A DRIVING EXPEDITION IN CORSICA.
My position as a servant gave me no opportunity of knowing whether
or not Lord Clement made any attempt to oppose the projected
driving-tour. If he did, however, his interference certainly produced
no effect; for the orders I had received were not countermanded, and
on the following day we three unprotected females departed from
Ajaccio, and set out upon our travels into the interior of the
island. Our conveyance was a light open carriage, with a head that
could be raised or lowered at pleasure. As the trap only held two
people comfortably inside, I sat on the box by the driver; and the
very moderate amount of luggage that accompanied us was fastened
securely at the back of the vehicle.
It was a beautiful morning, and everything seemed to promise well for
our expedition. Driving in an open carriage was a thing which Mrs.
Rollin greatly affectioned, and always declared it to be impossible
for her ever to tire of; and as she was rendered additionally
complacent by having been able to procure a sufficient stock of
French novels to obviate all risk of dulness, she was in a happy and
contented frame of mind, which Kitty and I--ourselves in the highest
spirits, and ready to make the best of everything--were most anxious
she should retain.
The scenery was much admired, especially the lovely views that were
to be had, looking back over Ajaccio and the blue waters of its bay.
The small, jet-black, silky-looking sheep were noticed and commented
on; so were the vineyards which we passed, the chestnut, fig, almond,
and olive trees; and, beyond everything, the arbutus bushes, which
called forth many exclamations of admiration and delight. No wonder;
for it really was a sight to see acres and acres of them growing wild
in luxuriant profusion, and covered with magnificent luscious-looking
fruit, whose size and brilliancy of colouring far exceeded that of
any arbutus berries which I have ever seen elsewhere.
A drive of about three hours brought us to Cauro, where there was
some idea that we should sleep that night, if the inn looked
inviting; if not, we were to go on to St. Marie Sicché. Corsican inns
are generally extremely clean, and the one at Cauro was no exception
to the rule. But alas! it could supply neither milk nor butter, and
nothing in the shape of meat except "merles."
I was not at all astonished at this, because I had already been told
in Ajaccio that travellers in the island could not rely on finding
meat everywhere, and that at the present time of winter butter and
milk would certainly be unattainable, except at one or two of the
very largest towns. This piece of information had been duly
communicated by me to Kitty; but somehow or other it had not reached
the ears of her aunt, and that good lady was disagreeably surprised
at a scarcity of luxuries for which Kitty and I were quite prepared.
She at once voted for not sleeping at Cauro, but going on to St.
Marie Sicché, where she had no doubt there would be a better stock of
provisions. Of course Kitty and I were not equally sanguine as to
this; but we did not tell her that fact, as she would find out the
state of affairs quite soon enough for herself, and there was
obviously no use in damping her spirits just at the outset of the
expedition. Accordingly, we refreshed ourselves with coffee, eggs,
bread, and fruit, and then continued our journey as soon as the
horses were baited.
In crossing the Col de San Giorgio there were fine views over the
surrounding country which excited Kitty's artistic instincts; so the
carriage was stopped for her to make a sketch, and meanwhile Mrs.
Rollin buried herself in one of her beloved novels, and I beguiled
the time by talking to the driver, and drawing out his notions as to
things in general connected with his country. I found that he was a
pleasant, conversational individual, who avowed his mercenariness
with unblushing frankness, and laughed at the idea of being expected
to entertain any political opinions of his own. "Celui qui donne le
pain à un Corse, c'est son père," said he; "that's one of our
proverbs. I'm imperialist, royalist, republican, or anything else,
according to who my employer is. Just now I'm whatever pleases your
two ladies, as it is they who pay me." Perceiving that he carried
pistols, I asked him if he did so because of a vendetta--thinking
that in that case it might be a little awkward for us if he should
happen to fall in with an enemy whilst he was in our service; and
that it was as well to know what one had to expect. However, the
unmistakable sincerity with which he disclaimed anything of the kind
put me quite at my ease again. "A vendetta!" he exclaimed; "no
indeed! neither I nor my family have a quarrel with any living
creature. For all that, I never go unarmed on this sort of expedition
because of the _penitenciers_, who manage to get out of prison now
and then."
"Poor wretches," said I; "I should have thought that they'd be more
afraid of you than you of them. Did they ever do you any harm?"
"No," he answered, "I've never had any trouble with them myself, but
they _have_ been known to attack carriages, and to be very awkward
customers, too; and as I like to be on the safe side, I always take
arms with me, as you see."
"Why, one might think these escaped prisoners were regular banditti
to hear you talk," I returned, rather scornfully; for I did not
believe in there being any real ground for alarm on account of
_penitenciers_.
"Well, and so they are," he replied; "there's plenty of room for any
number of people to hide amongst the various kinds of bushes--_maquis_
as we call them--which grow wild over the hills and large tracts of
uninhabited waste land. They form almost impenetrable thickets, where
a _penitencier_ has little trouble in keeping out of the way; there
he lives as best he can, subsisting chiefly on the quails and
woodcocks, of which the _maquis_ is full, and helping himself
to the property of other people whenever he gets a chance. For he is
sure to be a _vaurien_."
I shrugged my shoulders, thinking it would be a long while before
_I_ should take the trouble to carry arms for fear of some Mrs.
Harris of a _penitencier_, who probably had no existence save in the
imaginations of the timid and the credulous. Our conversation ended
there, as Kitty had completed her sketch, and we resumed our course.
That evening I told her of the driver's absurd precautions, and found
she was as much amused at the idea as I was, and we had a good laugh
at the man's excessive prudence. It was, however, a joke which was
not imparted to Mrs. Rollin, as she, being somewhat inclined to be
nervous, might possibly not have regarded the matter in the same
light that we did; and the knowledge of the driver's thinking it
necessary to carry pistols would perhaps have put uncomfortable
notions into her head. Of course anything likely to do that was to be
avoided most carefully; as, if she became alarmed or disgusted in any
way, she might insist on cutting short the expedition, and returning
at once to more civilised places, which would have been a great bore.
I was far more afraid of this happening than of any perils from
_penitenciers_; and I eagerly seconded Kitty's efforts to make
everything smooth and pleasant, and to keep her aunt contented.
I began to foresee, however, that there would be some difficulty in
doing this for long; and I felt considerable misgivings as to whether
Mrs. Rollin would be induced to carry out the driving-tour programme
in its entirety. The good humour in which she had started in the
morning already showed signs of diminishing. In spite of the
cleanliness of the inns, they were a good deal rougher than she
liked; and though at the hostelry at St. Marie Sicché there was
fortunately some meat, yet she was again obliged to put up with
milkless coffee and butterless bread. It was the latter of these two
grievances to which she especially objected.
"Though I like _café au lait_ best myself," she said, "still I don't
so much mind drinking black coffee, because that is quite correct,
and a thing that numbers of people do--especially after dinner. But
as for dry bread!--why, that's what paupers in the workhouse have to
eat! I do hope, Kitty, that you won't mention to our friends at home
that we had to put up with such mean food; I shouldn't like it to be
said that I went travelling in places where the people were so poor
or so stingy as not even to afford themselves butter!"
We both did what we could to pacify her; Kitty by promising
inviolable secrecy, and I by making the landlord rummage out some
_confitures_, which, though but indifferent, would at all events save
her from the reproach of having had to breakfast on dry bread,
whether she liked it or no. This appeased her partially; but still I
saw that her wonted serenity was not altogether restored.
Up to this point we had been travelling along the highroad used by
the diligences, the _route nationale, royale,_ or _imperiale_, as it is
called, according to which party happens to be in power. But we
turned off from it next day, on leaving St. Marie Sicché, and took to
smaller and inferior roads by which we ascended to higher ground,
until we reached the town of Zicavo, perched on the side of a steep
hill and surrounded by chestnut trees.
Unluckily the picturesqueness of its situation did not suffice to
reconcile Mrs. Rollin to its deficiency of milk and butter, or to the
roughness of its inn, and she expressed much astonishment that a
town of its importance did not provide better accommodation for
travellers. Another thing that was beginning to annoy her was the
republican equality and disregard for class distinctions which she
found prevailing everywhere, and which were by no means to her taste.
The Corsicans, though perfectly civil and well behaved, were no
respecters of rank, and each one seemed to consider himself quite as
good as any one else. When the driver came in the evening to ask for
his orders for next day, he sat down while talking to the ladies, as
a matter of course; and the landlords of the inns took the same
liberty in their presence, all of which was much to Mrs. Rollin's
disgust. Then, too, she had to do without a private sitting-room, for
the inns had only one room that was not a bedroom, and that one was a
big public room, which served as sitting-room and dining-room to all
classes alike; so that she was obliged either to stay altogether in
her sleeping apartment, or else to condescend to sit at the same
table with the landlord, his family, the driver, me, and any
_commis-voyageur_, shopkeeper, peasant, or other person who might
happen to come in. Besides this, the inquisitiveness which is
characteristic of Corsicans offended her. She could not bear the
freedom with which people whom she considered inferiors would
cross-examine herself and Kitty as to their age; whether they were
married; if not, why not; what they did with themselves; what
relatives they had; where they were going; and similar personal
matters. And as I perceived her growing irritation at these various
petty annoyances, I became more and more doubtful whether we should
be able to reconcile her to them sufficiently to induce her to put
up with them for a whole fortnight.
One of the reasons which had brought us to Zicavo was the fact that
it was only five or six kilometers from the baths of Guitera, where
there are warm sulphurous springs. Mrs. Rollin, who never willingly
lost an opportunity of bathing in mineral waters, was very anxious
to see what the Guitera baths were like; and if they proved
satisfactory, we should probably remain for a few days at Zicavo,
whence she could drive over and have a daily bathe. Accordingly, on
the day after we got to Zicavo, she and Kitty went to inspect the
bathing establishment at Guitera. However, they found it so wretched
looking a little place, and of so uninviting an exterior, that she at
once declared nothing would induce her to set foot inside it, and
that, as there was nothing to stay for at Zicavo, we had better go on
again immediately in hopes of finding better quarters elsewhere. It
was decided, therefore, that we should next day proceed across the
Serra Scopomeno to St. Lucia di Tallano. We must allow plenty of time
for the journey, we were told, as the roads were heavy, and it was
not impossible we might be hindered by snow. Consequently my
mistresses determined to get off early in the morning, in order to
have the whole day before them. And after giving directions to that
effect, Mrs. Rollin secluded herself and Kitty in their own bedrooms,
and remained there for the rest of the evening, beyond reach of
contamination from the company in the public room.
I, however, was less particular, and sat there till I went to bed,
fraternising with the landlord's wife, watching all that went on, and
enjoying the opportunity of seeing a little of the manner of life of
a foreign race. It was a novel experience, and that is a thing that I
always like.
What made it still more interesting was that the landlord was also
_maire_ of the commune, and as he used the public room as his
_bureau_ in which to carry on official transactions, I heard all that
went on between him and the different people who came to see him on
business. He seemed to be a good sort of fellow enough, only with
rather an excessive estimate of his own importance and omniscience.
Just as one of the visitors was going away, he suddenly bethought him
of something that had hitherto slipped his memory, and turned back at
the door.
"By the by," said he to the _maire_, "some one said yesterday that
they heard there were one or two escaped _penitenciers_ about again
somewhere or other. Have you heard anything about it, and do you
suppose it's true?"
"True," repeated the _maire_; "of course not! People are always
setting about some foolish report in order to have something to talk
about, and so pretend that they know more than others! No--_I've_ not
heard of it, because it's well known that I make it a rule to pay no
attention to absurd tales unsupported by reliable evidence, and that
makes the tattlers somewhat shy of bringing their stories to _me_. A
pretty state the country would come to if the important officials
were to believe all they're told, and go disturbing themselves about
every idle rumour!"
I was amused at the _maire's_ evident annoyance at some one else's
having heard this piece of gossip a whole day sooner than he had.
Otherwise I paid no attention to the matter, as I was not in the
least degree apprehensive of _penitenciers_. When a danger occurs but
rarely, the chances are so great against its occurring to any given
person that one is apt to regard it as non-existent.
Before going to bed that night I repeated the orders that had been
given to have breakfast, our bill, and the carriage, in readiness for
an early start next day, and took care to make sure that they had
been thoroughly understood. Consequently I was provoked to find, when
I left my room in the morning, that the whole household had overslept
itself, and there was no sign of preparation for our departure.
It was not to be endured that I should incur the stigma of being a
neglectful or incompetent travelling maid--I, who prided myself on my
talents as a courier! so I instantly set to work to arouse the
establishment from its sloth. Hunting about till I discovered where
a servant slept, I dragged her forcibly out of bed, and set her to
light the kitchen fire and prepare food. Then I woke the driver, and
insisted on his beginning at once to get ready the horses and
carriage. In short, I flew hither and thither, helping, hustling, and
exclaiming "Dépêche!" with such vigour that I managed fairly to
startle the leisurely Corsicans into a little activity, and to
procure breakfast for the two ladies, and get under weigh only half
an hour later than had been originally intended. The poor driver was
quite alarmed at my unexpected display of energy; he did not even
venture to wait to break his fast before starting, but hastily
crammed some food into his pocket for consumption on the road. I am
sure it was a relief to him to find that my severity relaxed when
once we were off; and that in order for him to eat his breakfast in
comfort, I was even willing to take the reins and drive, as I sat
beside him on the box.
The weather was still propitious. Enough snow had fallen in the night
to whiten the tops of the hills surrounding Zicavo, but now the sun
was shining, and warming the keen, delicious mountain air as we drove
down the valley.
We had not gone far before we met a funeral, which was so perfectly
simple, matter-of-fact, and devoid of anything ostentatious or
needless, that I thought it a model worthy of imitation in less
primitive places. Two mules drew a rough cart, in which lay the
corpse, uncoffined, and covered over with a gaudy-coloured shawl,
which allowed the outlines of the human form beneath to be plainly
visible. After the cart walked a dozen or so of people, betraying no
emotion, but looking serious and stolid. No vestige of black was to
be seen. They were dressed in their ordinary everyday garments,
carrying the bright-hued umbrellas which are popular in the island,
and the men having the customary wine-gourds slung round their
bodies. About the whole thing there was an absence of fuss, ceremony,
and demonstrativeness, combined with perfect gravity and propriety of
demeanour, which made me wish that all arrangers of funerals would
come and take a lesson at Zicavo.
The only stop we made during the morning was at a tiny little
village, where we waited a few minutes for the horses to be watered.
Whilst this was done, the two ladies and I did not get out of the
carriage, but sat where we were, drawn up outside a miserable
tumble-down sort of hovel that did duty as an inn. The loungers of
the hamlet soon gathered round to stare at us, and were joined by two
men who issued from the house. They both had guns, as I saw; but
there was nothing in the least remarkable about that, because a
Corsican almost always carries a gun _or_ an umbrella, and sometimes
both, so that their being armed did not at all astonish me. Nor did I
think it in any way peculiar when I heard them ask our driver who we
were, and where we were going. For I had by this time seen enough of
Corsican inquisitiveness to regard such inquiries as a mere matter of
course, and demonstrations of curiosity seemed to me more natural
than their absence.
The two men left the inn almost immediately after their questions had
been answered. I saw them leave the village, and a little way farther
on I caught a glimpse of them again turning off the road, and
plunging into the thick bushes on either side. I concluded that they
were a couple of "chasseurs," such as one sees perpetually in
Corsica, and then thought no more about them.
Our course at this period of the journey was very tortuous and
indirect, in consequence of numerous narrow valleys which were too
steep for anything on wheels to cross in a straight line. Therefore
the road often had to go round for miles, in order to get from one
side to another of a valley which was, perhaps, not a mile broad;
and the distance from point to point that had to be traversed by
whoever kept to the road was generally many times more than it would
have been to the proverbial crow. Hence it evidently followed that a
pedestrian, climbing straight up and down the precipitous hillsides
would be able to get over the ground as quickly as a carriage could
do. And if this is borne in mind, it will assist the reader in
comprehending the events which I have now to relate.