Twixt France and Spain - E. Ernest Bilbrough
'TWIXT FRANCE AND SPAIN;
Or, A Spring in the Pyrenees
BY
E. ERNEST BILBROUGH.
[Illustration: MAP OF THE PYRENEES
(To accompany "TWIXT FRANCE & SPAIN")
With the Principal Peaks, Rivers & Roads.]
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAU.
Trains and steamers--Bordeaux and its hotels--Lamothe
--Morcenx--Dax--Puyoo--Orthez--First impressions of Pau--The hotels and
pensions--Amusements--Pension Colbert--Making up parties for the
Pyrenees--The Place Royale and the view--The castle of Pau and its
approaches--Origin of name--Historical notes--The towers--Visiting
hours--The tapestries--The wonderful bedstead--The delusive
tortoiseshell cradle--The "Tour de la Monnaie"--The park--The Billeres
plains--Tennis and golf--The Route de Billeres and the Billeres
woods--French _sportsmen_--Hunting--Racing--Lescar and its old
cathedral--Fontaine de Marnieres--The bands--The Parc Beaumont
--Ballooning--The Casino--Polo--The cemetery--The churches of
St. Martin and St. Jacques--The "old world and the new"--Rides and
drives--to Betharram--The start--Peasants and their ways--Vines
trained by the roadside--Sour grapes--The "March of the Men of Garlic"
--Coarraze--Henry IV.'s Castle--Betharram--The ivied bridge--The
inn--The "Via Crucis"--Assat and Gelos--The Coteaux--Perpignaa
--Sketching with a donkey-cart--Over the Coteaux to Gan--The
drive to Pietat--Picnicking and rejected attentions--The
church--Feather moss--Bizanos--Carnival time--"Poor Pillicoddy"
--"Idyllic Colbert."
CHAPTER II.
BAGNERES DE BIGORRE.
Backward spring--Hotel Beau Sejour--Effect of the war of '70 on the
English colony--The "Coustous"--The Church of St. Vincent--Geruzet's
marble works--Donkeys--Up the Monne--Bains de Sante--Bains de Grand
Pre--Salut Avenue and baths--"Ai-ue, Ai-ue"--Luncheon--Daffodils--The
summit and the view--The "Castel-Mouly"--The Tapere--Mde. Cottin--Mont
Bedat--Gentians--The Croix de Manse--"The Lady's Farewell to her
Asinine Steed"--Market-day--The old iron and shoe dealers--Sunday--A
cat fight--The English Church--To the Col d'Aspin--"The Abbe's
Song"--Baudean--Campan, its people and church--Wayside chapels--Ste.
Marie--The route to Gripp, &c.--Payole--The pine forest--The Col
d'Aspin--The view from the Monne Rouge--"The Plaint of the Weather-beaten
Pine"--The Menu at Payole--Hurrah for the milk!--Departures--Divine
music--Aste--Gabrielle d'Estrelle--The ivied ruins--The church--
Pitton de Tournefort--Gerde--The pigeon traps--The cattle market
--The Jacobin tower--Theatre--Grand Etablissement des Thermes
--Hospice Civil--Eglise des Carmes--Mount Olivet--Madame Cheval,
her cakes and tea--Bigorre in tears
CHAPTER III.
LOURDES.
The journey to Tarbes--The Buffet and the Nigger--Lourdes station in
the wet--Importunate "Cochers"--Hotel des Pyrenees--"Red tape" and
Porters--Lourdes in sunshine--Sightseeing--The "Rue de la Grotte"--
"The Cry of the Lourdes Shopkeepers"--Candle-sellers--The
Grotto--Abject reverence--The Church--Saint Bernard--Interior of
church--The panorama--Admirable effect--Rue du Fort--The castle--The
view from the Tower--Pie de Mars, or Ringed Ousels
CHAPTER IV.
ARGELES.
Road _v_. rail--Scenes, sublime and ridiculous--Hotel
d'Angleterre--Questions and "The Argeles Shepherd's Reply"--A forbidden
path--The ride to Ges, Serres, Salluz, and Ourous--Argeles
church--Route Thermale--Ges--The tree in the path--"A regular
fix"--Serres--"It's a stupid foal that doesn't know its own mother"
--A frothing stream--A fine view--Pigs in clover--Salluz
--Ourous--Contented villagers--The high road--The bridge on the
Pierrefitte road--Advice to sketchers--"Spring's Bitters and
Sweets"--The "witch of the hills"--Large green lizards--"Jeannette's
Lamb"--Round the Argeles valley--Chateau de Beaucens--Villelongue--
Soulom--The old church--Hotel de la Poste, Pierrefitte--St. Savin--The
verger and the ancient church--Cagots--"The Organ's Tale"--St. Savin's
tomb--The Chateau de Miramont--Jugged Izard--Market-day--Sour bread and
the remedy--Arrival of the first parcel.
CHAPTER V.
CAUTERETS.
Hotel de la Poste, Pierrefitte--The Gorge--Its majestic beauty--The
resemblance to the Llanberis Pass--Mrs. Blunt becomes poetical--Zinc
mines--Le Pont de Mediabat--Entering the town--The Rue Richelieu and
Hotel du Parc--Winter's seal upon them still--Thermes des
Oeufs--Thermes de Cesar--The Casino and Esplanade des Oeufs--A good
dinner and the menu--The start for the Col de Riou--The Grange de la
Reine Hortense--The pines--Miss Blunt's "Exhortation to the First
Snow"--The dogs and their gambols--Defeated, but not discouraged--To
the Cerizey Cascade--The baths of La Raillere, Petit St. Sauveur, and
Le Pre--Cascade de Lutour--The Marcadau Gorge--Scenery--Pic de
Gaube--At the Cerizey Cascade--The Pont d'Espagne and Lac de
Gaube--Pont de Benques--Lutour valley--Various excursions up same--The
"Parc"--Allees de Cambasque--The Peguere--The "Pagoda" villa--
Promenade du Mamelon Vert--The road's up again--Blows and blasts--The
bishop's arrival--Enthusiasm, pomposity, and benedictions--The pilgrims
at large--They start on an excursion--The market and Hotel de
Ville--The grocer's opinion--Pyrenean dogs and their treatment--The
dog-fancier--Smiles and temper--Bargaining displaced--No dog after all!
CHAPTER VI.
LUZ AND BAREGES.
Rain at starting--A blighted view, yet lovely still--Pont
d'Enfer--Nature's voice--Sere and Esquiez--Luz--Its situation and
status--An old house--The ancient church of the Templars--La Chapelle
de St. Roch--Pyrenean museum--Hotel de l'Univers--Chateau de Ste.
Marie--"The Jackdaw's Causerie"--A new "diet of worms"--The new
bathing establishment--To Bareges--Pic d'Ayre--Esterre--Viella
--Betpouey--Mill conduits--Cercle des Etrangers--Opinion of the
town--Grand Etablissement--Promenade Horizontale--Hospice de Ste.
Eugenie--"The Jay of Bareges"--Wood anemones--Hepaticas--Valley
of Lienz--Pic de Lienz--Pic d'Ayre's summit--Pic de Neouville--Mountain
rhododendrons--_Anemone vernalis_
CHAPTER VII.
ST. SAUVEUR.
Pont de Pescadere--Sassis--Gave de Gavarnie--St. Sauveur--Hotel de
France--Pont Napoleon--Napoleon's pillar--Bee orchids--Chapel of
Solferino--The view from thence--Ne'er a hermit but for gold--Luz
cemetery--Luz post-office--Short cuts--Pharmacie Claverie--Jardin a
l'Anglaise--Ascent of Pic de Bergons--Villenave--The shepherds'
huts--Lunch--Snow, its use and abuse--On foot--"Excelsior"--Dangerous
footing--The last crest but one--The view--Gavarnie and Argeles in
sight--A lazy guide--A "fast" bit--Mountain flowers--Mr. Sydney to the
fore--A short walk and a good view--To Sazos and Grust--The bathing
establishments--Sazos: the old church--The belfry--Chiming
extraordinary--Various promenades--Gems of hill and vale
CHAPTER VIII.
GAVARNIE.
A "falling glass"--The wonderful echo--Cascade Lassariou--Sia and its
bridge--Pont de Desdouroucat--"Changing scenes"--Bugaret torrent--The
Pimene--Bue--Gedre--Breche de Roland in the distance--The
"Grotto"--Scenery at fivepence per head--Daffodils--Lofty
summits--Cascade d'Arroudet--Chaos--Valley of the "Ten Thousand Rocks,"
Amoy--A dirty avalanche--The Sugar-loaf--Travellers' troubles
--Importunate females--Hotel des Voyageurs--Poc--Guide or no
guide--Chute de Lapaca--The guardian summits of the Cirque--Cascade du
Marbore--Chandelles du Marbore--The Cirque--Its marvellous
beauty--Reluctantly returning--"The Guide's Auction"--"Two women
enough for a market, and three for a fair"--A Yankee tale--Sketching
and flowers--Tempers and appetites
CHAPTER IX.
FROM LUZ AND ST. SAUVEUR TO BAGNERES DE LUCHON.
A smiling valley--Lourdes again--The chapel in the crypt--St. Peter's
statue--Burnished toes--Solemn quietude--Preparing for the great
pilgrimage--"Ornamented" crosses--Mr. Sydney's new vocation, "Guide,
Philosopher, and Friend"--Bigorre again--An open-air concert
--Harmonious echoes--Paying through the nose--The fete at
Payole--Sport a la francaise--Costumes--The view from the Col
d'Aspin--Arreau--Quaint houses--La Chapelle de St. Exupere--A whining
"gardien"--Eglise de Notre Dame--The river Neste--Hotel de
France--Borderes--Avajan--Louderville--Oxslips and cowslips--Wild
narcissus--Col de Peyresourde--The view--Garin--Cazaux--St.
Aventin--Lovely avenues--Our destination
CHAPTER X.
BAGNERES DE LUCHON.
The bathing establishment and its surroundings--The lovely
_Allees_--Montauban church and cascade--The Villa Russe and its
genial host--Various excursions--Orphanage of Notre Dame de
Rocher--The Vallee du Lys--The Rue d'Enfer and cascades--A lively
scene--The view from Superbagneres--Loading wood--"The Oxen's
Appeal"--Visit to the Orphanage--A "holy" relic--To Bosost--St.
Mamet--"A stumbling-block"--Cascade of Sidonie--Horse tricks and
jockey dodges--Lizards in flight--Fashion on a donkey--On the Portillon
'twixt France and Spain--The valley of Aran--Snug Bosost--A curious
inn--Children with artistic bent--A bright pathway--Missing much, but
thankful still
CHAPTER XI.
ST. BERTRAND DE COMMINGES.
Keeping to old friends--Valley history--Entering the Garonne
valley--The picturesque St. Beat--St. Beat to Viella--Memories of the
lovely Thames--Baths of Ste. Marie--Loures--The cross-roads--Weak
walls--Entering St. Bertrand--An ancient house--The inn--A charming
garden--The cathedral--A national disgrace--"The Crocodile of St.
Bertrand"--The tomb of Hugues de Chatillon--Travelling desecraters--St.
Bertrand's rod--The ruined cloisters--Desolation--Swine
feeding--Montrejeau--The buffet--No milk!--French railway
officials--Trying experiences
CHAPTER XII.
EAUX BONNES AND EAUX CHAUDES.
Carriage _v_. diligence--Early birds--Height of absurdity
--Diminutive donkeys--A whitened region--"Crystal clear"--Washerwomen
and their gamps--A useful townhall--A half-way house--Moralising--A
much-loved pipe--An historic ruin--A noteworthy strong box--"Ici on
rase"--Where are the bears?--Women in gaiters--Picturesque costumes--A
lovely road--A "perfect" cure--A spring scene--A billiard-playing
priest--A well-placed pavilion--The Valentin and its cascades--
Through solid rock--Gaps in the road--A grand scene--Wanted, an
artist--A fine torrent--Professional fishers--Lucky guests
--Musings--Poor Mr. Tubbins--Bonnes _v_. Chaudes--Over the
Col de Gourzy--Peculiar teams--Guelder roses--Spinning
CHAPTER XIII.
BIARRITZ.
A warm ride--Bayonne--A "Noah's ark" landscape--
Amusements--Bathing--Shells--Cavillers--A canine feat--The pier and
rocks--A restless sea--"The Three Cormorants"--Dragon's-mouth Rock--To
the lighthouse--Maiden-hair ferns--Mrs. Blunt's adventure--The drive
round the lakes--_Osmunda regalis_ ferns--The pine-woods near the
bar--St. Etienne and the Guards' cemetery--Croix de Mouguere--Cambo and
the Pas de Roland--Anemones--A fat couple--A French scholar--Hendaye--
Fuenterabia--A quaint old-world town--The Bidassoa--Pasages--San
Sebastien--The Citadol and graves--The "Silent Sisters"--Raised
prices--Parasols and spectacles
CHAPTER XIV.
CONCLUSION.
"Where duty leads"--Resorts in the Eastern Pyrenees--Caen--"Riou"--Our
paths diverge--"The Lesson of the Mountains"--Farewell
* * * * *
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
APPENDIX C
APPENDIX D
INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
MAP OF THE PYRENEES
DAX
THE TOWER OF MONCADE, ORTHEZ
PAU (FROM THE JURANCON SIDE OF THE GAVE)
THE CASTLE COURTYARD
IN THE CASTLE PARK
THE PINE FOREST NEAR THE COL D'ASPIN
THE "PALOMIERES DE GERDE"
LOURDES (A SMALL GENERAL VIEW)
THE "OLD FORT" AT LOURDES
ON THE ROAD TO ARGELES
A "REGULAR Fix" (by Miss BLUNT)
A PRETTY BIT AT ARGELES
CAUTERETS
THE ASCENT OF THE COL DE Riou (by Miss BLUNT)
THE LAC DE GAUBE
THE GORGE NEAR PIERREFITTE
THE ANCIENT CHURCH OF THE TEMPLARS AT LUZ
THE CASTLE OF STE. MARIE
BAREGES
ST. SAUVEUR
PONT NAPOLEON, ST. SAUVEUR (by Miss BLUNT)
THE VILLAGE OF GEDRE
THE CHAOS NEAR GAVARNIE
THE CIRQUE OF GAVARNIE (IN SUMMER)
"ON THE TAREES ROAD"
THE PEARL IN THE PEERLESS VALLEY
THE CHURCH OF MONTAUBAN (by Miss BLUNT)
THE RUE D'ENFER AND THE CASCADES
ON THE ROAD TO SUPERBAGNERES
ST. BERTRAND DE COMMINGES
THE CROCODILE OF ST. BERTRAND (by Miss BLUNT)
IN THE OLD CHURCH AT LARUNS
CASCADE DU VALENTIN
CRABE BRIDGE, IN THE EAUX CHAUDES GORGE
THE BIOUS-ARTIGUES
THE PIC DE GER
THE ROCKS OF BIARRITZ
THE VILLA EUGENIE
MRS. BLUNT'S ADVENTURE (by Miss BLUNT):--
SCENE I.--BEFORE THE START
SCENE II.--THE ANCIENT STEED GREW YOUNG ONCE MORE
SCENE III.--WHO'S MY DRIVER?
"MY PAW IS ON MY NATIVE HEATH, AND MY NAME IS 'Riou'" (by Miss BLUNT)
"SEE MORNING'S GOLDEN RAYS," &c.
"TOWERING ABOVE THE PLAIN"
PANORAMA OF THE CIRQUE OF THE VALLEE DU LYS
PANORAMA OF THE PIC DU MIDI DE BIGORRE
PREFACE.
It has been my endeavour in this volume to provide an illustrated
gossiping Guide to the Spas of the Pyrenees. Unlike previous books
on the same region, it deals with the resorts in spring, when they
are most charming. A certain amount of detail--which is unavoidable
in all guide-books--has been unavoidable here, and the rhymes have
been introduced in the hope of lightening the reading. These
rhymes, as a rule, have a distinct bearing on the subject under
discussion; but they are inserted in such a manner that the reader
can omit to read them--if he objects to such frivolities--without
losing the sense of the prose.
Very little really fresh information has been gained about these
beautiful mountains since Mr. Charles Packe published his 'Guide to
the Pyrenees' in 1867: a few more springs have been discovered, a
few more mountains have been successfully ascended, and the towns
have gradually increased in size. There have been very few of those
melancholy accidents that we so often hear of from Switzerland,
because, probably, considerably fewer tourists attempt these
mountains than attempt the Alps. In this volume no descriptions of
scaling ice-walls, searching for the lammergeiers' nests, or any
other great feats, will be found. It contains a plain account of
what may be seen and done by any party visiting the mountain
resorts in spring, without much trouble or fatigue; and the
narrative form has been adopted throughout.
M. Dore's illustrations speak for themselves; and Miss Blunt's
spirited sketches are a valuable acquisition.
The Appendices have been compiled with great care; and--at the
suggestion of an experienced M.D.--brief comments on the chief
springs at the various Spas, and their healing properties, have
been included in the general information.
I beg to acknowledge my indebtedness to M. Joanne's 'Pyrenees' and
Mr. Black's 'Summer Resorts;' and I have also great pleasure in
thanking Miss Blunt for her sketches, and my friend Mr. A. H. Crow,
F.R.G.S., for his kindly assistance in correcting inaccuracies. As,
however, it is extremely difficult to completely avoid them, I
shall feel obliged for the notification of any others that may
happen to exist.
E. E. B.
INTRODUCTION.
Considering the number of English and Americans who yearly visit
Switzerland and the Riviera, it is astonishing that so few,
comparatively, ever think of approaching nearer to the Pyrenees
than Pau. And it is more astonishing still, that those who have
been enabled to enjoy the beauty of these mountains from the Place
Royale at Pau, should ever think of leaving their vicinity without
a more intimate acquaintance with them.
It may be, that since the various resorts have gained celebrity for
the healing powers of their waters, healthy travellers are of
opinion that they will be surrounded by a crowd of sickly
individuals, whose very appearance will spoil all the pleasure that
they might otherwise experience. That this _might be_ the case _in
the season_, at a few spas, is not to be denied, but _in spring_
not an invalid of that kind is to be met with, and the bathing
establishments have no customers; but the scenery is everywhere at
its best. Dr. Madden writes: "The attractions of the Pyrenees are
not, however, confined to the invalid traveller, but even for the
pleasure tourist offer inducements for a pedestrian excursion in
some respects superior to any in Switzerland;" and there can be no
doubt that they have a beauty of their own quite distinct from the
grandeur of the Alps, and yet equally as wonderful in its style.
Extending for nearly 300 miles from the foaming billows of the
Biscay to the azure waters of the Mediterranean, they form a huge
barrier "'twixt France and Spain"; gaining their name of Pyrenees
from the words "Pic Neres," which in the _patois_ of the country
signifies "black peaks!" That this title is a misnomer for all but
three months of the year--viz., from July to October--must be
already a well-known fact; for who would call them "black" when
clothed in their garments of snow?
The highest summits are in the Maladetta group, and the Pic Nethou
(11,170 ft.) is the highest of all; while the average height of
this magnificent range of mountains is between five and six
thousand feet.
Luxurious valleys branch out in all directions, fed by the mountain
streams, and among the central heights the wonderful natural
amphitheatres known as Cirques stand in majestic solitude. The
Cirque of Gavarnie--the best known--possesses on a bright day in
spring such a charm, in its snowy imperial splendour, as the Alps
would fail to surpass. In scenes where a lake adds such wonderful
effect, Switzerland is quite supreme; we know of no view in the
Pyrenees, of a comparable nature, that could pretend to vie with
the harmonious loveliness of the panorama that can be seen at
sunset from Montreux across Lac Leman, when the water is rippleless
and the mountains are bathed in a rosy flood. But for all that, in
other ways--in flower-clothed slopes, in luxurious valleys, in
winding rivers and foaming cascades--the Pyrenees present pictures
that, with the freshness of springtime to aid them, cannot fail to
delight and charm.
Four roads cross the Pyrenees from France to Spain: the Route
Nationale, from Paris to Madrid _via_ Bayonne; the Route
Departementale, from Bayonne to Pampeluna _via_ the Col d'Urdax; the
Route Nationale, from Perpignan to Barcelona _via_ Gerona; and the
route from Pau to Jaca _via_ Oloron. There are other ways of entering
Spain by the Cols (passes), but over these a horse track is the
broadest path.
The principal bathing resorts on the French side are connected by
the splendid Route Thermale, which extends for 70 miles; but, owing
to its exposed position in some parts, especially between Eaux
Bonnes and Argeles, and Bareges and Ste. Marie, it is only wholly
open three or four months in the year!
Of the mineral springs it is sufficient to state here that, within
the same extent of country, no other part of Europe can present
such a wonderful choice. There are three principal kinds--the
sulphurous, the saline, and the ferruginous; and over 200 springs
contribute to them. Some resorts have waters of each of these
classes, and many have at any rate two out of the three.
Of these, fuller information is given in the Appendix, as well as
the chief uses of each, and the affections for which they have been
successfully used.
As regards sport, unattended by much labour or fatigue, the
Pyrenees can hardly be recommended, except perhaps for fishing.
There is very good fishing in several of the rivers, but unhappily
French conservancy laws are so lax--if indeed they have any at all
--that peasants may frequently be seen at the waterside with a rod
in one hand and a capacious net in the other, so that if
unsuccessful with the first, they will at any rate not come home
empty-handed; unless some brother "sportsman" has just preceded
them over the same pools!
Though the wolves have nearly all been poisoned, there are still
some bears to shoot in winter, and izard (a species of chamois) and
capercailzie to pursue in autumn; but the "sportsmen" are many and
the game few, and the way to their haunts lies by bad and
unfrequented paths; so that "le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle." To
the botanist and the geologist, however, there is a splendid field,
which, varying in richness according to the locality, is more or
less rich everywhere; and besides these, the entomologist will not
visit this territory in vain. To the mountaineer these almost
numberless summits offer attractions of all kinds, from the wooded
slope with its broad mule-path, to the ice-wall only to be scaled
by the use of the rope and the hatchet. There are ascents which a
child almost might attempt in safety, and there are others where
the bravest men might well quail.
For the ordinary pedestrian, beautiful walks abound in the vicinity
of nearly every Spa, but near St. Sauveur, Luchon, Eaux Chaudes,
and Argeles they are, we think, most charming. The roads on the
whole are excellent, and the hotels, with hardly any exceptions,
particularly clean and comfortable; and, with the one drawback of
the bread (see Appendix D)--which can be easily remedied--the food
is well cooked and well served.
It must be understood that the succeeding chapters only describe--
or attempt to describe--scenes that every one in moderate health
can go and enjoy for themselves, and it is in the hope that a few
more may be induced to visit the region about which they speak,
that they have ever seen the light. For accurate information about
the mountains and the best means of ascending them, no better
guide-books could be wanted than Count Russell's 'Grandes
Ascensions des Pyrenees' [Footnote: Hachette et Cie., Paris.] in
French and English, and Mr. Chas. Packe's 'Guide to the Pyrenees';
[Footnote: Longmans and Co., London.] while for information of all
kinds Monsieur P. Joanne's 'Pyrenees,' [Footnote: Hachette et Cie.,
Paris.] in French, could hardly be surpassed. For the ordinary
traveller Mr. Black's 'South of France Summer Resorts, Pyrenees,'
&c., is a compact and useful companion; and for guidance in matters
medical, Dr. Madden's 'Spas of the Pyrenees' and Dr. Lee's 'Baths
of France' are exceedingly valuable.
With these preliminary remarks we beg to refer the reader to our
experiences of 'A Spring in the Pyrenees.'
CHAPTER I.
PAU.
Trains and Steamers--Bordeaux and its Hotels--Lamothe--Morcenx--
Dax--Puyoo--Orthez--First impressions of Pau--The Hotels and
Pensions--Amusements--Pension Colbert--Making up parties for the
Pyrenees--The Place Royale and the view--The Castle of Pau and its
approaches--Origin of name--Historical notes--The Towers--Visiting
hours--The Tapestries--The Wonderful Bedstead--The Delusive
Tortoiseshell Cradle--The "Tour de la Monnaie"--The Park--The
Billeres Plains--Tennis and Golf--The Route de Billeres and the
Billeres Woods--French _Sportsmen_--Hunting--Racing--Lescar and its
old Cathedral--Fontaine de Marnieres--The Bands--The Pare Beaumont
--Ballooning--The Casino--Polo--The Cemetery--The Churches of St.
Martin and St. Jacques--The "Old World and the New"--Rides and
Drives--to Betharram--The Start--Peasants and their ways--Vines
trained by the roadside--Sour Grapes--The "March of the Men of
Garlic"--Coarraze--Henry IV.'s Castle--Betharram--The Ivied Bridge
--The Inn--The "Via Crucis"--Assat and Gelos--The Coteaux--
Perpignaa--Sketching with a Donkey-cart--Over the Coteaux to Gan--
The Drive to Pietat--Picnicking and Rejected Attentions--The
Church--Feather Moss--Bizanos--Carnival time--"Poor Pillicoddy"--
"Idyllic Colbert."
Few Winter Resorts have gained a greater celebrity than Pau, and
its popularity yearly increases. Fifty years ago its English
visitors might have been counted by tens; to-day they must be
reckoned by thousands. But this is only during the winter and
spring; in summer it is almost entirely deserted by foreigners, few
people in fact, unless compelled by circumstances, staying after
May has passed into June.
For many reasons it has become a favourite resort for invalids, an
important one being, its exceedingly accessible position.
Notwithstanding that it is 776 miles distant from London, fewer
changes are requisite than for many a journey of less than a
quarter of the distance. The quickest way from London is _via_
Dover, Calais, Paris, Bordeaux and Dax; and as a through sleeping
carriage can be obtained from Paris to Pau, that part of the
journey is anything but formidable. For those who prefer the sea
route, the fine boats of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company which
start from Liverpool are the most preferable conveyance, though the
less expensive steamers belonging to the General Steam Navigation
Company, sailing from London, are comfortable enough in fine
weather. The former land their passengers at Pauillac, whence they
proceed to Bordeaux by tender or train; but the latter boats, being
smaller, can come right up to Bordeaux, which is a decided
advantage.
Though the third port in France, Bordeaux can certainly not be
recommended as a stopping-place unless necessity requires it, for
the hotel-keepers generally succeed in reaping a rich harvest from
travellers passing through.
The Hotel de Nantes is the nearest to the quay, but the Hotel
Richelieu will be found more moderate and more comfortable. In the
town, the grand Hotel de France has the best reputation, but "birds
of passage" have apparently to pay for it, whereas old stagers
concur in saying that for _gentlemen_--especially those who
appreciate a good dinner--the best place is the Hotel de Bayonne.