughts as those suggested by the occurrences just related
+occupied our minds while we ascended the defile which penetrates the
+mountain chain intervening between Tempio and the valleys terminating on
+the coast. The savage character and the traditions of the locality might
+have inspired them, but we were under the protection of the courier, a
+privileged person—probably for good reasons,—and, besides this, as I
+have already said, under no sort of personal apprehension. Our attention
+was divided between the stern magnificence of the gorge, the more
+striking from its being now half veiled in darkness, and the
+difficulties of the ascent which, as usual, increased step by step,
+until, at last, winding stairs cut in the rock surmounted the highest
+cliffs and landed us at the summit of the pass.
+
+On emerging from the gloomy defile, there was a total change of scene.
+We found ourselves on open downs, apparently of great extent, with a
+flood of light shed over them by a bright moon, and two brilliant
+planets in the south-west, pointing like beacon lights to the position
+of Tempio. An easy descent of the sloping downs brought us to the level
+of a vast elevated plateau, extending, with slight undulations, and
+broken by only one rocky ridge, to the vicinity of the town. When at the
+summit of the pass, we had still eight or ten miles to accomplish. Late
+as it was, the ride would have been highly enjoyable, in that pure
+atmosphere, with the vault of heaven blazing overhead, and the stillness
+of the night broken only by our horses' hoofs, but for the weariness of
+the poor beasts after a long day's journey and the toilsome ascent of a
+mountain pass, and the ruggedness of the tracks along which we had to
+pick our way.
+
+Welcome, therefore, were the lights of Agius, Luras, and Nuches,
+villages standing some little way out of the road, at from two to three
+miles' distance from Tempio. These places, Agius in particular, were
+formerly notorious for robbery and vendetta, notwithstanding which the
+population, which is chiefly pastoral, has always maintained a high
+character for kindness, hospitality, industry, and temperance.
+
+Our path lay now through very narrow lanes, dividing vineyards and
+gardens, extending all the way to Tempio. The replies of the courier to
+our inquiries after a hotel had left a complete blank in our prospects
+of bed, board, and lodging at the end of our journey. For travellers,
+such as ourselves, there was no accommodation. Tempio was rarely visited
+by strangers. This looked serious, after a mountain ride of nearly
+thirty miles, and between nine and ten o'clock at night;—what was to be
+done? We had letters of introduction to persons of the highest
+distinction in the place, but they hardly warranted our intruding
+ourselves on them, hungry, travel-stained, and houseless, at that late
+hour. The case, however, being desperate we decided, at last, on
+presenting ourselves to the Commandant of the garrison, as the most
+likely person to give or procure us quarters.
+
+The horses' feet clattered sharply on the _pavé_ in the stillness of the
+narrow deserted streets; and the huge granito-built houses overhanging
+them, gloomy at all hours, appeared doubly inhospitable now that all
+lights were extinguished, the doors closed, and none ready to be opened
+at the call of weary travellers. Thus we traversed the whole city, the
+Commandant's mansion lying at the furthest extremity. Our tramp roused
+to attention a drowsy sentry at the gate; there were lights _à la
+prima_—the family then had not retired for the night. The strange
+arrival is announced, and our _viandante_ makes no scruple of depositing
+our baggage in the hall. The Commandant receives us with politeness,
+regrets that he is so straitened in his quarters that he cannot offer us
+beds, and sends an orderly who procures us a lodging, meanwhile giving
+us coffee. Attended by two soldiers, carrying our baggage, we retrace
+our steps to the centre of the town, and take possession of very sorry
+apartments, the best portion of a gaunt filthy house. We are installed
+by the mistress, a shrewish person, who, making pretensions to
+gentility, receives her guests under protest that she does not keep a
+hotel, but is willing to accommodate strangers,—a phrase repeated a
+hundred times while we were under her roof, and emphatically when
+presenting a rather unconscionable bill on our departure. And this was
+the only refuge in a city of from six to eight thousand inhabitants,
+many of them boasting nobility, the capital of a province, the seat of a
+governor and a bishop, and head-quarters of a military district. I may
+be pardoned for being circumstantial in details giving an idea of what
+travelling in Sardinia is. Things are much the same throughout the
+island. The tourist who sets foot on it must be steeled against
+brigands, vermin, _intempérie_, and indifferent fare. “_Per aspera
+tendens_” would be his suitable motto. He must be prepared to rough it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXVIII.
+
+ _Tempio.—The Town and Environs.—The Limbara
+ Mountains.—Vineyards.—The Governor or Intendente of the
+ Province.—Deadly Feuds.—Sarde Girls at the Fountains.—Hunting
+ in Sardinia.—Singular Conference with the Tempiese
+ Hunters.—Society at the Casino.—Description of a Boar Hunt._
+
+
+Unpropitious as first appearances were, we found no want of real
+hospitality and kindness among the Tempiese, and I have seldom spent a
+few days more pleasantly in a provincial town. Daylight, indeed, failed
+to improve the internal aspect of the place, but rather disclosed the
+filth of the narrow streets, without entirely dissipating the gloom shed
+upon them from the dusky granite of which the buildings are constructed,
+and the heavy wooden balconies protruding over the thoroughfares. The
+houses have, however, a substantial air, some of them are stuccoed, and
+Tempio can even boast its palaces of an ancient nobility, with coats of
+arms sculptured in white marble over the entrances. It possesses not
+less than thirteen churches, of which the collegiate and cathedral
+church of St. Peter is the only one worth notice,—a large and lofty
+building of a mixture of styles, with some tawdry ornaments, but a
+handsome high altar and well carved oak stalls in the choir. The
+foundation consists of a dean and twelve canons, with eighteen other
+inferior clergy. Since 1839 it has ranked as a cathedral, Tempio having
+been erected into a see united with those of Cività and Ampurias, and
+the bishop residing here six months of the year. There is a massive old
+nunnery, now, I believe, suppressed, in the centre of the place, and
+outside the town a reformatory for the confinement of criminals
+sentenced to secondary punishment, a large building with a handsome
+elevation.
+
+A finer position for a large city, of greater importance than Tempio,
+can scarcely be imagined. Placed on a gentle swell of the wide
+undulating plain already mentioned—the Gemini plain,—a plateau of nearly
+2000 feet above the level of the sea, it stands midway between two grand
+mountain ranges, the Limbara stretching the bold outlines of its massive
+forms in a course south of the town, its summit rising to 4396 feet;
+and, to the north-east, a chain not quite so elevated, but of an equally
+wild and irregular formation, and presenting to the eye, when viewed
+from Tempio, even a more rugged and serrated ridge. The defiles of this
+chain we passed in approaching Tempio; those of the Limbara were to be
+penetrated in our progress southward.
+
+Its high situation and exposure render Tempio healthy, and it is even
+said to be cold in winter, of which we found no symptoms in the month of
+November, when Limbara is supposed to assume its diadem of snow,
+retaining it till April.
+
+ [Illustration: THE LIMBARA, FROM TEMPIO.]
+
+I hardly recollect anything finer of its kind than the panoramic view of
+the country between Tempio and the mountains on either side, as seen
+from its terraces. It combined great breadth, striking contrasts, and a
+most harmonious blending of colour. For a wide circuit round the town,
+gardens, orchards, vineyards, and a variety of small inclosures,
+occupying the slopes and hollows of the undulating surface, and well
+massed, give an idea of fertility one should not expect at this
+elevation. Here and there, a single round-topped pine, or a group of
+such pines, crowns a knoll, and breaks the flowing outlines. The open
+pastoral country beyond is linked to this cultivated zone by detached
+masses of copse and woods of cork and ilex, extending to the base of the
+mountains.
+
+The Tempiese are a hardy and industrious people, exhibiting their spirit
+of activity in the careful cultivation about the town and the
+occupations of vast numbers of the population as shepherds,
+_cavallanti_, or _viandanti_. The dull town also shows some signs of
+life by a considerable trade in the country produce of cheese, fruits,
+hams, bacon, &c. They manufacture here the best guns in Sardinia, and
+know how to use them; being capital sportsmen, _cacciatori_, as well as
+formidable enemies in the vindictive feuds for which they have been
+celebrated, and not yet entirely extinct. A short time ago, two factions
+fought in the streets, and, though the bloody strife was quelled, they
+are said still to eye each other askance. Returning one night from the
+Casino, in company of the Commandant, he stopped on the piazza in front
+of the cathedral and related to us the circumstances of an assassination
+perpetrated a short time before on the very steps of the church.
+
+The office of viceroy of Sardinia having been abolished, each of the
+eleven provinces into which the island is divided, the principal being
+Cagliari, Oristano, Sassari, and Tempio including the whole of Gallura,
+is administered by an _Intendente_, who communicates directly with the
+Ministers at Turin. The military districts correspond with the civil
+divisions of the island. We found two companies of the line, and a squad
+of _carabinieri_, mounted gendarmes, stationed at Tempio. Sardinia
+returns twenty-four members to the national parliament at Turin. The
+ecclesiastical jurisdiction is administered by three archbishops,
+filling the sees of Cagliari, Sassari, and Oristano, and eight bishops,
+seated in the other principal cities.
+
+High official appointments at Tempio are not very enviable posts;
+governors and commandants not being exempt from the summary vengeance,
+for real or supposed wrongs, at which the Sardes are so apt. The
+Commandant told us that his immediate predecessor had received one of
+the death-warnings which precede the fatal stroke: I believe he was soon
+afterwards removed. For himself, his successor said, he took no
+precautions, did his duty, and braved the consequences. A few years
+before, the Governor, having compromised himself by acts of injustice,
+was assassinated, after receiving one of these “death-warnings” peculiar
+to Sardinia. “During the night he heard a pane of glass crack, and on
+examining it in the morning he found the fatal bullet on the floor. The
+custom of the country is that, whenever the _vendetta alla morte_,
+revenge even to death, is to be carried out, the party avenging himself
+shall give his adversary timely notice by throwing a bullet into his
+window, in order that he may either make immediate compensation for the
+injury or prepare himself for death. The Governor for some time used
+every caution as to when and where he went, but at length disregarded
+the warning, imagining he was safe. The assassin, however, had watched
+him with an eagle's eye, and he fell in a moment he least expected.
+Report further says,” observes Mr. Tyndale, in whose words we relate the
+occurrence, “that he is not the only Governor of Gallura to whom this
+summary mode of obtaining justice, or inflicting vengeance, has been
+intimated.”
+
+The present Intendente of Tempio, the Marchese Clavarino, though he only
+entered on his office in the month of April before our visit, had
+already done much by his firm and enlightened administration to restore
+order and confidence. He had been able to collect the arrears of taxes,
+and, by impartial justice between all factions, had removed every
+pretence for a resort to deeds of violence for the redress of injuries.
+
+“The Governor's palace, establishment, and retinue,” observes Mr.
+Tyndale, “consist of three rooms on a second story, a female servant,
+and a sentry at the door.” Things were little changed in 1853, but, in
+the absence of all state, we were impressed on our first visit of
+ceremony that the government of a turbulent province could not have been
+intrusted to better hands. In the antechamber we found a priest waiting,
+as it struck me from his deportment, to prefer his suit with “bated
+breath,” and the feeling that the wings of the priesthood are now
+clipped in the Sardinian states. The Marquis conversed with frankness on
+his own position and the state of the island. He had been in London at
+the time of the “Great Exhibition,” and his views of the English
+alliance, and of politics generally, were just such as might be expected
+from an enlightened Sardinian. A worthy coadjutor to such statesmen as
+D'Azeglio and Cavour, I would venture to predict that the Intendente of
+Tempio will ere long be called to fill a higher post.
+
+Our rambles in the environs of Tempio were very pleasant. It was the
+season of the vintage, late here; and great numbers of the people were
+busily employed in the vineyards and the “lodges”[47] attached to them.
+Observing smoke issuing from most of these, we learned, in answer to our
+inquiries, that a portion of boiled lees is added in the manufacture of
+wine, to insure its keeping, the grapes not sufficiently ripening in
+consequence of the coldness of the climate. We found no such fault with
+those we tasted. A very considerable extent of surface is planted with
+vines, divided, however, into small vineyards. At the entrance of each
+stands an arched gateway, generally a solid structure of granite, with
+more or less architectural pretensions, and a date and initials carved
+in stone, commemorative, no doubt, of the planting of so cherished a
+family inheritance. One of these is represented in the foreground of the
+accompanying plate.
+
+There are several fountains in the neighbourhood of Tempio, the waters
+of which are deliciously cool and pure. One of them, on the road beyond
+the Commandant's house, gushes out of the rock, under shade of some fine
+Babylonian willows. Sheltered by these in the heat of noon, and in still
+greater numbers at eventide, one saw the damsels of Tempio resort with
+their pitchers, as in ancient times Abraham's steward, in his journey to
+Mesopotamia, stood at the well of Nahor, when the daughters of the men
+of the city came out with their pitchers[48]; as Saul, passing through
+Mount Ephraim and ascending the hill of Zuph, met the maidens going out
+to draw water[49]; or as the spies of Ulysses fell in with the daughter
+of Antiphates at the well of Artacia.[50] Sardinia abounds with such
+mementos of primitive times.
+
+The Tempiese women have the singular habit of raising the hinder part of
+the upper petticoat, the _suncurinu_, when they go abroad, and bringing
+it over the head and shoulders, so as to form a sort of hood. So far
+from this fashion giving them, as might be supposed, a _dowdy_
+appearance, it is not inelegant when the garment is gracefully arranged.
+It has generally broad stripes, and is often of silk or a fine material.
+The under-petticoat, of cloth, is either of a bright colour, or dark
+with a bright-coloured border. Both of them are worn very full. The
+jacket is of scarlet, blue, or green velvet, fitting very tightly to tho
+figure, the edges having a border of a different colour, and sometimes
+brocaded. The simple head-dress consists of a gaily-coloured kerchief
+wound round the head, and tied in knots before and behind.
+
+We expected to get some shooting in the woods at the foot of the
+Limbara, as they abound with wild hogs, _cingale_, and deer, _capreoli_,
+a sort of roebuck. Our letters of introduction to some gentlemen of
+Tempio failed of assisting us. They were from home, probably engaged in
+the vintage. But the Sardes of all ranks are determined sportsmen,
+_cacciatori_, and we did not despair, though hunting excursions in the
+island require, as we shall find, a certain organisation. In our dilemma
+we made the acquaintance—of all people in the world—of a little barber,
+who appeared deeply versed in the politics of the place, and undertook
+to arrange the desired _chasse_ with the Tempiese hunters. We were to
+meet him the same evening, at a low _caffè_, where he was to introduce
+us to the leaders of the band. A singular conference it was, that
+meeting of ourselves, men of the north, with the wild _chasseurs_ of the
+Gallura, between whom there was nothing in common but enthusiastic love
+of the field and the mountain.
+
+The low vault of the _Caffè de la Costituzione_ was lighted by a single
+lamp, by whose glimmerings we dimly discerned, amidst wreaths of
+tobacco-smoke, the grim features of the men with whom we had to do. They
+were honest enough, no doubt, according to Sarde notions of honour, and
+received us with great cordiality; but the consultation between
+themselves was carried on in a patois quite unintelligible, except that
+we gathered that there were some difficulties in the way.
+
+_La caccia di cingale_, a boar-hunt in Sardinia, requires a number of
+hunters, besides those who beat the woods to rouse the game; and,
+whether there were any feuds to be stifled, any jealousies to be
+allayed, which, with armed men in that state of society, might endanger
+the peace, the difficulties appeared serious. Whatever they were, our
+_Barbière di Seviglia_, who, to use a familiar phrase, seemed up to
+everything, and conducted the treaty on our part, did not think proper
+to disclose them. One thing, however, we soon learned, that the services
+of these men were not to be hired; their ruling passion for the chase
+and the national principle of hospitality were incentives enough to the
+proposed expedition. We were also informed that there were other parties
+to be consulted, and the meeting was adjourned to the following day.
+
+Very different was the scene at the Casino to which we were introduced
+by the Commandant shortly after our consultation with the hunters. At
+the Casino there is a _réunion_ of the best society in Tempio every
+evening. We found good rooms, well lighted, with coffee and refreshments
+nicely served. There were newspapers, and a small collection of
+books,—the standard works of Italian writers, with some French. The
+society was unexpectedly good for such a place as Tempio, consisting,
+besides the officers of the garrison, of many of the resident nobles and
+gentry. We spent some pleasant hours there, finding among the members
+well-informed and intelligent persons. Politics were freely discussed,
+liberal opinions prevailing even to the degree of such ultra-liberalism
+as might have better suited the class of persons we met at the _Caffè de
+la Costituzione_, if politics are discussed there also. No doubt they
+are, the Tempiese, like the rest of the islanders, being a shrewd race,
+devotedly patriotic, and jealous of their independence.
+
+We could not, as already hinted, reckon Madame Rosalie's _ménage_ among
+the pleasant things that reconciled us to a longer stay than we intended
+in the rude capital of Gallura; but, at least, she supplied us in her
+own person with a fund of amusement. My companion, who had the happy
+gift for a traveller of being almost omnivorous, used to laugh heartily
+at my vain attempts to extract something edible from the meagre _carte_
+offered by Madame. Her replies parrying my demands, and uttered with
+amazing volubility, in shrill tones and a patois almost unintelligible,
+invariably ended to this effect:—“Signore, my house is not a locanda,
+though I have opened my doors to accommodate you.” It was a species of
+hospitality that cost us dear. Madame's airs of gentility, though very
+amusing, were of course treated with due respect. But what gave zest to
+my friend's mirth, and, with the hopeless prospect of dinner, produced
+in me a slight irritation, sometimes, perhaps, ill concealed, was Madame
+Rosalie's evolutions on these occasions. I fancy, now, that I see her
+slight figure skipping into the room, dancing a jig round the table,
+never at rest, screeching all the while at the highest pitch of her
+voice, with every limb in motion, as if she had St. Vitus's dance, or,
+as they say, went on wires. I can only compare the play of her limbs to
+that of one of those children's puppets of which all the limbs—head,
+legs, and arms—are set in motion by pulling a string.
+
+Nothing detained us at Tempio but the proposed boar-hunt. We attended a
+second meeting of the principal hunters, committing ourselves
+unreservedly to their disposal, and, after some further consultation,
+among themselves, our little barber had the glory of bringing the
+negotiations to a successful issue. All the difficulties, whatever they
+were, had been removed, and it was settled that the affair should come
+off on the morrow.
+
+Accordingly, at an early hour, there was an unusual stir in the dull
+streets of Tempio, snapping of guns, trampling of horses, and barking of
+dogs. On our joining the party at the rendezvous in front of the
+_caffè_, we found some twenty horsemen, carrying guns,—rough and ready
+fellows, looking as if a dash into the forest, whether against hogs or
+gendarmes, would equally suit them. We were followed by a rabble on
+foot, attended by dogs of a variety of species, some of them strong and
+fierce. After winding through the narrow lanes among the vineyards, our
+cavalcade was joined by one of the gentlemen on whom we had called with
+a letter of introduction, and his son, who mixed freely with our rank
+and file. There is a happy fellowship in field sports which, to a great
+degree, levels for the time distinctions of rank; and this we found
+particularly in Sardinia, where all classes are so devoted to these
+sports, and they are of a character requiring extended and rather
+promiscuous operations.
+
+Our irregular cavalry shaped their march in broken order towards a spur
+of the mountains, covered with dense thickets, at the foot of the Punta
+Balestiere, the highest point of the Limbara. After clearing the
+inclosures our track led us over the wide undulating plain already
+described, interspersed with scattered thickets, but with few signs of
+cultivation. On approaching the mountains there were indications giving
+promise of sport in patches of soil grubbed up by the wild hogs in
+search for the root of the Asphodel, which they greedily devour. This
+handsome plant springs from a bunch of long fibrous bulbs, something
+like the Dahlia, throwing up straight stems two or three feet high, with
+numerous angular filiformed leaves and yellow flowers.[51] It grows
+freely on all the wastes throughout the island. The root contains so
+large a portion of saccharine matter, and is so plentiful, that while we
+were in Sardinia a Frenchman was forming a company for distilling
+alcohol from it on an extensive scale. A distillery was to be
+established at Sassari, with moveable stills throughout the island,
+wherever the bulbs could be most easily procured. The projector gave us
+a sample-bottle of the alcohol, a strong and purely tasteless spirit. I
+heard afterwards that the speculation did not succeed. There is fine
+feeding for the wild hogs, in season, on the acorns of the vast cork and
+other oak woods in the interior of the island, where we afterwards
+hunted them. They commit great ravages in the cultivated grounds. One
+was shot in the vineyards skirting the town during our stay at Tempio.
+
+Approaching the mountains we threw off our attendants on foot, with
+their mongrel pack, whose business it was to scale the wooded ridge from
+behind, and beat the thickets for the game. The rest of our party soon
+afterwards struck up a valley parallel with the ridge, and facing the
+mountain side, which rose above it a vast amphitheatre of hanging woods,
+shelving and precipitous cliffs, rocks and pinnacles,—so glorious a
+spectacle that it riveted my attention, and almost drew it off from the
+work before us. But now our leaders proceeded to “tell off” the party,
+stationing them singly at distances of about seventy or eighty paces
+along the bottom of the valley, within gunshot of the verge of the wood,
+which sloped to it. In this open order the line extended more than half
+a mile. The horses were tethered in the rear.
+
+It was my lot to be posted near the extreme right on a detached rock,
+slightly elevated, so as to command the ground. I could just distinguish
+my neighbours on either hand, “low down in the broom,” the valley being
+rather thickly covered with brakes of underwood. The instructions for my
+noviciate in boar-hunting were,—not to quit my post, and to maintain
+strict silence; injunctions not likely to be disregarded, as a breach of
+the former might have exposed me to be winged, in mistake for a pig
+among the rustling bushes, considering that there were dead shots on
+either flank, with two or three balls in their barrels. As to the other
+word of order, silence, the injunction was needless, for the ear of my
+nearest neighbour could only have been reached by shouts which might
+scare the game, and prevent their breaking cover, and that I was not
+quite novice enough to risk.
+
+So I sat down on the rock, with my gun across my knees, watching the
+play of light and shade on the mountain sides as the clouds flitted
+round them. But this did not last long, for the line of _vedettes_ could
+have been scarcely formed when the shouts of the party who had now
+gained the heights, and were beating the woods in face of our position,
+summoned the hunters in the valley beneath to be on the alert. The
+interval of suspense and silence being now broken, the scene became very
+exciting. The dogs in the wood gave tongue, and the short and snapping
+bark was shortly followed by a full burst, which told that the game was
+on foot. Then, no doubt, every gun was at full cock, every eye intently
+watching the avenues in the thickets through which boar or deer, driven
+from the woods, might cross the valley. The shouts and cries sounded
+nearer and nearer, till at length a shot from the extreme left announced
+that some game had been marked as it broke cover. A dropping fire now
+extended at intervals along the line, as cingale or capreole burst from
+the thickets. Several fell to the guns of the party, some escaped;
+others, wounded, were pursued by the dogs to the rear of the position,
+with a rush of some of the hunters on their trail.
+
+The thickets having been completely swept, the line was now broken, and
+the party remounting their horses bore their trophies to a woody glen,
+where we dined, the spot chosen being the grassy bank of a little
+rivulet. Arms were piled; some gathered wood and lighted fires, others
+fetched water from the brook, and the more handy opened the baskets of
+provisions we had brought from Tempio and spread them on the grass. A
+wild boar was cut open, and, in Homeric style, the choicest portions of
+the intestines were torn out, and, broiled on wooden skewers, offered to
+the hunting-knives of the guests. The wine cup went round, and the
+hunters' feast was seasoned with rude merriment.
+
+“When they had eaten and drank enough,”[52] the party mounted their
+horses and returned to Tempio, carrying the game across their
+saddle-bows. The cavalcade was as joyous as the feast. Jumping from
+their horses when they got among the vineyards, some dashed over the
+fences and brought away large bunches of grapes. And so we entered the
+city in triumph. In the course of the evening the skin of the finest
+wild boar was sent to our quarters as a trophy of our share in the work
+of the day, with a joint of the meat. Madame Rosalie's _cuisine_ failed
+to do it justice; but, when well cooked, wild boar is excellent eating.
+This mode of hunting, generally practised by the Sardes, resembles the
+_battue_ of wolves and leopards at which I have assisted in South
+Africa, where the Boers, assembling in numbers, make an onslaught on the
+ravagers of their flocks; having the dens and thickets driven, and
+stationing themselves on the outskirts with their long roers to shoot
+down the vermin as they issue forth. Such meetings are jovial, and the
+sport is exciting, but not to be compared, I think, to deer-stalking or
+fox-hunting, to say nothing of a foray against lions and tigers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXIX.
+
+ _Leave Tempio.—Sunrise.—Light Wreaths of Mist across the
+ Valley.—A Pass of the Limbara.—View from the Summit.—Dense
+ Vapour over the Plain beneath.—The Lowlands unhealthy.—The
+ deadly Intempérie.—It recently carried off an English
+ Traveller.—Descend a romantic Glen to the Level of the
+ Campidano.—Its peculiar Character.—Gallop over it.—Reach
+ Ozieri._
+
+
+I have reason to believe from information received during a recent visit
+to Sardinia that the insecurity which, to some extent, prevailed when we
+were in the island in 1853, had considerably lessened. But while at
+Tempio in that year we learnt by an official communication from Cagliari
+that some of the central mountain districts, through which we proposed
+to pass on a shooting excursion, were in a disturbed state and must be
+approached with caution. In consequence, the _Lascia portare arma_
+forwarded to us was accompanied by an open order from the Colonel
+commanding the royal Caribineers, addressed to all the stations, for our
+being furnished with an escort. So, also, on our visit of leave to the
+Intendente of Tempio he pressed us to allow him to send us forward under
+escort, though I did not learn that there had been any recent outrages
+in his own province. On our declining the offer, as at variance with our
+habits and feelings, the Intendente said, “I assure you that, here, the
+lowest government employé will not travel without an escort;”—and he
+again urged our accepting it, adding, “the Marchese d'Azeglio having put
+you under my especial protection, I am responsible for your safety, and
+wish to use every precaution, lest anything unpleasant should occur.” On
+our again respectfully declining the offer, the kind Intendente said,
+with a shrug, “Well, gentlemen, I have done my duty, and I hope that
+when you get to Turin you will so represent it.”
+
+Such precautions exhibit a singular state of society in the midst of
+European civilisation; I apprehend, however, that the Piedmontese
+officials, and the continentals in general, paint the Sardes in darker
+colours than they merit; and there is little good blood between them.
+
+Having no such prejudices, and entertaining no apprehensions, we
+started, as usual, having a honest viandante, with his saddle and
+pack-horses, for our only escort. The sun was just rising over the
+serrated ridge of the eastern mountains, when, emerging from the fetid
+shade of the narrow streets of Tempio, we came suddenly into his blessed
+light. The mountain sides still formed an indistinct mass of the richest
+purple hue, while, over the whole plain beneath, light mists rolled in
+fantastic waves, floating like a mysterious gauze-like veil, shreds of
+which touched by the sun's rays became brilliantly coloured, and others
+drifting through the scattered woods had the appearance of being combed
+out into long and fine-spun threads like the spiders'-webs which, gemmed
+with dew-drops, hung from spray to spray. It was a magnificent view, of
+great breadth, like one of Martin's mysterious pictures, and seen under
+the most splendid effects; but so transitory that after we crossed the
+first ridge all was changed. Meanwhile denser, but still light, wreaths
+close at hand mingled with the mists, as the blue smoke curled up from
+the vineyard sheds where the industrious Tempiese had already commenced
+their labours. The temperature was delicious, and rain had fallen in the
+night cooling the air and refreshing vegetation. Pleasanter than ever
+was our early ride through the pretty winding lanes dividing the
+vineyards and gardens skirting the town, and again, as we descended
+through deep banks among scattered woodlands to the open plains
+extending to the foot of the Limbara Mountains.
+
+A long but easy ascent led to the top of the pass, the ridge we mounted
+being thickly clothed with evergreen shrubbery, the arbutus
+predominating, profusely decked with fruit and flower. The summit of the
+pass opened to us a double view in strong contrast. Looking back, we
+once more saw through a gap the mountains of Corsica, in faint outlines,
+eighty miles distant, with a glimpse of a blue stripe of water, the
+Straits of Bonifacio. Turning southward, we stood at the summit of a
+long winding glen richly wooded with ilex and cork trees, and far away
+beneath there lay before us a broad plain partially covered with a sea
+of vapour, not like the gay wreaths of mist that lightly floated over
+the elevated plateau surrounding Tempio, but so still, so condensed, so
+white, as to have been easily mistaken for a frozen lake powdered with
+snow, and its hills for islands rising out of the water.[53]
+
+But such an image is unsuited to the climate of Sardinia at any season.
+Smiling as the landscape now appeared, its most striking feature was
+associated with the idea of death.
+
+That dense creamy vapour, formed by the pestiferous exhalations of the
+lowlands, is the death shroud of the plain outstretched beneath it.
+
+ [Illustration: DESCENT TO THE CAMPIDANO.]
+
+During the heats of summer, nay, sometimes from April till the latter
+end of November, the ravages of the deadly _intempérie_ extend
+throughout the island to such a degree that in Captain Smyth's list of
+nearly 350 towns and villages included in his “Statistical Table of
+Sardinia,” full a third are noted as insalubrious. The disorder has the
+same character as malaria, but is far more virulent. Captain Smyth thus
+describes the symptoms: “The patient is first attacked by a headache and
+painful tension of the epigastric region, with alternate sensations of
+heat and chilliness; a fever ensues, the exacerbations of which are
+extremely severe, and are followed by a mournful debility, more or less
+injurious even to those accustomed to it, but usually fatal to
+strangers.” We have conversed with natives and residents who have
+recovered from repeated attacks of _intempérie_; foreigners suffer most.
+“Instances have been related to me,” observes Captain Smyth, “of
+strangers landing for a few hours only from Italian coasters, who were
+almost immediately carried off by its virulence; indeed, the very
+breathing of the air by a foreigner at night, or in the cool of the
+evening, is considered as certain death in some parts.”[54]
+
+Not twelve months before our visit, an English officer was suddenly
+struck down and carried off while on a similar excursion in this part of
+the island. Sir Harry Darrell was one of the last men I should have
+thought liable to so fatal an attack. A few years ago, when returning
+from Caffreland just before the breaking out of the last war, I met him
+on the march to the frontier. I had off-saddled at noon, and while my
+horses were grazing, knee-haltered, on a slip of grass by the side of a
+running stream, was lying under the shade of a wild olive-tree, when the
+head-quarters' division of the —— Dragoon Guards passed along the road.
+Sir Harry and some other officers rode down into the meadow, and we
+talked of the state of Caffreland and of the principal chiefs, most of
+whom I had recently seen. I heard afterwards that he had got out
+fox-hounds and hunted the country about Fort Beaufort. He was a keen
+sportsman and clever artist. Some of his sketches in South Africa were
+published by Ackerman. His remains lie at Cagliari, where he was
+conveyed when struck by the _intempérie_, dying a few days after. A
+friend of mine, who was there at the time, informs me that Sir Harry's
+constitution had become debilitated, and he had rendered himself liable
+to the attack by exposure and over-fatigue. I mention the circumstance
+as a warning, but do not think there is much risk, with proper
+precautions, for men in good health, through most parts of the island,
+after the November rains have precipitated the miasma and purified the
+air. We ourselves slept in most pestiferous places, where the ravages of
+the disease were marked in the sallow countenances of the inhabitants,
+without experiencing the least inconvenience.
+
+We rested at the summit of the pass commanding the distant view of the
+Campidano, which led to these remarks on the insalubrity of the country
+and the scourge of the _intempérie_. They are not, however, confined to
+the plains, but of course are more prevalent where marshes, stagnant
+waters, and rank vegetation engender vapours rising in the summer.
+Leaving my companion to finish the sketch copied in a former page, I
+slowly trotted on with the _viandante_, and, the descent becoming
+rapid, proceeded leisurely down the wooded glen, a depth of shade in
+which the heat, as well as the picturesque character of the scenery,
+tempted to linger. Old cork and ilex trees, with their rugged bark and
+grey foliage, throwing out rectangular arms of stiff and fantastic
+growth, wild vines hanging from the branches in festoons of brilliant
+hues, other trees with tawny orange leaves,—I believe a species of
+ash,—some of a rich claret, and the never-failing arbutus, here quite a
+tree, with its orange and crimson berries, all these massed together
+formed admirable contrasts in shape and colour. And then there was the
+gentle brook, never roaring or boisterous, but purling among rocks
+dividing it into still pools, with giant ferns hanging over the stream
+and bunches of hassock-grass luxuriating in the alluvial soil of its
+little deltas, and, where the forest receded, a graceful growth of
+shrubbery feathering the winding banks.
+
+Some of the cork-trees were fine specimens, of great age. Several I
+measured in a rough way by embracing their trunks with extended arms.
+This, repeated four or five times, gave a circumference of twenty or
+twenty-five feet. The bark was ten inches thick. While so employed I was
+startled by a wild boar rushing by me into the thickets. The cork wood
+gradually thinned into scattered clumps on the slopes of the hills, and
+the winding valley, five or six miles long, was abruptly terminated by a
+bold mamelon, or green mound, covered with dwarf heath or turf; so shorn
+and smooth it appeared, probably from being pastured, in immediate
+contrast with the shaggy sides of the mountain glen. The horsetrack,
+avoiding this obstacle, led up the eastern acclivity of the glen, and
+the summit commanded the Campidano, now clear of fog, spread out before
+us, far as the eye could reach, in a broad level, broken only by some
+singular flat-topped hills in the foreground.
+
+Striking and novel as this landscape appeared at the first glance, I
+confess that, at the moment, my attention was most directed backward on
+the track I had just followed. It was now some hours since I parted from
+my fellow-traveller. I had often listened for his horse's steps in the
+deep glen, where there was no seeing many hundred yards backwards or
+forwards; and though the present elevation commanded some points in the
+track, he did not appear. I was getting fidgetty, and the guide's
+replies to my inquiries did not tend to reassure me, for there are
+“_malviventi_” as well as “_fuorusciti_” in the wilds—a well known
+distinction—when, just as we were on the point of returning back, after
+half an hour's additional suspense, I got a glimpse of my friend
+trotting out of the woods close under the point of view. He, too, had
+lingered in the romantic glen after finishing his sketch.
+
+We had now cleared the defiles of the Limbara, and, descending to the
+level of the plains, made up for lost time by galloping _ventre à terre_
+over the boundless waste. Here were no shady nooks, no forest masses, no
+fantastic growths, no grey crags, no bright-flowered thickets, so
+grouped as one might never see again, and tempting to linger. All the
+features were now on a broad scale; they were caught at a glance, and
+the few which broke the monotony of the scene were repeated again and
+again. But they were not without interest. The rivulet had expanded into
+a wide stream, making long bends through the deep loam of the grassy
+meads, and looking so cool and refreshing, that, but for the pebbly
+shoals in its bed, it was difficult to conceive the midsummer heats
+rendering these verdant plains desolate and pestilential.
+
+Along the banks of the river, and far away in every direction, were
+scattered herds of cattle, guarded by armed shepherds, wild bearded
+fellows in goatskin mantles and leather doublets, mostly on horseback.
+We meet such figures on the grassy track, looking fiercely as we sweep
+along; we see them at a distance on the edge of some of the gentle
+slopes in which the plain is rolled, when only the profile of the horse,
+the stalwart rider and his long gun, comes out clear against the sky.
+There is more life on the Campidano than in the mountains. Not that it
+is inhabited; there is scarcely a house on this whole plain, fifty or
+sixty miles in circumference. Not that there is much cultivation; here
+and there, at rare intervals, we see patches of a livelier green than
+the surrounding expanse of grass, and the young wheat just springing up,
+the strong blade and rich loamy furrow, remind us that Sardinia was
+reckoned in former times a granary of Rome. We see also the grey mounds
+of the Nuraghe scattered over the plain, some mouldering down to its
+level, a few still rearing their truncated cones, like solitary
+watch-towers, for which they have been mistaken. They, too, remind us of
+times long past, of a primitive age. But they are to be found in all
+parts of the island, and we shall fall in with them again, more at
+leisure to examine their structure and hazard a conjecture as to their
+origin. Now we gallop on over the level plain. The sward on the beaten
+track is close and elastic, and our cavallante's spirited barbs, spared
+in the glen during the noontide heat, spring as if they had never been
+broken to the _portante_ pace. The morning fog and the cadaverous
+features of the shepherds have warned us that the teeming Campidano is
+no place to linger in after nightfall. Their homes are in the villages
+scattered round the edge of the great plain; not much elevated, as the
+_paese_ in Corsica, but standing on gentle acclivities. We marked them
+at a distance. Already we have passed Sassu on our right and Oschiri on
+our left; they are poor places. Codriaghe and Codrongianus and Florinas
+stand at the extremity of the plain towards Sassari, and we shall see
+them on our road thither, if we ever get there. Ardara, once the capital
+of the province of Logudoro, founded as early as 1060, and having many
+historic traditions, crowns, with its massive towers rising above the
+ruined walls, a hillock on the plain right before us. It boasts also a
+fine church, enriched with curious objects of art; but the town has
+dwindled to a collection of hovels with a small population, few of whom,
+we are told, survive their fiftieth year, so destructive is the
+_intempérie_. We turn away: Ozieri stands invitingly on rather a bold
+eminence at the head of a gorge where the plain narrows towards the
+hills. The rays of the setting sun are full upon its houses and
+churches. It is a place of some importance, and lies in our proposed
+line through byroads to the forest districts of the interior. If our
+pace holds on we may reach it by an hour after sunset. Perhaps we shall
+find good cheer, the best preservative, I should imagine, against the
+miasma that produces _intempérie_.
+
+ [Illustration: THE PLAIN OF OZIERI.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXX.
+
+ _Effects of vast Levels as compared with Mountain
+ Scenery.—Sketches of Sardinian Geology.—The primitive Chains
+ and other Formations.—Traces of extensive Volcanic action.—The
+ “Campidani,” or Plains.—Mineral Products._
+
+
+Vast open plains, such as that described in the preceding chapter, form
+a singular feature in the physical aspect of the island of Sardinia.
+There are few travellers, I think, of much experience who, in traversing
+such tracts of country, have not been struck at one time by the
+desolation of their depths of solitude, or been pleased, at another, by
+the glimpses of nomade life, their occasional accompaniments; and who
+would not be willing to admit that, in their general impressions on the
+imagination, they sometimes rival even mountain scenery. For if grandeur
+be one main ingredient in the sublime, when an object such as a
+seemingly boundless level, or rolling plain, the extent of which the eye
+is unable to scan, lies before you, when, after long marches, it still
+appears interminable, the mind is perhaps more impressed with the idea
+of magnitude than by large masses, however enormous, with defined
+outlines presented to the view. In the former instance, the imagination
+is called into play and fills out the picture on a scale corresponding
+with the actual features, as far as they are subject to observation;
+but the imagination proverbially adopts an extravagant measure.
+
+One of my friend's sketches of Campidano scenery, introduced here,
+cleverly represents the effects produced by great distances on one of
+these rolling plains.
+
+ [Illustration: THE CAMPIDANO.]
+
+Perhaps the idea of illimitable extent is better conveyed by the
+lithographic sketch, No. 8, in which the level, not being interrupted by
+the intersection of a mountain ridge, as in the former, vanishes in
+distance. But the termination of the plain in the woodcut is only
+apparent as, winding round the base of the mountains, the level is still
+continued though lost to sight. It is not however intended to intimate
+that these Sardinian plains can at all vie with the great continental
+levels in various quarters of the globe, the immensity of which occurred
+to my mind, and some of them to my recollection, when remarking on the
+impressions such scenes produce on the traveller's sensations. The most
+extensive of the Sardinian Campidani is only fifty miles in length, and
+they are all of far less breadth. Their effect is therefore only
+comparative, but being proportioned to the scale of other surrounding
+objects, to the area of the insular surface, and the limited height and
+extent of the mountain ranges, they produce a proportionate effect; but
+that, as it has been already remarked, is sufficiently striking.
+
+Some brief details of these interesting features in Sardinian
+scenery—the larger of which are termed _Campidani_, and the secondary
+_Campi_—will be fitly combined with a general sketch of the geological
+formations of the island; as we are now approaching the same standing
+point, the central districts, from which we took occasion to review the
+orology of Corsica. It was then remarked that the mountain systems of
+the two islands are of similar character and were formerly united; of
+which there is evidence in the rocky islets scattered from one coast to
+the other, across the Straits of Bonifacio.[55] Sardinia, however,
+though apparently a continuation of Corsica, is essentially different in
+its physical aspect; the elevations being less, the plains more
+extensive and fertile, its mineralogical riches far more varied, and
+volcanic action on a large scale being traced throughout the island,
+while few vestiges of it are discovered in Corsica.
+
+While these sheets have been passing through the press, General Alberto
+de la Marmora has published two volumes in continuation of his “_Voyages
+en Sardaigne_,” devoted exclusively, with an accompanying Atlas, to the
+geology of the island; a work of the greatest scientific value, from the
+high character of the author, and the time he has zealously spent in his
+researches, but too elaborate for any attempt to reduce its details
+within the compass or the scope of these pages. Our brief sketch must be
+confined to a few general remarks derived from La Marmora's former
+volumes, and Captain Smyth's very accurate account of Sardinia;
+availing ourselves also of Mr. Warre Tyndale's digest of these accounts,
+and giving some results of our own limited observation.
+
+The principal chain of primitive mountains trends from north to south,
+extending through the districts of Gallura, Barbagia, Ogliastra, and
+Budui, along the whole eastern coast of the island. This range consists
+of granite, with ramifications of schist, and large masses of quartz,
+mica, and felspar. It is intersected by transverse ranges, and by plains
+and valleys partly formed by volcanic agency; indeed, the connection
+between the Gallura group and that of Barbagia is entirely cut off by
+the great plain of Ozieri.
+
+The most northerly of the series is the Limbara group. Its highest peak,
+according to La Marmora 4287 feet, is an entire mass of granite. The
+Genargentu in the Barbagia range, of the same formation, the highest and
+most central mountain in Sardinia, has two culminating points of the
+respective heights of 6230 and 6118 feet. They are covered with snow
+from September till May, and the inhabitants of Aritzu, who make it an
+object of traffic, are, I believe, able to continue the supply
+throughout the year.[56] The Monte Oliena in the central group near
+Nuoro, 4390 feet high, is calcareous, as are two others, between 2000
+and 3000 feet high, in the same chain. It terminates with the Sette
+Fratelli, prolonged to Cape Carbonaro, the eastern point of the gulf of
+Cagliari, the highest point of the group, which is entirely granite,
+being 3142 feet.
+
+We find a detached formation called the Nurra mountains, composed of
+granite, schist, and primitive limestone, filling the isthmus of the
+Cape at the north-west extremity of the island, and extending to the
+little isle of Asinara. The mountains of Sulcis, at the extreme
+south-west, and terminating in the Capes Teulada and Spartivento, are
+similarly composed; their highest peaks, the Monte Linas and Severa,
+being from 3000 to 4000 feet high.
+
+But the most striking geological feature in Sardinia consists in the
+great extent of the volcanic formations. These, as well as the slighter
+traces of such action in Corsica, are doubtless connected with the
+subterranean and submarine fires of which the coasts and islands of the
+central Mediterranean basin afford so many evidences in active and
+extinct volcanoes (some of them in activity in the times of Homer,
+Pindar, and Thucydides), and ranging in a circle from the Roman
+territory to that of Naples, to the Lipari islands, Sicily, and those
+forming the subject of our present inquiry. Sardinia has been widely
+ravaged by internal fires, but at too remote an era to admit of our
+conjecturing the period. The volcanic action can be traced from Castel
+Sardo, where it has formed precipices on the northern coast, to the
+vicinity of Monastir, a distance southward of more than 100 miles; its
+central focus appearing to have been about half-way between Ales, Milis,
+and St. Lussurgiu, where, as Captain Smyth remarks, “the phlægrean
+evidences are particularly abundant.” The action was principally
+confined to the western side of the island, though, south of Genargentu,
+the volcanic formations approach the primitive chain, and the rounded
+hills we remarked in the present rambles, after crossing the Limbara, as
+far east as Oschiri on the Campo d'Ozieri, are, I doubt not, craters of
+extinct volcanoes. The flat-topped hill, or truncated cone, figured in
+the lithograph drawing, No. 8, represents one of them, and, scattered as
+these verdant cones are over the long sweeps of the Campidani, they
+formed additional features in the interest with which, as I have already
+said, we regarded those immense tracts.
+
+From the supposed centre of volcanic action just suggested, it may be
+traced northward through the districts of Macomer, Bonorva, Giavesu,
+Keremule, with the hillock on which Ardara stands, and Codrongianus, to
+its termination in the cliffs of Lungo Sardo. But its most salient
+feature is the detached group of mountains on the western coast between
+Macomer and Orestano, which are entirely volcanic. This group has the
+name of “Monte del Marghine,” in the small map prefixed to Captain
+Smyth's survey, but I do not find that or any other distinct name
+attached to it in La Marmora's large “Carta dell'Isola.” The village
+of St. Lussurgiu is literally built in a crater connected with this
+group, as is also that of Cuglieri. The highest point, Monte Articu, the
+summit of Monte Ferro, entirely volcanic, rises 3442 feet above the
+Mediterranean, and the Trebia Lada, 2723 feet high, is one of the three
+basaltic feet forming the _Trebina_, or Tripod, on the summit of Monte
+Arcuentu, a mountain between Orestano and Ales formed of horizontal
+layers of basalt. Further south at Nurri, closely approaching the
+primitive chain, are two hills, called “pizzè-ogheddu,” and “pizzè ogu
+mannu,” or peaks of the little and great eye, which were certainly
+ignivomous mouths, and the peasants believe that they still have a
+subterraneous communication. A volcanic stream has run from them over a
+calcareous tract, forming an elevated plain nearly 1600 feet above the
+level of the sea, called, “_Sa giara e Serri_.” It overlooks Gergei, and
+is covered with oaks and cork trees, while the northern side of its
+declivity affords rich pasture. North-west from this place is the
+“_Giara di Gestori_,” of similar formation, proceeding from a crater at
+Ales, but strewed with numerous square masses of stone—principally
+fragments of obsidian, and trachytic and cellular lava—so as to resemble
+a city in ruins. At Monastir there is a distinct double crater, now well
+wooded; and a bridge constructed of fine red trap, with the bold outline
+of the neighbourhood, render the entrance to the village by the Strada
+Reale singularly picturesque. The volcanic current, flowing westward
+from Monastir by Siliqua and Massargiu, again approached the coast
+towards the southern extremity of Sardinia, extending across the deep
+gulf of Palmas to the islands of S. Pietro and S. Antonio, which are
+entirely composed of trachytic rocks. Their bold escarpments arrested
+our attention on approaching the coast, near Cape Teulada, in one of our
+excursions to Sardinia.
+
+Plains of lava, called “_giare_” by the natives, are often found
+reposing on the large tracts of recent formation, such as those of
+Sardara, Ploaghe, and other places; and considerable extents of trap and
+pitchstone are frequently met with on limestone strata, while others,
+tending fast to decomposition, are incorporated with an earth formed of
+comminuted lava. Vestiges of craters, though generally ill defined,
+still exist in the vicinity of Osilo, Florinas, Keremule, St. Lussurgiu,
+Monastir, &c. Some of these are considered, from their less broken and
+conical shape, and from the surrounding country consisting of fine red
+ashes, slaggy lava, scoria, obsidian, and indurated pozzolana, with
+hills of porphyritic trap,—all lying over tertiary rock,—to have been of
+a much more recent formation than the others, which in form present a
+lengthened straggling appearance, and in composition resemble those of
+Auvergne.
+
+The tertiary formation lies on the west side of the principal granitic
+chain, and, besides forming the Campidano and the bases on which the
+volcanic substances rest, constitutes the hills of Cagliari, Sassari,
+and Sorso. The tertiary limestone seldom ranges more than 1313 feet
+above the level of the sea, though at Isili and some other places it is
+1542 feet high. La Marmora considers it analogous to the upper tertiary
+formations found in the south of France, central and southern Italy,
+Sicily, Malta, the Balearic Islands, and Africa. The plains generally
+consist of a deep alluvial silt, interspersed with shingly patches,
+containing boulder stones. Such is the valley of the Liscia, occupying
+nearly the whole surface from sea to sea towards the northern extremity
+of the island. This, it may be recollected, we crossed north of the
+Limbara. Then succeeds the series of _Campi_ or _Campidani_, properly so
+called. We have already spoken of the vast plain of Ozieri, terminating
+in the south-west with its minor branches, the Campi di Mela, St.
+Lazarus, and Giavesu, to which it spreads transversely from the Gulf of
+Terranova, on the eastern coast. The bottom of this gulf forms one of
+the finest harbours in the island, with some trade, but the town of that
+name is a wretched place, remarkable for its insalubrity and the
+truculent character of the inhabitants.
+
+On the western side of the island are the small _Campi_ of Anglona,
+lying round Castel Sardo, and another plain highly cultivated between
+Sassari and Porto Torres. The largest of these plains on the eastern
+side of the island is that of Orosei, washed by several rivers having
+their sources in the neighbouring primitive chain of mountains. Westward
+of this chain we have the great central plain, which, first surrounding
+the Gulf of Oristano, extends in an unbroken line, for upwards of fifty
+miles, to the Gulf of Cagliari. This is generally spoken of as “_the
+Campidano_,” without further specification, though its parts are
+distinguished by local names, such as—di Uras, di Gavino, &c.
+
+The mineral riches of Sardinia were well known to the ancients, and vast
+excavations, with the remains of a number of foundries, afford ample
+testimony of the extent of their operations. Tradition asserts that gold
+was formerly extracted; and there is no doubt that silver was found in
+considerable quantities, as it is even now procured in assaying the
+lead. Copper is found near Cape Teulada, and at other places, and in one
+of the mines beautiful specimens of malachite occur. Iron is very
+plentifully distributed, but is found principally at the Monte Santo of
+Cape Teulada, and at Monte Ferru. The richest mine is in the Ogliastra,
+where the _intempérie_, however, is so malignant as to preclude the
+formation of an establishment. Lead is the most abundant of Sardinian
+ores, and its mines are profusely scattered throughout the islands.
+
+Anthracite has been found, but only that of the Nurra district is fit
+for working; and the coal, though met with in various places in the
+secondary formations, and especially in the lower parts of the beds of
+magnesian limestone, is neither sufficient in quantity nor good enough
+in quality to be generally used. The granites of the Gallura, as we have
+already mentioned, were known to the ancients, and highly appreciated in
+Italy for their beauty and colours. Among the other mineral products may
+also be mentioned the porphyries of the Limbara, the basalt of Nurri,
+Gestori, and Serri, the alabaster of Sarcidanu, and the marbles of the
+Goceano and Monte Raso. Jasper abounds in the trachyte and dolomite, and
+large blocks, of beautiful variety, are found in some districts. Among
+the chalcedonies are the sardonyx, agates, and cornelian. The districts
+from whence the ancients obtained the sardonyx, once held in high
+repute, are not known, but the vicinity of Bosa abounds in chalcedenous
+formations. A fine quality of quartz amethyst has been obtained, and
+also hydrophane, known for its peculiar property of becoming transparent
+when immersed in water. Good turquoises and garnets are also found, but
+not frequently. Though there have been so many volcanoes, and selenite,
+gypsum, lime, and aluminous schist frequently occur, neither sulphur nor
+rock salt have been discovered, and but very little alum. Mineral
+springs are numerous, but not much frequented.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXXI.
+
+ _Ozieri.—A Refugee Colonel turned Cook and Traiteur.—Traces of
+ Phenician Superstitions in Sarde Usages.—The Rites of
+ Adonis.—Passing through the Fire to Moloch._
+
+
+We entered Ozieri by a new carriage-road in the course of construction
+to connect it with the great Strada Reale between Sassari and Cagliari;
+such an undertaking being a novelty in Sardinia, and, of itself,
+indicating that Ozieri is an improving place. It is the chief town of a
+province, and contains a population of 8000, having the character of
+being, and who were to all appearance, thriving, industrious, and
+orderly. The streets are airy and clean, the principal thoroughfare
+being watered by a stream issuing from a handsome fountain. There are
+many good houses, and, including the cathedral, a large heavy building,
+nine churches in the city, with three massive convents. That of the
+Capucins, from its cypress-planted terrace, commands a fine view of the
+Campidano, as does the church of N.S. di Montserrato on the summit of a
+neighbouring hill.
+
+The piazza, a large area in the centre of the town, was thronged with
+people, lounging and enjoying the evening air, when we rode into it, not
+having the slightest idea where we were to dismount. In this dilemma,
+observing among the crowd, through which we slowly moved, a serjeant of
+the Bersaglieri, distinguished by the neat uniform of his rifle corps,
+with the drooping plume of cock's feathers in his cap, we addressed
+ourselves to him, having among our letters one to the Commandant of the
+garrison, which he undertook to deliver. Meanwhile, he turned our
+horses' heads to a house in the piazza, kept by an Italian, with the
+accommodations of which we found reason to be well satisfied.
+
+Mr. Tyndale describes the osteria at Ozieri as execrable, while, on the
+other hand, Captain Smyth speaks favourably of the locanda at Tempio. At
+the period of our visit the circumstances were just the reverse. The
+“_Café et Restaurant de Rome_” proved more than its titles implied.
+Fully maintaining the latter of these, it supplied us also with two good
+apartments. Mine was festooned with bunches of grapes hung from the
+ceiling, and heaps of apples and pears were stored on shelves—so there
+was no lack of fruit; while, much to our surprise, several excellent
+_plats_ were served for supper, the master of the house uniting the
+offices of _chef de cuisine_ and _garçon_. On our praising his
+dishes,—“Ah,” said he, rather theatrically, “_Je n'ai pas toujours
+rempli un tel métier!_”—“How so?”—“Sirs, I am a Roman exile; I have
+fought for liberty; I was a Colonel in the service of the republic,—and
+now I make dishes in Sardinia! But a good time is coming; before long, I
+shall be recalled, and then”—there would be an end of popes and
+cardinals, &c. He told us that many of Mazzini's partisans had taken
+refuge in Sardinia. We afterwards met with another of them under similar
+circumstances. Unwilling to wound the feelings of a Colonel who, like
+the Theban general, was also our Amphitryon, we did not inquire under
+what circumstances our host had acquired the arts which he practised so
+well; suspecting, however, that our Colonel's earliest experience was in
+handling _batteries de cuisine_. In his double capacity, he might have
+more than rivalled in the Crimea even our “General Soyer.” To recommend
+some liqueurs of his own composition, which certainly were excellent, he
+told us that Sir Harry Darrell, who was here the preceding winter, just
+before he was seized with the _intempérie_, prized them so much that he
+carried off great part of his stock.
+
+In the course of the evening we had a visit from the Commandant. Among
+other civilities, he made the agreeable proposal that we should join a
+party formed by the Conte di T—— to hunt in the mountains south of
+Ozieri, following the sport for several days. This scheme suited us
+exactly, as it would lead us into the forest district of Barbagia, which
+it was our design to visit. Such is the warmth of the climate, that
+though it was now the middle of November, after the Commandant took his
+leave we sat to a late hour in our shirt-sleeves, with the casements
+wide open on the now solitary piazza, while I wrote and my companion was
+drawing. So employed, a strain of distant music stole on the ear in the
+stillness of the night, one of those plaintive melodies common among the
+Sardes, a sort of recitative by a tenor voice, with others joining in a
+chorus.
+
+Among the many usages derived by the Sardes from their Phenician
+ancestors, one of a singular character is still practised by the Oziese,
+of which Father Bresciani gives the following account:—“Towards the end
+of March, or the beginning of April, it is the custom for young men and
+women to agree together to fill the relation of godfathers and
+godmothers of St. John, _compare e comare_—such is the phrase—for the
+ensuing year. At the end of May, the proposed _comare_, having procured
+a segment of the bark of a cork tree, fashions it in the shape of a
+vase, and fills it with rich light mould in which are planted some
+grains of barley or wheat. The vase being placed in the sunshine, well
+watered and carefully tended, the seed soon germinates, blades spring
+up, and, making a rapid growth, in the course of twenty-one days,—that
+is, before the eve of St. John,—the vase is filled by a spreading and
+vigorous plant of young corn. It then receives the name of _Hermes_, or,
+more commonly, of _Su Nennere_, from a Sarde word, which possibly has
+the same signification as the Phenician name of garden; similar vases
+being called, in ancient times, ‘the gardens of Adonis.’”
+
+On the eve of St. John, the cereal vase, ornamented with ribbons, is
+exposed on a balcony, decorated with garlands and flags. Formerly, also,
+a little image in female attire, or phallic emblems moulded in clay,
+such as were exhibited in the feasts of Hermes, were placed among the
+blades of corn; but these representations have been so severely
+denounced by the Church, that they are fallen into disuse. The young men
+flock in crowds to witness the spectacle and attend the maidens who come
+out to grace the feast. A great fire is lit on the _piazza_, round which
+they leap and gambol, the couple who have agreed to be St. John's
+_compare_ completing the ceremony in this manner:—the man is placed on
+one side of the fire, the woman on the other, each holding opposite ends
+of a stick extended over the burning embers, which they pass rapidly
+backwards and forward. This is repeated three times, so that the hand of
+each party passes thrice through the flames. The union being thus
+sealed, the _comparatico_, or spiritual alliance, is considered
+perfect.[57] After that, the music strikes up, and the festival is
+concluded by dances, prolonged to a late hour of the night.
+
+In some places the couple go in procession, attended by a gay company of
+youths and damsels, all in holiday dresses, to some country church.
+Arrived there, they dash the vase of Hermes against the door, so that it
+falls in pieces. The company then seat themselves in a circle on the
+grass, and feast on eggs fried with herbs, while gay tunes are played on
+the _lionedda_.[58] A cup of wine is passed round from one to another,
+and each, laying his hand on his neighbour, repeats, with a certain
+modulation of voice, supported by the music of the pipes, “_Compare e
+comare di San Giovanni!_”. The toast is repeated, in a joyous chorus,
+for some time, till, at length, the company rise, still singing, and,
+forming a circle, dance merrily for many hours.
+
+Father Bresciani, La Marmora, and other writers, justly consider the
+_Nennere_ as one of the many relics of the Phenician colonisation of
+Sardinia. Every one knows that the Sun and Moon, under various names,
+such as Isis and Osiris, Adonis and Astarte, were the principal objects
+of worship in the East from the earliest times; the sun being considered
+as the vivifying power of universal nature, the moon, represented as a
+female, deriving her light from the sun, as the passive principle of
+production. The abstruse doctrines on the origin of things, thus
+shadowed out by the ancient seers, generated the grossest ideas,
+expressed in the phallic emblems, the lewdness and obscenities mixed up
+in the popular worship of the deified principles of all existence. Of
+the prevalence in Sardinia of the Egypto-Phenician mythology, in times
+the most remote, no one who has examined the large collection of relics
+in the Royal Museum at Cagliari, or who consults the plates attached to
+La Marmora's work, can entertain any doubt. But it is surprising to
+find, among the usages of the Sardes at the present day, a very exact
+representation of the rites of a primitive religion, introduced into the
+island nearly thirty-five centuries ago, though it now partakes rather
+of the character of a popular festival than of a religious ceremony.
+
+The Phenicians worshipped the sun under the name of Adonis, while the
+moon, Astarte, the Astaroth of the Bible, and the Venus-Ouranie of the
+Greeks, was their goddess of heaven. The story of Adonis is well
+known:—how, being slain by a wild boar in the Libanus, his mistress
+sought him in vain, with loud lamentations, throughout the earth, and
+following him to the infernal regions, prevailed on Proserpine by her
+tears and prayers to allow him to spend one half the year on earth, to
+which he returned in youth perpetually renewed. Thus was shadowed out
+the annual course of the sun in the zodiac, and especially his return to
+ascendancy at the summer solstice, a season devoted to joy and
+festivity. In after times, this period corresponding with the feast of
+St. John the Baptist (24th June), that festival was celebrated in many
+parts of Christendom with bonfires and merriment,—usages adopted from
+pagan traditions. The practices of the _Nennere_, in the neighbourhood
+of Ozieri and other parts of Sardinia, still more distinctly coincide
+with the rites which accompanied the ancient festival.
+
+It was the custom of the Phenician women, towards the end of May, to
+place before the shrine, or in the portico of the temples, of Adonis,
+certain vessels, in which were sown grains of barley or wheat. These
+vessels were made of wicker-work or pieces of bark, and sometimes
+wrought of plaster. The seeds, sown in rich earth, soon sprung up, and
+formed plants of luxuriant growth. These verdant vases were then called
+by the Phenicians “the Gardens of Adonis.” The ceremonies of the summer
+solstice commenced over night with lamentations by the women, expressive
+of grief for the loss of Adonis. But on the morrow, “when the sun came
+out of his chamber like a giant refreshed,” all was changed to joy; the
+garden vases were crowned with wreaths of purple and various-coloured
+ribbons, and the resurrection of the boy-god was celebrated by dancing,
+feasting, and revelry. The priestesses of Adonis led the way in a
+mysterious procession, bearing the vases, with other symbols already
+alluded to, and on re-entering the temples, dancing and singing, they
+cast the vases and scattered their verdure at the feet of the god. All
+the women then danced in a circle round the altar, and the day and night
+were spent in pious orgies, feasting, and revelry. It is needless to
+point out the close identity of the Oziese _Nennere_ with these
+Phenician rites.
+
+The worship of Adonis, under the name of Tammuz[59], with all its
+seductive abominations, was one of the Canaanitish idolatries into which
+the Israelites were prone to fall. Father Bresciani considers these
+rites to be emphatically referred to in the indignant apostrophe of
+Isaiah:—_How is the faithful city become an harlot!... ye shall be
+confounded with idols to which ye have sacrificed, and be ashamed of the
+gardens which ye have chosen._[60] And again, in the prophet's terrible
+denunciation:—_Behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his
+chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke
+with flames of fire ... and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They
+that sanctified themselves and esteemed themselves clean in the garden
+of the portico[61] shall be consumed together, saith the Lord._
+
+Whether the learned Jesuit's interpretation of these passages be well
+founded or not, we may add another from the prophet Ezekiel, not
+referred to by him, but of the application of which to some of these
+rites there can be no doubt. In one of those lofty visions, vividly
+portraying the iniquities of Israel, her idolatries and wicked
+abominations, the prophet's attention is directed to the intolerable
+scandal that, even _at the gate of the Lord's house, behold there sat
+women weeping for Tammuz_.[62]
+
+ “Thammuz came next behind,
+ Whose annual wound in Lebanon allured
+ The Syrian damsels to lament his fate,
+ In amorous ditties, all a summer day,
+ While smooth Adonis, from his native rock
+ Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood
+ Of Thammuz, yearly wounded: the love tale
+ Infected Zion's daughters with like heat;
+ Whose wanton passions in the sacred porch
+ Ezekiel saw, when, by the vision led,
+ His eye surveyed the dark idolatries
+ Of alienated Judah.”—_Par. Lost_, i. 447.
+
+One of the remarkable incidents in the Sarde _Nennere_, just described,
+consists in the consecration of the spiritual relation between the
+_compare_ and _comare_, by their thrice crossing hands over the fire in
+the ceremonies of St. John's day. A still more extraordinary vestige of
+the idolatrous rite of “passing through the fire,” is said to be still
+subsisting among the customs of the people of Logudoro, in the
+neighbourhood of Ozieri, and in other parts of Sardinia.
+
+Of the worship of Moloch—_par excellence_ the Syrian and Phenician god
+of fire—by the ancient Sardes, there is undoubted proof. We find among
+the prodigious quantity of such relics, collected from all parts of the
+island, in the Royal Museum at Cagliari, a _statuette_ of this idol,
+supposed to have been a household god. Its features are appalling: great
+goggle eyes leer fiercely from their hollow sockets; the broad nostrils
+seem ready to sniff the fumes of the horrid sacrifice; a wide gaping
+mouth grins with rabid fury at the supposed victim; dark plumes spring
+from the forehead, like horns, and expanded wings from each shoulder and
+knee. The image brandishes a sword with the left hand, holding in the
+right a small grate, formed of metal bars. It would appear that, this
+being heated, the wretched victim was placed on it, and then, scorched
+so that the fumes of the disgusting incense savoured in the nostrils of
+the rabid idol, it fell upon a brazier of burning coals beneath, where
+it was consumed. There is another idol in this collection with the same
+truculent cast of features, but horned, and clasping a bunch of snakes
+in the right hand, a trident in the left, with serpents twined round its
+legs. This image has a large orifice in the belly, and flames are
+issuing between the ribs, so that it would appear that when the brazen
+image of the idol was thoroughly heated, the unhappy children intended
+for sacrifice were thrust into the mouth in the navel, and there
+grilled,—savoury morsels, on which the idol seems, from his features,
+rabidly gloating, while the priests, we are told, endeavoured to drown
+the cries of the sufferers by shouts and the noise of drums and timbrels
+—
+
+ ” ... horrid king, besmeared with blood
+ Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears;
+ Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud,
+ Their children's cries unheard, that pass'd through fire
+ To his grim idol.”—_Par. Lost_, i. 392.
+
+This cruel child-sacrifice was probably the giving of his seed to
+Moloch[63], fwhich any Israelite, or stranger that sojourned in Israel,
+guilty of the crime was, according to the Mosaic law, to be stoned to
+death. We are informed in the Sacred Records, that no such denunciations
+of the idolatries of the surrounding nations, no revelations of the
+attributes, or teachings of the pure worship of Jehovah, restrained the
+Israelites from the practice of the foul and cruel rites of their
+heathen neighbours; and we find, in the latter days of the Jewish
+commonwealth, the prophet Jeremiah predicting[64] the desolation of the
+people for this sin among others, that they had estranged themselves
+from the worship of Jehovah, and burned incense to strange gods, and
+filled the holy place with the blood of innocents, and burned their sons
+and their daughters with fire for burnt-offerings unto Baal.[65]
+
+There appear to have been two modes in which the ancient idolaters
+devoted their children to Moloch. In one they were sacrificed and
+consumed in the manner already described, a burnt-offering to the cruel
+idol for the expiation of the sins of their parents or their people. In
+the other, they were only made _to pass through the fire_, in honour of
+the deity, and as a sort of initiation into his mysteries, and
+consecration to his service. Thus Ahaz, King of Judah, is said to have
+“made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of
+the heathen.”[66] And it is reckoned in the catalogue of the sins of
+Judah, which drew on them the vengeance of God, that they “built the
+high places of Baal, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass
+through the fire unto Moloch.”[67]
+
+In the case of infants, it is supposed that this initiation, this
+“baptism by fire,” was performed either by placing them on a sort of
+grate suspended by chains from the vault of the temple, and passed
+rapidly over the sacred fire, or by the priests taking the infants in
+their arms, and swaying them to and fro over or across the fire,
+chanting meanwhile certain prayers or incantations. With respect to
+children of older growth, they were made to leap naked through the fire
+before the idol, so that their whole bodies might be touched by the
+sacred flames, and purified, as it were, by contact with the divinity.
+
+The Sardes, we are informed by Father Bresciani[68] still preserve a
+custom representing this initiation by fire, but, as in other Phenician
+rites and practices, without the slightest idea of their profane origin.
+In the first days of spring, from one end of the island to the other,
+the villagers assemble, and light great fires in the _piazze_ and at the
+cross-roads. The flames beginning to ascend, the children leap through
+them at a bound, so rapidly and with such dexterity, that when the
+flames are highest it is seldom that their clothes or a hair of their
+head are singed. They continue this practice till the fuel is reduced to
+embers, the musicians meanwhile playing on the _lionedda_ tunes adapted
+to a Phyrric dance. This, says the learned Father, is a representation
+of the initiation through fire into the mysteries of Moloch; and,
+singular as its preservation may appear through the vast lapse of time
+since such rites were practised, we see no reason to doubt his
+relation, exactly as he treats on this subject after repeated visits to
+the island, even if the account were not confirmed by other writers, as
+we find it is. Bresciani's recent work is almost entirely devoted, as we
+have already observed, to the task of tracing numerous customs still
+existing among the Sardes to their eastern origin. We may find future
+opportunities of noticing some in which the coincidence is most
+striking.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXXII.
+
+ _Expedition to the Mountains.—Environs of Ozieri.—First View of
+ the Peaks of Genargentu.—Forests.—Value of the Oak Timber.—Cork
+ Trees; their Produce, and Statistics of the Trade.—Hunting the
+ Wild Boar, &c.—The Hunters' Feast.—A Bivouac in the
+ Woods.—Notices of the Province of Barbagia.—Independence of the
+ Mountaineers._
+
+
+The hunting excursion in the mountains south of Ozieri was in the order
+of the day, the expedition being on a much larger scale than that
+arranged by our honest Tempiese friends at the _Caffè de la
+Costituzione_. We were to camp out; and the party consisted of upwards
+of thirty horsemen, well mounted and armed, with the Conte di T—— and
+some other Oziese gentlemen for leaders. We had also a large pack of
+dogs, some of them fine animals, almost equal to bloodhounds.
+
+Our route from the town led us over a succession of scraggy hills, with
+cultivation in the bottoms, and some straggling vineyards, not very
+flourishing. The walnut trees in the glens, and small inclosures mixed
+with copse wood, reminded us more of English or Welsh scenery than
+anything we had before seen in either of the Mediterranean islands.
+After passing a village standing on high ground, there was a long
+ascent, and in about an hour and a half from our leaving Ozieri, on
+gaining the summit of a ridge of hills outlying from the Goceano range,
+we opened on a magnificent view of the great central chain of mountains,
+stretching away to the south-east in giant limbs and folds, with
+Genargentu and other summits shrouded in a grey silvery haze. A broad
+valley was spread out beneath our point of view, and the mountain range
+immediately opposite, the lower regions of which, as far as the eye
+could command the view, right and left, were clothed with dense forests,
+straggling down in broken masses and detached clumps to the edge of the
+intervening valley.
+
+Into the depths of these forests we were to penetrate in pursuit of our
+game, and finer covers to be stocked with _cingale_ and _capriole_, or
+bolder scenery for the theatre of our sylvan sport, can scarcely be
+imagined. It was spirit-stirring when, full in view of these grand
+natural features, our numerous cavalcade wound down the hill in
+scattered groups to the plain beneath, among pollard cork trees, just
+now shedding their acorns. There was deep ploughing in the rich vale
+watered by the upper streams of the Tirso, which winds through the
+valley at the foot of the Goceano range. After crossing the holms, we
+were on slopes of greensward, lightly feathered with the red fern, and
+dotted with trees, like a park.
+
+And now we touched the verge of the forest, rough with brakes of giant
+heaths, such underwood alternating with grassy glades wherever the woods
+opened. This part of the forest consists of an unbroken mass of
+primitive cork trees of great size. The rugged bark, the
+strangely-angular growth of the limbs, hung with grey lichens in
+fantastic combs, and the thick olive-green foliage almost excluding the
+light of heaven, with the roar of the wind through the trees,—for it
+was a dull, cold day, the coldest we spent in Sardinia,—with all this, a
+Scandinavian forest could not be more dreary and savage. After tracking
+the gloomy depths of shade for a considerable distance, it was an
+agreeable change to quit the forest and warm our blood by cantering up a
+slope of scrub. Then, after crossing a grassy hollow, we came among
+scattered woods of the most magnificent oaks, both evergreen and
+deciduous, I ever saw. Some of the trees were of enormous size, and if
+the quality of the timber be equal to the scantling, Sardinia would
+supply materials of great value for naval purposes.
+
+The forests of the Barbagia, into which we now penetrated, like those of
+the Gallura, are principally virgin forests; the want of roads, of
+navigable rivers, and even of flottage, presenting formidable obstacles
+to the conveyance of the timber to the seaboard for exportation, though
+the first is not insurmountable. The forests of the Marghine and Goceano
+ranges round Macomer, having the little port of Boso on the western
+coast for an outlet, are felled to some extent. The contracts are mostly
+in the hands of foreigners, who obtain them on such low terms that their
+profits are enormous. Mr. Tyndale gives the details of a contract
+obtained by a Frenchman for 18,000 oak trees, at fifteen _lire nove_,
+12_s._ each, the trees being said to realise from 200 to 300 francs
+(8_l._ to 12_l._) each at Toulon or Marseilles. In England, we pay from
+1_s._ 6_d._ to 2_s._ 3_d._ per cubic foot for very indifferent American
+oak, and from 1_s._ 9_d._ to 2_s._ 6_d._ for Baltic oak, perhaps
+superior to the Sardinian.
+
+In the course of the Corsican notices in this volume, it was mentioned
+that after my return to England, I had some communications with a
+government department respecting the pine forests of Corsica.[69] On my
+taking occasion also to represent the great abundance of oak timber of
+large dimensions standing in Sardinia, I learnt that a valuable report
+on the subject had been made to the Admiralty by Mr. Craig, Her
+Majesty's excellent Consul-General in the island. It did not, however,
+appear that any steps had been taken in consequence.
+
+Great damage is done to the forests by the herdsmen and shepherds, who
+are permitted, under certain restrictions, to burn down portions of
+underwood, such as the lentiscus, daphne, and cistus, to allow the
+pasturage to grow for their flocks. But though this is not legal before
+the eighth of September, when the intense heat of the summer has passed
+away, and the periodical autumnal rains are necessary for the young
+herbage, the law is broken, and not only accidental but wilful
+conflagrations have been the destruction of numerous forests. What with
+this waste, the injury done to the growing timber by the contractors,
+and the indolence of the natives, the noble forests of Sardinia are of
+little account. Even the government, it is said, purchase most of the
+oak used in the dockyards of Genoa at the French ports before mentioned.
+
+Similar observations apply to cork, though capable of easier transport,
+and said to be as fine as any in the world. The Sardinian forests would
+supply large quantities; but it enters little into the exports of the
+island. We saw a great many trees stripped by the peasants for domestic
+uses, naked and miserable skeletons; with them it is indiscriminate
+slaughter, doing irreparable injury to the trees. There now lie before
+me the specimens I collected of the successive layers of the bark. The
+spongy external cuticle, swelling into excrescences, is only used for
+floats of the fishermen's nets in the island. Beneath lies a coating of
+more compact, but cellular, tissue, of a beautiful rich colour—a sort of
+red umber. This layer, called _la camicia_ (the shift), covers the good
+or “female” bark, with which every one is acquainted in the shape of
+corks.
+
+The bark will bear cutting every ten years, commencing when the trees
+are about that age; but it should not be cut till the inner bark is an
+inch or an inch and a quarter thick. I consider that the bark of old
+trees is less valuable. Some of those we saw in the forests of the
+Gallura and Barbagia must have been the growth of many centuries. It is
+calculated that each tree, on an average, produces upwards of 30 lbs. of
+bark at a cutting; there are about 220 lbs. in a quintal, worth, at
+Marseilles, 20 francs; and a quintal of cork makes from 4500 to 5000
+bottle-corks.
+
+The woods are generally leased at an annual rent, proportioned to the
+number of trees; but this rent, with the cost of stripping the bark, and
+even the transport to the coast, form but small items in the lessee's
+account of profit and loss. The heaviest charges are the export duty
+from Sardinia, the freight, and the import duties in France, to which
+country, I understand, the greatest part of the cork cut in the island
+is shipped. The French customs' duty is 2frs. 20 cents. the quintal.
+England imports no cork in its rough state from the island of Sardinia;
+but probably a considerable part of the manufactured corks we import
+from France (upwards of 226,000 lbs. in 1855[70]) grew in Sardinian
+forests. Our principal imports of unmanufactured cork bark are from
+Portugal, the quantity in the year just mentioned being 3300 tons and
+upwards. From Spain we only received 300 tons, and about 100 from
+Tuscany and other parts; the official value being from 32_l._ to 35_l._
+per ton. It appears extraordinary that we should draw so considerable a
+portion of our supplies of this valuable commodity from France in a
+manufactured state, and subject to a heavy customs' duty and other
+double charges, when the raw material might be imported direct from
+Sardinia, subject only to an export duty of 1fr. 20 cents. per quintal.
+This arises, I imagine, from the trade being left by the apathy of the
+islanders mostly in the hands of French houses, who take leases of the
+forests and conduct the whole operations.
+
+These details, though they smack of woodcraft, have led us away from our
+sylvan sports. We had reached the point where the dogs were thrown into
+the covers with a party detached to drive the woods. Having given a
+description in a former chapter of the _caccia clamorosa_, as wild boar
+hunting is well termed by the Sardes, repetition would be wearisome. It
+was conducted precisely as on the former occasion, except that the
+proceedings were on a more extended scale, and led us far among wilder
+and more varied scenery. As before, the stations of the hunters were
+assigned at about seventy or eighty paces apart, with the horses
+tethered in the rear. The line of shooters was first formed among the
+heather on the easy slope of a glen, lightly sprinkled with wood. The
+exhilarating sounds of the men and dogs breaking the silence of the
+woods as they drove the game before them, the minutes of eager
+expectation, the sharp look-out, the ringing shots, may now be easily
+imagined.
+
+My fellow-traveller was fortunate enough to knock over the first wild
+boar that ran the gauntlet of the _cordon_, when the Count's gun had
+missed fire from the cap having become damp. Our next position was in an
+open piece of forest, where luck planted me in a notched cork tree,
+standing on a wooded knoll, at which several avenues met, so that I had
+not only a good chance of a shot, but the command of the _champ de
+bataille_ on all sides. Wild boars were plentiful, roebucks not so,
+hares innumerable in some of our _battues_. I confess, however, that the
+incident in the day's sport in which I felt most interest was when a
+wild boar, slightly wounded, rushed by one of my posts, pursued by some
+of the dogs. Throwing myself on my spirited barb, I led the chase,
+followed by my neighbours, right and left, and was lucky enough to be in
+at the death, after a sharp run. Under such circumstances the wild boar,
+standing at bay with his formidable tusks, becomes dangerous to the
+dogs, if not to the hunters. Then the sharp steel is wanting. Oh, for a
+boar spear! instead of having to despatch the rabid animal by a shot.
+
+Having had a long morning's ride, our first day's _battue_ was closed
+early. The party defiled in loose order among the trees in the open
+forest, cantered over springy turf, and brushed through patches of fern
+to a sheltered dell in which we were to bivouac, and where the sumpter
+horses had already halted. Then followed such a rude feast as in all my
+rambles I had never before chanced to witness. Imagine the grassy margin
+of a rivulet, surrounded by thick bushes, which spread in brakes
+throughout the glen under scattered oaks, intermingled with crags and
+detached masses of rock, covered with white lichens. On the grass are
+piles of flat bread, which served for plates, loads of sausages, hams,
+cheeses, bundles of radishes, and heaps of apples, pears, grapes, and
+chestnuts, strewed about in the happiest confusion, with no lack of
+flasks and runlets of various sorts of wines. Our contribution to the
+pic-nic, a basket of signor Juliani's best cold dishes and larded fowls,
+seemed perfectly insignificant. Add to all this, the game we had
+bagged,—wild boar and roebuck, to say nothing of hares,—and the general
+stock might seem inexhaustible, if one glance at the crowd of hungry
+hunters did not banish the thought.
+
+Eager for the attack, they were busily employed in preparations for it.
+Horses were unsaddled and tethered among the bushes, guns piled or
+rested against the boughs, wood collected, fires lighted, and
+dagger-knives whetted, ready to rip open and quarter the game. The
+leaders only stood apart, under a spreading tree. They had a grave duty
+to perform in apportioning the spoils among those who had been
+successful in the day's sport. This was done with great exactness and
+the perfect equality existing among all ranks on these occasions. It was
+Robin Hood and his merry men all through; or might have been taken for
+an episode of Sarde banditti life, except that, our party being all
+honest fellows, there was no plunder to divide. By the laws of the chase
+in Sardinia, the hunter to whose gun an animal falls is entitled
+exclusively to some distinct portion, varying with the species of the
+game,—sometimes to the skin, sometimes to the choicest parts of the
+_roba interiora_, the intestines; the rest falls into the common stock.
+The award being made, such choice morsels, with rashers of hog and
+venison steaks, were grilled over the embers on skewers of sweet wood,
+and handed round, filled each pause in the attack on the cold
+provisions, portions being detached by the formidable _couteaux de
+chasse_ with which every man was armed; nor did English steel fail of
+doing its duty.
+
+Though the party distributed themselves indiscriminately on the grass,
+they naturally fell into familiar messes, perfect harmony and good
+fellowship prevailing. But at times there was great confusion. Now, the
+horses, kicking and fighting, got free from their tethers, and there was
+a rush of the hunters to restore order; while the ravenous hounds, not
+content with the bones and fragments thrown to them, were making
+perpetual inroads on the circle of guests, and snatching at the morsels
+they were appropriating to themselves. The feast was drawing to a close,
+when Count T—— proposed the health of the foreigners associated in their
+sports, and the toast, with the reply, which, if not eloquent, was short
+and feeling,—“_Agli nobili cacciatori della Sardegna, e di noi
+forestieri li sozii amicissimi, benevolentissimi_,” &c., &c., &c., drew
+forth _ev-vivas_ which made the old woods ring to the echo. And now all
+started on their legs, and there was a rush to the guns as if scouts had
+suddenly announced that the woods were filled with enemies. As an hour
+or two of daylight still remained, a _bersaglio_, or match of shooting
+at a mark, had been arranged during the feast.
+
+The _bersaglio_ is a favourite amusement of the Sardes, forming part of
+most of their festivities; and constant practice on these occasions, and
+in the field, makes them expert shots. Our party now addressed
+themselves to this exercise of skill with passionate eagerness. Some ran
+to fix a small card against the bole of a tree, eighty or a hundred
+yards distant, the rest gathered round the point of sight, loading their
+guns or applying caps, all talking rapidly, in sharp tones, as if they
+were quarrelling. They formed picturesque groups, in all attitudes—those
+mountain rangers, with their semi-Moorish costume, embroidered pouches,
+and bright ornamented arms, their dark-olive complexions and bushy hair,
+in strong contrast with their visitors from the north, in gray plaid and
+brown felt, unmistakable in their physiognomy, though almost as hairy
+and sunburnt as the children of the soil. The match was well contested,
+the card being often hit; which, as the Sarde guns are not rifled, may
+be considered good shooting, at the distance stated. The firing was
+continued till it was almost dark with eager zest, but much
+irregularity, and almost as great an expenditure of animal spirits in
+vociferation, as of powder and bullets.
+
+An hour after sunset, when night came on, fresh wood was heaped on the
+smouldering fires, and after sitting round them, smoking and chatting,
+the party gradually broke up, some stretching themselves near the
+embers, and the rest seeking some shelter for the night, about which a
+Sarde mountaineer is not fastidious, any bush or hollow in a rock
+serving his purpose. For ourselves, after exchanging the “_felice
+notte_” with the Count and his friends, we lingered over a scene so
+singular in civilised Europe, though with such I had been familiar in
+other hemispheres. The smouldering fires cast fitful gleams on piled
+arms and the hardy men sleeping around in their sheepskins or shaggy
+cloaks; the deep silence of the woods was only broken by a neighing
+horse or the bay of a hound, and presently the stars shone out from the
+vault of heaven with a lustre unknown in northern climes. We, too, lay
+down ensconced in a brake, the younger traveller disdaining any other
+wrapping than his plaid, and the elder luxuriously enveloped in a couple
+of blankets which formed part of his equipments, having his saddle for a
+pillow. With sound sleep, the rivulet for our ablutions, and a hot cup
+of coffee, bread, cheese, and fruit for the _collazione_,—what more
+could be wanting?
+
+In this expedition one day was like another, except in the ever-varying
+scenery, interesting enough to the traveller, but wearisome in
+description. Suffice it to say, that on the third morning, the
+provisions being exhausted, and no fresh supplies to be had in that wild
+country, our leaders decided on returning to Ozieri. It then became a
+question with us whether we should return with them, or pursue tho
+mountain tracks to Nuoro, whence it was only two days' journey to the
+foot of Monte Genargentu, on the higher regions of which it had been our
+intention to hunt the _moufflon_, proceeding then, along byroads,
+through a chain of mountain villages to Cagliari. Nuoro, a poor place,
+though dignified with the title of “_città_,” and a large ecclesiastical
+establishment, stands high on a great table-land in the heart of the
+central chain, answering, in many respects, to the Corte of the sister
+island. This ancient capital of Barbagia is still the chief place of a
+province containing a population of 54,000 souls, very much scattered
+through an extensive and mountainous district, but containing many large
+villages, such as Fonni, Tonara, and Aritzu already mentioned.
+
+The mountaineers of Barbagia have been distinguished from the earliest
+times for their indomitable courage and spirit of independence. Some of
+the best ancient writers relate that Iolaus, son of Iphicles, king of
+Thessaly, and nephew of Hercules, settled Greek colonies in this part
+of the island. The expedition, in which he was joined by the Thespiadæ,
+was undertaken in obedience to the oracle of Delphi; and it declared
+that, on their establishing themselves in Sardinia, they would never be
+conquered. Iolaus is said to have been buried in this district, after
+founding many cities; and, the Greek colonists intermingling with the
+native Sardes, their descendants, deriving their name of Iolaese or
+Iliese from their founder, became the most powerful race in the
+island,—just as the Roumains of Wallachia, boasting their descent from
+Trajan's Dacian colonists, long proved their right to the proud
+patronymic.
+
+The Iolaese offered a determined resistance to the Carthaginian
+invaders, and, on the decline of their power in Sardinia, maintained,
+during a long series of years, an unequal contest with the Roman
+legions; for, though often worsted in pitched battles, they found a safe
+and impregnable retreat in their mountain fastnesses. The triumphs of
+the Romans figure in history; but the traditions of the Sardes do
+justice to the heroic and patriarchal chiefs who fought in defence of
+their country. In after times, the Barbaricini (the Barbari of the
+Romans, whence Barbagia) exhibited their hereditary warlike spirit in
+resisting the invasions of the Moors; and, when Sardinia passed to the
+crown of Arragon, they refused to acknowledge Alfonso's rights and
+authority, resisting all claims of homage, tribute, or service. A sullen
+submission of three centuries to their Spanish sovereigns had not
+effaced their spirit of independence, and the Barbaricini were in arms
+against an unjust tax, and, moving their wives, children, and valuables
+to the mountains, kept the Spaniards entirely at bay, when, in 1719,
+Sardinia was ceded to the house of Savoy. The demand being prudently
+withdrawn, they returned to their villages, and their allegiance to the
+present dynasty has not been broken by any open revolt. But the
+indomitable spirit of their race has still been exhibited in sullen or
+violent resistance to the Piedmontese authorities. Driven by the corrupt
+administration of the laws to take a wild and summary justice, every
+man's hand has been against his neighbours' and the government
+officials. Mr. Tyndale states “that upwards of 100 (or one in every 279)
+annually fall victims to _vendetta_, in contest with their enemies, or
+with the authorities. Those openly known to live in the mountains as
+_fuorusciti_, of some kind, are more than 300; and to them may be added
+another 300 unknown to the Government, so that, on an average, there is
+nearly one in every 46 an outcast from society, a fugitive from his
+hearth.” I was happy to learn, on a second visit to the island of
+Sardinia, in 1857, that the numbers of these unhappy men were
+decreasing, outrages had diminished, and the system of _vendetta_ was
+gradually dying out. This, it was stated, principally resulted from the
+Barbaricini beginning to feel that the government is able and willing to
+afford them the redress of their private wrongs, and the personal
+protection which, as individuals or banded together, they have so long
+asserted by the red hand in defiance of the authorities.
+
+Thus the independence predicted by the oracle of Delphi to the race of
+Iolaus, preserved for untold centuries and through all political
+changes, has been maintained to the last by their direct descendants,
+the _fuorusciti_ of Barbagia. They were in arms as late as our travels
+in 1853, and we were officially warned against venturing into the
+mountains without due precautions. It was not, however, this state of
+affairs which interfered with the prosecution of our journey, as we did
+not doubt being able to establish, as foreigners, amicable relations
+with their chiefs. Such a state of society could not be without
+interest, the scenery is represented as most romantic, the shooting
+excellent; but our time was limited, and, reserving the expedition to
+Barbagia for a future opportunity, we reluctantly retraced our steps to
+Ozieri, in company with our friendly hunters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXXIII.
+
+ _Leave Ozieri.—The New Road and Travelling in the Campagna.—Monte
+ Santo.—Scenes at the Halfway House.—Volcanic Hills.—Sassari;
+ its History.—Liberal opinions of the Sassarese.—Constitutional
+ Government.—Reforms wanted in Sardinia.—Means for its
+ Improvement._
+
+Ozieri standing on the verge of the great Sardinian plains, we dismissed
+our _cavallante_, and changed our mode of travelling. A primitive
+_diligence_ plies occasionally between Ozieri and Sassari, by the new
+road just constructed to join the Strada Reale between Cagliari and
+Porto Torres. Missing the opportunity during our hunting excursion, we
+hired a _voiture_ for the day's journey. It was comparatively a smart
+affair, a light _calèche_ with bright yellow pannels, and drawn by a
+pair of quick-stepping horses; so that we travelled in much comfort.
+Carriages are seldom found in the island except on this great road, and
+in a few of the principal towns; the mode of travelling in the interior,
+for persons of all ranks and both sexes, being either on horseback or on
+oxen.[71]
+
+We rattled out of Ozieri with a flourish of the driver's horn, more
+intent on which than on the management of his spirited horses he nearly
+brought us to grief. After some narrow escapes of being capsized over
+the heaps of stones scattered along the new road, now in the course of
+construction, we came to a dead lock in an excavation; and one of the
+horses, though mettlesome enough, hung in the collar, refusing to draw.
+It was said to be an Irish horse, but how or when it got to Sardinia was
+as much a myth as the immigration of some of the various races by which
+the island is said to have been peopled in ancient times. However, Miss
+Edgeworth's Irish postilion and “Knockecroghery,” could scarcely have
+afforded us more amusement than our Sarde driver and his horse, whose
+good qualities he ludicrously vaunted, alternately cursing and
+glorifying, thumping and coaxing, the vicious beast, while we heaved at
+the wheels. Our united efforts at length succeeded in extricating the
+vehicle from the sandy hollow; and after jolting for awhile over the
+new-formed road, the material having become solid and compact, we rolled
+at our ease across the plain. I remarked, that though the road was well
+levelled and macadamised, scarcely a man was to be seen employed in the
+present operations. Boys were breaking the metal, and girls carrying it
+in baskets on their heads.
+
+The plains being undulating, extensive views are commanded by the
+eminences far away over the Campidano, backed by the Limbara mountains
+on the north-west. We passed the village of Nores, pleasantly situated
+on a hill at the verge of the Ozieri plain, across which Monte Santo,
+appearing from this point a long ridge, rose in full view to our left,
+2000 feet high. The junction with the Strada Reale from Cagliari to
+Sassari was reached soon afterwards. About noon, we halted while the
+horses baited at a roadside _locanda_, the half-way house to Sassari,
+standing at the foot of Monte Santo, here reduced to the shape of a
+round-topped mountain. Lesser hills fell away to the great plain, the
+slopes and flats being sprinkled with large flocks of sheep. On a
+hillock two or three miles distant, were the ruins of a Nuraghe,
+mellowed to a rich orange tint.
+
+It was a pleasant spot, and at the present moment full of life, numbers
+of Sardes of all classes having, like ourselves, halted there for rest.
+Two _voitures_ were drawn up by the roadside, as well as several light
+carts, with high wheels and tilts made of rushes or cloth, conveying
+goods to and fro between Cagliari and Sassari. Women in yellow
+petticoats and red mantles, with bright kerchiefs round their heads, and
+men in their white shirt sleeves open to the elbow, and Moorish cotton
+trowsers, contrasting with their dark jackets, caps, and gaiters, were
+bustling about, fetching water and fodder for the horses. Others were
+sitting and eating under the shade of a group of weeping willows,
+overshadowing a bason of pure water, fed by a streamlet trickling down
+from the neighbouring hills. Intermingled with these were Sarde
+cavaliers, in a more brilliant costume; and a priest, carrying a huge
+crimson umbrella, came forth from the _locanda_, and with his
+attendants, mounting their horses, proceeded on their journey at a pace
+suited to the priest's gravity, and the requirements of his gorgeous
+canopy.
+
+Presently a horn sounded, and a coach came thundering down the hill,—the
+diligence on its daily service between the two capitals. The vehicle was
+double-bodied, well horsed, and, altogether, a superior turn-out. We
+took the opportunity of its pulling up for a moment to bespeak beds at
+Sassari. After amusing ourselves with a scene of life on the road not
+often witnessed in Sardinia,—having already lunched in our _voiture_ on
+a basket of grapes, with bread, and a bottle of the excellent white wine
+of Oristano,—we sauntered up the course of the rivulet to its source, at
+the foot of a rock among the woods. There we drank of the clear
+fountain, and washed; bees humming among the flowers, as in the height
+of the summer, and the gabble from the roadside below, coming up mixed
+with the cries of the carrier's fierce dogs. The spot commanded charming
+views of Monte Santo and the far-stretching _campagna_ beneath.
+
+Pursuing our route, the country assumed a peculiar aspect from the
+number of the flat-topped hills, swelling in green slopes out of the
+plains which spread before us in long sweeps. These vividly green
+hillocks are probably the craters of long extinct volcanoes, as we were
+now in the line, and near the centre, of that wide igneous action
+mentioned in a former chapter. There were signs of more extensive
+cultivation than we had hitherto observed, and the evident fertility of
+the soil left no doubt on the mind of its powers of production under a
+better system. Large flocks of sheep were feeding in every direction;
+this being the season for their being driven from the mountains for
+pasture and shelter in the teeming plains. Sardinia remains still in
+that pastoral state, which, however picturesque to the eyes of the
+traveller, as well as suited to the indolent habits of the Sarde
+peasant, must yield to agricultural progress, or, at least, be reduced
+within due bounds, before the soil of the island can be made the source
+of that wealth which, with proper cultivation, large portions of it are
+naturally fitted to yield. Sardinia will continue to be poor and
+uncivilised while vast tracts of country are open to almost promiscuous
+and lawless commonage, and while the occupation of the shepherd, with
+all its hardships, is esteemed preferable and more honourable than that
+of the tiller of the soil.
+
+After this, we got among hills bounding the plain in the neighbourhood
+of Florinas and Campo di Mela. The country became rugged, and, after
+crossing a river, over a still perfect Roman bridge, of several arches,
+with massive substructions of large square stones, which we alighted to
+examine, there commenced a steep ascent, winding among woods. We walked
+up it by moonlight, our driver's bugle echoing that of a _diligence_
+which preceded us at some distance in mounting the pass. Sassari was
+entered by an arched and embattled gateway in the square-towered wall
+surrounding the place; and, passing through the best quarter of the
+town, the dark mass of the citadel contrasting well with the white
+_façades_ and lofty colonnades of the neighbouring houses, we were set
+down at the Albergo di Progresso, opposite the great convent of St.
+Pietro, one of the richest of the many religious houses of which Sassari
+once boasted. The accommodations at the hotel were the best we enjoyed
+in the island.
+
+Sassari, the second city of Sardinia, containing a population of some
+30,000 souls, has always been a jealous rival of Cagliari, the
+metropolis, boasting an independent history of its own, of which it has
+just pretensions to be proud. It was an insignificant village till the
+inhabitants of Porto-Torres,—the ancient _Turris Libysonis_, founded on
+the neighbouring coast by the Greeks, and colonised by the Romans,—were
+driven by the incursions of the Saracen corsairs, and, finally, by the
+ruin of their town by the Genoese, in 1166, to seek a refuge further
+inland. They established themselves at Sassari, where the long street,
+still called Turritana, was named from the new settlers. In 1441, the
+archiepiscopal see and chapter of St. Gavino, near Porto-Torres, were
+translated to Sassari by Pope Eugenius IV., and thenceforward it
+rivalled the metropolis in opulence and power. When, in the thirteenth
+century, the Genoese occupied the northern division of the island,
+Sassari became a republic, entering into an alliance, offensive and
+defensive, with that of Genoa. The articles of the treaty are a curious
+amalgamation of independence assumed by the one, and of interference and
+jurisdiction claimed by the other. The general effect was, that the
+Sassarese accepted annually from the Genoese a Podesta, who swore
+fidelity to their constitution; and the Sassarese assert that while
+their city was under the protection of Genoa, they only styled that
+haughty republic in their statutes and diplomas, “_Mater et Magistra,
+sed non Domina:_” “_non Signora, ma Amica._”
+
+Mutual quarrels induced a rupture of the alliance in 1306, and on the
+Arragonese kings advancing pretensions to the sovereignty of the island,
+the Sassarese made a voluntary transfer of their allegiance to Diego II.
+of Arragon, who, in return, guaranteed their rights and privileges; and
+Sassari continued to be governed as a republic long after the Spanish
+conquest in 1325. The city, however, suffered severely during the
+protracted contests between the Genoese, Pisans, and the Giudici of
+Arborea, for the expulsion of the Spaniards; sustaining no less than ten
+sieges, courageously defended, in the short interval between 1332 and
+1409. It continued to be the victim of contending parties till 1420,
+when for the last time, and after a struggle of nearly a hundred years,
+it fell into the hands of Alfonso V., who conferred on it the title of
+“Città Reale.” In the middle of the fifteenth century it flourished both
+commercially and politically, enjoying privileges beyond any other town
+in the island. From this power and prosperity arose its rivalry with
+Cagliari; and the jealousies and dissensions in matters of government,
+religion, and education, surviving the transference of the sovereignly
+to the House of Savoy, have descended from generation to generation.
+
+This feeling prevails to the present day, partly owing, perhaps, to the
+circumstance of society in Sassari being less under the influence of
+Piedmontese and Continental opinions than in the capital, Cagliari,—and
+partly to the Sassarese population being mostly of Genoese extraction.
+The descendants of these settlers having almost all the trade, commerce,
+and employment in their hands, form a very important and influential
+middle class. I found at Sassari opinions more distinctly pronounced on
+the abuses of the government, and the necessity of reforms in the
+various branches of the administration, than I have reason to believe
+they are in the more courtly circles of Cagliari. Some numbers of a
+work, in course of publication, were put into my hands during our stay
+at Sassari, in which these topics were discussed in a sensible, bold,
+but temperate style.[72] Though written by a foreigner, a Venetian
+refugee, I have no doubt, from the manner in which it was spoken of by
+well-informed persons, and from its having reached a second edition,
+that it may be accepted as representing the opinions of a large class of
+the Sassarese, and I imagine of Sardes in general.
+
+Much interest attaches to the working of the constitutional system in
+the Sardinian dominions, not only politically, but in its effects on the
+social and economical condition of the country. Hitherto the island of
+Sardinia has been treated by the cabinet of Turin much as it was long
+the misfortune of the English government to deal with Ireland; regarding
+the native race as a conquered, but turbulent, impracticable and
+semi-barbarous people; the consequences of such misrule being poverty,
+disaffection and bloodshed. But I trust we see the dawn of brighter
+days, when this fine island, partaking of the benefits following in the
+train of constitutional government,—its wrongs redressed, its great
+natural resources developed, and the natural genius and many virtues of
+its inhabitants being cultivated and having free scope,—will be no
+insignificant jewel in the crown which assumed its regal title from this
+insular possession.
+
+With our own happy country in the van of political, social, and material
+progress, there are three secondary European states, which, in our own
+memory, have raised the banner of freedom, and are consistently marching
+under it with firm, vigorous, and well-poised steps. It need hardly be
+explained that we speak of Norway, Belgium, and Sardinia.[73] Occupying,
+geographically and politically, important positions ranging, at wide
+intervals, from the far north to the extreme south of Europe, these
+small, flourishing, and well-ordered states, offer a spectacle as full
+of hope and encouragement to all lovers of constitutional liberty, as it
+must necessarily be offensive to the despotic governments of the great
+continental monarchies, on whose thresholds the altars of freedom, newly
+lighted, have burnt with so steady and pure a flame. They may serve as
+beacon-lights to European populations gasping for that political
+regeneration, the hour of which will assuredly come, and may not be far
+distant.
+
+Of the state and prospects of the kingdom of Norway,[74] we have treated
+in another work. The democratic element is so predominant in its
+constitutional code, that the only fear was lest it should clash with
+the executive functions of even a limited monarchy. But, hitherto, the
+natural good sense, patriotism, and loyalty of the Norwegian people,
+though represented in a Storthing of peasant farmers,—and we may add,
+the moderation displayed by the Bernadotte dynasty,—have so obviated the
+difficulties of a hastily formed, and somewhat crude, code of
+fundamental laws, that it has been harmoniously worked to the great
+benefit of the nation. In Belgium, notwithstanding religious
+antagonisms, which have also perplexed the young councils of Sardinia,
+the constitutional system has been so consolidated, under the rule of a
+sagacious prince, that it may be hoped its permanence is secured. We
+need not speak of the rising fortunes of the Sardinian States, the only
+hope of fair Italy. The eyes of Europe are upon them; they are closely
+watched by friends and foes. Our business at present is, not with the
+political, but with the social and material, condition of the insular
+kingdom which forms a valuable portion of those singularly aggregated
+dominions. In a work devoted to a survey of the island, even a passing
+traveller may be pardoned for pausing in his narrative while he collects
+some cursory notices of its present condition under these aspects, and
+its requirements for improvement.
+
+All enlightened Sardes with whom we conversed unite with Signor Sala,
+who has devoted several sections of his work to the subject, in
+representing the corruption and other abuses pervading the
+administration of justice in Sardinia, as lying at the root of its
+greatest social evil. It is the ready excuse for rude justice, for
+private revenge, for the assertion of the rights of persons or of things
+by the strong hand, that the laws are inoperative, or iniquitously
+administered. There is too much reason to believe that this has been the
+normal state of Sardinia under all its rulers for ages past. And when at
+the same time we find the natural instincts of the people to be
+turbulent and lawless, and prone to theft and robbery, and consider the
+facilities afforded by a wild, mountainous, and densely wooded country,
+for the commission of crimes of violence, the scenes of bloodshed and
+rapine by which it has been desolated, are not to be wondered at. In the
+absence of a vigorous justice, and a sufficient military or police force
+for the protection of property, a voluntary association sprung up,
+consisting of armed men, under the name of Barancelli, who, for a sort
+of black mail paid by the peasants, undertook to recover their stolen
+cattle, or indemnify them for the loss. They fell, however, into
+disrepute, and I believe have been disbanded. Banditism has been finally
+and effectually extinguished in Corsica, as related in a former part of
+this work, by a total disarmament of the population, without respect of
+persons, or of the purposes for which fire-arms may be properly
+required. So stern a measure is neither suited to the genius of the
+Sardes or their rulers. With a numerous resident gentry, who, with their
+retainers, and the great mass of the population, are passionately fond
+of the chase, and with wastes so stocked with destructive wild animals,
+the total prohibition of fire-arms must be both unpopular and impolitic.
+The law, however, requires that no one shall carry them without a
+license. But it is not, or cannot be, enforced, for we saw them in every
+one's hands.
+
+It gave me great pleasure to learn, as it has been already stated, on a
+recent visit to Sardinia, that the administration of the law was become
+more pure, the police improved, outrages were less frequent, and
+confident hopes entertained that banditism, now confined to a small
+number of outlaws, would gradually die out. There is no doubt it will do
+so when the laws are respected as in other parts of the Sardinian
+dominions.
+
+In regard to the judges and other civil functionaries, we found
+everywhere the deepest antipathy towards the Piedmontese. Sardinia for
+the Sardes, was like the cry we often hear from our own sister island.
+Sala treats the subject with his usual temper and good sense. He admits
+the advantages of an administration conducted by natives possessing a
+knowledge of the country, conversant with its language and customs, and
+of a temper more conciliatory than foreigners invested with authority
+are likely to exhibit. He also admits that there is extreme mediocrity,
+and even ignorance, in the lower class of functionaries who arrive in
+the island with appointments obtained in Turin or Genoa. Sala relates a
+ludicrous story of one of these officials, who chanced to be his
+companion in the steam-boat from Genoa to Cagliari, being recommended to
+the Intendant-General as the chief of a department under him. When
+half-way across, the candidate for office had yet to learn whither they
+were bent,—“_Si fece interrogarci per dove possimo diretti_.”
+Afterwards, says Sala, when chatting in Cagliari, he reproached the
+Sardes with ignorance and indolence because, though their land was
+surrounded by the sea, they did not know how to supply themselves with a
+river,—“_Non sapevano formarsi un fiume_;” adding, with great
+self-complacency,—“_Li civilizzeremo, li civilizzeremo!_”
+
+Such impertinences are calculated to irritate the native Sardes against
+the continental officials; and they are generally detested. Our author,
+however, candidly allows that intrigue prevails so universally in the
+island, and the influences of relationship and connexions are so great,
+as to raise suspicions of the purity and fairness of native
+functionaries, especially of those who have been brought up under the
+old system,—a school of corruption. Signor Sala therefore suggests, that
+while appointments, both on the continent and the island, should be
+equally open to competent candidates, without respect of birth, great
+advantages would be obtained by this interchange. The Sardes being
+habituated by residence for a while, and the transaction of business, on
+Terra Firma; and thus withdrawn from unfavourable influences, would be
+prepared to fill honourably offices at home. This seems a wise and
+obvious mode of abating a grievance of which the Sardes not unjustly
+complain.
+
+Having mentioned before the gigantic evil of the vast extent of
+commonage claimed and exercised throughout the island, destructive of
+the rights of property and quite incompatible with agricultural
+progress, I have only to add that measures are contemplated for
+facilitating and protecting inclosures where lawfully made; but so as
+not to injure the great interest of the proprietors of flocks and herds,
+the staple production of the island. In this view it is proposed to
+place the great domains of the communes under better management.
+
+Among various other reforms and beneficial projects to which the
+attention of a more enlightened government must be directed, in order to
+raise Sardinia to the rank she is entitled to hold by the extent of her
+resources, and the intelligence of great numbers of her inhabitants, we
+can only enumerate, without observation, the educational system
+generally, including a reform of the Universities of Cagliari and
+Sassari,—sanitary measures tending, at least, to alleviate the
+insalubrity which is the scourge of the island,—improved police
+arrangements throughout the interior,—an increased supply of the
+circulating medium, the deficiency of which is represented as extreme
+and injurious to trade, and “Agrarian Banks;”—an entire new system of
+communal roads, connected with the great national highways, which roads,
+it is said, would double the value of property wherever they passed,—the
+protection and careful administration of the forests,—measures for
+developing the great mineral wealth of the island,—and the encouragement
+of the coral fisheries.
+
+Nor have we exhausted the list; but enough has been shown to satisfy the
+reader who accepts the statements we have laid before him, from our own
+observation and from the best information of the capabilities of
+Sardinia and its present condition,—how much is required to place her
+on a footing with other European states, and with what hope of eventual
+success. A vast field is, indeed, open for cultivation by an enlightened
+and patriotic administration. Great difficulties will have to be
+encountered, arising mainly from the indolence, the supineness, the
+prejudices, the ignorance, and the poverty of the Sarde population. The
+progress must be gradual, but noble will be the reward earned by that
+exercise of vigour, discretion, and perseverance, by which the obstacles
+to improvement may be overcome.
+
+There is one highly gifted man, who has long filled a distinguished
+place in the service of his sovereign and the eyes of the world, in
+whose hands the task of regenerating Sardinia, herculean as it may
+appear, would be not only a labour of love, but facile comparatively
+with any others on which it may devolve. I speak of General the Count
+Alberto di Marmora, known to all Europe by his Topographical Survey, and
+his able work, the _Voyage en Sardaigne_, of which two additional
+volumes have been recently published. But, perhaps, his devotion to the
+best interests of the Sarde people, his labours in that cause, and the
+esteem and affection with which he is universally regarded in the island
+are less understood. Enjoying also the confidence of the king and his
+ministers, General La Marmora is eminently fitted to carry out the
+beneficial designs which he has long conceived and furthered; but his
+advanced age precludes the hope of his seeing them accomplished. May his
+mantle fall on no unworthy successor!
+
+One subject of special interest in connection with Sardinian progress
+has been reserved for a more particular notice than we have been able to
+afford most others, both on account of its importance, and its having
+much engaged the attention of the master-mind most conversant with the
+situation of affairs. At the outset of our rambles in Sardinia, it was
+observed that the Sardes are averse to maritime occupations; the Iliese
+of La Madelena, who are so employed to some extent, being a distinct
+race. Sardinia has no mercantile marine. Signor Sala states that there
+are only four or five vessels belonging to natives, and, of these, two
+are the property of the same rich owner. Considering the advantages of
+her position, and the products the island is capable of supplying for an
+active commerce, he considers the want of a mercantile marine one of
+Sardinia's greatest misfortunes, and treats with much good sense of the
+means calculated to promote its establishment.[75]
+
+General La Marmora drew attention to the subject in a pamphlet published
+at Cagliari in 1850, under the title of _Questioni marittimi spettanti
+all'isola di Sardegna_; and resumed the subject in 1856, in another
+work, which he was so obliging as to give me, when at Cagliari, in 1857.
+It originated in the expected completion of the line of Electric
+Telegraph between Algeria, Sardinia, Corsica, and the continent of
+Europe; its connexion with which, and its bearings on commerce, I may
+have to refer to on a future occasion. The General comments on the
+extraordinary fact, that, in an island 800 miles in circumference, there
+only exist four sea-ports, properly so called. These are Cagliari, on
+the south coast, Terranova, on the east, Porto-Torres, on the north, and
+Alghero on the west. All the other villages and towns on the coast stand
+more or less distantly from it, and cannot be called maritime. He
+considers this depopulation of the coast as the deplorable consequence
+of the devastations of the Saracen corsairs, and the continual piracy
+which was carried on to a late period, and only ceased on the conquest
+of Algeria by the French.
+
+It would be foreign to our province to detail the projects which General
+La Marmora suggests, or advocates, for giving expansion to the commerce
+of Sardinia,—such as the establishment of light-houses on Cape
+Spartivento, and other points; improvements in the harbour of Cagliari,
+and a better supply of the place with water. He considers the now almost
+deserted town and port of Terranova, at the head of the fine gulf _Degli
+Aranci_, on the north-eastern coast, to be a point of great importance
+from its position in face of the Italian ports, and as the proper
+station for the postal steamboats communicating between Genoa and the
+island of Sardinia. In reference to this, he mentions that the project
+of a law for encouraging colonisation in the island, was presented by
+the Minister to the Chamber of Deputies in February, 1856; the proposal
+being to grant 60,000 hectares of the national domains to a company
+formed for establishing agrarian colonies. The cabinet of Turin, then,
+are alive to one of the great wants of Sardinia,—an increased and
+industrious agricultural population. But General La Marmora desires that
+a part of the colonists should be maritime, drawn from La Madalena,
+Genoa, and other ports, and settled at the proposed new harbour of
+Terranova.
+
+By these and other aids, the General is sanguine that Sardinia will, ere
+long, take the place naturally belonging to it among maritime countries,
+and he repeats as a motto to his recent pamphlet, a sentence from the
+first edition of his _Voyage en Sardaigne_, published in 1826, to which,
+he remarks, recent events have almost given the character of a
+prediction in the course of speedy accomplishment:—_Qui sait si un jour,
+par suite des progrès que fait depuis quelque temps l'Egypte moderne, le
+commerce des Indes Orientales ne prendra pas la route de la Mer-Rouge et
+de Suez? La Sardaigne, alors, ne pourrait-elle pas devenir la plus belle
+et la plus commode échelle de la Méditerranée?_
+
+The cabinet of Turin and the national legislature must be well disposed
+to foster the commerce and agriculture, the natural resources, and
+social interests of the Sardes. Should the Ministers be negligent or
+ill-advised, the representatives of the people, or, in the last resort,
+the Sarde constituencies, have their constitutional remedy. British
+institutions are said to be models imitated in the young commonwealth.
+They present similar features; and let it be recollected what influence
+either the Irish or the Scotch members, acting in concert in our House
+of Commons, can bring to bear on any question affecting the interests of
+their respective countries. The Sardes return twenty-four deputies to
+the popular chamber, and if they be good men and true, inaccessible to
+intrigue, and find in their patriotism a bond of union, their united
+votes cannot be disregarded by any Minister.
+
+How different is the case of Corsica, the sister island! In reviewing
+her industrial position we quoted rather largely from a _Procès-Verbal_
+of the deliberations of the Council-General, also an elective body,
+which canvasses, but not regulates, the internal administration of the
+island. It arrives at certain conclusions, but without any power to give
+them effect. “Le Conseil-Général émet le vœu,” “appelle l'attention,”
+are the phrases wherewith, with bated breath, the representatives of the
+people convey their resolutions to the foot of the throne. The courtly
+Prefect communicates them to the Minister of the Interior, and he, the
+organ of the Imperial will, rejects, confirms, or modifies the “vœu.”
+The Sarde representatives meet the Ministers face to face in the
+Parliament at Turin, demand, discuss, explain, remonstrate, carry their
+point, or are content to yield to a majority of the Chamber. With a free
+press, the public learns all; public opinion ratifies or condemns the
+vote. It will prevail in the end. Herein lies the difference between a
+despotic and a popular government. A bright day dawned on the future
+destinies of Sardinia, when it exchanged the one for the other.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXXIV.
+
+ _Alghero—Notice of.—The Cathedral of
+ Sassari.—University.—Museum.—A Student's private
+ Cabinet.—Excursion to a Nuraghe—Description of.—Remarks on the
+ Origin and Design of these Structures._
+
+Sassari is about equidistant from Alghero and Porto-Torres. Of these two
+ports Alghero is far the best, but all the commerce of Sassari passes
+through Porto-Torres, by the Strada Reale. The ancient rivalry between
+the two cities engendered a hatred which continues to the present day,
+insomuch that the Sassarese have resisted all efforts to make a good
+road from Alghero, to enable it to become their port of trade. These
+feuds arose in the age when Alghero was the chief seat of the Arragonese
+power in the island, enjoyed great exclusive privileges, and was peopled
+by Catalonian settlers. It is still Spanish in the character of the
+inhabitants, their customs, and buildings. Surrounded by a fertile and
+well-cultivated country, abounding in orange and olive groves,
+vineyards, and fields of corn and flax, Alghero is a city of some seven
+thousand inhabitants, many of them in affluent circumstances. It is a
+fortified place, with a richly ornamented cathedral, and thirteen other
+churches.
+
+Sassari also boasts a spacious cathedral, with a very elaborate façade,
+a work of the 17th century. It contains also twenty churches, including
+those that are conventual. If the religious state of the community were
+to be estimated by the number of those devoted to the service of the
+church, the Sassarese ought to be models of piety; for Mr. Tyndale
+calculates the number of priests and monks in 1840 as giving a total of
+769 clerical persons, about one for every thirty-two individuals of the
+community. Their numbers have been diminished by the suppression of some
+of the convents, but, even at the time of our visit, his remark, that
+one cannot walk fifty yards in the street without meeting an
+ecclesiastic, was confirmed by our own observation.
+
+The object which the Sassarese are most proud to exhibit to strangers,
+is the fountain of Rosello, outside the north-east or Macella gate. At
+the angles are large figures of the four seasons, at the feet of which
+the stream issues forth, as well as from eight lions' mouths in the
+sides of the building. The whole is of white marble, and though open to
+criticism as an architectural design, the utility of a fountain, which
+has twelve mouths constantly pouring forth pure water, in such a
+climate, cannot be overrated.
+
+The University of Sassari, founded by Philip IV. in 1634, is established
+in the spacious college formerly belonging to the Jesuits. It numbers
+about 200 students. The library contains a scanty collection of books,
+mostly ecclesiastical works. The museum exhibits some few articles of
+interest, relics of the Phœnician colonisation and Roman occupation of
+the island, mixed up in the greatest confusion, as in a broker's shop,
+with meagre specimens of mineralogy and conchology; and cannot for a
+moment be compared with the museum of Cagliari, rich in valuable remains
+of antiquity, and admirably arranged. It will be noticed in its proper
+place.
+
+We were much more interested in being allowed to examine a small private
+collection belonging to a young Sassarese, whose acquaintance it was our
+good fortune to make, and of whose talents, intelligence, and courtesy I
+retain a most pleasing impression. The pursuits of the young men of the
+higher classes in Sassari, are described as entirely frivolous, and the
+bent of the bourgeoisie as eminently sordid. It was, therefore, with an
+agreeable surprise, that we found ourselves in a studio embellished with
+the portraits of such characters as Dante, Ariosto, and Sir Isaac
+Newton; and where mathematical instruments, scattered about, and a
+cabinet containing some of the best French, English, German, and Italian
+authors, gave a pleasing idea of the tastes of the owner. With imperfect
+aid he had made himself sufficiently proficient in foreign languages to
+be able to read them; and it appeared that his severer studies were
+relieved by accomplishments displaying considerable talent, such as
+painting, and taking impressions from the antique in electrotype. He was
+good enough to offer me some of his casts, with a few coins from his
+museum of antiquities; two engravings from which, illustrating the Punic
+and Saracenic periods of the history of Sardinia, will appear in future
+pages, together with one copied from a unique coin of the Roman age,
+preserved in the Royal Museum at Cagliari.
+
+One seldom finds such talents and accomplishments accompanied by the
+modesty with which our young student spoke of his pursuits. Nor was he a
+mere recluse, though his health appeared feeble; for he entered with
+zest into conversation on the various topics of European interest
+suggested by a visit from foreigners, while he did not hesitate to
+expose, with patriotic zeal, the follies and abuses which opposed the
+march of civilisation in his native country. Such characters are rare.
+We had unexpectedly stumbled on a delicate flower, nurtured on an
+ungrateful soil, and destined to shed its sweetness in an atmosphere
+where, I fear, it is little appreciated. I may be excused, then, for
+devoting a page to the adventure, and allowed to inscribe on that page,
+a name of which I have so agreeable a recollection—that of Carlo Rugiu.
+
+Our new friend was kind enough to be our conductor in a walk to a
+Nuraghe, standing about three miles from Sassari, and in good
+preservation. We had already seen many of these very ancient structures
+scattered over all parts of the country; more or less ruinous, they are
+said to number 3000 at the present day, and many others have been
+destroyed.
+
+ [Illustration: EXTERIOR OF A NURAGHE.]
+
+Whether seen on the plains or on the mountains, the Nuraghe are
+generally built on the summits of hillocks, or on artificial mounds,
+commanding the country. Some are partially inclosed at a slight distance
+by a low wall of similar construction with the building. Their external
+appearance is that of a truncated cone from thirty to sixty feet in
+height, and from 100 to 300 in circumference at the base. The walls are
+composed of rough masses of the stones peculiar to the locality, each
+from two to six cubic feet, built in regular horizontal layers, in
+somewhat of the Cyclopean style, and gradually diminishing in size to
+the summit. Most commonly they betray no marks of the chisel, but in
+many instances the stones appear to have been rudely worked by the
+hammer, though not exactly squared.
+
+The interior is almost invariably divided into two domed chambers, one
+above the other; the lowest averaging from fifteen to twenty feet in
+diameter, and from twenty to twenty-five feet in height. Access to the
+upper chamber is gained by a spiral ramp, or rude steps, between the
+internal and external walls. These are continued to the summit of the
+tower, which is generally supposed to have formed a platform; but
+scarcely any of the Nuraghe now present a perfect apex. On the ground
+floor, there are generally from two to four cells worked in the solid
+masonry of the base of the cone.
+
+Independently of the interest attached to the object of our search, the
+fertile plains surrounding Sassari formed a sufficient attraction for a
+long walk. Plantations of olives, of vines, oranges, and other
+fruit-trees, succeeded each other in rich profusion; the olive trees
+being especially productive, and the oil, exported from Sassari in large
+quantities, being of the first quality. The environs, far and wide, are
+laid out in these plantations, and in gardens highly cultivated,
+interspersed with villas and pleasure-grounds. Tobacco is largely
+cultivated, and the vegetables are excellent. A cauliflower served up at
+dinner was of enormous size, nor can I forget the baskets of delicious
+figs which, at this late period of the year, were brought by the
+market-women to the door of our hotel.
+
+The Nuraghe to which our steps were directed proved to be a very
+picturesque object, rising out of a thicket of shrubs, with tufts
+growing in the crevices of the tower, which on one side was dilapidated.
+The other, composed of huge boulders, laid horizontally with much
+precision, considering the rude materials, still preserved its conical
+form, rising to the height of twenty or twenty-five feet. The entrance
+was so low that we were obliged to stoop almost to our knees in passing
+through it. A lintel, consisting of a single stone, some two tons'
+weight, was supported by the protruding jambs. No light being admitted
+to the chamber, but by a low passage through the double walls, it was
+gloomy enough.
+
+ [Illustration: ENTRANCE TO A NURAGHE.]
+
+ [Illustration: INTERIOR OF A NURAGHE.]
+
+In this instance, the interior formed a single dome or cone about
+twenty-five feet high, well-proportioned, and diminishing till a single
+massive stone formed the apex. The chamber was fifteen feet in diameter,
+and had four recesses or cells worked in the solid masonry, about five
+feet high, three deep, and nearly the same in breadth.
+
+The small platform on the summit of the cone, to which we ascended by
+the ramp in the interior of the wall and some rugged steps, commanded a
+rich view of the plain of Sassari, appearing from the top one dense
+thicket of olive and fruit trees spreading for miles round the city. Out
+of these groves rise the towers and domes of Sassari, the enceinte of
+its grey battlemented walls, and the lofty masses of its white houses.
+The view over the plain to the west is bounded by the Mediterranean,
+intersected by the bold outlines of the island of Asmara. After feasting
+our eyes on perhaps the most charming _tableau_ the island affords,
+decked with nature's choicest gifts, and exhibiting an industry unusual
+among the modern Sardes, we sat down at the foot of the hillock, while
+my friend was completing his sketches of the Nuraghe, and our thoughts
+were naturally drawn to these relics of a primitive age. “What was their
+origin—their history—what were the purposes for which they were
+designed?”
+
+It needed only that we should lift our eyes to the rude but shapely cone
+before us,—massive in its materials and fabric, and yet constructed with
+some degree of mechanical skill,—to come to the conclusion that the
+Nuraghe are works of a very early period, just when rude labour had
+begun to be directed by some rules of geometrical art. But, in examining
+the details, we find little or nothing to assist us in forming any clear
+idea of the period at which they were erected, or the purpose for which
+they were designed. There are not the slightest vestiges of ornament,
+any rude sculpture, any inscriptions. Of an antiquity probably anterior
+to all written records, history not only throws no certain light on
+their origin, but, till modern times, was silent as to their existence.
+Successive races, and powers, and dynasties have flourished in the
+island, and passed away, scarcely any of them without leaving some
+relics, some medals of history, some impress on the manners and
+character of the people still to be traced. The mouldering cones which
+arrest the traveller's attention, scattered, as we have observed, in
+great numbers throughout the island, enduring in their simple and
+massive structure, have thrown their shade over Phœnicians and Greeks,
+Romans and Carthaginians, Saracens, Pisans, Genoese, and Spaniards, and
+still survive the wreck of time and so many other early buildings,—the
+remains of a people of whose existence they are the only record, and,
+except monoliths, the oldest of, at least, European monuments.
+
+In the absence of any positive evidence regarding the origin and design
+of the Sardinian Nuraghe[76], there has been abundance of conjecture and
+speculation on the subject. On the present occasion, I had the advantage
+of discussing it with our intelligent Sassarese student, I have also
+heard the remarks of one of the most distinguished Sarde antiquarians,
+and having since consulted the works of La Marmora and other writers,
+whose extensive researches and personal investigations entitle their
+opinions to much respect, I shall endeavour to lay the result,
+unsatisfactory as it proves, before the reader, in the shortest compass
+to which so wide an inquiry can be reduced.
+
+The world has been searched for styles of building corresponding with
+that of the Sarde Nuraghe; without success. Neither in Etruscan,
+Pelasgic, or any other European architecture are any such models to be
+found, nor do Indian, Assyrian, or Egyptian remains exhibit any identity
+with them. They have been supposed, among other theories, to have some
+affinity with the Round Towers of Ireland; but after a careful
+examination of some of those almost equally mysterious structures, and
+considerable research among the authorities for their antiquity and
+uses, I have failed to discover anything in common between them and the
+Nuraghe. If my memory be correct, Mr. Petrie, the highest authority on
+the subject of the Round Towers, though he had not seen the Nuraghe,
+incidentally expresses the same opinion. The only existing buildings
+exhibiting a cognate character with those of Sardinia, are certain
+conical towers found in the Balearic islands, which were also colonised
+by the Phœnicians. They are called _talayots_, a diminutive, it is said,
+of _atalaya_, meaning the “Giants' Burrow;” and if the plate annexed to
+Father Bresciani's work be a correct representation, they would appear
+to be identical with the Nuraghe in the exterior, except that the ramp
+leading to the summit is worked in the outward face of the wall. We
+find, also, from La Marmora's description of the _talayots_ examined by
+him, that the character of the cells is different, the style of masonry
+more cyclopean, and that many of them are surrounded with circles of
+stones and supposed altars, scarcely ever met with in Sardinia. The
+resemblance, however, is striking, as connected with the facts of the
+contiguity of Minorca, and the colonisation of both the islands by the
+Phœnicians.
+
+Opinions as to the purposes for which the Nuraghe were erected are as
+various as those regarding their origin. From their great number,
+scattered over the country, they are supposed by some to have been the
+habitations of the most ancient shepherds; and the words of Micah—“the
+tower of the flocks,”[77] and other similar passages, are referred to as
+supporting this view. But it is hardly necessary to point out that the
+inconveniences of the structure, from its low entrance and dark
+interior, to say nothing of the waste of labour in heaping up such vast
+structures for shepherds' huts, will not admit of the idea being
+entertained. With somewhat more reason, but still with little
+probability, they have been represented as watch-towers, strongholds,
+and places of refuge; a theory to which their position, their numbers,
+and their structure are all opposed. Another hypothesis treats the
+Nuraghe as monuments commemorating heroes or great national events,
+whether in peace or war; forgetting, as Father Bresciani suggests, the
+centuries that must have elapsed while the mountains, and hills, and
+plains of Sardinia were being successively crowned with monuments of
+this description.
+
+Discarding such conjectural theories, the best-informed travellers and
+writers are agreed in considering the Nuraghe as being designed either
+for religious edifices or tombs for the dead. La Marmora confesses his
+inability to pronounce decidedly between the two opinions, but inclines
+to the opinion that they may have been intended for both purposes.
+Father Bresciani, the latest writer on Sardinian antiquities, after a
+personal examination of the Nuraghe and much general research, though he
+does not venture a decided opinion, is disposed to agree with La
+Marmora. In confirmation of the idea that the most ancient monuments
+were at once tombs and altars, he quotes a Spanish writer[78] on the
+antiquities of Mexico, referring also to Lord Kingsborough's splendid
+work. So general an assumption is hardly warranted either by historical
+testimony or existing relics of antiquity. If such were the primitive
+custom, it did not prevail among the Greeks and Romans, and it is in the
+rites and practices of the Christian Church that we find its revival.
+
+However this may be, the theory not only of the twofold design or use of
+the Nuraghe, but of either of them, is confessedly quite conjectural: it
+rests upon a narrow basis of facts. Though a great number of the Nuraghe
+have been carefully ransacked, in very few instances only have human
+bones been discovered, but neither urns, arms, nor ornaments usually
+inhumed with the dead; nor are many of them so constructed as to permit
+the supposition that they were designed for sepulchral purposes.
+Occasionally, also, some of the miniature idols, such as are preserved
+in the museum at Cagliari, have been found buried in Nuraghe, or their
+precincts. But this is not general; and there are neither altars nor any
+other indications in the structure of the buildings to indicate their
+appropriation to religious uses, except their pyramidal or conical form,
+which they share in common with most buildings of the earliest age. So
+far as these were designed for idolatrous uses—as many of them doubtless
+were—the argument from analogy may apply to the Nuraghe, but it can be
+carried no further.
+
+Whatever were the purposes of the Nuraghe, almost all writers on
+Sardinia consider these ancient structures of Eastern origin. Father
+Bresciani attributes them to Canaanitish or Phœnician colonies, which
+migrated to the west in early times; and he takes great pains, but, I
+consider, without much success, to establish their identity, or, at
+least, their analogy, with the religious or sepulchral erections,—the
+altars, and “high places,” and tombs,—of which notices are found in the
+Old Testament. No doubt exists that extensive migrations, favoured by
+the enterprise of the earliest maritime people of whom we have any
+record, took place, perhaps both before and after the age of Moses, from
+the shores of Syria to the islands and shores of the West of Europe.
+There is reason to think that the island of Sardinia, if not the first
+seat, was, from its peculiar situation, the very centre, of a
+colonisation, embracing in its ramifications the coasts of Africa and
+Spain, with Malta, Sicily, and the Balearic islands. It appears singular
+that Corsica, the sister island to Sardinia, should not have shared in
+this movement of settlers from the East; perhaps from its lying out of
+the direct current, while, in its onward course, the wave flowing
+through the Straits of Hercules bore forward on the ocean the “merchants
+of many isles,” for commerce if not for settlement, as far as the
+Cassiterides, our own Scilly Isles.
+
+Though there is little historical evidence of the Phœnician colonisation
+of Sardinia, and even that of the early Greek settlements in the island
+is obscure and conflicting, we have abundant traces of the former, more
+imperishable than written records, still lingering in the manners and
+customs of the modern Sardes, and in the great number of those
+extraordinary antiquities known as the Sarde idols. The greater part of
+these, as Mr. Tyndale undertakes to show, were symbols of Canaanitish
+worship, the miniature representations of the gods adored by the Syrian
+nations, especially of Moloch, Baal, Astarte or Astaroth, Adonis or
+Tammuz, the very objects of that idolatry so frequently and emphatically
+denounced in the Old Testament, to which we have already referred. Mr.
+Tyndale, however, justly observes, that “so distinct and peculiar is the
+character of these relics, that their counterparts are no more to be met
+with out of Sardinia than the Nuraghe themselves.” From this
+circumstance, in conjunction with the fact of the images being often
+found in and near those buildings, he infers that they may have been,
+directly or indirectly, connected with each other, in either a
+religious, sepulchral, or united character.
+
+The inquiry would be incomplete unless it were extended to other Sarde
+remains, of equal or greater antiquity, for the purpose of discovering
+whether they have any affinity with, or can throw any light on, the
+mysterious origin of the Nuraghe. We propose devoting another chapter to
+this investigation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXXV.
+
+ _Sardinian Monoliths.—The Sepolture, or “Tombs of the
+ Giants.”—Traditions regarding Giant Races.—The Anakim, &c., of
+ Canaan.—Their supposed Migration to Sardinia.—Remarks on
+ Aboriginal Races.—Antiquity of the Nuraghe and Sepolture.—Their
+ Founders unknown._
+
+
+We can hardly be mistaken in supposing that, among the relics of
+antiquity still existing in Sardinia, the monoliths, of somewhat similar
+character with the Celtic remains at Carnac, Avebury, and Stonehenge,
+and common also in other countries, belong to the earliest age. These
+Sarde monoliths are found in several parts of the island, being, as the
+name expresses, single stones, or obelisks, set upright in the ground.
+In Sardinia they are called _Pietra-_ or _Perda-fitta_, and
+_Perda-Lunga_. We generally find them rounded by the hammer, but
+irregularly, in a conical form tapering to the top, but with a gradual
+swell in the middle; and their height varies from six to eighteen feet.
+They differ from the Celtic monuments, in being generally thus worked
+and shaped; in not being often congregated on one spot beyond three in
+number—a _Perda-Lunga_ with two lesser stones; and in there not being
+any appearance of their ever having had, like the Trilithons of
+Stonehenge, any impost horizontal stone.
+
+Father Bresciani finds the prototype of all these rude pillars
+scattered throughout the world, in the Beth-El of Jacob and other
+Bethylia, sepulchral or commemorative, mentioned in the Hebrew
+Scriptures. By Mr. Tyndale, the Sarde _Perda-Lunga_ is considered a
+relic of the religion common to all the idolatrous Syro-Arabian nations,
+which, deifying the powers and laws of nature, considers the male sex to
+be the type of its active, generative, and destructive powers, while
+that passive power of nature, whose function is to conceive and bring
+forth, is embodied under the female form. And this worship, he
+conceives, was introduced into Sardinia, with the symbols just
+described, by the Phœnician or Canaanitish immigrants.
+
+ [Illustration: SEPOLTURA DE IS GIGANTES.]
+
+The _Sepolture de is Gigantes_, the tombs of the giants, as they are
+called, form another class of Sarde antiquities of the earliest age. The
+structures to which the popular traditions ascribe this name, may be
+described as a series of large stones placed together without any
+cement, inclosing a foss or hollow from fifteen to thirty-six feet long,
+from three to six wide, and the same in depth, with immense flat stones
+resting on them as a covering. Though the latter are not always found,
+it is evident, by a comparison with the more perfect Sepolture, that
+they have once existed, and have been destroyed or removed.[79]
+
+The foss runs invariably from north-west to south-east; and at the
+latter point there is a large upright headstone, averaging from ten to
+fifteen feet high, varying in its form, from the square, elliptical, and
+conical, to that of three-fourths of an egg; and having in many
+instances an aperture about eighteen inches square at its base.
+
+ [Illustration: SEPOLTURA DE IS GIGANTES.]
+
+On each side of this stele, or headstone, commences a series of separate
+stones, irregular in size and shape, but forming an arc, the chord of
+which varies from twenty to twenty-six feet; so that the whole figure
+somewhat resembles the bow and shank of a spur.
+
+“The shape of the foss and headstone,” observes Mr. Tyndale, “of these
+remains, fairly admits of the probability that they were graves, as some
+of the earliest forms of sepulchres on record are the upright stones
+with superincumbent slabs, such as the Druidical cistvaens and some
+tombs in Greece. Still, like the ‘Sarde Idols’ and the Nuraghe, the
+_Sepolture_ are peculiar to the island, being entirely different in
+point of size and character from any other sepulchral remains. Judging
+from the many remains of those partially destroyed, their numbers must
+have been considerable. The Sardes believe them to be veritable tombs of
+giants; and that there may be legends of their existence in the island
+is undeniable, as a similar belief is found in almost all countries.”
+Mr. Tyndale, in speaking of the supposed connexion between the _Nuraghe_
+and the _Sepolture_, observes that, “if a Canaanitish race migrated
+here, nothing is more probable than that the tradition and worship of
+the giants would be also imported; and that it is even possible that
+some of the actual gigantic races of the Rephaim, Anakim, and others
+mentioned in Scripture, might have actually arrived in Sardinia.” Father
+Bresciani goes further: he fixes the era of this migration, points out
+the event which caused it[80], and traces its route by the Isthmus of
+Suez, through Egypt, and along the coast of Africa, which they are also
+said to have colonised; and whence he considers they could easily
+navigate to Sardinia and other islands in that part of the
+Mediterranean.
+
+This immigration, however, of the Canaanitish giants rests upon very
+slender evidence; and it may be questioned whether the oldest Sardinian
+monuments do not belong to an age far anterior to that of any Phœnician
+or Canaanitish colonisation of the island whatever. That such there was,
+undoubted proofs have already been gathered; but the statuettes of
+Phœnician idols, forming part of those proofs, with the arts and skill
+required for the maritime enterprise it required, betray the
+civilisation of a period more advanced than that to which we should be
+disposed to attribute such rude structures as the Nuraghe and the
+Sepolture. In this uncertainty, it may be worth an inquiry, whether
+these ancient monuments did not exist before the colonists landed on the
+shores of Sardinia,—in short, whether they were not the works of an
+aboriginal race. The question is raised by M. Tyndale: “We may reduce
+the inquiry,” he says, “to the simple question, Were the Nuraghe built
+by the autochthones of the island, of whom we have no knowledge, or by
+the earliest colonists, of whom we have but little information?” On the
+former alternative the author is silent; nor is the question even raised
+by any other writer on Sardinian antiquities within our knowledge.
+
+Yet surely, independently of its bearing on the origin of the Nuraghe
+and the early population of Sardinia, the subject of indigenous races is
+interesting in a general point of view. And it is worthy of notice, that
+the accounts handed down to us of the earliest colonists of the ancient
+world, speak of an aboriginal population existing in the countries to
+which they migrated, just as the European adventurers and
+circumnavigators of the last three centuries found indigenous races on
+the continents and islands they discovered, except on some few islands
+of the Pacific Ocean, recently emerged from the state of coral reefs.
+The parallel may be carried further. The ancient, as well as the modern,
+colonists carried the arts of a superior civilisation in their train;
+but the indigenous races of the New World were destined to gradual decay
+and extinction, leaving some ancient monuments as the records of their
+existence, just as the primitive children of the soil in the West of
+Europe, whose relics we endeavour to decipher, disappeared and were
+lost; so uniform is the order of events in the designs of Providence.
+
+Poetical legends, generally founded on, and blended with, traditionary
+facts, help us to form some idea of the character and habits of the
+aboriginal races; but history, and even tradition, seldom carry us
+further back in the review of past ages than the arrival of colonists,
+generally of Eastern origin, to form settlements on the shores and the
+islands washed by the Mediterranean. Did they find these shores and
+islands uninhabited? To say nothing of countries more remote and less
+accessible, many considerations would induce us to imagine that these
+fair regions were not all deserts; that, even at this early period, they
+were already peopled.
+
+In Sardinia, where, as already observed, the manners, the superstitions,
+and the traditions of the earliest ages, are more faithfully preserved
+than in any other European country, we find, among the most ancient
+existing structures, some which, to this day, are pointed out by the
+natives as “the Tombs of the Giants.” And who were the “giants,” of whom
+we read much, both in sacred and profane history? The very term is
+significant. It is formed from two Greek words—γῆ and γένω, and
+signifies earth-born, sons of the earth.[81] The word αὐτόχθνονες
+(autochthones) has a cognate meaning; Liddell and Scott render it, “of
+the land itself; Latin, _terrigenæ, aborigines, indigenæ_, of the
+original race, _not settlers_.” The mythical account of the origin of
+the “giants” concurs with this etymology. It paints them as the sons of
+Cœlus and Terra—Heaven and Earth. In the poetry of Hesiod, they spring
+from the earth imbued with the blood of the gods. Traces and traditions
+of this aboriginal race are found in all parts of the world, and in
+sacred as well as profane history. We are told that there were giants in
+the days before the flood[82]; and Josephus considers them the offspring
+of the union, mysteriously described by the sacred writer, of “the sons
+of God with the daughters of men;” for, as might be supposed, there were
+females also of the race of the earth-born. So the poets sang. Such was
+Cybele, daughter of Heaven and Earth, pictured as crowned with a diadem
+of towers, as the patroness of builders. We read of the giants, in the
+Old Testament, under the names of Rephaim, Emim, Zamzummim, and Anakim.
+In the time of Abraham, these tribes dwelt in the country beyond Jordan,
+in about Astaroth-Karnaim[83], and it is now the received opinion of
+biblical archæologists, that they were the most ancient, or aboriginal,
+inhabitants of Palestine; prior to the Canaanites, by whom they were
+gradually dispossessed of the region west of the Jordan, and driven
+beyond that river. Some of the race, however, remained in Palestine
+Proper so late as the invasion of the land by the Hebrews, and are
+repeatedly mentioned as “the sons of Anak,” and “the remnant of the
+Rephaim;”[84] and a few families existed as late as the time of
+David.[85]
+
+In the most ancient legends we find the giant race located in all parts
+of the then known world. In Thessaly, under the name of Titans, poetic
+fiction records their deeds of prowess in piling mountain on mountain,
+and hurling immense rocks in their battles with the gods. Writers of
+credit have transmitted to us accounts of the discovery of their remains
+on the coast of Africa, from Bona to Tangier, in Sicily, and in Crete.
+The earliest navigators who touched on the shores and islands of the
+Mediterranean, brought back romantic tales, receiving their colouring
+from the terrors of the narrators, of the barbarity and the stature of
+the races they found on those then inhospitable shores. They were
+robbers, and even cannibals; enemies of the gods and men. Such tales are
+not without their parallels in the annals of modern maritime discovery.
+
+Before the fall of Troy, Sicily was peopled by a giant or aboriginal
+people, called Cyclopes; that insular race being said to be descended
+from Neptune and Amphitrite, just as the giant Antæus, the founder of
+Tangier on the African coast, was called the son of Neptune and Terra.
+If we take Polyphemus, the chief of a tribe of the Cyclops, for a type
+of this cognate race, what do we find in his story, divested of the
+fiction with which it was clothed by tradition, transmuted into the
+poetry of the Odyssey and the Æneid? The Grecian and Trojan heroes,
+successively land on the eastern coast of Sicily, near the base of Mount
+Ætna, whose throes and thunders lend horror to the scene. There dwelt
+this Cyclop chief, in a cavern of the rocks. The race were Troglodytes,
+as were the aboriginal Sardes, Baleares, Maltese, Libyans, &c. In
+Sardinia, their caverns are still to be seen in an island of the
+territory of Sulcis. Caves were probably the first habitations of
+primitive man, before emerging from a condition hardly superior to that
+of the savage beasts, his competitors for such rude shelter.
+Irrespective of climate, in these we find his home, whether among the
+Celts of the frozen regions of the North, or the Arabs of the stony
+wastes bordering on the Erythrean Sea, in the Libyan deserts, or in the
+sandstone rocks of Southern Africa. There one still sees the pygmy
+Bushmen, perhaps the last existing Troglodyte race, the very reverse of
+the Cyclops in stature, but, like them, their hand against every man's,
+unchanged by ages in the midst of African tribes of considerable
+civilisation, neither sowing nor pasturing, but living on roots,
+berries, and grubs, like other aboriginal races, which sprang into
+existence with the forests through which they roam, and the various
+brutes which shared with them the possession of the soil:
+
+ “Cum prorepserunt primis animalia terris,
+ Mutum et turpe pecus.” HOR. _Sat._ i. 3.
+
+But the traditions of Polypheme and his Cyclops represent them as
+advanced beyond this first rude stage of society, though they still
+adhered to their ancestral caves. They were robbers, no doubt; at least,
+they plundered and made captive unfortunate mariners thrown on their
+shores. Perhaps they feasted on their captives, as American Indians and
+South-Sea islanders are reported to have done. This may be doubted; but
+at least the cannibal feasts of the Sicilian aborigines were but _bonnes
+bouches_ occasionally thrown in their way. They had better means of
+subsistence. Polypheme was a shepherd, and so were all his clan. Picture
+him, as described by Virgil[86], descending from the mountains,
+probably at eventide, leaning on his staff, with his shepherd's pipe
+hanging on his bosom, surrounded by his flocks, and leading them to the
+shelter of some cavern on the shore; and we have a pleasant scene of
+pastoral life. Such were all his tribe, a pretty numerous one,
+comprising one hundred males, with their families, each having a flock
+as large as their chiefs. They led a nomad life, “_errantes_” between
+the mountain pastures and the plains on the coast[87].
+
+Now, if we may be allowed to separate these facts, which seem genuine,
+from the fictions with which they are blended, we find the aborigines of
+Sicily, though barbarous, in a somewhat advanced stage of social life
+beyond that when we are told they roamed in the woods and fed on acorns.
+Such we may justly presume, divested of poetical fiction, was the
+condition of the aborigines of the neighbouring island of Sardinia, the
+largest in the Mediterranean except Sicily, when the first foreign
+colonists landed on its coast. And such, after the lapse of more than
+thirty centuries, are the Sarde shepherds of the present day, generally
+lawless, sometimes robbers, making the caves of the rocks their shelter,
+and their flocks and herds providing them with food and clothing.
+Tenacious, above all other European races, of the traditions and customs
+of their forefathers, when they point to structures of the highest
+antiquity scattered on their native soil, and call them “_Sepolture de
+is Gigantes_”—as we now have some idea what these giants were,—may we
+not find reason to accept their tradition, and consider these monuments
+as the tombs of the chiefs and first founders of their aboriginal race.
+
+Still, it may be objected that the ancient legends relating to giants
+are too fabulous to admit of any sound theories being built on them; and
+some have even gone so far as to reject all the received accounts of
+families or tribes of men of gigantic stature, as worthy only of the
+belief of credulous ages. It may indeed be difficult to imagine whole
+districts and countries peopled with gigantic races so formidable that
+we can hardly conceive any other people subsisting in contact with them.
+But that individuals, and even families, of extraordinary stature and
+strength existed in the earliest ages cannot be denied, except by those
+who regard the narrative of Scripture as equally fabulous with the
+fictions of the poets; although the statements are literal and exact,
+occur in a variety of incidental notices, and are confirmed by
+discoveries related by authors of good repute.[88]
+
+A solution of the difficulty may, perhaps, be found in the
+consideration, that, as even now we find families and races exceeding in
+stature and strength the average of mankind, there is still more reason
+to believe in the existence of such phenomena in the youth of the
+generations of man, when a simple mode of life, abundance of nutritious
+food, and a salubrious atmosphere, gave to all organic beings huge and
+sinewy forms. Such might be the special privilege of the Rephaim, and
+other tribes of which we read. But while the rank and file, as we may
+call them, of the nation, though tall and robust, might not much exceed
+the average height of the human species, the chiefs and heroes who took
+their posts in the van of battle may have attained the extraordinary
+dimensions recorded of them; and, their numbers being magnified by
+terror and tradition, the attributes of the class were extended to the
+whole tribe. Thus the poets gave the name of Cyclops to all the
+aboriginal inhabitants of Sicily, though the Cyclops, properly so
+called, are represented by them as a single family, sons, as before
+mentioned, of Neptune and Amphitrite.
+
+That the _Sepolture de is Gigantes_ may be considered the tombs of the
+chiefs or heroes of the aboriginal inhabitants of Sardinia seems to be
+generally allowed; and the opinion receives some confirmation from a
+passage in Aristotle's “Physics,” where, treating of the immutability of
+time, notwithstanding our perception or unconsciousness of what occurs,
+he incidentally illustrates his argument by the expression:—“So with
+those who are fabulously said to sleep with the heroes in Sardinia, when
+they shall rise up.”[89]
+
+The best authorities being thus led to the conclusion that the Sarde
+aborigines were a giant race, the question remains whether the Nuraghe
+had the same origin as the Sepolture; and, passing by some trivial
+objections to this hypothesis, we are disposed to adopt Mr. Tyndale's
+conclusion, that—“the coincidence of two such peculiar monuments in the
+same island, their non-existence elsewhere, and their being both
+indicative of some abstract principle of grandeur and power, practically
+carried out in their construction, are strong reasons for the
+presumption that they may have had some mutual reference to each
+other,—as burying places, temples, and altars, and consequently were
+works of the same times and the same people.”
+
+Perhaps it may be objected, with some show of reason, that a people so
+rude and so primitive as the aborigines, could not have possessed the
+skill required for the construction of such buildings as the Nuraghe; so
+that they must be assigned to a later age. But we are informed in
+Genesis that, among some families of mankind, not only useful, but
+ornamental, arts were taught before Noah's flood![90] and, without
+instituting an inquiry how soon the inventive and mechanical faculties
+of mankind were more or less developed in various countries, we may
+venture to assume that, before the historical period, before navigation
+had conveyed the higher arts of civilisation to distant shores, the
+aboriginal races, generally, were not incapable of erecting the massive
+structures attributed to them by universal tradition, and which, defying
+the ravages of time, still remain the sole monuments of lost races, on
+which the puzzled antiquary can hope to decipher the records of their
+existence and condition.
+
+To rear the lofty perpendicular monolith, to set up the tall stele as
+the headstone of a grave, to lift and poise the ponderous rocking-stone,
+to raise and fix the massive impost of the trilithon, or the slab
+covering a sepoltura, a cromlech, or a cistvaen; (for the remark applies
+to Celtic as well as Mediterranean antiquities), to heap up, not Pelion
+on Ossa, but untold loads of earth and stone to form the conical tumulus
+over the chambers of the dead, to build “Cyclopean” walls, and
+construct the cone of rude but solid masonry, with its cavernous
+recesses,—all these are the works we should just expect from races of
+mankind when emerging from primitive barbarism, in the youth of the
+species, and possessed of enormous strength of limb.[91] Those who
+reared these works are supposed to have been in possession of some
+knowledge of the pulley, the lever, and the incline; but, after all,
+giant strength must have been the main fulcrum for such operations. Had
+there been ornament, sculpture, or inscriptions on these primeval
+monuments, our thoughts might have been carried forward to a later age,
+when colonisation from the East brought in its train the arts which
+there first undoubtedly flourished.
+
+That the Sardinian antiquities of the earliest age are unique, that this
+is the case in other parts of the world, every primitive people having,
+with certain resemblances, a peculiar style in its ancient monuments,
+that none such as these are found in the countries from whence the first
+colonists migrated, nor are described in their records, are facts
+strengthening the argument for their being of indigenous origin. That
+the forms of these structures scattered over the world are generally
+pyramidal, often rounded, and sometimes spiral, tells nothing to the
+contrary. The cone, as Father Bresciani observes, was more graceful to
+the eye, more easy of construction, more durable, and, perhaps,
+connected with some mysterious ideas of Eternity, or the circling course
+of the heavenly bodies. Such was the form of the first great building on
+record, the Tower of Babel, as we have it represented; the type in many
+respects of the Sarde Nuraghe. Nor is it an unreasonable conjecture that
+the alien people, mysteriously alluded to in Genesis, as mixing with the
+children of God, having seduced the most froward of the chosen race,
+were the instigators and planners of the profane enterprise. “Go to ——,”
+said a man to his neighbour, as the marginal translation renders the
+passage,—“let us make bricks, let us build a tower whose top may reach
+to heaven.”[92]
+
+“There were giants in those days,”—men not only of gigantic forms, but
+imbued with grand ideas. The structures included among the number of
+their monuments are, as just observed, “indicative of some abstract
+principle of grandeur and power, practically carried out in their
+construction.” In the strength of their might, the Titanic race bade
+defiance to the deities of Olympus, with whom they are poetically
+represented as combating; but that does not preclude our supposing that,
+in common with all the generations of man, however barbarous, the giant
+races had their religious instincts, their altars, their rites.
+Reverence, also, for the memories of their departed heroes, of their
+progenitors, was a common feeling, most powerful in the earliest times.
+In these two principles we trace the ideas to which the mysterious
+monuments of the ancient Sardes owe their origin, and thence we arrive
+at a reasonable conclusion respecting their object and uses.
+
+Researches the most extended and the most profound, have failed to
+penetrate the obscurity in which the mists of ages have enveloped the
+origin of the primeval monuments of all nations, and of the people who
+founded them. Something may have been contributed towards the solution
+of the difficulties surrounding the subject, if we have been able to
+connect existing monuments with a rude race of extraordinary strength,
+the supposed giant-builders of those ancient structures. Such buildings
+we discover in various parts of the world, varying in their details, but
+similar as respects their simple but massive and durable forms. Gigantic
+stature and strength of limb we consider to have been the essential
+requisites, in the infancy of art, for transporting and raising the
+ponderous materials; and these properties were characteristics of the
+races of which, and of their Herculean labours, we find everywhere
+corresponding traditions.
+
+In the absence of a satisfactory reply to the inquiry, whence, when, or
+how the giant race reached Sardinia, we are willing to accept the
+alternative, as regards the founders of the Nuraghe and its other
+ancient monuments, that these structures were the work of the
+autocthonoi, the aboriginal inhabitants. But we embrace the theory in a
+different sense from that in which it is proposed; suggesting that the
+so-called giants themselves may have been the autocthonoi, and not
+immigrants; and the remark is generally applicable. The etymology of the
+words used by the Greeks and Romans, to designate the aboriginal races,
+supports the conjecture of their identity; for, as already shown[93],
+the term “giant” (γίγας) is not descriptive of extraordinary strength,
+but, equally with the phrases _autocthonoi_, _terrigenæ_, and
+_aborigines_, signifies “the earth-born,” the natives of the soil.
+
+Further than this we cannot here pursue the inquiry. In a work of this
+description, it would be idle to speculate on the means by which
+aboriginal races, as well as a peculiar fauna and flora, were planted in
+distant lands, whether islands or remote continents, on which they have
+been found established by colonists and navigators, from the earliest to
+the latest times. Ethnologists have laboured to solve the difficulties
+surrounding the subject; with what success, those who have studied their
+works must decide for themselves.
+
+The Sardinian Nuraghe are probably among the oldest structures in the
+world, and may therefore be reasonably considered the works of an
+aboriginal race; but their origin, and that of the founders, are equally
+involved in impenetrable mystery. Their rude, but massive and shapely,
+cones have survived the ruin of the sumptuous edifices of Babylon and
+Nineveh, of Ecbatana and Susa, of Tyre and the Egyptian Thebes. Like the
+pyramids of Egypt, they have witnessed, from their hoary tops, the
+current of untold centuries rolling onwards, wave after wave, in its
+turbid course. They have marked the rise and the fall of empires, the
+vicissitudes of fortune, the illusory hopes, the vain fears, and the
+insatiable desires of successive generations of men, whose brief span of
+existence has been that of a moment compared with the centuries that
+have looked down from their summits. But unlike the Pyramids, whose
+mysteries are partially unveiled, they give no note by which their age
+or their history may be discovered. Mute on their solitary mounds, they
+give no answer to the inquiries of the traveller or the learned, when
+questioned,—what people of Herculean strength and undaunted will reared
+their massive walls, wrought the dark cells under the cover of their
+domes, and raised the ponderous slab which crowns the cone? No image of
+man, no form of beast, neither symbol nor inscription, are sculptured or
+graven on the solid blocks, within or without, to tell their tale. Well,
+then, may the thoughtful traveller, contemplating with silent wonder
+these mysterious cones, soliloquise in some such sort as this:—“Surely
+these structures must have been raised before men had learned the arts
+of writing and engraving, for how many thousands of the Nuraghe were
+built, in successive periods, without their founders having acquired the
+faculty of inscribing on them the name of a god or a hero, for a
+memorial to future generations.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXXVI.
+
+ _Oristano.—Orange-groves of Milis.—Cagliari.—Description of.—The
+ Cathedral and Churches.—Religious Laxity.—Ecclesiastical
+ Statistics.—Vegetable and Fruit Market.—Royal
+ Museum.—Antiquities.—Coins found in Sardinia.—Phœnician
+ Remains.—The Sarde Idols._
+
+
+The high road between Sassari and Cagliari, called the _Strada Reale_,
+runs through the great level of the Campidano for a distance of 140
+miles, and as there is a daily communication between the two cities by
+the well-appointed _diligences_ already mentioned, the journey, unlike
+others in Sardinia, is performed with comfort and rapidity. But,
+whatever he may gain by the exchange, the traveller will hardly bid
+adieu to the mountains and forest-paths of the Gallura and Barbagia
+without regret.
+
+About half way, stands Oristano, an old city, of some 6000 inhabitants,
+with some of the Spanish character of Alghero. Though fallen from its
+former importance, the place is still wealthy, and, in some degree,
+commercial. It is, however, deserted in the summer and autumn, when the
+atmosphere becomes so pestilential from the inhalations of the
+neighbouring stagna and lagunes as to justify the proverb:—
+
+ A Oristano che ghe vù,
+ In Oristano ghe resta!
+
+The most striking object in the place is the belfry of the cathedral, a
+detached octangular tower, roofed with a pear-shaped dome, of coloured
+tiles, and commanding from the summit a fine view of the plains from the
+sea to the distant mountains. The orange groves of Milis, a village
+lying a little out of the high road to Oristano, are worth a visit. The
+trees are considered the finest in Europe. I have never seen orange
+trees that will bear comparison with them in any part of the world,
+except on some of the Dutch farms in the Cape colony, where they are
+still more magnificent; vying in size with the European oaks, planted,
+probably at the same time, by the German settlers from the Black Forest,
+the disbanded soldiers of the States of Holland, to whom many of the
+African Boers owe their origin. Such orange groves, when loaded with
+blossoms and fruit, glowing in the shade of their dense masses of glossy
+deep-green foliage, are perhaps the most charming of vegetable
+productions. No idea of their richness and beauty can be formed from the
+dwarf, round-topped trees, one sees in most orange districts. Here, as
+in South Africa, they owe their luxuriance to abundant irrigation. Some
+of the trees at Milis are from thirty-five to forty feet high, and there
+are said to be 300,000 of them of full growth. The annual produce is
+estimated at from fifty to sixty millions of fruit, and, being in great
+repute for their quality, they are conveyed to Sassari and Cagliari, and
+all parts of the island, the price varying from 1-1/2_d._ to 4-3/4_d._
+per dozen, according to circumstances.
+
+Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, a city containing upwards of 35,000
+inhabitants, is seen to most advantage when approached from the sea, the
+campagna in the vicinity being neither fertile nor picturesque. Standing
+at the head of a noble bay or gulf, twenty-four miles in depth and
+twelve across, with good anchorage everywhere, its advantageous position
+pointed out Cagliari as a seat of commerce from the earliest times. The
+Phœnicians, the Greeks, and Carthaginians were attracted by the fine
+harbour, and the inducements offered by the neighbouring heights for the
+construction of a fortified town. The Romans made it the chief seat of
+their rule in the island. The port, called the Darsena, is capable of
+containing more than all the shipping at present frequenting it, with
+such a depth of water that, while I was at Cagliari, one of the largest
+steamships in the royal Sardinian navy lay alongside the quay.
+
+In the view from the gulf, the eye first rests on the upper town,
+surrounded with walls and towers, and crowning the summit of a hill
+upwards of 400 feet above the level of the sea. At the base of the
+heights lie the suburbs of the Marina, Stampace, and Villanova, the
+former occupying the space between the Castello, or Casteddu, as the
+whole circuit of the fortified town is called, and the port; and, with
+the two other suburbs, on the east and west of the Marina, forming one
+long continuous line of irregular buildings. In our _tableau_, the
+Casteddu towers proudly over the lower town, which has grown up beneath
+it since the Middle Ages. It still retains its original importance,
+containing all the principal public buildings, and being the residence
+of the government officials, and, in short, the aristocratic quarter.
+The best houses in the Marina are occupied by the foreign consuls and
+persons engaged in commerce, so that there is a marked distinction
+between the upper and lower parts of the city.
+
+Besides a strong citadel, there are, in the circuit of the
+fortifications three massive towers, called the Elephant, the Lion, and
+the Eagle, built by the Pisans; and the Castello is entered by four
+arched and embattled gateways. One of these was in the act of being
+demolished during my recent visit to Cagliari, in order to afford freer
+communication between the upper town and the Marina. Its removal seemed
+emblematic of an improving state of society, tending to level the
+barriers of caste, and engage the rising generation of the privileged
+orders in pursuits calculated as much for their own benefit as the
+development of the resources with which Sardinia abounds.
+
+Easy access to the Casteddu is gained by a circuitous avenue cut on the
+sloping side of the hill and under the escarped heights. Being planted
+with trees, it forms a pleasant walk, commanding extensive views of the
+Campidano, the distant mountains, and the Gulf of Cagliari. The direct
+ascent from the Marina is steep and toilsome, it being gained by a
+series of narrow avenues and flights of steps, landing in streets
+running parallel with that side of the Castello. These also are narrow
+as well as lofty, like those of most fortified places in the south of
+Europe. Here we find the best shops; and the thoroughfares have a busy
+appearance, except in the heat of the day, when most of the inhabitants
+indulge in the _siesta_.
+
+The cathedral, standing in the heart of the Castello, was built by the
+Pisans with part of the remains of a basilica founded by Constantine. It
+is on a grand scale, having three naves, and a presbytery ascended by
+several ranges of steps. The church is embellished with fine marbles,
+and the ornaments being rich, with some good pictures and grand
+monuments, the effect, on the whole, is striking. A crypt hewn out of
+the solid rock, under the presbytery, is regarded with great reverence
+by the Sardes, as containing the supposed remains of two hundred martyrs
+removed there from the church of St. Saturninus, in 1617.
+
+Among the fifty-two churches in the Castello and the suburbs, I will
+only mention that of St. Augustine, attached to which is the oratory
+built by himself during a short visit to the island. A story is told of
+one of the beams for the roof proving too short; upon which the saint,
+quoting to the workmen the text declaring that to those who have faith
+all things are possible, ordered them to pull at one end while he took
+the other, when, scarcely touching it, the beam stretched to the
+required length. St. Augustine's remains were transported here in 505,
+from Hippo-Regius, where he died, by the Catholic bishops exiled from
+Africa by Thrasamond, king of the Vandals.[94] The Chronicles inform us
+that these bishops, two hundred and twenty in number, were sustained by
+the benevolence of Pope Symmachus, a native of Sardinia, who sent them
+every year money and clothes. St. Augustine's relics remained at
+Cagliari till 722, when Luitprand, king of the Lombards, in consequence
+of the danger to which they were constantly exposed by the invasions of
+the Saracens, obtained them from the Cagliarese, and carrying them to
+Pavia deposited them in the duomo of that city, where they rested, till
+in 1842, these were restored to Hippo by the French.[95]
+
+The church of the Jesuits, at Cagliari, is described as distinguished
+among the others for the sumptuousness of its style, and its decorations
+of coloured marbles and columns. It was closed, with the adjoining
+college, at the time of my visit. The Jesuits formerly possessed large
+estates, and had colleges in several of the principal towns of the
+island. The whole were suppressed long ago; but in 1823, the late king,
+Carlo Felice, partially restored and re-endowed the order, some of the
+monks being re-established in the college of Cagliari. Of late years,
+there seems to have been a considerable reaction in the temper of the
+Sardes as regards religion, at least, in the towns. No people were more
+bigoted, more priest-ridden, more credulous of the absurdest
+superstitions. But in a conversation I recently had on the subject with
+a very intelligent and well-informed friend in the island, he assured me
+that the utmost laxity now prevails in the religious sentiments of the
+people. They have lost all respect for the clergy, calling them
+_bottégaie_, shopkeepers, as mindful only of the gains of their trade;
+and the churches _bottége_, shops. There is no vitality in the religion
+of the people, the services are a mere mummery, and the system is held
+together principally by the attractions of the popular _festas_, such as
+those described in a former chapter as scenes of bacchanalian revelry
+tricked out in the paraphernalia of religion. As for the Jesuits, the
+most obnoxious of the ecclesiastics, my friend stated, that the populace
+of Cagliari “burnt them out,” intending, I apprehend, to convey that
+they were violently expelled.
+
+In earlier visits to the Continent, and reflecting on the subject at
+home, the question had often occurred whether, with advancing
+intelligence, and growing aspirations for civil and religious liberty,
+the people of Catholic countries might not be drawn, in the course of
+events, to a movement similar to that of our own Reformation of the
+Church in the 16th century; the ruling powers, as then, taking the
+lead, and emancipating their States from the papal yoke. Thus, while
+abuses and gross doctrinal errors were reformed, the exterior frame of
+the establishment, its hierarchy, ceremonial, privileges and property
+would remain intact; the whole system being so arranged as to be brought
+into harmony with the action of government, and to meet the demands of
+an enlightened age. Why should there not be more reformed national and
+independent churches?
+
+In this view, when conversing with foreigners of intelligence, I have
+often pointed out the distinction between the Anglican Church and the
+“Evangelical” and other Protestant communities abroad. Such a reform
+would seem to be well suited to answer the wants of the kingdom of
+Sardinia in the present state of her relations with the Court of Rome.
+It would consolidate the fabric of the constitutional government; and we
+may conceive that the cabinet of Turin, and perhaps the king, are
+enlightened enough to be sensible of its advantages.
+
+But it may well be doubted whether the masses of the population, in
+either that or any other Catholic country, are ripe for such a
+revolution. In this age of reason, the dogmas which formed the war-cries
+of Luther and Calvin have lost their influence on the minds of men, and,
+except in some sections of the various religious communities, a general
+apathy on doctrinal subjects has succeeded the excitement with which the
+Reformation was ushered in. The tendency of the present age is in the
+direction of more sweeping reforms, and when the time comes, as no
+thoughtful man can doubt it will with growing intelligence, for the
+people of Europe to cast off the shackles of superstition and bigotry,
+it may be feared that things of more serious account than ecclesiastical
+systems and institutions may be swept away by the overwhelming tide so
+long pent up.
+
+Meanwhile, there appears little probability of any great change. The
+territorial distinctions between Catholic and Protestant States remain
+much the same as when they were shaped out in the time of the
+Reformation, and the wars succeeding it. Each party holds its own; and
+there is little probability of a national secession from the Church of
+Rome, even in the Sardinian dominions, where many circumstances concur
+to point out its expediency, and even its possibility. Among others, it
+will not be forgotten, that the standard of Protestantism was raised in
+the valleys of Savoy, ages before it floated triumphantly in the north
+of Europe.
+
+In 1841 there were 91 monasteries in Sardinia, containing 1093 regular
+monks, besides lay brothers, &c., and 16 convents with 260 nuns; the
+whole number of persons attached to these institutions being calculated
+at 8000. There are about the same number of secular clergy, including
+the bishops, dignitaries, and cathedral chapters, with the parochial
+clergy, the island being divided into 393 parishes. The population of
+Sardinia, by the last returns I was able to procure[96], was 541,907 in
+1850; so that one-ninth were ecclesiastics of one description or
+another. It should be stated, however, that most, if not all, the
+monasteries and convents have been lately suppressed, and the religious
+pensioned off, so that the system is dying out.
+
+The revenues of the bishops' sees, and the cathedral and parochial
+clergy, were calculated in 1841 at about 66,000_l._, arising from church
+lands, besides the tithes, estimated at 1,500,000 lire nove, or
+60,000_l._, supposed to be a low estimate, the tithes being worth one
+million of lire more. These revenues are exclusive of voluntary
+contributions, alms, offerings, and collections. The church lands
+contributed upwards of 3000_l._ annually as state subsidies, for the
+national debt, the maintaining roads and bridges, and the conveyance of
+the post. Mr. Tyndale estimates “the revenue of the see of Cagliari at
+from 60,000 to 80,000 scudi,—from 11,520_l._ to 15,360_l._ per annum;
+while that of the priests is about 1000 scudi, or 192_l._” This gives
+some idea of the incomes of the Sardinian clergy. I imagine that the
+government has not interfered with any part of the ecclesiastical
+revenues, except those attached to the monasteries.
+
+The fruit and vegetable markets of large foreign towns must always be
+attractive to a traveller, especially in the South and East, where the
+fruit, in great varieties, is so abundant, and he meets with vegetables
+unknown in the gardens and cookery of his own country. Not only so, but
+the dresses, and even the gestures and manners, of the country people,
+to say nothing of the dealings of the buyers, form a never-failing
+source of interest and amusement; while an additional zest is lent in a
+warm climate, by the freshness of the early hour at which the visit must
+be paid to be really enjoyed. The market at Cagliari is held in the
+suburb of Stampace, and approached by one of those avenues shaded with
+exotic trees, which make such agreeable promenades in the neighbourhood
+of the city. The principal supply comes from Pula, Arabus, and other
+villages at considerable distances from Cagliari; the soil in the
+vicinity being too arid to be productive. The supply appeared abundant,
+and of excellent quality. Among the fruits,—it was in the early part of
+September,—I noted grapes, figs, pears, oranges, lemons, citrons,
+peaches, melons, and prickly pears. Among the vegetables, the heaps of
+tomatas, chilis, and other condiments were surprising, and there were
+gigantic “_torzi_,” a kind of turnip-cabbage, and other varieties, whose
+names have escaped my memory.
+
+My visit to the Royal Museum was also paid at an early hour, through the
+kindness of Signor Cara, the Curator, who was so obliging as to show me
+also his cabinet of antiques at his private residence,—rich in cameos,
+intaglios, and scarabei of rare beauty. The Royal Museum occupies a
+suite of small apartments in the University. The collection owes great
+part of its objects of interest, and their good order and arrangement,
+to the indefatigable zeal and disinterested devotion of Signor Cara,
+whose appointments, and the allowance for purchasing objects, are not
+unworthy of a liberal government.
+
+The collection of Roman antiquities occupying the entrance-wall is very
+meagre, considering the many stations established in the island during
+the republic and empire. Besides two colossal consular statues, having
+an air of dignity, and with the toga well chiselled, there was little to
+observe but some Roman milestones, sarcophagi, and fragments of various
+kinds.
+
+ [Illustration: SARDO-ROMAN COIN.]
+
+The coins of the Roman period are numerous, but most of them of little
+value. One here figured is, however, unique; being, I imagine, the only
+coin known to have been struck in the island. Atius Balbus, whose name
+and bust appear on the face[97], was grandfather of the Emperor
+Augustus, and prefect of Sardinia about sixty years before Christ. The
+reverse represents a head wearing a singular cap, crowned by an ostrich
+plume; with a sceptre, and the words “Sardus Pater,” who is supposed to
+be the founder of Nora, the first town built in Sardinia, and of Libyan
+and Phœnician origin.[98]
+
+ [Illustration: CARTHAGINIAN COIN.]
+
+The cabinet also contains about 100 coins of the Carthaginian period.
+Many such are found in the island, but, as may be supposed, not in
+numbers equal to those which attest the long duration of the Roman
+power. While Captain Smyth was engaged in his survey of the coast, a
+farmer in the island of St. Pietro, successively a Greek, Carthaginian,
+and Roman station, passed his ploughshare over an amphora of
+Carthaginian brass coins, of which Captain Smyth purchased about 250.
+“They were,” he states, “with two exceptions, of the usual type:
+obverse, the head of Ceres; and reverse, a horse or palm-tree, or both.”
+Some presented to me by Carlo Rugiu, one of which is here figured, have
+a horse's head on one face, and the palm-tree with fruit, probably
+dates, on the other.
+
+There are specimens in the British Museum, but not so good as those
+given me by Signor Rugiu. The coins in the possession of Captain Smyth
+appear to have represented the horse in full detail, as he mentions the
+peculiarity of their having a Punic character between the horse's legs,
+differing in every one. It need hardly be observed how appropriate, on
+an African coin, were such devices as the date-palm of the desert, and
+the horse, emblematic of its fiery cavalry.
+
+ [Illustration: SARACEN COIN.]
+
+Some Saracenic coins are also found in the island, with Arabic
+characters both on the obverse and reverse. The one here represented was
+also given me by Carlo Rugiu, with some Roman coins, both silver and
+brass. We do not find that the Saracens ever effected any permanent
+settlement in Sardinia; which accounts for the comparatively small
+number of these coins discovered. The Saracen pirates who infested the
+coast from the time that St. Augustine's relics were rescued, in 722, to
+so late a period as 1815, were more likely to pillage the money of the
+inhabitants than to leave any of their own behind them.[99]
+
+The Terracotta collection in the Royal Museum exhibits about one
+thousand specimens of vases, &c. of Sardo-Phœnician, Carthaginian,
+Egyptian, and Roman fabric, similar to those preserved in the British
+Museum. In the natural-history department, the ornithological class is
+most complete, containing upwards of a thousand specimens of native and
+foreign birds, collected and prepared by Signor Cara, who has paid much
+attention to this branch of the science. Among the native objects of
+interest was the flamingo, frequenting, with other aquatic birds, in
+vast flocks, the lagunes in the neighbourhood of Cagliari, whither they
+resort during the autumn and winter, from the coast of Africa. The
+largest of these lakes, called the Scaffa, is six or seven miles long by
+three or four broad. Vast quantities of salt are procured from the
+salterns in the same neighbourhood and other parts of Sardinia, and it
+forms an important article of export, and of revenue. In conchology and
+mineralogy, the cabinet is rich both in foreign and native specimens;
+the minerals having been in great part collected by La Marmora, and
+arranged by him in 1835.
+
+The Phœnician remains are, in some respects, the most interesting part
+of the collection. Among them we find a block of sandstone, with a
+Phœnician inscription, discovered in 1774 at Pula, the ancient Nora, now
+a pleasant village embowered in orange groves and orchards, and crowned
+with palms, on the coast of the Gulf, about sixteen miles from Cagliari.
+Nora, it may be remembered, is stated by Greek writers to have been the
+first town founded by colonists in the island of Sardinia; and though
+the inscription on the stone has not been satisfactorily deciphered, it
+seems to be agreed that it records the arrival of “Sardus,” called
+“Pater,” at “Nora,” from “Tarshish,” in Libya.
+
+But the Sarde idols, already mentioned, form the unique feature in this
+collection. La Marmora enumerates 180 of these bronzes, the greater part
+of which are preserved in the museum at Cagliari, consisting principally
+of small images, varying from four to seventeen inches high, of
+irregular and often grotesque forms, and betraying a rude state of
+art.[100] They are considered miniatures of the large and original idols
+adored by the Canaanites and Syro-Phœnicians; and from their diminutive
+size may have been household gods. Mr. Tyndale conjectures that the
+“Teraphim” of Scripture were of the same class. There appears, however,
+no doubt that these bronzes, as well as the objects in Terracotta
+already mentioned, are of native manufacture. Thus, while the images
+appear to be the symbols of a religion peculiar to the inhabitants of
+Sardinia at a very early period, they bear a certain affinity to similar
+objects of worship in other countries, especially in Syria and Egypt; so
+that in Signor Cara's nomenclature these remains are denominated
+Sardo-Phœnician and Sardo-Egyptian. It is remarkable, however, that no
+corresponding relics have been found in those countries.
+
+There is a small collection of Sardinian antiquities in the British
+Museum, recently supplied by Signor Cara; but it does not contain, as
+might have been wished, any specimens of these singular images. They are
+accurately figured and described by La Marmora, and Mr. Tyndale has
+fully investigated their history and relations in his very valuable
+work. It would be out of place further to pursue the subject here,
+especially as we have already devoted a chapter to traces among the
+Sardes of the rites of Moloch and Adonis, in which two of these images
+are described. The subject is interesting both as connected with the
+Phœnician migrations, and as bringing to light symbols of that
+Canaanitish idolatry so frequently and emphatically denounced in the
+Sacred Writings.
+
+Returning to modern times, I do not find that I have anything of
+importance to add to my notices of the present state of Cagliari, except
+the introduction of the Electric Telegraph connecting it with the
+continents of Europe and Africa. Prom its having been the medium of
+communication between England and India during the recent crisis,
+Cagliari has acquired a notoriety to which it had previously few
+pretensions. Some account of the establishment of this Telegraph will be
+given in our concluding chapters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXXVII.
+
+ _Porto-Torres.—Another Italian Refugee.—Embark for Genoa.—West
+ Coast of Corsica.—Turin.—The Sardinian Electric Telegraph.—The
+ Wires laid to Cagliari._
+
+
+The preceding notices of Cagliari were gathered during a visit to
+Sardinia in the autumn of 1867; the “Rambles” in this island, detailed
+in preceding chapters, having been rather abruptly terminated, under
+circumstances already adverted to, without our being able to reach the
+capital. On that occasion we embarked for the continent at Porto-Torres,
+the origin and decay of which place is before incidentally mentioned.
+The neighbourhood abounds in remains of Roman antiquities; and at a
+short distance is the cathedral of St. Gavino, one of the oldest
+structures in Sardinia, having been founded in the eleventh century. The
+roof is covered with lead, and supported by antique columns dug up in
+the adjacent ruins. There also were found two marble sarcophagi,
+preserved in the church, on which figures of Apollo surrounded by the
+Muses are represented in high relief.
+
+Having to embark at an early hour, we were obliged to pass a night at
+Porto-Torres, notwithstanding its notoriety for a most pestiferous
+atmosphere, occasioned, as usual, by the exhalations from the marshy
+lowlands adjoining the coast. The impression was confirmed by the
+miserable aspect of the place, one long wide vacant street, in which, as
+we drove down it, the effects of the intemperie were stamped on the
+sickly faces of the few stragglers we met. We found, however, a roomy
+and decent hotel, and, after rambling about the neighbourhood, sat down
+to our usual evening tasks of writing and drawing. We were in light
+costume, and had thrown open the casements, for though the apartment was
+both lofty and spacious, the air felt insufferably close and stifling.
+Shortly afterwards, on the waiter coming in to lay the supper table, he
+stood aghast at our exposure to the night air, and precipitately dosed
+the casements, exclaiming, “Signore, it would have been death for you to
+have slept here in August or September; and, even now, the risk you are
+running is not slight.”
+
+This man was another of the Italian refugees, a Lombard; but of a very
+superior cast of character and intelligence to our _maître de cuisine_
+at Sassari. These qualities first opened out on his begging permission
+to examine my friend's drawings and some ancient coins which lay on the
+table; on both which he made remarks, showing that he was a person of
+education and taste. He had been an _avocat_ at Milan, and, compromised
+by the insurrection, “You see,” said he, “what I have been driven to,”
+throwing a napkin, over his shoulder with somewhat of a theatrical air.
+“But a good time is coming; meanwhile, not having much to do here, I
+employ my time as well as I can. You shall see my little library;”—and
+he brought in some volumes, mostly classical, the Odyssey, Euripides,
+Sophocles, Æschylus, and Cornelius Nepos. After awhile he pulled out of
+his bosom, with some mystery, for he was still professedly a catholic, a
+small copy of Diodati's Italian version of the New Testament. “This,” he
+said, with emphasis, “is my greatest consolation; I retire into the
+fields, and there I read it.” It was impossible not to commiserate the
+fate of Ignazio Mugio, the Lombard refugee. A very different character
+was old Pietro, the steam-boat agent. Groping our way with some
+difficulty up a gloomy staircase, in the dusk of the evening, we found
+him, spectacles on nose, poring over a gazette by a feeble oil lamp. The
+old man was so eager for news that it was difficult to fix him to the
+object of our inquiries; and then he expatiated on the attractions of
+the neighbourhood, and the “chasse magnifique de grèves,” as he called
+thrush-shooting, in the country round, if we came to Porto-Torres in the
+month of December. We laughed at the idea of such sport; but I think it
+is said that the thrushes, fattening on the olive berries, are very
+delicious.
+
+A considerable commerce, considerable for a Sardinian port, gives some
+life to this desolate place; facilitated by Porto-Torres being the
+northern terminus of the great national road running through Sassari,
+only nine miles distant. The principal exports are oil and wine. The
+little haven is defended by a strong tower, erected in 1549. We found
+moored in the port several Greek brigs, polaccas, and feluccas, with
+their long yards and pointed lateen sails; and the fine steam-boat
+which was to carry us to Genoa.
+
+ [Illustration: PORTO-TORRES.]
+
+The mountainous and nearly desert island of Asinara forms a fine object
+in running out of the gulf to which it gives its name, forming the
+north-western point; and the high lands of Corsica soon came once more
+in view. Our course lay along its western coast, the weather being
+favourable; but with a foul wind it is considered unsafe, and vessels
+run through the Straits of Bonifacio and coast the eastern side of the
+island. In the afternoon we were off the entrance of the Gulf of
+Ajaccio, and gazed from seaward on the Isles Sanguinaires, with the
+tower of the lighthouse, behind which the sun set on the pleasant
+evening when we took our view from the Chapel of the Greeks. Now,
+towards sunset, we were rapidly gliding along the shore of Isola Rossa,
+and the slanting rays glowing directly on the porphyritic cliffs gave a
+rich but mellow intensity to the ruddy hue whence they derive their
+name. Some of the boats stop at the town, a new erection by Pascal
+Paoli, and the seat of an increasing trade. Leaving it behind, we ran
+along the coast of Corsica with a fair wind, exultingly bounding
+homewards as, the breeze freshening, our boat sprung from wave to wave,
+dashing the spray from her bows. Farewell to Corsica! Her grey peaks and
+shaggy hill-sides are fast fading from our sight, in the growing
+obscurity. We pass Calvi, famous in Mediæval and Nelsonian annals, San
+Fiorenzo, on which we had looked down in our rambles on the
+chestnut-clad ridges of the Nebbio; and the mountain masses of the
+Capo-Corso, now loom like dark clouds on the eastern horizon. All beyond
+is a blank. Again we cross the Tuscan Sea in the depth of the night. We
+are on deck when rosy morning opens to our view the glories of the Bay
+of Genoa. At six we are moored in the harbour, and have to wait for the
+visit of the officer of health. At last we land, breakfast, and take the
+rail to Turin.
+
+At Turin we passed some hours very pleasantly at the British Minister's.
+We are indebted to Sir James Hudson for facilitating our excursion in
+Sardinia with more than official zeal and interest in its success. He
+knows the island well, having braved the inconveniences of rough
+travelling in its wildest districts. At his hotel we chanced to meet Mr.
+I. W. Brett, the promoter of a line of electric telegraph intended to
+connect the islands of Corsica and Sardinia with the European and
+African continents. A company had been formed to carry out this project,
+consisting principally of Italian shareholders, part of whose outlay was
+to be recouped, on the completion of the undertaking, by the Governments
+interested in its success—the French in regard to Corsica and Algeria,
+and the Piedmontese as far as concerns Sardinia.
+
+Starting from a point in the Gulf of Spezzia, the wires were to be
+carried by a submarine cable to the northern extremity of Capo-Corso;
+where landing they would be conveyed, through the island, partly by
+submarine channels, with a branch to Ajaccio, to its southern point near
+Bonifacio. Thence, submerged in a cable crossing the Straits, they would
+again touch the land at Capo Falcone, mentioned in these rambles as the
+nearest point in Sardinia; the distance being only about ten nautical
+miles. The wires were then to be conducted on posts, through the island
+of Sardinia, in a line, varying but slightly from our route, by Tempio
+and Sassari to Cagliari. From Cape Spartivento, or some point on the
+southern shore of Sardinia, a submarine cable was to be laid, the most
+arduous part of the whole undertaking, to the African coast; landing
+somewhere near Bona, a town on the western frontier of the French
+possessions in Algeria.
+
+Up to the point of the landing in Sardinia all was evidently plain
+sailing; but when we met Mr. Brett at Turin, on our return from
+Sardinia, in November, 1853, he was under some anxiety about the land
+line through the island; the mountainous character of the northern
+province of Gallura presenting obstacles to the operation of carrying
+the wires through it, and the lawless character of the inhabitants
+threatening their safety. On both these points we were able to reassure
+him; we had seen and heard enough of the brave mountaineers to feel
+convinced that there was no cause for apprehension of outrages connected
+with the undertaking. And my fellow-traveller, who belonged to the
+scientific branch of the army, had not passed through the country
+without making such observations as enabled him to satisfy Mr. Brett's
+inquiries respecting the line to be selected and its natural facilities.
+
+In the end, the wires were successfully stretched throughout the island
+from Capo Falcone to Cagliari, after surmounting, however, serious
+obstacles, though not of the sort previously apprehended. For the
+success of this operation the company are greatly indebted to the
+exertions of Mr. William S. Craig, H.B.M.'s Consul-General in Sardinia.
+Having neither any personal interest in the concern, nor official
+connection with a Company entirely foreign in its object and supporters,
+he devoted his time gratuitously to the furtherance of this branch of
+its operations, actuated only by a desire to promote an important public
+undertaking. The whole practical management of the work (I do not speak
+of engineering, little of which could be required) devolved on Mr.
+Craig; and with much self-sacrifice, he threw into it all that zeal and
+intelligence which, with universal goodwill, have acquired for him the
+high estimation in which he is generally held.
+
+I have before had occasion to mention the respect entertained for him by
+the mountaineers of Gallura, resulting from a former connection
+beneficial to parts of that district; and I feel convinced that his name
+and sanction better obviated any prejudices, and offered a broader
+shield for the protection of the wires from injury, than all the power
+of the Piedmontese officials, backed by squadrons of carabineers, could
+have done. Not only so, but Mr. Craig had less difficulty in making
+arrangements with the proprietors of the lands in the northern province
+than in the more civilised districts of the south, where, in some
+instances, the privileges required were reluctantly conceded as a mark
+of personal respect.
+
+It was on descending to the plains that the worst difficulties were
+encountered. Mr. Warre Tyndale states that during the construction of
+the great central road from Cagliari to Porto-Torres, which it took
+seven years to complete, more than half the engineers employed in the
+work died of the intemperie, or were obliged to retire from the effects
+of that fatal malady. This scourge swept off with no less virulence the
+workmen employed on the line of telegraph, and as the season advanced,
+cartloads after cartloads were carried to the hospitals, so that the
+works were stopped. Mr. Craig had to provide for all emergencies, the
+whole expenditure was managed by him, and this calamity added to his
+cares and responsibilities. But he persevered, and brought the
+operations to a successful end. Such valuable services merited a more
+liberal treatment than they received at the hands of those who
+gratuitously secured them. A body of English directors and shareholders
+would not have failed to mark their sense of the obligation conferred by
+some honorary acknowledgment. I have not heard of any such act of
+generosity on the part of the Sardo-French Company. It was a foreigner
+who remarked to me the _petitesses_ which pervaded the dealings of his
+countrymen. I imagine that the phrase would be found particularly
+applicable to the dealings of this company, if all its history were
+known.
+
+But we are anticipating occurrences. On our return from Sardinia, the
+operations of the Sardo-French Telegraph Company connected with the
+island were yet in embryo. The travellers who discussed the
+probabilities of success at Turin little thought that one of them would
+two years afterwards, towards the close of the Crimean war, be the Chief
+of the Staff employed in the organisation and superintendence of the
+military telegraph service in the East, having to inspect the laying
+down many hundred miles of submarine cable and wires in the Black Sea;
+or that it would be the fortune of the other to witness the final
+accomplishment of the long-delayed and frustrated hopes of the
+Sardo-French Company, by being present at the laying down of the
+submarine Mediterranean cable between Cagliari and Bona on the coast of
+Algeria. But so it turned out; and the completion of this undertaking
+being an event in Sardinian history, considered by no less an authority
+than General Della Marmora to have an important bearing on the
+commercial prospects of the island,—and the operation of successfully
+submerging telegraph cables in very deep water, in oceans or seas, being
+both new and possessing considerable interest,—a short account by an
+eyewitness of the occurrences attending the laying down the African
+cable may prove both amusing and instructive. It will form an
+appropriate episode to the Sardinian Rambles, and in that view an
+additional chapter will be devoted to it.
+
+For the rest, it only remains briefly to close the “Rambles” of 1853.
+Our visit at Turin reopened Sardinian interests; but after that, the
+best thing to be done was to hasten homewards before the inclemency of
+the season should retard our progress. Still, the snow fell heavily as
+we walked over the summit of the pass of the Mont-Cenis, preceding the
+diligence in which we had travelled all night. The railway had not then
+been extended from Turin to Suza on one side of the Alps, nor, on the
+other, beyond Châlons sur Saône, between Lyons and Paris; so that,
+travelling by diligence, we were three nights and two days on the road
+to Paris. Both the French and Italian lines of railway have been much
+advanced since the period of our journey. To complete the line, it
+remains only that the gigantic undertaking of tunnelling the chain of
+the Alps be successfully executed. Allowing ourselves the refreshment of
+spending a day in Paris, we reached London in the evening of the 17th of
+November.
+
+
+
+
+CHAP. XXXVIII.
+
+ _Sardinian Electric Telegraph.—The Land Line completed.—Failures
+ in Attempts to lay a Submarine Cable to Algeria.—The Work
+ resumed.—A Trip to Bona on the African Coast.—The Cable
+ laid.—Cagliari an Important Telegraph Station.—Its
+ Commerce.—The return Voyage.—CONCLUSION._
+
+
+After completing the land line of telegraph, as already mentioned, the
+Sardinian Company[101] failed in three attempts at laying a submarine
+cable to connect the wires from Cagliari with the coast of Algeria. We
+will not here enter into an inquiry as to the causes of these disasters,
+instructive as it might be if we had space, and this were a fitting
+opportunity. Suffice it to say that the first experiment failed soon
+after leaving Cape Spartivento; on the second, the line was laid for
+about two-thirds of the course, but with such a profuse expenditure of
+the submarine cable that it was run out, and the enterprise abruptly
+terminated. A third attempt to renew the operation proved equally
+unsuccessful.
+
+The project received a severe check from these repeated failures. The
+company had established their line, by sea and land, as far as Cagliari.
+So far, well: the communications of the respective Governments with
+their islands of Corsica and Sardinia were complete. Incidentally, also,
+England derived some advantage from the stations at Cagliari during the
+most anxious period of the crisis in Indian affairs. It was one step in
+advance towards telegraphic communications with India, though a short
+one. But the main object of the French Government in promoting the
+enterprise was to link its connection with Algeria by the electric
+wires; and till that was accomplished, the Company had no claim to be
+reimbursed for that portion of their expenditure guaranteed in the event
+of success.
+
+One may imagine the dismay of the shareholders, mostly Italians, in this
+state of affairs. Their capital must have been greatly, if not
+altogether, exhausted by the expenditure on previous works and the
+abortive attempts at laying the African cable. It was now only, in all
+probability, that they became seriously alive to the difficulties of the
+undertaking, and the immense risks that must be incurred in laying
+submarine cables in great depths of water. For it was now known that the
+depth of the Mediterranean in many parts crossed by the track of
+submarine cables, is no less than that through which the Transatlantic
+cable has to be laid.
+
+The prosecution of the scheme was suspended; but meanwhile time was
+running on, and the period fixed for completing the line had nearly
+expired. In this event, the government guarantee being forfeited, the
+concern would become a ruinous affair, as the telegraph traffic of two
+small islands could not be remunerative for the capital expended in
+connecting them with the continent. A short extension of the term for
+completing the undertaking had been obtained; but that was nearly run
+out before matters were put in a better train.
+
+In this emergency, Mr. Brett, the _gérant_ of the foreign company, who
+had contracted for and personally superintended the previous attempts to
+lay the African cable, entered into negotiations for its being
+undertaken by Messrs. Newall and Co. They had an established reputation,
+not only as having long been manufacturers of submarine electric cables,
+the quality of which had been tested by continuous service, but as
+having, under contracts with the English Government, laid down between
+five and six hundred miles of cable in the Black Sea during the Crimean
+war, without a single mishap. They were, therefore, not mere theorists;
+having acquired by long experience a practical knowledge of submarine
+telegraphy which had not fallen to the lot of any others who had turned
+their attention to that branch of the science.
+
+The overtures made on the part of the Sardo-French Company having been
+favourably received in the course, I believe, of the summer of 1857,
+Messrs. Newall and Co., nothing daunted by the previous failures, though
+doubtless fully aware of the difficulties they had to encounter, agreed
+to lay the African cable for a given sum, taking all risks on
+themselves. When it is understood that, about the same time, they also
+contracted with the “Mediterranean Extension Company,” on like terms as
+to responsibility, to lay down submarine cables between Cagliari and
+Malta, and from Malta to Corfu, extending over 795 nautical miles, and
+making, with the African cable, a total of 920 miles, some idea may be
+formed of the magnitude of the operations undertaken by a single firm.
+The mileage is more than one third of the distance embraced in the
+scheme of the great Transatlantic Company; and, as we find that the
+Mediterranean has its deep hollows as well as the Atlantic, the
+difficulties were proportionate.
+
+Having entered into these engagements, Messrs. Newall and Co., after
+completing their contract for one half, 1250 miles, of the Transatlantic
+cable, lost no time in proceeding with the manufacture of the
+Mediterranean cables at their works in Birkenhead. Towards the end of
+August, the African cable, with some portion of the Malta cable, was
+shipped in the Mersey aboard their steamship Elba, the vessel before
+employed in laying down the cable between Varna and Constantinople. It
+should be mentioned that the African cable contained four wires, so that
+it was more ponderous and less flexible than the Atlantic cable, which
+has only one.
+
+About this time, the writer happened to hear what was going on. Being
+then engaged in preparing these Sardinian “Rambles” for the press, he
+was desirous to make another trip to the island before their
+publication; and, besides the connection of the Cagliari line of
+telegraphs with the objects of his work, other circumstances had made
+him generally interested in the subject of submarine telegraphy. He
+therefore requested Mr. R.S. Newall's permission for his joining the
+expedition, which was kindly granted.
+
+With this preliminary statement, we proceed at once to the scene of
+action. At the last moment it had been decided, for reasons with which I
+am unacquainted, but, I believe, on the suggestion of the foreign
+Governments interested in the project, to start from the African coast,
+instead of from Cagliari; Cape de Garde, a few miles eastward of Bona, a
+town on the Tunisian frontier of the French possessions in Algeria,
+being selected as the point at or near which the submarine cable was to
+be submerged. The Elba, with the cable on board, anchored off Bona on
+Saturday, the 5th of September. Three war-steamships, appointed by the
+foreign Governments to attend and assist in the operations, had arrived
+some days before, and lay at anchor in the haven of Cazerain. The little
+squadron consisted of the Brandon, a large frigate under the French
+flag, with the Monzambano and the Ichnusa, both belonging to the royal
+Sardinian navy; and on board were the Commissioners appointed by the
+respective Governments to watch the operations.
+
+It blew hard after the Elba's arrival, and the ships being detained in
+harbour, waiting for a favourable wind, opportunities offered of landing
+at Bona, and making some excursions into the surrounding country. The
+old Arab town rises from the sea in the form of an amphitheatre, and you
+see its high embattled walls running up the hill-side and embracing in
+its enceinte the citadel, or Casbah, crowning the heights; the whole
+backed by the towering summits and shaggy slopes of the chain of Mount
+Edough. Within is a labyrinth of narrow streets; that leading direct
+from the port crossing a steep ridge to the Place d'Armes, a square with
+a fountain in the centre, overhung with palms and other exotics, and
+where French architecture is singularly mixed with the Moorish style. On
+one side stands a mosque, with its tall minaret; on the other, range
+cafés and restaurants, and magazins de mode, with their lofty fronts,
+arcades, and balconies. We linger for a moment on the spectacle offered
+by the various populations which crowd the square from morn to eve, and
+most after nightfall; a motley crowd of Arabs, Moors, Zouaves,
+Chasseurs, Jews, and Maltese. In the picturesque contrast of costume it
+presents, the gayest French uniforms possess no attractions compared
+with the white and flowing bournous, with even the sheepskin mantle of
+the poor Arab of the desert, the bright braided caftan of the Moor, the
+turban, and the fez. But the limits assigned to this work being already
+exceeded, I may not allow myself to dwell on the numberless objects
+which attract the attention of a curious traveller, in scenes where the
+modes and forms of Oriental life are singularly blended with those that
+bear the freshest European stamp.
+
+Nor is this the place for more than noting an excursion to the
+picturesque ruins of Hippona, the old Roman city, the Hippo-Regius,
+where the great St. Augustine laboured in the African episcopate, and
+ended his days during the sufferings of Genseric's siege. They stand on
+a hillock facing the sea, now covered with thickets of wild olive trees
+and fragments of the buildings. What a plain is that you see from the
+summit, stretching away in all directions, a vast expanse of grassy
+meadows on the banks of the river Seybouse; parched indeed now by the
+torrid heat of an African summer, but of rich verdure after the rains!
+What prodigious ricks of hay we observe at the French cavalry barracks,
+as we ride along! What growth of vegetables in the irrigated gardens of
+the industrious, but turbulent, Maltese! Surely, but for the French
+inaptitude to colonisation, this part of Algeria, at least, might be
+turned to good account.
+
+Changing the scene for a moment from the sultry plains, we may just note
+another excursion, which led to the summit of the pass crossing the
+chain of Mount Edough. At the top we look westward over a sea of
+mountains, towards and beyond Constantine, the strongholds of the
+indomitable Kabyles. Turning homewards, we slowly descend the winding
+road, among slopes covered with a coarser _maquis_—still more fitted to
+endure the drought—than the evergreen thickets of Corsica and Sardinia;
+the dwarf palm, _chamærops humilis_, most prevailing. Bona, with its
+walls and terraces and the Casbah and the minarets, rising above a grove
+of orchards and gardens, now makes a pleasing picture. Beyond, in the
+still water of the haven, our little fleet lies at anchor, with the
+French guardship; outside, the blue Mediterranean is now very gently
+rippled by the evening breeze.
+
+We are recalled to the ships, and hasten on board, for the wind having
+changed, with a promise of fair weather, it is decided to commence
+operations. The point selected for landing the shore-end of the cable
+was a sandy cove, a little to the eastward of Cape de Garde, or as it is
+otherwise called Cap Rouge, a literal translation of _Ras-el-Hamrah_,
+the name given it by the natives. There is an easy ascent from the cove
+to Fort Génois, about half a mile distant. The fort, a white square
+building at the edge of the cliffs, said to have been built by the
+Genoese to protect their coral fisheries on this coast, was convenient
+for establishing a temporary telegraph station, wires being run up to it
+from the end of the submarine cable.
+
+It was a lovely morning, the sun bright in a cloudless sky and the blue
+Mediterranean calm as a lake, when the little squadron having got up
+steam, ran along the shore, and successively anchored in the cove. There
+floated, in happy union, the flags of the three allied Powers recently
+engaged in very different operations: and the ships, with their boats
+passing and repassing, formed a lively scene contrasted with that desert
+shore, on the rocks of which a solitary Arab stood watching proceedings
+so strange to him.
+
+The Elba's stern having been brought round to the land, the ship was
+moored within cable's length of the sandy beach; but the operation of
+landing the submarine cable was delayed in consequence of the neglect of
+the Sardinian company's agents, whose duty it was to have the land-line
+of telegraph wires ready to communicate with Port Génois. This occupied
+the whole day, and I took advantage of it, landing in one of the first
+boats, to make a long ramble, visiting, in the course of it, Fort
+Génois, an encampment of Arabs at some distance in the interior, and
+climbing to the lighthouse on Cape de Garde, commanding, as may be
+imagined, magnificent views. It was a toilsome march, over rocks and
+sands, and through prickly thickets, in the full blaze of an African sun
+at noontide; but the excursion was full of interest, and not without its
+trifling adventures.
+
+The shore works were not completed till sunset, when, all the boats
+being recalled to the ships, they got under weigh, the Monzambano towing
+the Elba, with the Ichnusa ahead, and the Brandon on her larboard bow.
+The engineers began paying out the cable at eight o'clock, proceeding at
+first slowly, as the night was dark, and being desirous to try
+cautiously the working of the machinery. As the water deepened, the
+cable ran out fast, and the speed was increased, so that by midnight we
+had run about seventeen miles, with a loss in slack, it was reckoned up
+to that time, of under twenty per cent, of cable, compared with the
+distance run.
+
+Few, I imagine, aboard the Elba got much sleep that night. The very idea
+of sleep was precluded by the incessant roar of the cable, rushing, like
+a mighty cataract, through the iron channels confining its course over
+the deck, while the measured strokes of the steam-engine beat time to
+the roar. Having laid down for two hours, I gave up my cabin to one of
+our numerous guests; for the French and Italian commissioners being now
+on board the Elba, besides Mr. Werner Siemens and his staff of German
+telegraphists, her accommodations were fully tried; and as for
+languages, she was a floating Babel. Coming on deck at twelve o'clock,
+the lighthouse on Cape de Garde was still visible. The attendant ships
+carried bright lanterns at their mastheads, sometimes throwing up signal
+rockets; and so the convoy swept steadily on through the darkness, the
+Elba still following in the wake of the Monzambano. Mr. Newall and Mr.
+C. Liddell, who directed the whole operations, never quitted their post
+at the break. The telegraphists, from their station amidship, tested the
+insulation from time to time, speaking to the station at Port Génois.
+Looking down into the mainhold, which was well lighted up, you saw the
+men cutting the lashings to release the cable, as, gradually unfolding
+its serpentine coils from the cone in the centre, it was dragged rapidly
+upwards by the strain of its vast weight, and rushed through the rings
+to the vessel's stern. There the speed was moderated, before it plunged
+from the taffrail into the depths beneath, by the slow revolutions of a
+large wheel, round which the cable took several turns.
+
+As day broke and the sun rose magnificently over the Mediterranean,
+Galita Island came in sight, distant from thirty to forty miles to the
+eastward; the high lands of Africa being still visible. With the sea
+perfectly calm, all augured well for the success of the enterprise,
+except that serious apprehensions were entertained lest the cable,
+paying out so fast in the great depth of water we were now
+crossing,—1500 fathoms,—might not hold out to reach the land. Thus we
+ran on all the morning, the vessel's speed being increased to between
+five and six knots per hour, and the strain on the cable to five tons
+per mile; the depth ranging from 1500 to 1700 fathoms.
+
+Towards the afternoon the land of Sardinia was in sight between fifty
+and sixty miles ahead, our course being steered towards Cape Teulada,
+the extreme southern point of the island. By sunset we had reached
+within twelve miles of the shore, and angles having been carefully taken
+to fix our exact position, we anchored in eighty fathoms water. Soon
+afterwards the attendant ships closed in, and anchored near us for the
+night. The little squadron, well lighted, formed a cheerful group, the
+sea was smooth as a mill-pond, and the mountains of Sardinia, after
+reflecting the last rays of the setting sun, loomed heavily in the
+growing twilight. All hands on board the Elba were glad of rest after
+thirty-six hours of incessant toil.
+
+In the morning, as we had run out the whole of our cable proper, a piece
+of the Malta cable was spliced on, with some smaller coils also on
+board. Meanwhile, the Ichnusa had gone ahead at daybreak to take
+soundings, and when all was ready we began paying out the cable, being
+then, as already stated, about twelve miles from the land. All went on
+smoothly, and there was scarcely any loss of cable by slack. The eye
+turned naturally, again and again, from anxiously counting the
+lessening coils in the hold to measure our decreasing distance from the
+shore, as its hold features and indentations became hourly more
+distinct. Cape Teulada stood right ahead, a bold headland, with peaked
+summits 900 feet high. It forms the eastern point of the Gulf of Palmas,
+and has a long face of precipitous cliffs towards the sea. To the west
+of this deep inlet appeared the rocky islands of San Antioco and San
+Pietro, with cliffs of volcanic formation; and the Toro rock stood out a
+bold insulated object, 500 or 600 feet high, marking the entrance of the
+Gulf of Palmas, a spacious bay offering excellent anchorage.
+
+We had run ten miles towards a beach under the cliffs, a little to the
+eastward of Cape Teulada, when the small cable, now in course of being
+paid out, suddenly parted. The mishap occurred about a mile and a half
+from the shore, in forty fathoms water, with a sandy bottom. It was
+provoking enough to have our expectations baulked, when holding on for
+another half hour we should have succeeded in bringing the cable to
+land; but, for our comfort, the main difficulties of the enterprise were
+overcome. The African cable had been securely laid in the greatest
+depths of the Mediterranean, and the shore-end of the line could be
+easily recovered in the shallow water. The only question was, whether it
+should be immediately effected; but for this the weather had become very
+unfavourable. The wind had been blowing strong from the south-east all
+the morning; and a gust of it caught the Elba's stern, and canted it
+suddenly round, when the small cable snapped like a packthread. Rather a
+heavy sea was now running, and, on the whole, it was thought advisable
+to defer the concluding operations until an entirely new end to the
+cable could be procured from England.
+
+For this purpose, and at the same time to bring out the Malta cable, the
+Elba was despatched homeward a few hours after the accident happened.
+Fresh angles having been carefully secured, nothing remained but to take
+leave of our friends before the squadron parted,—the Brandon for the
+Levant, and the Sardinian frigates for ports in the island. While all
+belonging to the Elba considered that the submersion of a cable between
+Algeria and the coast of Sardinia was virtually a _fait accompli_, it
+was almost painful to witness the dismay of the Italians, at the mishap
+which had occurred to cloud their anticipations. It was evident that
+they entirely distrusted all assurances of the contractors' ability to
+recover the end of the cable, and perfect the line. Their fears were
+groundless; within a few weeks the new coil was brought from England,
+and the end of the submerged cable having been grappled at the first
+haul, the work was completed without any difficulty. Messrs. Newall and
+Liddell immediately proceeded to lay down the Cagliari and Malta, and
+the Malta and Corfu cable, 375 and 420 miles respectively; both which
+they effected with entire success in the months of November and December
+following, with a very small average waste of cable over the distance,
+and in depths equally great with those in which the African line was
+laid.
+
+My own object now being to reach Cagliari, the commander of the
+Monzambano was kind enough to give me a passage in his fine frigate. I
+got on board just as the officers and their guests were sitting down to
+dinner under an awning on the deck. Among them was the old General Della
+Marmora, whose love of science and devotion to the interests of
+Sardinia had induced him, though suffering from bad health, to make the
+voyage for the purpose of witnessing the important experiment. I found
+that he did not share in the apprehensions of the Italian shareholders
+on board as to the loss of the cable. The General had long cherished the
+idea that the ports of Sardinia, and especially Cagliari, are destined
+to partake largely of the commercial advantages resulting from a variety
+of recent events. In a little work, already referred to, which he was
+kind enough to give me[102], he points out the fine position of
+Cagliari, its spacious gulf, with good anchorage, open to the south, and
+in the highway of all ships navigating the Mediterranean between the
+Straits of Gibraltar, the Levant, and the Black Sea. A glance at the
+map, he truly observes, will show no other port, either on the coast of
+northern Africa, in Sicily, or the south of Italy, which can be its
+rival. Malta alone competes with it both in position and as a harbour;
+but he justly asks,—“Can a barren rock like Malta be compared, in a
+commercial point of view, with an island of such extent, and possessing
+so many natural resources, as Sardinia?”
+
+The General also points out the advantages offered by the electric
+telegraph station at Cagliari to masters of ships bound to the
+Mediterranean, the Levant, and the Black Sea, from the ports of Northern
+Europe, or, _vice versâ_, to those coming from the eastward, to induce
+them to touch at Cagliari. After, perhaps, long and wearisome voyages,
+they will find, he observes, in their very track, in the heart of the
+Mediterranean, the means of correspondence, in a few hours, with their
+families and their owners, receiving news and instructions from home.
+These facilities he considers of inestimable value; and it strikes us
+that the area included in the General's observations will be much
+extended when the electric wires are carried across the Atlantic, and
+that American ships are more likely to avail themselves of the
+advantages offered than those of any other nation.
+
+Without sharing the sanguine anticipations of the excellent General La
+Marmora as to the speedy regeneration of Sardinia, and the development
+of her natural resources, undoubtedly great as they are, the remark may
+be allowed, that it would be a singular and happy event if this island,
+which appears to have been one of the first, if not the first, station
+of the earliest maritime people, in their advance towards Western
+Europe, should, now that the tide of civilisation, so long flowing from
+the East, has evidently taken a reflex course, become again that centre
+of commercial intercourse for which its geographical position so well
+fits it.
+
+Towards evening, the Monzambano was running along the iron-bound coast
+terminating with Cape Spartivento, the western headland of the Gulf of
+Cagliari. I know not whether it was from the position of the ruins, or
+the hazy state of the atmosphere, night coming on, that I failed to make
+out some Cyclopean vestiges mentioned by Captain Smyth—Mr. Tyndale says
+they are a large Nuraghe—as standing on one of the most remarkable
+summits, at an elevation of upwards of 1000 feet, and called by the
+peasants, “The Giants' Tower.” “This structure,” observes Captain Smyth,
+“situated amongst bare cliffs, wild ravines, and desolate grounds,
+appeared a ruin of art amidst a ruin of nature, and imparted to the
+scene inexpressible grandeur.” During our passage we had a stormy sky
+and a strong head-wind, the sun setting gorgeously among masses of
+purple and orange clouds. There was nothing to relieve the barren aspect
+of this desert coast but the grey watch-towers from point to point,
+similar to those we saw on the coasts of Corsica; and, having paced for
+an hour the frigate's long flush deck, I was glad to turn-in early, and
+enjoy the comforts of a state cabin after the fatigues and watches of
+the two preceding days and nights.
+
+The contrary wind retarded our progress, and it was not till after
+daylight that, approaching the harbour of Cagliari, I enjoyed the fine
+view, described in a former chapter, of the city, stretching a long line
+of suburbs at the base of the heights crowned by the Casteddu, with its
+towers and domes. The frigate entering the port was moored alongside the
+government wharf; from which may be inferred the depth of water, and the
+class of vessels the port is capable of receiving. It now contained only
+about twenty ships, one only of which, a brig, was under the English
+flag. The rest were of small burthen, and mostly Genoese and French.
+General La Marmora states, in the Memoir before quoted, that “since the
+crosses of Savoy and of Genoa have been united in the same flag,” the
+Genoese have turned much attention to the trade of Sardinia; and that a
+company was forming for the improvement of the port of Cagliari, in
+order to draw to it some part of the corn trade of the Black Sea. Thus
+the ancient granary of Rome might become the emporium of the trade in
+corn for Italy and Southern France, and even for Africa; the General
+observing, with what reason there may be some doubt, that, while only
+two voyages can be made between the ports of those countries and the
+Black Sea, three, or even four such, could be accomplished from
+Cagliari.
+
+It is to be regretted that I did not obtain the latest statistics of the
+commerce of Sardinia, and the port of Cagliari in particular, from our
+very intelligent Consul, Mr. Craig; recollecting only his having
+mentioned that coal is the principal import from England;—France and
+Genoa, I conclude, supplying manufactured articles and colonial produce.
+Salt, he said, was the chief export, great part of it being shipped to
+Newfoundland and Labrador.
+
+I cannot mention Mr. Craig, for the last time in these pages, without an
+acknowledgment of the many kind offices for which I am indebted to him
+during the present and preceding visits to Sardinia, nor can I easily
+forget the pleasure enjoyed in his amiable family circle. Hours so spent
+in a foreign country have a double charm; for in such agreeable society
+the traveller breathes the atmosphere, and is restored to the habits, of
+his cherished home. I have no reason to think that Mr. Craig's long and
+valuable services are not duly appreciated by his Government; but it
+might be wished that, in any re-arrangement of the consular service,
+they be taken into consideration. It is a sort of honourable exile for a
+man to spend sixteen years of his life on a foreign service, with a
+family growing up, who enjoy very rare opportunities of conversing with
+any of their own countrymen, and still less of their countrywomen, in
+their mother tongue. I take some liberty in venturing to offer these
+wholly unauthorized remarks on a subject of some delicacy; and only wish
+I could flatter myself they have any chance of reaching influential
+quarters, and not being forgotten. Mr. Craig's position, respected and
+esteemed as he long has been, is eligible in many respects; but it might
+perhaps be improved.
+
+At the Consul-General's I again met some of the officers of the Ichnusa,
+to whom, as well as to Boyl commanding the Monzambano, I wish to offer
+my acknowledgments for many civilities. Lieutenant Baudini, of the
+Ichnusa and other Sardinian officers who understand English, may chance
+to peruse this page, and will interpret my sentiments to their brother
+officers. Commandant Boyl was kind enough to give me a passage to Genoa,
+being under orders for that port. We had a pleasant run, the style of
+living on board the Monzambano being excellent, the society agreeable,
+and enjoying magnificent weather. I have before observed that the
+officers of the Sardinian navy are intelligent and gentlemanly, and
+appear to be well up to their profession. The crews are smart, and every
+thing aboard the ship was in the highest order and conducted with
+perfect discipline.
+
+Steaming close in-shore along the eastern coast of Sardinia, remarkable
+principally for its bold and sterile character, there was a striking
+contrast in the appearance of the same coast of Corsica, which came in
+sight after crossing the mouth of the Straits of Bonifacio. This was
+comparatively verdant, not only as regards the fertile plains of the
+_littorale_, described in an early chapter, but, even where the mountain
+ranges approached the Mediterranean south of these extensive plains, the
+sterile aspect of their towering summits and precipitous cliffs was
+often relieved by immense forests encircling their bases, while every
+hillside and slope to the valleys appeared densely clothed with the
+evergreen _macchia_, for which Corsica is so remarkable.
+
+Part of this coast was already well known to the homeward bound
+traveller: again he caught sight of the bold outlines of Elba and Monte
+Cristo, rising out of the Tuscan sea; again, as on the first evening of
+these rambles, the white terraces of Bastia reflected the rays of the
+setting sun. Soon afterwards the mountain ranges of Capo-Corso were
+veiled in darkness, and, as we ran along the shore nothing was visible
+but the twinkling lights of the fishermen's huts in the little
+_marinas_, to bring to mind those features which had so fascinated us on
+our first approach to the island.
+
+Again, farewell to Corsica! Farewell to the twin islands which, like
+emeralds set in an enamelled vase, deck the centre of the great
+Mediterranean bason, embraced by the coasts of Italy, France, and
+Spain,—radiant points midway to Africa, in the great highway to the
+East, and partaking the varied character of all these climes. It had
+been my fortune not only to ramble through these islands from north to
+south, but, in different voyages, to sail round the entire coasts of
+both, except some part of the west of Sardinia. I can only wish that
+these pages more adequately represented the impressions made under the
+opportunities thus enjoyed.
+
+It was again my fortune to approach the lovely bay of Genoa with the
+earliest morning light; and, taking leave of my good friends on board
+the Monzambano, I landed before breakfast. To vary the route homeward,
+instead of crossing the Mont-Cenis, as had been done in frost and snow
+at a late season of the year in the former tour, I enjoyed the enviable
+contrast of journeying along the _Riviera di Ponente_ from Genoa to
+Nice,—that exquisite strip of country between the Apennines and the
+Mediterranean, studded with orchards, orange groves, vineyards, and
+gardens; with towns, towers, churches, and convents, nestled in the
+groves, washed by the sea, or perched high on rocky pinnacles; and all
+this encircling the lovely Bay of Genoa, the road being carried _en
+corniche_ along its winding shores and round its jutting points. Of this
+exquisite scenery no description of mine could convey any adequate idea
+to those who have not seen it, and those who have will need little
+memento to bring its varied features to their recollection.
+
+Farewell, a long farewell to, perhaps, the loveliest strip of country in
+the bright South! The Neapolitan proverb may be applied with equal
+justice to the Ligurian, as to the fair Campanian, coast,—_vedere e pói
+morire_,—a fitting motto wherewith to conclude the tale of an old man's
+wanderings.
+
+Pursuing the journey from Nice to Marseilles, in heat and in dust, the
+express train, by Lyons and Paris, conveyed the Rambler to Calais in
+about thirty hours, and six more landed him in London.
+
+
+ THE END
+
+
+ LONDON:
+ PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO.
+ NEW-STREET SQUARE.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Dei Costumi dell'Isola di Sardegna, comparate cogli antichissimi
+Popoli Orientali, par Antonio Bresciani. D.C.D.G. Napoli, 1850._
+
+[2] Πολλῶν δ' ἀνθροπῶν ἲδεν ἂσεα—καὶ νὰον ἐγνῶ. Od. i. 3.
+
+[3] _Lamartine_. See THE ISLAND EMPIRE, dedicated to Lord Holland.
+Bosworth, 1855.
+
+[4] In the same way, Ordericus Vitalis represents William the Conqueror
+to have said in his last moments, when reviewing his life, that he
+fought against Harold (meaning what English historians call the Battle
+of Hastings—a name never given to that battle by the Normans) _in
+Epitumo_ (query _Epithymo?_), a word only found in the work of
+Ordericus; referring, probably, as his editor remarks, “to the
+odoriferous plants found on heaths.”—_Forester's Ordericus Vitalis_,
+Bohn's Edition, vol. ii. p. 412.
+
+[5] _Benson's Corsica_, p. 81.
+
+[6] The following biographical sketch is compiled from the works of
+Boswell and Benson, and the compendious _Histoire de la Corse_, by M.
+Camille Friess.
+
+[7] This appears from the Report of a Committee on the Public Safety
+made to the Council General of the Department of Corsica in 1851. It
+says: “La société et l'innocence doivent trouver dans la loi une égale
+protection; mais l'avantage ne doit pas rester au crime.
+
+“Les acquittements multipliés, et souvent scandaleux, n'ont que trop
+démontré que notre législation actuelle renferme trop de chances pour
+l'impunité, et ne présente pas toutes les garanties que la société est
+en droit de reclamer pour la répression des crimes.
+
+“Elle a pensé qu'en ce qui touche les proportions de la majorité,
+_l'institution du jury devrait être modifiée_.”
+
+The proposition was rejected, on the principle which operated when the
+difficulty of obtaining convictions in Ireland raised a similar
+question; namely, that such an exceptional measure was inexpedient.
+
+“En ce qui touche l'organisation du jury, le Conseil a pensé que cette
+proposition ne pouvait être faite que dans un intérêt général pour la
+France, et qu'en lui donnant un caractère spécial pour la Corse, elle
+resemblerait trop à une mesure d'exception que le Conseil repousse.”
+
+[8] “With all the outrages,” continues Mr. Benson, “of which Galluchio
+and his followers are guilty, he is by no means void of moral feeling,
+and is quite a polished character when he enters private society, as I
+learnt from a French gentleman who had met him at breakfast at the house
+of a mutual acquaintance. My friend, when he found himself in such
+company, naturally betrayed a little alarm, but Galluchio reassured him,
+saying, ‘You and yours have nothing to fear at my hands.’
+
+“I am really afraid to extract from my notes many of the wild adventures
+of this Corsican Rob Roy. Not long since, a shepherd, personating him,
+violated a female peasant. The chieftain soon obtained information of
+the gross outrage that had been committed on his character; and finding
+the shepherd, took him before the mayor of Bagniola, and this at a time
+when Galluchio had six sentences of death hanging over him. At the
+chieftain's instigation, the shepherd was compelled to espouse the poor
+girl. Galluchio, after the marriage had been solemnised, said to the
+shepherd, ‘Remember that you make a good husband. I shall keep a
+watchful eye over your conduct; and should I hear that your wife
+receives any maltreatment from you, yourself and your family shall pay
+with their lives for your misconduct.’ The man little attended to
+Galluchio's warning. The chieftain adhered to his threat, and the
+shepherd, with his father and several other members of the same family,
+fell victims.”—_Benson's Sketches in Corsica_, pp. 23-25.
+
+[9] _Corsica, by F. Gregorovius._ Chap. x. p. 149. of the translation
+published by Longman & Co.
+
+[10] _Novelle Storiche Corse, di F.O. Renucci._ Bastia, 1838.
+
+[11] _Novella VIII. L'Amore e la Religion._ Renucci, p. 43.
+
+[12] Marmocchi. _Géographie Politique de l'Ile de Corse_, p. 117.
+
+[13] In this sanguinary battle, fought in 1768, the Corsicans, under
+Pasquale and Clemente Paoli, Murati, and their other chiefs, thrice
+repulsed the French army of 15,000 men under Chauvelin, and forced them
+to retreat in disorder to Bastia. The garrison of Borgo, a force of 700
+men, laid down their arms, and surrendered to the Corsicans.
+
+[14] _Géographie Physique_, p. 57.
+
+[15] _Norway in 1848-1849_, pp. 188, 189. (8vo. Ed., Longman & Co.)
+Professor Forbes arrives at nearly the same result from the observations
+of Von Buch and others. _Norway and its Glaciers_, pp. 207, &c.
+
+[16] Professor Forbes (_Travels in the Alps_) states the average height
+of the snow-line at 8500 feet.
+
+[17] See an Essay by Professor Forbes on Isothermal Lines and
+Climatology, in _Johnstone's Physical Atlas_, p. 17.
+
+[18] “Un Arrêt du Conseil du 22 Juin, 1771, avait défendu de planter des
+châtaigniers dans aucun terrain de l'île susceptible d'être ensemencé de
+blés ou autres grains, ou d'être converti en prairies naturelles ou
+artificielles, ou plantés de vignes, d'oliviers, ou de mûriers. Deux ans
+après cet arrêt fut revoqué par un autre, où l'on reconnaissait que les
+châtaigniers étaient pour les habitants de certains cantons un moyen
+d'existence nécessaire dans les temps de disette, et dans tous les temps
+un objet de commerce avantageux. Ce dernier arrêt fut rendu sur le
+rapport du célèbre économiste Turgot.”—_Robiquet_, quoted by
+_Marmocchi_, p. 225.
+
+[19] _Clarke and McArthur's Life of Nelson_, vol. i. pp. 156, &c.
+
+[20] Benson's _Sketches of Corsica_, p. 97.
+
+[21] Lyell's _Elements_, vol. ii. c. xxxi.
+
+[22] _Recherches sur les Ossements fossiles_, t. iv. p. 198.
+
+[23] Vol. ii. c. xxxi.
+
+[24] Chap. XIII.
+
+[25] See Chap. XI.
+
+[26] The article of the Constitutional Act, vesting the sovereignty of
+Corsica in the king of Great Britain, runs as follows:—
+
+“Il Monarca, e Rè della Corsica, è sua Maestà Giorgio III., Rè della
+Gran-Bretagna, e li de lui Successori, secondo l'ordine della
+successione al trono della Gran-Bretagna.”
+
+The oath sworn by the king on accepting the crown and constitution of
+Corsica was to the following effect:—
+
+“Io sotto scritto Cavaliere Baronetto, &c., &c., Plenipotenziario di S.
+Maestà Britannica, essendo specialmente autorizzato a quest'effetto,
+accetto in nome di sua Maestà GIORGIO III., RÈ DELLA GRAN-BRETAGNA, la
+corona e la sovranità della Corsica secondo la Costituzione, &c., questo
+giorno dicianove Giugno (1704). E giuro in nome di SUA MAESTÀ di
+mantenere la libertà del popolo Corso, secondo la Costituzione e la
+Legge.
+
+ “(Sottoscritto) ELLIOT.”
+
+The oath of the president and deputies:—
+
+“Io giuro per me, ed in nome del popolo Corso che rappresento, di
+riconoscere per mio Sovrano e Rè sua Maestà GIORGIO III., RÈ DELLA
+GRAN-BRETAGNA, di prestargli fede ed omaggio, secondo la Costituzione,”
+&c.
+
+ Compared with the original,
+
+ PASQUALE DI PAOLI, _Presidente_.
+ CARLO ANDREA POZZO-DI-BORGO,} _Segretarj._
+ GIO. ANDREA MUSELLI, }
+
+The oath of allegiance was to be taken by all Corsicans in their
+respective communities.—_Benson's Sketches in Corsica_, pp. 193-195.
+
+[27] See before, p. 159.
+
+[28] _Hist. Plant._ lib. 1, cap. 8.
+
+[29] See _Norway in 1848—1849_, 8vo., Longman & Co., pp. 36, 37.
+
+[30] Lambert's _Genus Pinus_, vol. i. p. 18.
+
+[31] Walpole's _Turkey_, p. 236.
+
+[32] Lambert's _Genus Pinus_, vol. ii. p. 28.
+
+[33] “FORÊT D'ASCO EN CORSE.
+
+“La Forêt d'Asco est située dans l'arrondissement de Corte. Elle est
+traversée par une rivière au moyen de laquelle on pourrait l'exploiter
+avec de grands avantages. Cette forêt, une des plus considérables,
+considérée comme forêt particulière, pourrait fournir deux cents
+cinquante mille mètres cubes de bois. Elle renferme des arbres de toute
+dimension. Il y en est qu'on pouvait faire servir pour la marine comme
+matière de bâtiments. Par sa nature grasse ou résineuse, le bois est
+employé avec succès pour les chemins de fer, et présente tous les
+conditions de solidité et de durée. La plus grande partie de la forêt
+renferme les Pins Larix; il y a aussi une grande quantité de Pins
+Maritimes. La dimension des arbres maritimes est de 12 à 20 mètres de
+hauteur; et celle des Pins Larix de 16 à 40 mètres de hauteur, sur une
+circonférence moyenne de trois mètres.”
+
+At the suggestion of one of our foreign ministers, who drew the
+attention of Government to the possibility of obtaining supplies of
+timber for naval purposes from the forests of Corsica in private hands,
+the author, on his return to England, had some communications with
+official persons respecting the forests of Signor F——; but the matter
+dropped. Should it be thought a subject worth inquiry, with a view to
+commercial enterprise, the author will be happy to put any person
+applying to him, through his Publishers, in the way of procuring further
+information.
+
+[34] There was no appeal to any personal attachment of the Corsicans to
+the Bonaparte family, as sprung from among themselves, or to their
+gratitude for benefits conferred on them, in the address with which, in
+1851, the _Préfet_ urged the Council-General to take part in the general
+movement in France for the abrogation of the article in the Constitution
+which precluded the advance of Louis Napoleon to supreme power.
+“_Marchons_,” he said, “_avec la grande majorité de la France vers ce
+grand jour qui doit rendre le calme aux esprits, la confiance aux
+intérêts, et la liberté d'action à l'autorité!_”
+
+The resolution, passed by a large majority after a warm debate, was thus
+prefaced:—“_Considérant qu'il importe de donner à la France des
+institutions que ses besoins reclament, et que ses intérêts moraux et
+matêriels exigent: Considérant que le commerce et l'industrie, ces
+sources indispensables de l'existence de toute société ne se relèveront
+de leur affaissement, et ne reprenderont un nouvel essor, qu'autant que
+la constitution leur promettra un avenir plus assuré: Considérant, en
+outre, que la souveraineté nationale trouve dans l'article 45 de la
+Constitution un obstacle légal à la libre manifestation de sa volonté et
+de sa reconnaissance envers le Président actuel de la Republique, qui a
+rendu l'ordre et la sécurité au pays par la sagesse et la fermeté de son
+gouvernement: renouvelle, à la majorité de quarante-deux voix contre
+quatre, le vœu que la Constitution de 1848 soit revisée, et l'article 45
+abrogée._”
+
+[35] This family is one of the most ancient in Corsica. Count Pozzo di
+Borgo, the celebrated diplomatist, was born at Alata, a village near
+Ajaccio. He commenced his public career under the administration of
+Pascal Paoli, signed the Anglo-Corsican Constitutional Act as Secretary
+of State (see before, p. 173.), and was afterwards President of the
+Corsican Parliament. His subsequent career is matter of history.
+
+[36] I find the name spelt indiscriminately Bonaparte and Buonaparte.
+Napoleon, when young, wrote it both ways. It is spelt Bonaparte in the
+entry of his baptism in the Register of Ajaccio, which was solemnised
+(by-the-bye) two years after his birth, the dates being 15 Aug. 1709; 21
+July, 1771. His father signed the entry as “Carlo Buonaparte.”
+
+[37] _An Account of Corsica and Journal of a Tour_, by James Boswell, p.
+297.
+
+[38] Boswell figured in this costume at the Jubilee Shakespeare Festival
+held at Stratford-on-Avon under Garrick's auspices.
+
+[39] _An Account of Corsica and Journal of a Tour_, by James Boswell, p.
+302.
+
+[40] See before, p. 15. and 46.
+
+[41] Ridiculously trifling as the origin of this bloody quarrel may
+appear, the story is very probably founded on fact. Renucci relates
+another scarcely less absurd. Feuds, similar to those mentioned in the
+play, had long existed between the Vinconti and Grimaldi families,
+inhabitants of the village of Monte d'Olmo, in the _pieve_ of Ampugnano.
+Like good Catholics, however, they met sometimes at mass. The church was
+sacred and neutral ground; there, at least, the _trêve de Dieu_ might be
+supposed to be in force. Thither, on some solemn feast, the villagers,
+indiscriminately, bent their steps. Some had already entered the church,
+and were engaged in their devotions, many loitered about the door, and
+the _piazza_ was crowded. Talking about one thing and another, the
+conversation naturally turned to the ceremonies of the day, and a
+dispute arose whether the officiating clergy ought to wear the black
+hoods of the Confraternity in the processions which formed part of the
+service.
+
+Orso Paolo, one of the Vincenti family, gave it as his opinion that they
+should wear their surplices, alleging that to be the ancient and fitting
+custom.
+
+“No!” cried Ruggero Grimaldi, “they ought to wear the black hoods;”
+giving reasons equally authoritative for his view of the question.
+
+The strife waxed warm. The villagers took one side or the other;
+“hoods,” and “surplices,” became the party cries. From words they came
+to blows, and Orso Paolo, the only man of the Vincenti family present,
+being sore pressed in the struggle, rashly drew out a pistol, and
+mortally wounded Ruggero Grimaldi's eldest son.
+
+So the story begins, and as it is one of the few in Renucci's
+“_Novelle_” that are worth translating, we will give the sequel.
+
+The rage and fury of Grimaldi and his party were now worked up to the
+highest pitch. The mass was interrupted, the church deserted, and the
+whole village a scene of uproar. Orso Paolo fled as soon as he had fired
+the fatal shot, pursued by his enemies, who overtook and surrounded him.
+His fate had been sealed on the spot, but that, quick as lightning, he
+burst through the throng and darted into a house of which the door stood
+open. It was the house of Grimaldi, his deadly foe, but there was no
+other chance of escaping instant death. To close and bar the door, and
+stand on his defence, was the work of a moment. Corsican houses are
+strongholds; Orso Paolo was in possession of the enemy's fortress. He
+threatens death to the first assailant, and the boldest recoil. What was
+to be done? It was proposed to set fire to the house, but Ruggero's
+youngest son, a child of seven or eight years old, had been left asleep
+in the house when the family went to church. He would perish in the
+flames. At that thought Grimaldi became irresolute. Just at this moment
+the eldest son is brought from the church, bleeding to death from his
+mortal wound, amidst lamentations and women's shrieks. At that spectacle
+Ruggero can no longer contain himself. Frantic with grief, he runs to
+set fire to his own house. The voice of nature pleading for his
+remaining child is stifled by passion and resentment. The tears and
+expostulations of the wretched mother are of no avail; they have no
+influence over the mind of the infuriated father.
+
+“What are you doing, cruel Ruggero?” she cried, in the midst of sobs and
+groans; “Is it for you to fill up our cup of misery? Will you destroy
+the dearest and sweetest of our hopes? One son is gasping his last
+breath before our eyes, the other, still in infancy, will perish from
+the transports of your rage. Who, then, will be the support of our
+miserable old age? Who will defend us from the insults of the powerful?”
+
+“So that Orso Paolo perish, let the world be at an end!” exclaimed
+Ruggero. Such is the terrible force of the passions in the human breast.
+
+Ruggero's house is burning, the fire crackles, the flames burst forth,
+the sparkles fill the air. Vincenti, involved in smoke and flame, rushes
+from place to place, seeking a retreat to prolong his life for a few
+moments. All at once he is startled by the wailing cries of a child. He
+directs his steps towards it, and discovers, with amazement, the son of
+his cruel enemy. Struck with indignation at the father's barbarity, he
+suddenly raises his hand to take vengeance on the child of his
+relentless adversary. The boy utters a plaintive cry, and stretches its
+little hands towards him, trembling and frightened.
+
+“Take courage, my boy, take courage!” said Vincenti, snatching him to
+his bosom; “you see a man who is not deaf to the voice of pity. If
+Heaven will not protect your innocency, at least you shall die in the
+arms of a second father.”
+
+Meanwhile, the fire spreads through every part of the building; nothing
+can resist the fury of the devouring flames. Fanned by the wind, they
+surge in waves, ever greedy of new food. The roof quivers, the floors
+crack, the whole falls with a terrible crash. What chance was there for
+Vincenti's escape with life? He had abandoned all hopes.
+
+Ruggero, satiated with vengeance, retires to the house of a relation, to
+which his wounded son had been removed. The spectacle of his sufferings,
+his imminent danger, and the sobs and lamentations of his inconsolable
+wife, awaken in his soul the affections of a father. A faint ray of
+reason penetrates his mind, and he perceives all the horrors of his
+proceeding. Trouble, remorse, repentance, succeed; his heart is wrung
+with anguish, and he attempts his own life. Friends interfere to
+restrain him.
+
+At the news of the atrocity committed by the Grimaldi, in firing the
+house and leaving their enemy to perish in the ruins, the kinsmen of
+Orso Paolo assemble and rush to Monte d'Olmo, threatening vengeance on
+the perpetrators. The Grimaldi rally round Ruggero to shield him from
+his exasperated enemies. Just then, shouts are raised in the piazza,
+mingled with the name of Vincenti, and at intervals with gentler sounds
+which speak to the heart of the wife of Ruggero.
+
+She flies to the window, and exclaiming, “Oh heaven! Orso Paolo! My son!
+My son! My son!” falls speechless and fainting on the floor. The
+spectacle which produced this vivid emotion was that of the noble
+Vincenti, who, scorched, and covered with ashes, and pressing the child
+firmly to his breast, was hastening on amid the acclamations and
+_evvivas_ of the populace. He had taken refuge under an arch of the
+staircase, clasping the child firmly in his arms.
+
+Ruggero's wife, recovering from her swoon, runs and throws herself into
+the arms of Vincenti, calling him the preserver and father of her
+beloved son. Ruggero, full of admiration and gratitude, salutes
+Vincenti, with a modest humility, invoking his pardon, and begging his
+friendship. Vincenti embraces him, pardons him, and swears eternal
+friendship for him. The wounded youth unexpectedly recovers, the two
+factions become friends, and the generous Vincenti, loaded with praises
+and benedictions, had the happiness to extinguish an inveterate feud
+between the two families, and thus restore peace to the community of
+Castel d'Acqua.
+
+[42] _Clarke and McArthur's Life of Nelson_, vol. ii. p. 336.
+
+[43] The “Ichneusa,” so called from the ancient name of the island. On a
+subsequent visit to Sardinia I had the pleasure of making an agreeable
+acquaintance with the officers of the “Ichneusa,” the ship being one of
+a little squadron then employed in the service of assisting in the
+laying down the submarine telegraph cable between Cape Teulada and the
+coast of Algeria, of which I hope to be able to give some account in the
+sequel. The engineer of the “Ichneusa” was an Englishman, who was often
+ashore at our hotel while his ship lay in the harbour of La Madelena; an
+intelligent man, as I have always found the many of his class employed
+in the royal steam navy of the Sardinian government. I cannot believe
+that the engineers of the steam-ship “Cagliari” had any complicity with
+the Genoese conspirators. They worked the ship, no doubt, in compliance
+with orders enforced by the Italian desperadoes in possession of her
+with stilettoes at their throats; and it is to be regretted that
+peremptory measures were not taken by our Government for their release.
+We can only conclude that the unfortunate engineers were sacrificed to
+political expediency.
+
+[44] _Sketch of the Present State of the Island of Sardinia_, pp.
+187-191 (1827). It is but fair to remark, that Captain (now Admiral)
+Smyth does not describe any excesses in the festivities he witnessed. We
+have reason, however, to believe that they have sadly deteriorated, as
+well as the religious instincts of the Sardes, in the thirty years since
+they came under Captain Smyth's observation.
+
+[45] The “barancelli” will be noticed hereafter.
+
+[46] Mr. Warre Tyndale's _Island of Sardinia_, vol. i. p. 313, &c.
+
+[47] Cf. Isaiah, i. 8.: “A lodge in a vineyard, and a cottage in a
+garden of cucumbers.”
+
+[48] Gen. xxiv. 11, 15.
+
+[49] I Sam. ix. 11.
+
+[50] Odyss. lib. x.
+
+[51] Asphodels were planted by the ancients near burying-places, in
+order to supply the manes of the dead with nourishment.
+
+ “By those happy souls that dwell
+ In yellow meads of Asphodel.”—_Pope._
+
+The plant _lilio asphodelus_ belongs to the liliaceous tribe. It
+flourishes also in Italy, Sicily, Crete, and Africa, some varieties
+bearing white flowers.
+
+[52] αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος, &c. HOMER, _passim_.
+
+[53] See the sketch in the next page.
+
+[54] “That certain local causes have through all ages tainted the
+atmosphere of Sardinia, may be gathered from the remarks and sarcasms of
+a host of early authors. Martial, in mentioning the hour of death,
+celebrates salubrious Tibur at the expense of this pestilent isle:
+
+ ‘Nullo fata loco possis excludere: cum mors
+ Venerit, in medio Tibure Sardinia est.’
+
+“Cicero, who hated Tigellius, the flattering musical buffoon so well
+described by Horace, thus lashes his country in a letter to Fabius
+Gallus: ‘Id ego in lucris pono non ferre hominem pestilentiorem putriâ
+suâ.’ Again, writing to his brother: ‘Remember,’ says he, ‘though in
+perfect health, you are in Sardinia.’ And Pausanias, Cornelius Nepos,
+Strabo, Tacitus, Silius Italicus, and Claudian, severally bear testimony
+to the current opinion. In later times the terse Dante sings:
+
+ ‘Qual dolor fora, se degli spedali
+ Di Valdichiana tra 'l luglio e 'l settembre
+ E di maremma, e di Sardinia i mali
+ Fossero in una fossa tutte insembre,’” &c.
+
+ _Smyth's Sardinia_, p. 81.
+
+[55] See before, pp. 150, 260.
+
+[56] The trade in snow is farmed by the Aritzese, it being, like that in
+salt and tobacco, a royal monopoly, leased for terms of years at a
+considerable rent. Upwards of 9000 cantars (about 375 tons) are brought
+down every year from the mountains of Fundada Cungiata and Genargentu,
+and carried on horseback to all parts of the island. The labour,
+fatigue, and difficulty attending the conveyance of the snow from those
+great altitudes are severe; as in the paths where there is no footing
+for a horse, the men are obliged to carry the burden on their shoulders;
+and the quantity they can bear is a matter of boast and rivalry among
+them.
+
+It has been observed in a former chapter that none of the Sardinian
+mountains rise to what would be the level of perpetual frost. The snow
+trade must therefore be supplied from deep hollows in the mountains,
+serving as natural ice-houses, in which it is lodged during the summer.
+
+We have an account of a forest in Scotland held of the Crown by the
+tenure of the delivery of a snow-ball on any day of the year on which it
+may be demanded; and it is said that there is no danger of forfeiture
+for default of the quit-rent, the chasms of Benewish holding snow, in
+the form of a glacier, throughout the year.—_Pennant's Tour in
+Scotland_, i. 185.
+
+[57] “There is among the Sardes a degree of adopted relationship called
+‘compare’ (_comparatico_), a stronger engagement than is known under the
+common acceptation of the term in other countries.”—_Smyth's Sardinia_,
+p. 193.
+
+[58] “The lionedda is a rustic musical instrument formed of reeds,
+similar to the Tyrrhenian and Lydian pipes we find depicted on the
+ancient Etruscan vases. It consists of three or four reeds of
+proportionate lengths to create two octaves, a _terce_ and a _quint_,
+with a small mouthpiece at the end of each. Like a Roman tibicen, the
+performer takes them into his mouth, and inflates the whole at once with
+such an acquired skill that most of them can keep on for a couple of
+hours without a moment's intermission, appearing to breathe and play
+simultaneously. He, however, who can sound five reeds is esteemed the
+Coryphæus.”—_Ib._ p. 192.
+
+[59] Ezekiel, viii. 14.
+
+[60] Isaiah, i. 29.
+
+[61] Isaiah, lxvi. 15-17. _Mundos se putabant in hortis post
+januam._—Vulgate.
+
+[62] Ezekiel, viii. 14.
+
+[63] Leviticus, xx. 2.
+
+[64] Jeremiah, xix. 4, 5.
+
+[65] “They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils, and shed
+innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom
+they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan.”—_Psalm_ cvi. 26, 27.
+
+“Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body
+for the sin of my soul?”—_Micah_, vi. 7.
+
+[66] 2 Kings, xvi. 3.
+
+[67] Jeremiah, xxxii. 35.
+
+[68] Vol. ii. p. 264.
+
+[69] See before, p. 191.—The pine does not flourish in Sardinia. Deal
+planks for house-building are imported from Corsica.
+
+[70] _Annual Statement of Trade and Navigation presented to Parliament_.
+
+[71] The vehicular statistics of Sardinia, ten years before, as summed
+up by Mr. Warre Tyndale, show three vehicles for hire at Porto Torres,
+seven at Sassari, four at Macomer, and about twenty at Cagliari. These
+and about ten private carriages made the total in this island:
+sufficient, he adds, for the unlocomotive propensities of the
+inhabitants and their almost roadless country. Things were not much
+improved at the period of our visit.
+
+[72] _Memorie Politico-Economiche intorno alla Sardegna nel 1852, di
+Vincenzo Sala, da Venezia. Seconda Edizione, riveduta dall'Autore._
+
+[73] We do not include, in the enumeration of free states, the Swiss
+confederacy, nor flourishing Holland. Both date their liberties to much
+earlier times.
+
+[74] _Norway in 1848 and 1849._ Longman and Co.
+
+[75] La sua positura nel Mediterraneo la rende intermediara fra l'Africa
+e l'Europa; fra il porto di Marsiglia da una parte, quelli di Genova e
+Livorno dall'altra, e per conseguenza potrebbe proccaciarsi un conspicuo
+reddito dal cabottagio. Se si considera che la francia scarreggia di
+marina mercantile, relativemente alla sua potenza ed a suoi besogni, non
+sembrerà per certo un sogno l'asserire che la Sardegna si troverebbe a
+miglior portata di concorrere a soddisfare le sue bisogne di transporte,
+principalmente per le coste d'Africa, dove la colonia francese va
+prendendo sempre maggiore sviluppo, e prenunzia un avvenire fecondo. Si
+la città di Cagliari e le altre terre littorale possedessero una marina
+mercantile, quante fonti di richezza non troverebbe la Sardegna lungo le
+coste d'Italia, di Francia, di Spagna e d'Africa! Non si credono queste
+visioni o travidementi d'immaginazione; che anzi non temiamo d'affirmare
+ch'essa potrebbe divenire, un giorno, _la piccola Inghilterra del
+Mediterraneo.—Memorie Politico-Economiche_, p. 134.
+
+[76] A passage in Aristotle's work “De Mirabilibus,” (chap. 104.) has
+been supposed to refer to the Nuraghe. The words are these:—“It is said
+that in the island of Sardinia are edifices of the ancients, erected
+after the Greek manner, and many other beautiful buildings and _tholi_
+(domes or cupolas) finished in excellent proportions.” Again, Diodorus
+Siculus informs us (l. iv. c. 29, 30) that “after Iolaus had settled his
+colony in Sardinia, he sent for Dædalus out of Sicily and employed him
+in building many and great works which remain to this day.” And in
+another place (l. v. c. 51) he reckons among these works “temples of the
+gods,” of which, he repeats, “the remains exist even in these times.”
+These passages, however, afford but slight grounds for considering that
+the Nuraghe were built by the Greeks, or even were temples of the gods.
+The term Θολούς, used by Aristotle, may indeed describe a round building
+roofed with a dome, but the Nuraghe cannot be considered as
+corresponding to the Grecian idea of buildings that are
+“beautiful”—“finished in excellent proportions”—or fitting temples for
+the gods. Pausanias denies that Dædalus was sent for out of Sicily by
+Iolaus, and makes it an anachronism. See _Tyndale's Sardinia_, vol. i.
+p. 116.
+
+[77] Micah, iv. 8; and see 2 Kings, x. 12, xvii. 9, xviii. 8; and 2
+Chron. xxvi. 10, &c.
+
+[78] “_Apenas se diferenciaba el_ ARA de la TUMBA.
+
+“_La graderia_ (del monumento sepolcrale) _se hallaba practicada en el
+costade occidental per donde se subia para_ ORAR, _o para_
+SACRIFICAR.”—Dupaix, vol. v. p. 243. 261.
+
+[79] We borrow this description from Mr. Tyndale's work, as well as the
+illustrations, not finding a sketch of a Sepoltura in our own portfolio.
+
+[80] The learned Jesuit disconnects this migration from the expulsion of
+the Canaanitish tribes by the Israelites under Joshua, considering it to
+have occurred from one to two centuries before, when the giant tribes
+east of Jordan were subdued by the Moabites and Amorites, who succeeded
+to their possessions. Moses relates that “the Emims dwelt therein [that
+is, in Moab,] in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the
+Anakims; which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the
+Moabites call them Emims.” Of Ammon, Moses says:—“That also was
+accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the
+Ammonites call them Zamzummims; a people great, and many, and tall, as
+the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded
+them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day.”—_Deut._ ii. 10, 11,
+20, 21.
+
+[81]
+
+ Οὓς καλέουσι Γίγαντας ἐπώνυμον ἐν μακάροισι
+ Οὕνεκα γῆς ἐγενόντο καὶ αἵματος οὐρανίοιο ORPHEUS.
+
+[82] Gen. vi. 1-4.
+
+[83] These giant tribes were defeated by Chedorlaomer and the kings
+allied with him, in the same expedition in which the kings of Sodom and
+Gomorrah were put to the sword, and Lot, who dwelt in Sodom, was carried
+off, but afterwards rescued by Abraham. Numbers, xiv. 5. &c.
+
+[84] Numb. xiii. 33.; Deut. iii. 11., ix. 2.; Josh. xv. 14.
+
+[85] 1 Sam. xvii. 4; 2 Sam. xxi. 16-22.
+
+[86]
+
+ . . . . . “Summo cum monte videmus
+ Ipsum, inter pecudes vastâ se mole moventem,
+ _Pastorem_ Polyphemum, et littora nota petentem.
+
+ . . . . . .
+
+ Trunca manum pinus regit, et vestigia firmat.
+ Lanigeræ comitantur oves; . . . .
+ . . . . de collo fistula pendet.” _Æn._ iii. 653, &c.
+
+[87] Polypheme's clan are thus described;—
+
+ “Nam, qualis quantusque cavo Polyphemus in antro
+ Lanigeras claudit pecudes, atque ubera pressat,
+ Centum alii curva hæc habitant ad littora vulgo
+ Infandi Cyclopes, et altis montibus errant.” _Æn._ iii. 641.
+
+[88] Father Bresciani has collected all the authorities for the
+existence of giant races, with great diligence, in the course of his
+remarks on the Sarde Sepolture. Vol. i. p. 89, &c.
+
+[89] De Physicis, iv. 3.
+
+[90] Gen. iv. 21, 22.
+
+[91] A general idea seems to have prevailed in early times of the
+prodigious muscular strength possessed by the men of an age still
+earlier. Thus Turnus, the warlike chief of the Rutuli, is represented in
+the Æneid as lifting and hurling at the Trojan an immense boundary stone
+which would defy the united efforts of _twelve such men as the earth
+produced in those days_ to lift on their shoulders.
+
+ “Saxum antiquum, ingens, campo quod forte jacebat,
+ Limes agro positus, litem ut discerneret arvis.
+ Vix illud lecti bis sex cervice subirent,
+ Qualia nunc hominum producit corpora tellus.” _Æn._ xii. 897.
+
+[92] Gen. xi. 4.
+
+[93] See before, p. 394.
+
+[94] _Ordericus Vitalis_, vol. i. p. 113. (Bohn's Antiq. Library.)
+
+[95] Ib. vol. i. pp. 130, 338; ii. 149.
+
+[96] _Circonscrizione amministrativa delle provincie di Terra Ferma e
+della Sardegna_.—Torino, Stamperia Reale, 1850.
+
+[97] Atia, the daughter of M. Atius Balbus, by Julia, sister of Julius
+Cæsar, was the mother of Octavius Augustus.—_Suetonius._
+
+[98] Cohen, in his _Déscription des Médailles Consulaires_ recently
+published (Paris, 1857), notices a bronze medal of the same type, of
+which he says:—“Cette médaille était frappée par les habitans de la
+Sardaigne, sous le règne d'Auguste, et pour gagner ses bonnes grâces ils
+y placèrent le portrait de son aïeul en même tems que celui du fondateur
+de leur patrie.” The cabinet of the British Museum contains a specimen
+of this bronze medal, “de fabrique très-barbare,” to use Cohen's
+description. He does not appear to be aware of the existence of the
+silver coin, which is of a far better style.
+
+[99] Captain Smyth states that in 1798 upwards of 2000 Moors suddenly
+disembarked on the beach of Malfatano from six Tunisian vessels; when
+the town was surrounded and taken. Brutality and pillage in all their
+hideous forms visited every house; and 850 men, women, and children were
+driven into slavery. The unhappy captives remained at Tunis; and, from
+the embarrassments of the Sardinian Government, were not ransomed until
+the year 1805. In 1815 the Tunisians, recollecting the rich booty they
+had before obtained, reappeared off the port, but finding the garrison
+well prepared to give them a warm reception, they sheered off.—_Sketch
+of Sardinia_, p. 300.
+
+[100] Among the other emblems of divinity we find the heads of dogs,
+cats, apes, and birds, and also rude figures of the boats of Isis,
+establishing a connection between the Egyptian and Phœnician
+mythologies. Some exhibit astronomical and astrological symbols. Other
+images appear to be carrying cakes, a part of the offering made to
+Astarte, to which Jeremiah alludes:—“The women knead their dough, to
+make cakes to the queen of heaven.”—Chap. vii. 18.
+
+[101] The concern is incorporated under the name of “The Mediterranean
+Telegraph Company,” but the terms “Sardinian” or “Sardo-French” Company
+are adopted, as more distinctly indicating the nature of its origin and
+designs.
+
+[102] _L'Istmo di Suez, e la Stazione Telegrafico-Electrica di Cagliari;
+Ragiamento del T. G. Alberto Della Marmora. Torino, 1856._
+
+
+
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