BASTIA, ISLAND OF CORSICA, _March 24, 1854_.
Having secured my place in the coupé, or front seat, of a small and
rather rickety diligence, I started for Corte, a military station and
town of some five thousand inhabitants, about the centre of the island,
passing through a picturesque and mountainous country, some three
thousand to four thousand feet above the level of the sea; the road was
in good condition, but at times, in winter, it is impassable for the
snow.
The mountain tops and tall pine forests, still covered with their white
mantles, in striking contrast with the bloom and verdure of the valleys
below, spread out like a map, presenting new beauties at each turn
of the vehicle in ascending the zigzag route, upon the amphitheatred
walled roads.
The Corsicans, under their great leader Paolo, defended themselves
nobly in these mountain passes against their invaders, the Genoese; the
loss of the French troops, before they were conquered, was estimated at
twelve thousand men.
Aside from the temperature, I was forcibly reminded of the kingdom of
Kandy in the island of Ceylon, which is about an equal distance from
the coast, in the mountains, and which could not be conquered by the
English until roads were constructed for the transportation of their
troops.
The hardy Corsican mountaineers subsist upon the chestnuts which abound
here; a species of cake, or bread, made from the flour, is their
only aliment, aside from the milk of their sheep or goats. The skins
and wool supply their covering; the cheese and surplus chestnuts are
bartered in the towns for wine, and what they consider the luxuries
of life. The varied temperature enables them to produce wine of good
quality, olive oil, figs, oranges, raisins, lemons, apples, pears,
and nectarines; but, in general, the Corsicans are not ambitious
in culture, contenting themselves with small tracts of land; the
necessaries of life are few indeed.
They are great aspirants for position in military pursuits, persevering
and indomitable, and frequently rise to rank in the French army. Most
of the villages can boast of one or more of their members who have
distinguished themselves.
Notwithstanding all the efforts of government, assassinations are still
committed, and the old family spirit of vengeance cannot be fully
appeased; some important cases among the upper classes are now pending.
At a village in the mountains, where we halted, a case had recently
occurred. A party of eight or ten were at play, of which they are
fond, when an altercation took place; two of the number left, the
landlord discharging a double-barrelled gun as they left the house;
he deliberately reloaded, in the presence of the others, and,
accusing a third of taking part in the affray, shot him dead; he then
loaded again, embraced his family, and escaped in the mountains. The
magistrate of the district, questioning those present, and calling them
cowards, asked them why they did not prevent the crime; they replied
that the persons assaulted were not friends or relatives of theirs.
In the vicinity of Corte there are some valuable quarries of blue
marble. The Palais de Justice, now being erected here, has large and
massive columns of that material transported thence.
From Corte, the road passes to the north-western part of the island,
and to this place.
Bastia, a small and indifferent port, now in process of improvement,
is a city possessing a population of some twenty-five thousand,
heterogeneous races; it is the chief commercial point of the island,
and the seat of government.
The old town, with its lofty stone buildings, narrow tortuous streets,
built upon the hill-side, and rising from the water’s edge, is really
curious; it reminded me of the Grecian island of Scios, and Joppa in
Palestine, resembling at certain points a town of stairs.
The new part of the town struck me with astonishment; it had broad
streets, with mammoth stone structures, five stories high, cream
yellow, and white, with modern green sashes; a new public square, and
a handsome Italian marble statue of Napoleon; good hotels, cafés, and
baths; markets, finely supplied with fish, game, and fruits; besides
a delightful climate, protected by the mountains from the northern
blasts. It struck me as a sort of paradise, after what I had seen in
the interior.
The secret of its prosperity is its trade with Leghorn and Marseilles,
and it being the residence of a race possessing considerable
enterprise. Many persons from Cape Corte, just above, and here also,
have made fortunes in the West Indies.
The views from the heights, upon the Mediterranean, with the islands of
Cabraya, Elba, and Monte Cristo, are very pretty, and a drive along the
coast, bordered by amphitheatred walls for the culture of the grape and
olive, is not without interest.
A few leagues from town, upon the mountain side, somewhat elevated,
is a curious cave, much resorted to, and particularly worthy of a
visit, since it is one of the most unique of its kind that I have ever
seen. I taxed my memory to find something to compare with it; it is
not the cave of Matanzas in extent, neither is it that of the island
of Curaçoa, nor the Catacombs of Egypt, nor the Salt Mines of Cracow,
which two latter are works of art; but it is a perfect gem of a grotto.
At this season of the year it is very dry. It is private property,
belonging to a government officer, who has erected near by a stone
cottage with stalactite chimney-pieces of beautiful proportions, and
miniature flower gardens among the rocks, and an observatory with a
delightful prospect upon the sea and fishing villages; it is a rustic
retreat for parties of pleasure in summer from Bastia. The grotto at
its entrance is walled, and the door is bolted. Its guardian, for an
established fee, will light it up with forty lamps; its depth is about
one hundred and fifty feet. Stalactites form there in summer from the
dripping of the water. The great variety of forms presented is really
enchanting. One imagines himself for the moment in the illuminated
chapel of a Gothic cathedral, with pillars supporting the roof, the
half-formed pointed column rising gradually by crystallization,
resembling with its lamp a huge church candlestick; the flowing white
drapery falls upon the tomb of the departed, and the weeping willow is
seen with its drooping branches. Forms the most grotesque are presented
to the imagination. The stalactites are as white as alabaster; one
could visit the cave without soiling his white kid gloves.
In going to the grotto, we leave the carriage road, which is only
partially completed, and take the mule path for nearly a league,
passing through the fishing village of Brando, where stands a small
church dedicated to their saint, Our Lady of the Vasina, to whom annual
pilgrimages are made on the 7th of September. The sailors of the
island, in cases of peril or extreme danger, make certain vows; and
it is curious to see the results and read the names and circumstances
as related by each. The walls are curiously carved with figures and
scenes. Here may be found an exploded gun, with a description of the
miraculous escape of the holder by the intervention of the patron
saint; white robes, and satin shoes, wreaths of flowers, and other
insignia of the funeral rites displayed by females saved from the tomb
at the last moment; representations of narrow escapes from shipwreck,
the angry waves lashing the frail bark, the lightning falling upon the
masts, and the Virgin appearing and conducting the vessel in safety;
one person is falling from a citadel; others are escaping from the
monsters of the deep.
They have a curious custom here, which would not answer in our country
of progress. Their houses are of stone, and lofty, from four to five
stories high, and arched throughout, little timber being used other
than for flooring. Consequently fires are unknown. The contractor puts
up his building, and sells the different stories, whereby there are
as many owners as stories; the stairing is in common, consequently
neglected and filthy. The gaping, dark entrances, without doors, in the
night, seem to invite the perpetration of crime.
The modern buildings have doors, which are closed at night, as in
Ajaccio, where assassinations drove the mayor to the issue of a general
order for front doors, without exception.
I was strolling quietly last Saturday, which was Beggars’ Day, the only
time in the week the police allow that class to ask alms publicly,
amusing myself in distributing among a group of urchins a quantity of
chestnut-flour cakes, which they were looking wistfully upon, when I
found myself surrounded by a crowd of beggars, old, infirm, and lame,
in tattered and torn rags, or garments of many colors. Distributing my
coppers among them, I was glad to escape, and soon found myself near
the entrance gate of the city.
Upon looking up, I saw the Republican motto, effaced under the Empire,
but still peeping through--“Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.”
Conviction, the most positive, strikes the mind, of the entire
incapacity of such masses of ignorance, superstition, and poverty to
appreciate the blessings of pure republicanism, as it is enjoyed in our
favored land.
Their republicanism means license and anarchy. The moral and social
condition of the people must first be improved, and the blessings of
general education diffused; their early prejudices for monarchy must
first be eradicated. In a word, to be a good republican, one must be
educated, or driven by the tyranny of rulers to adopt a home in a
country where the rights of all classes are respected.
The surplus agricultural population of the Italian states of Parma,
Modena, and Lucca, migrate after the harvest to this island, where
there is a demand for manual labor. They are now returning in swarms
with their hard-earned savings out of thirty sous per day. It is
computed that some twenty thousand visit the island annually; and being
exceedingly frugal, they take considerable sums away with them, which
helps to impoverish the people here.
Having seen the birthplace of Napoleon, as described in my last letter,
from Ajaccio, and being familiar with most of the localities of his
exploits, I cannot resist visiting his place of imprisonment upon
the island of Elba. There are also extensive iron mines, which are
represented as very remarkable.