On The Summit Of This
Range Rose High Embattled Towers, Which My Guide Informed Me Were
Those Of Altamira, An
Ancient and ruined castle, formerly the
principal residence in this province of the counts of that name.
Turning now due
West, we were soon at the bottom of a steep and
rugged pass, which led to more elevated regions. The ascent cost
us nearly half an hour, and the difficulties of the ground were
such, that I more than once congratulated myself on having left my
own horses behind, and being mounted on the gallant little pony
which, accustomed to such paths, scrambled bravely forward, and
eventually brought us in safety to the top of the ascent.
Here we entered a Gallegan cabin, or choza, for the purpose of
refreshing the animal and ourselves. The quadruped ate some maize,
whilst we two bipeds regaled ourselves on some broa and
aguardiente, which a woman whom we found in the hut placed before
us. I walked out for a few minutes to observe the aspect of the
country, and on my return found my guide fast asleep on the bench
where I had left him. He sat bolt upright, his back supported
against the wall, and his legs pendulous, within three inches of
the ground, being too short to reach it. I remained gazing upon
him for at least five minutes, whilst he enjoyed slumbers seemingly
as quiet and profound as those of death itself. His face brought
powerfully to my mind some of those uncouth visages of saints and
abbots which are occasionally seen in the niches of the walls of
ruined convents. There was not the slightest gleam of vitality in
his countenance, which for colour and rigidity might have been of
stone, and which was as rude and battered as one of the stone heads
at Icolmkill, which have braved the winds of twelve hundred years.
I continued gazing on his face till I became almost alarmed,
concluding that life might have departed from its harassed and
fatigued tenement. On my shaking him rather roughly by the
shoulder he slowly awoke, opening his eyes with a stare and then
closing them again. For a few moments he was evidently unconscious
of where he was. On my shouting to him, however, and inquiring
whether he intended to sleep all day instead of conducting me to
Finisterra, he dropped upon his legs, snatched up his hat, which
lay on the table, and instantly ran out of the door, exclaiming,
"Yes, yes, I remember - follow me, captain, and I will lead you to
Finisterra in no time." I looked after him, and perceived that he
was hurrying at a considerable pace in the direction in which we
had hitherto been proceeding. "Stop," said I, "stop! will you
leave me here with the pony? Stop, we have not paid the reckoning.
Stop!" He, however, never turned his head for a moment, and in
less than a minute was out of sight. The pony, which was tied to a
crib at one end of the cabin, began now to neigh terrifically, to
plunge, and to erect its tail and mane in a most singular manner.
It tore and strained at the halter till I was apprehensive that
strangulation would ensue. "Woman," I exclaimed, "where are you,
and what is the meaning of all this?" But the hostess had likewise
disappeared, and though I ran about the choza, shouting myself
hoarse, no answer was returned. The pony still continued to scream
and to strain at the halter more violently than ever. "Am I beset
with lunatics?" I cried, and flinging down a peseta on the table,
unloosed the halter, and attempted to introduce the bit into the
mouth of the animal. This, however, I found impossible to effect.
Released from the halter, the pony made at once for the door, in
spite of all the efforts which I could make to detain it. "If you
abandon me," said I, "I am in a pretty situation; but there is a
remedy for everything!" with which words I sprang into the saddle,
and in a moment more the creature was bearing me at a rapid gallop
in the direction, as I supposed, of Finisterra. My position,
however diverting to the reader, was rather critical to myself. I
was on the back of a spirited animal, over which I had no control,
dashing along a dangerous and unknown path. I could not discover
the slightest vestige of my guide, nor did I pass anyone from whom
I could derive any information. Indeed, the speed of the animal
was so great, that even in the event of my meeting or overtaking a
passenger, I could scarcely have hoped to exchange a word with him.
"Is the pony trained to this work?" said I mentally. "Is he
carrying me to some den of banditti, where my throat will be cut,
or does he follow his master by instinct?" Both of these
suspicions I however soon abandoned; the pony's speed relaxed, he
appeared to have lost the road. He looked about uneasily: at
last, coming to a sandy spot, he put his nostrils to the ground,
and then suddenly flung himself down, and wallowed in true pony
fashion. I was not hurt, and instantly made use of this
opportunity to slip the bit into his mouth, which previously had
been dangling beneath his neck; I then remounted in quest of the
road.
This I soon found, and continued my way for a considerable time.
The path lay over a moor, patched heath and furze, and here and
there strewn with large stones, or rather rocks. The sun had risen
high in the firmament, and burned fiercely. I passed several
people, men and women, who gazed at me with surprise, wondering,
probably, what a person of my appearance could be about without a
guide in so strange a place. I inquired of two females whom I met
whether they had seen my guide; but they either did not or would
not understand me, and exchanging a few words with each other, in
one of the hundred dialects of the Gallegan, passed on.
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