on the left, and the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, on the right. The latter is 9,430 feet above sea to its sharp top, which commands a noble prospect. The pass itself is 2,300 feet lower.

Paper (at Lasserre's factory), warm woollen and knitted crépes de Baréges, are manufactured here. Here Grenzet's marble works (the veined Marbre de Campan), may also be visited. The "Archives Évangéliques," a Protestant journal, published at Bagnères.

Rail and Coaches to Tarbes, Barèges, St. Sauveur, Cauterets, Bagnères-de-Luchon, Pau, Toulouse, Auch, St. Gaudens, Condom, Marmande, Grip, Oloron, Agen.

Excursions from Bagnères.-Near the town are the heights of Chipolou (above the fontaine d'Angoulême), the farms of Mentilo and Métaon, the promenade of Monto-Pouzac (where the races are held), and its Roman camp. Other points of interest are Val de Campan and its grotto (3 kil.), Grip (12 kil.), Vals de Tribons and de l'Esponne, Médows convent, Ordinséde, Barèges, Pic du Midi (16 kil.), Penn de l'Héris, &c.

Ascending the Adour, you pass Aste and Baudéan (where Larrey the surgeon was born), beyond which the fine Val de l'Esponne joins, leading up to Lac Bleu in Pic de Montaigu, past l'Esponne and Traonessaron. Further up the Adour is

Campan (6 kil. from Bagnères), which gives name to a beautiful valley, one of the richest in the department for its verdure and scenery. Population, 4,171. It stands under the precipices of the Penn de l'Heris, or Lleyris, about 6,300 feet above sea. Further on is St. Marie (5 kil.), where the southcast head of the Adour runs up past the marble quarries of Peyrehite and Espinadet (8 kil.), to Col d'Aspin, whence it is about 10 kil. to Arreau, 1 in Val d'Aure (see Route 67), and from which there $ is a path over the mountains to Bagnères-deLuchon.

From St. Marie, up the south-west or main head of the Adour, you come to the pretty falls of Grip and Artigues (8 kil.); thence the path leads (15 kil.) over the Tourmalet Pass to Barèges (in Route 65,

R

ROUTE

65.

Dax (or Bayonne), to Orthez, Pau, EauxBonnes, Cauterets, St. Sauveur, Barèges, Mont Perdu, &c.

Distance, about 106 to 116 miles.

Dax Station, as in Route 63, on the Bordeaux and Bayonne line. The next station is

Mimbaste (8 miles), near the river Luy; followed by Misson-Habas (5 miles), and

Puyoo (6 miles), a pretty spot in department Basses-Pyrenées, on the Gave de Pau; where the branch line from Bayonne comes in.

[This branch passes up the Adour, near the Pau road, to Urt (10 miles from Bayonne); then

Peyrehorade (S miles), another pretty spot, in department Landes, where the Gave d'Oloron (gave, a mountain torrent) joins that of Pau. It has an old castle, flanked by great towers; and stone quarries. Population, 2,700.

The next stations are Labatut (52 miles), and Puyoo (54 miles), as above.]

Baigts (3 miles); followed by

Orthez (5 miles), or Orthes, a well-built souspréfecture, of 6,730 souls, in department BassesPyrenées, pleasantly seated, where six roads join, on a hill-side by the Gave de Pau, at the old Gothic bridge, which has a ruined tower on it. It was taken from the Counts of Dax by Gaston III., one of the Princes of Béarn, whose seat was at the decayed Château de Moncade, where Blanche of Castile was poisoned by her sister, the wife of Gaston IV., and where Gaston, surnamed Phœbus, killed his own son, and died. The castle tower commands a good view.

In the town is a new Hôtel de Ville. It was a flourishing place, and the seat of a Protestant University, founded by Henri Quatre's mother, till the revocation of the edict of Nantes.

On the hills above it, the Duke of Wellington beat the French, 27th February, 1814, after crossing the Pyrenées.

Bayonne hams cured here; there are large sawworks, and a trade in goose feathers.

HOTELS.-Bergerot; Sené.

Rail to Bayonne, Pau, Mont-de-Marsan. [AMOU (13 kil. north), a town of 2,000 population, on the Luy de Béarn. It has a good church, with one of the best Gothic spires in the department (Landes) and a château by Mansard. For Orthez, to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, you take a turning, 5 kil. west of it, which leads to SALIES (9 kil.), or Sailles, so called from a brine spring, which is used to cure the Bayonne

hams.

SAUVETERRE (9 kil.), on the Gave d'Oloron, is remarkable for a decayed tower and other Antique ruins.

ST. PALAIS (14 kil.), on the Bidouze, was an important place in French Navarre, where Henri d'Albret established his chancery, after the loss of Pampeluna.

LARCEBEAU (15 kil.), up the Bidouze. About 21 kil. east, by a winding-road among the hills, is the small sous-préfecture of MAULÉON (population, 1,145), on the Saison or Gave de Mauléon, divided into Basse and Haute Ville, the latter including an ancient château.

Higher up the Gave and Val de Soule you come to Gottein, and Tardets (10 kil.), from which a road turns off east to Oloron, and another west, to the paths over Monts Solumongagna and St Sauveur, to St. Jean. Further on, is Licq, in the Val de Soule, whence the Gave turns up east towards Engrace, and Monts Lache and Argarry; while to the west it brings you to Larrau, where there is a pass over Mont Bethaudy on the Spanish frontier, to Ocagavia on the Salozax, under Mont Abaudy.

ST. JEAN-PIED-DE-PORT (13 kil.), as in Route 63.] Argagnon (5 miles), and Lacq (3 miles), to Artix (3 miles), on the Gave de Pau, near a large paper factory at Maslacq.

Lescar (8 miles), the ancient Benharcum, and seat of a bishopric, which was destroyed by the Normans, 856, rebuilt by Guillaume, Duc de Gaseoigne, and ravaged by the Calvinists in 1569. In the old Romanesque church, the grandfather of Henry IV. was buried. Population, 2,093.

At 4 miles from Lescar is

PAU.

First

Grand Hotel De la Paix, Place Royale. class hotel, well situated; moderate charges. Maison Sarda, 31, Rue Porte Neuve, English Boarding House. Arrangements per week, month, or season. Mrs. Sarda is English.

Grand Hotel Beau Séjour. First-class, and finely placed.

De France; De la Paix; De la Poste; Grand Hotel; Victoria; De la Croix Blanche.

Restaurants.- Monet, Saintger, Bernes, Café National, Henri IV., Du Commerce.

Furnished Apartments from £50 to £320. Telegraph Office, Rue de la Préfecture.-Post, Place de la Nouvelle Halle.

Bankers.-MM. Davantes, Brothers; M. Merillon, senior.

English Service, at three Churches; also, Scotch and French Services.

English Physicians.-Dr. Taylor, Dr. Smythe, Dr Bagnall, and Dr. Ottley.

Vice-Consul.-J. Church, Esq.

Post Office, near the Préfecture.

OBJECTS OF NOTICE.-Henry IV.'s Statue➡ Préfecture-The Parc-Château-Hôtel de Gaisson-Bernadotte's House.

Population, 21,150.

Chief town of department Basses-Pyrenées, seat of a cour impériale, university, &c., and a favourite resort of English and others, on account of its soft and beautiful climate, and its delightful situation within view of the Pyrenées, which are about 50 kil., or 30 miles off.

It stands in a rich plain, above the Gave, or torrent, de Pau (which rises at the celebrated fall of Gavarnie), on a height, at the top of which is its old Castle, memorable for the birth of Henry IV., or Henri Quatre, the darling hero of the French people. The town began in a château of the 10th century, built by its vicomtes, who marked the bounds by stakes, or paous (in Béarnais), whence the name is derived. About 1364, Gaston de Foix made it the capital of Béarn, and rebuilt the cas le; and a parliament and university were afterwardi granted to it.

The little brooks of Héas, Ousse, &c., traverse the town, which is cut in two by a ravine, crossed by a bridge from the Place de la Comédie, the

largest square, where the theatre, &c., stand. From Basse Ville, or Lower Town, a seven arch bridge spans the river, towards the hills of Jurançon, which are noted for white wine. The main street, about one mile long, is crossed by several short ones. The houses are built of pebbles and cement.

Place Grammont is surrounded with porticoes; Place Nationale, near the castle and St. Louis's church, is planted with trees, and has Raggi's marble statue of Henry IV., which replaces one of Louis the XIV., overturned at the Revolution. When the people during that king's time, asked leave to erect a monument to their favourite, all they could get was permission to build one to the reigning sovereign. As a consolation they cut this inscription upon it, in the Béarnais tongue, "A ciou qu'ey l'arrahil de nouste grand Enric;" (To him who is the grandson of our Great Henry).

The Préfecture is well built, and contains the archives, and the letters of Henry IV., many of which have been published by M. Berger de Xivrey. At the College, founded as a convent by Henry, is a collection of minerals from the Pyrenées, &c. There is a public library of 15,000 volumes; a normal school, and school of design; also a theatre, government stud, baths. A public fountain stands near the musée and market hall. At a house, in Rue de Trau, Bernadotte, king of Sweden, was born, 1764, the son of a lawyer. The Hôtel de Guisson commemorates another soldier, Marshal Gaisson, who fought under; Gustavus Adolphus, and at Rocroi. He never despaired: "I have that in my head, and at my side," said he, "which makes me sure of victory." One more native, the Vicomte d'Orthes, deserves to be remembered. When governor of Bayonne, at the time of the St. Bartholomew massacre, he thus answered an order from Charles IX.: "I have communicated your Majesty's letter to the garrison and townspeople. They are brave soldiers and loyal subjects, but I cannot find among them a single executioner."

A drawbridge leads by the Gothic Château, piled on the rock, to the Basse-Plante walk in its gardens, on to a beautiful shady terrace high over the river, called The Parc, where stood Castel-Beziat tower, and whence there is a noble prospect of the fine Val d'Ossau, the Pic du Midi, Mont Perdu, Mot d'Aspey, &c., in the snowy range of the Pyrenées.

"This Parc has been compared to the Eng at Berne. I think it decidedly superior. It is true that there are no mountain masses equal to those of the Oberland. But the extent of the chain open to your view is far wider: the principal objects are nearer the eye: and above all, the foreground and middle distance are far superior to Pau. It is the most splendid and enjoyable town walk that I know; and others of a yet wider experience than mine, have pronounced it unequalled in Europe."(Trollope's Impressions).

The old Château includes four towers, with low peaked tops, and a square brick donjon, 115 feet high, in which Abd-el-Kader was confined as a prisoner (1848), till removed to Amboise; a broad stair-case, carved with arabesques; an elegant chapel, restored by Louis Philippe (who beautified the whole structure with chefs-d'œuvre of tapestry and carvings); the presence chamber; the apartments of Marguerite of Navarre, or Marguerite, the Pearl, sister of Francis I., and Henri's grandmother; and those of Henri's mother, Jeanne d'Albret (who was born here), with his own bedchamber, and the room in which he was born, 1553, containing his tortoise-shell cradle, and the carved bedstead of La Belle Gabrielle The last fine room was occupied by the Emir's harem, who used to roast their mutton in the middle of its oak floor Queen Isabella of Spain was sometime a resident.

When his mother's time drew near, Henri's grandfather told her to sing,* that she might not give birth to a puling and crabbed infant. As soon as he was born, the old king showed him to the people, crying out "Ma brebis a enfanté un lion !" then, after rubbing his mouth with garlic, he made him drink a few drops of Jurançon wine, to ensure a hardy and robust constitution. That Henri possessed an excellent one is well known; the wonder *She sung, they say, an anthem to the Virgin, in the Béarnais, beginning

Nouste Dame den cap deu poün,
Adyudat-me à d'aquest' hore;

Pregats au Dioii deii ceil

Qu'em boulle bié délioura leil

D'u maynat qu'em hassie lou doun,
Which in modern French runs-

Notre Dame du Bout-du-Pont, sécourez-moi à cette heure priez le Dieu du ciel qu'il veuille bien me delivrez promptement; qu'il me fasse le don d'un garçon. (Ask God to deliver me soon, and give me a boy).

is that he survived such vigorous treatment. He was afterwards nursed by a peasant at Bilhère, to the north-west.

Calmness, according to Sir J. Clark and other authorities, is a striking character of the climate of Pau. Westerly winds are most prevalent; northerly are feeble and infrequent. "A sense of fulness is the first effect produced upon healthy strangers; and to congestive patients, therefore, the climate is injurious (Dr. Taylor); but it is beneficial in cases of chronic indigestion, weak throats, and asthma.

The west part of this department includes the Pays Basque, and Bas, or Low, Navarre, a small part of a kingdom, which once included Navarra, Biscaya, &c., in north Spain, the country of the Vascones, or Gascons, who gave their name to Gascony and the bay of Biscay. What was left of it in France, after the seizure of the Spanish portion by Ferdinand, the Catholic, came to Henri, who was King of Navarre, before he succeeded, as Henri IV., to the crown of France. Both the Béarnais and Basque people wear the beret, or round Scotch cap; but the latter dress in gayer colours, and are further distinguished by a language of their own, one of the most ancient in Europe. It is full of long expressive compounds, and its purity is cited as a proof of the independence which the Basques have maintained for 3,000 years, in spite of the changes around them. They are a proud and boastful race, fond of their own customs, but hospitable, and so lively and active, that "léger comme un Basque" is a proverb. The late General Harispe was a Biscayan.

Coloured handkerchiefs, Béarn linens, carpets, woollens, &c., are made; and there is a trade in wine, Bayonne hams, salted goose legs, poultry, chestnuts.

Rail and coaches to Tarbes, Toulouse, Bayonne (10 hours), and SPAIN, Oloron, St. Sauveur, Barèges, Bagnères-de-Bigorre (see Route 64), Eaux-Bonnes, &c. At Morlaes (10 kil. north-east), on the Luy-de-France, was a Château and mint of the Vicomtes of Béarn, called Forquie, on a hill of

[Pau to Eaux-Bonnes and Eaux-Chaudes, 28 miles.

The first place,

GAU (8 kil.), like Jurançon and Gelos, which the road passes, is noted for its wine, and is in the beautiful valley of the Néez river, which falls over several little cascades.

REBENAC (8 kil.), at the head of the little Néez, above which is a château.

[At 16 kil. west-north-west is the sous-préfecture of

OLORON, on a hill by the Gave d'Oloron, which is made by the union of the Gaves d'Aspe and d'Ossau. It was known to the Romans as Iluro, which being ruined by the Saracens (732) and Normans, was rebuilt by the Vicomtes of Béarn. Population, 6,458, inclusive of 4,400 in St. Marie, at the other end of the high bridge over the Gave. There are two mineral springs near.

Manufactures of woollens, caps, stockings,

paper; and a trade in wool, Bayonne hams, salt provisions, horses, &c.; and timber for the navy.

Hotels.-De France; Des Voyageurs (Travellers); De la Providence.

Up the Val d'Asse, by a bold road first cut by the Romans, you pass by Asasp (10 kil.), Escot, under the Péne d'Escot and Sarrance, to Bédous (13 kil.), in a pleasant part of the Gave; then to Accous (population, 1,606), the Roman Aspaluca, near the lukewarm mineral spring of Superlaché, and Mont Argarry (to the west). To the east, a road strikes over the mountains to Eaux-Bonnes. A little beyond Accous near Cette, is a pass (to the west), over t Castillo d'Anso, in SPAIN.

Following the defile up the Gave, you come t Ardos (17 kil.), under Montagnes Rouges whence a mule path leads by Paillette (11 kil under Mont d'Aspe, over the frontier, by pass, 6,713 feet above the sea, to Campfra (28 kil.), in SPAIN.]

ARUDI (7 kil.), Bielle, Bellestein, are next passe in a fine part of the Val d'Ossau. Then Louv and

LARUNS (11 kil.), in the middle of a deep valley, a depôt for navy timber, brought from the forests of the Gabas mountains.

At 4 kil. south-east is

EAUX-BONNES, or AIGUES-BONNES, HOTELS.-De France (the best); Des Princes; De l'Europe; D'Orient. Lodgings in plenty.

A small but noted watering-place, at the end of the Gave-de-Valentin, and of a deep pass, under the Pic-de-Gers, in a healthy spot, among forests, pretty cascades, and good walks, on the marble cliffs round it. About 400 persons (many of them soldiers) between May and October, use the sulphur springs, which are called La Vieille, or Buvette (93° temperature), La Neuve, Ortech, and la Froide (59°), and are highly beneficial in cases of old wounds, chronic affections, intermittent fevers, skin diseases, early consumption.

EAUX-CHAUDES, or AIGUES-CHAUDES,
4 kil. south of Laruns.

Up the wild gorge of Val d'Ossau, which is watered by the Gave-de-Gabas, is another sulphur spa, less fashionable than the other, with a large bath-house, fed by the Esquirette, Fontaine du Roi, Clot, Arresec, and other hot springs, up to 97° temperature. Above the Arresec, or Arresecq, is an inscription to "Dame Cathin," or Catherine, sister of Henry IV. That of Mainville is cold, and taken in draughts.

Season, June to September. The government inspectors are Drs. Laffore and Laffaille. Chronic rheumatism and diarrhoea, colic, vertigo, paralysis, and derangements of the viscera, are successfully met by a course of these waters.

Proceeding up the Pass, which is broken and well wooded, you come to the Pont de l'Enfer (Hell Bridge), and Fairies' Grotto; then to Gabas customhouse (10 kil.), whence a mule path over the frontier leads to the famous Panticosa Spa, in SPAIN (which is wonderfully beneficial in consumption); and from which also the double-headed

Pic du Midi d'Ossau may be ascended. It is 9,696 feet above the sea, in the midst of a circle of other peaks, some of whose sides are darkened with forests of pines, &c., and commands a view of the valleys of

Aspe and Ossau, the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, Monts Vignemale, Perdu, and the Maladetta.]

The rail from Pau proceeds up the Gave de Pau to Assat (5 miles), and

Coarraze-Nay (5 miles), a station for two places near it. Nay, in a fertile spot, covered with vineyards, &c., is an industrious place of 3,300 souls, who manufacture woollens, established since 1542. Coarraze (3 kil. higher up) has the tower of an old château, where Henry IV. was brought up when a youngster.

Montaut-Bétharram (4 miles), near the chapel of Notre Dame Bétharram, in a fine valley at the bridge on the Gave, to which pilgrimages are made between the 15th August and 8th September. A priests' seminary stands near it, and the nine stations on the hills above command fine prospects. Lestelle and its grotto are

further.

a little

St. Pé (3 miles), where they make nails and boxwood combs. The next place is

Lourdes (6 miles), on the Tarbes and Cauterets road, close to the Gave (i.e., torrent) de Pau, where four roads or valleys meet, 1,340 feet above the sea. It was the old capital of Lavedan-enBigorre, and once called Miraubel, or Fine-view, on account of its picturesque appearance. The old castle, on a high rock, which the Black Prince held when the Duc d'Anjou tried to get it, 1373, has been for ages a state prison; it consists of a great square tower, a chapel, and small barrack. Popula tion, 4,510, who weave coloured kerchiefs, and work the slate mines here. Grottoes are seen in the rocks, and a lake near is 4 kil round. Roman coins have been found.

[From here the main line goes on to Ossun (74 miles), giving name to a distinguished family, who built an old château here, near which, on another point, is a large Roman camp, fortified, they say, by Crassus. On a plain called Lanne Maurine, a bloody battle was fought with the Saracens in the 8th century. Population, 3,243.] Then Juillan (3 miles), to Tarbes (3 miles) in Route 64. But a new branch strikes up the Gave, as under, to

Cauterets, Barèges, and St. Sauveur, about

20 miles.

It passes Lugagnan (3 miles), near Vidalges