RAMBLES CORSICA AND SARDINIA. WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. EAMBLES 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., 1850. *^* A few copies only of this Edition are on hand. The Same, in 1 vol. post 8vo. without tlie Illustrations. {Traveller's Library.) Longman and Co., 1855. III. EVERARD TUNSTALL: A South- African Tale. Bentley, 1851. *^* A New Edition is in preparation. THE DANUBE AND THE BLACK SEA. A Memoir on their Junction by a Eailway and Port ; with Eemarks 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 PHINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE ;EW-STE[ET SQTJA!!!! RAMBLES IN THE ISLANDS OF CORSICA AND SARDINIA NOTICES OF THEIR HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, AND PRESENT CONDITION. BY THOMAS (F^OEESTER AUTHOR OF "NORWAY IN 1848-1849," ETC. SECOND EDITIOlSr. LONDON LONGMAN, GEEEN, LONGMAN, AND EOBEETS 1861 GIFT 01 PRCFESSOn C.A. KOFOID PREFACE THE SECOND EDITION. An idea prevails that the Island of Sardinia is destined, ere long, in fulfilment of another secret understanding with the Court of Turin, to share the fate of Savoy and Nice in hecoming a dependency of the Erench em- pire. But perhaps it may not be generally understood that such a transfer, as regards British interests in the Mediterranean, would have more important hearings than even the acquisition by Erauce of the frontier provinces, the ancient possessions of the House of Savoy, already ceded. In this view the island acquires a fresh interest, in- dependent of that which its romantic scenery, the sin- gularly primitive character and usages of its inhabitants, and the unique features of some of its very ancient monuments, have lent to the traces of travel sketched in the present work. The sale of a considerable impres- sion of the volume, with its favourable reception, has afforded encouragement for issuing a second edition, M216863 VI PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, and hence it may meet a natural desire for further information under present circumstances, if, by way of additional preface, some remarks be offered on the value of the island as regards its resources and political im- portance. Incidental notices of these topics will be found scattered througli the following pages, but it did not come within the proTince of a mere Rambler in Sardinia to treat them in detail or give them the prominence which events now shadowed out appear to demand. The author may be allowed to add that much of what here follows is confirmed by his own personal observations^, and by inquiries in well-informed quarters on the spot. The earliest geographers represented Sardinia to be the largest of the Mediterranean islands, Sicily ranking next ; and this opinion was shared by many hj^dro- graphers, both in ancient and modern times, until the surveys of La Marmora and Captain W. H. Smyth, H.N.y set the question at rest. The result is in favour of Bicify, though the difference be very trifling. La Marmora calculated tlie extreme length of Sar- dinia from the Capo Falcone on the X. to Cape Teulada on the S., at 268,223 metres, or about 107 miles ; its greatest width at 90, and the narrowest part at about 66, miles. Captain Smyth's admeasurement from Longo-Sardo to Cape Spartivento, something short of the extreme points, is upwards of 140 nautical or 163 statute miles, and he reckons the average breadth at about 60 nautical or 70 statute miles. The approxi- mate result from a comparison of these statements may PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, Vll be taken with sufficient accuracy as 160 statute miles of length, with an average breadth of about 70; Sardinia thus forming, like its sister island Corsica, a long paral- lelogram, each extending almost due N. and S. The united islands, divided only by the narrow Straits of Bonifaccio, thus form an important link between the European and African continents, the extreme points being distant about thirty leagues from the coast of Prance and Italy on the N. and from Algeria on the S. Placed in nearlv the centre of the Mediterranean basin, Connections of the Second Preface. Page 6, line 19, for Sicily read Sardinia. „ 12, „ 9, „ 8^ „ 16. In page 22 the commerce between Sardinia and France is overstated. The imports into the former are about 20 per cent., and the exports about 1 5 per cent., of the whole trade. fertile. The island contains an area, according to Hassall, a good authority, of 9675 square miles, or 6,192,000 acres, more than a third of which consists of the macquis often referred to in the following pages. A similar extent may be assigned to forests and pastures, of the latter of which vast portions are susceptible of tillage. The remainder consists of vineyards, olive-grounds, orchards, and gardens, with some 800,000 acres devoted to the growth of corn. The population, according to returns obtained in the Vi PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, and hence it may meet a natural desire for further information under present circumstances, if, by way of additional preface, some remarks he offered on the value of the island as regards its resources and political im- portance. Incidental notices of these topics will he found scattered tlirough the following pages, hut it did not come within the province of a mere Ramhler in Sardinia to treat them in detail or give them the prominence which events now shadowed out appear to demand. The gicrfy, though the difference he very trifling. La Marmora calculated tlie extreme length of Sar- dinia from the Capo Palcone on the N. to Cape Teulada on the S., at 268,223 metres, or about 167 miles ; its greatest width at 90, and the narrowest part at about 66, miles. Captain Smyth's admeasurement from Lono^o-Sardo to Cape Spartivento, something short of the extreme points, is upwards of 140 nautical or 163 statute miles, and he reckons the average breadth at about 60 nautical or 70 statute miles. The approxi- mate result from a comparison of these statements may PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, Vll be taken with sufficient accuracy as 160 statute miles of length, with an average breadth of about 70; Sardinia thus forming, like its sister island Corsica, a long paral- lelogram, each extending almost due N. and S. The united islands, divided only by the narrow Straits of Bonifaccio, thus form an important link between the European and African continents, the extreme points being distant about thirty leagues from the coast of Prance and Italy on the N. and from Algeria on the S. Placed in nearly the centre of the Mediterranean basin, of which the countries just named form three sides and Spain the fourth, the climate of Sardinia assimilates to that of all these regions, without the extremes to which some of them are exposed. The mean temperature is 61° T, the lowest range by Pahrenheit being 31^ The vegetation also combines the various products of the surrounding shores, the soil of the vast Sardinian Cam- pidani and many of the lesser plains being extremely fertile. The island contains an area, according to Hassall, a good authority, of 9675 square miles, or 6,192,000 acres, more than a third of which consists of the macquis often referred to in the following pages. A similar extent may be assigned to forests and pastures, of the latter of which vast portions are susceptible of tillage. The remainder consists of vineyards, olive-grounds, orchards, and gardens, with some 800,000 acres devoted to the growth of corn. The population, according to returns obtained in the Vlll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. island five years ago, was 543,907 in 1850; the popu- lation of Savoy and Nice being, by the returns to the same period, respectively 276,950, and 118,616 = 395,566. Captain Smyth states the population of Sardinia to have been 480,000 in 1840, so that the decennial increase had been about 7 per cent. Calculating it at the same rate for the last ten years — and there is no reason to think that it has much varied — the present population may be estimated at 560,000 souls. Arthur Young, in the statis- tics of the island which he procured at Turin in 1789, gives the population as 360,000 in 1750, and 421,597 in 1777 ; an increase of only about 17 per cent, in twenty- seven years of comparative prosperity ; and comparing the population of 1850 with Arthur Young's statement of what it was in 1750, it appears that the increase in the century has been 184,000, or little more than 50 per cent. The slow growth of a scanty population, under the advantages of a fine climate and of a vast extent of fertile soil, — with a corresponding deficiency in the pro- duce, argues great defects in the genius of the people or in their social organisation. In the time of the Romans the population is supposed to have amounted to two millions, and Sardinia was called the granary of Rome. Arthur Y^oung, whose Travels* furnish some valuable notices of the state of this island towards the close of the last century, observes that although the grain crops then exceeded the home consumption, they might be increased so as to feed three times the number. * A'^ol. ii. p. 257. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. IX About one million of starelli, or 800,000 acres, are in tillage for corn, the produce, even under an indolent system of cultivation, averaging as much as nineteen bushels per English acre, while a bad harvest in Sardinia is of rare occurrence. The crops, after supplying the home consumption, leave a surplus, annually, of from 400,000 to 500,000 bushels of wheat of a superior quality, with half as much barley, for exportation. But, till re- cently, the export trade was burthened with heavy duties, on a sliding scale ranging to a point at which the expor- tation of wheat was prohibited. The farmer had therefore little inducement to extend his cultivation beyond the immediate demand ; and taking into account the want of an effective system of inclosures, the unbounded rights of commonage which the shepherds assume in the choice of pasture for their flocks and herds, joined to the predilection of the Sardes for the idleness and independence of a pastoral life, and their aversion to agricultural labour, it will appear that it is owing to the spontaneous fertility of the soil that there is any surplus produce at all. It may be alleged that the insalubrity of the climate in many parts of Sardinia, producing at certain seasons the intemperie described in the following work, is a fatal impediment to the increase of agriculture. But it is questionable whether, in so arguing, the cause be not con- founded with the effect. It is generally understood that in the process of cultivation when land is cleared of rank vegetation and an over growth of wood, when free course X PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. is opened to the healthy breeze, and marshes are drained, the noxious exhalations, which are the source of fever and ague yanisli before the skill and industry that triumph over the greatest natural impediments. The truth is, that nature has done much for Sardinia, man little or nothing. The very abundance of her gifts, easily gathered, leaves the Sardes at liberty to indulge in a life of idleness, apathy, and neglect but too congenial to the national temperament. Both the climate and soil of Sardinia are well adapted to the culture of the vine. The produce is abundant, and many of the Avines are sound and excellent. Of these, from 3000 to 4000 pipes are exported annually, the average price on the spot being Is. Gd. per gallon. The olive flourishes in many parts of the island, particularly in the neighbourhood of Sassari, which produces the best oil. Little more than 200 tons are exported annually. Oranges, figs, and almonds figure largely among the orchard fruits, but can hardly be accounted articles of commerce. Tobacco, the cultivation of which has much increased, and salt, collected from extensive salines in various parts of the island, are both royal monopolies ; the former producing a revenue of 800,000 lire *, and the latter 420,000 lire, per annum. The soil and climate of the Campidano is found genial to the growth of cotton, the cultivation of which there is reason to believe might be largely extended, so as to become an important article * The lira nova, taken at the rate of 25 lire nove to the £ sterling, like a franc, is wortli about 9\d. PREPACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XI of commerce. Sparingly cultivated, the small quantities now raised are spun and knit into stockings by the country people. Strange to say, silk also is only pro- duced in small quantities, and of an inferior quality. From the vast range of pasturage Sardinia abounds with various descriptions of live stock, of which, though the bullocks are small, the beef is of good quality. At times the island has afforded large supplies to fleets, garrisons, and armies ; but there is no regular export of cattle, the skins only being sent to Marseilles and other foreign ports where the raw material is worked up, the manufacture of leather in the island being only trifling, though the article is much required for saddlery and general purposes. The fisheries of Sardinia, at one - time extremely pro- ductive, are almost entirely in foreign hands. The principal establishments are the tonnare for taking and curing the tunny fish whicli shoal on the western coast in their way to the Black Sea in the spring and summer months for the purpose of spawning. These large fish run from six to twelve feet in length, and weigh from 100 to 1800 lbs. each, but instances of the latter are very rare. They are salted and cured for ex- portation, the produce in 1841 having been 40,000/. sterling. The coral fishery on the same coast is carried on by boats from Naples and Genoa. Of these from 200 to 300 are employed in the fishery, each felucca generally collecting coral of the value of about 1500 dollars. Of the mineral wealth lying buried in the mountains Xii PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. of Sardinia some imperfect idea may be gathered from a short notice in pp. 328-30 of the present volume; and in pp. 316 and 349 reference is made to the valuable forests of oak timber, clothing the Barbagia and other ranges, with some observations on the produce of cork as an article of commerce which may not be unworthy of attention. According to late returns, the imports of Sardinia were valued at about 8^ millions of lire, the exports showing a small excess. The customs' duty on these amounted to 2,000,000 lire, or about 80,000^. The to- bacco and salt monopolies, with some minor articles, are estimated to raise the indirect revenue to about 3,000,000 lire, or 120,000Z. per annum. The direct revenue, con- sisting of " donatives," of the royal patrimony, and proceeds of the interior administration, may be taken at 1,300,000 lire ; so that the total amount of public revenue is about 4,300,000 lire, equal to 172,000/. per annum. The share of this revenue which finds its Avay into the exchequer at Turin it would be difficult to ascertain, as no returns of the expenditure in the different departments are published. Perhaps even now the nett surplus does not much exceed 5000/. sterling, the amount at which Nelson calculated it half a century ago. Under the sovereignty of the house of Savoy, Sardinia has doubtless for a century and a half derived much advantage from the repose it has enjoyed from the long series of intestine wars and foreign assaults to which it had been a prey for seven centuries, while its coasts were PrvEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. Xlll ravaged by the Moors, and the island became the battle- field of the rival republics of Pisa and Genoa, and of the Kings of Aragon and of Spain. It must be ad- mitted also that under a settled government, and with the enlightened spirit which, with few exceptions, has animated the princes of the House of Savoy, measures have been introduced for abating the rigour of the feudal exactions, for the repression of brigandage, the encouragement of agriculture and education, and the general improvement of the people. But unhappily this wise policy has by no means produced the fruit which might have been expected, the failure having arisen more from the inaptitude of the people for im- provement, and from faults in the administration, than from defects in the laws. It is needless to recapitulate here the reforms and other beneficial measures of which a summary is given in chapter xxiii. of the present volume. To these may be added the want of roads in the interior branching into the great thoroughfare from Sassari to Cagliari, which is excellent. These are the improvements which in the opinion of intelligent natives are most required for raising Sardinia to the rank she is entitled to hold by the variety and extent of her natural resources. Of the value of these, when properly developed, some idea may be formed from the rapid survey just taken in these supplemental pages. Sardinia, however, possesses an importance far beyond any estimate that may be formed of the value of her XIV PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. material wealth. The island must ever be a dependency of some great continental Power, and, as regards its terri- tory, population and revenue, it can only rank as an in- significant province. But its commanding position and noble harbours give the island the utmost political value to any state aspiring to naval power in the Mediterranean. Reference is made in the course of the following nar- rative (p. 263) to Nelson's opinion of the value of the island of Sardinia as a naval station. This opinion we find repeated, " in a variety of forms and with character- istic energy of expression," in the great admiral's official and private letters while for two years his fleet was stationed in the harbour of La Maddalena, watching, by means of repeating frigates, the Erench fleet blockaded in Toulon. On such a subject there can be no higher authority ; and, in the face of possible and not improbable events, it is desirable that public attention should be directed to the serious consequences of the Sardinian ports being occupied by any Power pretending to compete with England for naval preponderance in the Mediter- ranean. It may not be amiss, therefore, at the present juncture to collect Nelson's observations from his printed correspondence, and bring them into view more fully than was done in the former editions of this work. Nelson to Mr. Jackson [Minister at Turin). " Madelena, Nov. 1803. " What a noble harbour is formed by these islands ! The world cannot produce a finer ! This is not a very plentiful place, but still I PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XV hope we shall be allowed to purchase what we cau obtain for our money. . .And although the King of Sardinia is not at war with the French^ yet if for want of refreshments this fleet be laid up, I believe the French would not scruple to take Sardinia and Sicily. The Sardinians^ generally speaking, are attached to us ; but there are French intriguers among them, and I understand they hope to bring about a revolt.."* Nelson to Lord Hobart. " December 22nd, 1803. " My dear Lord, In presuming to give my opinions on any subject, I venture not on infallibility, and more particular information may convince me that my opinion is wrong. But as my observations on what I see are not unacceptable, I shall state them as they strike me at the moment of writing. God knows, if we could possess one island, Sardinia, we should want neither Malta, nor any other. This, which is the finest island in the Mediterranean, possesses harbours fit for arsenals, and of a capacity to hold our navy, ivithin twentij-four hours' sail of Toulon ; bays to ride our fleets in and to watch both Italy and Toulon. No fleet could pass to the eastward between Sicily and the coast of Barbary, nor through the Faro of Messina. Malta, in point of position, is not to be named in the same year with Sardinia. All the fine ports of Sicily are situated on the eastern side of the island, consequently of no use to watch anything but the Faro of Messina. And, my lord, I venture to predict that if we do not — from delicacy or consideration for the unfortunate King of Sardinia — the French ivill get possession of this island. Sardinia is very little knoivn. It was the policy of Piedmont to keep it in the background, and whoever it has belonged to, it seems to have been their maxim to treat the inhabitants with severity, in loading their produce with such duties as prevented their growth. * See Clarke and M' Arthur's Life of Nelson, and Nicholas's Nelson l^espatches. The passages marked by italics as most applicable to present circumstances were not underlined in the autographs. xvi PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. " The Court of Sardinia certainly wants every penny to maintain itself, and yet I am told, after the wretched establishment of the island is paid, the King does not receive 5000Z. sterling a year. The country is fi-uitful beyond idea, and abounds in cattle and sheep— and would in corn, wine, and oil. It has no manufactories. In the hands of a liberal government, and freed from the dread of the Barbary States, there is no telling what its produce would amount to. It is worth any money to obtain, and I pledge my existence it could be held for as little as Malta in its establishment, and produce a larger revenue." To Mr. Jackson. " Madalena Island?, 29th Dec. 1803. " I find apprehensions are renewed of an invasion of Sardinia from Corsica. . . . The Sardinians, generally speaking, are attached to us, but there are French intriguers among them, and I understand they hope to bring about a revolution before the invasion," To Mr. Elliot {Minister at Naples). " Victory, December 29th, 1803. " I have stated my opinion fully to Lord Hobart, that I have not the smallest doubt that if we do not, the French will possess Sardinia before two months." To Lord Minto. " January 11th, 1804. '' Sardinia, if we do not take it very soon, the French will ; and then we lose the most important island, as a naval and milita7'y station, in the Mediterranean. It possesses at its northern extremity the finest harbour in the world ; it equals Trincomalee. . . . If I lose Sardinia, I lose a French fleet." To Mr. Jackson. " February 10th, 1804. " The storm is brewing, and there can be little doubt that Sardinia is one of the first objects of its violence. We have a report that the PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XVll visit of Lucien Buonaparte is to effect an amicable exchange of Sardinia for Parma and Piacenza. This must not take place. Wliat I can do to ward off the blow shall be done. From Marseilles to Nice there are not less than 30^000 men ready for embarkation. . . . We may prevent^ but cannot retake. Sardinia is the most important post in the Mediterranean. The wind which would carry a French fleet to the west is fair from Sardinia, and Madalena is the most important station in this important island. I am told that the revenue, after paying the expenses of the island, does not give the King 5000/. sterling a year. If it is so, I would give him 500,000/. to cede it, which would produce him 25,000/. a year for ever." In a subsequent letter to the same Minister Lord Nelson added ; " Entre nous, it is not the interest of the Sardinians to remain as they are. The peasantry are opjjressed with small (petty) taxes, and the nobles are detested.'^ To Lord St. Vincent. " 1804. " I have written to Lord Hobart on the importance of Sardinia. It is worth a hundred Maltas in position, and has the finest man-of- war harbour in Europe. In short, it has nothing but advantages." To Lord Hobart. " March 17th, 1804. *' Sardinia is the summum bonum of every thing Avhich is valuable for us in the Mediterranean. The more I know of it, the more I am convinced of its inestimable value, from position, naval ports and resources of all kinds." To Lord Hawkesbury. " June 22nd, 1804. " If I were at your lordship's elbow, I think I could say so much upon the subject of Sardinia that attempts would be made to obtain it. For this I hold as clear that the King of Sardinia cannot keep it, and, if he could, that it is of no use to him ; that if France gets it, XVlll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. she commands the Mediterranean ; and that by us it would be kept at a much smaller expense than Malta. From its position it is worth fifty Maltas." To Sir Alexander Ball {Governor of Malta). " August 3rd, 1804. " On this point we agree, — that Sardinia never must be even 7'isked* falling into the hands of France. I have warned the folks at home;, but I fear in vain. Algiers will be French in one year after peace." The last prediction shows how astutely Nelson had fathomed the Erench policy, so long cherished and watch- ing only opportunities, of aggrandisement in the Mediter- ranean. What if his oft-repeated apprehensions of the occupation of Sardinia should, in the course of events, be also at length realised ! In addition to the correspondence here added, the author desires to draw attention to paragraphs in his work which exhibit, from the Sardinian point of view, the growing importance of Sardinia as regards her maritime position and advantages. One of these pas- sages (p. 372) conveys the opinions of General Count Albert La Marmora, the author of the "Topographical Survey," and of the Voyage en SardaignCy whose life has been devoted to promote the interests of the Sarde people. The other passage (p. 374) is quoted from a popular work representing, there is reason to believe, the opinions of a large class of the most enlightened Sardes. Both these writers concur in predicting a brilliant future * The italics here are Nelson's. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XIX for Sarcliuia in its maritime relations. With some allow- ance for natural prejudices, it may appear, even from the rapid survey we have just taken of the natural resources and position of Sardinia, that the fervent ex- pectations of these Philo-Sardes are, to a certain extent, not unreasonable; but whether they are to be realised under the auspices of the Cross of Savoy or of the Erench Tricolor, remains to be seen. The rumours of a proposed transaction with the Prench Emperor acquired such importance as to elicit from Count Cavour in the Parliament of Turin a more em- phatic denial than the disclaimer of that Minister which was speedily followed by the cession of Savoy and Nice. But his denial was couched in terms which strensrthened the impression that though, possibly, no further portions of united Italy would or could be detached from the con- solidated kingdom, the transfer of such insular possessions as Sardinia and Elba, forming no part of Italian soil, was at least an open question. The cession would natu- rally include such satellites of the larger islands as Capraja, on the coast of Corsica, now belonging to Tuscany, and Caprera, Garibaldi's asylum, which, like his birthplace, Nice, would thus pass under the dominion of the man most detested by the great patriot. No one can doubt that the Emperor Napoleon is fully sensible of the importance of the island of Sardinia as regards the great question of naval preponderance in the Mediterranean. Nor, at this moment, v.hen it appears that the Emperor's attention has been turned to a 2 XX PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. plans for extending the Frencli possessions in Africa, and when he has decided on making Algiers the seat of a Governor-General, with power enabling him to act inde- pendently in case hostilities should interrupt the com- munications with France, — can it be doubted that in the Emperor's recent visit to Corsica and Algeria, sailing within view of the sister island, he was not keenly alive to the manifest advantages it offers for securing and facilitating those communications. The addition of Sar- dinia to the French island of Corsica, would in effect extend the chain connecting Algeria with Prance to a point distant only eight or ten hours by steam from either continent ; with the noble harbour of La Mad- dalena, for an outpost from Toulon, at the northern extremity, and, on the southernmost, that of Cagiiari commanding the great thoroughfare of the Mediterranean and approaching Algeria. Cagiiari is also the point of the departure of the line of electric telegraph to Bona, which almost alone of all the Mediterranean sub- marine cables holds its ground, and the laying of which is described in the last chapter of this work. Nor, if such be the aspect under which Sardinia has presented itself to the politic Emperor, will he have credit for being very scrupulous in the mode of effecting its acquisition. That the Cabinet of Turin, which has never shown much concern for the interests of this insular and turbu- lent possession, and is now overwhelmed with the weighty cares of cementing and organising a magnificent kingdom, should lightly value the loss of an island teeming with PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXI discontent and unproductive in revenue, if it can bo thrown into the scale against Eome or Venetia, or the undisturbed consolidation of the kingdom of Naples, may be easily imagined. Nor could Victor Emanuel, after dismembering his kingdom by the cession of the most ancient possession and cradle of his race, feel much scruple in parting with an emerald gem in liis crown, of little lustre but for Sardinia having brought to the House of Savoy the kingly title now exchanged for one more glorious. We are informed by writers on the Peace of Utrecht, that the politic Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II., accepted with reluctance the sovereignty of Sardinia as a pis-aller for Sicily, when forced upon him by the Great Powers in exchange for his j)retensions to the more important island. The present King might find a pre- cedent in the government of another of his ancestors, and be inclined to barter Sardinia for territories equi- valent, though the guallantuomo miglit not, like Victor Amadeus III., be willing to sell it. "It is a curious circumstance in the King of Sardinia's government," observes that intelligent English farmer, Arthur Young, in his still valuable Travels, — writing at Turin in 1789, — " that there is in this court a great desire to sell the island of Sardinia. A treaty was opened with the Empress (Catherine) of Russia for that purpose after she was disappointed in her negotiations with the Genoese in the projected acquisition of Spezzia, and of Malta ; but in all these schemes of a Mediterranean establishment she Avas thwarted by the vigorous and decisive influence XXii PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. of the Courts of Versailles and Madrid." It is added in a note tliat the sum demanded for the sale of Sardinia was a million sterling : of which Arthur Young observes, " the purchaser would have a noble estate at twice that price, seeing the immense improvements of which the island is capable." If a certain understanding exists between the two Governments, the commercial relations now subsisting between Prance and Sardinia may tend to facilitate the transfer. Mr. Craig, our intelligent and indefati- gable Consu.1 at Cagiiari, states in his Eeport for 1857, that these have been steadily increasing, " Erance ap- pearing to enjoy a preference over all other foreign na- tions in the trade of the island." The imports from Prance in 1855 were of the value of 18,801,152 francs, the exports 10,597,334, of which wine formed an item of three millions. The trade with England is very trifling." When the author was at Cagiiari in 1857, there was only a single vessel under the British flag in the harbour, a brig, discharging coal. It is worthy, however, of a passing notice, that Mr. Craig reports that articles of British manufacture are in great request. Besides the commercial activity just mentioned, though connected with it, occurs the circumstance that Erench houses hold large concessions for cutting timber and cork in the Sardinian forests (see p. 346), and, I believe, are also concerned in workiug mines. To show how much Erench enterprise is directed even to making new experiments in this quarter, it may be mentioned, that PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXlll in 1(S55 the author travelled for a while with the gerant of a French company in course of formation for distilling alcohol from the roots of a plant described in p.. 305 of the " Kamhles," which abounds in the otherwise unpro- ductive and extensive macquis. The spirit appeared to be pure and of great strength. These transactions give the Prench a footing in the island which maybe used for political purposes. Reports are current that, as in Nelson's time, Erench " intriguers " — like skirmishers preceding the advance of solid columns — have been feeling the way for the march of revolution in the government of Sardinia, under a system already applied to other coveted frontier territories. The lure thrown out to Savoy, Belgium, and the Bhenish pro- vinces of the material advantages attendant on annexation to the Trench empire may be tempting to influential classes in Sardinia, where the ground, it seems, is in some degree already prepared by extended commercial relations with Prance. This feeling, joined to the apathy of many and the discontent of others among the masses of the population at real or imaginary grievances, renders it by no means improbable, that the Sardes may be easily moved to ratify the diplomatic measure which would transfer Sardinia to Prance, on an appeal to the national suffrage under which modern statesmanship has learnt to gloss over convenient usurpations of sovereignty. Such an appeal to the national will has an imposing effect ; and it must be remembered that the Sardes boast a na- tionality as distinct from that of the Piedmontese as it is XXIV PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. foreign to the Erench, and not more partaking of the Italian element, through long suhjection to Genoa, than it does of the Spanish hy the Aragonese occupation. The indications of French designs on Sardinia may- appear to some as yet too slight to merit serious notice. But the signs of the times are ominous. Similar schemes, stealthily planned though rapidly executed, might pos- sihly have heen nipped in the hud by timely efforts. The author may therefore he pardoned for taking the present opportunity of drawing public attention to a contingency which, in the event of its being realised, would, he con- siders, inflict a great calamity on the Sardinians, members as they now are of a free constitutional State, and, what is of infinitely more importance, would strike a fatal blow at British power in the Mediterranean. As Nelson affirmed that Sardinia would be worth to England " fifty Maltas," — we say nothing of Corfu, — it may be justly said, that Sardinia is worth to Erance as many Corsicas. Alone, it would menace, if not command, the great mari- time route to the eastward after passing the Straits of Gibraltar. Joined to Corsica, it would complete the Erench chain of connection with Algeria. January, 1S61. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION, Nearly a century ago, James Boswell made an expe- dition to Corsica, and was entertained witli 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 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 English- man has written on Corsica except Mr. Ptobert 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 Elect Prison. XXvi PREFACE TO TEE FIRST EDITION. 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 inhabit- ants ; 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, there- fore, 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 PEEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. XXVll 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 harren when examined in prospect of this expedition, that of Sardinia presented an emharras 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 Ptamhler can make no pretensions to rival ; hut 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 E. Antonio Bresciani, of the Society of Jesus *, 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 P^amblers had loitered on their early path, idly amusing themselves with very trifles, or stopping to gather the wild flowers * Dei Costumi delV Lsola di Sardegna, comparate cogli antichlsshni Vopoli Or ientali, par Antonio Bresciani. B.C. DM. Napoli, 1850. XXviii PREFACE TO THE FIEST EDITION. that fell in their way, till the harvest-field was reached too late to be carefully gleaned. Por a work, however, of this description, attention enough has 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 misinter- preted, as attaching to the work an importance to which it does not pretend. But there is the less reason for re- gretting this delay, as it has afforded him another op- portunity 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 ac- companying trip to Algeria, may form a not uninteresting episode to the Eambles in that island. May, 1S5S. CONTENTS, Peeface to the Second Edition .... Page v Preface to the First Edition ...... xxv CHAPTER I. Inducements to tlie Expedition. — Early Impressions concerning Corsica. — Plan of the Tour. — Eoutes to Marseilles. — Meeting there . 1 CHAP. II. Marseilles. — Cafe de 1' Orient. — Cannebiere and Port. — Sail to the Islands in the Gulf, — The Chateau-d'If and Count de Monte-Cristo. — A sudden Squall 8 CHAP. III. Embark for Corsica. — Coast of France and Italy. — Toulon. — Hyeres Islands, Frejus, &c. — A stormy Night. — Crossing the Tuscan Sea 21 CHAP. IV. Coast of Capo Corso. — Peculiarity of Scenery. — Verdure, and Mountain Villages. — II Torre de Seneca. — Land at Bastia . . . 28 CHAP. V. Bastia. — Territorial Divisions. — Plan of the Eambles. — Hiring Mules. — The Start ........ 38 CHAP. VI. Leave Bastia. — The Eoad. — View of Elba, Pianosa, and Monte-Cristo. — The Littorale. — An Adventure. — The Stagna di Biguglia . 44 XXX CONTENTS. CHAP. VII. Evergreen Thickets. — Their remarkable Character. — A fortunate Een- contre. — Moonlight in the Mountains. — Cross a high Col. — Corsican Shepherds.— The Vendetta.— Village Quarters . _ . Page 53 CHAP. VIII. The Littorale. — Corsican Agriculture. — Grreek and Eoman Colonies. — Sketch of Medieval and Modern History.— Memoirs of King Theodore deNeuhoff 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 AVoods. — Gulf of San Piorenzo.— 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 Grolo ..... 117 CHAP. XIII. PonteNuovo. — The Battle-field.— Antoine's Story . . 129 CHAP. XIV. Eilial Duty, Love, and Kevenge : a Corsican Tale . . • 134 CONTENTS. XXXI CHAP. XV. Morosaglia, Seat of the Paolis. — Higher Valley of the Golo. — Orography of Corsica. — Its Geology ..... Page 145 CHAP. XVI. Approach to Corte. — Our "Man of the "Woods." — Casa Paoli. — The Gaffoii. — Citadel.— An Evening Stroll . . . .156 CHAP. XVII. Pascal Paoli more honoured than Napoleon Buonaparte. — His Memoirs. — George III. King of Corsica. — Eemarks on the Union. — Paoli's Death and Tomb . . . . . . . .164 CHAP. XVIII. Excursions to a Eorest. — Borders of the Niolo. — Adventures. — Corsican Pines. — The Pinus Maritima and Pinus Lariccio. — Government Forests ........ 179 CHAP. XIX. The Porest 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.— Porest of Vizzavona. — A Eoadside Adventure. — Bo- cagnono. — Arrive late at Ajaccio ..... 205 CHAP. XXII. Ajaccio. — College-Pesch. — 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 XXXll CONTENTS. CHAP. XXIII. Leave Ajaccio. — Neighbourhood of Ohneto. — Sollacaro. — -James Boswell's Eesidence there. — Scene in the " Corsican Brothers" laid there.— Quarrel of the Vincenti and Grimaldi. — Eoad to Sartene. — Corsican Marbles. — Arrive at Bonifacio .... Page 227 CHAP. XXIV. Bonifacio. — Foundation and History. — Besieged by Alfonso of Aragon. — By Dragut and the Turks. — Singularity of the Place. — Its Mediaeval Aspect. — The Post-office. — Passports. — Detention. — Marine Grottoes. — Ruined Convent of St. Julian . . , . . 242 CHAP. XXV. Island or Sardinia. — Cross the Straits of Bonifacio. — The Town and Harbour of La Madelena. — Agincourt Sound, the Station of the British Pleet in 1803. — Anecdotes of Kelson. — Napoleon Buonaparte repulsed at La Madelena . . . . . . .258 CHAP. XXVI. Ferried over to the Main Island. — Start for the Mountain Passes of the Gallura. — Sarde Horses and Cavallaute. — 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. — Eomantic Glen. — Al-fresco Meal. — Forest of Cork Trees. — SalvatorEosa Scenery. — Haunts of Outlaws. — Their Atrocities. — Anecdotes of them in a better Spirit, — The Defile in the Mountains. — Elevated Plateau. — A Night IMarch. — Arrival at Tempio, the Capital of Gallura. — Our Eeception .... 280 CHAP. XXVIII. Tempio. — The Town and Environs. — The Lirabara Mountains. — Vine- yards. — 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 CONTENTS. XXXUl 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 Intemperie. It recently carried off an English Traveller. — Descend a romantic Glen to the Level of the Campidano. — Its peculiar Character. — Gallop over it. — Eeach Ozieri ..... Page 310 CHAP. XXX. Effects of vast Levels as compared with Mountain Scenery. — Sketclies 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 Eefugee Colonel turned Cook and Traiteur. — Traces of Phenician Superstitions in Sarde Usages. — The Eites of Adonis. — Passing through the Eire to Moloch . . . .331 CHAP. XXXII. Expedition to the Mountains. — Environs of Ozieri. — Eirst View of the Peaks of Genargentu. — Eorests. — Value of the Oak Timber. — Cork Trees: their Produce, and Statistics of the Trade. — Hunting the Wild Boar, &c. — The Hunters' Eeast. — A Bivouac in the Woods. — Notices of the Province of Barbagia. — Independence of the Mountaineers . 344 CHAP. XXXIII. Leave Ozieri. — The New Eoad, and Travelling in the Campagna. — Monte Santo. — Scenes at the Halfway House. — Volcanic Hills. — Sassari; its History. — Liberal Opinions of the Sassarese. — Constitutional Govern- ment. — Eeforms 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.— Eemarks on the Origin and Design of these Structures . 389 b CONTENTS. CHAP. XXXV. Sardinian Monoliths. — The Sepolture, or "Tombs of the Giants." — Traditions regarding Giant Eaces. — The Anakim, &c., of Canaan. — Their snpposed Migration to Sardinia. — Eemarks on Aboriginal Kaces. — Antiquity of the Nuraghe and Sepolture. — Their Founders unknown ....... Page 376 CHAP. XXXVI. Oristano. — Orange-groves of Mills. — Cagliari — Description of. — The Cathedral and Churches. — Eeligious Laxity. — Ecclesiastical Statistics. — Vegetable and Pruit Market. — Eoyal Museum. — Antiquities. — Coins found in Sardinia.— Phenician Eemains. — The Sarde Idols . 407 CHAP. XXXVII. Porto-Torres. — Another Italian Eefugee. — Embark for Genoa. — "West Coast of Corsica. — Turin. — The Sardinian Electric Telegraph. — The Wires laid to Cagliai'i ...... 422 CHAP. XXXVIII. Sardinian Electric Telegraph.— The Laud 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. — Import- ance of Cagliari as a Telegraph Station. — Its Commerce. — The Eeturn Voyage. — Conclusion ...... 432 INDEX TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS. LITHOGRAPHS. AJACCio frontispiece. MAP OP COESICA AND SARDINIA . faciilff p. 1 EESA, CAPO COESO . .... 33 COETE VIVAEIO 157 205 BONIFACIO .... facing p. 242 VALIET OF THE LISCIA, SAEDINIA „ 275 THE LIMBAEA, FKOM TEMPIO . „ 296 THE PLAIN OF OZIEEI . . „ 318 WOOD ENGRAVINGS. CORSICA. MAESEIIiLES, FEOM THE EAILWAT , 7 ISLETS OFF MAESEILLES ... 12 chateaf-d'if 14 MAESEILLES, FEOM THE CHATEAF-D'IF . 17 FEENCH COAST, OFF CIOTAT ... 23 OFF TOrLON 24 IL TOEEE Dl SENECA .... 34 ISLE OF MONTE-CEISTO .... 47 ,MEETINa OF MOUNTAINS AND PLAIN NEAE BASTIA 48 OLMETA 77 ISLE OF MONTE-CEISTO, THROUGH A GOEGE 91 BETWEEN OLMETA AND BIGOENO . . 95 PONTE MUEATO 103 CAPO COESO, FEOM CHESTNUT WOODS . 107 NEAE BIGOBNO 122 CITADEL OF COETE .... 161 PINUS MAEITIMA 185 PINU3 LAEICCIO 185 CONE OF THE PINUS LAEICCIO . . 186 BAEK OF THE PINUS LAEICCIO . . 186 BOCAGNONO 209 HAEBOUE OF AJACCIO .... 217 BONIFACIO, ON THE SEA- SIDE . . 240 OUTLINE OF SAEDINIA, FEOM BONIFACIO 253 CATES UNDEE BONIFACIO . . . 255 BONIFACIO, FEOM THE CONTENT IN THE VALLEY 256 LOOKING BACK ON COESICA . A SALTATOE EOSA SCENE DESCENT TO THE CAMPIDANO THE CAMPIDANO . EXTEEIOE OF A NUEAGHE . ENTEANCE TO A NUEAGHE . INTEEIOE OF A NUEAGHE . SAEDINIA.. 259 SEPOLTUEA DE IS GIGANTES . . 390 282 THE SAME .... . 391 313 SAEDO-EOMAN COIN . 417 321 CAETHAGINIAN COIN . . 418 379 SAEACEN COIN . 418 381 POETO-TOEEES . 425 381 L ondorv. Lonmruvi & Co. EAMBLES CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAPTER I. Inducements to the Expedition. — Early impressions concerning Corsica. — Plan of the Tour. — Routes to Mai^seilles. — Meeting there. It would be difficult to say, and it matters little, what principally led to the selection of two islands in the Medi- terranean, 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 Ejelds of Norway. If, too, his comrade should fail in climbing to the vast solitudes in which the bounding moifflon harbours, there were boar hunts in the prospect for him ; not such courtly pageants as one sees in the pictures of Yelasquez, but more stirring, and in nobler covers. B 2 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Should these prove to he 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 unvi- sited, 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 study- ing 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, vooj/ syvCo.* Not only did he " visit the abodes of many people," but he " studied their NoS^ ; " all that the term involves of its impress on character, habits, and insti- tutions was keenly investigated by the accomplished navi- gator. And what studies must be afforded by these singular islanders, who, we w^ere informed, in the centre of the Mediterranean, at the very threshold of civilisation, com- bined many of the virtues, with more than the ferocity, of barbarous tribes ! My own impressions regarding Corsica were early re- ceived. In my younger days, there was the same sort of sjTiipathy with the Corsicans w^hich Ave now find more noisily, and sometimes absurdly, displayed for the Poles. * IToWwi' 6 clvdpM-wr th}' a-ea — kciI raor iyyCJ. Otl- i. 3- EARLY IMPRESSIONS. 3 I had seen Pascal Paoli, and talked with General Duniou- riez about his first campaign against tlie Corsican moun- taineers, of which his recollections Avere 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 bandltisme, and Sardinia for a deadly hitemperie ; 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. H 2 4 ]{ AMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Ulie true traveller must "become all things to all men," if lie 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 l)onder in Norway, drink som- milk without a wry face in a Calfre'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 chatterins:, but sententiouslv uttering his Avords between whiffs of smoke, which, meanwhile, he drinhs, 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 climb- ing 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 imselfish. 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 Sar- dinia until the latest possible period of the autumn, the plan finally laid was to take Corsica in detail from Capo Corso to Bonifaccio, and tlien cross the straits, as best we PLAN OF THE TOUR. O 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 em- barkation, 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 grmid coup. My friend pushed through the more frequented parts of Swit- zerland for Zermatt and the Matterhorn. He was much struck by the remarkable contrast of that stupendous obe- lisk 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 some- times with those we do not know, being among the plea- sures of travelling in the more frequented routes. Agree- able acquaintances are made or renewed ; perhaps a day or G RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 ahhey through the length and depth of the old Duchy were become familiar names, feeling a strong desire to revisit scenes thus brought fresli to his memory, shouldered his knapsack at Dieppe, and spent a most delightful fortnight in rambling through that fine proA'ince. 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 tenne 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 rovmd 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 chemiii-de-fer, the first vineyards appeared between Chartres and Orleans, with an efi'ect much inferior, as it seemed, to that produced by the orchards of Normandy, loaded as they were Avith ruddy frait ; but this may be the prejudice of a native of the West of England. Erom Lyons, one of the long nar- roAV 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 MEETING AT MAllSEILLES. 7 the byroads of Normandy, had cooled the air, freshened vegetation, and made travelling in the south of Erance 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 he traversed, with little or no intermediate communica- tion, something might go wrong, and our plans, however well laid, he delayed or frustrated. The last stage of the journey commenced — should I he first at the rendezvous, or was my companion for the future waiting my arrival ? At last, after spending the warm noon of an unclouded day amongst the noble ruins of Aries, 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 tra- vellers, 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. RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. II. Marseilles. — Cafe de V Orient. ' — Can7iehiere and Port. — Sail to the IslaJids in the Gulf. — The Ch&teau d'lf and Count de Monte- Cristo. — A sudden Squall. We met tlien 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 imdertaking 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 I'lsle de E^ousse, 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 bag- gage, 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 MAKSEILLES. CAFE DE l'oRIENT. 9 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 tra- velling 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 entrepot of com- merce, and centre of communication, in the Mediterranean, all the races dAvelling on its shores, and many others, are represented there. "Let us go to the Grand Cafe,'' — I think it is called Cafe de V Orient — said my companion, the evening Ave 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 mous- tache, 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 10 GAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. harvest in Prance has failed. And see that man with the olive complexion, keen features, and ringlets of hlack hair and pendent ear-rings under his dark harrette. He may he the imdroue 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 Arahs, swarthy, high-cheeked-honed, keen-eyed fellows, in snowy hournouses, with hair and moustache of almost unnatural hlackness. Erench officers of every arm in the service are grouped round the taljles, drinking eau-sucre and playing at dominoes or cards, or lounge on the sofas reading the gazettes. The garcous in scarlet tunics, relieved hy their white turhans and camhric 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-hoat down the Ejhone. They are men of great intelligence, perfect savoir-vkre, and calm dignity of manner, patrician citizens of a repuhlic. 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 he a strong muster of our countrymen, and women too. Turning out of the shady avenue of the Corso on a sultrv afternoon, I sauntered down the Rue de la Canne- THE CANNEBIERE AND PORT. 11 hlere 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 cafe ; most of them, of course, of an inferior class. There can be no mistaking that wild-looking creature, bare-legged, and in a Avhite bournouse, who is staring with curious eyes at the sj)lendid 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. AVliat 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 ! AYhat 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 aunonces over the shops of traiteurs and ship- chandlers, in very readable Greek, carry the mind back to the Phoc^ean founders of this great emporium of com- merce ! It was a cooler walk along the Hue de Bovne, and by the Marche-aux- Capucins, gay with fruits and flowers, to the Museum library, in search of books relating to Corsica. There w^as 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 know- ledge. The only book I discovered was Vallery's Travels. 12 RAMBLES IN COrvSICA AND SARDINIA. I made a few extracts, and found no reason to desire more. Eew 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 jDhrases, glitter, and sentiment. " Let us take a l3oat and sail over to the islands lying off the harbour," said my fellow-traveller one afternoon. " With all my heart," These islets, most of them J^ mere rocks, form """ a sort of shel- tered strait, or ^ roadstead, of which the island of Rion, with Cape Morgion "^-"'^^ :; on the main- ISLETS OFF MA1;M IL1.1 ~. l^Ud OppOSltC, are the extreme points. Pomegue and Eatoneau are connected by a breakwater. "• Gargou, put a roast fowl and some pates, with a loaf of bread and a bottle of Bordeaux, into a corheille 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. SAIL TO THE ISLANDS. 13 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 narroAV entrance, w^e hoisted sail. On the right was the new harbour of La Joliette, connected with the old port by a canal. At pre- sent 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 con- ceive the scene Marseilles then presented. We now discussed the contents of our hamper with great gout, 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 Mar- seilles stands, and the amphitheatre of hills surrounding it, studded with the country-houses of the citizens ; small cottages, called hastides, 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 Avas 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, low- ering the lateen sail, my companion took one of the oars. 14 IIAMBLES IN CCmSTCA AND SARDINIA. 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 Chateau cVIf. The whole circuit of the cliffs, containing an area of, perhaps, two acres, is surrounded by fortifications. Climb- ing some rocky steps, we waited in the guardroom till the concierge brought the keys of the castle. It w^as 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, CHATEAU D'IF. victims of despotic or revolutionary tyranny, who had been immured there without trial and without hope. The island now serves as a depot for recruits to fill up the CHATEAU d'iF. 15 regiments serving in Algiers ; and some of the larger apartments of the chateau are used as a caserne. But the ChcUeaii cV If is probably best knoAvn 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 : Dantes (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 Dantes 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 Dantes sinks with a thirty-tAVO-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 Eatoneau and Pomegue lay nearest. Farther off was Lemaire, to which Dantes 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 Lemaire, "do you think you could do what the count is represented to have done." IG llAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. " 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 he about three miles ; and as my friend has since swum across the Bosphorus, where the current is strong, he would probably have found no diffi- culty in that part of the affair. "But how about cutting the cord to get rid of the thirty-two-poimd shot, and extricating yourself from the sack ? " " Ca clejyend! 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." " Erencli 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 e zero, e 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 flights 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." SCENES AT CHATEAU b'IF. 17 The recruits flocked round us, asking lor eau-de-vie. Many of them were Italians, deserters from the armies in Lomhardy, Piedmont, and the Papal states, glad to change their service for better pay and treatment under the Erench 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, — drnes penliis, the most reck- less before the enemy, the most licentious in the camp. These were merry fellows, launching witty shafts against Anstrians, Pope, and Cardinals, — maladetti tuttl, and good-humoured gibes at their comrade, who, standing in an embrasiire, 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 moun- tains at the foot of which Marseilles stands. MAKbElLLlib FROM THE CHATEAU U'lK. Others, leaning over the battlements, whiled away the listless evening hours, watching fishermen drawing the seine at the foot of the rocks. Wc pulled round to the cove and watched them too ; a c 18 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. very different set of fellows from the malbigatti stationed above. Eine, 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 remark- able. 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 ex- panded 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 dcs braves marins,''^ said the padrone, as he stood by the halyards, looking out ahead, after all was made snug. We were, indeed, in our element. The sudden squall A SQUALL OF WIND. 19 had stirred our blood. Many sucli rough cruises we had shared together in okl 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 padrone, 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 Veil previi,'' said i\\Q padrone. " About " it was. She stayed beautifully, even under the single sail, and in a trice was lying Avell upon the other tack, as we stood out to sea. In five minutes we Avent 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 garjnerons, fen gagerais une bontellle de vin ! " cried the pictdrdne, much excited, for he Avas proud of his boat. " Vons Vaiirez, toutefois, pour hoire a la sante de vos camarades Anglais.'" Again we flew through the water, making a straight course for the harbour. The felucca had much the advan- tage 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 ofiice, to wait for her p>ermis d'entrer, when we shot ahead right into the port. We made out the evening at the theatre, well entertained c 3 20 RAMBLES IN COHSICA AND SARDINIA. by a^;(?^i^e comedie. " One is sure to be amused," said my companion ; " and it is good practice. It helps to get up one's Prench." " Monsieur ne manqne que cVetre pkis hahltue,'" as it is politely suggested when one is at a loss for a phrase. 21 CHAP. III. Embark for Corsica. — Coast of France and Italy. — Toulon. — Hyeres Islands, Frejiis, (^'c. — A Stormy night. — Crossing the Tuscan Sea. Once more we are at the water stairs. A stout boat is ready to convey us witli 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 oi 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 aU 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 saAV in the ca/e. The tricolor floated on the forts of St. Jean and St. Nicholas, as well as on Prench craft of all descriptions. All was gay, but not more joyous than our own buoyant spirits. Time had been spent pleasantly enough at Mar- seilles, but it was a delay ; and there is nothing an English- man hates more than delays in travelling. Thwarted in 22 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 V Industrie, with her ensign at the peak, had, some- how or other, with a din of unutterable cries in maritime I^rench, 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 vears, with a THE VOYAGE. 23 fair com])lexion, 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 plea- sant. 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 Clidteau cVIf. The sea was smooth, the sky unclouded, but a gentle breeze deliciously tempered the heat, and vessels of every descrip- tion — 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. We had an excellent dejeuner, for which we Avere quite ready, having only taken the usual early cup of coffee. 24i RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. The genial inflnencc of this meal had the effect of putting us on the hest 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 Avould show us sport. He had been settled there many years, and was now returning to his family by w^ay of Leghorn. Under a somewhat homely exterior, which had 2^uzzled 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 Avere OFF TOULON. directed to the heights crowned with forts, and the bold mountain masses towering above them. COAST OF FRANCE AND ITALY. 25 Presently, we were threading the cliannel between the main land and the Hyeres Islands. They appeared to ns 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 vege- tation ; the Avhole mass appearing, with the sun full on them, not only scorched but actually Imrnt to the colour of kiln- dried bricks. All the afternoon we continued running at the steamer's full speed along the shores of Prance and Italy. Notwith- standing 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 Prejus, Cannes, and Nice, more or less distant, as, crossing the Gulf of Genoa, we gradually increased our distance from the shore, toge- ther 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 w^ere 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 2(3 UAMBLES IN COKSICA AND SAKDTNTA. 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 odoiu's 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 w^hen 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 visil)le in the vault above, and only the white curl on the crest of the boiling waves, glimmering in our wake, on — on, w^e 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, bafiling 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 A STORMY NTGirr. ^7 which protected the quarter deck. Below, on the main deck, a number of Erench 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 calnn 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. FeUcisslma notte I " 28 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. IV. Coast of Capo Corso. — Peculiarity of Scenery . — Verdure^ and Mountain Villages. — // Tori^e di Seneca Land at Bast' a. The voyag^e from Marseilles to Bastia is performed, under favom'able circumstances, in eighteen hours ; but we had only just made the extreme northern point of Corsica when I w^as 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 out- line. 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 COAST OF CAPO CORSO. 29 upon it, the natural features of tlie country — groups of houses, villages, and even single buildings of a marked character — were distinctly visible. AYe 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 some- times very abrupt. Thus, the character of Sardinian scenery is essentially different from the Corsican, notwith- standing 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 sur- prising 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 30 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. essentially different from Italian scenery with wliicli 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. Par 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 ima- gination 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 Avould not convey a distinct idea of the peculiarities of Corsican scenery. Wliat struck us most, independently of the general effect, was the extraordinary verdure and exuberance of the vegetation which overspread the surface of the country MOUNTAIN VILLAGES, 31 far up the mountain sides, not only as contrasted with the sterile aspect of the coasts of the continent we had just left, l3ut as heing, in itself, different from anything which had hefore fallen under our ohservation in other countries, whether forest, underwood, or grassy slope. Por the mo- ment, 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 through- out 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, con- vents, 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. Eor 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 32 llAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. forming' this singular and picturesque feature in Corsican scenery. They are visil3le 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 con- tinuation 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 N onza, rising 6180 feet above the shore of the Medi- terranean. JProm 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 trafiic m '-: .SB^n-^^.-"*^ FEATURES OF CAPO COHSO. 83 carried on coastwise between the villages of the interior and the seaports. This mountainous district contains a considerable popu- lation, 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 iiourish, and extensive chestnut woods sup- ply 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, — witli oranges and lemons in the more sheltered spots. The wines are in general sound, and we found them excellent where special care had been bestow ed on the manufacture. The Corsicans are generally indolent, but it is said that there are no less than a hundred families in the moun- tainous province of Capo Corso who are considered ricli, some of them wealthy ; and all these OAve 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 w^iite 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 inacces- sible of which were croAATied with ruins of castles and towers. 34 RAMBLES TN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Tradition asserts that one of these towers was the prison of Seneca the Philosopher. II Torre dl Seneca, as it is called, stands on an escarped pinnacle of rock, terminating one of the loftiest of the detached sugar-loaf hills. IL TORRE ni SENECA. Seneca spent seven years in exile, having been ban- ished 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. Belegatio ad insulam was the legal phrase for this punishment. Augustus banished his grandson Agrippa TOERE DT SENECA. 35 to the desolate island of Flanosa, tlie Pianosa mentioned just before in connection Avitli Ellm. 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, ap- peared 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 mucli exaggerated by his distempered and splenetic state of mind. The probability is, that he resided during his exile at one of the Homan 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 — mas- sive, 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, D 2 36 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. at the beginning of the eighteenth century, there were fifteen of these towers on the north coast of tlie 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 amphi- theatre 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 con- struction, 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 maclame'^ " 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, grcAV 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 ges- tures, what a rush of these irascible Corsicans at our ARRIVAL AT BASTIA. 37 baggage ! It is borne off to tbe custom-house, and under- goes 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 dejeuner was a sorry affair. N'im- iwrte ; we shall not stay longer in Bastia than is necessary, and w-e may go further and fare worse. Meanwhile, a battalion of Prench 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. 38 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. V. Bastia Territorial Divisiotis. — 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 moun- tain 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 fagade 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 Piesole 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. Prom this has- tlone, the new town derived its name. It was the capital of the island during the Pisan and Genoese occupation., and so continued under the Prench government till 1811, when the prefecture and general administration of affairs BASTIA. 39 were transferred to Ajaccio, where also the Council-general of Corsica, now forming a department of I^rance, holds its sessions. Bastia, however, is still the Quartler-general of the military in the island, and the seat of the Coiir de Cassation and Cour cVAppel, 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 dl qua and the di la del monti — the country on this side and the country on the other side of the mountains — was made ; the line of intersection com- mencing at the point of Gargalo, below Aleria, on the eastern coast, and following a range of mountains Avest- ward to the Marino of Solenzara. The division was by no means equal ; the country di qua, including the j^re- sent arrondissements of Bastia, Corte, and Calve, being one-third larger than the di la, comprising the arrondisse- ments of Ajaccio and Sartene. Another ancient division of Corsica was 'm:to i^ieves, origin- ally ecclesiastical districts, — midpaeses, 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 ele- vated points. By what corruption these were cdil\Q(\.paeses, countries, one does not understand ; but it sounds rather droll to a stranger, when he is told in Corsica, that he may 40 KAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. travel many miles, scnza vedere iino paese, witliout seeing a country. Bastia must, doubtless, from the circumstances men- tioned, have good society ; but we thought Ajaccio a much pleasanter x^lace, and Corte, in its rudeness, has a nobler aspect than either, and is associated with glorious recollec- tions. We were for escaping the cU qua of Bastia and the Uttorale, and getting as soon as possible di la the moun- tains, 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 uji our quarters in the towns and making excursions in the neigh- bourhood, 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 alhergo 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. IimiNG MULES. 41 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 prepossess- ing ; 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 ? " " Ca serait possible, mais, a Vimproviste, tm pteu dif- ficile.''^ " It is indispensable, as we mean to cross the mountains and make a detour, en route to Corte by slow stages, rest- ing 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 toAvn, and there was evidently a ludicrous struggle between the temptation of a profitable job and his disin- clination for rugged roads and a spare diet. " Are messieurs aware that there are no cmherges in the villages offering accommodations fit for them ? " " It is very possible ; that does not occasion us any uneasiness." ^^ Les cJiemins sont affreuxy " N'importe ; we have travelled in worse." " In some places they are dangerous, absolutely preci- pitous." " We shall walk ; en effet, it is possible we may walk great part of tlie journey." 42 RAMBLES IN COllSICA AND SARDINIA. That our muleteer could not understand at all : " la fatigue serait penihle ; " and witli 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 {maiwais gens — cattlve geuti) 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 appre- hensions 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. THE START. 43 " Would there be time for us to reach the first villaire on the road before dark?" — "We might." — " Tlien 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 ap- pointed. The mules were no bigger than donkeys. " Queste hest'ie non sono mull; sono del aslnl." It was vexatious ; but we laughed too much to be seri- ously 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. 44 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. VI. Leave Bastia The Road. — View of Elba, Pianosa, and Monte-Cristo. — The Littorale. — Aji Adventure. — The Stagna di Biguglia. The Corsicans are apt to say, that tlie national roads were the only henefit 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 o£F 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 moun- tainous 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 lag {cactus ojjuntia), 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 ISLAND OF ELBA. 45 teeming riclmess of the littorale. It was liot walking, and the causeway and flats woukl have been monotonous enough hut 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. Par 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. Ear 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 oflFered 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 Erance 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."* Napoleon emperor in Corsica ! On this spot, with Elba in view, one dwells for a moment on the idea ! Then, * Lamartine. See The Island Empire, dedicated to Lord Holland. Boswortb, 1855. 46 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. indeed, Corsica's long-cherished dreams of national inde- pendence — 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 Prance, and so remained ; with what results we may perhaps discover. Near Elba, and strongly contrasting with its bold out- line, lies the little island of Planosa, the ancient Planosa. Its surface is flat, as the name indicates. That island, too, has its tale of imperial exile. The young Agrippa, grand- son 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 revolu- tionary war. The island now belongs, with Elba, to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany. Eurther to the south appears the rocky island of Monte- ISLAND OF MONTE-CRISTO. 47 Cristo. This, too, has its tale of exile, insignificant as it looks except for its sharply serrated outline, and a world- wide fame. The emperor Diocletian banished here St, Ma- milian. 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 ijood. Saracen corsairs carried off the monks ; the con- vent ^as laid in ruins ; and the lone island remained unin- habited 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 Chateau cVIf, 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. It is about nine miles in circumference, and I should judge from its appear- ance that the greatest part of the surface is rocky, though not with- out 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 na- tural vegetation and the climate are similar to those of the other islands in tlie Tuscan sea with which we are acquainted, happy may the lord of Monte-Cristo be ; for, in the hands of a wealthy -;^ ISLE UF MO> 48 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. English gentleman, such a spot may he made an earthly paradise. After ahout 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 "~"==%i^- „--_ with only here _,=._^^_j^:^^^^^^________ ^^^ there a so- litary clump of trees, — and the long mountain- range line after line rising in- to peaks above the gracefully rounded hills that swelled up from the level of the plain. Woods, or- chards, 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. Who would not linger at the sight of Euriani, the most important of these villages, its ivy-mantled towers crumbling to ruins ? — Euriani, where the Corsicans, in a , "^^--^^^^.^^ MEETING OF MOUNTAINS AND PLAIN, NEAR BASTIA. ADVENTURE WITH A MULE. 49 national assembly, first organised their insurrection against the Genoese, and elected the prudent and intrepid Giafrori one of their leaders ; with cries of " Ecclca la liber ta ! evvlca il iwpolo !'' — Euriaui, where, in almost their last struggle, two hundred Corsicans held the fortifications long after they were a heap of ruins, and at lengtli cut their Avay 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 moun- tains 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. AVe had got ahead about a mile, when shouts from behind opened a scene perfectly ludicrous. There was the little mule trot- ting 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 50 EAMBLES IN COrvSICA AND SARDINIA. Avliat 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 Cala- brian mules they were, equal to the best Sj^anish — 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 liis 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 llberta, the instinctive aspiration of Corsican existence, whether man, mule, or moufflon, started for- ward 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 vvas his account — "he reversed his posi- tion, 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 him- self 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. " Amliamo, Giovanni,'' said I, cutting short all dis- STAGXA 1)1 BIGUGLIA. 51 ciission, and moved forward. Wo 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 he pitched into a hush of prickly cactus, or rolled down the hank of the causeAvay." " Let us push on, then ; if we are helated, we may have worse adventures, this first day of our ramhles in Corsica, hefore we get to our night's quarters ; and where we are to fmd 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 he hurried, and if they had heen gifted like Balaam's ass, I imagine they would have agreed with Giovanni in wishing Vlnglesl aW Inferno. I don't know, speaking from experi- ence, w^hich is worst, riding, leading, or driving a malcon- tent mule. The rays of the setting sun were now faintly gleaming on a vast sheet of shallow stagnant Avater, the Stagna cU BigugUa, hetween the road and the sea, from which it is only separated hy 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 comhine to throw up a rank vegetation on its marshy hanks.' The peasants fly from its pestiferous exhalations, and nothing is heard or seen hut 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 hoat piled with haskets of eels for the market at Bastia. This vast sheet of water was formerly open to the sea, forming a nohle harhour, in which floated the galleys of 52 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 insur- gent 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 Boman 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 re- served 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 Gio- vanni came up ? — which involved a loss of time we could ill spare at that period of the day. A mistake might be awk- ward, but we had carefully studied the bearings of the country on our maps, and deciding to risk it, struck boldly into the lane. Por a short distance it led between inclo- sures, 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 3Iacchia as the natives call it. 53 CHAP. VII. Evergreen Thickets. — Their remarkable Character. — A for- tu7iate 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 inter- minable causcAvay, was so sudden, that it took us by sur- prise. 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 Macchla is, in fact, a natural shrubbery of exquisite beauty. AVe 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 Sardi- nian scenery. This sort of underwood prevails also, I under- stand, in Elba, and, more or less, in the other islands of the central Mediterranean basin. AVe now fully compre- hended how it was that, when sailing along the coast, our attention had been so riveted on the rich verdure clothing 5i RAMBLES IN CORSICA AXD SARDINIA. 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 con- versing, at St. Helena, of the recollections of his youth, he said : " i« Coi'se avait m'llle char me s ; tout y eta'it mellleur jusqu'a Vodeur dii sol meme. JElle lid eiit siiffi pour la devhier, les yeux fermes. line V avait retrouvee nullepart.'' 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 ( TJlex Europ, p. 225. WEST COAST OF CAPO CORSO. 107 distance, the long chain of mountains intersecting Capo Corso appeared grouped in one central mass, witli their rocky summits and varied outlines more or less holdly de- fined, as they receded from the point of vie^y. The Avestern 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 appearing in per- spective. Of these indentations in the coast, the nearest, as well as the most important, is the Gulf of San Piorenzo, one of the CAPO CORSO FROM THE CHESTNUT WOODS. finest harbours in the Mediterranean. The town stands on a hill, above the marshy delta of the Aliso, the course lOS RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. of wliicli Ave could trace tli rough 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 per- suaded, that the extraordinary richness of the warm tints on some of the mountain sides was not merely an atmo- spheric 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 Piorenzo for its outlet, guarded by the mountain ridges and embracing the dis- tricts 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 Piorenzo, a fortified place, was bombarded in 1745 by an English fleet acting in concert Avith 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 in- terfered 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 NELSON AT SAN FI031ENZ0. 109 themselves under the protection of the English Govern- ment, 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 Eiorenzo was again the scene of British intervention, when the Corsicans, throwing off in 1793 the yoke of the Erencli revolutionary government, applied to Lord Hood, the commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, for assist- ance. 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 Eiorenzo, where he landed with 120 men. Close to the port the Erench had a store- house 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 regi- ments 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 Eiorenzo, the Erench 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 110 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. wanting in discretion, acted on the impulses of their own brave hearts, witliout any very nice calcukitions of respon- sibilities and possible consequences. On a recoiUKiisscoice made by Nelson on the 19th of Pebruary, 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 e)i barbette. A frigate, " La Eleche," 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. 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 Boyal 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 * Cfarke and M' Arthur'' s Life of Nelson, vol. i. pp. 156, &c. SIEGE OF BASTIA. Ill upon himself the whole responsibility, and Nelson, nothing daunted, landed his small force on the 9tli 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 12tli 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 enter- prise 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 even- ing, while the terms were negotiating, the advanced guard of the troops from San Eiorenzo 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. 112 RAMBLES IN COUSICA AND SARDINIA. written during tlic siege, he says, " My only fear is, that the sokliers will advance when Bastia is ahout to surrender, and deprive our handful of hrave 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 numhered the Corsicans among the willing suhjects of the British crown, will claim a short notice on a fitting opportunity. History is not our province, hut a traveller may he allowed to trace the footsteps of his countrymen during their hrief occupation of a soil fiercely trodden hy all the European nations ; and, on a standing point hetween Fiorenzo and Bastia, naturally lingers for a moment on a feat of arms memorahle 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 hase of the mountains, and filling the glens helow, round the gorges of which the path led. The trees were of all ages, from the young growtii, with a shapely contour of silvery grey foliage, to the gigantic patriarchs of the forest, spreading their huge limhs, hoar with lichens, in most fantastic and often angular forms, and their holes hlack and rugged with the groAvth of cen- turies. 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 ILEX WOODS. 113 shepherds in these wikls leave recklessly burning-. The destruction thus caused to valuable timber throughout the island is enormous. Among the ilex Avere 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 patli 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 con- nected with the vast wastes of which the greater part of the east and north-east of the province of Nebbio is com^ posed. 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 l3y 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. Hoaming over the boundless waste as the necessity of I 114^ liAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. cliauging 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 watchtire 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 broAvn pelone, either following them as they browsed in scattered groups, or perched in strong outline on some rocky pinnacle commanding a wide area over which their charge was scattered. Their bleat- ing 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 Avild and uncouth conductor. My companion sat down to sketch, while I walked on. This often happened. Indeed, his rambles were often dis- cursive, 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 shep- herds 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 in- genuous countenance and a gentle demeanour. THE COKSICAN SHEPHERD. 115 The young shepherd seemed much interested in my friend's occupation, the object of which, however, he could not comprehend. His face brightened Avith 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 exist- ence 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, inqui- sitive, 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 moun- tain, 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, any- thing 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 116 RAMBLES IN COKSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Piorenzo and Bastia, and the march of the English red.coats over the mountains. 117 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 Piorenzo 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 tlie 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 con- tinuation of the ridge, right and left, fell away in a singu- larly graceful outline, the face of the mountain being pre- cipitous 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 118 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. that several of the summits in this range have the name of Monte Bosso ; 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 Avere struck with the extraordinary warmth of colouring which pervaded the surface of the vast pano- rama, 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 wliicli 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 amphi- theatre, 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 nortliward we traced the pass, the Col di Tenda, the sum- mit being 4500 feet, through which a road is conducted to Calvi and I'lsle E-ousse, on the western coast ; while immediately under us lay the valley through which the BIGORNO. 119 Golo, rising in the central cliain, makes its long and winding course to the lUtorale^ eastward. The bason, on which we now looked down, was distin- guished by the same features as that of Oletta, — gentle hills, wooded slopes and glens, and olive groves, vine- yards, 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 tlie church-bell at the Are-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 cour- teously 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 preten- I 4 120 K AMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. sions. Curiosity or civility brought about us quite a levee 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. How- ever, 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 dic- tionary in Italian. I learnt that they had belonged to the proprietor's uncle, a medico at Padua, and were heir- looms 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 Avas 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 Ave Avere relieved from our difhculty by finding that our offering Avas receiA^ed Avithout much scruple. Next morning, to my great surprise, for I Avas 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 AA-ithout any alarm, and MONTE ROTOXDO AT SUNRISE. 121 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 pro- scribed, 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 rido^e. The nis^ht mists had not vet risen from the valley of the Golo. AVe hastened to descend towards it, after the usual small cup of cafe no'ir 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 122 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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. AYhat with a Pisan campanile, a Corsican manse, fes- tooning vines, a cluster of baml)oo canes — indicntive of the NKAK lUGORNO, warm south — and the group of mountains with the trun- cated peak in the distance, a very clever sketch was pro- DESCENT TO THE GOLO. 123 duced, 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. How- ever, l3ating 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 mdqiiis 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 Leutiscus." 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 124 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. appetite, while I was endeavouring to indoctrinate Antoine with the persuasion that our countrymen in general are neither " Calvhiistes " nor " Juwes'' Antoine, who had been asking a variety of questions about " Ingldlterra " 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 E^eformed 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 sacra- ments, 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 Prencli, after a desperate struggle, gained a decisive victory over General Paoli and the inde- pendent Corsicans, Iliad just engaged Antoine in pointing out the positions of the two armies, and tracing the tide of battle Avliich, 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 ever- greens. " You have been waiting long — excuse me ; I liave 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-offer- STORY OF A BREAKFAST. 125 ing', but that I had chapter and verse for the main inci- dents. There was that story of his being kicked oif 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 ray friend's own words. " After you left me, I sat down to sketch in a little ter- raced garden, shaded by fig-trees and vines. My sketch was nearly finished, and I was thinking liow 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 Avith a natce simplicity, and we soon prattled away, she telling me that she had never gone beyond the neighbouring villages, and could not under- stand hoAv I should come so far from Inghilterra, a 126 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. country she had never heard of, to draw pictures of their wikl mountains. " ' Ah ! you cannot comprehend how it is that I love your wild mountains, and children of nature like your- self.' *" Will you come again?' — a question put with a spice of espieglci'ie which, from some other pretty lips, A\'ould he rather flattering. ' Yes, you will come again, and I shall he grown up.' " She did not seem, I found, quite pleased at heing called ^ man enfant^ hy 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, hlushing and smiling, to tell her uncle that there was a traveller come from a far-off land who must he hungry, and who must eat and rest under their roof. " The good priest received me with much emiwessement, having heen hrought 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 phinged. Mean^^ bile, 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 w ished you were there." — " I was just then, curiously enough, indoctrinating THE HOSPITABLE PRIEST. 127 Autoine, nothing' loath, with the priest's sentiment of universal brotherhood, a simple Gospel truth, which, over- laid Avitli 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 w^ere talking Prench ? Had you been attempting Italian, you might have stuck fast. Cucchlaio 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 Erench gargons : cue — ciicchi, — 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 Uubicon 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 Toseana — in boeea — luglese. — But how did you manage your Qgg^ " " AVhy, 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 128 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 ven- detta 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; AAdiere they plough and reap and dwell in safety ; where fathers and brothers are not com- pelled to flee from their villages to the wild mdquis and the mountain crags.' " ' My pretty child, I cannot stay now. Perhaps some day I may return.' " ' Addio ! then. Evviva ! Uvviva ! 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 ! Eorget 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 Avould 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 the woeful countenance, — I all joy and fun with my morning's adventure, you per- plexed, out of patience, hungry, and tired. I cannot help laughing at the contrast." 129 CHAP. XIII. Ponte Nuovo. — The Battle-field. — Antoine''s Story, Halp an hour's walk along the high-road brought us to the solitary building of Avhich we were in search. Uniting the character of an cdhergo and a fortified post, of which there are several scattered throughout the island on com- manding 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 K 130 llAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. his own goilt to liis guest's penchant for asparagus cm naturel, on his friend's falling down in a swoon, rushed to the top of the staircase, shouting to his cook, " Tout a rimilei tout a Vhtiile.^^ We stood on the bridge of Ponte Nuovo, just beneath the post, the scene of the last struggle for Corsican inde- pendence ; 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 Prench 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 Prench commenced the attack on the 3rd of May, 1769. Por two days it was an affair of outposts, but, on the Brd, 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 Postino, a few miles al)Ove the bridge, leaving orders for Gaffori to hold the strong heights of Lento, while Grimaldi was to defend Canavaggia, — two points by which the Prench might penetrate into the interior. Bribed by Prench gold, Grimaldi — "Ah! il tracUtore !" exclaimed Antoine, — and Gafi'ori, unmindful of his honourable name, off'ered no resistance to the advance of the Prench. 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 THE BATTLE-FIELD OF PONTE NUOVO. 131 see in the mountains, our people poured in wild confusion, closely pursued l)y 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 hank. If the Erench 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 Prencli 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 w^as complete, and the Corsicans scattered themselves amonj? 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 Avoe, 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 Corsi- cans 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 forward- ing our baggage to Corte by the voiture which daily 132 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 hecome 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 refer- ence had been since made. Now, on the eve of parting, he told us all his story, and opened out his hopes for the future. Por 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 Avas the best thing he could do; and, reminding him of the success of many of his neighbours from Capo Corso, Avho 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 qualifica- tions, 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 cata- strophe 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 antoine's story. 133 neither is that my i'dle, 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. 13Jj RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Avhich the eye linked it through intervening groves of spreading chestnut and other fruit-trees. It was Sunday; and, after mass, the whole poj)ulation flocked to the market-place, a large open area in front of the Ifairie, 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 toAver, serving at once for a prison, in which criminals were con- fined, 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 tlie old peasants stood near giving advice, and the village girls, ranged in costume de fete round the palisades inclosing the place, rewarded the most successful of the competitors with smiles and glances of encourage- ment. The contest had lasted for some time, and many shots PILIAL DUTY, LOVE, AND REVENGE. 135 were fired without the mark — fixed at the distance of ahout 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 del Dolori stuck in the band, completed the picturesque cos- tume of the Corsican peasant. The young man, on his arrival, received a cordial wel- come 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, shoAvn 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 K 4 136 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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. AVhile 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 fol- lowed 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. Tlie spec- tators of this strange scene asked each other what it meant ; and, in the midst of the hubbub, Joachimo, the old peasant who had invited xlntonio to try his skill in the feat of arms, raised his voice to satisfy their curiosity. <' My children," he said, '' Corsican blood has not dege- nerated ; 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 Avhose only crime was, his having taken vengeance with his own hand for the insult off"ered 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 outlaAv, pro- FILIAL DUTY, LOVE, AND UEVENGE. 137 scribed by the men of law, by the Erencli ; but we Corsi- cans 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 Erenchman wdio 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. " Madalcna ! " 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 138 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. from his brain, and, unslieatliing 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 tudqiiis ? — what protector, but your good rifle — what hope, but in the grave ! ^^ay, 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 AUari, fifteen leagues distant from Bastia, and gained unseen the imrlieiis 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 shrub- bery 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 Madalena. On perceiving her approach, Antonio hastened to quit his hiding place, and came to meet her. " How kind you are, Madalena," he said : " you, so FILIAL DUTY, LOVE, AND IlEVENGE. 130 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 dis- tances. But I must not abuse your confidence. Mada- lena, my bosom labours with a secret which I have too long preserved. I have done w^rong ; 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, Madalena, you have to learn — Mada- lena, 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, Madalena, 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 ; be- cause our two souls, breathed into us by the Author of our existence, were formed to love each other for ever." Madalena, 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 liis veins. The maiden perceived it, and a gleam of satis- 140 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. faction, 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 he your mfe ? I have sworn it hefore God and my mother, and I shall he. Why then do you defer telling me the cause of your long suiferings. I have long perceived that your heart is oppressed hy some secret thought. Can it he 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 hlood for your happiness, I would not hesitate a single moment to make the sacrifice." " Oh no, no, Madalena, think not so ! Do you suppose me capahle of hetraying you, of casting you off ? I, who love you Avith a perfect love, a love as pure as that which makes the hliss of angels, — with which a child loves its mother ? Por one fond look from you I would hrave the fury of men — of men and the elements. Drive this sus- picion 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 : — " Madalena, Madalena, I am a handit." 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 hy her side. Presently, Madalena opened her eyes, and seeing Antonio FILIAL DUTY, LOVE, AND REVENGE. 141 kneeling, and still holding lier hand, roused lierseK 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 hlood of the innocent." Antonio, crazed with love, crawled to her feet and wept ; hut 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 handit. After this expla- nation, Madalena seemed to be reassured, and her lover awaited his final sentence from her lips in breathless sus- pense. 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 Madalena, though her concluding promise tended in some deorree to reassure him. Madalena shut herself up in her chamber and shed floods of tears — tears not of love, but of shame. Tor her— the daughter of a wealthy citizen of Ajaccio, brought 142 EAMBLES IN COHSICA AND SARDINIA. up in the manners, and tinctured with the prejudices of the continent, who knew nothing of the workl 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. Prom that day Madalena 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 w^as no crime for Antonio to achieve the re- moval 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 llairie. 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 FILIAL DUTY, LOVE, AND HEVENGE. 143 way towards the church. All eyes rested on the bride and bridegroom; they did not wear the Corsican dress, but adopted Prench fashions. Everything aljout them betokened wealth, and an affectation of continental man- ners. 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 fiancee 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, — " Madalena, 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. 144 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Madalena and Antonio, surmounted by a rude representation of a rifle and a dagger. 145 CHAP. XV. Morosaglia, Seat of the Paolis. — Higher Valley of the Goto. — Orography of Corsica. — Its Geology. On crossing to the right bank of the Golo at Vonte Nuovo, we enter the canton of Morosaglia, the former ly'ieve of Ros- tino, and the homo of the Paoli family. The canton takes its present name from a Pranciscan 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 l3orn. 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 Avere, and highly as he was accomplished, after he had attained to almost sove- reign power. The rooms are so small that he transacted public business in the neighbouring convent of Mo- rosaglia. There also his brother, Clemente Paoli, had a cell to which he often retired. His was a singular character. Of 146 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. a saturnine cast of disposition, lie 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. Tlie 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.* 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 Yallom- brosa, 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 paese 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 a 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. Bounded hills in the foreground were backed by a serrated range of mountains, Monte Botondo being just visible. * Benson's Sketches of Corsica, p. 97. OROGRAPHY OF CORSICA. 147 Approaching now, through the high valleys, the central region of the mountain system of Corsica, this may he a proper place for a hrief 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 ; hut it would he desirahle to convey more precise ideas of the structure of this mountain island ; and, as the system happens to he very simple and intelligihle, 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 he able to furnish a not unfaithful digest of the observations of the foreign geologists EUe de Beaumont, Maynaiid, 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 L 2 148 KAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. suiTOunding it, — an Alpine and forest region in ^^llicll the principal rivers and streams take their rise, — this region so sublime in its vast solitudes, so poetic, so savagely wild, so picturesque, — may he called the Swit- zerland of Corsica. Prom 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, tra- verses the centre of the island, where the Monte E^otondo 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 saillcwts, 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 dis- charging themselves into the Tuscan Sea. Between this long chain, extending from Monte Antonio GEOLOGY OF CORSICA. 149 to Mont e 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 rami- fications detached from them, and extending in all direc- tions, render the communications between one place and another, between the coasts on opposite sides of the island, extremely diflScult. 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 subordi- nate, to three vast upheavings of the soil in the direction L 3 150 liAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SAllDINIA. they take. The order of these elevations above the sur- face of tlie 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, sup- posed 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 diff'ering 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 Ai^aso, 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 pro- montories 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 Cerhicaley south- west of Porto Vecchio, with the Isola dii Cavallo, and that Di Lavazzi off the coast at Bonifacio ; and again, the islets Die Hctzzoli and Biidelli on the opposite side of the Straits, with the larger islands of La Ma dale na and GEOLOGY OF CORSICA. 151 Caprora, 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 ej)och 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 Prench geologists to certain volcanic erup- tions of the cretaceous era, — which are also found in the Morea.* 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 Nehhio, 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 pre- served its regular line, as we find in the mountain-chain * Lyell's Elements, vol. ii. c. xxxi. L 4 152 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 tlie primary rocks upheaved Ions: before, and now become liard 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 Tiumorbo. The fundamental rocks brought up by this third and last upheaval are ophiolitic, and metamorphic, or primary, limestone, overlaid in some places by secondary forma- tions. " 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 sum- mits 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 GEOLOGY OF CORSICA. 153 talcose-scliiste, bluish-grey limestone, talc in beds, serpen- tine, 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 Eiorenzo 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 Me- diterranean, — 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 Piorenzo 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 cal- careous 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, em- bedded 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 Vol^xijola, on the left bank of the Golo, nearly eight miles from the eastern coast. The beds lying horizontally are full of shells. 154 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Piumorho, 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 Piorenzo. A fourtli, 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 Boni- facio. The promontory on which that toA^Ti 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 a pic over the sea 150 and 200 feet. There is a perfect analogy between this formation and those of San Piorenzo and the Piumorbo 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 Boni- facio 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 GEOLOGY OE CORSICA. 155 name of diluvial currents, and swept aAvay 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.* It would too much lengthen these remarks were we to enter on an inquiry into the age and cha- racter of these osseous breccia, but the curious reader is referred to Lyell's " Elements "f 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 pre- served 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. * Recherches sur les Osse merits fossil es, t. iv. p. 198. f Vol. ii. c. xxxi. 156 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XVI. Approach to Corte. — Our ^^Man of the Woods" — Casa PaoU. — The Gaffori — Citadel. — An Evening Stroll. At Ponte Prancardo 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 himseK at our exj^ense. 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 English- man under similar circumstances, and related some ridicu- lous stories respecting him. But as I do not believe that any of our countrymen have been recently tourists in Cor- sica, 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- APPROACH TO CORTE. 157 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 pro- mise, but, being a person of considerable intelligence, gave us much valuable information, and rendered us many services during our stay in 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, litho- graphed 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 j)lateau 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 exube- rant 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. Hoomy and well-furnished apartments were 158 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. found at the Hotel Paoli on the Corso, where we met with most kind treatment and excellent fare. My notes men- tion 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 a 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 cafe. 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 cJiasse 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 CORTE. 159 did not discover among them any of those presented by Boswell. In the salle are some second-rate paintings pre- sented 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 scdle 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 Cor- sicans with great vigour, the Genoese had the inhu- manity 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. Penucci, who works up the story in his usual florid style, makes Gaffori exclaim, " Pera 160 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. ilfigllo ; pera la mia famiglia tutta, e Monfi la causa della imtria.^' I prefer the version given me by a native of Corte, whose father was an eye-witness of the scene: — " Tetais citoyen avant que je n'etais pere'' We shud- dered as we looked up from below at the battlement from which tlie 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 Prench commandant, w^e 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 eneeinte to strengthen the works. "What can be the use," I said to our conductor, "of strengthening this place now ?" " Chi sa ?'' 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. "Xa," said he, pointing to the grille of a dungeon, " moil per e etalt 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." CITADEL OF CORTE. IGl It is now the residence of the family of Arrhigi, Due 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 manoeuvring to interpose our Corsican friend's portly person between the sketcher and the Prench sentry, as he pass(id and re- passed — an office which our patriotic guide performed with much satisfaction — while a liberty was taken con- trary to the rules of fortified places. '-^S^^'M . . CITADEL OF COIITE. The view from the top of the citadel, the centre of so magnificent a panorama, may be well imagined. We now 162 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. commanded the eonflueuce of the two rivers, the Tavignano and the Eestonica, 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 sul)urb, and, crossing the bridge over the Tavignano, rambled on to the hill above, and the ruins of the Pranciscan convent where Paoli assembled the legislative assembly, and in which the Anglo-Corsican parliament met while Corsica w^as united to England. The lithographic sketch of Corte was taken from beyond the bridge. Eaithful 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, aerial 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 AN EVENING STROLL. 103 their wives trudo'c by the side, carrying burdens of fire- wood or vegetables on their heads and shouklers. AVag- gons, 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 wel- comes 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 pro- cess, andtells us that the vintage is a fair average, though the vine disease, the oidion, has penetrated even into these mountains. Evoe Bacche I 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 cafe 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 our- selves, 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 tlie Corso, and wile away tlie evenings by petty gam- bling in its Avretched cafes? M 2 16i RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XVII. Pascal Paoli more honoured than Napoleon Buonaparte. — His Memoirs. — George III. King of Corsica. — Remarks on the Union. — PaolVs Death and Tomb. The suppression of brigandage, security for life and pro- perty, the stains of blood washed from the soil, the shame in the face of Europe wiped out, — these are signal beuefits 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 Prance, a conqueror to continental Europe, enlisted the sympathies, the enthusiasm, of the islanders in the wonderful career of their illustrious countrjnuan. 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 Avas 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 PASCAL PAOLI. 1C5 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 ; adminis- tered aflPairs unselfishly, purely, justly; encouraged in- dustry, 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 Eno'land as well as in Corsica. o 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 asso- ciated. Peferences to the great Corsican chief have re- peatedly 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 Ave 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 Uostino on the 25th M 3 166 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 repre- sentative constitution, founded as far as possible on the old Corsican institutions. It was, in fact, a republic, of Avhich Pascal Paoli was the chief magistrate, and com- mander 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 to- gether and equip a small squadron of ships, no country being better fitted than Corsica, from its position and resources. PASCAL PAOLI. 167 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 adminis- tration 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 tlie part of Paoli proving useless, Matra and his adherents rose in arms, and, calling the Genoese to their aid, it Avas 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 Prance for succour, and engaged her to occupy the strong places in the island, as she had already done from 1737 to 1741. Prench 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 (1761), the Prench 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, M 4 108 TIAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Cor- sica, 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 Prench 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, off"ered to cede their rights to the king of Prance. This was in 1768. The Due do 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 Mpuarqne. The Prench generals, receiving immediate orders to cross the neutral lines, soon made themselves masters of Capo Corso, and pushed their suc- cesses 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 over- PASCAL PAOLI. 169 whelming 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 illus- trious 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 Erench 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 parti- culars are given in a former chapter.* This defeat en- tirely 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 re- solved to abandon a forlorn hope, and, pressed by a large body of the enemy's troops, embarked in an English frigate at Porto Vecchio, w ith his brother Clemente and 300 of his followers. The conquest of Corsica cost Prance 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'lls savolent un liomme lihre a V autre bout du 7noncle, je crois qu^ilsy irolent 2)0ur le seul plaisir de Vexter miner. ^'' * Chap. XIII 170 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. . After a short stay in Italy, Pascal Paoli proceeded to England, landing at HarAvicli 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 Prench Bevolution 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 Payette 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 Na- tional 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 Corsi- cans 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. PASCAL PAOLI. 171 Paoli was, however, soon disgusted with the excesses of the Erench Revolution, and, like all citizens of dis- tinguished 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 Prance. 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 sup- porting the patriot chief. In the face of the new invasion threatened by the Prencli 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 Eiorenzo and the surrender of Bastia to the bold attack of Nelson already described.* 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 Erench 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 14tli of June, 1794, accepted a constitution framed by Pascal Paoli, in con- junction Avith Sir Gilbert Elliot, the British Plenipo- * See Chap. XI. 172 RAMBLES IN COrvSiCA AND SARDINIA. tentiary. 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 pieves and towns. All Corsicans of the age of twenty-five years, possessed of real property (beni foncU), and domiciled for one year in a j^i^^e or town, Avere en- titled to vote at the elections. The king's consent was required to give force to all laws, and he had the preroga- tive of summoning, proroguing, and dissolving the parlia- ment. A viceroy, appointed by the sovereign, with a council and secretary of state, were to execute the func- tions of government. The press was to be free. In short, the kingdom of Corsica — so called even under the do- minion 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* will be found in the appendix to Mr. Benson's work. It is curious also to find * The article of the Constitutional Act, vesting the sovereignty of Cor- sica in the king of Great Britain, runs as follows : — " II Mouarca, e Ee della Corsica, c sua Maesta Giorgio III., Ee della Grau-Bretagna, e li de lui Successori, secondo I'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 : — GEORGE III. KING OF CORSICA. 173 that in the tunc 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. Unfortu- nately, 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 country- men, endeavouring to allay the ferment, and induce obe- dience to the English authorities. Jealousy, hoAvever, of his great and well-earned influence over the Corsicans " lo sotto scritto Cavaliere Barouetto, &c., &c., Pleuipotenziario di S. Maesta Britauuica, csseudo specialmeute autorizzato a quest' efletto, accetto in nome di sua Maesta Gioegio III., Ee Della Gban-Bketagna, la corona e la sovranita della Corsica secondo la Costituzione, &e., questo giorno dicianove Giugno (179 J-). E giuro in nome di Sua Maesta di mantenere la liberta del popolo Corso, secondo la Costituzione e la Legge. " (Sottoscritto) Elliot." The oatli of the president and deputies : — " lo giuro per me, ed in nome del popolo Corso che rappreseuto, di riconoscei'e per mio Sovrauo e Ee sua Maesta Giorgio III., Ri: della Grak-Bretagna, di prestargli fede ed omaggio, secondo la Costitu- zione," &c. Compared with the original, Pasquale di Paoli, Presidente. Carlo Andrea Pozzo-Di-Borgo, \ ^ Gio. Andrea Muselli, J ^^'^ "''^' The oath of allegiance was to be taken by all Corsicans in tlieir respec- tive communities. — Benson s SJa'tches in Corsica, pp. 193 — 195, 171 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 oheyed, and arrived in London towards the end of Decemher. 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 assem- bled in the wild neighbourhood of Bocagnono. These disorders, coupled with the mutual distrust with which the Corsicans and English viev\'ed each other, finally led to the abandonment of the island by the latter ; and, ac- cordingly, between the 14th and 20th of October, 1796, the viceroy and troops, under the protection of Nelson, embarked for Porto Eerrajo, leaving the island once more a prey to Erench invasion. Eoreign writers sneer at the ignorance and mismanage- ment 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 Avas thus lost. Its commanding position in the Mediterranean, its fine harbours and magnificent forests, made it a most desiraljle position, at least during the revolutionary war. Such was Nelson's opinion, expressed in a letter to his Avife Avhen a descent on the coast Avas first contemplated. Added to ANNEXATION OF COllSICA. 175 these, its products of corn, wine, and oil, capable of almost indefinite augmentation under a good system of govern- ment, 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 noAv flows into the Imperial exchequer. Nothing was wanting l3ut to recon- cile the natives to the rule of their new masters, makino- it, as it constitutionally professed to be, national. This was doubtless a difiicult task with a spirited people, alien in race, religion, and habits. The ministers of the day com- mitted 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 Con- gress 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 popu- lation 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 Prench were scarcely more popular than the English with the national party; nor are they, according to the im- pression made during our Uambles, 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, 170 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND 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 hut sub- mission to the Prench, and it became once more a depart- ' ment of Prance, 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 in- terred 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 Avhich 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 coun- trymen, and the east slab bears a coronet, on what PAOLl's TOMB AND WILL. 177 authority we are at a loss to conceive. So also the more humble monument of Theodore of Corsica at St. Anne's, Solio, 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 tliat, under that patent, Pascal Paoli assumed the insignia of nobility in his intercourse with the courtly circles of Lojidon ? Was it a weakness in the man of the people, ^vho, 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 ? * Or is the coronet on his tomb an unauthorised device of the officious friends who are said to have spent 500Z. 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/. to the endow- ment of four professors in a college he proposed to found at Corte. They were to teach — ^Ist. The Evidences of Christianity ; — 2nd. Ethics and the Laws of Nations ; — 8rd. The Principles of Natural Philosophy ; — and 4th. The Elements of Mathematics. He also bequeathed a salary of 50/. to a schoolmaster in his native 2^wve 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. * See before, p. 159. N 178 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 broad.' " 179 CHAP. XVIII. Excursion to a Forest. — Borders of the Niolo. — Adventures. — Corsican Pines. — The Pinus Maritinia and Pinus Lariccio. — 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 toAvn, 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 N 2 180 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Sarcliuia ; 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 w^ound Avere 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 Cor- sica. 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 noAv 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 Avas seen rising, Avith its snowy crest, a thousand feet higher, further to the south. The country now assumed a Avilder and more rugged character, cultivation disappeared, and the surface Avas cither rocky or thickly covered Avith the natural shrub- bery so often mentioned. Once more we were in the Macchia, threading it by a rough and narrow path. Elocks of sheep and goats Avere browsing among the bushes ; and the sight of rude shepherds' huts, Avith their FOREST ADVENTURES. 181 blazing fires, gave us to understand that we had reached the wilds beyond human habitation. At last, a steep ascent through the tMckets by a slippery path surmounted a ridge commanding the prospect of one flank of a moun- tain, 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 under- wood ; 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 Avhile we were clambering up the opposite heights, making for shelter with as much speed as such an ascent permitted. Our place of refuge vv^as a well-knoAvn 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 con- tents 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 Avith a low aperture, into which he thrust himself head- foremost. What was his surprise at beholding a pair of N 3 182 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. eyes glaring at him through the gloom! The thing — whether it were man or beast he could not at the moment distinguish — shrunk hack. 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 per- forated 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 pro- scribed 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 P 's forest spread over the whole face of the mountain, and how much further he best knew. We un- derstood that he had a larger tract in another direction. Trackless pine forests — some belonging to the com- munes, others to private individuals, — clothe the lower ranges of the mountains through all this part of the island. Vizzavona, Avhich we crossed on our way to Ajaccio, and Aitona, lying to the south-west of the Niolo, belong to the State, and the Prench 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* men- * Hut. Plant, lib. 1, cap. 8, OUR " MAN or THE WOODS." 183 tions a ship built by the Romans with this timber, of such large dimensions as to carry fifty sails ; and Sextus Pom- peiusj 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 pos- session 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*, we could find no difficulty in believing that advantage might be taken of the rivers on cither 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 Signer E assured us there would be no difficulty in shipping his timber. I had not counted on such an exhausting eff*ort as climb- ing a thousand feet nearly perpendicular on the rocky and ruo'ojed 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 * See Norway in 1848—18-19, 8vo., Longman & Co., pp. 36, 37. N 4 18 i RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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. Our *' man of the woods," notwithstanding his great l)ulk, 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, Pimis Pinea (the stone pine), and Pimis Sylvestrls (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 P'miis La- riccio and the P'mus Maritima are magnificent trees. They were mingled in the forest I am now describing, the Larlccio prevailing. The Pinus Maritima, so well known to all travellers in Italy and Greece, and to others by its picturesque efiPect 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, CORSICAN PINES. 185 only twenty feet high. The spines of the Pinus Maritinia are longer than those of the Pinus Lariccio, and the branches more pensile. The en- gravings for the present work are from spe- cimens 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."* Mr. Lambert considers it to be the same species as the Treuxog, Finns Plcea of Greece, which grow on the high mountains, Olympus, Pindus, Parnassus, &c.; and quotes an extract from Dr. Sib thorp's papers, published in Wal- pole's Turkey J remarking that the ttbukos 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 I'iniis Lariccio is more dis- posed to retain its lower branches than the Pinus Maritima, and has a more angular character both in p.Nus LAKicoo. ^i^g boughs and the footstalks of its tassels. The spines are shorter. The boughs slightly droop, but by no means in the degree of the spi-uce * Lauibert's Genvs Pinus, vol. i. p. 13. PINUS MARITIMA. 186 RAMBLES IN COHSICA AND SARDINIA. fir or tlie larch. Erom this circumstance, however, it probably derives its name, though it has nothing else in the sliG^htest des^ree common with the larch ; and Avriters who speak of the "Corsican larch" betray their readers into serious error. Tlie 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, how- ever, it in some respects agrees. It difi'ers in the branches being shorter and more regularly verticellate. The leaves are one-third longer ; cones shorter, ovate, and quite straight, with de- pressed scales, opening freely to shed tlie 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 distingiiishable 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. "I observed," says Mr. Hawkins, quoted by Lambert, CONE OF THE PINUS LARICCIO. BARK OF THE PIMS LAUICCl THE PINUS LARICCIO. 187 "on Cyllene, Taygetus, and the mountains of Thasos, a sort of fir, wliich, though called ttsoxos 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 ttsu^co^."* Mr. Lambert adds : — " The Pinus Lariccio is, I have no doubt, tlie 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." f We are inclined, how^ever, to think that this remark requires con- firmation by more exact details. The Pinus Lariccio grows to a greater height than the Pinus Maritima. In this forest Signer P 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 " Ze Roi des Arbres." At five feet from the ground its girth was uj)wards 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 Mar- mocchi relates on report, twenty-six feet at one metre (three feet three inches) from the ground, and only re- duced to twenty-one feet where the trunk is fifty-eight * Walpole's Turkey, p. 236. f Lambert's Genus Pinus, vol. ii. p. 28. 188 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. feet liigli. 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 ave- raging those of the Norwegian. Growing in a rocky soil, I can easily believe that the timber is, as represented, ex- tremely durable. It was surprising to see in Signer P 's forest trees of such magnitude springing from fissures in the granite cliffs, and from ledges of rocks having ooly 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 hoUoAVs 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 Prench, governments, has greatly exhausted the forests ; and it is only in the in- accessible 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 saw- mills, a machinery of the simplest possible construction, adopted in North America, Norway, and all forest countries. IIETURN TO CORTE. 189 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 afiPair : 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 P , anxious to supply us Avith all the information we required, lost no opportunity of point- ing out remarkable objects. "Do you see that paese?'' 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. lie fell in the battle of Uatisbon. His last words to the emperor, Avhen ordered on a desperate attack," said our friend, with Corsican feeling "were, ' J"<^poses, matelots, &c., besides officiers cle sante and swarms of gendarmes. They were everywhere : at onr 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; — Avhat 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 lil^:e 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. Pietro 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, Pietro observing that his enemy fre- quently kept his hand on a side-pocket. After supper, the man asked for a chamber to sleep. Pietro replied that they were all occupied, but he might sleep with him. The other was staggered at his coolness, and, hesitating to comply, Pietro 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 Prencli. 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 donaniers and gendarmes. E-epublican 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 252 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. them in the departmental comicil, Avhile Ajaccio sends twenty-nine and Bastia twenty-five members. Tlie Boni- facians despise their masters. " The French are incon- stant," said an inhabitant, high in office, with whom I was talldng politics ; "tliey have tant de j^etltesses ; they have no national character : we have, and yon ; — onr 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 cor da, 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 descend- ins: the stairs. Admitted at leno-th into the bureau, the old crone, spectacle on nose, proceeded very delil)erately to spell over, by a feeble lamplight, the addresses of a bundle of letters taken from a shelf. The process was excruciating, anxious as avc 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, " Forest ler, ecco ! sono tutti forestiere,'" tossing me the whole bundle to choose for myself. Happily, I was not disapi^ointed. AN UNPLEASANT ])ETENTION. 258 - 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 com- bined effects, too, of loathsome smells — the filth of the purlieus being indescribable ■ — of bad diet, confinement, and the irritation natural to Eno-lishmen under detention, brought on suddenly severe attacks of diarrhoea, though we were both before in robust health. Our sufferings shadowed out, however faintly, the miseries endured by a croAvded 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 ever- watchful gendarmes to walk on the town ramparts. Erom early dawn till late evening, the eternal clang of hand corn- mills 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 form- ""Il-^t^r^^r^^^rzr:^^ i:__ ingthesoathern ^ ^/ _ ' extremityofthe ^^^^ Cape, as alrea- '^^j. ^^tTMI dy 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 ^,-.^\ OITTLINI! OF SARDINIA FROM BOMFACIO. 254 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. rose boldly on the horizon, and the low island of Mada- lena, our proposed landing-place, was distinctly visible. It needed not that we should indulge imagination in pic- turing to ourselves Castel Sardo, and other j)laces 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 melanclioly chant from the chapel of a ruined monastery within the guarded enceinte. It was a service for the dead, at which a pros- trate crowd assisted in deep devotion. The sentries on the walls rested on their arms, and we stood at the open door, facing the Avestern sky and the roUing waves, listening to strains of wailing which would have suited the times of the siege and the plague. 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 citi- zens 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 con- template. 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, MARINE GROTTOES. 255 conveying' intelligence to the beleaguered party. Perhaps, in the Genoese times, some Romeo and Juliet, of rival fami- lies, 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. Por what legends and tales of romance, real or imaginary, have we materials here ! It is by sea only that one can escape from Bonifacio, ex- cept 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. -^g^r:=s=^^^-=_— Their entran- ces festooned with hanging* boughs, they penetrate far into the inte- V rior of the rocks, and the water percol- ating through their vaulted roofs, has formed stalactites of fantastic shapes. The boat "^^-X .sri % CAVE UNDER 25G RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. glides through the arched entrance, and we find ourselves in the cool and grateful shade of these marine grottoes. Pishes are flitting in the clear water; limpid streams oozing through the rocks form fresh-water basins, with pehhly bottoms ; and the channels from the blue sea, flow- ing 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. 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. BONIFACIO FROM THE CONVENT IN THE VALLEV. facing Bonifacio and the sea; the walls of the convent and church still standing, approached 1)y a broad paved RUINED CONVENT OF ST. JULIAN. 257 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 sur- moim.ted by a cross — the only portion of the conventual buildings still perfect. In the distance was the little land- locked 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 ! 258 KAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XXV. Island of Sardinia. — Cross the Straits of Bonifacio. — The Toimi and Harbour of La Madelena. — Agincourt Soimd, 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 vises 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 Eomans Fossa Fretim, 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 sud- denly 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, [oif La Madelena,] blowing hard from Longo Sardo, under double-reefed topsails." The diffi- STllAITS OF BONIFACIO. 259 culties 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." * 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 unruifled that my friend was able to sketch at ease the out- __^=;^^ ' lineoftheCorsi- ""^ LOOK TNG BACK ON CORSICA. can mountains, from which we were sloAvly 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 Avindward 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 Clarke nnd M' Arthur's Life of Nelson, vol. ii. p. 33G. s i 200 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. tlie sliores of the two islands, is remarkably bold ; and tlie scene was diversified by the gronps of rocky islets scat- tered 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 arc 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 Home. Quarries of the same material were also worked by the E^omans, 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 import- ance that, till the middle of the last century, it was con- sidered 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 Palcone 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 Palcone lies the small harbour of Lougo 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 con- siderable 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 ANCIENT GRANITE QUARRIES. 261 of the same formation as tlie 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 Heparata, near Avhich 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 w^hile Porto Longone is a poor place, the toAvn 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 Bva, or PMntonis, of the Romans, is about eleven miles in circumference. Till about a century ago it Avas 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 popu- lation and trade. 262 KAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. There are numerous cliannels and many slieltered bays frequented by ships between the group of islands of which La Madelena is tlie 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 Ca- prera, 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, i^ro- bably 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 Scliifo ; 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 Avhile maintaining the blockade of Toulon, from 1803 to 1805. He formed the highest opinion of its position for a naval station, as afl^ording safe and slieltered anchorage, and ingress and egress with any winds. His public and private correspondence at that period shows the import- NELSON AT MADELENA. 263 ance 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. Erom its position, it is Avortli 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 Prench to put to sea, led their admiral, M. Latouche-Treville, 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 s i 26di UAMELES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. and vows was accomplished by the Prench 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 19tli of January, 1805, that the look-out frigate in the offing signalled to the admiral that the Prench 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 con- ceived. 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 en- tirely clear of the passage, and, bidding a long farewell to La Madelena, they stood to the southward in pursuit of the Prench fleet. The daring and determined spirit exhi- bited by Nelson on this particular occasion w^as the subject of especial eulogy in the House of Lords by his late Ma- NAPOLEON REPULSED AT MADELENA. 265 jesty, 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. Purther 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 fh'e 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 Prench 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 materiel, baggage, and artillery. In passing between the other islands, the fugitives were also attacked by some Gallurese, who, concealing them- selves 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 266 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. he visited La Madelena, and relating various circumstances relative to it, lie 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, ' Vogllo tirare alia cliiesa, per far fiiggire le donner ('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 Ma- delena. It failed to burst in this presence, and this mira- culous 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 conti- nued 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. 'Amicii' 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 alia lanterna, had he not made his escape on board the frigate." It has, indeed, been said that Paoli, reluctantly obeying the orders of the Erench Convention to undertake the expedition against Sardinia, entrusted the command to COMMERCE OF MADELENA. 267 Colonna-Cesari, his intimate friend, with instructions to secure its failure, considering Sardinia as the natural ally of their own island. Ho^^^ever this may he, the affair ter- minated hy 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 harhour a Sardinian steam-ship of war*, and ten or twelve vessels of very small tonnage, engaged in the trade with Corsica, Leghorn, and Marseilles. Ahout twenty of this class helong to the port ; hesides which it is frequented annually hy from 200 to 300 other small ves- sels, principally Genoese, their united tonnage amounting to ahout 5000 tons. Besides this legitimate commerce, the Ilvese carry on a prosperous contrahand trade, taking advantage of the numerous little creeks and hays along the rocky coasts of the island. They are naturally a sea- faring people, while the Sardes manifest a decided repug- nance to engage in seafaring pursuits. The quays round the port of Madelena are spacious, and the town, strag- * The "Iclineusa," so called from the ancient name of the island. On a subsequent visit to Sardinia I had the pleasure of making au agreeable acquaintance with the officers of the " Ichneusa," the ship being one of a little squadron then emjjloyed 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 intel- ligent 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. 2G8 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. gling 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 sub- stantial contributions to our comforts, in addition to his OAvn 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 neighbour- hood 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 plea- sant walk along the shore to the villa of an Australian colonist Avho, after wandering about the world, had, seem- ingly 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 ENGLISH SETTLERS. 269 gardens just seeded and planted for the spring, or rather mnter, crops, so early is vegetation, looked greener and fresher than anything we had seen for a long time. The caulifloAvers and peas AYere abeady making forward pro- gress ; the latter, indeed, grow wild in this neighhourhood. 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 com- menced. 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, character- istic, 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 deco- rations 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, 270 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Bronte, with this inscription : YICE COMES NELSON NILI DUX BEONTIS ECC^ ST^- MAGDAL^ INS^ ST^- I^rAGDAL^- D.D.D. It is said that when the town publicly thanked Lord Nelson for the donation, he replied : " These little orna- ments are nothing ; wait till I catch the Prench 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 aff'airs changed ! It was the eve of the feast of All Saints (1st Nov.), devoutly observed, with that of All Souls on the day fol- lowing, in all Catholic countries. Prom daylight till ten at night the bells of St. Magdalene incessantly clanged, ALL souls' day. 271 and the church was thronged with successive crowds, absorbed in pious and affectionate devotion to the memo- ries of their departed friends, according to the rites of the Roman Church. How thrilling are the deep tones of the De Frofimdis 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 eccle- siastical reforms, I know of none which has less preten- sions 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 com- memoration 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. 272 IIAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XXVI. Ferried over to the Main Island. — Start for the Mountaiii Passes of the Gallura. — Sarde Horses and Cavalla7ite Valley of the Liscia. — Pass some Holy Places on the Hills. — Festivals held there. — Usages of the Sardes indicating 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. "VYe were to proceed to Tempio, in the heart of the Gallura Mountains, under guidance of the courier in charge of the post letters. Perried 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 rock, 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 append- SARDE HORSES. 273 ages for camping out, if occasion required. The caval- lante, 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 drome- dary. 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 : " J^ viag glare in Sardegna e percib la iriu dolce cosa del mondo ; Vantlpongo alV andare in barca col vento in poppa " — "The travelKng 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 pro- duce, or imported and interchanged, throughout the interior of the island, there being scarcely any roads, and conse- quently no wheel-carriages employed, except on the Strada T 274 RAMBLES IN COllSICA AND SARDINIA. Reale, through the level plains of the CampidauOj between Cagliari and Porto Torres. The mandcmtl 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, hut 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 a 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 service- able and attentive conductor. 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 com- ^•4^. VALLEY OF THE LISCIA. 275 panion'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, Avashed 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 mtemperie prevailing in summer and autumn. Until lately, the whole district Avas notorious for the crimes of robbery and vindictive murder, for the per- petration of w^hich, 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 sanc- tuaries 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 X 2 276 llAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 visihle amid the dark verdure of the surrounding woods, was pointed out to us. It over- hangs 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 Pranciscan 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 Pranciscan 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 as- semble in multitudes, marching in procession, with their banners at their head ; and the sacred flag of Tempio, sur- mounted 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 under- stood 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 HOLY PLACES AND FESTIVALS. 277 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 Sar- dinia having been early colonised from the East. Traces may also be found in the customs of the Sardes of simi- larity 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. Eor 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. T 3 278 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. What more biblical, as far as the Old Testament is con- cerned, 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 A\ orshipper ! 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 esta- blished 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 priest- hood 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 RIOT AND BLOODSHED. 279 account of one of these feasts, at which he was present *, 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 carabi- niere 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 Avife 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,' f 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. * Sketch of the Present State of the Island of Sardinia, pp. 187— 19 L (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. t The " barancelli " will be noticed hereafter. T 4 280 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XXYII. The Valley narrows. — Romantic Glen. — Al fresco Meal. — Forest of Corh 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 hy pebbly shallows, but over- hung 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 in- closures on their slopes. Here and there stood a solitary stazzay 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 wliich had probably been taxed to the Customs at La Madelena. A GLEN AND CORK FOREST. 281 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 Avill 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 tra- velling 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 sum- mit of the pass. Salvator Uosa 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 282 R.VMBLES IN COKSTC! V AND SARDINIA. suited to its savage aspect, — to conjure up the grim bandit bursting from the thickets on liis prey, or lurking behind the rock for the hour of vengeance on his enemy. Such scenes are by no means imaginary. ;ALVAT0R ROSA SCENK. Even now, numbers of the fuortisciti find shelter in the fastnesses of the Gallura ; the remnant of bands once so formidal)le that they spread terror through the whole pro- vince, bidding defiance alike to the law and the sword. Only within the present century the government has suc- ceeded 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 out- rages have become less common and flagrant, we found, in travelling througli the island, a prevailing sense of OUTLAWS AND ROBBErvS. 283 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. Por 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 kncAv that a peaceable guise, in the character of foreign travellers, was our best protection. The violences of the fiiorusciti 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, de- veloped 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 there- fore 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 Bed Indian, so there are numerous instances of the Sarde outlaws having afforded shelter and assistance to strano-ers throwinj? themselves on their honour and hos- pitality. 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 Lon- gone he fell in with five or six fiiorusGiti, who, after the usual questions, finding that lie was a stranger in the 284 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. country, offered to escort liim a few miles on his road, for ' security.' According to liis story of the occurrence, he could not at all comprehend the meaning of their expres- sion; 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 hy 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. ^ Inckllt in Scijllam qui viilt vitare Charijbdim,' thought my friend ; hut having no alternative he accepted their offer, and, after partaking of an excellent breakfast with them, they all proceeded onwards. Eor 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 com- panions 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 con- cealed in the adjoining wood, and that, having halted, one ANECDOTES OP BANDITTI. 285 of them had gone as ambassador witli a flag of truce and negotiated an armistice for his safe escort. My friend parted from liis first guard of banditti with all their bless- ings 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 inter- fere 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 Avould not be deterred by what had happened from instantaneously shedding each others' blood. " This scene," adds Mr. Warre Tyndale*, " 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 thick- ness 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 forbear- ance hospitably shown by the Sarde mountaineer outlaws, under cii'cumstances 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 our- selves as being engaged. My friend had a considerable sum of money in his possession, more, he remarked, than he * Mr. Warre Tyndale's Island of Sardinia, vol. i. p. 313, &c. 280 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. should have liked to lose. " Cantahlt 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 600Z." The weight of such an amount of scudi could not have escaped their notice. Pages might be filled with tales of the secret assas- sinations and wholesale butcheries perpetrated, at no very distant period, by the matmventi who swarmed in the woods and mountains of Sardinia ; of deadly feuds in which families, and sometimes Avhole 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 dis- tress, and more of a gallantry displayed by some of the bandits Avhich would have graced a better cause, might serve to relieve the dark shades of these pictures. But ANECDOTES OF BANDITTI. 287 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 circum- stances into communication with the better sort of out- laws, and occasionally been the medium of communication between them and the Sardinian authorities, to their mutual advantage. He has thus acquired considerable inliuence 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, 288 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 com- panions 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, hoAvever, 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 ANECDOTES OF BANDITTI. 289 outlaws, relinquishing their booty, threw off their dark mantles, disclosing all the bravery of the picturesque costume of Gallurese mountaineers, and grouping them- selves 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 haUts de fete, the evening was spent in the ex- hibition 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 speci- mens 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 tem- porary fright. Perhaps they might have been better pleased if the '' Deus ex machind" had not appeared to disclose the plot, and they had been suffered to consider the happy denouement as the natural result of the out- laws' magnanimity. Such, by all accounts, it might have been. But I can assui-e my readers that it requires a stout heart, and a stronsj 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 u 290 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. on the borders of tlie Campidano, Avliere 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 Avhite 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 Vv-as 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 heretic, 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 enter- A MOUNTAIN PASS. 291 prise 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 probahly 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 pro- tection 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 betv^een the stern magnificence of the gorge, the more striking from its being now half veiled in dark- ness, 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 cliff's 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 u 2 292 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Tempio. An easy descent of tlic 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 liorses' 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 rob- bery and vendetta, notwithstanding w^hich the population, which is chiefly pastoral, has always maintained a high cha- racter 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. Por 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 dis- tinction 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 ARUIVAL AT TEMPIO. ' 293 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 2^ave in the stillness of the narrow deserted streets ; and the huge granite-huilt 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 a la iwima — the family then had not retired for the night. The strange arrival is announced, and our vlandante makes no scruple of depositing our baggage in the hall. The Com- mandant 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 un- conscionable bill on our departure. And this was the only refuge in a city of from six to eight thousand inhabi- tants, 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 - V 3 294 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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, intern j)erie, and indifferent fare. '' Fer aspera tenclens'' would be his suitable motto. He must be prej^ared to rough it. 295 CHAP. XXVIIT. Tempio The Toimi and Envh^ons. — The Limhara Mountains. — Vineyards. — The Governor or Intendente of the Province. — Deadly Feuds. — Sarde Girls at the Fountains. — Hunting in Sardinia. — Singidar 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 u 4 296 KAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Civita and Ampnrias, 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 men- tioned — the Gemini plain, — a plateau of nearly 2000 feet above the level of the sea, it stands midAvay between tvro grand mountain ranges, the Limbara stretching the bold outlines of its massive forms in a course south of the town, its summit rising to i396 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, w^hen vicAved from Tempio, even a more rugged and serrated ridge. The defiles of this chain w^e 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, w^hen Limbara is supposed to assume its diadem of snow, retaining it till April. 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 combines great breadth, striking contrasts, and a most M^ "I % 1 fi '"^Xj^'''^ TEMPIO. 297 liarmonious blending of colour. Por 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 viandantl. 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 sp'orts- men, 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. Keturning 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 298 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Intemlente, wlio 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 caroMuieri, mounted gendarmes, stationed at Tempio. Sardinia returns twenty-four mem- bers to the national parliament at Turin. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction is administered hy three archbishops, filling the sees of Cagiiari, Sassari, and Oristano, and eight bishops, seated in the other principal cities. High ofiicial 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. Eor himself, his successor said, he took no precautions, did his duty, and braved the consequences. A few years before, the Gover- nor, baling 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 alia morte, revenge even to death, is to be carried out, the party avenging him- self shall give his adversary timely notice by throAving 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. DEATH WARNINGS. 299 and lie fell in a moment he least expected. Report furtlier 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 oflice 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 deport- ment, 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 frank- ness 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. 300 UAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 " * 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 tlie 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 struc- ture 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 inheri- tance. 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 Baby- lonian willows. Sheltered by these in the heat of noon, and in still greater numbers at eventide, one saw the dam- sels of Tempio resort with their pitchers, as in ancient times Abraham's steward, in his journey to Mesopotamia, stood at the well of Nalior, when the daughters of the men of the city came out with their pitchers f ; as Saul, passing through Mount Ephraim and ascending the hill of Zuph, met the maidens going out to draw water I; or as the * Cf. Isaiah, i. 8. : "A lodge in a vineyard, and a cottage in a garden of cucumbers." t Gen. xxiv. 11, 15. j 1 Sam. ix. 11. ENVIRONS OF TEMPIO. 301 spies of Ulysses fell in with the daughter of Antiphates at the well of Ai'tacia.* Sardinia abounds with such me- mentos of prunitive times. The Tempiese women have the singular habit of raising the hinder part of the upper petticoat, the sunctirhm, 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 grace- fully 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 the 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 A\ald 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 ac- quaintance — of all people in the world — of a little barber, who appeared deeply versed in the politics of the place, and undertook to arrano-e the desired chasse with the Tem- o piese hunters. We were to meet him the same evening, at * Odyss. lib. x. 302 llAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. a low caffe, where lie was to introduce us to tlie 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 Cciffe de la CostUuzione was lighted by a single lamp, by whose glimmerings we dimly dis- cerned, 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 unin- telligible, except that we gathered that there were some diificulties in the way. La caccia dl 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 dif6.culties appeared serious. AVliatever they were, our Barbiere 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 pro- posed expedition. We were also informed that there were other parties to be consulted, and the meeting was ad- journed to the following day. Very different was the scene at the Casino to which we were introduced by the Commandant shortly after our con- sultation with the hunters. At the Casino there is a A CONCLAVE OF nUNTEKS. 303 reunion of the best societ}^ in Tempio every eveuing*. AYe fonncl good rooms, well lighted, with coffee and refresh- ments nicely served. There were newspapers, and a small collection of books, — the standard works of Italian writers, with some Erench. 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. AVe 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 Caffe cle 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 Ptosalie's menage among the pleasant things that recon- ciled 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 liave opened my doors to accommodate you." It was a species of hos- pitality that cost us dear. Madame' s airs of gentility, though very amusing, w^ere of course treated with due respect. But what gave zest to my friend's mirth, and, 304 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. with the hopeless prospect of clhiner, 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 tahle, never at rest, screeching all the while at the highest pitch of her voice, with every limh 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 limhs to that of one of those children's puppets of which all the limhs — head, legs, and arms — are set in motion by pulling a string. Nothing detained us at Tempio hut the proposed hoar- hunt. ^Ye attended a second meeting of the principal hunters, committing ourselves unreservedly to their dis- posal, and, after some further consultation, among them- selves, our little barber had the glory of bringing the neo-ociations to a successful issue. All the difficulties, whatever they were, had been removed, and it was settled that the aflfair 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 ccfffe, we found some twenty horsemen, carrying guns, — rough and ready felloAvs, 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 A BOAR HUNT. 305 liappy fellowsliii^ in field sports wliicli, 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 hroken order towards a spur of the mountains, covered with dense thickets, at the foot of the Punta Balestiere, the highest point of the Limhara, After clearing the inclosures our track led us over the \A'ide 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 hand- some plant springs from a bunch of long fibrous bulbs, something like the Dahlia, throwing up straight stems two or three feet high, Avith numerous angular filiformed leaves and yellow flowers.* 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 * Aspbodels were planted bj the ancients near burjing-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 asphoielus belongs to the liliaceous tribe. It flourishes also in Italy, Sicily, Crete, and Africa, some varieties bearing white flowers. 306 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 eitlier hand, " low down in the broom," the valley being rather thickly covered with brakes of underwood. The instruc- tions 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 A BOAR HUNT. 307 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 neigh- bour 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 moun- tain 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 l)e on the alert. The interval of suspense and silence being now broken, the scene became very exciting. The dogs in the Avood 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. X 2 308 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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," * 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 o'ot 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 Avork 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, re- sembles 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 * AuTCip £7ra ttooioq k«( tCi^rvoi:, &C. YLo'M'E.Vi, passim. A BOAR HUNT. 809 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 he compared, I think, to deer-stalking or fox-hunting, to say nothing of a foray against lions and tigers. X 3 310 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Loidands un- healthy. — The deadly Intemperie. — It recently carried off an English Traveller. — Descend a romantic Glen to the Level of the Campidano. — Its peculiar Character. — Gallop over it. — Beach 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 ofl&cial communication from Cagiiari 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 for- warded 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 CAUTIONS FOR TRAVELLING. 311 said, " I assure you that, here, the lowest government employe 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 pre- caution, 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 appre- hensions, 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 lisrht. The mountain sides still formed an in- distinct 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 appear- ance 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 312 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 regetation. 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 Avater.* 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. See the sketdi in the next page. THE IXTEMPERIE. 313 That dense creamy vapour, formed by the pestiferous exhalations of the lowlands, is the death shroud of the plain outstretched beneatli it. -^^: DESCENT TO THE CAMPIDANO, During the heats of summer, nay, sometimes from April till the latter end of November, the ravages of the deadly intemperie extend throughout the island to such a degree that in Captain Smyth's list of nearly 350 towns and villages inclnded 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 314 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. to it, but usually fatal to strangers." We have conversed with natives and residents who have recovered from re- peated attacks of intemperie ; 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 oif by its virulence ; indeed, the very breathing of the air by a foreigner at night, or in the cool of the evening, is con- sidered as certain death in some parts." * 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 * "That cei'tain local causes have through all ages tainted the atmosphere of Sardinia, may be gathered from the remarks aud sarcasms of a host of early authors. Martial, iu mentioning the hour of death, celebrates salu- brious Tibur at the expense of this pestilent isle : 'NuUo fata loco possis excludere: cum mors Yenerit, in medio Tib Lire Sardinia est.' " Cicero, wlao bated Tigellius, the flattering musical buffoon so well described by Horace, tbus lashes his country in a letter to Fabius Gallus : ' Id ego in lucris pono non feri-e hominem pestilentiorera patria sua.' Again, writing to his brother : ' Eemember,' says he, ' though in perfect health, you are in Sardinia,' And Pausanias, Cornelius Nepos, Strabo, Tacitus, Silius Italicus, aud Claudian, severally bear testimony to the current opinion. In later times the terse Dante sings : ' Qual dolor fora, se degli spedali Di Yaldichiana tra '1 luglio e '1 settembre E di maremma, e di Sardinia i mali Fossero in una fossa tutte iusembre,' " &c. Sanifh's Sanlinin, p. 81. THE INTEMPEllIE. 315 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 Port 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 intemperie, 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 counte- nances 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 intemperie. 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 316 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. mandcmte, and, the descent becoming rapid, proceeded leisurely doAvn 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 hark and grey foliage, throwing out rect- angular 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 con- trasts 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 tvAcnty or twenty-five feet. The bark was ten inches thick. AYliile 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 Avith dwarf heath or turf; so shorn and smooth it appeared, probably from being pas- tured, 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 THE CAMPIDANO. 317 commanded tlie Campidano, now clear of fog, spread out before us, far as the eye could reach, m a broad level, broken only by some singular flat-topped hills in the fore- ground. 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, wdiere 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 "malviventl'' as well as "fuoruscitl'' in the wilds — a well known distinction — when, just as we were on the point of returning back, after haK an hour's additional suspense, I got a glimpse of my friend trotting out of the woods close luider 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 a 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 ex- panded into a wide stream, making long bends through the deep loam of the grassy meads, and looking so cool 318 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 tlie 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 ex- panse 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 Home. 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 l)roken to the THE CAMPIDANO. 319 2)ortante 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 ih^paese in Corsica, hut 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 Plorinas 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 ahove 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 de- structive is the intemperie. We turn away : Ozieri stands invitingly on rather a bold eminence at the head of a gorge Avhere 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 intemperie. 320 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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. — Minercd Products. Vast open plains, sucli 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 coun- try, 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 theu^ general impressions on the imagination, they sometimes rival even mountain scenery. Eor 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, hoA^ever 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 THE CAMPIDANO. 321 they are subject to observation ; but the imagination pro- verbially adopts an extravagant measure. One of my friend's sketches of Campidano scenery, in- troduced here, cleverly represents the effects produced by great distances on one of these rolling plains. '-^^^. CAMPIDANO, Perhaps the idea of illimitable extent is better con- veyed by the lithographic sketch, No. 8, in which the level, not being interrupted by the intersection of a moun- tain ridge, as in the former, vanishes in distance. But the termination of the plain in the woodcut is only appa- rent 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, Avhen remarking on the impressions such scenes produce on the traveller's sen- sations. 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 pro- Y 322 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. portionate effect; but that, as it has been already re- marked, is sufE-ciently striking. Some brief details of these interesting features in Sardinian scenery — the larger of which are termed Cam- pidmii, and the secondary Cmnpi— 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.* 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 " Voijages 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; * See before, pp. 150, 260. GRANITE FORMATIONS. 323 availing ourselves also of Mr. Warre Tyn dale'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 re- ^ spective 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.* The * The trade in snow is farmed by tlie Aritzese, it being, like that in salt and tobacco, a royal monopoly, leased for terms of years at a con- siderable rent. Upwards of 9000 cantars (about 375 tons) are brought down every year from the mountains of Fundada Cungiata and Genar- gentu, 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 Y 2 32Jj EAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Monte Oliena in the central group near Xnoro, 4390 feet high, is calcareous, as are two others, between 2000 and 3000 feet high, in the same chain. It terminates with the Sette Eratelli, prolonged to Cape Carhonaro, 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 moun- tains, 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 tlie 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 e\ddences 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 Eoman territory to that of Naples, to the Lipari islands, Sicily, and those forming the subject of mountains rise to what would be tlie level of perpetual frost. Tlie 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. AVe 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 Beuewish holding snow, in the form of a glacier, throughout the year. — Pennant's Tour in Scotland, i. 185. VOLCANIC PORMATIONS. 325 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 re- marks, "the phloegrean evidences are particularly abun- dant." The action was principally confined to the western ! side of the island, though, south of Gcnargentu, 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. Prom the supposed centre of volcanic action just sug- gested, it may be traced northward through the districts of Macomer, Bonorva, Giavesu, Xeremule, with the hillock on which Ardara stands, and Codrongianus, to its termi- nation in the cliflPs 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 Mar-_/ ghine," 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." Y 3 326 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. ' The village of St. Lussurgiu is literally built in a crater connected mtli this group, as is also that of Cuglieri. The highest point, Monte Articu, the summit of Monte Perro, entirely volcanic, rises 3442 feet above the Mediterranean, and the Trebia Lada, 2723 feet high, is one of the three basaltic feet forming the TreUna, or Tripod, on the summit of Monte Arcuentu, a mountain between Orestano and L Ales formed of horizontal layers of basalt. Further south at Nurri, closely approaching the primitive chain, are two hills, called " pizze-ogheddu," and *'pizz5 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 afPords rich pasture. North-west from this place is the " Giara cU Gestori," of similar formation, proceeding from a crater at Ales, but strewed with nume- rous square masses of stone — principally fragments of obsidian, andtrachytic 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 Eeale singularly picturesque. The volcanic current, flomng 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 TERTIARY FORMATIONS. 327 arrested our attention on approaching the coast, near Cape Teulada, in one of onr 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, Avhile 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, Plorinas, Kere- mule, 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 strag- gling appearance, and in composition resemble those of Auvergne. The tertiary formation lies on the west side of the prin- cipal granitic chain, and, besides formiog the Campidano and the bases on which the volcanic substances rest, con- stitutes 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 ge- nerally 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 Y 4 328 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Cam- jndani, 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 Campl- dano,''^ without further specification, though its parts are distinguished by local names, such as — di Uras, di Ga- vino, &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 for- merly extracted; and there is no doubt that silver was found in considerable quantities, as it is even now pro- MINERALS, ETC. 329 cured in assaying tlie 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 Teulado, and at Monte Perm. The richest mine is in the Ogliastra, where the intemperie, 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 espe- cially in the lower parts of the beds of magnesian lime- stone, is neither sufS.cient 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 330 HAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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. OZIERI. 331 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 tlie course of construction to connect it with, the great Strada Beale 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, in- dustrious, 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 build- ing, 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 neigh- bouring hiU. 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 332 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. among the crowd, through which we slowly moved, a Serjeant of the Bersaglicri, distinguished hy 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 he 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 cir- cumstances were just the reverse. The " Cafe et Mestaii- r ant de Rome'''' proved more than its titles implied. EuUy 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 clief de cuisine and gargon. On our praising his dishes, — "Ah," said he, rather theatrically, " Ji? n'ai pas toujour s rempli iin tel metier !'' — " 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 Avith another of them under similar cir- cumstances. Unwilling to wound the feelings of a Colonel who, like the Theban general, was also our Amphitryon, PHENICIAN RITES. 333 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 douhle capacity, he might have more than rivalled in the Crimea even our "General Soyer." To recommend some liqueurs of his own composition, Avhich certainly were excellent, he told us that Sir Harry Darrell, who was here the preceding winter, just hefore he was seized with the intemperie, 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 dis- trict of Barbagia, which it was our design to visit. Such is tlie 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 dis- tant 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 Pather Bresciani gives the following account : — " Towards the end of March, or the beginning of April, it is the custom for 33A RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. young men and women to agree together to fill the rela- tion 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 hark of a cork tree, fashions it in the shape of a vase, and fills it Avith rich light mould in which are planted some grains of harley or wheat. The vase heing placed in the sunshine, well watered and care- fully tended, the seed soon germinates, hlades spring up, and, making a rapid growth, in the course of twenty-one days, — that is, hefore the eve of St. John, — the vase is filled hy a spreading and vigorous plant of young corn. It then receives the name of Hermes, or, more commonly, of Bu Nennere, from a Sarde word, which possihly has the same signification as the Phenician name of garden; similar vases heing called, in ancient times, ' the gardens of Adonis.' " On the eve of St. John, the cereal vase, ornamented with rihhons, is exposed on a halcony, decorated with garlands and flags. Formerly, also, a little image in female attire, or phallic emhlems 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 i}iQ 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 PHENICIAN RITES. 335 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 comparatlco, or spiritual alliance, is considered perfect.* 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.j- 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, tUl, at length, the company rise, still singing, and, forming a circle, dance merrily for many hours. Pather Bresciani, La Marmora, and other writers, justly * " 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. f " 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 Eoman 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 inter- mission, appearing to breathe and play simultaneously. He, however, who can sound five reeds is esteemed the Coryphaeus." — lb. p. 192. 336 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. consider the Nennere as one of the many relics of the Phenician colonisation of Sardinia. Every one knows that tlie 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 sha- dowed 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 representa- tion 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 Phenician s 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 lamenta- tions, 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. SARDO-PHENICIAN CUSTOMS. 337 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 celehrated in many parts of Christendom with honfires and merriment, — usages adopted from pagan traditions. The practices of the Nennere, in the neighhourhood 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 com- menced 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 cele- brated 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 z 338 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 *, with all its seductive ahominations, was one of the Canaanitish idolatries into which the Israelites were prone to fall. Eather Bresciani considers these rites to he emphatically referred to in the indignant apostrophe of Isaiah : — Sow is the faithful city become an harlot ! . . . ye shall he confounded with idols to which ye have sacri- ficed, and he ashamed of the gardens lohich ye have chosen.i And again, in the prophet's terrible denunciation : — Behold, the Lord ivill come loith fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to 7'ender his anger loith fury, and his rehiike 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 politico % shall he consumed together, saith the Lo7^d. Whether the learned Jesuit's interpretation of these passages he well founded or not, we may add another from the prophet Ezeldel, not referred to hy him, but of the application of which to some of these rites there can be no doubt. In one of those lofty visions, vividly por- traying the iniquities of Israel, her idolatries and wicked abominations, the prophet's attention is directed to the * Ezekiel, viii. 14. t Isaiah, i. 29. X Isaiali, Ixvi. 15 — 17. Mundos se putabaut in hortis post januam. — Vulgate. SARDE WORSHIP OF THAMMUZ. 339 intolerable scandal that, even at the gate of the Lord's house, behold there sat loomen loeeping for Tammuz.* " 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 Ean 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. Losf, 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 sub- sisting among the customs of the people of Logudoro, in the neighbourhood of Ozieri, and in other parts of Sar- dinia. Of the worship of Moloch — jjci^r excellence the Syrian and Phenician god of fire — by the ancient Sardes, there is undoubted proof. We find among the prodigious quan- tity of such relics, collected from all parts of the island, in the Ixoyal 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 * Ezekiel, viii. 14. z 2 340 llAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 witli blood Of liuman sacrifice, and parents' tears ; Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels load. 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 *, for which any Israelite, or stranger that sojourned in Israel, guilty of the crime was, according to * Leviticus, xx. 2. WORSHIP OF MOLOCH. 341 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 pui'e 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* 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.f 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." % 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 * Jeremiah, xix. 4, 5. •\ " They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacriiiced 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. J 2 Kings, xvi. 3. z3 342 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Moloch." * 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 mean- while 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 Pather Brescianif, 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, tlie musicians meanwhile playing on the lioneclda tunes adapted to a Phyrric dance. This, says the learned Pather, is a representation of the initiation through fire into the mysteries of Moloch ; and, singular as its preser- vation may appear through the vast lapse of time since such rites were practised, we see no reason to doubt his relation, * Jeremiah, xxsii. 35. t "^^ol. ii. p. 264, ANCIENT CUSTOMS. 343 exactly as he treats on this subject after repeated visits to the island, even if the account vs^ere 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. z 4 344 EAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XXXII. Expedition to the Mountains. — Envirofis 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 Himters' Feast — A Bivouac in the Woods. — Notices of the Province of Barhagia. — 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 Tem- piese friends at the Caffe 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 "\A"elsli 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 aljout an hour and a half RIDE TO THE FORESTS. 345 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 limhs and folds, with Genargentu and other summits shrouded in a grey silvery haze. A hroad valley was spread out beneath our point of view, and the mountain range immediately oppo- site, 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 346 EAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 l^e equal to the scantling, Sardinia would supply materials of great value for naval purposes. P The forests of the Barbagia, into which we now pene- trated, 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, 12s. each, the trees being said to realise from 200 to 300 francs (8Z. to 12Z.) each at Toulon or Mar- seilles. In England, we pay from Is. 6d. to 2s. M. per cubic foot for very indifi'erent American oak, and from Is. 9d. to 2s. Gd. 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 re- SARDINIAN TIMBER. 347 specting the pine forests of Corsica.* On my taking occa- sion also to represent the great abundance of oak timher 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 restric- tions, to burn down portions of underwood, such as the lentiscus, daphne, and cistus, to allow the pasturage to J, 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 govern- ment, 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 indiscrimi- nate slaughter, doing irreparable injury to the trees. There * See before, p. 191. — The pine does not flourish in Sardinia. Deal planks for house-building are imported from Corsica. 348 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. now lie before me the specimens I collected of the succes- sive 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 coatino- 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 incli and a quarter thick. I consider that the bark of old trees is less valu- able. Some of those we saw in the forests of the Gallura and Barbagia must have been the growth of many cen- turies. 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, pro- portioned 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 tlie lessee's account of profit and loss. The heaviest charges are the export duty from Sardinia, the freight, and the import duties in Erance, to which country, I understand, the greatest part of the cork cut in the island is shipped. The Erench 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 Erance (upwards of 226,000 lbs. in 1855*) grew in * Annual Statement of Trade and Navigation presented to Parliament. CORK FORESTS AND THE TRADE. 349 Sardinian forests. Our principal imports of unmanufac- tured cork bark are from Portugal, the quantity in the year just mentioned being 3300 tons and upwards. Erom Spain we only received 300 tons, and about 100 from Tus- cany and other parts ; the official value being from 32Z. to 35^. per ton. It appears extraordinary that we should draw so considerable a portion of our supplies of this valu- able commodity from Prance 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 Ifr. 20 cents, per quintal. This arises, I imagine, from the trade being left by the apathy of the islanders mostly in the hands of ■prench 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 de- scription 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 exhila- rating sounds of the men and dogs breaking the silence of the woods as they drove the game before them, the minutes 350 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 climnp de hataille on all sides. Wild boars were plentiful, roebucks not so, hares innumerable in some of our hattues. I confess, however, that the inci- dent 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, folloAved by my neigh- bours, 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, be- comes 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 hattue 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 Avhere 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 erases and detached THE hunters' feast. 351 masses of rock, covered with white lichens. On the grass are piles of fiat 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 no- thing of hares, — and the general stock might seem inex- haustible, if one glance at the crowd of hungry hunters did not banish the thought. Eager for the attack, they were busily employed in pre- parations 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 Eobin 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 roha interior a ^ 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 352 hambles in Corsica and Sardinia. embers on skewers of sweet wood, and handed round, filled eacli pause in the attack on the cold provisions, portions being detached by the formidable coutecmx de diasse with which every man was armed ; nor did English steel fail of doing its duty. Though the party distributed themselves indiscrimi- nately 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 frag- ments 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, — "Agll nohil'i cacciator'i clella Sardegna^ e dl noi forestieri II sozil amicisslmi, henevolentissimi,''^ &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 hersagllo 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 BIVOUACK IN THE FOREST. 353 Imndrcd yards distant, the rest gathered round the point of sightj 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 moun- tain 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, un- mistakable 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 seeldng some shelter for the night, about which a Sarde mountaineer is not fastidious, any bush or hollow in a rock serving his purpose. Eor 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 nortliern climes. We, A A 354 RAMBLES IN CORSICxV AND SARDINIA. too, lay clown ensconced in a brake, the younger traveller disdaining any other Avrapping 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 cofPee, bread, cheese, and fruit for the collazione, — wiiat more could be wanting ? In this expedition one day was like another, except in the ever-varying scenery, interesting enough to the tra- veller, but wearisome in description. Suf&ce 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 Avith them, or pursue the 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 moiijjlon, proceeding then, along byroads, through a chain of mountain villages to Cagliari. Nuoro, a poor place, though dignified with the title of " c'ltta^'' 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 mountamous district, but containing many large villages, such as Fonnij Tonara, and Aritzu already mentioned. The mountaineers of Barbagia have been distinguished from the earliest times for their indomitable coura2:e and spirit of independence. Some of the best ancient T\T.'iters relate that lolaus, son of Iphicles, king of Thcssalv, and MOUNTAINEERS OF BARBAGIA. 355 nephew of Hercules, settled Greek colonies in this part of the island. The expedition, in which he was joined by the Thespiadse, was undertaken in obedience to the oracle of Delphi ; and it declared that, on their establishing them- selves in Sardinia, they would never be conquered. lolaus 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 lolaese or Iliese from their founder, became the most powerful race in the island, — just as the Uoumains of Wallachia, boasting their descent from Trajan's Dacian colonists, long proved their right to the proud patronymic. The lolaese offered a determined resistance to the Car- thaginian 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 E-omans figure in history ; but the tradi- tions 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 Sar- dinia 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 iniards entirely at bay, when, in 1710, Sardinia was A A 2 356 UAMBLES IN COESICA AND SARDINIA. ceded to the house of Savoy. The demand being pru- dently 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 moun- tains Visfuorusciti, of some kind, are more than 300 ; and to them may be added another 300 unknown to the Govern- ment, 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 Sar- dinia, in 1857, that the numbers of these unhappy men ■v\ ere 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 lolaus, preserved for untold centuries and through all political changes, has been maintained to the last by their direct descendants, the fnorusciti of Bar- l)agia. 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. RETURN TO OZIERI. 357 this state of affairs wliicli 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, Ave reluctantly retraced our steps to Ozieri, in company with our friendly hunters. A A 3 358 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XXXIII. Leave Oderi The New Road and Travelliiig m the Cam- pagna Monte Santo Scenes at the Halfway House Volcanic Hills. — Sassari ; its History. — Liberal opinions of the Sassarese. — Constitutional Government. — Reforjns ivanted in Sardinia. — Means for its Lmprovement. OziERi standing on the verge of the great Sardinian plains, we dismissed our cavalUmte, and changed our mode of travelling. A primitive diligence plies occasionally between Ozicri and Sassari, by the new road just constructed to join the Strada Ueale between Cagliari and Porto Torres. Missing the opportunity during our hunting excursion, we liircd a volt lire for the day's journey. It was compara- tively a smart affair, a light caleche 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 in- terior, for persons of all ranks and both sexes, being either on horseback or on oxen.* * The veliicular statistics of Sardinia, ten years before, as summed up by Mr. Warre Tyndale, show tliree 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. Thijigs were not much improved at the period of our visit. OZIERI TO SASSARI. 359 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 con- struction, 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 " Knocke- croghery," could scarcely have afforded us more amuse- ment 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, Ave 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 com- manded 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 3G0 RAMBLES IN COUSICA AND SARDINIA. Strada Reale from Cagliari to Sassari was reached soon afterwards. About noon, we halted while the horses baited at a roadside loccmda, the half-way house to Sassari, stand- ing 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, fetch- ing 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 loccmda, 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 A EOADSIDE INN. 361 horsed, and, altogether, a superior turn-out. Wc 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 re- mains still in that pastoral state, which, however pic- turesque 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 362 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 com- monage, and while the occupation of the shepherd, with all its hardships, is esteemed preferable and more honour- able than that of the tiller of the soil. After this, we got among hills bounding the plain in the neighbourhood of Plorinas 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, -^dnding among woods. We walked up it by moonlight, our driver's bugle echoing that of a diligence which preceded us at some dis- tance 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 contrast- ing well with the white faqades and lofty colonnades of the neighbom-ing 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 popula- tion of some 30,000 souls, has always been a jealous rival of Cagliari, the metropolis, boasting an independent his- tory 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 Idbi/sonis, founded on the neighbouring coast by the Greeks, and colonised by the SASSARi; ITS HISTOHY. 363 Ilomans,--were driven by the incursions of the Saracen corsairsj 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 lY., 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, offen- sive 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 Do- mina ; " " non Slgnora, ma Arnica J ^ 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 364 UAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. interval between 1332 and 1409. It continued to be the victim of contending parties till 1420, wbenfor 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 " Citta Heale." 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 govern- ment, religion, and education, surviving the transference of the sovereignty to the House of Savoy, have descended from generation to generation. This feeling prevails to the present day, partly owing, perhaps, to the ch'cumstance 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 publi- cation, were put into my hands during our stay at Sassari, in which these topics were discussed in a sensible, bold, but temperate style.* 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 * Memorie Politico-Economiche intorno alia Sardegna nel 1852, di Vincenzo Sola, da Venezia. Seconda Edizione, riveduta dalV Autore. CONSTITUTIONAL GOVEENMENT. 365 from its having readied a second edition, that it may he 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 constitu- tional system in the Sardinian dominions, not only politi- cally, hut in its effects on the social and economical con- dition of the country. Hitherto the island of Sardinia has heen treated hy the cahinet of Turin much as it was long the misfortune of the English government to deal with Ireland ; regarding the native race as a conquered, hut turhulent, impracticahle and semi-harharous people; the consequences of such misrule heing poverty, disaffec- tion and hloodshed. But I trust we see the dawn of hrighter days, when this fine island, partaking of the henefits following in the train of constitutional govern- ment, — its wrongs redressed, its great natural resources developed, and the natural genius and many virtues of its inhahitants heing cultivated and having free scope, — will he 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 ihree secondary European states, which, in our own memory, have raised the hanner of freedom, and are consistently marching under it with firm, vigorous, and well-poised steps. It need hardly he explained that we speak of Norway, Bel- gium, and Sardinia.* Occupying, geographically and politically, important positions ranging, at wide intervals, from the far north to the extreme south of Em^ope, these * "We do not include, in the enumeration of free states, the Swiss con- federacy, nor flourishing Holland. Both date their liberties to much earlier times. 366 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. small, flourisliing, and well-ordered states, offer a spectacle as full of hope and encouragement to all lovers of consti- tutional 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 assur- edly come, and may not be far distant. Of the state and prospects of the kingdom of Norway,* we have treated in another work. The democratic ele- ment 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 Nor- wegian 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 funda- mental laws, that it has been harmoniously worked to the great benefit of the nation. In Belgium, notwithstand- ing 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 * Noi'wa]/ in 1848 and ISiO. Longman and Co. hedress of abuses. 3G7 forms a valuable portion of those singularly aggregated dorainions. In a work devoted to a survey of the island, even a passing traveller may he 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 Signer 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 iniqui- tously 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 in- demnify them for the loss. They feU, however, into disre- pute, 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 disarma- 368 TvAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. ment 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 popu- lation, are passionately fond of the chase, and with wastes so stocked with destructive wild animals, the total pro- hibition 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 po- lice improved, outrages were less frequent, and confident hopes entertained that banditism, now confined to a small number of outlaws, Avould 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 everyAvhere the deepest antipathy towards the Pied- montese. Sardinia for the Sardes, was like the cry w^e 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 concilia- tory than foreigners invested w ith 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 GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. 369 these officials, wlio 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, — " Slfece interrogarci per dove posshno cliretU.'" Afterwards, says Sala, when chatting in Cagliari, he reproached the Sardes with igno- rance and indolence because, though their land was sur- rounded by the sea, they did not know how to supply themselves with a river, — " Non sapevano formarsi un Jiume ;'' adding, with great self-complacency, — " lA civi- lizzeremo, U civilizzeremo .^" Such impertinences are calculated to irritate the native Sardes against the continental oflS.cials ; and they are gene- rally detested. Our author, however, candidly allows that intrigue prevails so universally in the island, and the influ- ences of relationship and connexions are so great, as to raise suspicions of the purity and fairness of native func- tionaries, especially of those who have been brought up under the old system, — a school of corruption. Signer 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 Pirma ; and thus with- drawn 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 B B 370 HAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. island, destructive of tlie rights of property and quite incom- patible 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 pro- posed to place the great domains of the communes under better management. Among various other reforms and beneficial projects to whicli 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 GENERAL LA MARMORA. 371 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 liis sovereign and the eyes of the world, in whose hands the task of rege- nerating 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 Sar- dinian progress has been reserved for a more particular notice than we have been able to afford most others, both 372 HAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. on account of its importance, and its having mucli 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. Signer 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.* General La Marmora drew attention to the subject in a pamphlet published at Cagliari in 1850, under the title of Questioni marittimi spettanti alV isola di Sardegna ; and resumed the subject in 1856, in another work, which he was so oblidnsr as to ffive me, when at Cagliari, in 1857. It * La sua posltura nel Mediterraneo la rende intermediara fra 1' Africa e 1' Europa; fra il porto di Marsiglia da una parte, quelli di Geneva 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 alia sua potenza ed a suoi besogni, non sembrera per certo un sogno 1' asserire cbe la Sardegna si troverebbe a miglior portata di concorrere a soddisfare le sue bisogne di trausporte, principal- raente per le coste d' Africa, dove la colonia francese va prendendo sempre raaggiore sviluppo, e prenunzia un avvenire fecondo. Si la citta di Cao-liari 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 ! JN'on si credono queste visioni o tra- vidementi d' immaginazione ; cbe anzi non temiamo d' affirmare ch' essa potrebbe divenire, un giorno, la piccoht Inghilterra del Mediterraneo. — Memorie Politico-Economiche, p. 134. MARITIME AFFAIRS. 373 originated in the expected completion of the line of Elec- tric 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. AH the other villages and towns on the coast stand more or less distantly from it, and cannot be called maritime. He considers this depopu- lation 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 Erench. It would be foreign to our province to detail the pro- jects Avhich 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 Degll 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 Eebruary, 1856 ; the proposal being to grant 60,000 hectares of the national domains to a company formed for establishing agrarian colonies. The cabinet of B B 3 374 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 salt si un jour, imr suite des progres que fait depuis quelque temps VEgijpte moderne, le commerce des Indes Orientates 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 echelle de la Mediterranee? 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 re- presentatives 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 Com- mons, 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 REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT. 375 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 Proces- 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-General emet le voeu," "appelle I'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 " voeu." 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 govern- ment. A bright day dawned on the future destinies of Sardinia, when it exchanged the one for the other. 3 B 4 376 llAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XXXIV. Algltero — Notice of. — The Cathedral of Sassari. — University. — Museum. — A Student's private Cabinet. — Excursion to a Nuraghe — Description of. — Remarhs 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 Peale. 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 circum- stances. It is a fortified place, with a richly ornamented cathedral, and thirteen other churches. Sassari also boasts a spacious cathedral, with a very elaborate facade, a Avork of the I7th century. It contains also t wenty churches, including those that are conventual. SASSARI. 377 If the religious state of the community were to be esti- mated 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 709 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 Hosello, 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 Phoenician 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. 378 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Avas, 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 instru- ments, scattered about, and a cabinet containing some of the best Erench, EngKsh, 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 accom- plishments 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, to- gether with one copied from a unique coin of the Eoman 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 THE NURAGIIE. 379 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. 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 circumfer- ence 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 diminish- ing in size to the summit. Most commonly they betray no marks of the chisel, but in many instances the stones EXTERIOR OF A NURAGHE. 380 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 in- ternal 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 THE NURAGHE. 381 ENTRANCE TO A NURAGHE. form, rising to the lieiglit of twenty or twenty-five feet. The entrance was so low that w^e were obliged to stoop al- most to our knees in passing through it. A lintel, con- sisting of a single stone, some two tons' w^eight, was sup- ported by the protruding jambs. No light being ad- mitted to the chamber, but by a low passage through the double walls, it was gloomy enough. In this instance, the inte- rior formed a single dome or cone about tw^enty-five feet high, w^ell-proportioned, and diminishing till a single massive stone formed the apex. The chamber was fifteen feet in diameter, and had four re- cesses 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, command- ed 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 INTERIOR OF A NURAGHE. Out of 382 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 hounded by the Mediterranean, intersected by the bold outlines of the island of Asinara. After feasting our eyes on perhaps the most charming tahlecm 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 com- pleting 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 orna- ment, any rude sculpture, any inscriptions. Of an anti- quity 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 man- ners and character of the people still to be traced. The mouldering cones which arrest the traveller's attention. ORIGIN OF THE NURAGHE. 383 scattered, as we have observed, in great numbers through- out the island, enduring in their simple and massive struc- ture, have thrown their shade over Phoenicians 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*, there has been abundance of conjecture and speculation on the sub- ject. On the present occasion, I had the advantage of dis- cussing 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 * 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 (1. iv. c. 29, 30) that " after lolaus had settled his colony in Sardinia, he sent for Dsedalus out of Sicily and employed him in building many and great works which remain to this day." And in another place (1. V. c. 51) he reckons among these works " temples of the gods," of which, he repeats, " the remains exist even in these times," These pas- sages, however, afford but slight grounds for considering that the Nuraghe were built by the Greeks, or even were temples of the gods. The term Qokoiig, 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 Daedalus was sent for out of Sicily by lolaus, and makes it an anachronism. See Tyndale's Sardinia, vol. i. p. 116. 384 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. as it proves, before the reader, in the shortest compass to which so wide an inquiry can be reduced. The world lias been searched for styles of building cor- responding with that of the Sarde Nuraghe ; without suc- cess. 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 iden- tity with them. They have been supposed, among other theories, to have some affinity with the Hound 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 Kound 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 Phoenicians. They are called talayots, a diminutive, it is said, of atalaya, meaning the "Giants' Burrow;" and if the plate annexed to Eather 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 Mar- mora'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, hoAvever, is striking, as connected with the facts of the contiguity of Minorca, and the colonisation of both the islands by the Phoenicians. PURPOSES OP THE NURAGHE. 6bo Opinions as to the purposes for wliicli tlie 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 sheplierds; and the words of Micah — "the tower of the flocks,"* and other similar passages, are re- ferred to as supporting this vicAv. But it is hardly neces- sary 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 enter- tained. 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 oj)posed. Another hypothesis treats the Nuraghe as monuments commemorating heroes or great national events, whether in peace or war ; forgetting, as Pather 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 Nura- ghe as being designed either for religious edifices or tombs for the dead. La Marmora confesses his inability to pro- nounce decidedly between the two opinions, but inclines to the opinion that they may have been intended for both purposes. Pather Bresciani, the latest writer on Sardinian antiquities, after a personal examination of the Nuraghe and much general research, though he does not venture a * Micab, iv. 8 ; and see 2 Kings, x. 12, xvii. 9, xviii. 8 ; aud 2 Chron. ixri. 10, &c. C C 386 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. decided opinion, is disposed to agree with La Marmora. In confirmation of the idea that the most ancient monu- ments were at once tombs and altars, he quotes a Spanish Avriter * 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 exist- ing relics of antiquity. If such were the primitive custom, it did not prevail among the Greeks and Homans, 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 con- fessedly 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 orna- ments 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. * " Apenas se diferenciaha el aea. de la tumba. "La graderia (del monumento sepolcrale) se hullaha practicada en el costade occidental per donde se sttbia para ORAR, o para SACBiriCAR." — Dupaix, vol. V. p. 243. 261. ORIGIN OF THE NURAGHE. 387 Whatever were the purposes of the Niiraghe, ahnost all writers on Sardinia consider these ancient structures of Eastern origin. Pather Bresciani attributes them to Ca- naanitish or Phoenician colonies, which migrated to the west in early times ; and he takes great pains, but, I con- sider, 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 thiok that the island of Sardinia, if not the first seat, w-as, 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 settle- ment, as far as the Cassiterides, our own Scilly Isles. Though there is little historical evidence of the Phoenician 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. 388 RAMBLES IN COHSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 Ave have already referred. Mr. Tyndale, however, justly observes, that " so distinct and peculiar is the cha- racter of these relics, that their counterparts are no more to be met with out of Sardinia than the Nuraghe them- selves." Erom this circumstance, in conjunction with the fact of the images being often foimd 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. 389 CHAP. XXXV. Sardinian Monoliths. — The Sepolture, or " Tombs of the Giants." — Traditions regarding Giant Races. — The Ana- kim, ^"c, of Canaan. — Their supposed Migration to Sar- dinia. — Bemarks on Aboriginal Races. — Antiquity of the Nuraghe and Sepolture. — Their Founders unhiovm. 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, Avehury, 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 Fletra- or Rerda-fitta, and Rerda-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 difPer from the Celtic monuments, in being generally thus worked and shaped ; in not being often congregated on one spot beyond three in number — a Rerda-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 c c 3 390 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 intro- duced into Sardinia, with the symbols just described, by the Phoenician or Canaanitish immigrants. 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, in- closing 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 co- vering. Though the lat- ter are not always found, ^ ^w^^^,b5^- it is evident, by a compa- ^^ ^'^^r^^^'^^^^^ow^ - risen with the more per- SEPOLTIIRA DE IS GIGA.NTbS. foct SCpOltUrC, tliat tllCy have once existed, and have been destroyed or removed.* The foss runs invariably from north-Avest to south-east ; * We borrow tliis description from Mr. Tyndale's work, as well as tbe illustrations, not finding a sketch of a Sepoltiira in our own portfolio. THE SEPOLTURE. 391 SEPOLTURA DE IS GIGANTES. and at the latter point there is a large upright headstone, averaging from ten to fifteen feet higli, 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. On each side of this stele, or headstone, commences a series of separate stones, irregular in size and sliape, 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," ob- serves 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 Nu- raghe, the SepoUure are peculiar to the island, being entirely different in point of size and character from any other sepulchral remains. Judging from the many re- mains 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 SepoUure, observes that, " if a Canaanitish race c c 4 392 K AMBLES IN COHSICA AND SARDINIA. migrated here, nothing is more prohable than that the tradition and worship of the giants would be also im- ported ; and that it is even possible that some of the actual gigantic races of the Hephaim, Anakim, and others mentioned in Scripture, might have actually arrived in Sardinia." Pather Bresciani goes further : he fixes the era of this migration, points out the event which caused it *, 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 Phoenician or Canaanitish colonisation of the island Avhatever. That such there was, undoubted proofs have already been gathered ; but the statuettes of Phoenician 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 ad- * The learned Jesuit disconnects this migration from tbe expultiion 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 Ana- liims ; which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims ; but the Moabites call them Einims." 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 Ana- kims ; but the Lord destroyed them before tliem ; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day." — Bent, ii, 10, 11. 20, 21. ABOUIGINAL RACES. 393 vanced than that to which we should be disposed to at- tribute 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, w^hether they were not the works of an aboriginal race. The question is raised by M. Tyndale : " AVe 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 tlie 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 cen- turies 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, 394 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 considera- tions 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 struc- tures, 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 — yrj and yeVw, and signifies earth-born, sons of the earth.* The word avToxOove^; (au- tochthones) has a cognate meaning; Liddell and Scott render it, " of the land itself; Latin, terrigence, aborigines^ indigence^ 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 Coelus and * Owe KuXlovari Tiyai'TUc, kiriovv^or ir ficiKapoKTi Ovi'EKa yrjg iytrnvTO Koi (Uj-mroQ ovpavlow. OrPHEUS GIANT RACES. 395 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* ; and Josephus considers them the off- spring 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. "VVe 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-Karnaimf, and it is now the received opinion of biblical archaeologists, 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 Hephaim ; " I and a few families existed as late as the time of David. § In the most ancient legends we find the giant race * Gen. vi. 1—4. t These giant tribes were defeated by Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, in the same expedition in which the kings of Sodom and Gomorrali were put to the sword, and Lot, who dwelt in Sodom, was carried off, but afterwards rescued by Abraham. Numbers, xiv.. 5. &c. % Numb. xiii. 33. ; Deut. iii. 11., ix. 2. ; Josh. xv. 14. § 1 Sam. xvii. 4. ; 2 Sam. xxi. 16—22. 39G RAMBLES IN COHSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 tlien inhospitable shores. They were robbers, and even cannibals ; enemies of the gods and men. Such talcs 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 Xeptune and Amphitrite, just as the giant Antaeus, the founder of Tangier on the African coast, was called the son of Xeptune 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 ^neid ? The Grecian and Trojan heroes, successively land on the eastern coast of Sicily, near the base of Mount JEina, 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 abori- ginal Sardes, Baleares, Maltese, Libyans, &c. In Sardinia, their caverns are still to be seen in an island of the terri- tory of Sulcis. Caves Avere probably the first habitations of primitive man, before emerging from a condition hardly superior to that of the savage beasts, his competitors for THE CYCLOPS. 397 sucli rude shelter. Irrespective of climate, in these we find his home, whether among the Celts of the frozen res^ions 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 Buslimen, perhaps the last exist- ing 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 con- siderable 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 prorepseruut primis animalia terris, Mutum et turpe pecus." HoR. Sat. i. 3. But the traditions of Polypheme and his Cyclops re- present 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 bouclies 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*, descending from the * " Summo cum monte videmua Ipsum, inter pecudes vasta se mole moventem, Pastorem Polyphemum, et littora nota petentem. Trunca manum piuus regit, et vestigia firmat. Lanigerae eomitautur oves ; . . . , . . . . de collo fistula pendet." .£"«. iii, (i55, &c. 398 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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 chief's. They led a nomad life, ^^ err antes ^^ between the mountain pastures and the plains on the coast.* 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 bar- barous, 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 Medi- terranean 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 cus- toms of their forefathers, when they point to structures of the highest antiquity scattered on their native soil, and call them '' Sepoltiire de is Gigantes," — as we now have * Poljpheme's clan are thus described : — " Nam, qualis quantusque cavo Polypliemus in antro Lanigeras claudit pecudes, atque ubera pressat, Centum alii curva hsec habitant ad littora vulgo lufandi Cyclopes, et altis montibus errant." y£n. iii. 611. GIANT RACES. 399 some idea what tliese giants were, — may we not find reason to accept tlieir tradition, and consider tliese monu- ments 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 indi- viduals, 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.* 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 large and sinewy forms. Such might be the special pri- vilege of the Rephaim, and other tribes of which we read. * Fatlier 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. 400 hambles in Corsica and Sardinia. Eut 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, pro- perly so called, are represented by them as a single family, sons, as before mentioned, of Neptune and Amphitrite. That the Sepolture de is Glgcmtes 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." * 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 Sepoltm^e ; and, passing by some trivial objections to this hypothesis, we are disposed to adopt Mr. Tyndale's con- clusion, that — " the coincidence of two such peculiar monu- ments 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 * De Physicis, iv. 3. WORKS OF THE GIAXT RACES. 401 construction, are strong reasons for tlic presumption that they may have had some mutual reference to each otlier, — as binding 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 con- struction 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 !* 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 * Gen. iv. 21, 22. D D 102 HAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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.* 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 wdiich there first undoubtedly flou- rished. 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 streuG^thenins? the aro'ument for their beins^ of indi- £?enous orij^in. That the forms of these structures scat- tered over the world are generally pyramidal, often rounded, * A general idea seems to have prevailed in early times of the prodigious muscular strength possessed by tlie men of an age still earlier. Thus Turnus, the warlike chief of tlie Eutuli, is represented in the Jjlneid as lifting and hurling at the Trojan an immense boundary stone which would defy the united efforts of twelve such men as the earth produeerl in those (lays to lift on their shoulders. " Saxum antiquum, ingons, campo quod forte jaeebat, Limes agro positus, litem ut discerneret arvis. Yix illud lecti bis sex cervice subirent, Qualia nunc hominum producit corpora tcllus." ^l^n. xii. 897. WORKS OF THE GIANT RACES. 403 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," * "There were giants in those days,"— men not only of gigantic forms, but imbued with grand ideas. The struc- tures 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 con- struction." 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. Beverence, 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 mvsterious monuments of the ancient Gen. : 404 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Sarclcs owe their origin, and tliencc we arrive at a reason- able conclusion respecting their object and uses. Eescarches the most extended and the most profound, liave failed to penetrate the obscurity in which the mists of ages have enveloped the origin of the primeval monu- ments of all nations, and of the people who founded them. Something may have been contributed towards tlie solu- tion 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 wliicli, and of their Herculean labours, we find everywhere cor- responding 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 ; sug- gesting 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 rDce;=, s^jpports the conjecture of tlieir identity ; for, as ABORIGINES. 405 already shown*, the term " giant " {yiyas) is not descriptive of extraordinary strength, bat, equally with the phrases aiitocthonoi, terr'igence, 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 v/ould be idle to speculate on the means by Avhich aboriginal races, as w^ell 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 w^orks 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, w^ave 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 succes- sive generations of men, whose brief span of existence has been that of a moment compared with the centuries that See before, p. 301. D D 3 406 RAMBLES IN COHSICA AND SARDINIA. have looked clown from their summits. But unlike the Pyramids, whose mysteries are partially unveiled, they give no note by which their age or their history may l)c 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 with- out, to tell their tale. Well, then, may the thoughtful traveller, contemplating with silent wonder these mys- terious 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." 407 CHAP. XXXVI. Oristano. — Orange-groves of Mllis — Cagliari. — Description of. — The Cathedral and Churches Religious Laxity. — Ecclesiastical Statistics. — Vegetable and Fruit Market. — • Royal Museum. — Antiquities. — Coins found in Sardinia. — Phoenician Remains. — The Sarde Idols. The high road between Sassari and Cagliari, called the Strada Rcale, runs through the great level of the Campi- dano 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, couimercial. It is, however, deserted in the summer and autumn, Avhcn the atmosphere becomes so pestilential from the inhalations of the neighbouring stagna and lagunes as to justify the pro- verl) : — A Oristano che ghe va, In Oristano glie resta ! D D 4 408 TvAMBLES IN COESICA AND SARDINIA. Tlie 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 dis- tant mountains. The orange groves of Milis, a village lying a little out of the high road to Oristano, are ^vorth a visit. Tlie 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 mag- nificent ; vying in size with the European oaks, planted, probably at the same time, by the German settlers from the Black Eorest, the disbanded soldiers of the States of Holland, to \^iiom many of the African Boers ow^e 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 tlieii- 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 milKons 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 l^d. to 4f c/. per dozen, according to circumstances. Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, a city containing up- w^ards of 35,000 inhabitants, is seen to most advantage when approached from the sea, the campagna in the vicinity being neither fertile nor picturescjue. Standing at CxVGLIARI. 409 the licad of a uoblc bay or gulf, twenty-four miles in cleptli and tAvelve across, with good anchorage everywhere, its advantageous position pointed out Cagliari as a seat of commerce from the earliest times. The Phoenicians, the Greeks, and Carthaginians were attracted by the fine har- bour, and the inducements offered by the neighbouring heights for the construction of a fortified town. The Piomans 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 Yillanova, the former occupying the space between the Castello, or Cas- teddu, 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 ofBicials, 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. 410 llAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. Besides a strong citadel, there are, in the circuit of the fortifications three massive towers, called the Elephant, the Lion, and the Eagie, built by the Pisans; and the Castello is entered by four arched and embattled gate- ways. One of these was in the act of Ijcing demolished during my recent visit to Cagliari, in order to afford freer communication between the upper towm 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 develop- ment 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 w^alk, commanding extensive views of the Campi- dano, 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. CAGLIARI. — THE CHURCHES. 411 A crypt licwii out of tlic solid rock, under tlic 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 1G17. 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 oae of the beams for the roof proving too short ; upon which ihe 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 Ilippo-Pv^egius, where he died, by the Catholic bishops exiled from Africa by Thrasamond, king of the Vandals.* The Chronicles inform us that these bishops, two hundred and twenty in number, were sustained by the benevolence of Pope Sym- machus, a native of Sardinia, who sent them every year money and clothes. St. Augustine's relics remained at Cagliari tiU 722, when Lu.itprand, 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 1812, these were restored to Hippo by the Prench.f 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 * Ot'dericus Vitalis, vol. i. p. 113. (Bolm's Autu^. Library.) t lb. vol. i. pp. 130. 338 ; ii. 149. 412 llAMBLES IN COllSICA AND SAllDINIA. 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 PeKce, partially restored and re-endowed the order, some of the monks being re-es- tablished 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. Xo people were more bigoted, more priest-ridden, more credulous of the absurdest superstitions. But in a conver- sation 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 bottegaie, shopkeepers, as mindful only of the gains of their trade ; and the churches hottege, shops. There is no vitality in the religion of the people, the ser- ^-ices are a mere mummery, and the system is held toge- ther 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 coun- tries might not be drawn, in the course of events, to a movement similar to that of our own Ueformation of the Church in the IGtli century ; the riding powers, as then, ECCLESIASTICAL REEORMS. 413 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 re- main 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 inde- pendent churches ? In this view, when conversing with foreigners of intel- ligence, I liave 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 tlie Court of E;Ome. It would consolidate the fabric of the constitutional government ; and we may conceive that the cabinet of Tiirin, 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 domnas 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 ex- citement with which the Eeformation 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 intel- lig(mce, for the people of Europe to cast off the shackles of 414 HAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. superstition and bigotry, it may he feared that tilings of more serious account than ecclesiastical systems and insti- tutions may he swept away hy 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 E^eformation, and the wars succeeding it. Each party holds its own ; and there is little probability of a national secession from the Church of Eome, even in the Sardinian dominions, where many circumstances concur to point cut 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, con- taining 1093 regular monks, besides lay brothers, &c., and IG convents with 260 nuns ; the whole number of persons attached to these institutions being calculated at 8000. There are about the same nu.mber of secular clergy, in- cluding 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 *, 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 sup- * Circonscrizione aniministrativa delle provincie di Terra Ferma e ddla Surdegna. — Torino, Stauiperia Reale, 1850. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKET AT CAGLIARI. 415 pressed, 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^., arising from church lands, besides the tithes, estimated at 1,500,000 lire nove, or 60,000/., supposed to be a low estimate, the tithes being worth one million of lire more. Tlicse revenues are exclusive of voluntary contributions, alms, offerings, and collections. The church lands contributed upwards of 3000/. annually as state subsidies, for the national delit, the maintaining roads and bridges, and the conveyance of the post. Mr. Tyndalc es- timates " the revenue of the see of Cagliari at from 00,000 to 80,000 scudi,— from 11,520/. to 15,360/. per annum; while that of the priests is about 1000 scudi, or 192/." This gives some idea of the incomes of the Sardinian clergy. I imagine that the government has not interfered with aiiy 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 l)y one of those avenues 410 GAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. shaded with exotic trees, which make such agreeable pro- menades in the neighbourhood of the city. The principal supply comes from Pula, Arabus, and other villages at consi- derable 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 E^oyal Museum was also paid at an early hour, through the kindness of Signer Cara, the Curator, who was so obliging as to show me also his cabinet of an- tiques at his private residence, — rich in cameos, intaglios, and scarabei of rare beauty. The E-oyal Museum occupies a suite of small apartments in the University. The col- lection owes great part of its objects of interest, and their good order and arrangement, to the indefatigable zeal and disinterested devotion of Signer Cara, whose appoint- ments, and the allowance for purchasing objects, are not unworthy of a liberal government. The collection of E;Oman antiquities occupying the en- trance-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 Eoman milestones, sarcophagi, and fragments of various kinds. The coins of the Roman period are numerous, but most MUSEUM OF CAGLIARI. 417 SARDO-ROMAN COI> of tliem of little value. One here figured is, however, unique ; being, I imagine, the only coin known to have been struck in the island. AtiusBalbus, whose name and bust appear on the face *, was grandfather of the Emperor Augustus, and prefect of Sardinia about sixty years before Christ. The reverse represents a head wear- ing 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 Phoenician origin, t The cabinet also contains about 100 coins of the Car- thaginian 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 Homan 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 Poman station, passed his * Atia, the daughter of M. Atius Balbus, by Julia, sister of Julius Csesar, was the mother of Octavius Augustus. — Suetonivs. f Cohen, in his Description des MedaiUes Consulaires recently, published (Paris, 1857), notices a bronze medal of the same type, of which he says : — " Cette medaille etait frappee par les habitans de la Sardaigne, sous le regno d'Auguste, et pour gagner ses bonnes graces ils y placerent le portrait de son ai'eul en meme tems que celui du fondateur de leur patrie." The cabinet of the British Museum contains a specimen of this bronze medal, " de fabrique tres-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. E E ,RTHAGINIA> 418 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. plouglisliare over an amphora of Cartliaginian brass coins, of whicli Captain Smyth purchased about 250. "They were," he states, " Avith 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 Eugiu, one of ^ I ^- B which is here figured, have a horse's head on one face, and the palm-tree with fruit, pro- bably dates, on the other. There are specimens in the British Museum, but not so good as those given me by Signer Rugiu. The coins in the possession of Captain Smyth appear to have repre- sented the horse in full detail, as he mentions the pecu- liarity 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, em- l)lematic of its fiery cavalry. 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 Eugiu, with some Roman coins, both silver and brass. We do not ^, ^..c^^ find that the Saracens ever ^^^^"^ effected any permanent settle- SARACEN COIN. mcut ID. Sardlula ; which ac- counts for the comparatively small number of these coins discovered. The Saracen pirates who infested the coast from the time that St. Augus- tine's relics were rescued, in 722, to so late a period as MUSEUM OF CAGLIARI. ' 419 1815, were more likely to pillage the money of the inhabi- tants than to leave any of their own behind them.* The Terracotta collection in the E-oyal Museum exhibits about one thousand specimens of vases, &c. of Sardo- Phoenician, Carthaginian, Egyptian, and E/Oman 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 Phoenician remains are, in some respects, the most * 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 yisited 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. 309. E E 2 i20 llAMBLES IN COESICA AND SARDINIA. interesting part of the collection. Among them we find a block of sandstone, with a Phoenician inscription, dis- covered 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 de- ciphered, it seems to be agreed that it records the arrival of "Sardus," called "Pater," at "Nora," from "Tar- shisli," 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.* They are considered miniatures of the large and original idols adored by the Canaanites and Syro-Phoenicians ; 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 * 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 Phoenician 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. SARDE IDOLS, 421 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 Signer Cara's nomenclature these remains are denominated Sardo-Phoe- nician and Sardo-Egyptian. It is remarkable, howeverj 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 Signer 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 de- scribed. The subject is interesting both as connected with the Phoenician migrations, and as bringing to light sym- bols of that Canaanitish idolatry so frequently and empha- tically 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 commu- nication between England and India during the recent crisis, Cagliari has acquired a notoriety to Avhicli it had previously few pretensions. Some account of the establish- ment of this Telegraph will be given in our concluding chapters. 422 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XXXVII. Porto -Torres. — Another Italian Refugee. — Embark for Genoa West Coast of Corsica. — Turin. — The Sar- dinian Electric Telegraph. — The Wires laid to Cagliari. The preceding notices of Cagliari were gathered during a visit to Sardinia in the autumn of 1857 ; 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 in- cidentally mentioned. The neighbourhood abounds in remains of Homan 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 re- presented in high relief. Having to embark at an early hour, we were obliged to PORTO-TOHEES. i23 pass a niglit at Porto-Torres, notwitlistanding 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 intemperic Avere 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 closed the casements, exclaiming, " Signore, it would have been death for you to have slept here in August or Septem- ber; 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 maitre cle 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," tln^owing a napkin over his shoulder with somewdiat of a theatrical air. "But a good time is coming; E E 4 424 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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, iEschylus, 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 mag- nifique de greves," 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 EMBARK AT POUTO-TOREES. 425 pointed lateen sails ; and the fine steam-boat wliicli was to carry us to Genoa. "^^»f^--A PORTC-TOURES. 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 Avestern coast, the weather being- favourable ; but with a foul wind it is considered unsafe, and vessels run through tlie 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 toAver of the lighthouse, behind Avhicli the sun set on the pleasant evening Avhen we took our view from the Cliapel of the Greeks. Now, toAvards sunset, we Avere rapidly gliding along the shore of Isola Rossa, and the slanting rays gloAA'ing directly on the porphyritic clifi's gave a rich but 426 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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. Earewell to Corsica I Her grey peaks and shaggy hill-sides are f^^st fading from our sight, in the growing obscurity. We pass Calvi, famous in Mediaeval and Nelsonian annals, San Eiorenzo, 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 ofiicer 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, con- sisting 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 ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. 427 — the Prcncli 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 he carried hy a suhmarine cahle to the northern extremity of Capo-Corso ; where landing they would he conveyed, through the island, partly hy suhmarine chan- nels, with a hranch to Ajaccio, to its southern point near Bonifacio. Thence, suhmerged in a cahle crossing the Straits, they would again touch the land at Capo Palcone, mentioned in these ramhles as the nearest point in Sar- dinia ; the distance heing only ahout ten nautical miles. The wires were then to he conducted on posts, through the island of Sardinia, in a line, varying hut slightly from our route, hy Tempio and Sassari to Cagliari. Erom Cape Spartivento, or some point on the southern shore of Sar- dinia, a suhmarine cahle was to he 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 Erench possessions in Algeria. Up to the point of the landing in Sardinia all was evidently plain sailing ; hut when we met Mr. Brett at Turin, on our return from Sardinia, in Is^ovemher, 1853, he was under some anxiety ahout the land line through the island; the mountainous character of the north- ern province of Gallura presenting ohstacles to the ope- ration of carrying the wires through it, and the lawless character of the inhahitants threatening their safety. On hoth these points we were ahle to reassure him ; we had seen and heard enough of the hrave momitaineers to feel convinced that there was no cause for apprehension of outrages connected with the undertaking. And my fellow- traveller, who helonged to the scientiiic hranch of the 428 RAMBLES IN COESICA AND SAHDINIA. army, had not passed through the country without making such ohservations 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 through- out the island from Capo Ealcone to Cagliari, after sur- mounting, however, serious obstacles, though not of the sort previously apprehended. Por the success of this ope- ration the company are greatly indebted to the exertions of Mr. William S. Craig, H.B.M.'s Consul- General in Sar- dinia. 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 undertak- ing. The whole practical management of the work (I do not speak of engineering, little of which could be required) devolved on Mr. Craig; and v>'ith much self-sacrifice, he threw into it all that zeal and intelligence which, with universal goodwill, have acquired for him the high esti- mation in which he is generally held. I have before had occasion to mention the respect enter- tained 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 cara- bineers, could have done. Not only so, but Mr. Craig had less difficulty in making arrangements with the pro- prietors of the lands in the northern province than in the more civilised districts of the south, where, in some in- LAYING THE WIRES. 429 stances, the privileges required were reluctantly conceded as a mark of personal respect. It was on descending to the plains that the worst diffi- culties were encountered. Mr. Warre Tyndale states that durinf? the construction of the c?reat central road from Cagliari to Porto-Torres, which it took seven years to com- plete, 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 \drulence the workmen employed on the line of telegraph, and as the season advanced, cartloads after cart- loads 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 share- holders 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-Prench Company. It was a foreigner who remarked to me the peUtesses which pervaded the deal- ings of his countrymen. I imagine that the phrase would be found particularly applicable to the dealings of this company, if aU its history were known. But we are anticipating occurrences. On our return from Sardinia, the operations of the Sardo-Erench Tele- graph Company connected with the island were yet in embryo. The travellers who discussed the probabilities of success at Turin little thou^-lit that one of them would 430 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. 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-Erench Company, by being present at the laying down of the submarine Mediterranean cable be- tween 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 Delia Marmora to have an important bearing on the commercial prospects of the island, — and the operation of successfully submerging tele- graph 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 Bambles, and in that view an additional chapter will be devoted to it. Por 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 ex- tended from Turin to Suza on one side of the Alps, nor, on the other, beyond Chalons sur Saone, between Lyons CONCLUSION or "EAMBLES." 431 and Paris ; so that, travelling by diligence, we were three nights and two days on the road to Paris. Both the Prench 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, w^e reached London in the evening of the I7th of November. 432 RAMBLES IN COllSICA AND SARDINIA. CHAP. XXXVIII. Sardiiiian 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 Lmportant Telegraph Station. — Its Commerce. — The return Voyage. — Con- CL USION. . After completing tlie land line of telegraph, as already mentioned, the Sardinian Company * failed in three at- tempts 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 sub- marine cable that it was run out, and the enterprise abruptly terminated. A third attempt to renew the ope- ration proved equally unsuccessful. The project received a severe check from these repeated * 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. SUBMAMNE TELEGRAPH CABLE. 433 failures. The company had estahlishcd their line, by sea and land, as far as Cagliari. So far, well : the communi- cations 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 In- dian affairs. It was one step in advance towards telegraphic communications with India, though a short one. But the main object of the Prench Government in promoting tlie enterprise was to link its connection with Algeria by the electric ^vires ; 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 expendi- ture 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. Eor 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 mean- while time was running on, and the period fixed for com- pleting 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 434 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. of tlie term for completing the •andertaking had been obtained ; but that was nearly run out before matters were put in a better train. In this emergency, Mr. Brett, the gerant of the foreign company, who had contracted for and personally superin- tended the previous attempts to lay the African cable, entered into negotiations for its being undertaken by Messrs. Newall and Co. They had an established re- putation, 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 be- tween 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 CAELE SHIPPED. 435 tlie 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 be- tween 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 haj)pened to hear what was going on. Being then engaged in preparing these Sar- dinian '' Bambles " 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 tele- graphs with the objects of his work, other circumstances had made him generally interested in the subject of sub- marine telegraphy. He therefore requested Mr. H. 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, F F 2 436 r.AMELES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. instead of from Cagliari ; Cape de Garde, a few miles east- ward of Bona, a town on the Tunisian frontier of the Prench possessions in Algeria, being selected as the point at or near Avhich 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 con- sisted of the Brandon, a large frigate under the Prench flag, with the Monzambano and the Ichnusa, both be- longing to the royal Sardinian navy ; and on board were the Commissioners appointed by the respective Govern- ments 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 Erench architecture is singularly mixed with the Moorish style. On one side stands a mosque, with its tall minaret ; on the other, range cafes 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 popula- BONA IN ALGERIA. 437 tions 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 con- trast of costume it presents, the gayest Erench uniforms possess no attractions compared with the white and flow- ing 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 atten- tion 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 Eoman city, the Hippo-Ptegius, 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 di- rections, 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 ! ^^Tiat prodigious ricks of hay we observe at the Erench cavalry barracks, as we ride along ! AVhat growth of vegetables in the irrigated gardens of the industrious, but turbulent, Maltese ! Surely, but for the Erench in- aptitude to colonisation, this part of Algeria, at least, might be turned to good account. Changing the scene for a moment from the sultry plains, Ave may just note another excursion, which led ¥ r '6 438 HAMBLES IN COESICA AND SARDINIA. 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 strong- holds 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 Sar- dinia; the dwarf palm, chamcerops humilis, most prevail- ing. Bona, with its walls and terraces and the Casbali 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 Erench 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 other- wise called Cap Bouge, a literal translation of Mas-el- Hmnrah, the name given it by the natives. There is an easy ascent from the cove to Fort Genois, 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 re- LAYING THE SUBMARINE CABLE. 439 cently 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 Eort Genois. 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, Eort Genois, an encampment of Arabs at some distance in the interior, and climbing to the lighthouse on Cape de Garde, com- manding, 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 y F i 410 RAMBLES IN COrtSICA AND SARDINIA. up to tliat timej of under twenty per cent, of cable, com- pared with the distance run. Pew, I imagine, aboard the Elba got much sleep that night. The very idea of sleep was precluded by the in- cessant 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 Prencli and Italian commissioners being now on board the Elba, besides Mr. AYcrner Siemens and his staff of German tele- graphists, 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 insu- lation from time to time, speaking to the station at Eort Genois. 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 APPROACH THE SARDINIAN COAST. 441 Meditcrraneaiij Galita Island came in siglit, 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 siffht o 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 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. and again, from anxiously counting tlie lessening coils in the liold to measure our decreasing distance from the shore, as its bold 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 spa- cious 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 morn- ing; and a gust of it caught the Elba's stern, and canted it suddenly round, when the small cable snapped like a pack- thread. Uather a heavy sea was now running, and, on the whole, it was thought advisable to defer the concluding LAYING THE SUBMARINE CABLE COMPLETED. 443 operations until an entirely new end to the cable could be procured from England. Por 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. Eresh 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 ^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 contrac- tors' abihty 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 com- mander 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 Delia Marmora, whose love of science and devotion 444 RAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. to the interests of Sardinia had induced him, though suf- fering from bad health, to make the voyage for the pur- pose of witnessing the important experiment. I found that he did not share in the apprehensions of the Italian shareholders on hoard as to the loss of the cable. The General had long cherished the idea that the ports of Sar- dinia, 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, Avhich he was kind enough to give me*, 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, wiU 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 com- petes 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 versa, 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 correspond- * VIstmo di Suez, e la Stazione Telegrafico-Tllectrica di Cagliari; Ragiamento del T. G, Alberto Bella Marmora. Torino, 1856. THE giants' tower. 445 ence, in a few lioiirs, with their families and their owners, receiving news and instructions from liome. These fa- cilities 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 excel- lent 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 posi- tion 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 446 RAMBLES IN COESICA AND SARDINIA. nature, and imparted to the scene inexpressible grandeur." During our passage we liad a stormy sky and a strong head-\Yind, 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 ^atch- towcrs 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 Prench. 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 Sar- dinia ; and that a company was forming for the improve- ment 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 E^ome might become the emporium of the trade in corn for Italy and Southern Erance, and even for Africa; the General observing, with what reason there may be some doubt, that, while only two voyages can be MR. CRAIG. 447 made between the ports of those countries and the Black Sea, three, or even fonr such, coukl he accomplished from Cagliari. It is to he regretted that I did not ohtain the latest sta- o tistics 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; — Prance 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 atmo- sphere, 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 Govern- ment ; 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 coun- trywomen, 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 quar- ters, and not being forgotten. Mr. Craig's position, re- 448 HAMBLES IN CORSICA AND SARDINIA. spectecl 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 excel- lent, 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 Sar- dinia, 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 Mediter- ranean 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. HOMEWARD BOUND. 4.19 Part of tliis coast was already well kiiOAVii to the liome- warcl bound traveller : again lie cauglit siglit 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 fisher- men'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 ! Parewell 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, Prance, 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 Sar- dinia. 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 Biviera di Foneute from Genoa to Nice, — that exquisite strip of country between the Apennines and the Medi- G G 450 RAMBLES IN COHSICA AND SARDINIA. terranean, studded with orchards, orange groves, vine- yards, and gardens; Avith towns, towers, churches, and convents, nestled in the groves, washed hy the sea, or perched high on rocky pinnacles ; and all this encircling the lovely Bay of Genoa, the road heing carried en corniclie 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. Parewell, 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 poi 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, con- veyed the Rambler to Calais in about thirty hours, and six more landed him in London. THE END. LONDON : PRINTED BT SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. NEW-STREET SQUARE. "le last date stamped below. ^^^ v^ \^' 5\\ %' DEC 5 \^^^ I I-OAN AHC I'D 21-iooot. 9.'48(B399sl6). ivi2l686.'? THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY