One of the greatest things that Paoli ever tried to do when he was ruling the island was to put down the vendetta. He sent the priests throughout the land to preach mercy and forgiveness, and he himself travelled long distances to reconcile families who were at war with each other. He enacted severe penalties against all those whom he could capture who had taken the life of a fellow-countryman, and he was particularly stern towards all those who killed, not a personal foe, but the relative of a foe. Amongst the first victims of his new law was one of his own relatives, who, having committed a murder, was arrested and executed. Paoli was not able to completely suppress the vendetta, but so successful were his efforts that in a few years the population of the island was increased by several thousands, although the Corsicans were still at war with the Genoese, and losing men in every conflict.
The French Government is doing its best to put down murder, but, like Paoli, has not by any means been completely successful. In Ajaccio, in the early part of 1907, a porter on the quay felt that he had been insulted by a young French officer. So one Saturday evening he took his gun, walked into the restaurant where the young Lieutenant was dining, and shot him as he sat at table. No one attempted to stay him as he turned and fled to the maquis. He even dared to come back into the town on the Sunday afternoon, and sit in the crowded streets with his gun across his knees. My wife said to a local tradesman, “I hope he will soon be captured.” “Why?” exclaimed the man she addressed. “He is really a very good fellow.”
CHAPTER XII
WHEN THE END COMES
Though life is held very cheaply in Corsica, mourning and burials are attended with a great deal of ceremony. It is a fairly general rule throughout the world that, as a race becomes more and more civilized, the ceremonies connected with death and burial become simpler and simpler. In many respects Corsica is not a civilized country, and its inhabitants mourn for their dead much after the fashion that Jacob mourned for the death of Joseph, or David for the deaths of Saul and Jonathan.
When it is thought that a man is about to die, a candle is lit, and the sign of the cross is made with it over the body. Then the relatives wait in solemn silence until life has passed away. But at the very moment when the last breath has been drawn the women come close to the bedside, burst into sobs, and utter loud cries of sorrow. The men remain perfectly still and quiet, and it would be difficult to tell from any change in their manner that they are at all affected by their loss. Sometimes the women lose all control of themselves, roll upon the floor, and even beat and bruise their own bodies.
While the corpse is still warm the eyes are closed, and a handkerchief is passed under the chin and tied above the head to close the mouth. It is dressed in its best clothes and laid upon a funeral couch.
In former times the funeral couch was an ordinary table, because in the poor houses of the village there was never any unnecessary furniture. Nowadays the body is placed, when possible, upon a couch or sofa in one of the living-rooms of the house.
If a person dies in the evening, after sunset, the noise of the wailing soon ceases. During the night prayers are said around the body. Only the women enter the chamber; the men remain silent and serious in a neighbouring room. Towards midnight, or about one o’clock in the morning, a light meal is served which varies in different districts. At Ajaccio it consists of anchovies in vinegar, bread, wine, cheese, and a cup of coffee. In certain villages it consists of cakes of a kind of sweet cheese called broccia, which is made from the milk of goats.
As soon as the dawn comes, loud cries are heard, and dirges are chanted without ceasing until the body is taken away. These funeral songs are called voceri or ballata. They are composed on the spot by women members of the family who possess the gift. If there is no relative of the dead who is able to do this, a friend or neighbour is asked to undertake the duty. In the songs questions are addressed to the dead man just as though he were alive; all the chief incidents in his life are recounted; his features and his virtues are described; and if he has been murdered the relatives are incited to take vengeance.