Pagina 501 di 1118

He descended the declivity, and throwing aside the bushes with

his hands, looked beyond them, to spy if some friendly bark were

moving on the flood, or if he could not, by listening, hear the

sound of oars cleaving the water; but he saw, he heard nothing.

If it had been any stream less than the Adda, he would have

attempted to ford it, but this he well knew to be impracticable.

He was uncertain what plan to pursue: to lie down on the grass

for the next six hours, and wait until morning, exposed to the

north wind and the damps of the night; or to continue walking to

and fro, to protect himself from the cold, until the day should

dawn: neither of these held out much prospect of comfort. He

suddenly recollected to have seen, in a neighbouring part of the

uncultivated heath, a cascinotto;-this was the name given by the

peasants of the Milanese to cabins covered with straw,

constructed with the trunks and branches of trees, and the

crevices filled with mud, where they were in the habit of placing

the crop, gathered during the day, until a more convenient

opportunity for removing it; they were therefore abandoned except

at such seasons. Renzo found his way thither, pushed open the

door, and perceiving a bundle of straw on the ground, thought

that sleep, even in such a place, would be very welcome.