Gertrude Forde

“ As we rolled round the circular bay, and up the winding ascent on the further side, the water sparkled calmly in the glassy mist of morning sunshine, and the Agincourt lay with deserted deck, like a "painted ship upon a painted ocean."
But the road leading to the town was already all astir with country people coming in for the races; and, further on, higher up the hill, as the pretty white houses of Ajaccio on their spit of land grew less and less distinct against the blue Mediterranean, we met with more and more of these. ”

“ It was hot work, for there was no shade, and the sand burnt beneath our feet, and the rocks glowed before us; but the cystus gave out a refreshing scent, and at every turn the grey walls grew taller and more rugged and imposing, as the green mounds in front cleared away.
About half-way to the chapel, we fell in with some bergère women, bringing supplies to their lords upon the mountain side, from the town of Ajaccio. There were three of them, and they were certainly as rough and wild, and unfeminine-looking as the wives of the bergers are usually reported to be. ”

“ Here, by the Bastia road, where the hills sloped gently up from the road, the macchie grew closely; but where the grey and green and red rocks rose more steeply, the plants could only hang in the crevices overhead—here a cystus, and there a purple thistle, with the little crimson cyclamen peeping out of every cranny, and the bright lizards darting across the sunny stones.
Very beautiful was this first view of the Corsican rocks, and of the wide sea panorama of historic islands, each telling in [31] silent grandeur its own history of adventure, heroism, or the stern freaks of fortune. ”

“ So we left him, humming softly to himself, to mend up the carriage as best he could, whilst we walked on towards the Cap for a two or three hours' stroll.
The sun now lay hot upon the shadeless road, which began to mount gently, keeping, however, close above the seashore, and always bastioned on its other side by rocky walls, which after a while gave place to massive lordly hills, green and steep, more than one surmounted by ruined tower or long deserted cloister, braving in solitary grandeur the eastern gales that sweep each crag-topped eminence. ”

“ From Ajaccio to Cauro and Bastelica is a favourite excursion; but it is a very long and fatiguing one for one day, and Cauro does not look a tempting place for a night's rest.
As we left Cauro and continued our steep ascent, the mountains grew grander, and the trees increased. Maquis of the most [242] delicious sort followed the roadside, and the air was laden with the strong scent of the tall Mediterranean heath, which fought with arbutus and cystus for the foremost place, whilst cyclamen, golden bloom, and hellebore clustered at their feet. ”

“ The light which streamed from the illuminations on the houses round lit up the large open square with its seething mass of humanity into picturesque groups, showing here a black velveteened Corsican with a white kerchiefed companion, there a French soldier in bright uniform, and, further on, two grinning, good-tempered British tars, as shiningly clean and as much at their ease as they have a habit of looking all over the globe. ”

“ The limestone formations probably extend much further into the cliff; but the winding pathway goes no further, and one can only be thankful that Corsican energy has effected so much. The forms of some of the stalagmites were most curious, rising like Alpine ranges, with an infinity of Matterhorns, above many a little hollowed nook, or like the carved screen behind some marble altar; some so delicate in tracery and so transparent that a light, held behind them, lit them up like finely veined cream-coloured glass ”

“ One of the first sights to be visited in Ajaccio is the house belonging to the Buonaparte family, and in which Napoleon was born. Every Corsican is, of course, proud to the backbone of the great national hero; and as Corte seems to breathe the presence of the wise, heroic, unselfish Paoli, so Ajaccio is full of the footmarks of the world-famed conqueror, the second son of Carlo Buonaparte, the Corsican solicitor. ”

“ It was an exquisite day, and the sun, even so early in the morning, was "deliciously baking," said No. 3, "decidedly oppressive," said No. 1.
We departed in style, with our coachman on one side of the box and our conductor on the other, with five horses, and an energetic little black dog perched on the roof of the carriage, who evidently believed himself the guardian of the whole concern, and at the approach of every stranger ran, frantically barking, backwards and forwards, along his elevated platform, to the imminent risk of his neck. ”

“ As our carriage drew up, three ghostly beings, draped in white sheeting from head to foot, with nought but black beard and shining black eyes emerging, stood motionless, a yard or two off, silently watching our unbelieving footsteps as we entered the inn. Calvi is full of these stately Arabs. Every corner you turn, you find one or two sitting squatting in the sun in their white sheets, still as statues, but silently following you with eyes full of a contemptuous astonishment. ”

“ Bordering the slope, and amongst the olives, bloomed flowers of every description [29] and colour; whilst great grasses, pale pink asphodel, and giant golden spurge, grew like young trees among the rocks, and all along the roadside the weird prickly pear raised its ghostly arms in a huge hedge.
Beyond this, almost from beneath our feet, stretched far away the wide sweep of Mediterranean, sparkling with countless flashes, and bearing on its laughing bosom the islands of Capraya, Elba, and Monte Christo. ”

“ For the next few miles, we were allowed to run down the mountain side at a less breakneck pace, and could enjoy the splendid grey snow-crowned rocks that rose up from the other side of the gorge beneath us, and the chestnut-covered walls towering above our heads, with less fear that every look would be our last, finally reaching the village of Bocognano in safety about four o'clock. ”

“ There is no feeling in the world so exhilarating and delicious as that experienced in starting off on a Bohemian tour, without luggage, without responsibilities, unhampered by fear of railway time-tables or the care of boxes, dawdling or hurrying at will, starting at what hour one pleases, and out all day in the fresh mountain air, with al fresco meals and a turf siesta. ”

“ In two or three hour's we reached the forest of Vizzavona, and continued to pass right through it. The forests of Corsica are almost the specialité of the country.
Wide and trackless, whole mountains are covered by these splendid forests, in many of which the sound of the hatchet has never been heard, nor the foot of man passed, but where the birds, the snakes, and the insects live and die unmolested. The trees which compose them are often magnificent, and consist of larches, pines, firs, beeches, and chestnuts, with a mixture of other kinds. ”

“ Walking through the lonely mountains, and in and out of the wild country rocks, one feels that one is in the natural country of the fierce outlaw; but in sunny, modern, cheery little Ajaccio, it is almost as difficult to realize the existence or the close proximity of the bandit as it would be in a Belgravian drawing-room. ”

“ For several hours we continued mounting towards the Col Colombano, the cultivated Basse Balagne lying at our feet, and the noblest views of sea and mountain constantly before us. Belgodere was at no mean elevation; and, as we mounted higher and [95] still higher amongst the "everlasting hills," ranges of mountains of every colour lay, one behind the other, before us—red, blue and purple—some veiled in half mists, and some shining with a far-away sunlight,—separated from us by miles of grey atmosphere. ”

“ Howsoever beautiful be nature, the most æsthetic mind is too much a slave to the vile body to know perfect mental enjoyment when living in constant dread of physical discomfort and disgust. Any one who has ever travelled out of the beaten track will understand the joy with which we took possession of our dainty little rooms at Ajaccio, after our week's roughing, and will excuse this rhapsody. ”

“ Our mid-day halt was at Ponte alle Lecchia, where the river, widening out and dashing in white foam, throws itself over boulders of bright green porphyry under a handsome bridge. Ponte alle Lecchia is an inconsiderable village, but it is the junction between the Bastia and Calvi roads, and every diligence stops here on the road from Bastia to Corte. The little inn, before which we stopped, was wretched and filthy, and they had absolutely nothing in the house but bread and sardines, [97] for which they charged us a high price. I say "nothing," for I mean nothing eatable by civilized people. ”

“ More than once, at the approach of some nasty corner or sudden precipice, the point [53] of an umbrella was levelled at the small of his back; but it never had cause to culminate in a prod, for, precisely at the necessary moment, the furry cap adorning the unkempt head, raised itself, and the brown hands tightened their hold upon the loose reins.
The best course, however, is to forget both bad road and sleepy driver in the glorious prospect that seldom is wanting in Corsica; for a system of nervous watchfulness is not conducive to comfort or enjoyment. ”

“ If ever snakes would stand upon their tips and dance in the sun together, as our driver once informed us he had seen them do, it would have been to-day! The lizards on the glaring walls seemed countless; and, wherever the glare was intensest, there the little green husband and brown wife basked together in loving enjoyment.
Very thankful were we at last to sit down on some large boulders beside the rushing waters, where a grove of thickly growing chestnuts threw a grateful shade around. ”

“ The rocks, scattered about the little bay on which we entered, completely sheltered us from the village, and looked picturesquely black with the clear white foam dashing over them in the occasional gleams of a stormy sun. Regardless of the great blue-black curtain darkening the hills before us and spreading over half the sky, we flung ourselves, face downwards, upon the sands, and commenced an energetic search for shells. ”

“ The road to Brando was charming, following the shore the whole way, about a dozen yards above the sea level; the slope downwards being clothed with splendid cacti, and with groves of olive, orange, cherry, walnut, and fig trees, with here and there an ilex. Out of the forests, the two common trees of Corsica are the olive and the ilex; and beautifully they harmonize together, the rich shining green of the ilex contrasting effectively with the silver grey of the olive.
The forest trees consist chiefly of pines, firs, and beeches, varied by a few oaks and cedars ”

“ After an early breakfast, we left the Hotel de France at eight o'clock in pouring rain, and began mounting the steep ascent to the Col Teghine.
Steep, indeed, was the hill, and very long; and the position of the third horse was no sinecure. Fortune, however, favours the brave; and before an hour was over, the sun came peeping forth through many a dark rift, blue clouds rose up and filled the gaps, and the sunlight glanced sparkling [54] on dewy flower and crystal-covered olive grove. ”

“ The road to Ile Rousse lies nearly all the way through barren rocky hills, varied occasionally by greener cones. A wonderful, weird-looking mountain of red granite, called Monte Temorro, keeps always in sight, sometimes at one side and sometimes at the other of the winding road, but its precipitous bare head never lost. ”

“ A Corsican gentleman essays to speak French like a Parisian, and imitates both the French manners and character. He is generally lively and talkative, and has quite cast away the ignorant apathy of his poorer brethren regarding the value of money. He is the advocate of commerce and railways, and all modern improvements, and dreadfully ashamed of such barbarous national customs as the vendetta, generally flatly denying that such a thing exists at the present day, and boldly telling you that not a bandit is now to be found in the mountains. ”

“ From Bastia downwards, almost to the southernmost extremity of the island, this eastern coast is flat, marshy, and malarious.
A man of forty is an old man in this fatal district. Even the natives fly from it, leaving its shores barren and uncultivated; and the poor Italian labourer, who, more industrious than his Corsican neighbour, comes over the sea in spring to till the soil, creeps up each night into the mountains, to avoid sleeping in the deadly air. ”

“ You never see a Corsican woman's hair, which is a pity, as there is reason to believe it is often pretty and luxuriant.
Every Corsican carries a huge cotton umbrella—red, green, or brilliant blue—both for the heavy rains and for protection from the sun.
Our first view of the Hotel de France somewhat appalled us. The street in which it is situated is a fine one—the finest in Corsica—wide and full of handsome houses; but the entrance to the hotel was mean and dark, and the outside decidedly dirty. ”

“ A traveller may go from one end of Corsica to the other, and if he behave courteously himself, will probably never meet with a discourteous word, from the time he sets foot on the island until he leaves it.
At the same time, it cannot be denied that the Corsicans, though polite and even friendly to strangers, have a weakness for shooting one another. It is nonsense to suppose the vendetta is crushed out; it is as lively as ever in some parts. ”