I was the more hardy in my reply, because I saw that coolness and
hardihood had an effect upon the robbers. It is true, as I finished
speaking the captain laid his hand upon his stiletto, but he restrained
himself, and snatching the letter, folded it, and ordered me, in a
peremptory tone, to address it to the prince. He then despatched one of
the laborers with it to Tusculum, who promised to return with all
possible speed.
The robbers now prepared themselves for sleep, and I was told that I
might do the same. They spread their great cloaks on the ground, and
lay down around me. One was stationed at a little distance to keep
watch, and was relieved every two hours. The strangeness and wildness
of this mountain bivouac, among lawless beings whose hands seemed ever
ready to grasp the stiletto, and with whom life was so trivial and
insecure, was enough to banish repose. The coldness of the earth and of
the dew, however, had a still greater effect than mental causes in
disturbing my rest. The airs wafted to these mountains from the distant
Mediterranean diffused a great chilliness as the night advanced. An
expedient suggested itself. I called one of my fellow prisoners, the
laborers, and made him lie down beside me. Whenever one of my limbs
became chilled I approached it to the robust limb of my neighbor, and
borrowed some of his warmth. In this way I was able to obtain a little
sleep.
Day at length dawned, and I was roused from my slumber by the voice of
the chieftain. He desired me to rise and follow him. I obeyed. On
considering his physiognomy attentively, it appeared a little softened.
He even assisted me in scrambling up the steep forest among rocks and
brambles. Habit had made him a vigorous mountaineer; but I found it
excessively toilsome to climb those rugged heights. We arrived at
length at the summit of the mountain.
Here it was that I felt all the enthusiasm of my art suddenly awakened;
and I forgot, in an instant, all perils and fatigues at this
magnificent view of the sunrise in the midst of the mountains of
Abruzzi. It was on these heights that Hannibal first pitched his camp,
and pointed out Rome to his followers. The eye embraces a vast extent
of country. The minor height of Tusculum, with its villas, and its
sacred ruins, lie below; the Sabine hills and the Albanian mountains
stretch on either hand, and beyond Tusculum and Frescati spreads out
the immense Campagna, with its line of tombs, and here and there a
broken aqueduct stretching across it, and the towers and domes of the
eternal city in the midst.
Fancy this scene lit up by the glories of a rising sun, and bursting
upon my sight, as I looked forth from among the majestic forests of the
Abruzzi.
