So numerous are the forests here which grow in lofty and romantic
sites, that a very extensive and interesting tour might be made,
having them alone for its object. Such fascinating excursions should
not, however, be embarked in without a guide, or a compass at the
least; for these German woods are often very intricate, and run into
one another in a most puzzling manner. This I learned to my cost a few
months ago; and as a warning to other pedestrian tourists who may be
as unpractised in such matters as I myself then was, I would now
bespeak the reader's attention to my experiences of A Night in a
German Wood.
Early in the autumn of the past year, whilst on a visit to a German
friend who resides in one of the hilliest and best-wooded districts in
Westphalia, on the confines of the classic Teutoburger Forest--after
having been engaged nearly all the day in writing, I was tempted out
by the freshness of the evening air and the glories of the setting
sun, to take a turn in the park, which, by the by, is one of the
handsomest and best laid out I have seen in any part of the continent,
and a proof in itself that such things can be done--and well done
too--even out of England. My intention was merely to stretch my
cramped legs by a stroll to the southern angle of the demesne, and so
be back in time for the quiet, early supper of the family. After
moving along for a quarter of an hour under the shade of some fine old
beech-trees, at the foot of a steep bank which overhangs the level
meadow-ground, I came upon the outskirts of the plantations; and then
turning sharp to the left, walked up along them till I had reached, as
I thought, their extremity. Here, facing round, I began to turn my
steps homeward; and by way of varying my route a little, struck into a
shady path cut through the wood, which seemed to lead, as well as I
could judge from my bearings, almost as directly back to the
_schloss_--as all great country mansions here are called--as the one
by which I had gone out. But after pushing rapidly along for some time
in my dusky alley, I eventually emerged, much to my surprise, on an
immense ploughed field, that, sloping gradually up to the spot where
the sun had just set, seemed to terminate only with the visible
horizon, which, however, from the very inclined angle at which the
ground rose, was not very distant. Confident in the general
correctness of my direction, I went on, right ahead, fancying I had
only to cross this upland to be at home; but after floundering about
for a good half-hour, and, in consequence of a water-course which cut
it obliquely, being turned a little out of my straight direction, I
found myself by moonlight on the verge of a patch of forest which was
quite unknown to me. Such was my infatuation, however, and so firm my
conviction of having taken correctly the relative bearings of the
moon, which was now in her second quarter, and of the house, that I
plunged unhesitatingly among the trees, expecting every moment to see
the path through them open out upon some familiar spot in the demesne,
or some portion of the surrounding country which I might have already
perambulated by daylight. Though in utter darkness, from the close
interweaving of the foliage, still, by raising my feet high, like a
blind horse, to get over the inequalities of the way, and flourishing
my stick perpetually around my head as I proceeded, to avoid coming in
contact with any stray tree, or chance branch projecting into the
pathway, I got prosperously through this portion of wood. But again I
came out on something which was totally strange to me--a narrow
valley, stretching, as well as I could judge by the last glimmerings
of twilight, to a considerable distance, flanked on each side by
gloomy woods, about a quarter of a mile apart, and laid down in rye,
which was nearly ready for the sickle, and dripping wet in the
night-dew. Matters now began to look serious. I was completely at
fault, and had entirely lost all confidence in my own pilotage. The
moon had proved a faithless guide, or rather I had misconstrued her
position; and my little pocket-compass was not forthcoming, thanks to
the importunities of my youngest boy, who prizes it above all his own
toys.
There was nothing for it now but to select that direction towards
which the valley might seem slightly to descend; but this, in the
imperfect twilight, was not very easily ascertained. With considerable
hesitation, I decided at length on the right-hand turn, resolving to
proceed till I should fall in with some rivulet, which might perhaps
lead me eventually to the rapid trouting-stream running close under my
friend's windows, or else till I should come upon some path which
might carry me into a field-road, and so perhaps to a village, where I
should easily procure a guide home. So, with tottering knees and
throbbing heart--for I was by this time nearly breathless--I continued
to advance by the side of the standing corn, at such a pace as I could
manage, uttering from time to time a lusty halloo, in hopes of making
myself heard by some belated reaper or returning woodman. But my calls
had no other effect than to awake the mocking echoes of the wood, or
the mysterious and almost human shout of the screech-owl, and to leave
me to a still more intense feeling of solitude, when these had died
away. I found myself at length in a deep, hollow field-road, like
those which abound in South Devon, and high overhead, on the lofty
bank, stood a two-branched, weather-beaten finger-post, and a great
rustic crucifix near it, looming large in the moonlight. Scrambling up
the bank, with anxious peering eyes, I made out, by the dubious light
of the moon, that one of the outstretched wooden arms bore, in
rudely-cut letters, the name of the village beside which I was
resident; and as its distance was stated, I found that, after all my
windings and wanderings, I had still only got half a German mile, or
about one league, astray! This was a very pleasant discovery; and
accordingly I quickly wheeled about, and set off with renewed vigour
at right angles to my previous line of march, having still good hopes
of being at home before eleven o'clock at night, time enough to
prevent any alarm on account of my absence.
The road soon, however, degenerated into a mere field-track, which, as
the moon had disappeared behind clouds, just before her final setting,
could only with difficulty be recognised by an occasional deep rut,
felt by my stick in the soft ground; even this track at length forked
out into two others--one penetrating into a wood on my right; the
other opener, and with only scattered trees by its side, to the left.
The latter seemed the most promising, and was accordingly selected,
and followed for about ten minutes, when it, too, came upon the skirts
of another wood in the opposite direction. It seemed, besides, as well
as I could judge from some faint glimpses I now got of the surrounding
country in a momentary gleam of moonlight, to be leading me wide of my
goal: and I accordingly retraced my steps once more to where the road
had divided, and taking the recently slighted right-hand path, dived
in desperation in between the trees, amidst 'darkness that might be
felt.' Walking steadily and quickly forward, during what seemed, in
the deep gloom, a considerable time, I eventually emerged into 'the
clear obscure,' the moon having at length set, and left the sky, and
all such wanderers as myself, to the good offices of the stars. I was
now on the opposite verge of the wood to that I had entered by, and
found myself by the side of a narrow corn-field, with _another_
wooded hill on its further side, and heard, within hailing
distance--more delightful than music to my ear--the grating sound of
cart-wheels, which appeared to be going in an oblique, but nearly
opposite direction to that in which I had just been moving. It was
quite impossible to see anything so far off; but I hailed the presumed
carter repeatedly, in my loudest and best German, asking my way.
'Follow on by the foot of the wood, and you'll get there in time,' was
the reply, at length faintly heard in the distance, and the cart
rumbled heavily away again, leaving me just as wise as before; for
which was _head_ and which was _foot_ of the wood I knew no more than
the child unborn. Yet I feared to dash through the intervening corn in
the direction of the receding and already distant cart, neither
knowing what the nature of the intermediate ground might prove, nor
whether, supposing it practicable in the dark, such an infringement of
rural property might not lead to disagreeable consequences, and in
nowise further me in the attainment of the piece of knowledge which I
stood so much in need of. So, I took on chance to my left hand, as the
most distant from the finger-post I had fallen upon an hour and a half
before.
The sound of the cart which long tingled in my ears, and the utter
disappointment of my suddenly raised hopes, only rendered my sense of
solitude and helplessness more intense. Indeed, I sometimes almost
doubted whether the whole thing--cart and carter, or, rather, rumbling
wheels and faint, chilling, distant voice--might not have been the
delusion of my reeling brain, debilitated by overfatigue and long
fasting (for every one knows the early hour at which a German dinner
takes place); and on subsequent inquiry, I could not hear of any cart
having passed in that quarter at all.
It was singular how long I wandered about, and every now and then in
cultivated districts, without hearing a single human voice even in the
earlier portion of the evening--nay, any sound whatever, save once or
twice the fierce warning bark of a shepherd's dog, when I had
inadvertently approached too near a sheepfold--the startling rush of
some affrighted bird in the wood, flapping wildly up through the
foliage--a distant village clock in some indefinite direction over the
hill-top--or, finally, as on one occasion, a few remote shots, which I
at first fancied might have been fired off by my friends to direct me
homewards, but afterwards ascribed, more correctly, perhaps, to
poachers in the woods. The manner in which the peasantry live here--in
separate villages, built occasionally a good deal apart, and not in
cottages scattered everywhere over the country, as with
us--sufficiently accounts for this wide-spread silence.
Just as I was losing faith in the correctness of my present course,
the chimes of a clock were distinctly heard, coming apparently over
the top of the wooded hill on my left. I immediately turned into the
wood once more, and strove to make a march directly through the trees
in the direction of the sound, and right up the steep ascent, which
was clothed by them to the summit. But this I soon found to be totally
impracticable, in the absence of anything like a path or opening; for
though I made my way well enough through the old trees, which stood
far apart, and were pretty free from branches near the ground, yet
towards the upper part of the hill, I got entangled in such a
close-growing rising generation as it was almost impossible to
penetrate. I was often almost in despair of being able to extricate
myself even from my present entanglement, and to retrace my steps to
the open ground below; in my exhausted condition, as it was already
long past midnight, I was making up my mind to roost with the owls on
the fork of a tree; and was even anticipating the possibility of
becoming a permanent scarecrow there, when my very bones would be
concealed in the thicket from the anxious search of my friends.
It was under the influence of excessive fatigue, perhaps, and the
relaxation of the will generally consequent thereon, that my
resolution now at length seemed on the point of giving way; nay, the
very attachment to life itself, on my own individual account, seemed
fading, and a disinclination to continue the struggle farther appeared
to be gradually creeping over me. I was becoming reconciled to what
appeared inevitable, and could look upon my own probable fate almost
as calmly as if it had been that of a stranger. I believe something
very similar not unusually takes place, under the merciful disposition
of Providence, in the death-bed, where debility is the chief feature
of the case. After a few moments of repose and dreamy reverie,
however, I roused myself from this state of apathy, and, influenced by
a sense of duty, as well as by a sympathy for the feelings of those
dearer than life itself, sprang to my feet once more, and struggled
manfully out of the mesh of branches in which I had been entangled,
till, after a few more violent efforts, I found myself getting into a
rather opener and more advanced growth of wood, and at length
succeeded in working my way out--almost to the very spot in the meadow
I had started from!
Whilst still within the wood, I had been favoured with some novel
experiences there--novel, at least, to me, as it was my first night in
such a position. Thus, almost every branch I grasped in the dark to
help me onward seemed crowded with snails, which smashed slimily under
my shuddering hand! Glowworms were sparkling in the underwood in such
myriads as I never witnessed before, save once in an evening-walk near
Salerno. The sense of utter solitude and unbroken silence within these
gloomy woods was truly awful. From time to time, as I advanced, a
casual opening in the branches exhibited a momentary glimpse of the
sky, with all its thousand twinkling fires; and shooting-stars of
intense brilliancy were darting across its dark, blue depths in almost
as great frequency as in those celebrated days of August and November,
when the path of our earth crosses the thickest showers of these
celestial fireworks.
On regaining the meadow, I felt quite at a loss whither to turn, or
what to attempt next. I had already been floundering about for some
half-dozen hours, and been ignorant all the while whether each
additional step were not only taking me a step further, not from home
alone, but from the very habitations of men. Almost done up at length,
and hopeless of extricating myself from my labyrinth till daylight
should come to my aid, I was again for a moment inclined quietly to
resign myself to what seemed my inevitable fate, and drop down to
sleep on a bank of earth under a hedge by which I was standing, and so
await the dawn. But the dank grass, the trees dropping with dew, the
creeping autumnal fog, and increasing cold, made me pause, and feel
that to sleep in my light summer dress under such circumstances was,
if not to die, at least to contract, during the night, such disease as
would render existence not worth the having--racking rheumatism for
life, or fever, or inflammation, in some of their many forms, and
endless consequences. So I resolved to keep moving as long as I had
power to stir a limb, as this would give me a chance of maintaining
the circulation and animal heat throughout the remaining hours of the
night, if my strength would but hold out so long. Like a drowning man,
I struck out once more for life; again I tried the field-road I had
lately too rashly abandoned; floundered once more through its pools
and its ruts; clambered again on its high banks, or moved along under
the shadow of the wood by its side. At length, after scarcely half an
hour's additional walking, my perseverance had its reward, as I found
myself at the entrance of a village, and heard, not far off, the busy
clatter of some industrious flaxdressers, who were turning night into
day, at their work. This proved to be the termination of my mishap;
for the instructions I received enabled me to find my way home by
three o'clock.
It was my amusement during several subsequent days, to endeavour by
daylight to retrace accurately my midnight wanderings. I found I could
not have walked less than twenty miles, though never at any time more
than three distant from home. I had been incessantly in motion during
nearly eight hours; and was at least thrice on right tracks, which, if
they had been followed up steadily only a little longer, would have
brought me to my quarters. The chiming of the old convent-bells, which
I had mistaken for those of our own pretty little church, came really
from the very opposite direction to what I fancied--the sound I heard
being merely their echo, reflected to my ear from the wooded
hill-side.
Thus, the proposition with which I started--namely, that German woods
are not to be trifled with, or rashly entered without a guide or
compass--is fully sustained by my own luckless experience. Much of the
surrounding country was already well known to me, and in my various
walks I had skirted along and even intersected some of these very
woods; but the way in which they are parcelled out, for the supply of
neighbouring, but unconnected villages with firewood, and the puzzling
manner in which they are shuffled together when the estates of several
proprietors run into one another at a given point, render it
singularly difficult to steer through them even by day, and to the
uninitiated, quite impracticable by night.