ns as these seemed to Mademoiselle de Verneuil to justify
and even to ennoble her thoughts of vengeance; this travail of her soul
and its expectations gave her vigor enough to bear the unusual fatigues
of this strange journey. At the end of each property Galope-Chopine made
the women dismount from their donkeys and climb the obstructions;
then, mounting again, they made their way through the boggy paths which
already felt the approach of winter. The combination of tall trees,
sunken paths, and enclosed places, kept the soil in a state of humidity
which wrapped the travellers in a mantle of ice. However, after much
wearisome fatigue, they managed to reach the woods of Marignay by
sunrise. The journey then became less difficult, and led by a broad
footway through the forest. The arch formed by the branches, and the
great size of the trees protected the travellers from the weather, and
the many difficulties of the first half of their way did not recur.

They had hardly gone a couple of miles through the woods before they
heard a confused noise of distant voices and the tinkling of a bell, the
silvery tones of which did not have the monotonous sound given by the
movements of cattle. Galope-Chopine listened with great attention, as he
walked along, to this melody; presently a puff of wind brought several
chanted words to his ear, which seemed to affect him powerfully, for he
suddenly turned the wearied donkeys into a by-path, which led away from
Saint-James, paying no attention to the remonstrances of Mademoiselle de
Verneuil, whose fears were increased by the darkness of the forest path
along which their guide now led them. To right and left were enormous
blocks of granite, laid one upon the other, of whimsical shape. Across
them huge roots had glided, like monstrous serpents, seeking from afar
the juicy nourishment enjoyed by a few beeches. The two sides of the
road resembled the subterranean grottos that are famous for stalactites.
Immense festoons of stone, where the darkling verdure of ivy and holly
allied itself to the green-gray patches of the moss and lichen, hid
the precipices and the openings into several caves. When the three
travellers had gone a few steps through a very narrow path a most
surprising spectacle suddenly unfolded itself to Mademoiselle de
Verneuil's eyes, and made her understand the obstinacy of her Chouan
guide.

A semi-circular basin of granite blocks formed an ampitheatre, on the
rough tiers of