We descended rapidly towards the road of la Molara, which leads to Rocca Priori.  In the midst of this road is a solitary inn.  The captain ordered the troop to halt at the distance of a pistol shot from it; and enjoined profound silence.  He then approached the threshold alone with noiseless steps.  He examined the outside of the door very narrowly, and then returning precipitately, made a sign for the troop to continue its march in silence.  It has since been ascertained that this was one of those infamous inns which are the secret resorts of banditti.  The innkeeper had an understanding with the captain, as he most probably had with the chiefs of the different bands.  When any of the patroles and gens d’armes were quartered at his house, the brigands were warned of it by a preconcerted signal on the door; when there was no such signal, they might enter with safety and be sure of welcome.  Many an isolated inn among the lonely parts of the Roman territories, and especially on the skirts of the mountains, have the same dangerous and suspicious character.  They are places where the banditti gather information; where they concert their plans, and where the unwary traveller, remote from hearing or assistance, is sometimes betrayed to the stiletto of the midnight murderer.

After pursuing our road a little farther, we struck off towards the Woody mountains which envelope Rocca Priori.  Our march was long and painful, with many circuits and windings; at length we clambered a steep ascent, covered with a thick forest, and when we had reached the centre, I was told to seat myself on the earth.  No sooner had I done so, than at a sign from their chief, the robbers surrounded me, and spreading their great cloaks from one to the other, formed a kind of pavilion of mantles, to which their bodies might be said to seem as columns.  The captain then struck a light, and a flambeau was lit immediately.  The mantles were extended to prevent the light of the flambeau from being seen through the forest.  Anxious as was my situation, I could not look round upon this screen of dusky drapery, relieved by the bright colors of the robbers’ under-dresses, the gleaming of their weapons, and the variety of strong-marked countenances, lit up by the flambeau, without admiring the picturesque effect of the scene.  It was quite theatrical.

The captain now held an ink-horn, and giving me pen and paper, ordered me to write what he should dictate.  I obeyed.  It was a demand, couched in the style of robber eloquence, “that the prince should send three thousand dollars for my ransom, or that my death should be the consequence of a refusal.”

I knew enough of the desperate character of these beings to feel assured this was not an idle menace.  Their only mode of insuring attention to their demands, is to make the infliction of the penalty inevitable.  I saw at once, however, that the demand was preposterous, and made in improper language.