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.
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