CHAPTER VIII. THROUGH THE FORESTS.
THE sun sank down in a flood of purple, the birds were chanting theirvespers.
"Come on, Croque-Miton-Mita-Mitaine!" cried the girl. "I would not stirfrom the spot for the spurs of knighthood."
The sky changed from gold to pale blue, from pale blue to violet, fromviolet to indigo, from indigo to black. A thousand stars peeped outto see what was going to happen. A waning moon climbed slowly up theheavens, shedding a feeble light and yellow, as if smitten with fever.The air became cooler, a gentle breeze began to stir the foliage,covered with the dust of day, and to awaken it to its morning toilet.Every sound was hushed, except the rustle of the leaves. The grass hadgrowm so thick and long, Mitaine scarcely knew where to set her foot.She was not afraid, and yet, as she advanced, her thoughts became moregrave. To be self-collected in danger is one of the signs of courage. Acoward loses himself in the presence of peril.
"What am I about to meet with yonder? What obstacles shall I fall inwith? I have always heard my royal godfather say that there is nothingone cannot overcome by courage, skill, and perseverance; it he spoke thetruth, I have nothing to fear. This Croquemitaine, perhaps, is, afterall, only a robber chief, profiting by the public panic to pillage thepassers-by. The passers-by?--but nobody does pass by, and, as a rule,people render pleasing, rather than terrible, the paths that lead to asnare. Pshaw! we shall soon see!"
All her past life came back to Mitaine's recollection. She seemed as ifshe should feel less solitary when surrounded by memories of those sheloved. She seemed to hear friendly voices. "Be prudent," whispered hermother.
"Be resolute!" said Charlemagne.
"Be bold!" said Roland.
Thus accompanied, she pushed on with firmer tread, and halted notuntil she reached the border of the forest. As she entered it, her footslipped upon some round slimy object, and a snake wound itself round herleg. "So the shame is beginning," said Mitaine.
There is room in the human heart for Prudence and Courage, they livetogether like good neighbours, and it would give you, my young friends,a very false idea of bravery to suppose that it cannot exist in companywith caution.
Mitaine had put on a suit of mail, and she congratulated herself onwearing her gauntlets, as she stooped down to seize hold of the reptile.She grasped a round and flexible object, and was about to crush it underher heel, when she discovered that what she had taken for a serpentwas only a creeper, which broke in her hand. For an instant she feltashamed.
"This is the' result of all the stories I have been so long listening:to about this absurd castle. If people had not tried to frighten me, Ishould not even have stooped down." And she continued her route.
The moon flung her rays over the forest, and Mitaine beheld in thedistance a number of white menacing shapes. Some had burst theirshrouds, and allowed their skeleton forms to be seen, clattering atevery breath of air; others displayed fearful wounds, in which theweapons yet remained; fleshless arms stretched towards her, and the windbore to her indistinct and threatening murmurs. She allowed herselfto be betrayed into a gesture of alarm; immediately the spectres shooktheir dishevelled hair, waved their arms, and began to move towards her.She saw them approaching in countless numbers, with menacing aspect andhollow meanings.
"By Roland!" said she, "I believe I'm a little frightened. My godfatherwould blush for me if he knew it." She drew her sword, and rushed on.
Hardly had the sense of alarm left her, when the appearance of all shesaw was changed. The spectres vanished, and Mitaine saw before her onlya few bleached tree trunks, on which the moon shed its rays. Instead ofwounds, she saw inequalities of the bark; instead of outstretched arms,she saw branches; instead of unkempt locks, leaves; while in the placeof threatening murmurs she heard only the wail of the wind.
"I'm evidently growing foolish," said she to herself; "I have lost myhead, and my brain to-night is full of spectres. I must not let myselfbe caught again."
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Scarcely had the thought passed through her mind when she felt herselfcaught by the leg; this time there was no illusion. She turned roundquickly, and saw with alarm a grim shape, which struggled out of theearth, and flung itself upon her. At the foot of every tree she coulddistinguish like forms buried in the earth breast high, and writhing inagony.
Mitaine strove, but in vain, to release her leg; the shape clung to it,and its head seemed about to seize her in its jaws.
"Reality or spectre--dead or alive--I will try how you will take this;"and she struck fiercely at it with her sword. The blow fell upon theroot of a tree.
"How is it that I did not see this at once? I shall never forgive myselfthis foolish fear. I must admit, Master Croquemitaine, that your jokesare anything but pleasant. Still, I hope you will give me something moreserious to do before long, or I shall cut but a sorry figure when I cometo relate my adventures."
Observe, my children, that it is almost always thus in life: out of ahundred things which terrify you, at least ninety-five will only makeyou smile, if you look them boldly in the face.
The sky had gradually become covered with clouds; large drops of rainbegan to fall; in the distance the thunder rumbled, but so faintly, thatit seemed only like the snoring of an elephant or a hippopotamus.
"The greatest danger I run is that of catching cold. The rain hasalready begun, and who can tell when I shall reach the Fortress of Fear?This coward of a Croquemitaine has so well concealed his abode, that onemight just as well look for a pin at the bottom of the sea."
A terrific clap of thunder was the only answer she received, and theglare of the light allowed her to distinguish at a short distancethe castle, which was perched, as if balanced, on the extreme point of amountain of eccentric form.
"So this, then, is the precious jewel which they have taken such painsto conceal from all eyes. By my faith! they were right to conceal it,for it appears to me the most hideous in the world."
Mitaine pushed forward. For a long time she followed the course of aruined wall, when suddenly a flash of lightning cleaving the heavensenabled her to discover a horrible monster grazing at her from itscrest. It resembled the skeleton of a horse, combined with those of anostrich, a whale, and a giraffe. Its enormous head was supported bya disproportionately long neck, and its two claws, armed with immensetalons, were seeking on the top of the wall for some point of vantagewhence to leap upon her.
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Mitaine, taken by surprise, sprang back twenty paces; the monster tookas many in advance. She sank upon her knee as it drew near, and felt itshot breath blowing upon her.
"By the Shrine of St. Landri! I am acting like a child, and show myselflittle worthy to follow Charlemagne and Roland to battle."
She sprang up; the monster immediately recoiled.
"Will nothing teach me wisdom? Every obstacle that I meet boldlydisappears, and yet I allow myself to be stopped by this vile form;"and she gave the wall a vigorous kick. The stones fell crumbling, anddragged with them a number of creepers and brambles a century old,breaking a poor harmless tree which had stood for ages, with itsbranches resting on the wall. Mitaine shrugged her shoulders, and movedon, saying, "As I expected!"
In a few minutes she found herself in the presence of a more seriousobstacle. Before her rolled a torrent, which carried down in its rapidwaters huge blocks of stone, as any other stream would carry down logs.This new barrier it was not easy either to overcome or avoid. The nightwas dark, and the moon faint and pale, and half hidden in masses ofcloud. It seemed rather like a dying watch-fire than a luminary of thefirst magnitude. The water of the torrent gleaming in this half lightrushed by with formidable violence, and Mitaine felt her brain swimwhenever she looked at it. She hurried up and down the bank, seekingin vain for a means of crossing. The lightning, as if to confuse her,redoubled its intensity, and showed her the castle situated at a shortdistance on the further shore. At length, however, she discovered a treewhich lay across the gulf. Every wave as it passed had washed away ap
ortion of the bank; the tree, half uprooted, had held its own well fora time, until at last, weary of the struggle, it had suffered itself tosink to the ground.
Mitaine contemplated this means of crossing not without apprehension.Tremblingly she placed her foot upon the trunk; it shook and rocked.She hesitated, and as her hesitation increased, so the tree became moreshaky and uncertain.
"What!" said she, impatiently; "am I so short a distance from my object,and must I draw back because the passage is not quite safe? No! itis fear that makes me awkward; every day I accomplish things far moredifficult than this."
She set her foot resolutely on the trunk, and found, to her surprise,that it grew firmer as she went on.
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"Why, I am on a wooden bridge," said she, when she got half-way over."Nay, indeed, it's a fine stone bridge," she cried, as she reached thefarther shore.
Of a truth, my children, fear doubles the importance of most obstacles,for it deprives us of half die faculties which should assist us toovercome them. Take away the ape's intrepidity and give it to man, andman will become as agile as the ape.
Mitaine saw before her but one road, and set out resolutely along it'although it wras so narrow that she brushed the rock on either side withher shoulders. It was, in fact, less a path than a cleft in the mountainside. She pushed forward on tip-toe, wondering a little what she shouldfind at the other end of this burrow. Suddenly her head encountered anobstacle, and she discovered that the passage had become so low, thatshe must stoop to continue her path.
"Do they want to bury me alive?" The thought made her hair bristle; andnot without reason, I can assure you, for she was in utter darkness,with hardly a breath of air, and every instant she felt the four wallsclosing in.
"Do your best, Croquemitaine; it shall never be said that I turned back,when I had got so close to you."
She was now compelled to continue her progress on her hands and knees."Yu will get nothing by it; I will pay you for this when I meet you."
The ceiling was now so low, that she was obliged to drag herself alongthe ground. "If there be room for a mouse, I'll get through, never trustme!"
At last, she saw with joy a gleam of light, a few paces further on.This feeble ray gave her fresh courage, and she struggled on by dint ofnails, knees, and feet so well, that in a few seconds she had reachedthe outlet. She was about to breathe again, to live again, to movefreely! one more effort, and she would be at liberty! She perceived thatthe opening at the end of the passage was guarded by a strange sort ofgrating.
"Well, this complicates the situation! I should be curious to know whatmy long-bearded godsire would do, if he found himself on all fours inthis mole-run before these bars. Assist me to get out of this, St. James, and I will offer up to you a prayer of gratitude."
Mitaine made another movement to approach still nearer to the grating;she was about to take the bars in her hand, when she perceived there wasnothing before her but a spider's web.
"Thanks, St. James! you have saved me from a terrible danger."
But now the spider came down into the middle of his web to defend hisstronghold, and it was with no common insect that she had to deal.
Picture to yourselves a body as big as your two fists, bloatedand hairy; legs by the dozen, vying with each other in agility andflexibility, with two pinchers like those of a scorpion, and eyes thatgleamed in the dark.
If Mitaine had had the free use of her limbs she would not have takenmuch notice of such a trifle; but you must remember that she was lyingflat upon the ground, hedged in on all sides as close as if in a coffin,and that she could only fight the creature by butting at it withher head. The spider, taking advantage of her hesitation, set aboutrepairing its net, adding thread to thread with frightful rapidity.
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"It is worth one's while to be the godchild of an Emperor, the daughterof a knight, the friend of a hero, and, above all, a favourite of St.James, in order to run away from a spider. Mountjoy, St. Denis! let'scharge the foe!" She lowered her head, closed her eyes, and pushed herway on. The web broke; she felt her opponent glide over her shoulder,and run along her back. She immediately pressed herself with all herforce against the roof, heard a sound like the breaking of an egg, andstepped forth mistress of the field. With what joy did she find herselfin the open air! How did she rejoice in the rain that beat on her faceand the whirlwind, whose violence tore up even the stones in her path!
Before her rose the Fortress of Fear.
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