The Animal Uttered A Shrill Sharp Neigh, And
Exhibited Every Sign Of The Greatest Terror, Making At The Same
Time Great Efforts To Extricate Himself, And Plunging Forward, But
Every Moment Sinking Deeper.
At last he arrived where a small vein
of rock showed itself:
On this he placed his fore feet, and with
one tremendous exertion freed himself, from the deceitful soil,
springing over the rivulet and alighting on comparatively firm
ground, where he stood panting, his heaving sides covered with a
foamy sweat. Antonio, who had observed the whole scene, afraid to
venture forward, returned by the path by which we came, and shortly
afterwards rejoined me. This adventure brought to my recollection
the meadow with its footpath which tempted Christian from the
straight road to heaven, and finally conducted him to the dominions
of the giant Despair.
We now began to descend the valley by a broad and excellent
carretera or carriage road, which was cut out of the steep side of
the mountain on our right. On our left was the gorge, down which
tumbled the runnel of water which I have before mentioned. The
road was tortuous, and at every turn the scene became more
picturesque. The gorge gradually widened, and the brook at its
bottom, fed by a multitude of springs, increased in volume and in
sound, but it was soon far beneath us, pursuing its headlong course
till it reached level ground, where it flowed in the midst of a
beautiful but confined prairie. There was something sylvan and
savage in the mountains on the farther side, clad from foot to
pinnacle with trees, so closely growing that the eye was unable to
obtain a glimpse of the hill sides, which were uneven with ravines
and gulleys, the haunts of the wolf, the wild boar, and the corso,
or mountain-stag; the latter of which, as I was informed by a
peasant who was driving a car of oxen, frequently descended to feed
in the prairie, and were there shot for the sake of their skins,
for their flesh, being strong and disagreeable, is held in no
account.
But notwithstanding the wildness of these regions, the handiworks
of man were visible. The sides of the gorge, though precipitous,
were yellow with little fields of barley, and we saw a hamlet and
church down in the prairie below, whilst merry songs ascended to
our ears from where the mowers were toiling with their scythes,
cutting the luxuriant and abundant grass. I could scarcely believe
that I was in Spain, in general so brown, so arid and cheerless,
and I almost fancied myself in Greece, in that land of ancient
glory, whose mountain and forest scenery Theocritus has so well
described.
At the bottom of the valley we entered a small village, washed by
the brook, which had now swelled almost to a stream. A more
romantic situation I had never witnessed. It was surrounded, and
almost overhung by mountains, and embowered in trees of various
kinds; waters sounded, nightingales sang, and the cuckoo's full
note boomed from the distant branches, but the village was
miserable. The huts were built of slate stones, of which the
neighbouring hills seemed to be principally composed, and roofed
with the same, but not in the neat tidy manner of English houses,
for the slates were of all sizes, and seemed to be flung on in
confusion. We were spent with heat and thirst, and sitting down on
a stone bench, I entreated a woman to give me a little water. The
woman said she would, but added that she expected to be paid for
it. Antonio, on hearing this, became highly incensed, and speaking
Greek, Turkish, and Spanish, invoked the vengeance of the Panhagia
on the heartless woman, saying, "If I were to offer a Mahometan
gold for a draught of water he would dash it in my face; and you
are a Catholic, with the stream running at your door." I told him
to be silent, and giving the woman two cuartos, repeated my
request, whereupon she took a pitcher, and going to the stream
filled it with water. It tasted muddy and disagreeable, but it
drowned the fever which was devouring me.
We again remounted and proceeded on our way, which, for a
considerable distance, lay along the margin of the stream, which
now fell in small cataracts, now brawled over stones, and at other
times ran dark and silent through deep pools overhung with tall
willows, - pools which seemed to abound with the finny tribe, for
large trout frequently sprang from the water, catching the
brilliant fly which skimmed along its deceitful surface. The scene
was delightful. The sun was rolling high in the firmament, casting
from its orb of fire the most glorious rays, so that the atmosphere
was flickering with their splendour, but their fierceness was
either warded off by the shadow of the trees or rendered innocuous
by the refreshing coolness which rose from the waters, or by the
gentle breezes which murmured at intervals over the meadows,
"fanning the cheek or raising the hair" of the wanderer. The hills
gradually receded, till at last we entered a plain where tall grass
was waving, and mighty chestnut trees, in full blossom, spread out
their giant and umbrageous boughs. Beneath many stood cars, the
tired oxen prostrate on the ground, the crossbar of the poll which
they support pressing heavily on their heads, whilst their drivers
were either employed in cooking, or were enjoying a delicious
siesta in the grass and shade. I went up to one of the largest of
these groups and demanded of the individuals whether they were in
need of the Testament of Jesus Christ. They stared at one another,
and then at me, till at last a young man, who was dangling a long
gun in his hands as he reclined, demanded of me what it was, at the
same time inquiring whether I was a Catalan, "for you speak
hoarse," said he, "and are tall and fair like that family." I sat
down amongst them and said that I was no Catalan, but that I came
from a spot in the Western Sea, many leagues distant, to sell that
book at half the price it cost; and that their souls' welfare
depended on their being acquainted with it.
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