We Saw Others In The Fields Handling Their Rude
Ploughs, Drawn By Lean Oxen.
We likewise passed through a small
village, in which we, however, saw no living soul.
Near this
village we entered the high road which leads direct from Madrid to
Coruna, and at last, having travelled near four leagues, we came to
a species of pass, formed on our left by a huge lumpish hill (one
of those which descend from the great mountain Telleno), and on our
right by one of much less altitude. In the middle of this pass,
which was of considerable breadth, a noble view opened itself to
us. Before us, at the distance of about a league and a half, rose
the mighty frontier chain, of which I have spoken before; its blue
sides and broken and picturesque peaks still wearing a thin veil of
the morning mist, which the fierce rays of the sun were fast
dispelling. It seemed an enormous barrier, threatening to oppose
our farther progress, and it reminded me of the fables respecting
the children of Magog, who are said to reside in remotest Tartary,
behind a gigantic wall of rocks, which can only be passed by a gate
of steel a thousand cubits in height.
We shortly after arrived at Manzanal, a village consisting of
wretched huts, and exhibiting every sign of poverty and misery. It
was now time to refresh ourselves and horses, and we accordingly
put up at a venta, the last habitation in the village, where,
though we found barley for the animals, we had much difficulty in
procuring anything for ourselves. I was at length fortunate enough
to obtain a large jug of milk, for there were plenty of cows in the
neighbourhood, feeding in a picturesque valley which we had passed
by, where was abundance of grass, and trees, and a rivulet broken
by tiny cascades. The jug might contain about half a gallon, but I
emptied it in a few minutes, for the thirst of fever was still
burning within me, though I was destitute of appetite. The venta
had something the appearance of a German baiting-house. It
consisted of an immense stable, from which was partitioned a kind
of kitchen and a place where the family slept. The master, a
robust young man, lolled on a large solid stone bench, which stood
within the door. He was very inquisitive respecting news, but I
could afford him none; whereupon he became communicative, and gave
me the history of his life, the sum of which was, that he had been
a courier in the Basque provinces, but about a year since had been
dispatched to this village, where he kept the post-house. He was
an enthusiastic liberal, and spoke in bitter terms of the
surrounding population, who, he said, were all Carlists and friends
of the friars. I paid little attention to his discourse, for I was
looking at a Maragato lad of about fourteen, who served in the
house as a kind of ostler. I asked the master if we were still in
the land of the Maragatos; but he told me that we had left it
behind nearly a league, and that the lad was an orphan and was
serving until he could rake up a sufficient capital to become an
arriero. I addressed several questions to the boy, but the urchin
looked sullenly in my face, and either answered by monosyllables or
was doggedly silent. I asked him if he could read. "Yes," said
he, "as much as that brute of yours who is tearing down the
manger."
Quitting Manzanal, we continued our course. We soon arrived at the
verge of a deep valley amongst mountains, not those of the chain
which we had seen before us, and which we now left to the right,
but those of the Telleno range, just before they unite with that
chain. Round the sides of this valley, which exhibited something
of the appearance of a horse-shoe, wound the road in a circuitous
manner; just before us, however, and diverging from the road, lay a
footpath which seemed, by a gradual descent, to lead across the
valley, and to rejoin the road on the other side, at the distance
of about a furlong; and into this we struck in order to avoid the
circuit.
We had not gone far before we met two Galicians, on their way to
cut the harvests of Castile. One of them shouted, "Cavalier, turn
back: in a moment you will be amongst precipices, where your
horses will break their necks, for we ourselves could scarcely
climb them on foot." The other cried, "Cavalier, proceed, but be
careful, and your horses, if sure-footed, will run no great danger:
my comrade is a fool." A violent dispute instantly ensued between
the two mountaineers, each supporting his opinion with loud oaths
and curses; but without stopping to see the result, I passed on,
but the path was now filled with stones and huge slaty rocks, on
which my horse was continually slipping. I likewise heard the
sound of water in a deep gorge, which I had hitherto not perceived,
and I soon saw that it would be worse than madness to proceed. I
turned my horse, and was hastening to regain the path which I had
left, when Antonio, my faithful Greek, pointed out to me a meadow
by which, he said, we might regain the high road much lower down
than if we returned on our steps. The meadow was brilliant with
short green grass, and in the middle there was a small rivulet of
water. I spurred my horse on, expecting to be in the high road in
a moment; the horse, however, snorted and stared wildly, and was
evidently unwilling to cross the seemingly inviting spot. I
thought that the scent of a wolf, or some other wild animal might
have disturbed him, but was soon undeceived by his sinking up to
the knees in a bog.
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