Gertrude Forde

“ For miles on every side extended a vast unbroken plain, and the east coast lay before us spread out in sweeps of pale green marshy land, bright blue sea, and intersecting salt lakes. A little further on, Bastia herself came into view, standing white and picturesque against her brown rocks, and over her sunny sea, on which lay many a white-sailed vessel, unmoved by breath of wind or sway of tide in the hot calm of the June day, whilst the large village of Furriano, on an adjacent hill, looked greyly down from its cool green nest of foliage. ”

“ The period of apparent calm had but been the moment's lull before the storm, the gathering up of fresh forces for renewed contest. And those few years had matured perhaps the greatest man ever produced by Corsica—a man whose heroism and whose devotion were equal to Paoli's, but who possessed besides a savage grandeur of nature peculiar to himself, his country, and his age.
This was Sampiero, the truest friend, the most implacable foe, and perhaps the most iron-nerved man the world has ever known. ”

“ Have you a good driver?"
"A very good one; and one we can trust perfectly."
"That is well; for it is a terrible place, an expedition of horror. Precipices six hundred feet high—a wall of rock overhanging—ah, ciel! And a steep and narrow road, where one false step may cause destruction! Think of that, mesdames!"
We had thought of it, and enjoyed the prospect; but, as these three men shuddered sympathetically over the horrors of the place, we began to wonder faintly whether the Inzecca would indeed prove our romantic and early tomb. ”

“ We felt once more the chill of our position, as strangers in a foreign land, as our good, honest little driver disappeared, remembering that we should now have to look after ourselves.
It was a misfortune that we could not leave the next day, for Corte, though lovely, was unpleasant; but it was impossible to face the idea of a ten hours' journey in the breathless interior of a small diligence, and there was no diligence with banquette until the Monday morning. ”

“ The ascent to the top of the Col Sevi, 1600 feet high, was long and steep, with grand views, lying through many a wild and rugged hill varied by chestnut groves, through which gleamed the everlasting snow barriers on every side.
Then through ilex woods, soft and shady, with many a sylvan glade between their gnarled, huge, moss-hugged trunks; past the village of Renno hanging overhead, and other hamlets, to more barren hills, and on to the summit of the Col, where a new range of snow mountains lay before us, glistening in the hot sun and cool puffs of sudden wind. ”

“ Travelling in the open air all day long soon makes one hardy, and neither of us could bear to shut out what view was visible on this lovely road. [206]
Gleams of sunshine, too, occasionally glinted through the trees, and lit them up with dewdrops, like a fairy garden of diamonds; and, for a moment, the heavy clouds would clear away above us, and the rocks hanging overhead would show steep, turret-shaped spires rising into little oases of blue sky, with snow mountains beckoning from the other side. ”

“ At 6 a.m. we were in our carriage, brought round by the ever-punctual Antonio, and driving up the steep ascent in the long shadows of early day, sunlight on the mountain tops, larks singing their carol, and heavy dew lying on the sweet-scented grass and macchie round us. [17]
Every yard of the way was lovely, and every turn brought out new beauties; grandest mountains rising from purple mists of morning, with jagged peak and architectural column, wide deep gorges, and villages nestling everywhere with campanile in their centre, among steep green hills. ”

“ One or two more windings led us into the narrow gorge, walled in on either side by the Porto rocks.
It is impossible to imagine anything more sublime than these blood-red precipices—more wonderful, more perpendicular, and more lofty here than where we had first seen them—almost shutting out the sky from our sight, and again falling beneath us in an unfathomable gorge that made one shudder to look into. ”

“ The open pass is bordered by loose boulders, and far beneath lies the little bay of Roccapina, three or four large coasting vessels lying in its harbour, mere black atoms in the distance; the white sandy road winding down to it, dotted with charcoal carts drawn by their six or eight mules, looking like so many moving centipedes upon the hill-side.
The long headland, which juts far out into the sea and protects one side of this bay, has upon its furthest height a high round tower, and upon the summit of the nearer hill, one of the greatest natural curiosities in Europe. ”

“ At last we came to a sudden turn in the road, and the forest opening out a little, we looked down far below into the large valley of the Niolo, famed for its fertility and the industry of its inhabitants. Far as the eye could reach it stretched away, with hills on either side—on one side clothed with dark forests; and with the Golo, Corsica's largest river, running in silver windings from its source among the hills above. ”

“ The forest keepers live in pretty little wooden houses surrounded by small gardens, in every direction. They are superior, well-educated men, acting as overseers for Government over the timber clearings and fellings. Their position, in the heart of some lovely forest, surrounded by the most exquisite though lonely beauty, must be charming enough in summer; but, in winter, all but blocked up by snow, and environed by miles of stern leafless sentinels, through whose bare and shuddering boughs a cutting wind incessantly moans and whistles, the life must be a very dreary one. ”

“ Near Sartene, the road grows terribly steep, winding for miles round and round the hot interminable hill, on the side of which lies the town, looking clean and superior. Blue sea peeped out behind us, and snow mountains invited us in front, as we got out, and, remembering that both good men and women are merciful to their beasts, toiled up the steep ascent beside the carriage. ”

“ Reaching the top of the last stony height, about six miles from Bonifacio, a splendid view lay spread before us. As far as the eye could reach the great Mediterranean glittered like a blue mirror to the horizon, with its white cliffs and low blue hills, surrounded by many small islands, while the white bastion walls of Bonifacio glistened in the noonday sun far off upon the mainland, overtopping all.
On our right rose the splendid rocks, black pointed and well-nigh inaccessible, upon which is situated the Hermitage de la Trinité. ”

“ The path mounted so rapidly that we could see over the heads of nearly all these forest giants, except those immediately on the road level; and through every break loomed the magnificent head of D'Oro, now some distance, but looking grander and larger than ever, hanging like something unearthly between sky and plain, [182] with a wide belt of clouds round his base, but with his head clear and cloudless. ”

“ Leaving the sea border soon after passing Sagona, we struck inland through cystus-covered hill, bright poppy-sprinkled corn-field, and willows whispering and sighing among a sea of giant bracken fern; here and there, underneath a bit of grateful shade, where myrtle, laurestinus, and arbutus edged the hot wayside; then on, amongst wild and rugged hills, where lizards, green and black, with bright eyes and supple tails, glided rapidly up the face of yellow rocks, and where a long black serpent was sunning himself in the grass by the roadside. ”

“ Cows and mules occasionally strolled in and out with a reflective air, as being quite at their ease, and accustomed to the liberty of their evening saunter; and some magnificent goats, one coal black and the other snow white, lay on the pavement beneath our window, regarding the merry scene calmly, whilst chewing the cud of contemplation, and receiving the caresses of many of the passers-by with a proud indifference.
Occasionally, a couple of dogs got up a fight for the general amusement; and as it grew darker the kids became more lively, standing on their hind legs to waltz with each other. ”

“ As for the women of Corsica, they never join in the public promenades; and, unless it is in Bastia or Ajaccio, the rude laugh and loud voice of a bold girl seem unknown quantities.
It is a puzzling problem to guess how the Corsican young women ever get married, for courtship seems a rare thing, and you never meet a young couple walking out together in the cool of evening, through the flower-scented lanes. ”

“ Ponte Vecchio looked more beautiful than ever, in a passing gleam of sunshine; and as we got out for a farewell to our favourite spot, we discovered the remains of the ancient Pisan bridge lower down the gorge side—a narrow arch, unparapeted, thrown across from bank to bank for foot passengers, but now lying in scattered blocks down the hill-side, or making another boulder or two to vex and rouse the roaring torrent. ”

“ The Ornano family was, in point of nobility, far superior to Sampiero's own, but the Corsican colonel's fame in courts and in the field was already too widely spread for him to be considered an unworthy son-in-law to any noble; whilst he himself, we may well believe, was of an appearance well fitted to succeed in winning the affections of any woman. He was a tall man, with the carriage and piercing eye of a soldier, and with dark curling hair and features of a stern nobility, that harmonized well with his character. ”

“ A cuckoo was calling through the tree-tops merrily, while the mother goats, creeping into the shade, cried to their wandering kids; and a woman, standing on a rock above us, shading her eyes from the glaring sun, beckoned to her children playing in the valley far below, shouting, "Maria! O Maria! O Santo!" in her sing-song, chant-like voice across the sultry air.
By ten o'clock we were in the carriage for [106] Evisa, a village nearly 2800 feet above the sea level, where we were to spend the next night, and which is the best starting-point for the forests of Aïtone and Valdoniello. ”

“ The forest lay all around us at our feet; from the other side of the gorge rose the wonderful Fourca di Basinao; and far away below swelled seven ranges of mountains, billowed and commingling in varied hues of purple, hazy blue, and vivid crimson. [21]
A few steps further brought us to the edge of the slope leading down to the other side, and to the route towards Solenzara; and this view was almost more beautiful than the other. Forests of pine and lighter beeches covered conical hills, that looked as if we could have thrown a stone upon their tops ”

“ You are rich, and you are charming. You would find plenty of suitors in Corsica."
"If we were married, madame, perhaps our husbands would not let us run about the world like this!"
"True, mademoiselle. But it is better to be married, if you can find a good husband. Why don't you come and settle down here, and marry Corsican propriétaires? The Corsicans make good husbands."
"They might shoot us when they were angry, madame."
"Ah bah, mademoiselle! Corsicans don't shoot their wives. A Corsican would think himself lucky to get an English wife. They are all so poor, my countrymen." ”

“ The long narrow harbour which winds [44] from the sea round one side of the town through more curious chalk cliffs, ceased at the edge of the roadside, and the lower little town or quay, with one or two small stone towers, lay beside it, before us, under the brow of the hill up which we must ascend to the citadel and town proper. A more wild and extraordinary looking situation for a town it would be impossible to conceive; and of all the towns in Corsica, I have no hesitation in saying that Bonifacio is best worth a visit. ”

“ A queer mixture of law and barbarism appears to co-exist in Sartene.
"Antonio," I asked, as we passed through village after village full of idling men, standing at street corners, whilst the church bell vainly called for Vesper worshippers, "do the men in Corsica never go to church? Have they no religion?"
"Not much, mademoiselle. They seldom go to a service unless there is some grand procession, and, for the most part, they do not themselves know what they believe." ”