The rooms are
empty and are used for storage purposes; the plaster on the ceiling is
peeling off, and so are the remaining decorations, which, besides, have
been tarnished by the cobwebs of the spiders one sees crawling around
the joists. Wild mignonette has grown on the door of Kersa-lion; near
the turret is a pointed window flanked by a lion and a Hercules, which
stand out in bold relief on the wall like two gargoyles. At Kerland, I
stumbled against a wolf-trap while I was ascending the large winding
staircase. Ploughshares, rusted shovels, and jars filled with dried
grain were scattered around the rooms or on the wide stone window-seats.
Kerousere has retained its three turrets with machicolations; in the
courtyard can still be seen the deep furrows of the trenches that have
been filled up little by little, and are now on level with the ground;
they are like the track of a bark, which spreads and spreads over the
water till it finally disappears. From the platform of one of the towers
(the others have pointed roofs), one can see the ocean between two low,
wooded hills. The windows on the first floor are half stopped up, so as
to keep the rain out; they look out into a garden enclosed by a high
wall.
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