However, I was now irretrievably in for it; there was no possibility of backing out, had I been ever so inclined—but I was not; I would have died first—so pulling myself together, and conquering by a strong effort a curious quaky sensation which had for a moment oppressed me, I set out upon my journey.
The spot to which I was bound was a chateau situated about eighteen miles inland, in the very heart of the mountain district. It was the property of Count Lorenzo Paoli, the brother of the General Paoli who, at the head of the Corsican insurgents, was then endeavouring to drive the French out of the island. My despatches—or whatever they were—were for Count Lorenzo; and though I was of course unacquainted with their contents, I surmised that they had relation to some probable assistance to be rendered by the English to the Corsicans. Under ordinary circumstances my mission would have been extremely easy of accomplishment; but, as I have already remarked, the island was in a thoroughly unsettled state, almost every male inhabitant being in arms.
The French, irritated by the rising of the Corsicans, and imbued with that feeling of cold-blooded and demoniacal ferocity which developed itself during the Reign of Terror, rendering that period of French history for ever infamous, were of course those from whom I had most to fear. But the Corsicans, their naturally excitable temperament raised to frenzy by the atrocities of the French, rendered suspicious by frequent treachery, and impetuously rushing into a system of the most hideous reprisals, were almost equally dangerous, their creed being that he who was not with them must necessarily be against them; and their proceedings with regard to suspected persons were rumoured to be of the most summary character. Lastly, there were the brigands, composed principally of the very dregs of Corsican society, a community made up of all the criminality in the island, thieves, murderers, escaped convicts, and outcasts of every description, utterly destitute of the faintest spark of honour, patriotism, or humanity, preying upon friend and foe alike, and outstripping both in deeds of fiendish cruelty. As I thought these matters over, it seemed to me that my only safety lay in the most careful avoidance of every human eye, pursuing my journey during the dead of night, and lying perdu throughout the day.
A walk of two or three hundred yards along the main road brought me to the “turning-off” on the right, which I was directed to follow in order to gain the chateau. It appeared to be quite a by-road, so narrow that there seemed scarcely room for two vehicles to pass, and it was in a most wretched condition, the surface being ploughed into deep broad ruts, and completely cut up by the feet of cattle.
It led apparently through the heart of an extensive forest, the trees of which, uniting their branches overhead, must have veiled the way in semi-obscurity even at noon-day. When I turned into it—at about two o’clock a.m.—the starlit sky gave just sufficient light to enable me to pursue my way along the main road; but by the time I had penetrated a couple of hundred yards into this by-path, I was enveloped in a perfectly Egyptian darkness. By degrees, however, my vision became accustomed to the gloom, and I stumbled on over the uneven ground for a distance of some twelve miles, when daylight began to appear through the leafy canopy overhead, and prudence suggested to me the desirability of forthwith seeking some safe hiding-place wherein to pass the day and take that repose of which I was beginning to feel the need. I therefore turned off the road and plunged into the forest for about a quarter of a mile, when I came upon a dense and almost impenetrable thicket which seemed admirably suited to my purpose; I accordingly forced my way into it until I found a spot of clear ground wide enough to stretch myself upon comfortably, when flinging myself upon the turf, and placing my bag beneath my head, I almost immediately dropped off into a deep and dreamless slumber.
It was just three o’clock in the afternoon when I awoke. My somewhat unwonted exertions of the previous night had greatly fatigued me, and I should probably have slept on until darkness had once more returned, had it not been for a wandering sun-ray which had found its way through the branches overhead, and, shining directly in my face, had awakened me. I awoke stiff, ravenously hungry, and parched with thirst. I had had the forethought to provide against an inopportune attack of the former feeling, by putting a biscuit or two in my pocket; but in the excitement of coming away I had omitted—as I now found to my chagrin—to bring my flask with me. I accordingly brought out my biscuits, and endeavoured to make a meal of them alone, but they were, like all biscuits, dry, and my throat was so parched that I found I could scarcely swallow a mouthful. While struggling with this little difficulty a faint breeze brought to my ear a sound which I decided must be the rushing of a distant stream over its rocky bed, and thinking of nothing at the moment so much as my intense thirst, I sprang to my feet, and seizing my bag, set out in the direction from which the sound appeared to come.
My progress was anything but rapid, the ground being entirely overgrown with creepers and thick shrubs, but that I was proceeding in the right direction was satisfactorily demonstrated by the increasing distinctness with which I could hear the sound of the rushing water.
My exertions in the close and stifling atmosphere of the wood soon made me uncomfortably warm, at the same time increasing my thirst to an almost unbearable degree, but there was nothing for it but patience, so I pushed on, panting and perspiring, as rapidly as it was possible for me to get over the ground. As I continued to advance, the sound increased in volume, though it still appeared to come from a considerable distance, and I at length came to the conclusion that it was not caused so much by the rush of the river over its bed as by the fall of the water down a cataract. The surmise eventually proved to be correct, for after an hour and a half of severe exertion, the latter half-hour of which I had been journeying over steeply-rising ground, I found myself beside a considerable stream, the waters of which, about a hundred yards higher up, came foaming and tumbling down from a height of some fifty feet, through a deep cleft in the face of the rock, into a deep, transparent pool, from whence they passed away over a rocky bed, and wound out of sight among the trees.
It was a lovely spot upon which I had thus stumbled. The ground rose abruptly on both sides of the stream; that on the opposite side being a rocky precipice, the strata of variously-coloured stone twisted and contorted in the most extraordinary manner, geraniums of various hues growing out from between the interstices of the rock, and the summit of the precipice crowned with a rich profusion of trailing creepers, some of which, notwithstanding the time of year, were in blossom, and the perfume of which scented the air.
Round the mossy rim of the basin into which the waters fell, and which appeared to be always damp with spray, grew a profusion of exquisitely delicate ferns; the sward beyond was thickly starred with a species of double daisy and the elegant hyacinth, and enclosing all was the pine wood through which I had been travelling.