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 UNiVERSiTY of CALiFUKi\i/- 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 ¥ TDTJ At)V
 
 A SUMMER 
 
 THE PYRENEES. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 HON. JAMES ERSKINE MURRAY. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. L 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN MACRONE, ST. JAMES'S SQUARE. 
 
 M.DCCC.XXXVII. 
 
 -i ■« ?- A r» A
 
 HADDON, CASTLE STREET, FINBBUUY.
 
 vA 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 There are few people who are not aware that 
 The Pyrenees are that chain of mountains 
 which separate France from Spain, extending 
 from the Bay of Biscay on the west, to the 
 Mediterranean on the east ; but there are a great 
 many who know little more regarding them than 
 the mere circumstance of their geographical 
 position. 
 
 Situated at a great distance from the fashion- 
 able route which English tourists almost unde- 
 viatingly pursue upon the Continent, the Pyrenees 
 are seldom visited, except by those who care less 
 for going where every one goes than for going 
 where everj/ body does not go ; particularly when
 
 IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the neglected spot has all that can interest to 
 recommend it to notice. But such stragglers 
 from the high road to Germany, to Switzerland, 
 and to Italy, are not numerous ; and, of the small 
 number who do, somehow or other, find their way 
 to the Pyrenees, scarcely any of them ever acquire 
 a better knowledge of these mountains, their 
 scenery, and their inhabitants, than can be 
 gleaned by visiting the most frequented watering 
 places, almost all of which are contained within 
 the limits of a single department. Of a range of 
 mountains so extensive as the Pyrenees, where 
 the natural features of one district, — it might 
 almost be said, of one valley, — the language which 
 its inhabitants speak, and their manners and cus- 
 toms, — are essentially different from another, it is 
 physically impossible, from an acquantaince with 
 any one particular part, to form an estimation of 
 the character of the whole. 
 
 Aware of this circumstance, and profiting by 
 the opportunity which a residence in the South of 
 France conferred upon him, the Author of the 
 following chapters left Pau (iij Bcarn) towards 
 the middle of the summer of 1835, with the 
 intention of traversing on foot the Pyrenean
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 mountains from one extremity to the other. With 
 this view, he travelled en diligence by Toulouse 
 and Perpignan to the eastern limits of these 
 mountains ; and then, threading his way along 
 their chain, deviating to the right hand, or to the 
 left, as fancy, or more interesting scenes induced 
 him, he fulfilled his intention, and acquired that 
 knowledge of Pyrenean scenery, and Pyrenean 
 peasantry, which personal observation could 
 alone bestow, as there were no English, and, — 
 with the exception of those of the French geolo- 
 gical writers, — there were no French works 
 which treated of this subject. 
 
 The wilds of the Pyrenean districts, partly 
 from their having been latterly so seldom free 
 from domestic warfare, and partly from the cir- 
 cumstance to which he has alluded, had either 
 hitherto been untrodden by strangers, or, if the 
 foot of any but a native had disturbed their soli- 
 tudes, the remembrance of it, as far as the author 
 and the public were concerned, had died away 
 with its echo. 
 
 In conclusion, the author of these volumes 
 cannot entertain the thought, that they are worthy 
 to fill up the blank which, upon the library shelf
 
 VI INTRODUCTIOX. 
 
 dedicated to works descriptive of European man- 
 ners and scenery, is, by the present desideratum 
 of a work upon the Pyrenees, left vacant : they 
 are a simple narrative of pedestrian excursions 
 among those mountains, undertaken for amuse- 
 ment, and not with a view to book-niakwg ; and 
 their only claim upon the notice of the public — 
 that of novelty.
 
 These two volumes comprise an account of that 
 great district of the Pyrenees situated between the 
 Mediterranean and the vallee d'Aspe. A third 
 volume, if published, will contain an account of 
 the remaining portion, and of wild sports and 
 adventures in the Basque country.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page. 
 Toulouse — The Floral Gaines — Canal of Languedoc — Chateau d'Eau— 
 Theatre — Battle-field of the 12th of April, 1814 — French soldier's 
 account of the engagement — Climate — Appearance of the country 
 to the South — Carcassone — Limoux — Chapel of Notre Dame de 
 Limoux — Qiiilan — Passage of the Corbieres — Narrow escape — Rous- 
 sillon ........ 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Perpignan — Appearance of the town — A fete day — Peculiar dances 
 — Citadel — The Canigou — Passport — Elne — Collioure — Port Vendre 
 — The Mediterranean — Wine of Roussillon — Folly of my country- 
 men abroad — Sail round the bay — Fete at Collioure — Costumes 
 — Language — Threatened detention — Kind-hearted Landlord . 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Escape — Appearance of the country — Spanish guide, Francisco — Gal- 
 lant conduct of an English frigate — Bolou — Anecdote of Guerilla 
 warfare — Cork-tree forests — Fortress of Bellegarde — Civility of its 
 governor — View into Spain — Foresight of Francisco . . 44 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Spanish character by a Spaniard — Parting with Francisco — Catalan 
 guide — Valley of the Tech — Shepherds and their flocks — Ceret — 
 Pjrrenean rivers in flood — Difficulty in making myself understood — 
 Interpreter — His knowledge of Ossian's poems — Fort des Bains — 
 Aries — Iron forges — Spanish Carlists — Ascent of the Canigoii — 
 VOL. I. b
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 Mules not more sure-footed than horses — Causes of the high price 
 of iron in France — Splendid view from the summit of the Canigou 
 — Descent — Valmania — Wandering tailor — Village of Estoher — 
 Country doctor — Prades — Interview with its Prefet — His defeat . 60 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Pedestrianism — Environs of Prades — Family d'Aria — Villefranche — 
 Character of its fortifications — Virnet, and its mineral springs — 
 Appearance of the Valley — Ollete — Detachment of French soldiers — 
 Village and fastness of Mont Louis — Descent into the valley of the 
 Cerdagne — Arrival at the Tour du Carol — Luxuries of its Auberge 
 — Battle between the Carlists and Christines — Advised not to visit 
 Andorre — Best mode of choosing guides — Novel night-quarters — 
 Departure for Audorre — Arrival of the British Legion in Spain, and 
 its influence upon English travellers in the frontiers — Opinion of their 
 probable success — Character of our party — Towers of Charlemagne — 
 Inhabitants of the valley — Their industry — Favourite springs of the 
 mountaineers — Intelligence of the Carlists — Their depredations on 
 the shepherds — Pass their 6re of the preceding night — Enter Andorre 
 — Discovery of the marauders — Preparations for a fight — Advance 
 and retreat of the Carlists — Wild scenery — Covey of Partridges — 
 Andorrian Piscator — Arrival at the forge of Escaldos . . 85 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 An Andorrian forge — Exquisite scenery of the valley — Infancy of the 
 Arts in Andorre — Village of Escaldos, and its appearance — Anxiety 
 of the inhabitants regarding the movements of the Carlists, and ito 
 cause — Independence of the republicans — Invited to dine with the 
 Maire — Interior of the houses — Appearance of the women — A repub- 
 lican assembly, and patriotic speech — -Dinner at the Mairie — An 
 Andorrian ball — The consequences of a stumble . . .118 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Prudence of the preceding night illustrated — A Scottish answer to a 
 searching question — Departure of the Contrabandiers — Admonition 
 of the Maire — An Andorrian Souvenir— Valley d'Arensal — Valley 
 d'Urdino — The Croesus of the Republic — Village of Urdino — Mur- 
 der of four Christino officers — The largest forge in Andorre — 
 Extreme poverty of the villagers — Passage of the mountains — Valley 
 of Embalire — Fine crops — Curious church — Thunderstorm — Saldeou 
 An Andorrian proprietor — Past and present history of the Republic l-^TS
 
 COXTEXTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Page. 
 Unlocked for and unwelcome arrival — Council of war — An adventure — 
 Departure from Saldeou — Carlist robbery — Passage over the moun- 
 tains — Arriege — Mines of the Pyrenees —Wild flowers — A tedious 
 law-suit — Village of the Hospitalet — A young bride — Conversation 
 with a merchant of Carol — Specimen of French legislation — Com- 
 mercial policy of Great Britain and France . . . 171 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Ax — Mont St. Bartlielemy — French Carlists — French police system — 
 Compliment paid by a French author to the populace of Edinburgh 
 Valley of the Arriege — Old castle — Caverns — Tarascou — Mistake 
 of a Gendarme — Mode of training the vines — Early history of Ar- 
 riege — Counts of Foix — Town and castle of Foix — Old jailer — 
 Strength of the castle — Interior of the church — Fugitives from the 
 Cholera . . . . . . . .191 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Valley of Vicdessos — Castle of Miglos — Its striking resemblance to 
 Castle Campbell — Mines of Rancie — Privileges of the miners — 
 Cause of the high price of iron — Auzat — Valley of theSaliex- — Con- 
 trabandiers of the Pyrenees — Port d'Aulus — Mont Calm — Domestic 
 unhappiness of my guide — IMountain scenery — Beautiful valley of 
 Aulus — Fountain of Nanpounts — Rencontre with a countryman — 
 Short beds — Village of Erce — Pyrenean peasant's knowledge of the 
 world — Feuds — Hunting quarters — Dogs can " love at first sight '' . 218 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Destruction of the Pyrenegn forests — Anecdote of a dog — Change of 
 weather — Retreat from the mountains — Valley of the Sallat — Fly 
 fishing — Valley of the Castillionaise — St. Girons — The Garonne — 
 St. Martory — Chateau de Montespem — St. Gaudens — Valley of 
 Luchon — St. Bertrand — Industry of the peasantry — Basin of 
 Luchon — 'Pretty Blanchiseuses — Another anecdote of a dog — Town 
 of Luchon — Mineral springs — Table d'Hote — Recommendation to 
 Travellers — Scenery around Luchon — Val de Lys — Ports of Estaous 
 and Viel — Superstitions of the shepherds — Lakes of the Seculejo 
 and Espingo — Glaciers of the Port d'Oo— Wild flowers — Famous 
 punch . . . . . . . • 246 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Expedition to the Port of Venasque — Hospital of Luchon — Douaniers 
 — French in'ervention in the Spanish quarrel, and its consequences —
 
 Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 Magnificence of the Port of Venasque — Extraordinary appearance of 
 the mist — The Maladetta — Avalanches — Loss of a guide — Hints to 
 those who would climb the Maladetta — Famous Trou de Tora — Ports 
 de Picade and Pomerou — Spanish Valley of the Artique Telline — 
 Anxiety of the Christino shepherds — Ouil de Goneou — Source of 
 the Garonne — Quantity of Timber — Valley d'Arran — DisagreeaMe 
 situation — Village of Bososte — Terror of the peasantry — Spanish 
 old woman — Miseries of Civil war . . . . 277 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Departure from Bososte — Emigration of the peasantry — Return into 
 France — Scene with the French Douaniers — St, Beat — Pyrenean 
 marbles — Interesting town and cathedral of St. Bertrand — Antiqui- 
 ties — History of St. Bertrand — Cauje of its destruction — Merovingian 
 treachery — Interior of the cathedral — Curious paintings — JNIore 
 curious relics — Incivility of the priest— Famous grotto — Lose our 
 way — Village of St. Laurent — Night's quarters — Flight from them 
 — La Barthe — Its comforts — Capvern — Castle of Mixuvoisin — Abbey 
 of L'Escaledieu . . . . . . .312
 
 IP 
 
 ^ar
 
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 iSi}'^tm\A..Jl^ylilA^^Jt. >.„.
 
 4^ 
 
 uu.
 
 J^
 
 r-i
 
 A SUMMER IN THE PYRENEES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Toulouse— The Floral Games— Canal of Languedoc— Chateau d" 
 Eau— Theatre— Battle-field of the 12th of April, 1814— French 
 Soldier's Account of the Engagement — Climate — Appearance of 
 the Country to the South— Carcassone—Limoux— Chapel of 
 Notre Dame de Limoux—Quilan— Passage of the Corbieres— 
 Narrow Escape — Roussillon. 
 
 Toulouse has much to recommend it to the 
 notice of the stranger. In antiquity it ranks 
 above all other towns of France, the era of its 
 foundation being lost in the lapse of ages. As 
 Tolosa it was the most flourishing and magnificent 
 city of the south, in the earliest period of Roman 
 dominion in Gaul, its armies for a long time 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 A SUMMER IN 
 
 baffling their legions. It was the capital of the 
 Tectosagi, a Celtic nation who ravaged Greece in 
 the time of Brennus, two hundred and eighty years 
 before the Christian era ; according to Ausonius, it 
 was taken from the Tectosagi by Servilius Coes- 
 sius, in the year of Rome, 648. The Visigoth 
 kings afterwards fixed their residence there. 
 At the commencement of the sixth century, 
 Clovis, having defeated Alaric, took possession 
 of Toulouse. The Merovingian princes and 
 Charlemagne retained it till the ninth century 
 and from that period until the time when Philip 
 the Bold united Languedoc to the crown, it was 
 governed by counts, many of whom are renowned 
 for the prominent part they acted in the history 
 of the period during which they held their sway 
 over the province which gave them their title. 
 
 Like other great cities and states of former 
 times, the days of its glory have long passed 
 away, and it has dwindled into comparative 
 insignificance, a third rate city of the empire. 
 But although shorn of its former splendour^ still 
 its ancient buildings, its antique palaces, and its 
 banquet halls, " though deserted," are the faithful 
 memorials of its greatness, and of the wealth and
 
 THE PYRENEES. 3 
 
 power which it contained. In Toulouse, the 
 antiquarian will find a valuable store of Roman 
 remains in architecture and sculpture, which the 
 industry and honourable pride of the inhabitants 
 have rescued from the ravages of time, and 
 deposited in a place of safety. The poet may 
 there dream over the lays of the Troubadours, 
 and pay his homage at the shrine of one of the 
 earliest promoters of his art, Clemence Isaure, 
 the patroness of the Floral games, yearly festivals 
 to which all the minstrels of the south flocked, to 
 compete for the Golden Violet, the reward of the 
 successful poet. In the Salle de la Capitale is 
 now preserved the statue in white marble of 
 Clemence, which stood formerly over her tomb, 
 in the church de la Daurade ; and below it is a 
 copy of the inscription in Provencal, which 
 adorned her sepulchre. Besides being the 
 patroness of the art of poetry, she was herself 
 one of the most celebrated minstrels of the age, 
 and many of her poetic effusions are preserved 
 in a collection reprinted at Toulouse. 
 
 Recent events have also bestowed upon Tou- 
 louse an additional interest, and few will visit 
 that city without strolling over the battle field of 
 B 2
 
 A SUMMER IN 
 
 the 12th of April, 1814. Toulouse has been, 
 and still is, the capital of the arts in the south of 
 France ; and the energy and talents of some of its 
 natives, has prevented it from falling into that 
 decay which most towns, indebted greatly for 
 their prosperity to their being the seat of royalty, 
 have, by its abandonment, been subject to. Of all 
 the projects which have been attempted to retain 
 Toulouse among the flourishing cities of France, 
 and secure to her commercial prosperity, none 
 have been more successful than the construction 
 of the great Canal du Midi, forming a communi- 
 cation between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. 
 It was commenced in 1681, from the plans and 
 under the direction of the Baron de Bonrepos. 
 It passes by Villefranche, Castlenaudry, Carcas- 
 sone, Beziers, and Villeneuve, and finally opens 
 into the Lgke of Thau, near the Mediterranean, a 
 little above Ayde. The length of the Canal from 
 the Mediterranean to the Garonne, is sixty-two 
 leagues ; its breadth at the surface, is sixty-two, 
 and the general depth of the water about six feet. 
 In many places, this canal is hollowed out of the 
 rock ; the highest point between the two seas is 
 at Naurouse, near Castelnaudry, where a basin
 
 THE PYRENEES. 
 
 has been formed twelve hundred feet long, and 
 nine hundred broad. In order to keep it con- 
 stantly filled, the immense reservoir of St. Ferreol 
 has been constructed. Its figure is triangular, 
 enclosed by two mountains, and by an immense 
 dike, which forms its base, and through which 
 an aqueduct passes, to supply the basin of 
 Naurouse. Few pieces of masonry surpass the 
 dike of St. Ferreol in extent and solidity ; its 
 length is two thousand five hundred and twenty 
 feet, and its height one hundred and fifty. By 
 means of this work of art, the corn of Upper 
 Languedoc is conveyed to the southern depart- 
 ments, and the merchandise of foreign countries 
 brought to Toulouse. A packet-boat goes the 
 whole length of the canal, and affords travellers 
 the means of a pleasant and economical excursion. 
 Anxious to commence my wanderings among 
 the mountains, 1 did not remain long in Toulouse. 
 I visited the museum of Roman antiquities, which 
 are beautifully arranged. It contains some very 
 fine specimens scarcely to be met with elsewhere. 
 An hour was well spent in the foundry for can- 
 non ; but the object which interested me most 
 was the Chateau d' Eau, an ingenious construction
 
 Q ' A SUMMER IN 
 
 to supply the city with water. Situated as Tou- 
 louse is in a plain, the difficulty of acquiring a 
 sufficient quantity of water to supply the wants of 
 the inhabitants was very great. To obviate the 
 necessity and expense of carting it daily from the 
 river, an ingenious watchmaker of the town con- 
 structed the Chateau d' Eau. It is a round 
 tower, to the right of the bridge on entering the 
 town from the east. Two large wheels, within 
 this building, are driven by the river, and work 
 an immense pump, which forces a great body of 
 water to the upper story of the tower. There the 
 water passes into the filtering boxes which sur- 
 round the room, and thence into the numerous 
 pipes, which, passing along the bridge, convey the 
 water in abundance to all parts of the city. The 
 usefulness and luxury of this simple invention, in 
 a southern town, may be imagined. From the 
 summit of this tower there is a fine and extensive 
 view over the surrounding country. You look 
 upon the sunny plains of Languedoc and Gascony, 
 can trace the windings of the Garonne, and admire 
 the picturesque but distant chain of the Pyrenees. 
 The Hotel de Ville, the Cathedral, which has a 
 singular appearance, the fountains, and several
 
 THE PYRENEES. 7 
 
 other objects, are worthy of notice. The Theatre 
 is situated in the Place ; it has been lately built, 
 and although not large, is a handsome and elegant 
 building. The Place is encircled by cafes, and 
 handsome shops, and at night, when the vacant 
 space in the centre is filled with innumerable 
 booths, for the disposal of every species of mer- 
 chandise, and the whole square one blaze of light, 
 the effect is at once novel and beautiful. From 
 the balcony of the theatre, I looked down upon 
 this curious scene. It seemed as if the whole 
 inhabitants of Toulouse had assembled there, 
 either to wander among the mazes of the stalls, or 
 to idle away the evening beneath the coloured 
 verandahs of the cafes, in smoking their cigar or 
 pipe, sipping their lemonade, and remarking upon 
 the passers by. This was the first time I had 
 beheld the natives of a southern clime luxuriating 
 under the influence of a genial temperature, and 
 I enjoyed the spectacle exceedingly. 
 
 At the Hotel de 1' Europe, I met with a 
 facetious old gentleman, who had served under 
 Napoleon in his Italian campaign, and who 
 volunteered to conduct me over the battle-field of 
 Toulouse. From wounds received in Italy, he 
 had been obliged to retire from the army, when
 
 8 A SUMMER IN 
 
 he settled in his native town, and was present "en 
 amateur" in the fight of the 12th of April, 1814. 
 I could not have had a better guide, or a more 
 impartial narration of the events of that day. 
 From his having no duties to perform, he was at 
 liberty to go where he pleased, and become an 
 eye-witness of the movements in all parts of the 
 field. Soult, after the battle of Orthes, retreated 
 to Toulouse as expeditiously as possible, taking 
 the line of road by St. Gaudens. Wellington, 
 on the other hand, followed his enemy slowly, 
 and took the longer route by Audi. The con- 
 sequence was, that Soult had not only time to 
 take up one of the strongest positions in the 
 country, but to entrench and fortify it. He 
 encircled the rising ground, immediately to the 
 east of the town, with strong redoubts and 
 trenches ; he had his left protected by the town 
 and the canal ; in his front the ground sloped 
 down to the plain, and at the bottom of the 
 declivity, and along the front of his position, run 
 a narrow but deep and muddy river; while the 
 ground rising to his right enabled him to plant 
 redoubts still higher, thus protecting as well as 
 commanding his position, should it be carried by 
 assault.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 
 
 Although more than twenty years had elapsed 
 since our gallant soldiers drove the enemy from 
 this strong position, and the plough had passed 
 year after year over the field of battle, the 
 embankments and trenches remain undestroyed, 
 and like the Roman hill forts of my own land, 
 may exist for centuries to come. My conductor 
 pointed out to me in the distance, in front of 
 Soult's position, the chateau from which the 
 Duke of Wellington surveyed the field ; he des- 
 cribed to me the manner in which the British 
 advanced to the attack, distinguishing the points 
 against which the Spaniards and Portuguese, and 
 the Sans Culottes, the "regiments d' Ecosse," 
 were opposed. 
 
 The first impression which was made upon 
 this strong position, was the eastern redoubt 
 being carried by the Sans Culottes. It seems, 
 that, according to the account given me, Soult 
 had placed in defence of this redoubt, an officer 
 with whom he had had some difference, to whom 
 he imputed some blame, and whose impatience to 
 remove the stigma cast upon him, cost him his 
 life, and the loss of the post he was ordered to 
 defend. Wellington had ordered a Scottish
 
 10 A SUMMER IN 
 
 brigade to attack this point, who, with some diffi- 
 culty, crossed the river in their front, and advanced 
 against it. The French officer, commanding the 
 redoubt, burning with eagerness to retrieve his 
 character, and favoured by the situation of the 
 ground, rashly, and against his orders, quitted his 
 position, and led his men against the Scottish 
 brigade. The French had all the advantage of 
 the higher ground, and the struggle was fierce, but 
 decisive. The French were driven back, and 
 endeavoured to regain their redoubt, which they 
 did ; but it was in company with the Scottish 
 regiments, who entered pell-mell along with 
 them, and finally drove them from it. 
 
 My conductor's admiration of my countrymen 
 was great, and it would be difficult to say, 
 whether he was most eloquent in extolling their 
 intrepidity, or in execrating the folly of the com- 
 mandant, which led to the disaster. The Spaniards 
 and Portuguese advanced against the left of the 
 position. They behaved gallantly, and fought 
 bravely ; and would, but for an unforeseen circum- 
 stance, have been more successful than they were. 
 Between the canal and the strong redoubt upon 
 the left, a country road which led into the plain.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 11 
 
 had been cut through the bank immediately 
 in front of the redoubt, forming an enormous and 
 almost impassable trench. To the columns 
 advancing against the redoubt, this obstacle was 
 imperceptible ; and it was not until the foremost 
 of their ranks, advancing up the slope, and within 
 a few yards, as they thought, of the low breast- 
 works of the redoubt, found this yawning 
 chasm in front of them. In attempting to cross 
 it they were mown down by hundreds, their 
 bodies forming the means of passage to those who 
 followed. When the dead were collected, nearly 
 4000 Spanish and Portuguese were found within 
 this narrow way, so confined, that they might 
 have been buried en masse in the trench whose 
 existence had destroyed them.* 
 
 The most important part of the position gained, 
 the defeat of the French was the certain conse- 
 quence, and Soult was again driven from his 
 strono;-hold. 
 
 I was delighted by the manner in which my 
 companion spoke of the conduct of the British 
 
 * The Spaniards have an erroneous belief that Wellington sacri- 
 ficed their countrymen at Toulouse.
 
 12 A SUMMER IN 
 
 troops, while quartered in Toulouse, and the 
 adjoining district ; it was highly complimentary, 
 and tallied with what I had heard in other pro- 
 vinces, and of which I shall hereafter have occa- 
 sion to speak. The short sketch which he gave 
 me of the battle of Toulouse, may or may not 
 be correct, but such as it is, I have given it, as 
 nearly as possible, in his own words. I remember 
 an observation which he made when talking of the 
 merits of the Duke of Wellington as a com- 
 mander. "He is a great general," said he, 
 " mais il est toujours trop long a faire son 
 affaire ;" at the same time instancing the cir- 
 cumstance of the Duke's permitting such a length 
 of time to elapse between the battle of Orthes 
 and his appearance before Toulouse, as to enable 
 Soult to remedy his losses, and establish himself 
 in comparative security there. " If," said he, 
 "Wellington had followed up his success at 
 Orthes, he might have destroyed the retreating 
 French army before it reached Toulouse ; or, at 
 all events, prevented their entrenching themselves 
 as they did, and throwing another cast in the 
 game they were playing." I merely replied, 
 that we had an old proverb in our country, that
 
 THE PYRENEES. 13 
 
 it was better to do a thing slowly and surely, 
 than quickly and imperfectly, and perhaps the 
 Duke of Wellington had not hitherto found the 
 maxim a bad one. 
 
 From the battle-field we went to the prefecture, 
 where I wished to have my passport examined. I 
 thought it sufficient to have it countersigned for 
 Perpignan, instead of stating where I intended 
 going, and obtaining a more general passport. 
 The inconvenience and loss of time which this 
 oversight occasioned me, will appear very shortly. 
 
 In the hall of the prefecture, I found several 
 Spanish Capuchin monks, than whom, I never 
 beheld finer specimens of the human race ; indeed 
 I never met with one of their brethren, who was 
 not remarkable for his appearance. The monkish 
 establishments in Spain were already breaking up, 
 and many of their numbers found it safer to cross 
 the frontier, than remain in their own country. 
 Among the number were these Capuchins ; and, 
 if manly beauty and dignity of bearing could 
 interest in their favour, they were certainly entitled 
 to it. 
 
 Few English make Toulouse their place of 
 residence. The climate is not favourable — wet
 
 14 A SUMMER IN 
 
 and cold during winter, and scorchingly hot in 
 summer. There is, besides, great difficulty in 
 obtaining anything like a comfortable house ; and 
 being so seldom sought after, the inhabitants do 
 not make any preparations for the reception of 
 strangers ; and a house " to let furnished," is con- 
 sequently considered a novelty. 
 
 I left Toulouse for Perpignan in the coupe of 
 the diligence. In the neighbourhood of Toulouse 
 the country is rich, but flat and uninteresting, 
 affording little either to amuse or attract the 
 notice of the traveller. 
 
 It was evening when I left Toulouse ; and, as 
 I had the whole of the coupe to myself, I in- 
 dulged in the thoughts of spending a comfortable 
 night. I was soon, however, joined by a gen- 
 darme, who said he was only going as far as the 
 next village. He did go, but it was only because 
 he was relieved by another who took his place ; 
 and from him, who was rather too open and talka- 
 tive a person for his profession, I learnt that there 
 was a quantity of government money in the dili- 
 gence, upon which occasions it is accompanied 
 by a gendarme. These gentlemen police are not 
 only respectable from their character — being
 
 THE PYRENEES. 15 
 
 generally picked men from the line — but, tlieir 
 showy uniform and fine horses, give them the 
 appearance of the finest troops in France. They 
 are scarcely ever employed on service uncon- 
 nected with the police ; although I believe 
 Napoleon did, on some occasions, make them do 
 duty as soldiers of the army. Their pay is about 
 £80 a year, and out of this they have to find 
 their uniforms and horses. They are not shifted 
 from place to place as the army, but established 
 in the districts of which they are natives, or with 
 which they are, at least, well acquainted ; by this 
 means, rendering it very difficult indeed for any 
 one to escape from their surveillance. 
 
 When we arrived at Carcassone, the few hours 
 of partial darkness had been succeeded by the 
 morning light. We remained here a short time, 
 during which I walked through the town. Car- 
 cassone has the character of being one of the 
 most curious and best preserved Gothic cities of 
 France. Caesar notices it in his commentaries, as 
 being a city of the Roman province. It under- 
 went many vicissitudes of fortune, successively 
 governed by the Romans, the Visigoths, the 
 Saracens, and united to France by Pepin le Bref.
 
 IG A SUMMER IN 
 
 Simon de Montfort also waved his bloody sword 
 over Carcassone ; and established the inquisition 
 there. In the church of St. Naraise is his tomb, 
 covered by a slab of red marble, without sculp- 
 ture or inscription. There is a popular tradition, 
 that the treasures of the Visigoth kings are hid in 
 this city ; which treasures were the rich spoils 
 taken from the temple of Jerusalem and the 
 palace of Solomon, and transported to Rome, and 
 which were pillaged by Alaric the first, when he 
 took the imperial city. The inhabitants have 
 often searched the wells of Carcassone upon the 
 strength of this tradition. 
 
 Here my gendarme companion left me, and a 
 lady, the wife of an officer quartered at Per- 
 pignan, took his place. From Carcassone to 
 Limoux, the road skirts the river Aude, through 
 a country of the same description as that which 
 I had hitherto passed. At Limoux, — famous for 
 its sparkling wine, the champagne of the south, 
 — we stopped to breakfast. It is a small, but 
 prettily situated town ; the outer ridges of the 
 Pyrenees rise immediately behind it, covered 
 with wood, and the vines which produce its 
 delicious wine. We found it almost impossible
 
 THE PYRENEES. 17 
 
 to eat our breakfast, from the enormous quantity 
 of the common fly which annoyed us. They 
 were in myriads, swarming on the plates and 
 dishes like bees when they are hiving ; one of 
 the waiters of the inn literally did nothing else 
 than wage an ineffectual war against them. It 
 seemed as if the whole flies of the department had 
 assembled to do honour to the provisions of our 
 host, for I did not observe any quantities of them 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Near the town, on a little hill beside the Aude, 
 is the chapel of Notre Dame de Limoux, famed 
 for the miracles which have been wrought in it. 
 Pilgrims and devotees flock to it from all quarters. 
 In the centre of the edifice is a well ; the water 
 of which, they say, has the property of curing all 
 kinds of diseases. The following inscription is 
 written over it, " Omnis qui bibit banc aquam, si 
 fidem addit salvus erit;" which the wags of 
 the country have underlined with, " Croyez cela, 
 et buvez de I'eau." 
 
 The road continues to skirt the river, winding 
 among the low hills, the outposts of the range of 
 the Corbieres. The vines are not trained here as 
 in other parts of the south ; but are stunted and 
 
 VOL. 1, c
 
 18 A SUMMER IX 
 
 inelegant, seldom exceeding eighteen inches in 
 height. 
 
 Half way between Limoux and Quilan, we 
 passed the village of Alet, noted for its mineral 
 waters, and the beauty of its situation. Em- 
 bosomed in vineyards and orchards, in a nook 
 of its narrow valley, and sequestered from the 
 surrounding districts, it is a perfect paradise in 
 appearance. It is one of those rich and fertile 
 spots which the religious fathers of olden times 
 had selected for their resting-place. The fathers 
 have now passed away, but the extensive and 
 magnificent remains of their church, and other 
 buildings, are evidence that it was at one period 
 a place of no small importance. Some of the 
 columns which are still standing, and a few of 
 the doorways and Gothic windows in good pre- 
 servation, are remarkably beautiful. 
 
 Quilan is a considerable village, encircled by 
 barren and stony hills. After quitting it, the 
 road begins rapidly to ascend the ridge of the 
 Corbieres, which divide the department of the 
 Aude from Roussillon. The road is well 
 executed, traversing the sides of the hills, and 
 crossing and re-crossing the river many times,
 
 THE PYRENEES. 19 
 
 evidently having been a work of care and labour. 
 The country, although it cannot be said to be 
 mountainous, is poor and miserable in the 
 extreme, the soil producing almost nothing. 
 Although August had commenced, the crops 
 were not yet taken in, and so wretched were 
 they, that the children were pulling the corn 
 with their hands. The hills of grey-stone had 
 scarcely any verdure upon them, the box and 
 juniper, the least delicate of plants, deserting 
 them. Upon reaching the summit of the ridge, 
 the road winds through a labyrinth of stony 
 mounds, not a leaf or plant of any kind to be 
 seen ; it seems as if some tremendous waterspout 
 had created this scene of desolation, and washed 
 the whole soil into the plains. 
 
 My companion, the lady who was going to 
 join her husband at Perpignan,^born in the 
 plains of the north, had never seen hills or moun- 
 tains in her life before ; and, as some of her 
 friends in Perpignan had been kind enough to 
 apprize her of the dangerous nature of the 
 descent into Roussillon, she had, ever since we 
 left Quilan, been incessantly talking about it; 
 
 c 2
 
 20 A SUMMER IN 
 
 and, as she approached it, she became exceed- 
 ingly alarmed and terrified. 
 
 The summit of the ridge is quitted by a narrow 
 passage, the entrance to which has, in other 
 times, been guarded by a fort built upon the 
 rocks beside it ; and, from this spot, the traveller 
 can look down upon the plains of Roussillon, and 
 distinguish the road corkscrewing down the 
 mountain mto the valley many thousand feet 
 below. Few roads, even in the higher Pyrenees, 
 are more rapid in their descent than this, and 
 none of them narrower, or worse defended, 
 without any parapet, and hanging like a shelf on 
 the mountain side. Having passed the old fort, 
 and put the drag chains upon the wheels, the 
 conductor set off full gallop down the descent. 
 The lady screamed; but, with the noise of the 
 diligence, and the rain which fell in torrents, no 
 one could hear her but myself. She shut her 
 eyes, seized hold of me, and, fortunately for 
 herself, fainted. The rocks were almost over our 
 heads; and, when we were going down at this 
 rate, an immense block, of perhaps twenty or 
 thirty tons weight, detached from its resting-
 
 THE PYREXEES. 21 
 
 place by the rains of the preceding night, came 
 over the mountain side, and, dashing upon the 
 narrow road a few hundred yards in advance of 
 us, carried one half of it into the valley. Here 
 was a pretty situation to be placed in — a fainting 
 lady in my arms, with the knowledge that a few 
 seconds would decide whether we were to pass 
 the breach which had been made, or accompany 
 the rock in its descent. To pull up was impos- 
 sible ; the rate at which we were going, and the 
 impetus given to the carriage, totally precluded 
 it, even had there been harness for the horses to 
 hold back with, which there was not. As we 
 approached, a cry of horror came from those in 
 the hlanqucte* who could see the danger, and 1 
 thanked God that the lady was insensible to it. 
 What, if any of the leaders swerved from the 
 path ; what, if the conductor had not a steady 
 head, and still steadier hand — were thouohts of 
 the moment. I threw the lady upon the seat ; 
 and, climbing through the window of the coupe 
 to the side of the driver, urged him to keep the 
 heads of the leaders well to the rock ; so that 
 
 * The iii)iKT i)art of a diligence.
 
 22 A SUMMER IN 
 
 they (if it was yet possible to pass) might not 
 see the danger, and start from it. Most fortu- 
 nately, he was a steady fellow ; he did as he was 
 desired; and we gallopped over the remaining 
 shelf, barely broad enough for the wheels to run 
 upon : and, turning round, I could see an addi- 
 tional portion of the road roll down the precipice, 
 from the shock which the diligence had given it. 
 The danger was seen and passed in the tenth 
 part of the time which I have taken to narrate it ; 
 and we arrived in safety at the bottom. 
 
 I have seldom found myself in a situation of 
 greater danger ; no exertion of my own could 
 here avail in extricating me, which, when I 
 could employ, I have always found effectual in 
 stunning the unpleasant feelings upon such 
 occasions. At the bottom of the descent is the 
 village of Gaudies, where the lady was soon 
 revived, and the driver had the assembled vil- 
 lagers round him, listening to his story, which 
 lost nothing by being told by a Frenchman ; but, 
 in this case, there could be no embroidery — it 
 was not possible to make the danger greater, 
 short of our having actually rolled into the abyss. 
 I suggested the propriety of sending over the
 
 THE PYUENEES. 23 
 
 ridge, to give warning on the other side of the 
 accident, and of the impossibility of crossing; 
 and a party set otF for the purpose. 
 
 The country from Gaudies to Perpignan is 
 barren and desolate ; the valley bounded by low 
 hills, grey from their base to their summits. 
 There are here and there patches of vines ; but 
 their diminutive height, and sickly appearance, 
 do not render its aspect more agreeable. Here, 
 for the first time, I beheld the olive-tree. They 
 resemble a species of willow so strongly, that at 
 first I took them for it ; but to find willows in 
 such a parched and burnt-up land was too extra- 
 ordinary a phenomenon to permit the impression 
 to last. They were stunted and bent double by 
 the prevailing wind; so that vines, olives, rocks, 
 and soil, combined in forming a most unhealthy- 
 looking scene. A barren heath is not an agree- 
 able-looking sight ; but sterility, accompanied by 
 the yellow and sickly tinge with which a burning- 
 sun decorates it, is far more unpleasing. I am 
 confident, that, had Dr. Johnson, previous to 
 having visited the Moor of Rannoch, passed this 
 spot, his doleful account of the moor would have 
 been softened by his recollections of this valley.
 
 24 A SUMMER IN THE PYRENEES. 
 
 Struggling over infamously bad roads, and 
 passing through several fortified looking villages, 
 the red sandstone of whose buildings was crumb- 
 ling to pieces ; it was not until late that we 
 crossed the bridges over the Tet, and were 
 admitted within the many barriers which protect 
 the town of Perpignan. The diligence was 
 driven into what had been an ancient church, 
 and the door closed the moment that we entered, 
 to prevent any of us leaving it before delivering 
 up our passports to the gendarmes, who are 
 always, in every town of France, waiting the 
 arrival of the diligences.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Perpignan— Appearance of the Town— A Fete Day— Peculiar 
 Dances— Citadel — The Canigou — Passport— Elne — Collioure — 
 Port Vcndre— The Mediterranean — Wine of Roussillon — Folly 
 of my Countrymen abroad — Sail round the Bay — Fete at Col- 
 lioure — Costumes — Language — Threatened Detention — Kind- 
 hearted Landlord. 
 
 The early history of Roussillon, — insulated 
 from France by the mountains of the Corbieres, 
 and from Spain by the Pyrenees, — is very ob- 
 scure, little being known regarding it until 
 Hannibal crossed the Pyrenees. A century after 
 that period, the Romans, having become masters 
 of the countries on the coast of the Mediter- 
 ranean, incorporated Roussillon with their other 
 possessions. About the fifth century, the Romans
 
 26 A SUMMER IN 
 
 were succeeded by the Visigoths, who held this 
 province for three centuries, and introduced their 
 laws and customs ; until the Saracens, having 
 vanquished Roderic, broke into it in 719, and 
 committed all kinds of excesses. A short period 
 afterwards, Pepin, in his turn, drove out the 
 Saracens, and united Roussillon to France. 
 Then succeeded the dominion of the counts. 
 These counts were originally only the viceroys 
 of the kings of France ; but they subsequently 
 assumed the sovereignty, and became hereditary. 
 Roussillon had sometimes its particular counts, 
 and sometimes the kings of Arragon governed 
 it under that title ; but, until Louis IX., the 
 kings of France were always considered as its 
 suzerains. By the treaty of Corbeil, in 1258, 
 Louis IX. renounced this fief in favour of James 
 L, king of Arragon ; who, upon this concession, 
 withdrew his pretensions to a part of Languedoc. 
 After the death of James, and the division of 
 his states among his children, Roussillon was 
 governed by the kings of Majorca. During- the 
 bloody war in the fourteenth century, between 
 the kings of Majorca and Arragon, the latter 
 acquired possession of it, and retained it for
 
 THE PYRENEES. 27 
 
 half a century, being generally the appanage of 
 the eldest son. 
 
 John II., attacked by the Navarese and Cata- 
 lans, beofo-ed assistance from Louis XI. of France, 
 who sent him seven hundred lances, and three 
 hundred thousand ecus of gold ; which the King 
 of Arragon was to repay when the war was ter- 
 minated. John Avas not, however, able to fulfil 
 his obligation, and gave Roussillon as security 
 for the debt. The Roussillonnese revolted, and 
 twice Louis XI. laid siege to Perpignan, and, on 
 the second occasion, he took it, after a nine 
 months' resistance. Charles VIII., engrossed 
 with the idea of his expedition to Naples, restored 
 this province to the king of Arragon ; and Ferdi- 
 nand II., becoming king of Spain by his mar- 
 riage with Isabella, Roussillon fell under the 
 Spanish dominion. It ought, however, by its 
 position, to belong to France ; and, accordingly, 
 Louis XIII. endeavoured to recover it; and, 
 eventually sending an army under the command 
 of the Great Conde, that general gained several 
 battles, and, taking many of the strong places, 
 succeeded in reducing Perpignan. These con- 
 quests facilitated an accoimiiodation ; and the
 
 28 A SUMMER IN 
 
 treaty of the Pyrenees secured to France the dis- 
 puted province. Since 1659, Roussillon has 
 formed an integral part of that kingdom. 
 
 Perpignan, like most other towns built more 
 with a view to security than to the accommodation 
 of its inhabitants, is as dirty and confined as it 
 can possibly be, offering no inducement to pro- 
 long the traveller's stay beyond the time necessary 
 to have his passport examined. After having 
 satisfied my appetite, which had not suffered from 
 the events of the day, I rambled over the town, 
 and could have fancied myself on the Spanish 
 side of the mountains. The excessively narrow 
 streets, with their balconies, from which the 
 inhabitants were conversing with their opposite 
 neighbours ; and, above all, the little bands of 
 musicians, who were serenading under the win- 
 dows, betrayed their ancient connexion with 
 Spain, and their adherence to some of its customs. 
 
 I had been desired, by the gendarme who took 
 my passport when I arrived, to call the next 
 morning at the Bureau de Police, and receive it. 
 I went there, but could hear nothing regarding it, 
 and was bid to go to the Passport Ofhce in the 
 Prefecture, which I did, but found it shut, and
 
 TflE PYHENEES. 29 
 
 was desired to call again at one, when it would 
 be open. 
 
 "While at breakfast, in the public room of the 
 hotel, several musicians entered the room, accom- 
 panied by one or two men carrying enormous 
 cakes, one, of which was set on the table; and 
 a neighbour, understanding the custom, sent 
 round a plate for a collection ; which was given 
 them. They then played several airs, and, taking 
 up their cake, departed. It was a fete day, I 
 forget in honour of what saint, and the inhabitants 
 were all decked out in their holiday suits, singing 
 and dancing in all the Places, where, in circles 
 formed by branches and evergreens, difficult to 
 procure at Perpignan, they perform their various 
 and extraordinary dances. 
 
 The Roussillonnese, from their long intimacy 
 with Spain, have had a Spanish tinge given to 
 their manners. This, apparent in the towns, is 
 much more so in the country ; where the predilec- 
 tion for the amusements of the Peninsula is so 
 great, that the labourer will quit his work, the 
 shopkeeper his boutique, the husbandman leave 
 his land untilled ; and travel leagues to witness a 
 bull-fight, or other spectacle. They are passion-
 
 30 A SUMMER IN 
 
 ately fond of dancing. Some of the figures of 
 their dances are very peculiar and original. The 
 men generally open the dance by a " contrepas," the 
 measure of which declares its Greek origin. The 
 women then follow, who, mingling with the men, 
 alternately cross and turn each other round ; the 
 measure then changes, its sudden stops indicating 
 to the men, that they must raise their partners 
 with a bound, and place them upon their hand, 
 as upon a seat. It requires both activity and 
 strength to accomplish this ; and the strongest 
 often fail from want of address. One of the 
 figures, called " Lo Salt," is performed by four 
 men, and four women, dancing in a circle. At a 
 particular moment, the four cavaliers, passing 
 their hands under the arms of the ladies, simul- 
 taneously exalt them in the air, thus forming a 
 pyramid, of which the crest is the caps of the 
 women. 
 
 These dances are executed to music which at 
 first sounds somewhat strange. The flageolet, the 
 tambourine, two oboes, the borassa, and the bag- 
 pipe, which I was surprised to find here, form an 
 orchestra more agreeable than, from the motley 
 character of the instruments, might have been
 
 THE PYRENEES. 31 
 
 expected. The citadel is large ; and the French 
 government, considering it of great consequence as 
 a military position, have expended enormous sums 
 upon its fortifications. It commands a fine view 
 over Roussillon, and of the mountains which, 
 excepting upon the side of the Mediterranean, 
 encircle it. The Pyrenees, dividing it from 
 Spain, rise abruptly, but to no great height from 
 the ocean ; but gradually increasing in majesty, 
 stretch to the westward as far as the eye can 
 reach. The highest peak in the distance is the 
 Canigoii, long thought the highest of the Pyre- 
 nean range, which honour it unjustly acquired 
 from the great apparent altitude which its insu- 
 lated situation gave it ; when its measurement was 
 taken, it was found to be three hundred and 
 thirty toises beneath the Maladetta, or Mont 
 Perdu, and inferior to many other summits of the 
 Pyrenees. I do not, however, wonder at its 
 having held an honour among the ancients, to 
 which it was not entitled, rising, as it does, from 
 the plain, and springing at once to the height of 
 one thousand four hundred and thirty toises, it is 
 a magnificent and imposing object. At some 
 distance at sea, and when the lower hills which
 
 32 A SUMMER IN 
 
 surround it are invisible, its bold and majestic 
 appearance must be still more striking. 
 
 The citadel, from its situation, is a place of 
 considerable strength ; the country around it 
 being low and flat, it cannot be commanded. 
 
 The cathedral or church of St. John is a very 
 antique structure, displaying the Spanish taste in 
 its gorgeous gildings and massy ornaments. In 
 it is the tomb of the first archbishop of Perpig- 
 nan. The Gothic inscription upon two pillars, 
 states, that in the year 1324, the epoch of its 
 foundation, the first stone was laid by Sanchez, 
 king of Arragon, and the second by Edward, 
 prince of England ; this must have been the 
 Black Prince, when on a visit to his ally, the 
 king of Arragon. Perpignan, like Calais, Va- 
 lentia, and other towns, can boast of its brave 
 bourgeois. Jean Blanca, a citizen of Perpignan, 
 was governor of that town, when Louis the 
 eleventh besieged it in 1475; his only son having 
 been taken prisoner in a sortie, the besiegers sent 
 a message to Blanca, to the effect, that, if he 
 persisted in his defence, and would not open the 
 gates, his son should be put to death. The 
 courageous governor replied, " That the ties of
 
 THE PYRENEES. 33 
 
 blood and paternal affection would never for one 
 moment interfere with his duty to God, his king, 
 and his country." This heroic answer decided 
 the fate of his son, who was then put to death in 
 the sight of his father. 
 
 According to appointment, I presented myself 
 at the Bureau des Passports, and was told by the 
 officer to call ao:ain at four o'clock. This was 
 very provoking, as I wished to leave this dirty hot 
 town as soon as possible. I inquired of him why 
 there was not a fixed hour for the delivery of 
 passports 1 Upon which he asked me if I 
 thought they (the clerks of the Bureau) had 
 nothing to do but to attend to the wants of 
 travellers ? 1 retorted, and pointing to the sign 
 over the door, told him " That to attend to the 
 wants of travellers was the very purpose for which 
 he was placed there ; that he was the servant of 
 the public, was paid by the public, and therefore 
 ought, at least, to be civil to them." Upon this 
 the official became most obsequious, apologized 
 for my being detained, which, had it not been a 
 fete-day, should not have taken place. Had the 
 fellow given this reason at first, I should not 
 have been annoyed, which I was, less on my own 
 
 VOL. 1. D
 
 34 A SUMMER IN 
 
 account, than upon that of a young German, who 
 was in the same predicament, with whom I had 
 made acquaintance the preceding evening; and 
 who, having arrived at Perpignan at the same 
 time as myself, intended to have gone to Barce- 
 lona, upon urgent business, the following day. 
 Relying upon having my passport countersigned 
 at some of the frontier towns, I asked for, and 
 obtained it, rather than wait until the Prefet 
 chose to return to toNvU. This detention, dis- 
 agreeable at the time, was afterwards, however, a 
 matter of congratulation to my companion, who, 
 had he gone to Barcelona, would have arrived 
 there just in time to witness the massacres which 
 took place in August, 1835. 
 
 Hirincr a cabriolet to take me to Port Vendre, I 
 left Perpignan. 
 
 Near the mouth of the Tet, is the tower called 
 the Tor di Castel Rossello, marking the site of 
 the Ruscino of the Romans, from which the pro- 
 vince derives its name. All the villages and 
 farmhouses are built upon knolls, and surrounded 
 by walls, a necessary protection in a border 
 country, subject to the frequent inroads of 
 enemies. The soil, excepting in the immediate
 
 THE PYRENEES. 35 
 
 vicinity of the rivers (of which, fortunately for 
 the inhabitants, there are three which flow from 
 the mountains), is arid and barren. 
 
 About three leagues from Perpignan, is the 
 village of Elne, a place of very great antiquity ; 
 nothing now remains of its former grandeur but 
 its massy and buttressed church. It was first 
 called lUiberis, and is supposed to have been of 
 Phenician origin, and at the period when Han- 
 nibal crossed the mountains, was opulent and 
 flourishing. It was afterwards destroyed ; Con- 
 stantine rebuilt it, and bestowed upon it the name 
 of his mother, Helen, which it has since then 
 retained. Within the church is the tomb of the 
 Emperor Constant, murdered by the orders of 
 Magnentius. Its archbishopric, the most ancient 
 in Roussillon, was transferred to Perpignan, in 
 1604. Upon the outside of the building, are 
 many gothic inscriptions of difl'erent dates — most 
 probably epitaphs. Crossing the river Tech, and 
 leaving the little town of Argeles upon the right, 
 the road draws nearer to the sea, the very sight of 
 which made me feel the mid-day sun less oppres- 
 sive. Every where the country people were 
 assembled dancing and singing. At Collioure, 
 
 J) 2
 
 36 A SUMMER IK 
 
 or Colliouvre, as the peasants call it, a small 
 town close to Port Vendre, they were most 
 energetic in celebrating the day. The open 
 place in front of the harbour, was crowded with 
 dancers, who were, at the time I passed, perform- 
 ing the dance called " Lo Salt," and at a distance, 
 seeing the women every now and then elevated 
 above the crowd, had a curious effect. 
 
 Two or three bays are here formed by the 
 Alberes, as the low range of the Pyrenees which 
 drop into the Mediterranean are called, and in one 
 of them is CoUioure, in another, Port Vendre. 
 The heights around Collioure are covered with 
 fortifications, and at the mouth of its harbour is a 
 small island, upon which is built a picturesque 
 little chapel. 
 
 Half an hour's drive along the cliffs, from 
 Collioure, brought me to Port Vendre,* which 
 derives its name from a temple which the Romans 
 had erected here to the Venus of the Pyrenees, 
 and in which the mai'iners were wont to deposit 
 offerings. It had, like many of the other towns 
 of its province, fallen into decay, and its harbour 
 
 * The greater portion of the French troops destined for Algiers 
 are embarked at Port Vendre.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 37 
 
 became choked up ; but its importance being 
 acknowledged, the French government set about 
 clearing it out ; and Marshal de Mailly, governor 
 of the province, by his great exertions, succeeded 
 in effecting an entrance for frigates in 1780. In 
 commemoration of this event, a marble column, 
 one hundred feet high, has been erected in the 
 little Place at the upper end of the harbour. , 
 Having made myself acquainted w^ith the land- 
 lord of the best inn of the village, ordered sup- 
 per, and secured a bed, I went down to the beach 
 to have a swim in the waters of the Mediter- 
 ranean. The very name of this sea conveys the 
 idea of all that is lovely and attractive ; so much 
 romance and poetry have been lavished in extoll- 
 ing its beauties — its sunny skies, and its verdant 
 banks, covered with orange trees and myrtles. 
 But at Port Vendre, and, indeed, all along the 
 coast of Languedoc, the imaginative traveller 
 will find himself sadly disappointed. Excepting 
 where the buttresses of the Pyrenees dip into it, 
 and relieve its monotony, the French coast of the 
 Mediterranean presents a succession of lagoons, 
 marshes, and low sandy hills, until it nears the 
 Italian frontier, when its character becomes 
 changed, and it is the Mediterranean he had su})- 
 
 -i .? p* c\ •"» r\ 
 
 -i. -A '_> "i^ \J '-^J
 
 38 A SUMMER IN 
 
 posed it to be. Notwithstanding the disappoint- 
 ment of the imagination, I could not help feeling 
 a sensation of pleasure and satisfaction in dipping 
 into it. 
 
 The harbour is formed by a small bay, the 
 entrance to which is, by the surrounding hills, 
 narrowed to a small strait, thus making one of the 
 most completely sheltered stations to be found 
 anywhere. Here, as at CoUioure, are innumera- 
 ble forts, partly to guard the shipping, partly the 
 frontier. One larger than the others, called Fort 
 St. Elme, is perched upon a peak of the highest 
 summit in the vicinity, and commands all the 
 others. The most extreme point of Roussillon, 
 stretching into the Mediterranean, is the Cap de 
 Beam, which would be a more appropriate name 
 upon the western limits of the Pyrenees ; it is to 
 the south of Port Vend re, and beyond, a couple 
 of miles distant from it, is Baniols, the last French 
 village upon the frontier, from which there is a 
 pass into Catalonia. I walked on board one of 
 the largest vessels in the harbour, the Captain of 
 which, I found, had been in the service of an 
 acquaintance at Bordeaux. I accordingly invited 
 him to sup with me ; 1 also made the landlord — 
 a quaint old fellow — ^join us. They pressed me
 
 THE PYRENEES. 39 
 
 not to leave Port Vendre next day, but to sail 
 round with them to Collioure, and join in the 
 ceremonies of the fete, which I found was to 
 be of three days' duration. I agreed to the 
 proposaL The wine of Roussillon is sweet, but 
 pleasant ; and the landlord, being a considerable 
 proprietor, had, of course, a store of it : he pro- 
 duced the oldest and the best he had, and we did 
 ample justice to his cellar. I ought to mention, 
 that when I paid my bill, the old gentleman 
 would not permit me to pay for more than one 
 half of the wine drunk, the other half, he insisted, 
 was his own share. I attributed this to the beha- 
 viour of an English lady and gentleman, who, 
 some liow or other, had found their way to this 
 place, had resided in his house, and of whom he 
 spoke highly. This, although a trifling matter in 
 itself, shows that a traveller, leaving a good name 
 behind him in any place, may serve those of his coun- 
 trymen who follow him. Would that my country- 
 men would study this a little more than they 
 do ! They squander their money liberally enough, 
 but that is all. They seldom conciliate the natives 
 by affability, nor pay sufficient regard to their 
 habits and feelings, to render tliemselves esteemed
 
 40 A SUMMER IN 
 
 and regretted when they quit the place in which 
 they have been sojourning. During the Peninsu- 
 lar war, the British were respected by the Spanish 
 on account of their honesty ; but they were not 
 loved. Quite the contrary. Without his money 
 to pay for what he wanted, the English soldier 
 could not procure an article — and why ? Simply 
 because they did not, in some measure, accommo- 
 date themselves to the manners and customs of 
 the people among whom they were ; the French 
 did so, and they were fed and entertained, and 
 generally never paid a sous. 
 
 Having breakfasted the following morning with 
 the captain, on board his vessel, we got into his 
 boat, and pulled out of the harbour for Collioure. 
 One of the solemnities of the day was a pilgri- 
 mage, made by all the inhabitants of the district, 
 to the little chapel which I have mentioned. The 
 scene when we turned the headland, and looked 
 into the bay of Collioure, was animated and beau- 
 tiful. Many boatfulls of the gaily-dressed devo- 
 tees were passing and repassing between the 
 shore and the chapel ; and the rock upon which it 
 is built was clustered with them, waiting their 
 turn of admission- We went immediatelv to the
 
 THE PYUENEES. 41 
 
 chapel. Every one had an otfering of some kind 
 or other to bestow. Some had tapers, and others 
 had bouquets of flowers ; we alone had come 
 empty-handed. We had, however, a few silver 
 pieces for the Trone des pauvres. Having visited 
 the chapel, we pulled ashore, and joined the 
 dancers on the beach. 
 
 The costume of the women resembles that of 
 the Spanish females along the frontier. Their 
 head-dress is composed of a long white handker- 
 chief, folded double upon the head, one corner of 
 it hanging down behind, the other two tied under 
 the chin, and a bow of black ribbons placed in 
 the centre of the forehead ; a tightly laced bod- 
 dice, and short petticoat, ample in its folds, dis- 
 plays their well-formed limbs and party-coloured 
 stockings. In bad weather, they have also the 
 capulet — an article between a hood and a short 
 cloak — which, when they are not using it, is 
 folded in a square and laid upon the head. This 
 is generally made of white woollen stuff, bound 
 with black velvet. The men wear a bonnet of red 
 cloth trimmed with velvet, and so long, that its 
 end danoles between their shoulders. This bon- 
 net is the most distinguishing feature of the Cata-
 
 42 A SUMMER IN 
 
 lan's dress. A short vest, with a sash round his 
 waist, loose flowing pantaloons, and shoes, or 
 more generally spartillas (sandals made of hemp), 
 complete it. 
 
 Their language, which now-a-days is called the 
 patois of the country, is remarkable for its anti- 
 quity. It is one of those ancient idioms known 
 under the various denominations of vulgar Roman, 
 broken Latin, provincial or Provencal, the Limou- 
 sin, or the Catalan. Traces of their language 
 are to be found in the poetry of the Salian 
 rhymes, many words of which, although long 
 since rejected in the Latin, have been preserved 
 in the Catalan. It may, therefore, be supposed 
 to be a child of Greece, prior to the period when 
 Democritus grammaticised the Latin language. 
 
 Upon my return to Port Vendre, I told my 
 landlord that I had left Perpignan without having 
 my passport countersigned for the towns upon the 
 frontier, but that I supposed that I could have it 
 done at the Mairie here. He said that he would 
 have it done. The Maire, liowever, was not at 
 home, and the schoolmaster (his deputy) was 
 a surly fellow, and would not comply ; and 
 insinuated that he should feel obliged to send me
 
 THE PYRENEES. 43 
 
 back next morning to Perpignan escorted by a 
 gendarme. This was rather awkward, as I had 
 no wish to revisit that town so soon again. I 
 went to him and expostulated, but it was of no 
 avail ; and he bowed me out with : " You must 
 go back to Perpignan to-morrow morning, Sir." 
 
 " He shall find himself mistaken," said my 
 host, when we were out of the official's hearing. 
 " You shall go on your journey unmolested, 
 and I will provide the means. The Maire will 
 not arrive until late, and his deputy will 
 have to consult him before arresting you. 
 Now, as he is no very early riser, you shall 
 take my pony, and, accompanied by Francisco, 
 be off and away long before any orders have 
 been given concerning you ; and, should they 
 come here to look for you, I shall be ready 
 with some excuse or other, to account for your 
 absence." 
 
 1 agreed — quite willing to cheat the school- 
 master. So, after determining upon the route 
 we were to take, I went to bed, to prepare for a 
 start by day-light, and a long journey on the 
 morrow.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Escape — Appearance of the Country-— Spanish guide, Francisco- 
 Gallant conduct of an English Frigate — Bolou — Anecdote of 
 Guerilla warfare — Cork-tree forests — Fortress of Bellegarde — 
 Civility of its Governor — View into Spain — Foresight of 
 Francisco. 
 
 I WAS awoke before day-light the next morn- 
 ing by my host, and told that Francisco and the 
 pony were waiting in the court-yard, and that I 
 should lose no time in being oft". In a very few 
 minutes I was ready to start, and bade adieu to 
 my kind-hearted landlord ; and, mounted upon 
 his pony, with Francisco trotting along side, left 
 ihe village— taking care to make as little noise as 
 possible as we passed the schoolmaster's house. 
 All, however, was quiet within ; the shutters
 
 THE PVREXEES. 45 
 
 were closed, and its master, perhaps, dreaming 
 over the little bit of business which he had to 
 transact in the morninor. 
 
 I intended to have gone on to Bolou, and 
 remained there for the night ; but, as we had 
 commenced our journey so very early, I had some 
 hopes of being able to visit Bellegarde in the 
 evening. The road to Bolou strikes off from that 
 to Perpignan near Argelles, and is a sandy track, 
 passable only by horses and foot passengers. On 
 either side were fields of untrained vines, stretch- 
 ing as far as the eye could distinguish ; the fruit 
 of which the thirsty traveller was welcome to par- 
 take of, without interruption of any kind ; no 
 surly master or barking dog to disturb the passing 
 peasant as he sat himself down beside the 
 choicest branches, and, taking out his loaf, com- 
 menced his simple breakfast. 
 
 Having little to interest me in this sandy desert, 
 I entered into conversation with my companion. 
 Francisco was a Spaniard from the province of 
 Catalonia, had been a guerilla during the war of 
 independence, and, at the peace, finding no 
 employment at home, had come to Perpignan in 
 search of it. From Perpignan he came to Port
 
 46 A SUMMER I-V 
 
 Vendre, and entered into the service of his present 
 master, with whom he had been several years. 
 He was a tall and very powerful man, about 
 forty-five years of age ; and, although somewhat 
 of a bulky appearance, had lost nothing of his 
 youthful activity. His countenance did not 
 characterize him as being very intelligent ; and, 
 upon first acquaintance, I set him down as being- 
 something of a fool, but I was never more mis- 
 taken in my life. It was not until I examined his 
 physiognomy more particularly than I had done, 
 that beneath an expression of apparent simplicity, 
 I could detect a stronger, though less visible one, 
 of thouofht and determination. I do not think I 
 should have succeeded in drawing him into con- 
 versation, and obtaining some history of his past 
 life, had it not been, that very soon getting tired 
 of my pony, and preferring walking, I insisted 
 upon Francisco mounting him. This little atten- 
 tion, and a few pulls at my wine-skin, made us as 
 good friends as possible. Besides many anec- 
 dotes of his warfare in the mountains, he related 
 to me the account of an event of which he was 
 an eye-witness, at Port Vendre, in the year 
 1812.
 
 TTIE I'YiU'.NF.KS. 
 
 47 
 
 An English frigate of unequal force had 
 attacked a French frigate, not more than a couple 
 of miles from the harbour of Port Vendre. The 
 fight continued for some time, during which the 
 whole population of the place had assembled on 
 the adjoining heights, to witness the capture and 
 bringing in of the English ship. " EUe est prise ! 
 elle est prise !" was shouted along the clifis, as 
 each successive shot was fired by the French fri- 
 gate — when, to their astonishment and disappoint- 
 ment, the Frenchman, finding the work too hard 
 for him, and fearful of being taken, put about, 
 and stood into the harbour, followed by the 
 English frigate, until the batteries on the heights 
 warned her of her danger. She then stood out 
 to sea, went down to some of our stations on the 
 Spanish coast (Francisco could not tell me which), 
 had her damages repaired, and, in the course of 
 a very short time, returned to Port Vendre. The 
 French frigate was then in perfect safety, under 
 protection of the batteries ; and, although chal- 
 lenged by the English vessel to come out and 
 renew the fight, she could not be prevailed 
 upon to do so, notwithstanding her superiority. 
 Having told me this anecdote, he inquired if the
 
 48 A SUMMER IN 
 
 people at Port Vendre had not mentioned it to 
 
 me. I said they had not. 
 
 " I thought not," said he, " they felt so confident 
 
 of their countrymen gaining the victory, that they 
 
 like not to think, far less to talk upon the subject; 
 
 and, in all probability, had you lived a year in 
 
 the village, you would not have heard a word 
 
 concerning it." 
 
 After four or five hours' walking, we arrived at 
 Bolou, an old town upon the Tech. The ground 
 
 in its neighbourhood being irrigated, it wore rather 
 a more pleasing aspect than is in general to be 
 seen in the province. The great road from Per- 
 pignan into Spain passes close to it. Just before 
 entering the town, we were accosted by a gen- 
 darme, who, fortunately for me, was an acquaint- 
 ance of Francisco's. I at once presented my 
 passport, which he looked at for an instant, and 
 returned to me, saying it was all right. As I 
 intended remaining some time in the village, 
 and did not wish to be interrogated by others who 
 might not read my passport so favourably, I 
 thought it better not to lose sight of this gentle- 
 man, but carried him along with me to the inn to 
 partake of my breakfast.
 
 THE PYKENEES. 49 
 
 At Bolou, I found the same scenes of dancing 
 and singing as elsewhere. Having breakfasted, 
 we walked into the Place, to look at the dancers, 
 and I had been standing some time in the crowd 
 which surrounded them, when some one tapped 
 me on the shoulder, and, upon turning round, I 
 found that it was a little gentleman, who stated 
 that he was the Maire of the town, and wished to 
 see my "papier," as the peasants in general desig- 
 nate a passport. This was rather an awkward 
 rencontre, but, upon the instant, my friend the 
 gendarme, who had been talking to some one, came 
 up, and told the Maire that he had examined my 
 passport, and that it was perfectly correct ; upon 
 which the Maire bowed, bade me good morning, 
 and walked away. I returned to the Auberge, 
 and Francisco, having finished his breakfast, and 
 the pony his corn, we set out for Bellegarde. 
 
 Bolou is situated at the entrance to the valley 
 formed by the Alberes, and the sterile ridges 
 which shoot out from the Canigou : it is also 
 opposite to the narrow valley through which 
 winds the road into Spain. Half a mile from 
 Bolou, this road begins to ascend the Alberes, 
 and is broad and handsome, so that carriages of 
 
 VOL. I, E
 
 50 A SUMMER IN 
 
 all kinds can pass it. It alternately ascends and 
 descends, winding round the successive ridges, 
 in order to render the ascent as gradual as 
 possible. 
 
 At one of the turns in the road, Francisco 
 made me halt until he related to me a scene 
 which took place there, and in which he per- 
 formed an active part. During the period of the 
 Guerilla warfare upon the frontier, he belonged to 
 a party stationed in the neighbouring mountains. 
 They had received orders to obtain possession, at 
 all hazards, of certain dispatches which one of 
 Napoleon's couriers was carrying into France. 
 To entrap him upon the Spanish side of the 
 mountains was impossible, from the strong guard 
 which accompanied him. Accordingly, the 
 daring plan of descending into the French terri- 
 tory, and capturing him after the greater part of 
 his escort had left him at Bellegarde, was decided 
 upon. Thirteen Spaniards stole from the moun- 
 tains with this intention, and placed themselves 
 in ambuscade by the side of the road. Francisco 
 took me to the exact spot where his comrades and 
 himself had lain concealed. It was in the heart 
 of a knot of low shrubs, which skirted the oppo-
 
 THE PYRENEES. 51 
 
 site side of the brook to that upon which run tlie 
 road, and certainly within five and thirty or forty 
 yards of it. They had established themselves 
 here upon a Thursday morning, having every 
 reason to believe that the courier would pass in 
 the course of the day. Many an anxious look 
 did they cast towards the fort, within reach of 
 whose guns they might almost be said to be 
 concealed ; and soldiers and peasants passed 
 along the road, unconscious of their enemies 
 being so near them. The evening arrived, but 
 the courier had not made his appearance. So 
 confident had they been that he would come, 
 that they had neither encumbered themselves 
 with food, nor with cloaks to roll round them at 
 night. In their little council of war, it was 
 debated whether they should go back, or remain 
 until the following day. It was decided, that 
 they should remain exposed to hunger and the 
 weather ; but it is not easy to damp a Spaniard's 
 courage when he has once determined upon 
 exerting it. The forenoon of the following day 
 passed, and the courier had not yet come, and 
 they had begun to despair of gaining their object, 
 when a troop of gendarmes was seen trotting 
 
 E 2
 
 52 A SUMMER IN 
 
 down the mountain side. Their flints examined, 
 and their muskets newly primed, the Guerillas 
 waited their approach. Their plan was to allow 
 the escort to come perfectly close, and then, firing 
 a volley among them, to rush in upon them after- 
 wards. Down came the troop of gendarmes, 
 seventeen in number, the courier riding in* the 
 centre, singing and laughing, and little imagin- 
 ing the reception which, in a few moments, they 
 would receive from their hidden enemies, whom 
 they had not the remotest idea would venture so 
 far into the French territory. The Guerillas 
 allowed the troop to approach so close to them 
 that a child might have been sure of its aim at 
 the distance, when they poured in their volley, 
 and ten of the escort left their saddles. Bewil- 
 dered, the remainder did not know what to do — 
 whether to advance or retreat. They hesitated 
 for an instant, and then galloped off for the fort. 
 The volley from the Guerillas had not, however, 
 secured the courier, but the momentary pause ere 
 they took to flight, had sealed his fate. One of 
 the Guerillas (the best shot of the party, one 
 whose aim never failed) had reserved his fire for 
 the courier, should he not be brought dow^n by
 
 THE PVRENEES. 53 
 
 his comrades. One solitary shot ran among the 
 rocks before the echoes of the previous ones had 
 died away, and the courier and his dispatches 
 were in the hands of the desperate mountaineers, 
 who regained their fastnesses unmolested. 
 
 Daring the recital of this daring act, Francisco 
 stood upon the spot from which he fired ; and, as 
 his eye sparkled, and he clenched his stall" and 
 pointed to the spot of death, he was no longer 
 the silent, simple-looking gar^on of the Hotel de 
 Commerce.* 
 
 In ancient times, there have been several forti- 
 fied places in this little valley, the remains of 
 which are to be seen upon every eminence re- 
 markable for its natural strength ; and, from a 
 line of these old castles extending across the 
 valley, I suspect that at one period the boundary 
 between the two countries was close to them, and 
 not where it at present is, on the very summit of 
 the ridge. 
 
 Half way up the ascent, and to the left of the 
 road, are the ruins of what, at one period, was 
 
 * The truth of this story was afterwards corroborated by an old 
 douunier, whom I met upon iny return from Bellegarde.
 
 54 A SUMMER IN 
 
 the strong castle of L'Ecluse, which, in former 
 times, was the chief of the many towers and forts 
 of the surrounding district. Bellegarde was then 
 merely an outpost to defend the passage of 
 L'Ecluse. Near it is the spot where Pompey 
 erected the famous trophy on which his statue 
 was placed. An inscription upon this monument 
 stated, that this general had reduced to sub- 
 mission eight hundred and seventy-six towns 
 between the Alps and the extremity of Spain. 
 Twenty-three years afterwards, Csesar erected by 
 the side of this trophy a stone altar of great size ; 
 but both these monuments have been destroyed. 
 
 In 1764, two blocks of marble, intended to 
 denote the boundaries of France and Spain, were 
 placed by the order of the sovereigns of these 
 kingdoms on the same spot ; but which were 
 thrown down in the wars of the revolution. The 
 banks on either side of the valley are covered 
 with the cork tree, forests of which extend into 
 the mountains, their immense trunks, most of 
 them stripped of their bark, have a strange and 
 ghastly appearance. 
 
 About midday we reached Bellegarde. Its 
 village is merely a range of houses which line
 
 THE I'YUExNEES. 55, 
 
 either side of the road as it tops the ridge, one 
 half of them looking into Spain, the other into 
 France. Here there is a guard stationed, with 
 orders that no one shall be allowed to pass unless 
 he is authorized by the Maire of the village. Not 
 being aware of this punctilio, and wishing to 
 take a look down the road into Spain, I passed 
 the sentinel without noticing him. I had not 
 advanced a few yards, when I was called to stop, 
 and turning round, found the guard with his 
 musket at the " ready ;" this was quite sufficient 
 warning not to proceed. 
 
 The fort of Bellegarde is perched upon a 
 conical hill which rises in the centre of the two 
 high ridges, which, running into France, forms 
 the little valley which I had ascended ; its situa- 
 tion is much higher than the village. From 
 originally being a mere watch-tower, Louis the 
 Fourteenth transformed it into a regular fort upon 
 the modern system, and it has at difi'erent later 
 periods been enlarged and improved. In 1694, 
 it was taken by the Spaniards, who added some 
 fortifications. Marshal Schombers' retook it in 
 the July of the following year, 
 
 I wished very much to examine the interior of
 
 56 A SUM ME K IN 
 
 the fort, but I had great doubts of my being 
 permitted to do so, A circuitous path, which 
 winds maiiy times round the hill upon which it is 
 built, leads to the fort from the village. I 
 inquired of the sentinel at the drawbridge, if I 
 should be allowed to enter it. He answered, that 
 he thought not, but that 1 might send one of the 
 soldiers who were standing near, to ask the 
 governor. Accordingly I sent my compliments 
 to the commandant, and requested permission to 
 enter the fortress. The messenger returned, say- 
 ing, the governor would be glad to see me. 
 Francisco remained talking to the soldiers at the 
 gate, and I followed my conductor. 
 
 I found the commandant, an ancien capitaine 
 du genie, engaged in playing ecarte with his 
 wife. He received me courteously, and put one 
 or two leading questions to discover my object in 
 coming to Bellegarde. He also inquired if I was 
 going into Spain ; if I was acquainted with 
 engineering, and what route I intended follow- 
 ing; all which queries having answered satis- 
 factorily, and convinced him that amusement 
 alone was the object I had in view, he not only 
 gave me permission to examine the fort, and sent
 
 THE PYRLNEES. 57 
 
 liis own servant along with me, but invited nie to 
 dinner, which invitation, however, I was obliged 
 to decline, in consequence of the length of the 
 journey I had still to perform that evening. 
 
 There is usually a garrison of six or seven 
 hundred men in the fort, in time of peace ; 
 during war it is increased to four or five times 
 that amount. The works are extensive, solid, and, 
 so far as the situation will permit, may be well 
 defended. But unfortunately it is commanded 
 by some of the Spanish heights in the neighbour- 
 hood, particularly by one upon the left of the 
 village. I pointed out this circumstance to my 
 conductor, who had lived in the place for twenty 
 years ; and he told me that upon the last occasion 
 that this fortress was taken by the Spaniards, all 
 the mischief was done from the height to which 1 
 pointed. I then remarked an eminence at a con- 
 siderable distance to the right of the fort, upon 
 which a battery might have been placed, which 
 could command the height alluded to ; on this I 
 was informed, that it has been resolved to erect a 
 battery, the works of which have been already 
 traced out, and are soon to be commenced. In 
 the bastion which faces Spain, and from which
 
 58 A SLMMEIi IX 
 
 there is a fine view over all the country, as far as 
 the strong fortifications of Figueras, is the tomb 
 of General Dugommier, who was killed Nov. 18th, 
 1794, at the Black Mountain, by a shell, as he 
 was preparing to attack the Spanish army. 
 
 Francisco, whom I had left at the entrance, 
 very soon joined us, and I could observe the 
 attention and care with which he scrutinized 
 every part of the building. When we had gone 
 over the whole of the works, I thanked the com- 
 mandant for his civility, and we set out on our 
 return to Bolou. I told Francisco, I had observed 
 the great interest he seemed to take in viewing 
 the interior of the fort, and asked him his reasons 
 for so doing. He said, " I am not so old yet, sir, 
 but that I may have to find my way into that 
 building by some other way than the gate."' He 
 told me, also, that the soldiers murmured at my 
 being allowed to enter the fort, supposing that my 
 intention was to take a plan of it, which might be 
 available to the English on some future occasion. 
 
 I regretted very much having to part with 
 Francisco, who on his part was anxious to 
 accompany me, and would have been of con- 
 siderable service from his knowledge of Catalan,
 
 TlIK PYRENEES. 59 
 
 of which I did not understand a syllable ; but his 
 duties obliged him to return to Port Vendre. As 
 it was getting late when we arrived at Bolou, 1 
 remained there all night, contented with an 
 indifferent supper, and a worse than indifferent 
 bed, but hunger and fatigue are never very 
 fastidious.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Spanish character by a Spaniard — Parting with Francisco — Catalan 
 guide — Valley of the Tech — Shepherds and their Flocks — Ceret 
 — Pyrenean Rivers in flood — Difficult}' in making myself under- 
 stood — Interpreter — His knowledge of Ossian's Poems — Fort les 
 Bains — Aries— Iron Forges — Spanish Carlists — Ascent of the 
 Canigou — Mules not more sure-footed than Horses — Causes o* 
 the high price^of Iron in France — Splendid View from the sum- 
 mit of the Canigou — Descent — Valmania — Wandering Tailor 
 — Village of Estoher— Country Doctor — Prades— Interview with 
 its Prefet — His defeat. 
 
 At an early hour the following morning, I was 
 awakened by Francisco, who came to bid me " good- 
 bye." Before quitting me, he gave me voluntarily 
 some information regarding the character of his 
 countrymen. He said, "You will, in all probabi- 
 lity, be soon among my countrymen ; if not in
 
 THE PYREXEES. 61 
 
 Spain, you may still meet with them in the moun- 
 tains, and may chance to have to apply to them 
 either for food or shelter. Do not believe what is 
 said as to their being a savage and revengeful 
 people ; their enemies belie them. When injured, 
 they do indeed seldom forget it, but they as sel- 
 dom forget an act of kindness ; and if, from mis- 
 take, they have committed an act of injustice, 
 they will ever afterwards endeavour, by every 
 means in their power, to efface it. Trust them, 
 and you will find them worthy of your confi- 
 dence; use them kindly, and they will, as I 
 would wish to do now, follow you anywhere." 
 
 Since I heard Francisco repeat this little epi- 
 sode, I have seen something of Spanish character, 
 and heard more ; but I have never had reason to 
 doubt the truth of what he said. I asked him 
 why he did not leave France and return home. 
 " Many times," said he, ''has the same question 
 been asked of me ; but hitherto 1 have never told 
 why 1 toiled at Port Vendre, in preference to 
 going home, and leading an inactive life. I 
 remain here, because I have an aged father and 
 mother, and a sister helpless from her birth in my 
 native village, who, but for the pittance which I
 
 62 A SUMMER IN 
 
 can send across to them by the mnledrivers, 
 would have ' ni pain, ni vin.' " Having said this, 
 he darted out of the room, evidently to prevent 
 my supposing- that he had told his simple tale to 
 obtain a few additional francs. Upon descending, 
 I found that Francisco had gone, not, however, 
 without procuring for me a guide to accompany 
 me to Aries. He was a Catalan, and could not 
 speak half-a-dozen words of French. 
 
 The valley of the Tech presents a far more 
 pleasing and agreeable aspect, than the plains of 
 Roussillon. Its alluvial soil, irrigated with the 
 waters of the river, is rich and verdant. Mea- 
 dows and pasturages are to be seen, and other 
 trees than the sickly olive, are scattered around. 
 This change of scene, and the prospect of being 
 on the morrow among the mountains, breathing 
 their fresh air, climbing their summits, and wan- 
 dering among their valleys, exhilarated and 
 delighted me. Flocks of sheep and goats were 
 among the half-enclosed fields, and their keepers 
 were everywhere milking the latter to provide for 
 their breakfast. These shepherds never leave 
 their flocks, but continue with them night and 
 day. They have a simple mode of defending
 
 THE PYRENEES. 03 
 
 themselves from the scorching rays of the noon- 
 day sun, and the damps or rains of the night. A 
 wattling of willow boughs, about eight feet 
 square, is thatched with straw, and made so light, 
 that they can easily transport it along with them 
 from place to place. This original umbrella affords 
 shade from the broiling heat; and at night, under- 
 neath it, rolled in his blanket, whilst the flock is 
 protected by his dog, the shepherd sleeps 
 soundly. 
 
 Ceret, where we halted to breakfast, is merely 
 a village, built where the Alberes sink into the 
 plain. Close to it, the Tech is spanned by a 
 bridge of one arch, remarkable for its width and 
 height, though of comparatively recent construc- 
 tion, and is thrown, from one rock to the other, 
 over the broad and dark bed which the river 
 forms beneath it. Its banks are here rugged and 
 steep, bearing marks of the devastation which 
 the river, swollen by the melting of the snow in 
 the mountains, bears along its course. It is not 
 during the winter that the rivers which derive 
 their waters from the highest Pyrenees, are to be 
 seen in all their glory of flood and foam ; on the 
 contrary, it is generally when the fine weather of
 
 64 A SUMMER IN 
 
 an early spring, and the heats of a southern sun 
 prevail, that the stranger in the country is aston- 
 ished to observe the Tech, the Garrone, 
 the Adour, or other rivers of the mountains, 
 while not a cloud is to be seen, and " all 
 nature wears the mantle of repose," relling 
 through the plains, overflowing their banks, and 
 deluging the country. It is difficult to decide 
 which is the most sublime sight — which portrays 
 most vividly the irresistible and overwhelming- 
 power of a river in flood, whether when it is seen 
 raging, and tossing, and thundering over the 
 rocks, and through the narrow gorges of the 
 mountains, sweeping the huge pines of the 
 forest along with it, and foaming in wrath at che 
 obstacles which impede its destructive course — 
 or when, bursting into the plain, no longer 
 fettered and restrained by the bulwarks of its 
 birthplace, it recks its vengeance on the surround- 
 ing districts. 
 
 I found it no easy matter in an Auberge, where 
 none of the inmates spoke any language but their 
 native Catalan, to make them understand what I 
 wished to have for breakfast. I was, however, 
 soon relieved from my dilemma by the entrance
 
 THE PYHEXEES. C5 
 
 of a young lad, who, understanding French, inter- 
 preted for me. My new acquaintance had been 
 loitering upon the bridge when I passed, and, 
 recognizing me as a stranger, supposed that I 
 must have come to Ceret upon business connected 
 with the iron forges in its vicinity. To this sup- 
 position I was indebted for his acquaintance ; 
 and, as his father was a proprietor of one of the 
 forges, he followed me to inquire if I wished to 
 purchase iron. I found him an amusing and intel- 
 ligent little fellow, and acquired some information 
 from him, as to the paths across the Canigou, 
 which I afterwards found very useful to me. 
 Some how or other, he had become possessed of a 
 French translation of Ossian's poems, of which 
 he was greatly enamoured ; and discovering that 
 I came from the 
 
 " Land of brown heath and shaggy wood," 
 
 he talked in raptures of Fingal, Morven, and the 
 northern heroes. I could not help thinking how 
 delighted the " Celtic Society" would have been 
 to have heard this little mountaineer of Roussillon 
 
 VOL. 1. F
 
 6C A SUMMER IN 
 
 recite, with energy, whole passages from the 
 poetry of their native bard. From him I learnt 
 of the insurrection in Barcelona, and that the 
 whole Spanish frontier was now in a state of civil 
 warfare. 
 
 As it was no great distance to Arfes, and as I 
 looked forward to having a lengthy journey on 
 the following day, I walked leisurely up the 
 valley, accompanied by my little friend, descant- 
 ing upon the quantity and quality of iron pro- 
 duced from the forges of Roussillon. 
 
 Half-way between Ceret and Aries, upon a 
 conical hill, resembling that which forms the site 
 of Bellegarde, is the small fortification called 
 Fort-les-Bains. It is composed of four bastions, 
 and commands the road below; and, like other 
 strongholds upon this frontier, was constructed 
 by Vauban. Beneath it, is a village of the same 
 name, distinguished for its mineral waters. It 
 was known to the Romans (as indeed were almost 
 the whole of the mineral sources in the Pyrenees), 
 and over one of its springs is a vaulted roof, said 
 to have been built by them : perhaps it may not ; 
 but, at all events, it is of very great antiquity. 
 The valley towards Aries becomes narrower, but
 
 THE PYRENEES. 67 
 
 increases in fertility and beauty ; the vines clus- 
 tering upon the banks and heights, the Indian 
 corn or maize flourishing in the fields. 
 
 Some of the most considerable forges at Rous- 
 sillon are situated at Aries, rendering it a place 
 of some commerce. Like most other places of 
 the Pyrenees and France, which derive their 
 importance from forced trade in iron, it will, most 
 probably, ere long feel the temporary miseries 
 which a repeal of the iniquitous, and, to the 
 inhabitants of France, most unjust, law, which 
 imposes so high a rate of duty on foreign 
 iron, as to compel them to purchase a dear and 
 bad article, simply because it is made at 
 home. 
 
 In the auberge to which I went, I found a 
 Spanish Carlist who had escaped the slaughter 
 of his party at Barcelona, and, travelling along 
 the mountains, had arrived here the preceding 
 night. He was a man of rank and large pro- 
 perty, but so hurried had been his flight, and 
 so difficult had he found it to elude pursuit, 
 that he had not an article with him but the 
 clothes which he wore, torn and soiled with his 
 journey. He spoke of his misfortunes with 
 
 F 2
 
 68 A SUMMER IN 
 
 comparative inditFerence, and seemed most an- 
 noyed at the state of his apparel, being obliged 
 to go before the Maire for a passport. I had 
 no spare clothes to offer him, but, as I thought 
 he would be more comfortable with a clean 
 shirt, I asked him to accept one. He thanked 
 me, and said, that a clean shirt would only— 
 by contrasting with the state of his other habili- 
 ments — make his appearance more miserable, 
 and that, as he would reach Perpignan in the 
 course of a few hours, where he could supply 
 himself with money or any other thing he 
 wanted, it was scarcely necessary to make any 
 alteration. In the course of the afternoon and 
 succeeding night, several more Carlists crossed 
 the mountains and arrived in Aries, some of them 
 in a much worse condition than the grandee to 
 whom I had offered a shirt. 
 
 As I intended to ascend the Canigou, should 
 the weather of the following day be favourable, 
 my first object in Aries was to secure a good 
 guide, and with the assistance of my friend from 
 Ceret, I had little difiiculty in obtaining one. It 
 was arranged that we should leave Aries by day- 
 break, and after the ascent of the Canigou, sleep
 
 rilK PYllKNEES. 69 
 
 at the forge of Valmania, in the little valley 
 of Lentilla. The few travellers who have as- 
 cended the Canigoii, have generally slept either 
 at Corsavi, a village upon the Aries side of the 
 mountain, and from which the ascent is tedious ; 
 or, crossing to Valmania, mounted from the other 
 side. The latter is the shortest and easiest to 
 accomplish, as it is necessary, when starting from 
 Corsavi, to turn the flank of the mountain, in 
 order to ascend it, which is not the case upon the 
 side towards Valmania. The ascent from Aries 
 had not hitherto been attempted ; the road being 
 so much longer than from either Corsavi or 
 Valmania ; but being somewhat of a pedestrian, I 
 did not fear the undertaking. 
 
 There is a path into Spain by the Prat de 
 MoUo, the last French village at the source of the 
 Tech. It was, however, now impassable to the 
 mule-drivers, and others engaged in traffic across 
 the frontier, who were bitterly cursing the civil 
 war, which now raged along it, putting a stop to 
 every kind of commerce. The French suffered 
 equally with the Spaniards by this war, and all 
 along the whole line of the Pyrenees, I heard 
 nothino- but lamentation at the want of employ-
 
 70 A SUMMER JN 
 
 ment and inconvenience which the disturbed 
 state of the Spanish frontier occasioned. 
 
 We left Aries at five the next morning-, in 
 company with a troop of muleteers belonging to 
 the forges, who every day cross to the mines 
 upon the Valmania side of the Canigou, for the 
 mineral smelted at Aries. There was a string of 
 mules, in number about fifty, decked in housings 
 and trappings of all colours. The path by which 
 we left the village, and indeed all the way across 
 the flank of the Canigou, admits of only single 
 file ; the consequence of which is, that, when met 
 by loaded mules returning from the mines, 
 accidents sometimes happen from the difficulty 
 of passing each other — some of them not unfre- 
 quently rolling over the steeps. I had always had 
 considerable doubts of the mule being fully entitled 
 to the high character generally bestowed upon it 
 for steadiness and security of footing among the 
 mountains, and saw no reason why the horse 
 should not be equally so. I was here and after- 
 wards convinced that my suspicions were well 
 founded, and that the mule possessed not the 
 safety imputed to it. Frequent stumbles, and an 
 examination of the knees of the troop, was evidence
 
 THE PYRENEES. 71 
 
 not to Jje contradicted ; and the curious circum- 
 stance was elucidated, that five horses, which had 
 carried mineral as long as most of the mules had 
 done, were perfectly sound. The only reason 
 which can be given for the mule having acquired 
 the character which it has, is, that it is much 
 more frequently used among the mountains, on 
 account of its being more able to endure hunger 
 and fatigue. The horse is as safe to ride among 
 rocks and precipices, if bred among them ; and I 
 would far rather trust my neck to them than to 
 the generality of mules I have seen. With the 
 bridle upon the neck of one of these ponies, and 
 allowing him to take his own time (which a mule 
 always does, whether his rider wishes or not), I 
 have descended some steeps which would require 
 to be seen in order to judge of the animal's merits. 
 The mules employed in transporting the ore 
 from the mines to the forges, are furnished each 
 with a pair of panniers, in which they can only 
 convey a very small quantity, as it is none of the 
 purest, and it thus requires many mule's loads to 
 produce a small weight of iron. Could they 
 •smelt the ore at the mines, an enormous saving 
 might be effected ; but in this case the charcoal
 
 72 A SUMMER IN 
 
 must be conveyed from such a distance to them 
 as to render the expense nearly equal to that 
 ot" bringing the ironstone to Aries. All the 
 forges in the Pyrenees are similarly situated. 
 The ore has to be brought to them for some 
 leagues in one direction, the fuel for some leagues 
 in another, and in no instance have I seen them 
 united, consequently rendering the price of iron 
 very high, almost prohibiting the country from 
 making use of it even in their most necessary 
 articles. 
 
 This accounts for the rude nature of the agri- 
 cultural implements in France. The high price 
 of iron prevents their adopting the more improved 
 methods of cultivating the soil ; and until their 
 short-sighted and interested government repeal 
 the obnoxious duties on foreign iron, both the 
 agricultural and manufacturing interests of the 
 country — from the impossibility of obtaining an 
 article the most necessary for their prosperity at 
 any thing short of a ruinous price — must con- 
 tinue to remain stationary, while other countries, 
 aware of the benefit of a liberal commercial law, 
 prosper and precede it. 
 
 The guide who accompanied me understood
 
 THE PYRExXEES. 73 
 
 little French; but he was so very intelligent, that 
 we could easily, when we did not understand 
 each other's language, communicate by signs. 
 For the first five hours we kept company with 
 the muleteers, who relieved my guide from the 
 burden of my valise, and undertook to convey it 
 to Valmania. The ascent was along one of the 
 ridges which branch from the Canigou ; and 
 when we gained its crest near the old watch- 
 tower of Bateres, we were at the bottom of 
 another ridge, which led to the base of the higher 
 summits of the Canigou. At this old tower, from 
 which we could look down upon the valleys of the 
 Tech and Tet, we sat down to eat the breakfast 
 which we had brought with us. 
 
 Passing along the crest of this ridge, we 
 skirted the side of the mountain, until we had 
 arrived at the place most easy of ascent. Hoary- 
 looking pines of great size dotted the sides of the 
 narrow gorges and steeps, where the hatchet of 
 the charbonniers could not reach them. Among 
 the rocks were numerous plants of the rhododen- 
 dron; and wherever there was a patch of soil, the 
 white and purple anemone abounded. 
 
 Leaving' the region of woods and plants, and
 
 74 A SUMMER IN 
 
 scrambling for three or four hours up the steeps and 
 along precipices, and over snow-wreaths, we gained 
 the summit of the Canigou. The few strangers 
 who have ascended the Canigou, have ahnost 
 always been disappointed in the view which can 
 be obtained from it. Bad weather has wholly or 
 partially obscured the country ; sometimes the 
 mists hanging on the French, sometimes on the 
 Spanish, side of the mountain, but generally either 
 upon one or the other. Most fortunately upon 
 this occasion, the fates had proved more propi- 
 tious, and permitted me from the crest of the 
 Canigou to look down upon a scene finer by far 
 than I had ever beheld, and perhaps ever shall 
 do again. The atmosphere was clear and free 
 from haze, and not a speck of cloud could be dis- 
 cerned within the horizon. So favoured, I saw, 
 stretched beneath me, the whole plains of Rous- 
 sillon; and beyond them, the low coast of Lan- 
 guedoc, where it fringes the Mediterranean. 
 Perpignan and its citadel seemed almost within 
 cannon-shot, and washed by the waves of the sea, 
 in reality several miles beyond it. Then there 
 was the long line of the Alberes, each valley of 
 whose bosom I could look into, and distinguish
 
 THE PVUENEES. 75 
 
 their torrents like silvery threads winding through 
 them. To the south-east of the Alberes lay the 
 provinces of Spain, fruitful in all the miseries of 
 civil discord, and upon whose plains, within the 
 limits of my vision, even now were enacting- 
 scenes of butchery and slaughter. More directly 
 south rose the mountain-ranges of Catalonia, 
 peak upon peak appearing in the distance with 
 all their host of inferior summits scattered around 
 them. Turning to the east, I could survey all the 
 numberless little valleys which border the Tet. 
 Ille, Prades, and other towns chequered the plain; 
 and the chain of mountains which divide Rous- 
 sillon from Ariege and the department of the 
 Aude, closed in this magnificent panorama upon 
 the west and north. 
 
 To imagine the grandeur and sublimity of this 
 bird's-eye view of a prospect which my powers of 
 description would in vain attempt to portray, 
 the reader must suppose himself standing upon a 
 pinnacle from nine to ten thousand feet above the 
 surrounding district, with comparatively few in- 
 tervening objects to limit a horizon of from thirty 
 to sixty miles. He must then, with all the 
 advantages of the finest weather, enhanced by the
 
 76 A SUMMER IN 
 
 bright sky and pure atmosphere of the south, 
 suppose himself from his aerial height looking 
 down upon this great extent of country, its 
 villages and houses appearing no larger than 
 molehills, its greatest rivers dwindled into streams, 
 and enclosures of every kind being imperceptible; 
 the whole plain resembling one vast garden, its 
 trees becoming shrubs, its great fields of vines 
 distinguishable merely by the tinge of verdure 
 which they give to the landscape. He can then, 
 by turning round, vary the prospect to one of 
 " woods, and wilds, and solitary places," trace the 
 range of the Pyrenees as far as his eye can reach, 
 even to the Maladetta and Mont Perdu, and 
 again look upon no small portion of the land of 
 dark eyes and darker deeds. 
 
 Having indulged in the contemplation of this 
 scene, until my sight ached with straining to take 
 in the more distant objects, and it was time to 
 begin the descent ; I was obliged to quit a scene 
 whose " like I ne'er may look upon again,'' Its 
 glory has, however, been so strongly impressed 
 upon my memory, that in imagination I can at 
 will recall its features. The descent upon Val- 
 mania is in some places so difficult and dangerous
 
 THE PYRENEES. 77 
 
 as to deter many an aspirafit, wlio would otherwise 
 essay to reach the summit of the Canigou, and 
 who, in order to palliate their faint-heartedness, 
 have propagated many a wild and incredible tale 
 of its (to them) insurmountable precipices and 
 yawning gulfs ; but no one with a tolerable pair 
 of legs, good lungs, and not altogether unaccus- 
 tomed to mountain-climbing, ought to be dis- 
 couraged from making the attempt. Should he 
 succeed, he will find himself amply repaid for his 
 toil and fatigue. 
 
 Excepting at those places where it was neces- 
 sary to use a little caution, we descended at a 
 sharp trot, and arrived at Valmania before three 
 o'clock. We came down on the side of the 
 ravine opposite to where the most considerable 
 mines of iron ore were working. These mines 
 surround the Canigou, and are all nearly at the 
 same height, at the junction of the granite and 
 the limestone. Valmania consists of a few houses 
 occupied by the miners, and others connected 
 with the forges. It is a wild and solitary place, 
 and near it are the ruins of what has been in 
 other times a considerable castle. It was one of 
 the few places of the kind in the Pyrenees which
 
 78 A SUMMER TX 
 
 came up to the idea I had in my boyhood formed 
 of them from the never-to-be-forgotten Mystei^ies 
 of Udolpho. I do not suppose that the authoress 
 ever could have seen this castle of Valmania, but 
 it would be difficult to find a place more suited 
 to the lawless purposes of a feudal chief than 
 a strons^hold in this savage and secluded little 
 valley. The old watch-tower of Bateres, situated 
 some thousand feet above Valmania, and apper- 
 taining to its lord, could give him timely warning 
 of the approach of either friends or foes. 
 
 We went to the little auberge, which accorded 
 well with the poverty and misery of the place. 
 It consisted of one large room, and a smaller one 
 within it ; the outer serving as kitchen, and for 
 all the purposes of an auberge ; the inner, as 
 a sleeping apartment for the whole family. I 
 found the family at dinner, which consisted of 
 vegetable soup, bread, and wine ; and I made 
 myself perfectly at home by sitting down at the 
 table, and helping myself to some of the soup ; 
 which had, however, such a seasoning of garlic 
 that I could not partake of it. One of the party, 
 observing me put aside my plate, addressed me 
 in French ; which I had never thought of using.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 79 
 
 as I supposed myself among people who only 
 spoke Catalan. This individual, however, like 
 myself, was not a native, but had come hither on 
 business, namely, to patch the old, and make the 
 new garments of the inhabitants of the valley, 
 should any of them be so extravagant as to 
 indulge in such a luxury. So I found here the 
 old custom prevalent in the remote parts of my 
 own country, even at the present day ; where the 
 periodical arrival of Snip, the tailor, is looked 
 forward to with no small anxiety in many a little 
 hamlet. By the assistance of the tailor I pro- 
 cured some fresh eggs, which I soon cooked for 
 myself. Here, for the first time, I drank wine 
 out of the curiously-shaped bottle, chiefly in use 
 among the Spaniards. It is made very flat and 
 round, with a long neck, and still longer, but 
 very narrow, spout. Glasses are not in general 
 use, and therefore every one drinks from the 
 bottle ; there is more delicacy, however, dis- 
 played than in our old English way of using 
 silver cups and porter pots, as they never, by any 
 chance, apply the spout to the mouth, but, 
 holding it at arm's length, send the liquor, like a 
 jet from a fountain, down the throat. I did as I
 
 80 A SUMMER IN 
 
 saw others do, but found there was more science 
 required than I was aware of; for, not having 
 made the neck and funnel of the bottle describe 
 the proper angle, I discharged the contents in 
 my bosom. I made particular inquiries whether 
 any " Anglais" had found his way to this spot, 
 but could not ascertain that any had. 
 
 From Valmania to Prades, the chief town of 
 the valley of the Tet, I was told that it was five 
 hours' walk ; but, as the evening was fine, I 
 resolved, if possible, to find my way there. But, 
 on sending through the village, neither mule nor 
 animal of any kind was to be procured, nor a 
 guide to accompany me. I did not, however, 
 relish sleeping " en famille," with all the inmates 
 of the house, and proposed to the Catalan (whom 
 I had only engaged to come to Valmania) to 
 proceed with me to Prades; who, after starting 
 some difficulties as to the length of the day's 
 journey, fatigue, &c., agreed to go with me; and 
 we lost no time in setting off". The walk down 
 the little valley of Lentilla, among the hills 
 which lie between Valmania and Prades, is in 
 many places beautiful and picturesque. 
 
 In passing through the little village of Estoher,
 
 THE PYRENEES. 81 
 
 I was accosted by the " medicin" of the place, 
 who very politely asked me to enter his house, 
 and take some refreshment. I was nothing loath 
 to obtain some fresh wine, as the skin we had 
 brought with us was now empty, and we had 
 still some miles to travel. Our conversation was 
 upon the all-engrossing theme at that period, the 
 cholera, a case of which the little doctor was 
 most anxious to see; more, I suspected, for the 
 honour of having to report it to the medical 
 board at Paris, with his sage remarks appended 
 thereto, than for the purpose of acquiring addi- 
 tional medical experience. 
 
 In the course of an hour we were upon the 
 great road from Perpignan to Prades. The 
 valley of the Tet, which commences at Vinca, a 
 town five or six miles below Prades, is even more 
 fertile than that of the Tech at Aries. Maize, 
 buckwheat, and hemp, are the staple products ; 
 and vineyards and orchards abound, where the 
 finest peaches of the south are raised, and 
 exported to Toulouse and other great cities. 
 
 It was nearly dark when I got into Prades, 
 and found my way to its best hotel, as may be 
 supposed somewhat fatigued with a mountain 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 32 A SUMMER IK 
 
 walk of almost fifteen hours. Prades is the 
 second place in the department, and a sous- 
 prefecture ; so I inquired of the landlord if he 
 thought I could have my passport countersigned 
 that evening, as I wished to proceed early next 
 morning. He advised me to call upon the Prefet, 
 and try if he would oblige me. I did so, and 
 found the magistrate in his gown and slippers, 
 little expecting a visit upon business at so late an 
 hour. I handed him my passport, and requested 
 him to " viser' it for Ax or Foix, passing 
 through the republic of Andorre. He soon 
 discovered its irregularity, and asked me how it 
 came that I had not had it examined at Per- 
 pignan. I said, that the same reason which 
 brought me to him at so late an hour was the 
 cause of this want of form. I was anxious to 
 leave Perpignan ; and, its Prefet being from 
 home, I did not wait his return. He said, that 
 he was sorry for it, but that it was quite contrary 
 to the rules to sign an irregular passport, par- 
 ticularly as he had received orders to be strict in 
 examining any English who were proceeding 
 towards the frontier with a view of joining Don 
 Carlos ; and, therefore I should be obliged to
 
 THE HYIU:\F.KS. 83 
 
 return to Perpignan. I said, that this would be 
 very hard, and hoped that he would not put me 
 to such inconvenience. He then, among other 
 questions, asked me, where I had come from 
 that morning. I told him that I had slept the 
 preceding night at Aries, and had crossed the 
 mountains to Prades, visiting the summit of the 
 Canigou upon the way. Upon my telling him 
 this, he folded up my passport, and delivered it 
 to me, saying, " Sir, it is impossible that any 
 person but a mountaineer could have come from 
 Aries, far less have been at the top of the 
 Canigou. Take your passport, Sir. Good even- 
 ing." I insisted that what I said to him was 
 true ; but it would not do. " It is impossible — 
 it is impossible !" was his answer. 
 
 The passport I held in my hand was one 
 which 1 had received at Bordeaux, eleven months 
 before; from which town it was "vise" for Pan, 
 and Les eaiuv thermales des Pyrenees. I never 
 observed this until twisting it in my hand, irri- 
 tated at the unbelief of the Prefet ; when the 
 thought struck me, that my passport must be 
 good for almost any place in the Pyrenees, which 
 abounded with "les eaux thermales." The tables 
 
 G 2
 
 84 A SUMMER IX 
 
 Avere now turned; for I pointed to the words, 
 and said, that since he would neither sign my 
 passport, nor believe what I said, that I should 
 proceed next day with my passport as it was, 
 there being many mineral sources in the district 
 I wished to pass through, and to which I could 
 go, if I chose. At the same time, as I did not 
 wish to leave him while he imagined that I had 
 not made the day's journey which I said I 
 had done, I would request of him to send one of 
 his servants to the hotel for the Catalan who had 
 come along with me, and he might question him 
 as to its truth. 
 
 He complied ; and, as good fortune would 
 have it, the guide was well-known to him, and 
 the fact which he doubted was at once estab- 
 lished. Then came civility in abundance ; my 
 passport was signed as I wished it; and I re- 
 turned to the hotel. I engaged the landlord's 
 horse and servant to accompany me upon the 
 morrow as far as the Tour de Carol (if we could 
 accomplish the distance), and was very soon after 
 asleep, in a more comfortable bed than I could 
 have found had I remained at Valmania.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Pedestrianism—Environs of Prades— Family d' Aria— Villefranclie 
 —Character of its Fortifications— Virnet, and its mineral Springs 
 —Appearance of the Valley— OUete— Detachment of French 
 Soldiers— Village and Fastness'of Mont Louis— Descent into the 
 Valley of the Cerdagne— Arrival at the Tour de Carol— Luxuries 
 of its Auberge — Battle between the Carlists and Christinos — 
 ASviiecfnot to visit Andorre — Best mode of choosing Guides — 
 Novel Night-quarters— Departure for Andorre — Arrival of the 
 British Legion in Spain, and its influence upon English Travellers 
 in the J^ronticrs — Opinion of their probable Success — Character 
 of our Parly — Towers of Charlemagne — Inhabitants of the Val- 
 ley—Their Industry — Favourite Springs of the Mountaineers — 
 Intelligence of the Carlists — Their Depredations on the Shep- 
 herds—Pass their Fire of the preceding Night — Enter Andorre 
 — Discovery of the Marauders — Preparations for a Fight — Ad- 
 vance and Retreat of the Carlists — Wild Scenery— Covey of 
 Partridges — Andorrian Piscator — Arrival at the Forge of Escal- 
 dos. 
 
 Mounted upon the landlord's horse, I left
 
 86 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Prades " au point du jour" the next morning. 
 Fond as I am of walking, I have never been 
 able to reconcile myself to pedestrianism upon 
 the great roads, and have always availed myself 
 of the most expeditious mode of travelling when 
 I have been obliged to follow them, quitting 
 them whenever my destination permitted me. 
 The pedestrian has many great advantages over 
 every other traveller, not only in seeing the coun- 
 try through which he passes, but in becoming 
 better acquainted with the manners and the cus- 
 toms of their people. Among hills, and mountains, 
 and valleys, he is the most independent, and I 
 think most enviable, being in existence ; he 
 throws care of every kind to the winds, and 
 nothing comes amiss to him — nothing annoys 
 him but bad weather ; and even then he can 
 console himself with 
 
 " Fighting his battles o'er again," 
 
 or chalking out upon his map his future route, 
 by no means the most unpleasant occupation of 
 a traveller. There is one essential, however, 
 which is necessary for all travellers to carry about
 
 THE PYRENEES. 87 
 
 with them, but particularly the pedestrian, and 
 unpossessed of which, I would most strenuously 
 advise him to remain at home ; it is a cheerful 
 and contented mind under all circumstances. 
 Bad dinners, indifferent beds, fatiguing journeys, 
 and surly landlords, must never discompose him ; 
 never be felt as more than the expected annoy- 
 ances incidental to the character he has assumed, 
 and giving additional zest to the many real plea- 
 sures which no one but the pedestrian traveller 
 can fully estimate and enjoy. 
 
 In the environs of Prades, the banks to the 
 right and left of the Tet are spotted with villages, 
 and clustered with old chateaux. Among those 
 upon the right is the hamlet of the Ria, which 
 either took its name from, or gave it to a family 
 renowned in history. From the family of 
 d'Ria are descended the Counts of Barcelona, 
 whose posterity have given kings and queens to 
 Arragon, Navarre, Castile, Portugal, Majorca, 
 Naples, Sicily, and France. Thus the greater 
 part of the reigning sovereigns of Europe, can 
 trace their descent from the original proprietor of 
 the little village of Ria. 
 
 The valley begins to contract soon after leavmg
 
 88 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Prades, and at Villefraiiche there is little more 
 space than suffices for the river and the two 
 narrow streets which compose the town. Ville- 
 franche has the honour of being one of the first 
 towns fortified by Vauban, and it does no great 
 credit to his early genius. It was a strange 
 thoucrht to construct a fortress in the hollow of a 
 narrow gorge, where the enemy, out of reach of 
 its guns, could, from the heights above, pour their 
 vollies into every window of the place. It was 
 founded in 1 105, by Raymond, Count of Conflens 
 and the Cerdagne, and has several times been in 
 the hands of the Spaniards. 
 
 In a little valley leading to the Canigou, and 
 through which, from Villefranche, there is a 
 tolerable road, is Virnet, the most noted mineral 
 watering-place in this part of the South ; it is the 
 Bagneres of Roussillon and Languedoc ; and 
 during the season, which lasts from June to Sep- 
 tember, there are a considerable number of 
 strangers in the village. The botanist will find 
 almost the whole of the Pyrenean plants in its 
 vicinity, and the Canigou and its inferiors afford 
 no small field co the mineralogist. But with 
 these advantages and its pretty situation, its
 
 THE PYRENEES. 89 
 
 walks and gardens, it cannot compete with many 
 other mineral sources in the Pyrenees, where all 
 its merits are possessed in an equal degree, besides 
 the luxury of a cooler temperature, for those who 
 are in delicate health ; and more magnificent 
 scenery in their neighbourhood, for those who 
 visit the Pyrenees with other intentions than to 
 quaff their unpalatable waters, or stew them- 
 selves in their sudatories. 
 
 From Villefranche, the Tet is inclosed by arid 
 and sterile heights, destitute of wood and cultiva- 
 tion ; many parts of their sides, lashed by the 
 rains, and swept over by the mountain torrents, 
 have been stripped of their covering of grass or 
 brushwood, and rendered far more unpleasant to 
 look upon than rocks and precipices. I break- 
 fasted at Ollete, the next village in the 
 valley, built after the most approved Spanish 
 architecture — the streets as narrow and dirty as 
 they could well be. I left Ollete in company 
 with a detachment of French soldiers " en route " 
 for Mont Louis, and escorting a long train of 
 mules bearing baggage and necessaries for its 
 garrison. The road, soon after leaving Ollete 
 turns an elbow ol' the ridge; and ascending, it
 
 90 A SUMMER IN 
 
 becomes, where this elbow nearly touches the 
 precipice on the opposite side of the river, a pass 
 of uncommon beauty, and, as a place of defence, 
 of great strength. Accordingly it has been 
 fortified by the ancient lords of the valley, who 
 have built upon it several strong gateways and 
 buttresses, and the descent is by a, flight of steps 
 cut in the rock. 
 
 The detachment of soldiers and mules were in 
 advance of me; and, as they marched through the 
 many windings of this key of the valley, their 
 arms and accoutrements glittering with the sun- 
 beams, and the surrounding and overhanging 
 cliffs echoing to the mirth and hilarity which 
 reigned among them, gave a character of life and 
 animation to the scene exceedingly picturesque. 
 
 Passing the detachment, which, encumbered with 
 its baggage, was proceeding slower than the distance 
 we had to travel before night would permit us to do, 
 we soon afterwards passed through the upper and 
 uninteresting part of this valley, and entered 
 upon the extensive plain or table-land which 
 surrounds the fortress of Mont Louis. This vast 
 plateau bears a striking resemblance to many of 
 the upland districts of Scotland. It is divided
 
 THE PYRENEES. 01 
 
 into farms of considerable extent, with well-built 
 slated houses ; the fields partially inclosed by 
 grey stone walls, and abounding- with irrigated 
 meadows. The hills which border it are of no 
 great height, and the pines and shrubs which 
 cover them add greatly to the Scottish appearance 
 of the place. The auberge was comfortable and 
 clean, and I was fully recompensed for my indif- 
 ferent breakfast by an excellent dinner, chiefly 
 composed of game. The citadel of Mont Louis 
 is built upon a conical hill, at some distance from 
 the village, and is large and well fortified. It 
 was built by Louis the Fourteenth, and fortified 
 by Vauban to defend this passage into Spain, one 
 of the most frequent and easiest in the district. I 
 did not envy the garrisons shut up in such places 
 as Bellegarde and Fort-le-bains, but here I should 
 have had no objections to pass some weeks in a 
 clean and comfortable inn, where I could enjoy 
 myself either as a sportsman or a naturalist. 
 There is a path into Ariege by Les Angles from 
 Mont Louis. 
 
 Half an hour's walk from the village of Mont 
 Louis brought us to the point from which the 
 road descends the Col dc Perche into the valley
 
 92 A SUMMER IN 
 
 of the Cerdagne. The Cerdagne, at least the 
 French part of it, is erroneously called a valley, 
 for it consists of a large and extensive basin into 
 which many lateral valleys open ; and there are 
 several small rivers which cross it, and afterwards 
 miite with the Seyre, which has its source in one 
 of these valleys. From this point of the Col de 
 Perche, the whole of the French Cerdagne can 
 be looked over, with its boundaries of Spanish 
 towns and villages ; so completely is it situated 
 upon the Spanish side of the mountain, that in 
 many places the boundary line is a mere ditch or 
 rivulet. 
 
 We shortened the journey by quitting the road 
 and descending some ravines, awkward enough 
 places for a horse to step over ; but the animal we 
 had neither flinched from them nor lost his foot- 
 ing — I suppose that he knew better than to try the 
 effects of the fall he would have had. St. Pierre 
 was the first village we arrived at, and from it we 
 walked through well-cultivated fields of rich and 
 productive soil until we came to Saillagousse, the 
 largest town in the French Cerdagne. It is 
 situated upon a rising ground overhanging the 
 Seyre, which, swelled by the many tributaries it
 
 THE PYRENEES. 93 
 
 has already received, is even here a considerable 
 river, and looked very like a good trouting stream. 
 It has the remains of some old buildings vv^hich 
 seemed of very ancient architecture and great 
 size. 
 
 Between Saillagousse and the Tour de Carol, 
 where I intended my day's journey to end, I had 
 to cross one or two of the small ridges which 
 shut out the French part of the Cerdagne from 
 the valley of the Carol. I found a cordon of 
 French soldiers along the frontier, and had more 
 than once to produce my passport before I was 
 allowed to proceed. About seven o'clock we 
 arrived at the Tour de Carol, drenched by some 
 heavy thunder showers which had fallen since we 
 passed Saillagousse. As usual, the first person I 
 met on entering the village was a gendarme, who 
 took me to the best auberge in the place. Bad 
 was the best ; the host of it was the butcher of 
 the village, and the under part of it being used 
 in the way of business, the upper part in hot 
 weather could not be very agreeable. There was, 
 however, always one consolation, and that was, 
 that I should not starve. While changing my 
 wet clothes, the landlord, a lad of nineteen, made
 
 94 A SUMMER IN 
 
 his appearance, and asked what 1 would have for 
 my supper ; adding, that I had only to order what 
 I wished, and he could give it me, having, he 
 said, killed both sheep and oxen upon the pre- 
 vious day. " The valley is filled with soldiers," 
 said he, " and, as I supply them with meat, I 
 have always a great stock in hand." What an 
 hotel for a gourmand ! What a pity for such 
 creatures that in England it is not fashionable to 
 unite the sciences of ox-killing and inn-keeping ! 
 While supping, the gendarme who had carried 
 off my passport to the superior officers in the 
 village, returned with it. He was a civil and 
 obliging person, and gave me information as to 
 the state of the district. From him I learnt, 
 that had I arrived in the village the preceding- 
 day, I might have mounted to the top of the low 
 ridge in front of the auberge, the summit of 
 which is the boundary line between the two 
 countries, and looking into the valley below, been 
 witness to a battle between the Carlists and 
 Christinos ; and he believed, that at Puycerda, 
 and in its vicinity, they were now fighting. 
 Regarding Andorre he could not give me any 
 authentic accounts ; but he knew that no one 
 thought of going there in the present state of the
 
 THE PYRENEES. 95 
 
 war, when it was not probable that either of the 
 Spanish parties would respect the neutrality of 
 the little republic. I mentioned my anxious 
 desire to visit Andorre, and my determination to 
 attempt it, if I could get some men of the Carol 
 to accompany me who could be depended upon, 
 and who were well acquainted with the country, 
 upon which he offered to go and make inquiries 
 as to the practicability of procuring guides. 
 
 He returned in a short time, accompanied by 
 his officer, and the Maire of the village, whose 
 earnest advice was, not to think of visiting 
 Andorre, particularly, as that afternoon, reports 
 had come down the valley, that parties of the 
 Carlists had been seen upon the French marches 
 with Andorre. I had, however, come to the 
 Tour de Carol for the express purpose of ex- 
 ploring the (to me) most interesting valleys of the 
 Pyrenees, where, almost unknown to the world, 
 had existed a republic since the days of Charle- 
 magne ; so I at once determined that nothing 
 short of positive danger should deter me from 
 visiting them, and my friends, when they found 
 that I could not be dissuaded, very kindly set
 
 9G A SUMMER IX 
 
 about making themselves useful to me in many 
 ways. 
 
 I should always recommend the traveller, when 
 he is in a district with which he is unacquainted, 
 and wishes to procure guides, or to acquire infor- 
 mation which may be of consequence to him on 
 his journey, to apply to some of the authorities of 
 the place, — the Maire, for instance, a magistrate 
 with which every French village is provided. 
 He will find that, by acting in this manner, he 
 will neither be cheated nor imposed upon, which 
 the idle and interested of every country through 
 which he passes, are both willing and ready to 
 attempt ; he has, besides, the great advantage of 
 obtaining the best guides, and the most authentic 
 information ; and, above all, he will entail upon the 
 authorities who aided him, a responsibility which, 
 should the guides provided by them, not make 
 their appearance, will ensure inquiries being 
 instituted concerning him. Upon this occasion^ 
 when there was some necessity for being particular 
 as to the character of those who were to accom- 
 pany me, I obtained, through the civility of the 
 Maire, individuals whom I afterwards found
 
 THE PYRENEES. 97 
 
 were not only intimately acquainted with the 
 co.intry, but men whom I could have trusted on 
 any emergency. 
 
 It was arranged, that I should take four men of 
 the valley along with me, and that we should 
 travel prepared for whatever might happen; to 
 avoid the Carlists when their numbers rendered 
 it advisable to do so, or to meet any small parties 
 which might be out among the mountains. We 
 knew that they were badly armed, and were not, 
 but when in numbers, to be dreaded ; so that our 
 party was quite large enough for the occasion. 
 Every thing being thus satisfactorily adjusted, 
 my obliging friends, with many washes for an 
 agreeable journey, bade me good-night. The 
 room I supped in was, I found, to be my sleeping 
 apartment, and not only mine, but that of the land- 
 lord, his wife, and her two sisters. Matters were 
 here, how ever, better arranged than they would have 
 been at Valmania, where had I remained, I should 
 have been obliged to repose, " en famille," with 
 the whole establishment, the idiot old woman of a 
 domestic included. The family chamber at Carol 
 was, although, indeed, somewhat after a patri- 
 archal fashion, a very different sort of place. It 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 98 A SUMMER IN 
 
 was a large room, with windows to the front and 
 back ; and in each of the sides were two recesses 
 sufficiently large to contain" a bed, and chair to 
 put one's clothes upon ; in front of each of these 
 four recesses hung down a piece of cloth, the 
 dimensions of which, in comparison to the size of 
 the aperture which they were meant to inclose, 
 indicated either that the tapissier had sadly mis- 
 calculated in fitting them, or that they had 
 wofully shrunk in the last washing. The family 
 party retired to rest in the eastern recesses of the 
 chamber, I (I suppose from having to be early on 
 foot in the morning) in the western. This juxta- 
 position to my host's household, who during the 
 first ten minutes I was in bed, and before the 
 fatigues of the day had rendered me insensible to 
 outward impressions, indulged themselves in nasal 
 conversations, did not disturb my repose ; for 
 when I awoke in the morning, I found that they 
 were all up, and my breakfast got ready for me. 
 
 In many parts of the Pyrenees which are never 
 visited but by those whose business of some kind 
 or other leads them into their wilds, the appear- 
 ance of a stranger, but especially of one who has 
 no other object in view but amusement, is suffi-
 
 THE PYUEXEES. 99 
 
 cient to throw a whole village into commotion. 
 So it was at Carol ; and, although soon after 
 daylight, when we left the village its inhabitants 
 were assembled to see us off, and to bid their 
 friends good-bye. 
 
 The leader of our little band was a consider- 
 able proprietor in the valley, who was well 
 known to the Andorrians, with whom he was in 
 the habit of transacting business of various kinds, 
 — legal or illegal is of no consequence to the 
 reader, — and was as intimately acquainted with 
 each nook of their country as he was with his 
 own valley. A better guide I could not have 
 had ; his character among the Andorrians ensured 
 us a good reception from them, while his know- 
 ledge of their country would enable us to elude 
 the Carlists, should we find them in the district. 
 
 I ought to mention, that the English auxiliaries 
 had just at this period arrived in the North of 
 Spain ; and that, therefore, all safety to those of 
 their countrymen travelling in the northern pro- 
 vinces of that kingdom had vanished, from the 
 moment that they set foot in the Spanish soil. 
 The partisans of Don Carlos were not confined to 
 the mere districts in which Zumalacarregui and 
 
 II 2
 
 100 A SUMMER IN 
 
 his battalions were fighting for him, they were 
 scattered all over the country, in some places not 
 so numerous as in others ; but every where were 
 to be found in sufficient numbers to revenge upon 
 the solitary traveller what they styled the unjust, 
 the tyrannical, and, by the majority of the 
 Spanish people, uncalled for interference of his 
 countrymen in their national quarrel. Even those 
 of the Queen's party whom I met with at various 
 times, did not show themselves so grateful on the 
 occasion as might have been expected ; indeed, 
 so apparently indifferent were they as to what 
 became of the British Legion, that its probable 
 situation made me fear that my countrymen 
 would be treated as I was myself, from an act 
 of interference in the village of Nay (in Beam) : I 
 was one day passing through its market-place, 
 when I saw a man beating his wife, as I thought, 
 most barbarously ; so much so, that — advocate 
 as I am for allowing all domestic quarrels to be 
 settled by the parties themselves — I could not 
 help interfering upon this occasion. Accordingly, 
 1 laid hold of the husband ; and, taking his stick 
 from him, reproached him for his cowardice in 
 striking a woman ; but, as usual, the third party
 
 THE PYRENEES. 101 
 
 had the worst of it. The passion of both the 
 husband and wife was turned upon me, and the 
 reward of my mistaken kindness was a jug of 
 dirty water thrown about me by the woman, and 
 not a few " sacres" sent after me by the man, as 1 
 walked away, satisfied that this case of seeming 
 barbarity ought not to have seduced me from the 
 observation of the golden rule by which every 
 witness to domestic broils should be guided — 
 non-interference. Whether my countrymen in 
 the north of Spain may be treated eventually by 
 the Christinos and Carlists in this ungrateful 
 manner, I cannot altogether take upon me to say ; 
 but, they may rest assured, that, bravely as they 
 may conduct themselves in a cause which has for 
 its object the establishment of liberty of person 
 and of conscience in one of the finest countries of 
 Europe, where at present there is neither ; and, 
 successful though they prove, their best reward 
 will be their own satisfaction, and the encomiums 
 of Europe upon their gallantry. From the 
 Spaniards, liberated or not, they will receive — 
 few thanks, and less pay. 
 
 Etienne, the leader of our party, was accom- 
 panied by his son and two nephews ; all three,
 
 102 A SUMMER IN 
 
 fine active young men, chasseurs ot" the izard and 
 bear from their infancy, and possessing no slight 
 knowledge of the means by which the cunning 
 and vigilance of the most perfect douanier could 
 be evaded and laughed at. The morning was 
 fine, and we set out in high spirits, equipped as 
 if for the chace. At Courbassil, a little village a 
 couple of miles beyond the Tour de Carol, we 
 were stopped by a sentinel posted at the bridge, 
 until the officer of the outpost had examined our 
 baggage to discover whether we were not carry- 
 ing powder over the frontier ; only a small quan- 
 tity is allowed to each peasant ; but we had no 
 more with us than what was in our flasks, so we 
 were not detained. This was the last outpost 
 upon this side of the valley. 
 
 Higher up the valley than Courbassil, we came 
 to the old chateau from which the valley takes its 
 name — the Tour de Carol. It is curiously situ- 
 ated. The valley is not broad, and the moun- 
 tains which inclose it, particularly upon the 
 northern and highest side, are excessively rugged 
 and precipitous ; the castle has been built upon 
 an immense and isolated block of granite, which 
 may have been supposed to have detached itself
 
 THE PYRENKES. 103 
 
 from the shattered looking mountain above it, 
 and rolled into the centre of the valley. Some 
 walls, and two high towers, are the remains of it, 
 and are held in great respect by the inhabitants 
 of the district, who would not take away a stone 
 of it, even to prevent their own house from falling. 
 I could not help contrasting this veneration for 
 an ancient time-worn pile with the destroying 
 propensities of some proprietors of my own 
 country, who, to effect a paltry saving in some 
 new building, or march dyke, have pulled down 
 and carried off the materials which composed 
 fabrics of historical interest, or sacred to the dis- 
 trict from traditionary lore. 
 
 The towers of Carol are supposed to have 
 been built by the Moors, who were masters of 
 the valley until Charlemagne drove them out of 
 it ; and in commemoration of the victory which 
 he had gained over them, his name was oriven to 
 the Moorish castle, as well as to the whole valley. 
 No wonder that the peasants venerate a pile 
 which even bears the name of their great deliv- 
 erer, and would deem as sacrilegious any hand 
 that touched it, but that of time. 
 
 Every thing in the valley of Carol, notwith-
 
 104 A SUMMER IN 
 
 standing its proximity to Spain, is essentially 
 French ; its inhabitants, in their manners, their 
 dress, their language, and their nationality, might 
 have been a hundred miles within the frontier. 
 Small as it is, there is more industry in it than in 
 almost any other of the Pyrenees. In winter, 
 when agricultural and other pursuits are put a 
 stop to, the men are engaged in the manufacture 
 of thread ; the women, in knitting stockings, of 
 which there are many thousand pairs annually 
 exported to different parts of France. The wool 
 made use of is Spanish ; and, previous to the 
 civil war, which has destroyed every thing of 
 the kind, this valley was the entrepot of an 
 extensive commerce carried on between the two 
 countries. 
 
 The valley, soon after passing the towers of 
 Charlemagne, becomes a perfect ^chaos of rocks, 
 among which winds the path and river, until the 
 latter divides into two branches. Upon the 
 streams, which come from the mountains on the 
 right, are the two villages of Porta and Porte, 
 near the path which is used as a communication 
 practicable both for horses and pedestrians with 
 the Ariege. Had I been going to Ax or Foix, I
 
 THK FVHENEES. 105 
 
 should have taken that route. The path into 
 Andorre follows the stream to the left, and leads 
 into an upper valley, which, although wild, is 
 very pleasing. Its bosom is one long narrow 
 meadow, studded with rocks, overgrown with ivy 
 and wild flowers. It is one of the many moun- 
 tain-gardens which I have unexpectedly stumbled 
 upon in the Pyrenees, in situations where they 
 never would be looked for, or supposed to exist. 
 Near the centre of it, and in front of the enor- 
 mous and curiously-shaped perpendicular wall of 
 rock, called Peryfourche, where there was an excel- 
 lent spring of Water, we sat down to eat our 
 breakfast. The appearance of the Peryforke may 
 be imagined from the name it bears; it is, in all 
 respects, excepting that of dimensions, the coun- 
 terpart of the Pic du Midi of Pau. 
 
 Every spring of good water among the moun- 
 tains, is known to the shepherds and chasseurs, 
 and they invariably resort to their favourite wells 
 when they make their repasts ; and hungry 
 although they sometimes are, I have often seen 
 them carry a piece of bread or meat untouched 
 for several miles, rather than eat it before they 
 reached their usual fountain ; and then sitting
 
 106 A SUMMER ]N 
 
 down, and pulling out their clasp-knife, eat their 
 dinner ; and this they do when they frequently 
 make no more use of the water than to rinse the 
 glass (if they have one) from which they drink 
 their wine. The traveller can indulge in one 
 great luxury by means of these fountains ; he has 
 nothing more to do than to sink his ^bottle or 
 wineskin in their waters for a few minutes, and 
 he can drink its contents as well iced and cooled 
 as ever the most experienced butler gave him his 
 champagne or hock in England. 
 
 At the upper end of this valley we heard some 
 one call to us from the mountain side, whom 
 Etienne recognized as one of the shepherds who 
 had charge of the flocks belonging to the vallies. 
 At certain seasons of the year, the flocks belong- 
 ing to the communes are driven to the highest 
 pastures, and tended by two or three individuals 
 who never leave their flocks, and are seldom seen, 
 except by the chasseurs, until the rains or storms 
 drive them lower down. They live upon milk, 
 and cheese which they make themselves, and 
 once a fortnight some of their friends in the 
 valley bring them their bread. 
 
 Etienne, when he saw the shepherds, not alone.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 107 
 
 but with the flocks so far from the pastures where 
 they ought to have been, immediately said, that 
 as there was no appearance of bad weather, 
 some extraordinary circumstance must liave driven 
 them down ; accordingly, when we joined them, 
 they told us, that they had, the previous night, 
 been roused from their hut by a party of Carlists, 
 who took from them all their cheese and provi- 
 sions, and hud threatened to shoot them ; and 
 that being afraid of another visit, they had at 
 daylight collected their flocks together, and come 
 down from the higher pastures. This party of 
 Carlists had, therefore, been upon the French 
 territory, and considerably within it ; and from the 
 circumstance of the Ariege district being almost 
 to a man French Carlists, and the shepherds 
 stating that the party had packages with them, I 
 concluded that they had been across the frontier 
 to obtain ammunition from some of their French 
 allies. 
 
 Etienne advised the shepherds to return to 
 their pastures, after having procured bread from 
 the villages, as he was of opinion they would not 
 be annoyed by the Carlists again, who, from their
 
 108 A SUMMER IN 
 
 conduct upon the French territory, which had 
 hitherto been respected by both parties, he sus- 
 pected must have been " mauvais sujets," who 
 had taken advantage of the disturbed state of the 
 country to do mischief for mischief's sake, and 
 " not real Carlists belonging to the neighbouring 
 districts." We found the number of the maraud- 
 ing party to consist of eleven, very indifferently 
 armed, so that we would have no reason to avoid 
 a meeting with them, which it was not unlikely 
 we should have, as they would most probably 
 have rested after leaving the shepherds, either 
 about the head of the valley in which we were, 
 or in the next, which, belonging to Andorre, was 
 neutral ground. 
 
 At the very crest of the ridge, and where a step 
 to one side or the other would have been either 
 into France or Andorre, we found the remains of 
 a fire still smouldering, which must evidently 
 have been lit by the party we had heard of; 
 they must have carried their wood a considerable 
 distance to burn it at this spot in security, for 
 there are neither trees nor shrubs near it. They 
 certainly had not been gone half an hour, or the
 
 THE PYRENEES. 109 
 
 fire would have been extiiiguislied ; so wc kept 
 together, as we crossed the frontier into Andorre, 
 and looked about for the party in advance of us. 
 
 This valley of Andorre is encircled by rocky 
 mountains, and is one of the high pastures belong- 
 ing to it, and frequented only for a short period 
 of the year, by their flocks. Excepting along- 
 side of the stream, there is little pasture ; it 
 debouches into the Spanish valley of Paillas, 
 which runs across it, and presents its mountains 
 covered with dark forests. There is not even a 
 shrub in the Andorre valley large enough to con- 
 ceal a dog, so that, excepting some masses of 
 rock scattered about, there was nothing to prevent 
 our taking in at a glance every object it con- 
 tained ; we were, therefore surprised upon not 
 seeing the party, who could be but a short dis- 
 tance from us. 
 
 We had descended into the valley, and skirting 
 its stream for about one half its length, had begun 
 to ascend the opposite mountains, when Etienne 
 discovered the party which we were on the look 
 out for. They were at a considerable distance 
 from us ; and no one but a chasseur of • izards 
 would have discerned them passing in the shade
 
 110 A SUMMER IN 
 
 of the summits of the ridge we had quitted. The 
 shepherds had either in their fear miscounted their 
 numbers, or they had been joined by others, for 
 there were now thirteen of them together. We 
 halted to observe them ; at first they took no 
 notice of us (although we must have been in their 
 sight ever since we had descended into the valley), 
 seemingly satisfied that the shade of the dark 
 mass above them prevented their being seen ; at 
 last, however, when they saw that they had been 
 discovered, they stopped to consider what they 
 should do. We did the same; Etienne was of 
 opinion, that we should instantly proceed, and 
 put the hill-side between us and them, which, 
 from the start which we should have had, would, 
 even in competition with Spanish spartilleas, have 
 been by no means a very diflficult task. His son 
 was, however, of a different opinion ; he thought 
 that we should remain where we were, and take 
 our chance of their coming down to us. As they 
 had baggage, attacking us was not worth their 
 while, unless they supposed us to be something 
 better than peasants, and besides, our apparent 
 indifference as to whether they came on or not, 
 would most probably have the effect of deterring
 
 Till. I'YRENEES. Ill 
 
 them from doing so. I was of the same opinion, 
 and it was determined that we should remain. 
 
 Presently, ten of the party above us, leaving 
 their bundles with the remainder, began to de- 
 scend the mountain. Etienne again proposed 
 that we should start ; but he was overruled. 
 The only precautions which we took, were to 
 separate a little from each other, and sit down; 
 so that, should we be fired at, they would, at 
 least, have to pick out their shots, and have less 
 chance of hitting us; while we could have the 
 advantage of a more deliberate aim. Down the 
 fellows came. The affair wore a business-like 
 aspect; and my companions new primed their 
 muskets. I had no less than two brace of pistols 
 with me ; for one of the gendarmes at Carol, 
 finding I had only a pair of pocket articles, 
 insisted upon my taking a pair of his, which 
 could be returned to him with the guides ; so I 
 was sufficiently well provided ; and the staif I 
 carried, looked, I have nt) doubt, very like a 
 musket at a distance. 
 
 When they came nearer us, we could see that 
 only six of them had muskets, the others had, 
 probably, no weapons but their knives ; which a
 
 1 12 A SUMMER IX 
 
 Spaniard never, by any chance, is without, and 
 which he knows well how to use. We were not 
 to fire until they had either done so, or given 
 such unequivocal signs of their hostility that 
 there could be no doubts of their intentions. 
 They never stopped until they reached the little 
 plain which lay between us and the mountain- 
 side, down which they had come, and were about 
 two hundred yards distant, when they halted to 
 observe us more particularly. They consulted 
 for a few minutes; those who had no muskets 
 evidently disliking to come on, and endeavouring 
 to persuade the others not to do so ; which 
 advice they, at last, allowed themselves to be 
 guided by ; more particularly when they found, 
 upon a nearer inspection, that the booty they 
 were likely to find upon a few peasants, would 
 hardly repay the risk they would expose them- 
 selves to in acquiring it; so they wheeled about, 
 and leisurely retraced their steps up the moun- 
 tain. As we were not pressed for time, we 
 remained where we were until they joined their 
 comrades, and proceeded on their journey. Our 
 honour being perfectly satisfied when we saw 
 them re-commence their march ; it was the signal
 
 THE PYHENKES. 1 13 
 
 for US to do the same ; and, among the turnings 
 and windings of the ascent, we soon lost sight of 
 the Carlists. 
 
 In the upper parts of this mountain, which is 
 called Mont Melons, — and, excepting a small 
 part, appertains to Andorre, — are some of the 
 most savage scenes which can be imagined. 
 There are three lakes, which are inclosed with 
 perpendicular walls of rock, nearly two thousand 
 feet high, their summits shattered and broken 
 into all sorts of fantastic shapes. 
 
 This species of rock is often found in the 
 Pyrenees, reaching to an enormous height, and 
 forming a ridge or wall, terminating in so acute 
 an angle, that 1 have frequently, in order to 
 reach a good post when out izard shooting, or to 
 obtain a view of some particular place, had to 
 cross a ridge so narrow that I could look down 
 the most terrific slopes of bare rock on both sides 
 of me, and could only do so in safety by crawl- 
 ing upon my hands and knees, or, bestriding the 
 acute summit, lift myself along it. 
 
 The walls which inclosed these lakes shot up 
 even more slender and perpendicular than usual ; 
 and hence the appearance of ruin which they 
 
 VOL. I. 1
 
 ]14 A SUMMER J-V 
 
 presented. The storms of ages had torn and rent 
 them into a thousand peaks ano forms. I could 
 have supposed, that the giant of the mountain, 
 laughing at the structures of human hands, had, 
 in derision, carved out his own ideas of architec- 
 ture upon the walls of his lonely bath. These 
 lakes were, indeed, three " gloomy Glenda- 
 louo-hs ;"'* not a tree, or shrub, or vestige of 
 veo;etation to be discovered near them ; the very 
 lichen seemed to shun the huge masses of rock, — 
 the debris of the mountain, — that lay piled above 
 each other in this wilderness, where reigned soli- 
 tude the most profound, and silence, unbroken 
 even by the dashing of a waterfall, or the rippling 
 of a stream. 
 
 From this spot of ruin and desolation, we 
 turned the flank of the mountain, and entered a 
 little valley which belonged to Spain, the moun- 
 tains which inclosed it belonging to Andorre- 
 We could not, however, without making a consi- 
 derable circuit, avoid going through it. De- 
 scending into this valley, we sprung a covey of 
 
 * Name of a lake in the mountains of Wexford, -whose loneli- 
 ness is the theme of one of Moore's melodies.
 
 THE PYREXEE&. 115 
 
 partridges, and my walking-staff came instinc- 
 tively to my shoulder ; the birds, little accus- 
 tomed to the sight of human beings, did not take 
 a lonof flio;ht, and were marked down a few hun- 
 dred yards oft'. I could not resist having a shot 
 at them, especially as I found that there were 
 some of the party who had small shot with them. 
 Carlists were therefore, for the time, forgotten ; 
 and I drew the balls from two of the muskets, 
 and, charo-ino- them with shot, followed the 
 covey. I was able to spring the two old birds, 
 both of which I shot, but the covey would not 
 rise. After searching and beating about, we 
 discovered several of them following the plan of 
 the ostrich when he is hard pressed, with their 
 heads poked into holes in the ground, or under 
 stones : they were the grey-legged partridge, and 
 were by no means unacceptable, considering the 
 bad fare we were, in all probability, to partake of 
 in Andorre. 
 
 Having crossed this little patch of Spanish soil, 
 and another ridge of Andorre, we were at the 
 head of one of the three large valleys which, 
 with their dependent lateral ones, their gorges 
 and ravines, constitute the territory of Andorre. 
 
 I 2
 
 116 A SUMMER I-V 
 
 The stream which runs through this valley of 
 Escaldos, is famous for the quantity and quality 
 of its trouts. 
 
 The first native of Andorre whom we met with 
 was a piscator upon this river, and it was with no 
 small interest that I walked towards this freeman 
 of the mountains. I accosted him in French, 
 with the usual " What sport ?"" — but a shake of 
 his head intimated that he did not understand 
 me. Etienne spoke to iiim in Catalan, the lan- 
 guage in use among these people, and asked him 
 the same question ; when he pulled off, — not his 
 basket, but — his bonnet ; and from its long bag 
 «nptied out about a score of fine-looking trouts. 
 
 His ideas, his thoughts, and his hopes were 
 evidently of the most simple nature ; so were his 
 clothes, so was his fishing- tackle ; every thing 
 about him was in keeping. He was about the 
 middle-size, well-made, and athletic ; his features 
 were good, and his countenance did not want 
 expression ; while his head might have served as 
 a model to the phrenologist, of ever\^ thing that 
 was great and good.
 
 THE PYKEXEtS. 117 
 
 But this is no place for a philosophical digres- 
 sion upon the uncultivated rudiments of under- 
 standing which this Andorrian piscator possessed ; 
 and who, although he might, perchance, be — 
 
 *' Some mute, inglorious Milton" — 
 
 was after all, perhaps, happier within his limited 
 sphere of intellectual enjoyments than thousands 
 of the savans whose knowledge and fame have 
 "set the world on fire." He was a labourer in 
 the forge ot Escaldos, and had been sent out by 
 the manager to take him some trouts for supper. 
 He would not partake of any of the food which 
 we had with us ; it was Friday, and a piece of 
 bread was all that I could get him to accept. 
 
 This valley, one of the largest of Andorre, I 
 found to consist of a succession of basins, formed 
 by the mountains alternately closing and receding 
 from each other. The basin in which is situated 
 the forge of Escaldos, is almost shut out from 
 those above and below it, the mountains closing 
 at its extremities, and the river tumbling over a 
 beautiful cascade, both at its entrance into it, and 
 at its exit. We soon arrived at the forge ot 
 Escaldos, where we had resolved to remain during 
 the nio-ht.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 An Andorrian Forge— Exquisite Scenery of the Valley — Infancy 
 of the Arts iaj\.ndorre — Village of Escaldos, and its Appearance 
 — Anxiety of the Inhabitants regarding the Movements of the 
 Carlists, and the Cause — Independence of the Republicans — 
 — Invited to dine with the Maire— Interior of the Houses — Ap- 
 pearance of the Women — A Republican Assembly, and patriotic 
 Speech — Dinner at the Mairie — An Andorrian Ball — The Conse- 
 quences of a Stumble. 
 
 The establishment at Escaldos consisted of 
 the shed in which was the forge, and one or two 
 other buildings, in which the master and his 
 labourers resided ; it belongs to the commune of 
 Andorre, and is managed by a Spaniard from 
 Urgel. The forge was a la Catalan, and of the 
 simplest and most rude construction ; every thing 
 about it seemed coeval with the epoch when the
 
 THE PYRENEES. 1 10 
 
 properties of the mineral were first discovered. 
 How the workmen of tlie Carron, or other great 
 iron-works, would have stared had they seen the 
 apparatus which wrought the iron at Escaldos ! 
 There was a very powerful fall of water, sufficient 
 to have driven a hammer ten times the size of the 
 one used, and to have made all the iron which 
 they turned out of the forge in six months in the 
 course of a week ; but it was wasted, and thrown 
 away, upon a wheel not very much larger or 
 more powerful than some which I have seen em- 
 ployed at home to churn with. The axle was an 
 unshapen pine, rude as it was felled upon the 
 mountain, and into which short pieces of plank 
 were stuck, as into the wheel of a child's wind- 
 mill. From the character of this, the moving 
 power, the simple nature of the interior may be 
 supposed. The mineral is not found in the com- 
 mune, but brought from the mountains at the 
 head of the valley of Carol, so that it has to be 
 carried nearly a day's journey to the forge ; the 
 charcoal is procured in the vicinity. The quan- 
 tity of iron made with such apparatus was neces- 
 sarily very small, enough to cover the expenses, 
 and afford a livelihood to a certain number of the
 
 120 A SUMMEll IN 
 
 inhabitants of the valley; and, as they did not 
 seek for wealth, it was sufficient. The master 
 was very complaisant, and, with his trouts and 
 our partridges, we fared luxuriously. He volun- 
 teered me a share of his bed, the only thing of 
 the kind in the place, but I preferred sleeping 
 upon a bundle of skins upon the floor to accepting 
 his offer. A considerable quantity of hides vv^ere 
 brought into France from Spain by this valley. 
 The Spaniards who came to take the wrought iron 
 bringing the hides to the forge, the mules which 
 brought the ore from Carol carrying them into 
 France. Even when I was there, there was a 
 considerable stock as it were in bond. 
 
 The bundles of skins did not form quite so 
 pleasant a couch as if it had been composed of 
 heath or rushes ; but, nevertheless, it answered 
 the purpose remarkably well ; for, I slept soundly 
 until the forge-hammer, beating within a few feet 
 of my head, awoke me. A pedestrian's toilet 
 does not, in general, occupy very much time, 
 especially when all the minutiae for performing it 
 are fifty miles distant. So it was with me upon 
 this, and many other occasions ; but, with a clear 
 mountain-stream in which to bathe and refresh
 
 THE PYRENEES. 121 
 
 myself, I should have been discontented, indeed, 
 not to have been satisfied. A well-arranged 
 dressing-room, and its numerous comforts, 1 
 confess, is a great and almost indispensable 
 luxury ; but, what an enjoyment would be added, 
 were they all so situated that their owners could, 
 during the hot days of summer, and after having 
 got through that most disagreeable of all disa- 
 greeable operations — shaving, throw down his 
 instrument of torture, and plunging himself in the 
 cool waters of a shady pool, forget its miseries ! 
 
 We were soon upon our way down the valley, 
 which became more and more beautiful and 
 interesting every step that we advanced. The 
 succession of basins to which I have alluded 
 were passed through, having latterly acquired 
 all the additional charms which their forests of 
 pines conferred upon them; but the mountain- 
 gates which inclosed these basins became gradually 
 wider and wider, until they receded altogether ; and, 
 standing upon the edge of the first of a series 
 of falls and rapids, which, in a more civilized part 
 of the world, would have been visited by thou- 
 sands, I saw stretched beneath me the most 
 considerable of the valieys of Andorre ; and, at
 
 122 ^ SUMMER IN 
 
 its extremity, the rich alluvial basin, containing 
 the largest and most populous villages of the 
 republic. The mountains upon eacii side of it 
 were clothed with wood, from their base almost 
 to their summits, the more delicate species of 
 trees affecting the lower and sheltered situations, 
 while the fir and the pine, spreading their gaunt 
 arms and green boughs to the blast, reigned in 
 undisputed possession of the loftier regions. The 
 woods upon both sides ran down to the river's 
 edge ; and, from where I stood, so completely 
 surrounded the many hamlets and cottages which 
 were embosomed among them, that their situa- 
 tions were most frequently discovered by the 
 smoke which curled above the trees. Here and 
 there, on either side, was to be seen an open 
 space among the forests, where the yellow of the 
 grain contrasted strongly with the sombre hue of 
 the pine. These spots were generally little 
 shelves, valuable from the quantity and richness 
 of the soil which the rains had deposited upon 
 them. There the trees had been cleared away, 
 the rude hut erected, and a family's wants pro- 
 vided for. The Andorrians might well be envied 
 the possession of this valley, and its appurte-
 
 THE PYRENEES. 123 
 
 nances ; it was not very large, but it was a gem 
 ricli ill all the elements of the most perfect 
 scenery. On its richer soils 'waved the yellow 
 grain, and flourished the tobacco -plant ; its rivers 
 had theii' cataracts, and their thousand rapids; 
 while its noble mountains, rearing their bald 
 heads and rocky summits six thousand feet 
 above the villages on its bosom, could boast their 
 dark forests which spread around them, and 
 creeping up their heights where they struggled 
 with the colds and storms, as if to shelter the soil 
 w^liich gave them birth. 
 
 The cottages, or rather huts, in which the 
 peasantry live, are of the most original and 
 simple construction. They are built either of 
 stone or wood, but bearing very little in their 
 appearance to denote that the mason or the car- 
 penter had been employed in raising them. 
 There was one circumstance connected with these 
 buildings which displayed, more than any other, 
 the infancy of the arts among the Andorrians ; 
 all the huts are covered with slates, of which 
 there is no lack among the neighbouring moun- 
 tains ; but so little have the people profited by
 
 124 A SUMMER IX 
 
 their ability to make iron, that the slates of their 
 houses are laid upon the rafters, and kept in their 
 places by heavy pieces of stone being placed over 
 them. It is only in the superior houses that 
 nails are employed in fastening on the slates ; so 
 that the roofs of the houses, in general, present 
 rather a singular appearance, as if an avalanche 
 from the mountain had rained a quantity of debris 
 upon them. The Andorrians, for centuries, have 
 been forgers of iron, very large quantities of 
 which they yearly supply to their Spanish neigh- 
 bours, and yet they have so little benefited by 
 the staple production of their country as not 
 even to possess a few nails. 
 
 Around, or in the vicinity of the cottages, there 
 is invariably a patch of the best soil devoted to 
 the culture of the tobacco-plant; for here there 
 are no such restrictions against its growth as in 
 France, and each peasant can comfort himself in 
 the winter with his pipe or his cigars. So rapid 
 is the descent into the plain, that when I turned 
 upon the little wooden-bridge, and looked up the 
 valley towards the Forge which I had lately left, 
 the torrent, where it could be seen amono- the
 
 THE PTREXEES. 12o 
 
 openings of the woods which overhung it, seemed 
 as if it shot from the extreme heights to the 
 bridge in one continued fe.ll. 
 
 About three hours from the time we left the 
 forge, we reached Escaldos, the first of the 
 villasfes which are situated in the basin of 
 Andorre. It was, without exception, the very 
 dirtiest village in which I had ever been, con- 
 sisting^ of, perhaps, a hundred houses as irregu- 
 larly built, and as irregularly jumbled together, as 
 the most ardent admirer of the picturesque in 
 architecture could desire : they were generally of 
 two stories ; the mules, cattle, goats, and fire- 
 wood occupvinsT the under one, while the family 
 were quartered in the upper. The lanes or 
 passages between the houses were so narrow, that 
 from the balcony which each building was 
 dificnified with, it would have been no difficult 
 matter for a family to have visited their opposite 
 neisrhbours without troubling themselves with 
 descending into the street. Through a labyrinth 
 of these ding}' and odoriferous lanes, we found 
 our way to the best Posada of the place, the com- 
 forts of which were quite compatible with the 
 character of the villasre. As usual, the under
 
 12C A SUMMER IN 
 
 story was allotted to the bestial portion of the 
 establishment, and any chance guests of the same 
 fraternity ; a winding wooden stair in the far 
 corner of this stable, cow-shed, piggery, hen- 
 house, wine-cellar, &c., &c., into which there 
 came no streak of light but that which was 
 admitted by the door, conducted to the upper 
 regions of this house of entertainment. The 
 second story was divided into sections ; one of 
 which served the joint purposes of kitchen and 
 coftee-room, the other as a sleeping apartment for 
 the guests. 
 
 We had not breakfasted, and our morning's 
 walk had by no means blunted our appetite. The 
 coarse brown bread of the country, eggs, and 
 chocolate, were the provisions which the hostess 
 could give us ; such as they were there was no 
 scarcity, and we could not say, that we fared 
 indifferently. There are no vineyards in Andorre, 
 consequently the wine, which the peasants are 
 seldom without, is brought either from Spain or 
 France, in small barrels or skins, by the mule- 
 teers who bring the mineral to the forges, or who 
 come for the iron when made. 
 
 The villagers were in great anxiety as to the
 
 THE PYRENEES. 127 
 
 proceedings of the Carlists, and we were very 
 soon surrounded by numbers, and interrogated 
 upon the subject. Excepting the party whom 
 we had seen upon the mountains, we could give 
 them no information, but we learnt from them a 
 circumstance which perfectly accounted for the 
 perturbation in which they were. It appeared 
 that four Carlist officers had taken refuge in 
 Urdino, one of the villages of the republic, where, 
 from the neutrality of Andorre, they ought to 
 have been perfectly safe. The Christinos had, 
 however, disregarded the neutrality of the repub- 
 lic, broke into the village, and murdered the 
 Carlist officers. The consequence of this act of 
 brutality upon the part of the Christinos, was to 
 cause the Carlists to revenge themselves upon the 
 Andorrians, who, they said, ought to have pro- 
 tected their officers, and not suffered the Chris- 
 tinos to offer such an insult to their territory. 
 Accordingly, a strong party of Carlists had, the 
 preceding day, burnt one of the upper villages 
 belonging to Andorre, and carried off whatever 
 they could take along with them. Thus, between 
 the two parties, the Andorrians were rather awk- 
 wardly situated. This burning of their village
 
 128 A SUMMER IN 
 
 had, however, roused the independent spirit of 
 the republicans, and they were adopting means 
 to repel and punish any future aggression. 
 
 Amongst those who came to make inquiries at 
 us, was the Maire of the village, an honest miller, 
 and a friend of Etienne's, who insisted that we 
 should come, and eat what dinner his " pauvre 
 cabane " could afford us. Etienne and I promised 
 that we would come to the Maire at three o'clock 
 — a very fashionable hour for Escaldos, but there 
 was public business to be transacted to-day, and 
 private comfort being as nought compared with 
 the public weal, the Maire must needs postpone 
 his dinner hour two hours later than usual, in 
 order to preside at an assembly of the community, 
 where the precautionary measures which it had 
 been judged necessary to adopt, were to be com- 
 municated to the inhabitants. Of course, I 
 resolved to be present at this republican congress, 
 and in order to do so, and afterwards dine with 
 the Maire, I gave up my intention of quitting 
 Escaldos that night. As the meeting was not to 
 take place immediately, and Etienne wished to 
 call upon some of his acquaintances in the village, 
 I accompanied him, and had thus an opportunity
 
 THE PYREXKES. 129 
 
 of visitino' some twenty families in it. I found 
 the interior of all the houses arranged in the same 
 manner, and all equally filthy. The women were 
 in general handsome, and, indeed, many of them 
 but wanted the scrubbing-brush and soap to have 
 rendered them beautiful. They are perfectly 
 Spanish in appearance, and in general have the 
 same coquettishness of manner peculiar to the 
 Spanish peasant women, and are equally fond of 
 a little flirtation and admiration ; and their hus- 
 bands and swains can frown as darkly and 
 fiercely upon the attentions of a stranger as the 
 Spaniards ; but in Andorre the knife is not in 
 such frequent use as in Spain, and the stranger 
 may make a civil speech, or pay a pretty com- 
 pliment to the Andorrian women, without much 
 danger of having his gallantry repaid by an un- 
 expected stab from the murderous weapon which 
 a Spaniard is never without. The furniture of 
 the houses consisted of one or two rude pine 
 tables and stools, wdiich from smoke and dirt had 
 become so dark in colour as to resemble ebony, a 
 few plates, a copper pan, and a few wooden 
 spoons. The beds of the family were in niches 
 in the sides of the apartment, and in gentility and 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 A SUMMER IN 
 
 luxury corresponded with the other articles of the 
 establishment. The interior of an Irish cabin — 
 brats, pigs, poultry, jackass, and all, was in- 
 finitely preferable to the most cleanly of the 
 houses which I visited in Escaldos. 
 
 By the time that Etienne and I had made our 
 calls in the village, it was the hour of assembling 
 at the Maire's. The council-hall upon this 
 occasion, was the barn or granary attached to the 
 mill, and was quite large enough to contain the 
 greater part of the male population of the village. 
 Business had commenced before we arrived, and 
 the room was almost filled, but we found that our 
 friend, the Maire, had not forgotten us, for he 
 had reserved a couple of stools, out of the few 
 which surrounded a little table at which he pre- 
 sided, for our especial use. Although this was 
 not a regular council of the republic, at which 
 the Syndic would have presided, it was still a 
 curious and original ajssemblage of free-born and 
 independent men; and novel and interesting from 
 its being the first republican assembly I had ever 
 been present at. Upon a three legged stool sat 
 the president, a strong, well-built, and energetic 
 looking personage ; to all appearance, by no
 
 THE- PYRENEES. 13X 
 
 means ill-adapted to be the cliiefof such a group 
 as surrounded him. There might be about eighty 
 individuals present; the younger part of whom 
 stood in groups, while the elders were seated 
 upon the sacks and skins which were scattered 
 around. 
 
 The Maire had already furnished the assembly 
 with the details of the incursions of both the 
 Spanish parties ; and impressed upon the meet- 
 ing the urgent necessity of preserving the inde- 
 pendence of the republic, by adopting measures 
 calculated to secure to it the respect to which it 
 was entitled, and repel and punish the violation 
 of their territories. He then called their attention 
 to the means which were requisite to effect this 
 object. They were — that the law requiring each 
 member of the community to have in his posses- 
 sion a musket, and a certain quantity of powder 
 and shot, should be rigidly attended to : that a 
 certain proportion of the inhabitants should 
 remain constantly in the villages, for their protec- 
 tion, while the remainder were engaged in, or 
 absent upon, their various employments : that all 
 possible means should be taken for the purpose of 
 obtaining the earliest information of the vicinity 
 
 K 2
 
 132 A SUMMER IX 
 
 of their enemies : and that, for this purpose, all 
 the peasants living in the upper valleys, and the 
 shepherds with the cattle upon the mountains, 
 should receive instructions to bring immediate 
 intelligence to the various communes, of the 
 approach of strangers: and that, upon the receipt 
 of such intelligence, every man, who was not 
 disabled by age or illness, should assemble in the 
 villages, and act according to the advice of the 
 appointed authorities. These were the sum total 
 of the Andorrian Militia regulations ; and every 
 man of the republic being interested in its safety, 
 were sure of being adhered to. 
 
 The Maire, having delivered these instructions 
 to the assembly, intimated, that if any individual 
 had aught to say, any precautions to recom- 
 mend, that he would be most happy to hear them. 
 
 Upon this, one of the elders of the assembly 
 stepped forward to the table, and with much 
 eloquence and apparent feeling, harangued the 
 meeting. Excepting where certain words which 
 I knew, conveyed to me the meaning of a few 
 sentences, I could not understand, nor sufficiently 
 appreciate, the merits of the orator and patriot ; 
 but the substance of his speech, as Etienne after-
 
 THE PYRENEES. 133 
 
 wards told me, was to the effect, that he was con- 
 fident that every man among them would enthu- 
 siastically respond to the call which their 
 country's danger had induced its magistrates to 
 make upon them ; and that, from whatever 
 quarter it was threatened, and by whatever num- 
 bers, that those men who had been born in 
 Andorre, who were descended from sires who by 
 their noble conduct had acquired, and by their 
 bravery had defended, the rights and freedom 
 which were now the boast of their country, Avould 
 not permit their inheritance to be destroyed, but, 
 unblemished and unspotted, bequeath it to their 
 children. He also stated, that he, and others 
 present, could recollect the period, and a long 
 period it was, when they were even in greater 
 danger than at present; when there was far more 
 cause to dread the subversion of their govern- 
 ment, and its degradation into a province of one 
 of those powerful countries which were then at 
 war with each other. That Andorre had, even 
 then, preserved its independence, and repelled 
 the aggressions which had been committed upon 
 it ; and that surely now, when they had only to 
 protect themselves against the inroads of one ot
 
 134 A. SXTMHZR IN 
 
 the neighbouring nations, they conld have no 
 fear as to their ability to defend themselyes. 
 The patriot's address was received with all the 
 applause which it merited, and the meeting broke 
 op, without, as in England, having voted its 
 thanks to the president, ^ for his able conduct in 
 the chair.'' 
 
 From the council-hall, or bam, Etienne, my- 
 self, and the old gentleman, whose "voice was 
 still for war," adjourned, with the JMalre, to the 
 sanctuary of his dining-room, kitchen, or bed- 
 room, where we found the Lady Mayoress, her 
 daughters, and sons, awaiting our presence. 
 The apartment was, certainly, superior to any 
 which I had entered in the village, for it con- 
 tained chairs instead of stools ; one of which had, 
 actually, arms to it. The bed recesses had pieces 
 of drapery hanging down before them; and there 
 was a greater abundance of dishes. But, what at 
 once gave dignity and character to the house, 
 and, independent of all other considerations, 
 would have fully justified the villagers of Escaldos 
 in their choice of a Maire, was his being the 
 owner of half a dozen pewter spoons, and a full 
 dozen of knives and forks,— steel or iron, it does
 
 THE FYRENEES- 135 
 
 DOt sisrniir which, — with bone handles. Xo 
 wonder the Mayors* was proud of them ; thejr 
 were the onAy articles <^ the kind in the Tillage. 
 
 Dinner was sooa announced by the his- 
 the soap, as it was emptied it * 
 tmeeiL. which was placed npoi the ; 
 lon^, narrow pine^-table, whidi w^- 
 a dean, bat greyish whi" 
 seemed to be n : " 
 cnlar places isrii .— :_r _ 
 I resigned to Etiam 
 hare been the place of 
 
 where I had most ci ;: — _ 
 
 nndeistood. between ? of ^-e M^ir?"? 
 
 daughters. I did this .: : : i : 
 
 inrariably tbimc. rii: 
 
 whose language I ."— r: ^:;-r .i:.r 
 
 hardly understood, we: 
 
 ocnt in com^prdiendin^ wjii: I -nrisiied to say. 
 
 than the men. 
 
 A spoon and a |dale woe set before eachindi- 
 
 Tidual ; and, all being seated, tiie Maire palled 
 
 the tureen towards him, helped hio^dj^ and 
 
 pushed it round ; the next poson did the same ; 
 
 and so on. Then fdlowed a laige biown hn£. 
 
 fircNDQ whicb r ;■: "^-ersea c^t z pound, or moie. ci
 
 136 A SUMxMER IN 
 
 bread. The soup was composed of vegetables 
 and bread ; and a piece of pork, which afterwards 
 made its appearance, had been boiled in it. The 
 soup was removed, and fowls, fish, and the piece 
 of pork, succeeded. This constituted our dinner, 
 and only wanted the few elegancies of civilized 
 life, to have made it worthy of the table of the 
 Lady Mayoress of any country town in France or 
 England. 
 
 We drank our wine out of the odd-shaped 
 bottles which I had first essayed the use of at 
 Valmania ; but I had now, from practice, become 
 sufficiently expert as to be able to measure the 
 distance from the " cup to the lip," and to 
 describe the proper angle with the neck and 
 spout of the bottle, so as to save myself from a 
 recurrence of the mishap which followed my 
 first attempt, and thus baulked my fair (dark, I 
 should say) neighbours of the laugh which they 
 would otherwise have raised at my expense, and 
 which their compressed lips and smiling eyes 
 plainly told me they were preparing for when I 
 took the decanter in my hand. Having satisfied 
 my thirst, I set it down upon the table, with an 
 action and look explanatory of my satisfaction at 
 having cheated some of the company of a laugh
 
 TMF, I'YRENEKS. 137 
 
 at my awkwardness. Why should not Andorrian 
 ladies have thought me equally as vulgar and 
 ignorant of the common usages of civilized life, 
 by my inability to handle their decanters, as my 
 polished friends at home would have esteemed 
 me had they seen me cut fish with a knife, or eat 
 curry with any other instrument than a spoon ? 
 Lord Chesterfield himself might have been con- 
 victed of ill-breeding at the table of the Maire of 
 Escaldos. 
 
 Anxious to see as much as possible of the 
 manners and customs of the Andorrians, I made 
 Etienne inquire as to the possibility of our 
 assemblins: the villao^ers to a dance in the 
 evening. The Maire sanctioned the proposal ; 
 the hall of state was to be the rendezvous, and 
 the youngsters of the party started off to spread 
 the news through the village, more welcome in 
 their character than would have been the " fiery 
 cross ""* which in the morning they were told to 
 be prepared for. 
 
 Shortly after seven, the whole dancing popula- 
 
 * In Scothuul, in aneicut limes, Uic clans and inLabitauts of 
 the various glens and districts -^verc summoned to attend upon
 
 138 A SUMM'ER IN 
 
 tion of the place were assembled in the council- 
 hall, barn, or ball-room, dressed in their holiday- 
 suits; and I could observe that some of the ladies 
 whose acquaintance I had formed in the morning, 
 had evidently been laving their dark countenances 
 in the stream, and justified the supposition, that 
 there was more necessity for soap and water than 
 for " Rowland's Kalydor," to purify their com- 
 plexions. There was no scarcity of musicians, 
 where almost every lad could jingle the strings of 
 the guitar, or beat time with the triangle. The 
 Andorrian dances are almost the same as those of 
 the Arragonese, and other Spanish peasantry; 
 but the women do not trip it so lightly as the 
 Spanish women, and the men have not that ease 
 and elegance displayed by the Spaniard in the 
 performance of his native dances. The Andorrian 
 dances, however, are not by any means deficient 
 in spirit and activity, set after set succeeding 
 each other without one moment's cessation ; the 
 instruments were only laid down by those who 
 
 their chiefs when in danger, by means of the Fiery Cross ; a 
 wooden cross half burnt, which the messengers sent to warn tlie 
 people, carried along with them.
 
 THE PYUENEES. I'.VJ 
 
 were going to dance, to be taken up by tliose wlio 
 had finished ; and so on it continued for several 
 hours, both ladies and gentlemen occasionally 
 invigorating themselves with a pull from the 
 strange decanters; which, as patron of the ball, I 
 took care to have well filled. About eleven 
 Etienne and I retired, leaving the party in full 
 glee, the Maire presiding over the remainder of 
 the cask of wine, and encouraging the dancers 
 with his voice as he beat time with his fists upon 
 the barrel. 
 
 The night was exceedingly dark, and if we had 
 not taken the precaution of stealing one of the 
 lamps away from the ball-room, we might have 
 experienced more difficulty in groping our way 
 to our hotel, through the winding lanes of 
 Escaldos, than in crossing the mountains to 
 Carol; at least so said Etienne, as he tumbled 
 over a heap of something or other, which, how- 
 ever soft to fall upon, did not render him a more 
 agreeable companion ; fortunately I was carrying 
 the light, otherwise I should have perhaps had a 
 summerset also ; but no farther mischief befel us 
 until we reached the door of the posada, when, in 
 stepping over the cross-bar at the bottom, I
 
 140 A SUMMER IN 
 
 stumbled, and let fall the light. I mentioned, 
 that the staircase which led to the upper story, 
 was situated in one corner of this stable, but 
 there was both difficulty and danger to be 
 encountered before arriving at it. It was a place 
 wherein daylight it was most necessary to pick one's 
 steps with care : of course this could not done in 
 the dark, and the danger to be encountered was 
 from the mules, who of all animals dislike being 
 disturbed during night by strangers. Etienne 
 went first, but he had hardly proceeded a couple 
 of yards within the door, when a snort from one 
 of the mules, accompanied by a lash out with its 
 heels, made him retreat. Mules, like other 
 obstinate animals of whatever genus, become 
 better friends by bullying than coaxing, so 
 Etienne, accustomed to their ways, did not spare 
 the former, and keeping as close to the wall as 
 possible, we reached the staircase in safety. We 
 were in hopes that we should have been able to find 
 another lamp in the room above, but the whole of 
 the family had either retired to rest, or were still at 
 the ball ; the fire was out, and we were in perfect 
 darkness. We had told the hostess, that we 
 should occupy the spare apartment, and accord-
 
 THK ]'VR f:\KES. I 4 I 
 
 ingly we opened the door of it, with the intention 
 of sleeping as we best couUl, upon tlie beds, if we 
 could find them, or failing- in our attempts to do 
 that, to lie down upon the floor. Our intentions 
 were, however, frustrated; for when we opened 
 the door, such harmonious sounds proceeded from 
 all parts of the chamber, that some dozen, at least, 
 of intruders must have taken possession of our 
 quarters. Alas ! there was no bell to ring, no 
 waiter to call up, and in true John Bull style 
 indignantly order him to turn the sleeping 
 gentlemen out. Here " might was right," and 
 had Etienne and I tried the experiment, we 
 would, in all probability, have been treated as 
 intruders ourselves, and as such found a recep- 
 tion which might have proved somewhat more 
 dangerous and fatal than the kicks from the 
 mules below, had we received one from each of 
 them. We thought, with the old adage, that it 
 was best to " let sleeping dogs lie ;" so we shut 
 the door, and in revenge only drew the bolt upon 
 them. Etienne laid himself down upon one of 
 the benches in the kitchen; but, as 1 did not 
 altogether relish the atmosphere of the apart- 
 ment, composed of the exhalations arising from
 
 142 A SUMMER IN THF- PYRENEES. 
 
 the refuse of the frying-pan, the well-picked 
 bones which were strewed about, the upsetting of 
 the wine decanters, and various other pot-house 
 effluvia, and as it was a fine night, I carried one 
 of the three legged stools into the balcony at the 
 window, and placing it in one corner, so as to 
 make myself as comfortable as I could, I was 
 soon afterwards sound asleep.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Prudence of the pFCceding Night illustrated — A Scottish Answer 
 to a searching Question — Departure of the Contrabandiers — 
 Admonition of tlie Maire — An Andorrian Souvenir — Valley 
 d'Arensal — Valley dTrdino — The Croesus of the Republic- 
 Village of Urdino — ]\Iurder of P'our Christino Officers — The 
 largest Forge in Andorre — Extreme P Qvertyj >f the Villagers — 
 Passage of the Mountains — Valley of Embalire — Fine Crops — 
 Curious Church — Thunder Storm — Saldeou — An Andorrian 
 Proprietor — Past and Present History of their Republic. 
 
 I SLEPT 51s soundly as I could have hoped to 
 have done in the interior of tlie house, and only 
 awoke when Etienne came to tell me, that the 
 gentlemen who had taken possession of our apart- 
 ment were endeavouring to get out. The bolt 
 was of too slight a nature to have long resisted 
 the violent shakings which they were bestowing
 
 144 A SUMMER IN 
 
 upon the door, otherwise we should have kept 
 them shut up for some time ; so I told him to let 
 them out. Etienne demanded what was the 
 cause of all the noise they were making (as if he 
 did not know any thing about it) ; and, upon 
 their answering that they were shut in, he with- 
 drew the bar, and out marched four Spanish 
 muleteers, Carlists, Christinos, or Contra- 
 bandiers, — one or other of them ; or, perhaps, 
 all, as the occasion might suit them ; but, from 
 their appearance, perfectly capable of enacting 
 any of the characters; and, swearing vengeance 
 upon the " cursed hogs" who had shut them up. 
 One fellow in particular brandished his clasped 
 knife, and "grinned a ghastly smile" as he 
 showed how deep he would drive it into the body 
 of the object of his revenge. Etienne, rather 
 annoyed at the anger of the party, insinuated 
 that the bolt might have slipped accidentally, and 
 thus, probably, no one had fastened it. But, as 
 I was aware that this excuse would not, upon 
 an examination of the latch, be likely to "go 
 down," and observing a well-filled decanter upon 
 the table, I took it up, and drinking "success to 
 their discovery of the rascals who had played
 
 THE PYRENEES. 145 
 
 them the trick," took a draught of it, and handed 
 it round. Understanding French, they all drank 
 in their turns, and the row at once subsided. 
 
 Meanwhile, notwithstanding the uproar, not 
 one of the household had made their appearance, 
 so I proposed that Etienne should beat up the 
 quarters of the hostess, have our breakfast pre- 
 pared, and that the Spaniards should partake of 
 it along with us. I had not decided which 
 route I should take to reach Ax in Arriege ; 
 but the conversation which I had with these 
 Spaniards, at once determined me. Without 
 seeming to be inquisitive, I discovered that they 
 were on their way to the same place, and that 
 their route lay through the Valley d'Embalire by 
 Canillo. Now, although I wished to visit Ca- 
 nillo, one of the largest of the villages of Andorre, 
 still as we should have, most probably, to sleep, 
 either in some cabin or shed, or, perhaps, under 
 a tree, I had no desire to do so in company with 
 my new acquaintances, even although they had 
 been of less doubtful characters than they seemed 
 to be. Accordingly, when they qviestioned me 
 as to my proceedings, I affected an indifference 
 as to my movements — " I might go one way ; I 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 A SUMMER IN 
 
 miglit go another : in short, I was perfectly 
 undecided." Thus, after breakfast, we parted 
 very good friends ; they, without the slightest 
 knowledge as to our plans, whilst we knew as 
 much of theirs as we wished. 
 
 After they were gone, I consulted with Etienne 
 regarding our proceedings, and the propriety of 
 choosing a route different from that taken by the 
 Spaniards. Escaldos is situated at the extremity 
 of the basin of Andorre, the Val d' Embalire 
 debouches into the valley which I had passed 
 through the preceding day, about a mile above 
 the village ; the Val d' Arensal debouches into 
 the basin a little below it. Through both of 
 these valleys there is a path, which, through the 
 mountains at the head of the valley, leads into 
 Arriege. We chose the path through the Val 
 d' Arensal by Urdino, the more circuitous of the 
 two, but that was of little consequence to us. En 
 passant, we called upon the Maire, to bid him 
 good bye, and found him, notwithstanding his 
 jollity of the preceding night, already out of 
 bed, and superintending the turnings of his mill 
 wheel. He wished us to have remained another 
 day with him, and to have had another dance.
 
 THE PYREXEES. I 4 V* 
 
 but this would uot have suited our arranaemeuts. 
 and we declined. We told him the trick we had 
 played off upon the Spaniards, and he expressed 
 great satisfaction that we had not accompanied 
 them over the mountains, " For," said the Maire, 
 " I know the party very well, they are the most 
 daring contrabandiers upon the frontier; they 
 know the passes through the mountains too well 
 ever to be entrapped by the douaniers ; we have 
 reason to suppose that they were of the party 
 who burnt our village the other day, and they 
 are such desperados, that they would think no 
 more of murdering me, were it for their interest 
 to do so, than they would to shoot my dog. I 
 know contrabandiers with whom I would trust all 
 I possess, and who would not injure any one, 
 except in the way of their profession ; but as for 
 the ' mauvais sujets ' who passed my door just 
 now, I would be well pleased were it the last time 
 they did so." I thanked him for his kindness, 
 and we parted. 
 
 The only shop in the village was kept by a 
 Frenchman ; it was a sort of general warehouse ; 
 provisions, hardware, and silks adorned its various 
 shelves. I could not resist the temptation which 
 
 L 2
 
 148 A SUMMER IN 
 
 its gay window presented, to carry off some 
 souvenir of Escaldos, so I stepped into the shop 
 to make a choice, but this was no easy matter. 
 Monsieur asked me what I Avished to purchase, I 
 told him that I did not know exactly what I wanted, 
 but that I wished to have something that could 
 be easily carried, as I was going into France. 
 Monsieur gave an interpretation to my speech 
 which I had not the slightest intention of convey- 
 ing, for, thinking what I said vsras a hint to give 
 me some contraband articles of easy carriage, he 
 instantly retreated to his back shop, and presently 
 returned bearing a large package of Barcelona hand- 
 kerchiefs and shawls. Such articles were, how- 
 ever, better suited to my purpose than salt meat, 
 pots and pans, jugs and decanters, and having 
 tumbled them about in a style which would not 
 have evinced any want of fashionable nonchalance 
 upon the part of a portion of my country-women 
 whose daily occupation it is to derange the 
 packages which the shopkeepers of the metropolis 
 have spent so many hours of the preceding night 
 in arranging, I bargained for and bought one of 
 the particoloured shawls. Spanish silks are 
 not admitted into France, but Etienne said, that
 
 THE PYRENEES. 149 
 
 we should have no difficulty with the douaniers, 
 so I gave it in charge to him. Crossing the 
 bridge over the little river, the scenery at whose 
 source and along whose banks had given me 
 such delight the preceding day, we skirted along 
 the north side of the basin by a narrow path 
 among woods of the walnut and wild apple- 
 trees. 
 
 The entrance to the Val d' Arensal from the 
 basin of Andorre, is by one of those beautiful and 
 magnificent gorges so frequently met with in the 
 Pyrenees. Those who are acquainted with the 
 path from Luz to Gavarnie may form an idea of 
 it. The defile of Urdino is as narrow, the moun- 
 tains, which darken and frown over it, as steep, 
 and as draped with brushwood, while the torrent 
 rages as furiously as it thunders through its 
 narrow channel, and the scenery altogether bears 
 a strong resemblance to that in the vicinity of 
 the Pas d' Echelle in the valley of Gavarnie. 
 
 Near the entrance to the defile, upon a little 
 mound, is a curious old sculptured cross, so 
 antique that I could neither decipher the carving 
 nor the inscriptions ; and in a nook where the path 
 winds round one of the jutting out rocks- in the
 
 150 A SUMMER IN 
 
 gorge, there is a small chapel, the greater part of 
 which has been hewn out of the rock, and is 
 greatly resorted to by the inhabitants. About a 
 couple of miles beyond the chapel the scenery of 
 the path is unexpectedly changed ; the gorge is 
 quitted for a valley, wide and open, containing 
 meadows, pastures, and corn fields. The moun- 
 tains which inclose it are wooded and cultivated, 
 and hamlets and villages with their church bel- 
 fries overtopping them, are distinguished upon their 
 sides. Etienne pointed out to me a village upon 
 the mountain side, where the finest walnuts either 
 in France or Spain (he said) were produced ; 
 whether or not this is the case I cannot tell, but I 
 can bear testimony to the beauty of the situation 
 of the village, and the magnificence of the walnut- 
 trees which surrounded it.. 
 
 There are two of the most considerable forges 
 of Andorre in this district. One takes the name 
 of the valley ; the other is called Urdino, and is 
 situated in a lateral valley of the same name 
 which opens into the Val d' Arensal. The forge 
 in the Val d' Arensal is the property of one 
 individual, as is that of Urdino. Had I wished 
 to have crossed the frontier in the direction of
 
 IHK PYRENEES. 151 
 
 Aussat and Vicdessos, I would have traced the 
 Val d' Arensal to its source, and entered the 
 Arriege by the Port d' Aussat, but as I preferred 
 the route by the Port de Framiquel, and the 
 Hospitalet to Ax, it was necessary to quit the 
 Val d' Arensal, and striking into the Val d 
 Urdino, to cross the mountains which separated 
 it from the Val d' Enibalire, and tracing that 
 valley to its source, pass the ridge which separated 
 it from the source of the valley of Ax. By 
 adopting this route I should have an opportunity 
 of visiting all the valleys and villages of Andorre. 
 We, therefore, quitted the Val d' Arensal, and 
 entered that of Urdino. This is one of the richest 
 and most fertile of the lesser valleys of Andorre ; 
 and the greater part of it, including the forge, 
 belongs to one proprietor, who consequently is 
 the wealthiest individual of the republic. 1 
 inquired of an Andorrian, what might be the 
 amount of yearly income enjoyed by this great 
 man ; and the answer, which I received in French, 
 conveyed most perfectly the benefit which a 
 person unacquainted with the luxuries of life, 
 supposed the possession of a large income con- 
 ferred on its possessor : " II a quatre vingt francs
 
 152 A SUMMER IN 
 
 a manger chaque jour." Tliis would give an 
 income of a thousand a year, or perhaps one fifth 
 of the whole revenue of Andorre. I endeavoured 
 to ascertain how this individual came to acquire 
 such large possessions, but I could not discover 
 any thing farther than that his family had held 
 them for a long period. 
 
 Urdino is a considerable village, the inhabi- 
 tants of which, having little property of their 
 own, necessarily depend upon the " great man" 
 of the place for employment. The forge em- 
 ploys, for six months of the year, a great pro- 
 portion ; the remainder are engaged in cidtivating 
 the land, or tending the flocks. Urdino was the 
 village in which the four Carlist officers had been 
 murdered by a party of the Christinos three days 
 before I reached it. They liad, however, con- 
 fined themselves to the slaughter of the officers, 
 and had done no injury to the inhabitants of the 
 place. 
 
 The forge is very much larger than the others 
 of Andorre ; and, although the machinery con- 
 nected with it is but of very simple construction, 
 still, the great advantage of capital is apparent in 
 all its arrangements. Most of the other forges in
 
 THE PYUEXEES. 153 
 
 the moiintaius are stopped working as soon as 
 the weather, breaking up, prevents the mules' 
 bringing the mineral over the mountains, or the 
 charcoal from the forests ; but, at Urdino, there 
 is always a large supply of both ore and charcoal, 
 far beyond what is necessary for the immediate 
 consumption ; so that, when all the forges of the 
 country are at a stand, the forge of Urdino is 
 giving employment to many individuals, and is 
 profitable to its proprietor. Having examined 
 the interior of the forge, we went into the posada 
 of the village, to replenish our wine-skins before 
 ascending the mountains. The price of the wine 
 amounted to two francs and a half, and I handed 
 the hostess a five franc piece in payment. She 
 had, however, no change to give me ; and she 
 went out to borrow it from her neiohbours. She 
 was some time in returning ; and, upon Etienne's 
 interrogating her concerning the cause of the 
 delay, it appeared that it arose from the difiiculty 
 of collecting the two francs and a half in the 
 village ; and it had been only after borrowing a 
 few sous from many diti'erent individuals that tlie 
 sum was made up. From this great scarcity of 
 money, I inferred that the " gieat man" paid his
 
 154 A SUMMER IN 
 
 labourers in " kind. " The house in which the 
 gentleman lived was a large, square, and ugly- 
 looking building in one of the dirty lanes of the 
 village ; and I could not help being astonished, 
 that the owner of so many beautiful sites for a 
 place as this valley offered, should have preferred 
 being surrounded by the dirty hovels of the vil- 
 lage. One cause of his living in the village 
 might arise from the great difficulty which, in 
 many winters, he would have experienced in 
 reaching his forge, by reason of the snow storms, 
 even although he resided but a very short distance 
 from it. 
 
 If I had come into Andorre by the route by 
 which I was quitting it, I should have brought an 
 introductory letter to this wealthy Andorrian from 
 some of his friends at Ax, which would have 
 been of great service to me in enabling me to 
 become better acquainted with the customs and 
 traditions of the country. Should I ever revisit 
 Andorre, I shall not forget to do so ; meantime, 
 should any of my readers think of going thither, I 
 should earnestly recommend them to carry along 
 with them an introduction to the Proprietor of 
 Urdino. To those who do not relish sleeping in
 
 THE PYRENEES. 155 
 
 the open air, or living upon chocolate and eggs, 
 it will insure a bed, and a greater choice of pro- 
 visions. 
 
 The mountains in the vicinity of Urdino pro- 
 duce a sufficient quantity of charcoal to supj)ly 
 the forge ; but the mineral, as at Escaldos and 
 other places, is brought from the mountains of 
 Carol ; a distance which it takes the mules eight 
 or ten hours to perform. The ascent of the Col 
 d'Urdino is very steep ; and, for a long way up 
 the mountains, we scrambled through forests of 
 fir and pine. I observed here, as in the more 
 civilized parts of the French Pyrenees, the great 
 havoc and waste which the ignorant charbonniers 
 and woodcutters make in cuttino- down the wood. 
 Their implements are, in general, of such a simple 
 nature, that they can only cut through a certain 
 thickness ; consequently, all of the trees which 
 exceed in diameter the powers of the workmen, 
 are cut over at some distance from the ground, 
 and the best and soundest part of the tree left to 
 decay. In the mountains of Eau.x Chandes, and 
 the Basque country, I have seen the finest timber 
 ruined in this manner, where there could be no 
 excuse for such negligence, as the forests were
 
 156 A SUiMMER IN 
 
 government property, and the wood applied to 
 public purposes : and the French government 
 could not plead their poverty as a reason why 
 they could not supply their workmen with the few 
 tools which were requisite for them. The trunks 
 of the largest trees are not so easily converted 
 into charcoal as the lesser ones ; the Andorrian 
 charbonnier, therefore, when he wants to destroy a 
 large tree for the sake of its branches, and cannot 
 cut it down, sets fire to the trunk, and consuming 
 the support, the branches are obtained. The 
 scene which an oak forest presents, when it has 
 been cut down for the sake of the bark, with its 
 blanched trunks and boughs scattered around, — 
 and which some author has compared to a field 
 of battle after the slain have been stripped of 
 their clothing, — is a melancholy object, and can 
 only be equalled by the desolate appearance of a 
 wood which has been destroyed by fire. In the 
 French Pyrenees, so careless were the inhabitants 
 of preserving their forests, that it was by no 
 means an uncommon circumstance for a peasant, 
 when he wanted a pair of sabots, to cut down a 
 couple of trees, and carve a shoe out of each. 
 Government has latterly, however, paid more
 
 IME PVRENEE8. lO/ 
 
 attention to the forests, and been more careful of 
 their preservation ; but, both government and 
 people are still very, very far from possessing any 
 practical knowledge of arboriculture ; or, if they 
 do, it is never applied. 
 
 From Urdino to Canillo, the pedestrian will 
 find it a toilsome stage ; but the beauty and aspect 
 of the mountains will encourage him on his 
 journey. We spent several hours in crossing the 
 ridge of mountains which separates those two 
 villages. The mountains upon the Canillo side 
 of the ridge are covered with the finest pasture, 
 as beautiful as that upon the Ochills ;* and the 
 valley of Embalire at their feet produced as fine 
 crops of grain as I ever beheld. The barley, 
 especially, was of a nature to delight the heart of 
 the most capricious farmer. In straw, size of the 
 grain, quality and quantity, it far excelled the 
 best British barley, and I regretted most exceed- 
 ingly, the loss of a sample which I intended to 
 have brought home. 
 
 The village of Canillo is of the same dirty 
 character as the others of Andorre. The Syndic, 
 or chief magistrate of the Republic, is a native of 
 
 * A range of mountains in the vale of the Devon, in Clack- 
 mananshire.
 
 158 A SUMMER IN 
 
 it. It has a curious old church, which is worth 
 examining, from the simple and truly original 
 character of the structure. I could have sup- 
 posed some guilty sinner, ignorant of the first 
 rules of masonry, had been condemned to expiate 
 his sins by building a holy edifice ; and that the 
 church of Canillo had been the production of his 
 unpractised hands. I did not inquire to what 
 saint the edifice had been dedicated ; but I am 
 afraid that many of the holy fathers of the calen- 
 dar, who have had some of the finest specimens 
 of architecture in the world dedicated to them, 
 would have been ashamed to have had this build- 
 ing associated with their memory. 
 
 There was nothing to induce me to remain in 
 Canillo ; so we proceeded along the banks of the 
 river which runs through it, with the intention of 
 sleeping at the Hospitalet, the first French village 
 across the frontier ; this could only be accom- 
 plished by our walking during a part of the night. 
 About four o'clock, we arrived at Saldeon, an 
 Andorrian hamlet of this valley. We had not 
 reached the shelter which this place afi'orded us, 
 ere a thunderstorm, which we had hoped would 
 have passed along the higher range of the moun- 
 tains, burst over our heads, and the rain de-
 
 THK PYIIF.XEES. 159 
 
 scended in torrents. Many a wistful look did I 
 cast towards the head of the valley during the 
 first hour of the rain, in the hopes of seeing it 
 clear away, and permit us to resume our journey. 
 But it showed no symptoms of abating its vio- 
 lence ; and, as an hour or two was of conse- 
 quence to us, it soon became so late as to banish 
 all thoughts of our quitting our present shelter, 
 even were the storm to cease : so we set about 
 foraging for provisions, and discovering where 
 and how we were to pass the night. 
 
 The hamlet of Saldeon consists of two or 
 three miserable hovels, that in which we had 
 taken refuge being the best of the number. The 
 proprietor was from home ; but his wife, and an 
 idiot old woman, who was taking charge of the 
 youngest of ten children, were the inmates of the 
 cabin. It consisted of one apartment, divided 
 into two or three sections by rough wooden 
 boarding, in the largest of which we crouched 
 over the embers of a fire, in order to dry our 
 clothes, partially wet by the shower which had 
 been the prelude to the storm which now raged 
 without. We soon procured more wood, and 
 made the fire blaze so high as to overcome the
 
 160 A SUMMER IN 
 
 light which was admitted through a single pane 
 of glass ; and, hanging our coats as near the 
 chimney as possible, it was not long before they 
 were thoroughly dried. We could not expect to 
 fare sumptuously in such quarters ; indeed, I was 
 almost afraid to ask the lady of the house if she 
 could give us any thing to eat, as I was afraid 
 that she would have answered in the negative ; 
 but where is the cabin, however poor its owners 
 may be, which cannot boast its couple or two of 
 fowls ? The hovel at Saldeon had its domestic 
 fowls, and, fortunately for us, there was no scar- 
 city of eggs in the house. The bread was so 
 sour as to be scarcely eatable ; but, by boiling 
 several eggs and a quantity of the bread together, 
 I made a kind of soup which a hungry traveller 
 could relish sufficiently well. Etienne and the 
 other guides followed my example; and we dined 
 and supped, satisfied, at least, that we might have 
 fared worse. 
 
 While eating our meal, another stormstaid 
 traveller entered the cabin. He was an Andor- 
 rian, and proprietor of some quantity of land in 
 one of the communes. I offered him a share of 
 the soup which I had cooked, which he very
 
 TFIE IMKI.XEFS. 161 
 
 thankfully accepted ; and, throwing off his capote, 
 or cloak, took a seat near me. He had received a 
 better education than most of his countrymen, 
 and could speak French perfectly. The circum- 
 stance of meeting with such an Andorrian I con- 
 sidered as very fortunate ; and was, at once, 
 reconciled and indifferent to the storm, and 
 thought not of the comfortable quarters which, 
 but for it, I should have had at the Hospitalet. 1 
 had now an opportunity which had not hitherto 
 presented itself of acquiring a perfect knowledge 
 of the constitution and character of the people 
 among whom 1 was ; and I lost no time in 
 profiting by it. Question after question I put 
 to my neighbour ; and he was most civil and 
 kind in giving me the information which I wished 
 to procure. I shall here give an account of the 
 little Republic of Andorre, compiled from the 
 information which this native gave me, and from 
 other authentic sources. 
 
 The Republic of Andorre, situated upon the 
 southern side of the Pyrenees, and beyond the 
 natural frontier of France, ought from its physical 
 position to belong to Spain. It is, however, con- 
 sidered as a neutral and independent province, 
 
 VOL. I. iM
 
 162 A SUMMER IX 
 
 although it is to a certain extent connected with 
 both countries; to Spain by its religious, to 
 France, by its civil government. The history of 
 this little country presents a phenomenon weW 
 worthy the attention and study of the naturalist 
 and the politician. It affords the almost solitary 
 instance of a people, few in number, and, in com- 
 parison with their powerful neighbours, almost 
 incapable of defence, having preserved during 
 twelve centuries their independence and their 
 institutions uninjured by the many revolutions 
 which have so frequently convulsed the two great 
 kingdoms which surround it. The contented 
 and unambitious minds of its inhabitants, with 
 their seclusion from the world, and indifference to 
 or ignorance of the political intrigues and com- 
 motions which have overthrown and subverted its 
 many states, has for such a length of time secured 
 to them, as the feudatory republic of France, more 
 real and substantial liberty, than was ever enjoyed 
 under the purest of the Italian republics. 
 
 Andorre is composed of three mountain vallies; 
 of the basin formed by the union of those vallies, 
 and its embouchere, which stretches towards the 
 Spanish Urgel. Its valleys are the wildest and
 
 TllK PVRENEES. 10'^ 
 
 most picturesque iu the Pyrenees, and the moun- 
 tains, with their immense peaks, which inclose it, 
 amongst the highest, and most inaccessible. Its 
 length from north to south may be six and thirty 
 miles ; from east to west, thirty. It is bounded 
 on the north by Arriege ; on the south by the 
 district of Urgel ; on the west by the valley of 
 Paillas ; and on the east by that of Carol. It 
 contains six communes ; Andorre, the chief town, 
 Canillo, Enchamp, La Massane, Urdino, Saint 
 Julien, and above thirty villages or hamlets. 
 
 The government is composed of a council of 
 twenty-four ; each commune electing four mem- 
 bers, who are chosen for life. The council elect 
 a Syndic, who convokes the assemblies, and takes 
 the charge of public affairs. He enjoys great 
 authority, and when the assemblies are not sitting, 
 he has the complete government of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 It is to Charlemagne that Andorre owes its 
 independence. In 790, that prince having 
 marched against the Moors of Spain, and 
 defeated them in the neighbouring valley of 
 Carol, the Andorrians (following the tradition of 
 the country, the only, but in a state like this the 
 
 M 2
 
 164 A SUMMEll IN 
 
 best authority to rely upon), rendered themselves 
 so useful to the French army, supplying them 
 with provisions, and taking care of their wounded, 
 that the emperor, to recompense them for their 
 kindness, made them independent of the neigh- 
 bouring princes, delivered them from the Moors, 
 and permitted them to be governed by their own 
 laws. After him, Louis le Debonnaire, whom the 
 Andorrians style the pious, having driven the 
 Moors across the Ebro, ceded to Lisebus, the 
 Bishop of Urgel, a part of the rights over 
 Andorre which Charlemagne had reserved to 
 himself and his successors. It was in virtue of 
 this grant that the bishop of Urgel acquired a 
 right to a part of the tithes of the six parishes, 
 and still exercises a spiritual jurisdiction over the 
 country. This is the only manner in which it 
 has any dependence upon Spain. 
 
 Afterwards the Counts of Foix exercised in 
 Andorre the rights of the crown of France, in the 
 name of their sovereign, but more frequently upon 
 their own account. Since Henry the Fourth, the 
 kings of France have maintained their rights 
 according to the usages established by the Counts 
 of Foix. In 1793, these rights, being considered
 
 IHE PYRENEES. 
 
 165 
 
 as feudal, were abandoned, and Andorre was for a 
 time completely separated from France ; but not- 
 withstanding this temporary independence, the 
 Andorrians continued to preserve their attach- 
 ment to that country. The inhabitants courage- 
 ously resisted the violation of their territory by 
 the Spaniards, and furnished to the French 
 armies, during the late war, both guides and 
 assistance of every kind. At the same time they 
 anxiously solicited the establishment of the 
 ancient order of things, and Napoleon yielded to 
 their wish by a decree of the 20th of March, 
 1806. By this decree Andorre continued to be a 
 republic connected with France ; its Viguier, or 
 criminal judge, being a Frenchman chosen from 
 the department of Arriege ; and paying an annual 
 sum of 960 francs, for which he was to enjoy the 
 privilege of receiving various articles of commerce 
 free of duty from France. Thus, excepting as 
 regards the spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of 
 Urgel, which after all cannot be said to interfere 
 with its independence any more than the Pope's 
 ecclesiastical authority over Catholic countries 
 can with theirs, Andorre is altogether independent 
 of Spain; and as regards France, the annual
 
 166 A STAMMER IN 
 
 payment it makes to that country is only in lieu 
 of certain privileges which it enjoys from it, while 
 there being- so little crime in Andorre, the appoint- 
 ment of the French judge has been more with a 
 view to deter criminals of that country from taking 
 refuge in the neutral province, than for the pun- 
 ishment of its natives. Andorre may therefore be 
 justly considered as the oldest free republic in 
 existence. The population is from seven to 
 eight thousand, quite great enough for the 
 resources of the country. The Andorrians are all 
 of the church of Rome, and very religious. The 
 members of their clergy are in general natives, 
 and they, and the more wealthy of the inhabitants, 
 receive their education at Toulouse or Barcelona. 
 Each cure, in addition to his pastoral duties, has 
 the charge of a school, where the poor are 
 instructed gratuitously, but this does not give him 
 much extra trouble, few of the peasants thinking it 
 at all necessary to send their children to school to 
 acquire what, in their land of shepherds and 
 labourers, they imagine can be of little con- 
 sequence to them in their future lives ; this 
 erroneous nnpression is the cause why few of 
 the natives have more learning than is sufficient
 
 THK PYUKNEES. 167 
 
 to enable them to read and write, and the great 
 majority are in total ignorance of even these first 
 principles. 
 
 The Andorrians are simple and severe in their 
 manners, and the vices and corruptions of cities 
 have not hitherto found their way into their 
 valleys, still, in comparison with the rest of the 
 world, the abode of virtue and content. The 
 inhabitants live as their forefathers lived a thou- 
 sand years before them, and the little they know 
 concernino- the luxuries, the arts, and the civiliza- 
 tion of other countries, inspiring them rather with 
 fear than envy. Their wealth consists in the 
 number of sheep or cattle they possess, or the 
 share they may have in the iron forges, only a 
 very few of their number being the proprietors of 
 any extent of land beyond the little garden which 
 surrounds their cottage. Each family acknow- 
 ledges a chief, who succeeds by right of primoge- 
 niture. These chiefs, or eldest sons, choose their 
 wives from families of equal consideration with 
 their own, reprobating mes-alliances, and looking 
 little to fortune, which besides is always very 
 small upon both sides. The eldest sons have, 
 even during the lives of their parents, a certain
 
 168 A fSfiniER \N 
 
 status, being considered as the representatives of 
 their ancestors ; they never leave the paternal 
 roof until they marry, and if they marry an heiress 
 they join her name to their own ; and unless 
 married, they are not admitted to a charge of 
 public affairs. 
 
 When there are only daughters in a family, the 
 eldest, who is an heiress, and succeeds as an 
 eldest son would do, is always married to a cadet 
 of another, who adopts her name, and is domi- 
 ciliated in her family ; and by this arrangement, 
 the principal Andorrian houses have continued 
 for centuries without any change in their fortunes, 
 ni plus riche — ni plus pauvre. They are married 
 by their priests, after having had their bans, as in 
 Scotland, proclaimed in their parish church for 
 three successive Sundays. The poorest of the 
 inhabitants are in Andorre not so badly off as in 
 other countries, their wants are few and easily 
 supplied, the opulent families taking care of those 
 who are not ; and they in gratitude, honour and 
 respect their benefactors. 
 
 The Andorrians are in general strong and well 
 proportioned ; the greater part of the diseases 
 proceeding from the moral affections are unknown.
 
 THE PYRENEKS. IGO 
 
 as well as those from vice and corruption. The 
 costume of the men is simply composed of the 
 coarse brown cloth made from the wool of their 
 own sheep ; it resembles that worn by the peasants 
 of Bigorre, with this difference, that the Andorri- 
 ans wear the flowing red cap of the Catalans : 
 the women dress exactly as the Catalan women 
 do ; they are not admitted to any of the assemblies 
 where public affairs are considered ; nay, so little 
 has the wisdom of the sage Andorrians coincided 
 with that of the British parliament, expressed 
 upon a late occasion, that the ladies are not even 
 allowed to assist at the masses which are per- 
 formed upon the reception of the bishop, or the 
 judge. Crime of every kind is very rare, and the 
 punishments awarded to culprits are, although 
 mild, sufficiently effectual. There are no law- 
 suits relative to paternal successions ; and should 
 disputes of any kind arise, they are at once 
 referred to the Syndic, whose decision is never 
 controverted. All the males are liable to serve as 
 militia, should they be required, and every head 
 of a family is obliged to have in his possession at 
 all times a musket and a certain quantity of 
 powder and balls.
 
 170 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Commerce of every kind is free in Andorre, but 
 as its industry is only employed in the manufac- 
 ture of the most indispensable articles, and these 
 are of the most indifferent nature ; it has little to 
 exchange for the produce of other countries, 
 excepting its iron, the whole of which is sold to 
 Spain, the high duties prohibiting its entrance 
 into France. The republic is not without its 
 arms, which are those of Beam, quartered with 
 those of Foix.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Unlooked for and unwelcome Arrival — Council of War — An Ad- 
 venture — Departure from Suldeon — Carlist Robbery — Passage 
 over the Mountains — Arriege — Mines of the Pyrenees — Wild 
 Flowers — A tedious Law-suit — Village of the Hospitalet — A 
 young Bride — Conversation with a ^Merchant of Carol — Specimen 
 of French Legislation — Commercial Policy of Great Britain and 
 France. 
 
 The storm continued to rage with unabated 
 violence, drowning with its noise the squalling 
 of the children, and the low unpleasant wailing 
 of the idiot old woman, who had kept up a 
 constant croaking and chatterino- to herself ever 
 since we had entered the hovel, evidently dis- 
 satislied with the intrusion. The children soon 
 fell asleep ; but the dismal croaking of the old
 
 172 A SUMMER IN 
 
 woman continuing after the fury of the storm had 
 passed, I could not think of sleeping within ear- 
 shot of it; so I resolved to seek some out-house 
 in which to lie down. I proposed this to 
 Etienne, who went out to look if there was such a 
 place to be found. He had hardly gone, when 
 the door was opened, and our old acquaintances, 
 — the gentlemen who had taken possession of our 
 apartment at Escaldos, — entered. We thought 
 that these Spaniards would have remained at 
 Canillo ; their appearance here was, therefore, 
 very unexpected, as well as unwelcome. They 
 were equally surprised at seeing me ; for they 
 imagined that I had gone down towards Urgel, 
 and would hardly believe that we had crossed 
 the mountains from Urdino when I told them 
 I had done so. They had evidently some press- 
 ing business on hand, otherwise, they would 
 never have quitted Canillo, and braved the storm 
 to reach Saldeon ; so I felt confident that we 
 should experience no annoyance from them, 
 which, had they attempted, might have delayed, 
 or altogether prevented their accomplishing their 
 intentions. The party had considerably increased 
 in numbers, for there were now nine of them, and
 
 THE PYRENEES. 173 
 
 they talked as if they expected some others to 
 arrive. 
 
 When Etienne returned, he was astonished to 
 find the cabin completely filled ; but, when he 
 observed who were talking to me, he looked any 
 thing but satisfied ; and I could observe the 
 gradual sinking of his under jaw as he counted 
 their numbers. We were, certainly, in a some- 
 what awkward situation, supposing that the 
 Spanish party had any evil intentions regarding 
 us, if, — as I sometimes feared they would, from 
 some questions which they asked, — they should 
 take me for one of the agents of the Spanish 
 parties who were fighting. They might then 
 suppose, that I was worth robbing ; and, of course, 
 robbing, with such fellows, implied murdering ; 
 which, from their numbers, had they determined 
 upon treating us in this manner, they had every 
 prospect of succeeding in. But there was no 
 use in supposing what, most probably, they had 
 never thought about ; and, even had there been 
 cause for any suspicion, a seeming indifference 
 to their presence was the best way of getting 
 through the affair. So, when Etienne came to 
 tell me that there was a large loft nearly filled
 
 174 A SUMMER INT 
 
 with hay, and sacks of wool, in which we could 
 sleep, and pinched my shoulder while he was 
 doing so, the meaning of which I fully compre- 
 hended, I lengthened his countenance still more 
 by bursting out a laughing. I then told the 
 Spaniards, that, as they were wet, and we were 
 sleepy, that we should relinquish to them our 
 places at the fire, and return to the hay-loft, 
 which, I was told, was very large ; and where, if 
 they were inclined, after warming themselves, to 
 sleep, I believed there would be room for all of 
 us. The Andorrian was already fast asleep in 
 one corner of the cabin ; so we left him there, 
 and, taking a lamp with us, adjourned to the hay- 
 loft. It was very spacious, and, although half- 
 filled with hay and woolsacks, there was still 
 more than sufficient space, for a larger party than 
 we and the Spaniards together would have 
 formed, to have been as restless as we chose in 
 our sleep, and yet not have incommoded each 
 other with our kicking. 
 
 As soon as we were assembled together in the 
 loft, a sort of whispering consultation was held 
 upon the necessity of our being prepared in the 
 event of the Spaniards making any attempt upon
 
 THE PYRENEES. 175 
 
 US. Etienne did not know what to make of 
 them, he did not like what our friend of Escal- 
 dos had told us regarding them, but he agreed 
 with me in thinking that they had certainly some 
 affair of moment which they were in haste to 
 execute, and which might prevent their thinking 
 of any thing else ; but at all events it was better 
 to be prepared for the worst, so we took our 
 places in one corner of the loft, where we could 
 not be surrounded, and where we could most 
 easily defend ourselves. 
 
 We soon made a bed of hay in our corner, 
 and with our arms beside us, and four of our 
 number sleeping while the fifth watched, we were 
 as safe as our situation could permit of our being. 
 I did not fall as soon asleep as the others, among 
 whom was the first watch, who had at last 
 yielded unwittingly to the fatigue of the day's 
 journey and closed his eyes, and the lamp was 
 still burning in a niche in the wall, when the 
 door of the loft opened, and the Spaniard who 
 had been most enraged at being locked up at 
 Escaldos, made his appearance. He seemed 
 surprised when he observed the light, but the 
 snoring of my friends was evidence of their being
 
 176 A SUMMEK I\ 
 
 asleep, and he stepped towards us. He was only 
 one, there was no use in disturbing the sleeping- 
 party, so I merely laid my hand upon one of my 
 pistols, and watched his proceedings. I was in 
 the shade of the lamp, so that he could not see 
 me distinctly, or discern whether I was asleep or 
 not, but he seemed anxious not to disturb us, for 
 he trode as gently as possible, and stopped several 
 times before he reached our corner. Each sleep- 
 ing man had his musket along side of him, 
 and I could observe the rascal knit his brows as 
 he saw the position which we had taken ; he 
 stood within a few feet of us for a few seconds, 
 and then turning round, stole away as gently as 
 he had approached us. I thought it was now 
 time to rouse Etienne, which I did, and told him 
 what had taken place, and he instantly roused 
 the others ; we did not, however, make any 
 noise, or alter our position, but determined to 
 remain awake for some time, and by snoring in 
 turn, lead the Spaniards, should they return, to 
 believe that we were still asleep. A couple of 
 hours passed over, and they came not, so I told 
 Etienne, that I did not think that we should see 
 them again, more particularly as the fellow who
 
 JHE PYRENEES. 177 
 
 came to reconnoitre did not carry off the lamp 
 with him, which, had there been any mischief to 
 take place, it would have been better for them to 
 be without. 
 
 Etienne, therefore, volunteered to watch, and I 
 and the others dropped asleep. Whether Etienne 
 fell asleep or not, I do not know, but daylight 
 was shining brightly into the loft when he awoke 
 us. We found the landlady of the cabin, the old 
 idiot woman, and the children all stirring, and we 
 learnt that the Spaniards had departed about 
 midnight, immediately after the storm had sub- 
 sided. I could now understand what the rascal 
 was in search of, who paid us the visit during the 
 night previous to their leaving the cabin. He 
 evidently came for the purpose of carrying away 
 any articles belonging to us which he could have 
 laid his hands upon without disturbing us, but 
 our position, and the light from the lamp, had 
 disappointed him ; this attempt of his, had there- 
 fore, been a private speculation of his own, with 
 which the party had had no concern. It was 
 fortunate for us, that he had not endeavoured to 
 lay his hands upon any thing belonging to us, as 
 I should have shot him, and we should then have 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 A SUMMER IN 
 
 had the whole party upon us. Before quitting 
 Saldeou, and following upon the track of the 
 Spaniards, who, if they had not stopped by the 
 way, were already in Arriege ; we partook of a 
 second edition of the soup which we had cooked 
 the preceding night. 
 
 The ascent of the frontier line of mountains 
 commences a short distance from Saldeou, and 
 until the first summits have been passed, there 
 are no particularly interesting features in the 
 landscape. At the source of the Val d' Embalire 
 we passed the last Andorrian hamlet in the dis- 
 trict, whose inhabitants had been robbed and 
 plundered a few days before by the Carlists. It 
 seemed that a party of these marauders had come 
 down upon the village during the night, and 
 catting up the inhabitants, had made them deliver 
 up to them whatever provisions, powder, and 
 other articles could be easily carried off. The 
 poor people regretted exceedingly the loss of all 
 the cheeses which they had been providing as a 
 store for the winter. 
 
 From a spot near the Port de Framiquel, 
 Etienne pointed out to me the situation of the 
 iron mines of Carol. I ascertained from him,
 
 TF1F, PVREXEES. 179 
 
 that every inhabitant of tlie commune is at liberty 
 to search for mineral, and dispose of it as he 
 pleases, but that no one who is not a native can 
 do so. Hence the difficulty which some specu- 
 lators, who have supposed that large fortunes 
 were to be made by working the mines of silver or 
 copper in the Pyrenees, have experienced in 
 making an agreement with the inhabitants of the 
 commune in which the minerals were situated, 
 quarrels frequently ensuing, and obligino- the 
 enterprising individual, after having embarked 
 large sums of money in the undertaking, to relin- 
 quish the project. 
 
 Upon the Arriege side of the Port de Frami- 
 quel, and at the base of the immense perpendicular 
 mountain, which partly separates that department 
 from Andorre, is the lake which is the source of 
 the river Arriege. The Andorrian possessions 
 skirt one side of this stream, as far as the village 
 of the Hospitalet, and are the best pasture dis- 
 tricts appertaining to the republic. The moun- 
 tains upon the opposite side belong to Arriege 
 and Carol, and the path from the valley of Carol 
 into Arriege, enters by the Port de Puymorin, or 
 N 2
 
 180 A SUMMER IN 
 
 as it is sometimes styled, the Port d' Hospitalet. 
 
 We kept upon the Andorrian side of the valley, 
 and numerous as are the spots where the choicest 
 wild flowers may be gathered in these Pyrenees, 
 I never beheld such quantities of them any where, 
 as I did here. Their profusion was such, and 
 their various tints and colours so beautiful, that 
 in stepping- among them I almost felt that I was 
 committing sacrilege ; I could venture to say, 
 that a larger and more exquisitely beautiful 
 natural flower terrace than that between the Port 
 de Framiquel and the Hospitalet does not exist. 
 
 Before arriving at the village of the Hospitalet, 
 there is a fine natural meadow, containing, per- 
 haps, forty acres, and surrounded by a stone wall. 
 Etienne directed my attention to the spot, and 
 told me that for upwards of fifty years this 
 meadow had been the subject of litigation between 
 the Andorrians and the neighbouring French 
 communes, and that it was only a few months 
 since the suit had been decided in favour of the 
 republic. The value of the meadow might be 
 about 3000 francs. 
 
 A company of soldiers were quartered in the
 
 IHK PVlltNLES. I8l 
 
 frontier village, and the sentinel on guard at the 
 entrance demanded my passport ; I gave it to him, 
 but, not being able to read it, he called a com- 
 rade from the guardhouse ; the new comer was as 
 illiterate as the other, and it was actually the 
 sixth individual of the party on duty who exam- 
 ined my passport who could read it ; whether the 
 sixth really could read or not, I could not 
 positively say, but at all events he looked as if he 
 could, and returned it to me, telling me that I 
 might proceed. 
 
 The appearance and comforts of the little 
 auberge at the Hospitalet, contrasted with those 
 of the posadas of Andorre, were transformed into 
 luxuries of no mean order, and were most accept- 
 able and o-rateful to the senses. 1 do not think 
 I ever felt so hungry in my life, as I did when I 
 entered this auberge, and scented the well dressed 
 viands which were preparing for the dejeuner of 
 the officers of the detachment who were lodged in 
 the house ; and when the smart-looking pretty 
 waiting girl, dressed in the costume of the 
 department, asked me what I should wish to have 
 for breakfast, I only desired her to let me have
 
 182 A SUMMER IN 
 
 whatever she could give me as soon as possible, 
 and plenty of it, for I had just come from Andorre, 
 vi^here I had been for some days. Thanks to the 
 military for having taken up their quarters in the 
 auberge, as their doing so insured good " enter- 
 tainment " to the traveller, and a quarter of an 
 hour had not elapsed before I was seated at a 
 table with half a dozen dishes before me, the 
 contents of which, for cooking and excellence, 
 would not have thrown discredit either upon the 
 " Burlington" or " Long's." 
 
 "Ah, monsieur," said the waiting girl, "you 
 have been in a poor country, where there is 
 nothing to eat or drink, and where no one goes 
 but the miners or the contrabandiers, where there 
 are not such pretty girls as you will see in our 
 country, and where there are not any gay soldiers 
 to laugh and dance with." 
 
 " But the country is beautiful, although the 
 people are somewhat sauvage," said I. 
 
 " Yes," said she, " but our country is beautiful 
 also, yet it would not be habitable were there no 
 inducements to stay in it but to look at its woods, 
 and mountains, and vines ; no, no, I love it well
 
 THE PYRENEES. 
 
 183 
 
 enough, but were there no such merry meetings as 
 we have to enliven us, were there no civil strangers 
 coming to visit us, why it would not be bearable." 
 
 " And the military, you would not like them to 
 leave the valley," said I. 
 
 " They are the best creatures in the world," 
 said she. 
 
 "Gay, civil, and obliging," said 1. 
 
 *'They are always either dancing or singing, 
 and I always find them ready to carry my 
 pitchers from the stream, or relieve me of my 
 basket when I go to Ax," said she. 
 
 " And you are going to be a soldier's wife, ' 
 said I. 
 
 "If monsieur will stay here for another week, 
 he will be able to judge for himself," said she. 
 
 Etienne entered, accompanied by a superior 
 looking individual, whom he introduced to me as 
 a cousin of his who was on his way to Bordeaux. 
 When paying my bill, I again asked mademoiselle 
 if she was about to marry a soldier, and she 
 acknowledged that upon the ensuing Friday she 
 was to be united to the handsome corporal of the 
 detachment, whom she pointed out to me among 
 a group of soldiers who were standing near the
 
 184 A SUMMER IN 
 
 window. I wished her joy and much happiness, 
 and as she was the daughter of the aubergist, and 
 heiress of his property, I advised her to procure 
 her husband's discharge, and remain in her native 
 village. 
 
 Etienne was to accompany me to Ax, but 
 there was no use in taking the rest of the party, 
 so they set out on their return to Carol ; and 
 Etienne, his cousin (who wished me to mount his 
 horse), and myself, proceeded down the valley. 
 This cousin of Etienne's was one of the most 
 considerable merchants in the district of 
 Carol, and I acquired from him considerable 
 information regarding its industry and commerce. 
 I mentioned that the inhabitants of the valley of 
 Carol employed themselves during the winter in 
 making stockings. This manufacture has existed 
 for many generations in the valley, and has 
 greatly conduced to the comfort and welfare of 
 its inhabitants. There are upwards of thirty 
 thousand dozen of pairs exported annually, and 
 the demand for them is constantly on the increase. 
 They are sent to Bordeaux, Toulouse, and all 
 parts of France. The wool made use of is 
 Spanish, and the stockings vary in price from
 
 THE PYRENEES. 185 
 
 ten to forty sous a pair, and are all knitted. My 
 companion bought up all those which were 
 intended for the Bordeaux market, and was upon 
 his way there to obtain orders. I asked him if, 
 supposing the valley could produce double the 
 amount of pairs which it did, he thought they 
 could find sale for them, and he told me that ten 
 times the number produced could be disposed of to 
 advantage ; that all the peasantry throughout the 
 interior were glad to obtain them, and that at the 
 fair of Bordeaux alone, he could sell to the 
 amount of the present supply. Why, then, did 
 they not establish the manufacturing of the stock- 
 ings by machinery ? 
 
 " Because we are not permitted to build a 
 manufactory. Government will not allow the 
 inhabitants within a certain distance of the fron- 
 tier, to erect machinery for commercial purposes ; 
 and, although the southern districts have com- 
 plained of this great hardship, over and over 
 again, to the Chamber of Deputies, by means of 
 their representatives, whom they have latterly 
 elected solely upon condition that they should 
 exert their influence to obtain for them the re- 
 moval of this grievance, they have never yet been
 
 186 A SUMMER IN 
 
 able to succeed in their endeavours ; and we are 
 obliged to go on in our old way, when, by having 
 justice bestowed upon us, our districts would 
 become the most flourishing in France." 
 
 He attributed the continuance of this oppres- 
 sive and impolitic law to the " partiality of the 
 government shown to the northern districts — they 
 send a greater number of deputies to the Cham- 
 ber ; and they legislate for the South as it suits 
 their convenience. There is no such oppressive 
 tax upon industry on the Northern frontier ; on 
 the contrary, every encouragement is held out to 
 its inhabitants ; but here, in the South, our com- 
 mercial spirit and enterprise is cramped and 
 checked by laws of the most arbitrary as well as 
 impolitic nature. From the great advantages 
 which we possess, by our situation, enabling us 
 to employ the most extensive machinery, so great 
 is the water power which we could call into 
 requisition ; and our vicinity to the market where 
 we procure the raw material, we could afford to 
 sell our produce much cheaper than we can at 
 present do ; and we could give constant employ- 
 ment to a much greater number of our country- 
 men. And this injustice is not confined to our
 
 THE i'vk?:nee.s. 187 
 
 particular district, or to the article which we 
 manufacture ; but the whole frontier is included 
 in the law which prohibits the erection of nva- 
 chinery, and thus the commercial exertions of 
 the inhabitants of a country some hundred leagues 
 in length, and ten broad, are paralyzed. But the 
 people of the South of France are beginning to 
 be sensible of the injustice that is done them by 
 the government, and will eventually force an 
 acknowledgment of their rights." 
 
 This is but a solitary instance of the internal 
 mis-government of France, particularly as regards 
 her commercial laws, many of which are of the 
 greatest detriment to her interests, and must ever 
 prevent her becoming a great commercial nation. 
 Were the commercial laws of France revised, and 
 placed upon the footing which, for the good of 
 the nation, they ought to be, there could be no 
 limits set to the prosperity which w^ould reign 
 throughout the interior, and which, at present, is 
 confined to a few maritime towns and districts. 
 And were Great Britain, at the same time, study- 
 ing its true interest, in preference to harbouring a 
 foolish and altogether unfounded feeling of 
 jealousy against France, to act ui the same spirit,
 
 188 A SUMMER IN 
 
 SO as to render the advantages which both the 
 countries would acquire from a more liberal com- 
 mercial intercourse reciprocal, she would find a 
 mart for her commodities of ten times more value 
 to her than half her colonies and possessions. 
 France produces some articles which Great Bri- 
 tain naturally cannot do ; or unattended with 
 great expense. Great Britain, on the other hand, 
 can never fear competition with her manufacto- 
 ries from France ; that country does not naturally 
 possess the materials for constituting it a cheap 
 manufacturing country, which Great Britain en- 
 joys to an unlimited extent. It is, therefore, most 
 ardently to be hoped, that the present good under- 
 standing which subsists between the two coun- 
 tries may continue ; that such useful and profit- 
 able changes in the laws which regulate their 
 commercial intercourse, may take place as is 
 absolutely necessary for their mutual welfare : 
 and we may rest assured, that, when such altera- 
 tions have been effected, the peace and hap- 
 piness of Europe will be more securely established 
 by that act than by all the treaties which have 
 ever been signed ; it will then be based upon 
 the surest of all foundations — mutual interest.
 
 THE PVREXEES. 189 
 
 Whenever the feeling has grown up in France 
 and England, that they are mutually dependent 
 upon each other, that their best interests render it 
 necessary that such should be the case, all 
 jealousy and rivalry between them must subside ; 
 friendship (interested although it may be at first) 
 will take their place, and all the world will be 
 benefited by it. 
 
 From the Hospitalet to the village of Merens, 
 the valley is narrow and uninteresting, hemmed 
 in by stony-looking mountains ; it afterwards 
 narrows so as to become a mere defile ; until, 
 passing through a gorge where there is just suffi- 
 cient room for the river and the road, it at once 
 expands, and Ax, and the hills which surround it 
 are beheld. 
 
 I found Ax both a larger and more civilized 
 place than I expected ; and, in the principal hotel 
 of the place (I forget what name it bore), most 
 comfortable apartments and good living are to be 
 obtained. Here, having settled with my worthy 
 friend Etienne, whom I had found a most trust- 
 worthy, intelligent, and obliging companion, ^ye 
 parted, mutually pleased, I believe, with each 
 other, and trusting that, upon some future occa-
 
 190 A SUMMER IN THE PYRENEES. 
 
 sion, we should have another, and a longer, wan- 
 dering among these mountains. 
 
 I can look back with many pleasing recollec- 
 tions, upon the days and weeks which I have 
 spent in the society of the guides, chasseurs, and 
 contrabandiers of the Pyrenees ; for, all of them, 
 — with one or two exceptions, and these were in 
 districts where intercourse with the world has 
 blunted their native sense of honour and good 
 feeling, — have, like Etienne, left traces of their 
 fidelity and trustworthiness upon my memory.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Ax— Mont St. Barthelemy— French Carlists— French Police System 
 —Compliment paid by a French Author to the Populace of 
 Edinburgh— Valley of the Arriege— Old Castle— Caverns— Ta- 
 rascon— Mistake of a Gendarme — Mode of training the Vines- 
 Early History of Arriege— Counts of Foix— Town and Castle of 
 Foix— Old Jailor— Strength of the Castle— Interior of the 
 Church— Fugitives from the Cholera. 
 
 The minor articles conducive to the comforts 
 of civilized life are not sufficiently estimated 
 until we have been deprived of their use ; and 
 they who would fully appreciate the invaluable 
 properties of the substance called soap ; the great 
 advantage of having clean towels over having 
 none at all ; the comforts of clean sheets ; nay,
 
 192 A SUMMER IN 
 
 the very sight of a piece of pure linen : — must go 
 and sojourn for a few days in Andorre. 
 
 Ax is very prettily situated at the junction of 
 three considerable streams ; the Arriege, whose 
 source I had seen below the Port de Framiquel ; 
 the Arriege, from the valley d'Orlu ; and the 
 Ode, from a valley of the same name. It lies, 
 therefore, in a sort of basin, formed by the union 
 of those valleys. The hills in its immediate 
 neighbourhood are neither high nor steep, per- 
 mitting of cultivation being carried far up their 
 sides, as in the valleys of Luz, Argeles, and 
 others. Ax is not one of the fashionable watering- 
 places of the Pyrenees ; and the strangers who 
 resort to it during the summer months are chiefly 
 composed of those who hope to receive benefit 
 from its medicinal waters, which, in their various 
 properties, are inferior to none in the mountains. 
 
 The reason why Ax has not become a place of 
 much more consequence than it is ; and to which 
 the picturesque scenery in its vicinity, the beau- 
 tiful rides and walks which surround it, its 
 mineral baths and springs, and its easy access, 
 entitle it; is altogether owing to the want of 
 spirit and enterprise among its inhabitants, dis-
 
 TIIK I'VUENEES. 193 
 
 played in the almost total disregard which they 
 evince in providing for the accommodation of its 
 visitors. Excepting the hotel in which I resided, 
 and wliich, in size and comforts, is not second to 
 even those of Bagneres, there is scarcely a habi- 
 table appartment in the village. Government 
 have an establishment at Ax for the benefit of 
 military invalids, and it has been improving the 
 baths latterly ; but, unless the people of the 
 village do something themselves, there will never 
 be very great attractions at Ax for that class of 
 visitors who frequent the Pyrenees for pleasure 
 and amusement, as well as in the pursuit of 
 health. Ax is, however, well worth visiting, and 
 the traveller may fix upon it as a centre from 
 which he can make many pleasant excursions. 
 From it he can visit Andorre; he can cross the 
 mountains by Querigut to Perpignan, by no 
 means an uninteresting path; he can gain the 
 summit of Mount St. Barthelemy, and he can 
 explore the recesses of many beautiful lateral 
 valleys. 
 
 The view from the summit of Mont St. Bar- 
 thelemy, which is also called the Pic de Taube, 
 is very extensive, and diversified with villages, 
 
 VOL. I. o
 
 194 A SUMMER IN 
 
 rivers, woods, and mountain-peaks. It is about 
 twelve hundred toises in height, and abutting 
 into the low countries, the line of the mountains 
 upon the east and west of it can be traced to a 
 great distance. To the west, the bold and 
 rugged outline of the Andorrian frontier, the 
 Mont Calm, the lofty and peculiarly shaped 
 Mont Vallier, the glaciers of the Maladetta, the 
 innumerable summits of the mountains in the 
 vicinity of the valleys of Anlus, of Castillon, of 
 Luchon ; and, last, and most distant of the 
 whole, the Pic du Midi of Bigorre, are within 
 the horizon. To the east, the mountains of the 
 valleys of Aude and Carol, those at the source of 
 the Tet, the masses of Mont Louis, and the 
 majestic Canigou, are the most imposing features. 
 Mont St. Barthelemy, similarly situated to the 
 Pic de Midi de Bigorre, possesses the same qua- 
 lifications which constitute the former one of the 
 finest " points de vue" m the Pyrenees. 
 
 The inhabitants of Arriege are chiefly attached 
 to the Ex-royal Family; and, therefore, more 
 inclined to be of service to Don Carlos. To 
 prevent them, as much as possible, from render- 
 ing him assistance, the French government had
 
 IMK FY K KNEES. 195 
 
 adopted very strict police regulations ; and, as it 
 they could not safely trust the local authorities, 
 they had sent down an extraordinary inspector 
 of police from Paris. This officer, or agent, 
 wore no uniform, nor any insignia, by which he 
 might be distinguished ; and his business was to 
 be a spy upon every one, natives and strangers. 
 I had been but a few hours in Ax, until he had 
 been informed of the arrival of a stranger ; and 
 he made his appearance, perfectly informed of 
 where I had come from, and what had been my 
 proceedings ; all of which he had extracted from 
 Etienne, who had not the slightest suspicion of 
 his profession. 
 
 The police system of France may be necessary 
 for the internal regulation and order of that king- 
 dom, but it is, nevertheless, very tyrannical in its 
 character, Instead of being " the terror of evil- 
 doers," and the protection and safety to the 
 respectable portion of the community, its rigours 
 press equally upon all. The same means which 
 are resorted to for the detection of the guilty, the 
 laws which prevent their quitting the district in 
 which they may be residing without permission 
 of the civil authorities, are enforced against the 
 
 o 2
 
 196 A SUMMER rx 
 
 honest, the best known, and most respectable 
 bourgeois ; the most noted merchant, the most 
 influential landed proprietor, have to submit, 
 have to pass through the same ordeal as the thiei 
 and the blackguard. Liberty and equality have 
 been vi^ar-cries to our French neighbours ; but, 
 hitherto, the liberty w^hich they have acquired 
 has been confined to the mere act of substituting 
 one government for another ; their equality, to 
 the position which every inhabitant of the country 
 occupies under their police system. The veriest 
 rascal that ever breathed can, in France, say to 
 the highest citizen in it, " You cannot leave any 
 town without submitting to the same formula 
 which I must do. Here we are on a par ; your 
 character is of no use to you ; you cannot leave 
 this place without obtaining legal permission to 
 do so; and you cannot travel any great distance 
 without frequently reporting yourself to the 
 police officer of the district. Thus you and I 
 are, in regard to liberty, upon an equality r 
 
 I recollect the remarks of a French author* 
 upon this subject. He was present in Edinburgh 
 
 *M. Amedee Pichot.
 
 THK PYRENEES. 107 
 
 during the visit of George IV. to that city ; and 
 he thus compares the manner in whicli order is 
 kept in the two countries : — 
 
 " Le roi de la Grande Bretagne est re^u dans 
 sa capitale d'Ecosse par des sujets respectueux, 
 mais non serviles; avec les acclamations de la 
 loyaute, mais non avec celle d'un lache avilisse- 
 ment. Sur le continent, nous ne pouvons avoir 
 de fetes sans gendarmes, et ces agens d'une police 
 plus oppressive que protectrice, nous font trop sou- 
 vent payer cher Fordre qu'ils maintiennent, par 
 de brutales reprimandes prodiguees a I'empresse- 
 ment et a I'enthousiasme. Ici, les constables 
 sont reelement une magistrature de paix ; ils 
 sont les amis, les parens des citoyens ; ils sont 
 citoyens euxmemes, et non les salaries d"ime 
 petite tyrannic subalterne. Grace aux conquetes 
 de I'empereur, nous avons vu de belles fetes 
 militaires ; mais alors les soldats seuls pouvaient 
 se dire chez eiuv dans nos cites : il fallait les voir 
 de loin ou s'exposer a leurs insolentes bourrades. 
 Ici, point de ces haies de mena^antes baionnettes, 
 rideau formidable tire entre le prince et ses sujets 
 accourus sur son passage ; seulement, a de 
 longues distances, quelques cavaliers servent a
 
 198 A SUMMER IX 
 
 marquer aux spectateurs la limite qu'ils ne fran- 
 chiront pas." 
 
 This is no slight compliment paid, by a French 
 author, to my countrymen ; and I think that I 
 may return him one to which he is justly en- 
 titled. It is with regard to the politeness and 
 civility which the very poorest of the French 
 peasantry display when they meet each other; 
 no matter how shabby their dress and appearance 
 may be, they invariably in the South, and almost 
 generally in the North, salute each other by 
 taking off their hats or bonnets, and always 
 address each other with the words, " Sir,'' or 
 " Madame ;" in fact, the politesse of the French 
 peasantry is on a par, perhaps superior, to that of 
 our middle classes. 
 
 Ax has seen more busy and stirring times than 
 most of the frontier towns Previous to the 
 present Spanish war, commercial intercourse, to 
 a very great extent, subsisted between Arriege 
 and Spain, carried on by means of the many dif- 
 ferent ports by which access can be had into 
 either country. This great source of prosperity 
 to the district has, however, been destroyed, occa- 
 sioning much inconvenience and poverty to the
 
 THK PYRENEES. 199 
 
 inhabitants. During the war of independence, 
 Mina, and his formidable Guerillas, were wont to 
 visit Ax ; not for the purpose of drinking its 
 waters, or enjoying its baths, but to levy contri- 
 butions; and, throughout the continuance of that 
 war, Spaniards of all parties made Ax their place 
 of refuge ; and the present war has drawn thither 
 a number of the clergy, and other individuals, 
 holding political tenets at variance with those of 
 the most powerful party in the several districts 
 from which they come. Thus, both Carlists and 
 Christinos were in Ax when I was there. 
 
 That part of the valley of Arriege between Ax 
 and Tarascon, I thought not unlike some Highland 
 valleys which I have seen, particularly where its 
 mountains are covered with heath, and dotted 
 with patches of cultivation. The grain which 
 we call buck-wheat, and which in the South is 
 called blenoir, is the staple product of the de- 
 partment ; when in flower, its appearance is 
 beautiful, greatly resembling " None-so-pretty." 
 The valley is very populous, filled with villages 
 and hamlets, and the remains of what have been, 
 in other times, very fine old chateaux. One, in 
 particular, is remarkable for its lofty and com-
 
 200 A SUMMEll IN 
 
 maading situation. It is called Lordat. It has 
 been built upon the peak of a high and isolated 
 mountain, abrupt and difficult of approach ; its 
 rocky heights seemingly more adapted for the 
 eyrie of the eagle than for the abode of men. The 
 pomp and pride of feudal power has, however, 
 contended successfully against natural obstacles, 
 and have perched among the clouds the old 
 chateau oi Lordat. The ruins of its old towers 
 and walls are very extensive, bespeaking the 
 wealth and consequence of its owners ; who 
 might, so long as they had provisions, resist with 
 impunity, and defy, every effort to disturb them 
 in their nest. The ancient barons of Lordat have 
 now passed away, and with them the glory and 
 grandeur of their house. Their descendents are 
 still barons of Lordat, and are contented, from 
 their comparatively humble chateau of Vebre, in 
 the bosom of the valley, to look upon the abode 
 of their ancestors with feelings of reverence and 
 awe, satisfied that, as it was proper for their an- 
 cestors, great and powerful as they were, to live 
 in an e.valted station, so it suits them, in their 
 political decay, to inhabit a humble one. 
 
 Near the village of Les Cabanes, the waters
 
 THE PYUEN'EES. 201 
 
 which flow througli the valley d'Aston, and have 
 their source among the high mountains to the 
 west of Andorre, join the Arriege, which latter 
 valley, unlike most, which generally widen as 
 they lengthen into the plain, becomes here narrow 
 and contracted, bounded on both sides by im- 
 mense walls of lime-stone rock, which abound in 
 numerous caverns and grottos, remarkable for 
 their dimensions, and the beauty of the stalactites 
 which they contain. Behind the mineral estab- 
 lishment of Ussat, are some of the most extensive 
 of those natural galleries. Ussat is almost close 
 to Tarascon ; it is upon the east bank of the 
 river, and consists of two very excellent hotels, 
 which, embosomed in woods at some distance from 
 the road, with the river flowing past within a few 
 yards of them, and the tall rocks mantling above 
 them, present as agreeable and inviting an aspect 
 as the proprietors of the place could desire. 
 
 In one of the caverns in the rocks opposite to 
 Ussat have been found a great quantity of human 
 bones, mingled with those of bears, and other 
 animals ; which is not, however, a very diflicult 
 circumstance to account for, as those caves have, 
 undoubtedly, at some period or other, been inha-
 
 202 A SUMMER IN' 
 
 bited, as dwellings, by the peasantry, in the same 
 manner as those in the free-stone rocks on the 
 banks of the Loire, and other places, where 
 thousands of the labouring population are, at this 
 moment, residing. In a warm climate, these 
 houses in the rocks are far more comfortable than 
 those built in the open air ; they preserve a more 
 equal temperature, in summer they are not too 
 hot, and in winter they are much warmer. 
 Chimneys are pierced through the rock in every 
 direction ; and it is a curious sight to see the 
 smoke, bursting as if it were through the solid 
 rock, where the situation of the cabins would, but 
 for that circumstance, remain undiscovered ; or, 
 in other places, to observe a long line of windows, 
 with their sashes and glass, in the face of a high 
 wall of rock. Sometimes, when care has not been 
 taken in scooping out these dwellings, the roof 
 gives way, and the families are for ever buried in 
 the mass which falls upon them. Some years 
 ago, a marriage-party had assembled in one of 
 those dwellings, and, with music and dancing, 
 were spending the evening in the greatest hilarity. 
 The happy bridegroom had gone to the door to 
 bid a friend who was leaving the party good-bye.
 
 r H E P '\' R L X K F, s . 203 
 
 when the roof came down upon those who were in 
 the interior of the dwelling, and all of them 
 perished in the midst of their joy and mirth, the 
 bridegroom alone escaping the untimely fate of 
 his wife and relations. 
 
 Tarascon was one of the four principal towns 
 of the ancient county of Foix, and is situated in a 
 sort of amphitheatre, formed by the junction of 
 many lateral vallies, the most important of which 
 is that of Vicdessos, famous for its forges, and 
 the iron mines of its mountains ; its Gave* flows 
 through Tarascon, dividing it into two sections, 
 and spanned by a new and very handsome bridge 
 of three arches. 
 
 At Tarascon, I was exceedingly amused with a 
 mistake committed by a gendarme, who had de- 
 manded my passport. After having examined it, 
 he returned it to me, satisfied that it was perfectly 
 regular. '' You are from Ecosse?" said he. 
 
 *' Yes ;" answered I. 
 
 " And, pray, in what part of France is Ecosse 
 situated ?' inquired the officer of peace. 
 
 "In the north ;" said I. 
 
 * The word is generic^ signifying u mountain stream.
 
 204 A SUMMER IN 
 
 " Oh, yes !" said he — " Now I recollect per- 
 fectly well ; we passed through it on our way to 
 join the army in Flanders." 
 
 The valley of Arriege, between Tarascon and 
 Foix, assumes a more quiet and gentle character; 
 mountains and sterile rocks giving place to hills 
 whose slopes are productive in grain, and whose 
 warmer and more sheltered nooks are clothed 
 with vineyards. The manner in which the 
 vines are planted and tramed is peculiar. In all 
 the corn fields the stones which would otherwise 
 encumber the soil, are gathered in heaps of 
 various forms and sizes ; among these heaps of 
 stones the vines are planted and trained over 
 them on poles or espaliers ; the effect of this 
 arrangement is beautiful, and the corn fields 
 may be taken for a garden, the knots of vines for 
 its parterres. .1 left the mountains to visit Foix, 
 because I was most anxious to see a place whose 
 ancient barons had entwined their names so 
 gloriously in the history of their country ; in 
 early times, by their power and grandeur as 
 feudal princes, in later times as statesmen and 
 warriors. 
 
 The department of Arriege contains nearly the
 
 THE PYREyEES. 205 
 
 whole of the ancient county of Foix ; it is 
 bounded on the north by the departments of the 
 Haute Garone and the Aude ; on the east by the 
 Aude and Roussillon ; on the south by Roussillon, 
 Andorre, and Spain ; and on the west by the 
 Haute Garone, 
 
 The county of Foix, as this department was 
 anciently styled, was governed by counts, who 
 derived their title from its name. The Counts 
 of Foix were descended from the Counts of Car- 
 cassonne. The first of the family whose name 
 and deeds are renowned in history, was Raymond 
 Roger, who succeeded his father in 1188. His 
 first feats of arms were performed in Syria, where 
 he fought by the side of Philip Augustus. Upon 
 his return, he found the Counts of Comminges 
 and of Urgel dividing his territories detween 
 them ; he attacked them, and at first gained over 
 them many victories ; but in a decisive battle 
 which he lost, and where he was completely 
 routed, he was taken prisoner. Raymond Roger 
 along with his brother, remained in captivity for 
 four years, and it was only through the kind 
 intercessions of the King of Arragon, and by 
 making great pecuniary sacrifices, that they 
 regained their liberty. The coiu't of Rome had
 
 206 A SUMMER IN 
 
 about the period of their liberation, kindled that 
 spirit of fanaticism on the continent which led to 
 the crusade against the Albigeois in Guienne and 
 Gascony, headed by the ferocious Simon de Mont- 
 fort. 
 
 De Montfort, aware of the friendship which 
 existed between Raymond Roger, of Foix, and 
 the Count of Toulouse, the intended victim of 
 the crusade, entered the county of Foix, ravaged 
 it after his usual manner, and took the son of 
 Raymond as an hostage, whom he detained until 
 he had passed the ordeal of the inquisition. 
 Raymond, faithful to his friend, the Count of 
 Toulouse, took arms in his defence, and his first 
 exploit was the defeating of a large reinforcement 
 of Germans, who were on their way to join the 
 crusaders, then besieging Lavaur. The Count of 
 Toulouse, defeated on various occasions, at last 
 was obliged to take refuge in his capital, and 
 here Raymond, true in adversity as well as in 
 prosperity, joined him, and by the vigorous and 
 intrepid sallies which he made upon the besiegers, 
 at last constrained them to raise the siege. 
 Again, when the capital of the Count of Toulouse 
 was besieged by the same party, Raymond of 
 Foix came again to the rescue, and again
 
 THE PVR KNEES. 207 
 
 delivered it. His last military honours were 
 gained in the assault of the castle of Mirepoix, 
 during a severe winter, where he died, honoured 
 and regretted by his compatriots. His chivalric 
 generosity had endeared him botli to his people 
 and to the neighbouring states ; and if he has 
 been flattered, it was by the voice of gratitude. 
 
 There is one anecdote connected with the 
 history of Raymond Roger, of Foix, which, if 
 true, would considerably detract from the mag- 
 nanimous character which history has accorded 
 to him. It is related, that Raymond, the Count 
 of Toulouse, had for some cause or other con- 
 ceived a great hatred to his brother Baudouin, 
 and upon a false accusation, had delivered him 
 over to the secret tribunal in order to gratify 
 his malignity. The judges were mean 
 enough to condemn the unfortunate victim 
 of fraternal cruelty to death, and it is said, that 
 Raymond Roger assisted in carrying the infamous 
 sentence into execution ; the victim was hanged 
 over a walnut-tree, by the hands of the two 
 Counts. But this story is so very much at 
 variance with the general character of Raymond 
 Roger, that it is almost impossible to believe it. 
 
 The fidelity of Raymond Roger, and afterwards
 
 208 A SUMMER IN 
 
 that of his son Roger Bernard, to the Count of 
 Toulouse, was repaid by the latter deserting 
 Roger Bernard, when under the displeasure of 
 the French king, taking arms against him, and 
 actually bargaining for a part of his heritage. 
 
 Roger Bernard the third, had married the 
 daughter of the prince of Beam, and upon the 
 death of her father, he acquired the sovereignty 
 of that kingdom ; his succession, at first disputed 
 by the Counts of Armagnac, was eventually 
 secured to his family, whose history from that 
 period is that of the Princes of Beam. 
 
 The town of Foix is situated upon the eastern 
 bank of the Arriege, close to the river, which is 
 here a broad and beautiful stream. It is not in 
 any way remarkable in appearance, and would 
 pass unnoticed by the stranger, were it not for 
 the picturesque and interesting towers which 
 frown over it. It is situated in a sort of triangle 
 formed by the hills separating in three directions, 
 forming the three valleys, through which wind 
 the roads to Toulouse, to Bagneres, and to Ax. 
 
 The chateau is built upon a very high and 
 isolated mass of rock, which some convulsion 
 of nature may have detached from the mountain 
 to the south of it, forming the pivot, as it were, of
 
 THE PVK FAKES. 209 
 
 the three valleys which branch from its base. It 
 thus from its situation commands a most extensive 
 prospect over the surrounding country, and from 
 this advantageous position, as well as the rock 
 upon which it is built being perfectly inaccessible 
 upon all sides, except where a narrow path cork- 
 screws (if it may be permitted to use such a 
 term) up the steep ascent, it must, at a very early 
 period, have been chosen for a military position. 
 It is, therefore, impossible to tell at what 
 period the foundations of this remarkable 
 fortress were laid, but certain it is, that in the 
 eleventh century it was one of the strongest 
 of the many strongholds in the south of 
 France. Afterwards, when it had passed into 
 the possession of the Counts of Carcassonne, 
 whose descendents, as Counts of Foix, made it 
 the seat of their government, its. walls resisted 
 many a fierce assault, and its owners in their 
 eagle's nest bid defiance to the most powerful 
 enemies. 
 
 In 1210 the bloodthirsty and exterminating 
 Simon de Montfort, led his crusading army to 
 the siege of Foix, but his efforts were fruitless, 
 and he was repulsed with much loss and dis- 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 210 A SUMMER IN 
 
 honour. In 1272 the Count of Foix, emboldened 
 by the strength and advantageous situation of 
 his castle, in which he had shut himself up, bid 
 defiance to the King of France, Philip the Bold, 
 against whom he had revolted. Philip, full of 
 indignation, and breathing vengeance, laid siege 
 to the chateau with a great army, determined to 
 carry the place, whatever it might cost him. 
 The resistance was so long and so obstinate, 
 that Philip, despairing of taking it, as a last 
 resource, endeavoured by undermining to throw 
 down the enormous rock upon which the castle 
 stands. This, at a period antecedent to the 
 invention of gunpowder, was a somewhat arduous 
 undertaking, nevertheless, the king commenced 
 the operation, and detached, by manual labour 
 alone, immense blocks of the rock, until the 
 Count, actually afraid that Philippe would 
 succeed in destroying the castle, submitted to 
 his liege lord. 
 
 In the fourteenth century the castle was 
 occupied sometimes by the Catholics, sometimes 
 by their opponents, and the scene of many a hard 
 fought battle, lies within cannon-shot of its 
 walls.
 
 THK PVRFXEES. 21 1 
 
 It was not without regret that I found the 
 ancient recollections of the place were henceforth 
 to be associated with those of a modern prisons 
 destroying the imaginative reviews which the 
 very name of Gaston Phcebus' chateau was 
 sufficient to conjure up, of the gay and gallant 
 troubadours who were wont to make the old 
 walls of Foix echo to their lays of " Ladye's love" 
 or tales of chivalry ; and that the " captive's 
 wailing voice " was now to resound among those 
 spacious Gothic arches where festive mirth and 
 revelry had reigned for so many centuries. I 
 had been but a very short time in Foix before I 
 was on my way to visit this remarkable old 
 feudal chateau. It has undergone a sad reverse 
 of fortune ; its ancient palace halls and princely 
 chambers, no longer the abode of regal power 
 and lordly pomp, have, in these civilized times, 
 been converted into cells fo.r all sorts of offenders 
 against the laws. Debtors, thieves, and mur- 
 derers now walk " its banquet-halls deserted," 
 and clink their chains where " beauty's feet had 
 pressed the marble floors," and the great and 
 mighty (although perhaps not less guilty) of 
 
 p 2
 
 212 A SUMMER IN 
 
 former days, had revelled in their power and 
 state. 
 
 It is not difficult to gain admission into the 
 chateau, particularly if the old concierge, who 
 had charge of it when I visited it, is still there. 
 In that case, my countrymen have only to name 
 their country, and it will be a passport to the 
 kindness of the old man. He was one of the 
 few remaining heroes whose bravery had been 
 baffled before the walls of Acre. He had wit- 
 nessed most of Napoleon's victories and defeats, 
 had been a prisoner of war in England, and there 
 contracted his friendship for the people of that 
 country ; and he was now, in his old age, the 
 jailor commandant of the castle of Foix. The 
 old man and his family were at dinner when I 
 came to ask his permission to explore the build- 
 ing, and I was much surprised by his rising up 
 and shaking hands with me, and inquiring after 
 my health since he had met me. Upon inquiry, 
 I found, that he thought he had recognized in 
 me another countryman, whom he had met with 
 fishing at Pamiers. But the old gentleman was, 
 however, notwithstanding the mistake, very glad
 
 THE PYRENEES. 213 
 
 to see me, invited me to partake of his dinner, 
 and upon my declining told his son to take me 
 over the whole of the chateau, and show me all 
 that was worth looking at. 
 
 The most ancient of the three embattled towers 
 which rise far above the modern buildings which 
 surround them, was erected in 1362, by Gaston 
 Phoebus, "ce modele des heros du 14'""' siecle, 
 toujours grand, genereux, et ami de sa patrie ;" 
 it is a handsome specimen of Gothic architecture, 
 one hundred and thirty-six French feet in height, 
 and founded upon the highest part of the rock. 
 It is in perfect prcocrvation, so much so as to be 
 the strongest and best part of the building ; in 
 different stories are apartments for the prisoners, 
 and its summit forms a terrace, where the prisoners 
 are permitted to walk, and from 'which a most 
 superb bird's-eye view of the surrounding country 
 is obtained. The other towers are more modern, 
 but there are many inferior remains of the ancient 
 fortifications, which have been abandoned, and 
 destroyed by the ravages of time, or have had 
 their materials employed in the erection of the 
 modern build inofs. 
 
 I have hardly ever seen a more impregnable
 
 214 A SIJAIJMER IN 
 
 fortress than the chateau of Foix must have been 
 when the only means of gaining- it were by 
 scaling its perpendicular rocks, and lofty walls, 
 or a situation more fitly adapted for all the pur- 
 poses of barbarous warfare. My conductor 
 pointed out to me a curious mass of rock which 
 is almost detached from the side of that which 
 supports the castle, resting upon a very small 
 and narrow pedestal, so small as to appear as if 
 one kick would send it among the houses of the 
 town far beneath it, but which defies the orages 
 of summer and the blasts of the winter. It is 
 called the rock of Foix, and there is some tradi- 
 tion, the fulfilment of which is dependent on its 
 fall. 
 
 From the chateau 1 proceeded to the prefec- 
 ture, in order to have my passport countersigned. 
 The town has been built with regard to the pro- 
 tection afforded it by its vicinity to the chateau. 
 Its streets and houses are, therefore, huddled 
 together as close under its walls as possible. 
 The Prefect was rather particular in his interro- 
 gations, before signing my passport, and expressed 
 considerable astonishment at my preferring the 
 long and difficult route to Bagneres de Luchon
 
 THE I'YUENEES. 215 
 
 by the mountains, to the carriage-road by St. 
 Giron. 
 
 1 walked into a fine old church, in which are 
 two exceedingly good modern paintings by a 
 person of the name of Racques ; one represents 
 Jesus restoring sight to the blind ; the other, the 
 draught of fishes. I have never met with any scrip- 
 tural paintings which have pleased me more than 
 these ; there is a deficiency in the colouring, but 
 the countenances of the group are beautifully 
 executed The expression of astonishment, thank- 
 fulness and reverence depicted in that of him 
 who has just received his sight, is perfect, while 
 that of the old man behind him, who with out- 
 stretched arms is bending forward to receive his 
 sight from our Saviour, is equally so ; the beauti- 
 fully mild and expressive countenance of Jesus, 
 and the astonished looks of his disciples at the 
 performance of the miracle, do great credit to the 
 artist ; the draught of fishes is of the same 
 character. Having gratified my curiosity at 
 Foix, I returned to Tarascon in the diligence. I 
 had for my fellow travellers, two Frenchmen, 
 who had left Marseilles on account of the cholera. 
 It has been said, that fear predisposes its victims
 
 216 A SUMMER IN 
 
 to an attack of cholera ; now, I am sure, if such 
 was really the case, that these two gentlemen 
 who were going to Ax must have died that same 
 night, for I never, in the whole course of my life, 
 saw two individuals so imbued with fear and 
 terror as they seemed to be. While conversing 
 upon the subject of their disquiet, I happened to 
 mention that I had been in the neighbourhood of 
 Drogheda when so many of its inhabitants were 
 carried off by the cholera, upon which they 
 immediately supposed that I could give them some 
 sovereign specific against its attacks, and begged 
 me to tell them what was the best measure of 
 precaution to adopt. I told them that there were 
 various opinions upon the subject, and different 
 methods by which it was supposed the disease 
 could be warded off. One method was that 
 which numbers of the Irish during the prevalence 
 of the cholera in their country had adopted ; it 
 was never to be sober while the cholera remained 
 in the district : so long as they were intoxicated 
 there was no fear of them, but if they once forgot 
 to be drunk, then the disease was sure to seize 
 upon them. The Frenchmen did not seem to 
 relish this precautionary method which I offered to
 
 THE PYRENEES. 217 
 
 their notice ; so I gave them another which met 
 with more success. It was to refrain from eating 
 salads to breakfast, or drinking the indifferent 
 wines of the country, and never by any chance to 
 taste the unripe fruits daily presented to them at 
 the inns, but to give up their French habits and 
 tastes, and live, a la John Bull, upon solids.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Valley of Vicdessos — Castle of Miglos — Its striking resemblance to 
 Castle Campbell — Mines of Raincie — Privileges of the Miners — 
 Cause of the high price of Iron — Auzat — Valley of the Saliex — 
 Contrabandiers of the Pyrenees — Port d'Aulus— Mont Calm — 
 Domestic Unhappiness of my Guide — Mountain Scenery — Beau- 
 tiful Valley of Aulus — Fountain of Nanpounts — Rencontre with a 
 Countrj-man — Short Beds — Village of Erce — Pyrenean Peasants' 
 knowledge of the World — Feuds — Hunting Quarters — Dogs can 
 " love at first sight,'' 
 
 My route now lay through the valley of 
 Vicdessos, and across the mountains which 
 separate it from that of Aulus. As I was anxious 
 to make a considerable day's work, I quitted 
 Tarascon at a very early hour. 
 
 The valley of Vicdessos is narrow and confined,
 
 A SUMMER I\ IIIF IMUKXKES, 219 
 
 hemmed in by mountains of limestone rock, in 
 many places bare, steep, and inaccessible. The 
 sides of the stream are rich and productive, 
 producing fine crops of Indian corn or maize, 
 and buckwheat. The fields are irrigated, and 
 frequently inclosed by hedges ; and as we 
 approach the district of the iron mines, the 
 numerous comfortable looking houses belonging 
 to the different proprietors or managers of the 
 various forges, surrounded by their gardens and 
 vineyards, combine in rendering the valley of 
 Vicdessos pleasing and agreeable. 
 
 There are the remains of several feudal strong- 
 liolds in this valley, many of them in picturesque 
 and beautiful situations : indeed the bold barons 
 of the county of Foix seem to have known well 
 how to choose a site for their dwellings, and 
 through the whole line of the Pyrenees there is 
 no district which furnishes such incontrovertible 
 evidence of the feudal power of the ancient 
 lords of the south of France as the department of 
 Arriege. May not this circumstance in some 
 measure account for the almost universal venera- 
 tion of its inhabitants for " things as they were," 
 and their attachment to the exiled family ?
 
 220 A SUMMER IN 
 
 The appearance of some of the old castles in 
 this valley gave me great pleasure. Those who 
 have admired the dark ruin and beautiful situa- 
 tion of Castle Campbell, in the valley of the 
 Devon, and may chance to visit the valley of 
 Vicdessos, will recognize in the ruins of the 
 chateau of Miglos, a most striking resemblance. 
 The same features of hill, and wood, and deep 
 ravine, nay, even the very form of the ruins, are 
 the same in each, and Miglos wants but a pretty 
 village, such as Dollar, to frown upon, to become a 
 Castle Campbell. Many and many a time did I 
 turn upon my way, that I might have another 
 look at this spot, which awakened recollections of 
 other times and distant scenes. From one spot 
 in particular where I halted to take a last look at 
 this chateau, the two places were so very much 
 alike, that I am confident that if any of the old 
 Barons of Argyle had by some magic been trans- 
 ported from the Ochills, and stood upon the spot 
 which I did, and been made to gaze in the same 
 direction, was asked what object they saw, they 
 would have unhesitatingly declared, that they 
 recognized their own Castle Campbell. 
 
 This is one of the most busy valleys of the
 
 THE PYRENEES. 221 
 
 Pyrenees ; the largest iron forges in the south are 
 situated in it, giving labour and employment to 
 thousands, and presenting a scene of bustle and 
 activity. Before arriving at Vicdessos, I observed 
 the narrow path which leads to the mines of 
 Raincie, in the mountain, some 4,000 feet above 
 the road, and down which a long cavalcade of 
 mules loaded with mineral were descending. 
 These mines are the most productive of the 
 Pyrenees ; they furnish annually above 300,000 
 quintals of ore, which is distributed among forty 
 forges, many of them situated at a very consi- 
 derable distance from the mines. 
 
 There are two mines in the mountains of 
 Raincie which, at a great depth, communicate 
 with each other. Two hundred men are employed 
 in each mine, who are under the direction of four 
 commissaires, paid by the government, to whom 
 the mines appertain. The labourers work seven 
 hours a day, and notwithstanding the fatigue and 
 danger which they undergo, their wages are not 
 more than one franc, seventy centimes, or about 
 fifteen pence a day. The descent into the mines 
 is difficult and tedious, but not more so than into 
 many of the various mines in Great Britain. The
 
 222 A SUMMER IN 
 
 entrance is through a long muddy gallery which 
 opens into an immense excavation, which has, in 
 the course of ages, been formed by the enormous 
 quantities of ore which have been extracted from 
 it. A winding path among the debris in the 
 bottom of this subterranean hall, and another 
 suspended half-way up its sides, formed by planks 
 supported upon iron bars driven into its walls, 
 conduct to the entrance of the narrow, slippery, 
 and winding corridors which lead to the spots 
 where the mineral is dug out. These paths are 
 in many places difficult and dangerous, and the 
 poor overloaded miner has not unfrequently, car- 
 rying his lamp in his mouth, to crawl over such 
 spots upon his hands and knees. The miners of 
 Raincie are, like their brethren in other places, 
 subject to frequent danger from the closing up of 
 the passages by the falling in of their walls and 
 roofs. In the year 1821, seventy miners were 
 inclosed in this manner. The quantity of matter 
 which choked up the gallery was so great, that it 
 was at first thought impossible to extricate them, 
 and the whole valley was a scene of weeping and 
 wailing ; but the energy and perseverance of their 
 friends and relatives, aroused by the near pros-
 
 THE PYRENEES. 223 
 
 pect of the death of those dear to them, and 
 animated by the courage of M. Vergnies, the 
 Maire of Vicdessos, who never quitted the work- 
 men, the unhappy wretches, who had given 
 themselves up for lost, were extricated from their 
 living tomb. 
 
 Man has been doomed to earn his bread by 
 the sweat of his brow ; so it is with all of us, but 
 nevertheless, how very different is the condition 
 of one class of our fellow-creatures compared 
 with that of others ! During the outcry raised by 
 those who were interested in the continuance of 
 the West India slaves in a state of bondage, it 
 was urged as an argument, that the condition of 
 the slaves was much more comfortable than that 
 of British labourers in general ; but how infinitely 
 preferable the condition of both, to that of the 
 miner doomed in some places by law, in others by 
 nature, to gain his bread by the sweat of his brow, 
 but works for it in the bowels of the earth, amid 
 darkness and impurity of air, aware that danger 
 and death surround him on all sides, that each 
 stroke of his pickaxe may perchance be hastening 
 his own destruction ; and who seldom participates 
 in the enjoyment — undenied even to the meanest
 
 224 A SUMMER IK 
 
 of God's creatures, breathing the pure air of 
 heaven. 
 
 These mines of Raincie have been wrought for 
 more than six centuries ; and, from the quantity 
 of mineral which the mountain contains, there 
 can be no limits set to its supply. Roger 
 Bernard, of Foix, confirmed, in 1273, the right 
 w^hich the inhabitants of the valley claimed, to 
 be the sole workers of these mines, and subse- 
 quent charters have renewed to them the pri- 
 vilege ; but it is only used by the inhabitants of 
 the nearest villages, those of Sem, Gonlier, and 
 Olbier. The ore is sufficiently productive ; but, 
 notwithstanding this, and the cheapness of labour, 
 the iron, vrhen manufactured, is very dear. This 
 is partly owing to the imperfect nature of the 
 machinery employed ; which is, however, at Vic- 
 dessos, very superior to that in most of the 
 Pyrenean iron foundries ; but, more particularly, 
 to the great expense of fuel. There are few, 
 almost no forests, in the vicinity of the forges, 
 consequently, the chaicoal has to be transported 
 for immense distances, sometimes fifty miles, of 
 land carriage ; thus rendering the material pro- 
 duced, rather an article of luxury than a useful
 
 THE I'VKEXEES. 225 
 
 commodity. But I do not despair of seeing all 
 the forges of the Pyrenees cease working, which 
 they must do, the moment the French government 
 cease to consider private gain as commensurate 
 with the public prosperity. 
 
 Vicdessos is a prettily-situated and well-built 
 little town, upon the right bank of the river 
 which bears its name, and in the centre of a 
 fertile basin, into which numerous valleys and 
 ravines open in all directions. Some of its 
 mountains are wild and Alpine, partially wooded, 
 and affording some good pasturages ; others are 
 sterile and rocky. The auberge in which I 
 breakfasted was excessively clean, and the eat- 
 ables produced excellent; but, no wonder, for the 
 landlord, — a most civil and obliging personage, — 
 was both an old soldier and a gentleman. He 
 procured me an excellent guide, and we pro- 
 ceeded up the valley of the Saleix. 
 
 The entrance to this valley is narrowed by an 
 isolated monticule, upon which are the ruins of 
 some old fortifications, which the tradition of the 
 country tells us are the remains of a Roman for- 
 tress. To the south of the monticule, is the 
 village of Auzat, whose inhabitants are chiefly 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 A SUMMER IN 
 
 composed of miners, labourers in the forges, and 
 the most noted smugglers in the Pyrenees. The 
 contrabandiers of the Alps, and of Switzerland, 
 are principally engaged in the smuggling of 
 articles of a very portable nature, such as jewels, 
 watches, laces, &c. ; those of the Pyrenees have 
 much harder work to perform, and double the 
 danger and risk to undergo. Tobacco and wool 
 are the somewhat ponderous articles which they 
 have to carry ; and, as they cannot elude the 
 douaniers with such loads, as those can who have 
 merely a few watches and chains to incommode 
 their flight, they are consequently obliged to 
 choose more dangerous paths, more stormy 
 weather, and more circuitous routes, in pursuing 
 "their calling" than the Alpine contrabandier, 
 whose life is one of comparative comfort, when 
 compared with that of the Pyrenean. 
 
 In " thunder, lightning, and in rain," when the 
 elements are warring in such fearful mood as 
 to drive the very beasts of the forest to seek for 
 safety and for shelter, then it is that the contra- 
 bandier of the Pyrenees is reaping the harvest of 
 his profession ; he is then, perhaps, the only 
 living creature who exults among the wilds of
 
 THE PYKllXEES. 227 
 
 the mountains ; and, if lie ever utters a prayer, or 
 tells his beads, it is when all nature is raging 
 round him ; and its purport, that the storm may 
 not subside. In such times, the contraband ier 
 knows well, that the douanier will not cross his 
 path ; and that, should he pass in safety those 
 places where, on account of the terrible force of 
 the wind, it is a proverb among the mountaineers, 
 "that there the father never vvaits for his son, nor 
 the son for his father," his hardships and his 
 dangers will be well repaid him. The contra- 
 bandiers of the Pyrenees are sometimes French, 
 sometimes Spanish ; but the most daring and 
 hardy of all, are a race born in Spain,* but whose 
 fathers have been French. Both countries are 
 alike subject to the audacity of this class, 
 who, armed to the teeth, never hesitate at 
 shooting the douaniers when they think that the 
 urgency of the occasion requires it. The doua- 
 niers, aware of the desperate character of the 
 men with whom they have to deal, are, not infre- 
 quently, obliged to overlook the delinquencies of 
 these contrabandiers. 
 
 Upon one occasion, when a contrabandier of 
 
 * Generally known by the name of Mig'uelcts. 
 Q 2
 
 228 A SUMMER IX 
 
 this lawless description was resting in a solitary 
 auberge, and, as usual, completely armed, and 
 indifferent to the presence of the other inmates of 
 the place, was clearing his pipe with the point of 
 his long poignard ; and, having finished the 
 operation, he turned the weapon several times 
 round, regarding it with much complacency 
 before returning it again to his pocket, seeming- 
 well pleased with the good service which it 
 might upon trying occasions, have rendered him, 
 when a gendarme who was present, observing the 
 action, immediately placed his hand upon the 
 pocket of the contrabandier, telling him, that he 
 could not be allowed to enter the French terri- 
 tory armed. 
 
 " Ha !" said the contrabandier — " Ts it not per- 
 mitted to cut our tobacco and our bread ?" 
 
 " Certainly ;" replied the gendarme, — " but 
 you have more there than is necessary to cut 
 your tobacco and your bread." 
 
 " Yes ;" replied the other, with a significant 
 look — "■ but the wolves, and the dogs, it is 
 necessary that we should defend ourselves against 
 them." 
 
 The contrabandier uttered this with such ap- 
 parent carelessness, but, at the same time.
 
 THE PYIIE-VLES. 229 
 
 hauteur, that the gendarme, more accustomed to 
 ask for passports than for poignards, thought it 
 most prudent not to insist. The costumes of the 
 contraband iers vary in the different districts of 
 the Pyrenees ; but it is always of a light and 
 simple description, suited to the character of the 
 wearer. 
 
 The valley of Saleix is not remarkable for its 
 beauty, but for the splendid mountain scenery in 
 its vicinity. We sat down to rest and refresh 
 ourselves near the Port d'Aulus; and from this 
 spot I could distinguish all the summits to the 
 north and south of Mont St. Barthelemy, but 
 those in my more immediate neighbourhood 
 deserve particular regard. To the south of the 
 monticule upon which rests the old Roman fort, 
 rises a mountain far higher, but resembling the 
 other in form and shape ; to the south of this rises 
 another mountain of like form, but of far greater 
 height, and beyond this last rises the magnificent 
 Mont Calm, to a height of 1620 toises. The 
 Mont Calm is remarkable, not only by reason of 
 its appearance and majestic height, but on account 
 of its formation ; it, and the summits near it, the
 
 230 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Pic d'Estats and tlie Punta de Medacourbe, are 
 composed of what M. du Mege classes under the 
 term " terrain de transition," and are among the 
 loftiest of their kind in the Pyrenees. 
 
 In the valley of Saleix, I observed the best 
 crops of potatoes I liad seen in France, where 
 potatoes are not cultivated to any great extent, 
 and do not form an essential article of food. 
 
 My guide, a very active and intelligent young 
 fellow, amused me excessively by the relation of 
 his domestic arrangements. It seemed that he 
 had the misfortune to marry a woman about ten 
 years older than himself, and that the difference 
 in the ages of the pair had (as is usual in such 
 cases) been the source of much discomfort and 
 annoyance. 
 
 " I work hard," said he, " the whole day, but I 
 must account for every farthing which I gain to 
 the old woman ; I am never allowed to spend a 
 sous with my companions, or in buying 
 powder for the chasse ; and I dare not look at, 
 much less speak to any of the girls of the village, 
 because if the old woman saw me do so, or heard 
 of it from any one, she would do nothing but
 
 THE PYRENEES. 231 
 
 scold for days, so that what with her stinginess 
 and her jealousy, I am the most unhappy man in 
 all our valley." 
 
 " And why do you not leave her ?" inquired 
 I. 
 
 " Oh ! I have often been advised to do so, and 
 M. Merry (the person who recommended him to 
 me), who has been very kind to me, and who is 
 acquainted with all the circumstances, has offered 
 to take me into his service should 1 do so ; but the 
 old woman has two children by me, and I cannot 
 think of leaving them, so that I am forced to 
 submit to all the indignities and misery which she 
 occasions me." The poor fellow, like all others 
 who fall into the same predicament, was to be 
 pitied, but not comforted. 
 
 From the summit of the Port, another magnifi- 
 cent range of summits present themselves ; they 
 are those which extend from the Pic de Bon- 
 repaux, to that promontory of the high central 
 range of the Pyrenees, the Tuc de Mauberme, 
 and includes the high mountains at the source of 
 the valley of Sallat, and around the Port d'Aulus. 
 But among a host of peaks, the double peak of
 
 232 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Mount Vallier appears preeminent in height, and 
 unrivalled in grandeur. 
 
 The beautiful and riant basin of Aulus is the 
 commencement of the valley d'Erce, and one of 
 the most exquisite spots in these mountains ; it is 
 an amphitlieatre within whose circle the richest 
 cultivation is diversified with mounds and knolls, 
 which rising apart from each other, are covered 
 with different species of trees, or with verdure. 
 The stream, which is formed by the junction of 
 torrents from the valleys Garbel and Arce, 
 meanders in tortuous windings among the rising 
 grounds, giving life and animation to the scene. 
 The mountains or walls of the amphitheatre dis- 
 play the richest pasturages, and irrigated mea- 
 dows, in some places fringing the most escarpe 
 rocks, elsewhere, the mountain side is broken 
 into numerous little dells embowered with wood, 
 or into gorges where the mountain torrent is seen 
 dashing down in all its beauty. Clumps of trees, 
 as if they had been planted to complete the effect 
 of this delightful scene, are sprinkled through the 
 bosom of the valley, or hang upon the steeps in 
 all directions, the intermediate spaces spangled
 
 THE PYRENEES. 233 
 
 with wild flowers, and the ivy and wild rose 
 clustering upon the rocks and shelves. There is 
 here no dull uniformity to shock the admirer of 
 natural beauty, or stiff parterres or formal 
 avenues ; the trees are neither pruned so as to 
 resemble maypoles, nor deformed by cutting 
 over : nature has been the only artist consulted 
 in its formation, and rarely has she produced a 
 more lovely gem of natural beauty. 
 
 To the left of the descent from the Port d' 
 Aulus into this cradle of the picturesque, is the 
 narrow and sombre valley of Garbel, which con- 
 tains a mine of lead and silver, extending to a 
 great distance under the mountain, and which 
 has been wrought at various periods, and by dif- 
 ferent speculators, but from its having been so 
 frequently abandoned ; I suspect that it is one of 
 those mines of lead and silver which, by their 
 tantalizing character, have oftener conduced to 
 the ruin of those who speculated upon their pro- 
 duce, than to their profit — at one time yielding an 
 enormous return, while at others, the workmen 
 are fruitlessly employed for months. This mine 
 of Garbel must have been known and wrought at 
 a very early period, and during the troublesome
 
 234 A SUMMER IN 
 
 times of feudal warfare ; in the vicinity of the 
 mine a strong fortification has been erected, 
 evidently to guard its riches from depredations, 
 and to protect the w^orkmen. Follovv^ing the 
 tradition of the country, this old ruin, called 
 Castelminier, vv^as built by the Romans v^^hen 
 they wrought this mine, to protect the miners 
 and their village, and destroyed by the Moors. 
 Several antique tools, and a curious figure in 
 bronze have been found in the neighbourhood, 
 and are in the possession of a proprietor of the 
 valley. 
 
 The village of Aulus is not in character with 
 the beautiful scenery which surrounds it : it is a 
 long narrow line of houses, most of them poor 
 and dirty in the extreme, with the exception of 
 those which belong to the proprietors of the 
 forge and baths. The mineral springs of Aulus 
 have only lately been discovered, and I believe 
 their properties are not generally known ; but if 
 they were only half as efficacious in curing the 
 diseases of the body, as the pleasant and agree- 
 able environs are calculated to efface those of the 
 mind, the baths of Aulus ought in truth to become 
 the most frequented in the Pyrenees. The
 
 rHE PYRENEES. 235 
 
 approach to them through the valley d'Erce, is 
 the most safe and easy of any of the routes which 
 lead to the watering places in the mountains, and 
 with very little difficulty might be rendered prac- 
 ticable for carriages, which even now can come 
 up the valley of the Sallat by an excellent road 
 to Oust or Siex. 
 
 I have seldom sauntered along a path which 
 disclosed so much loveliness as that which follows 
 the river-side down the valley d'Erce, and I do 
 not think I ever saw so pure and transparent a 
 stream ; the minnows and the trouts in its 
 deepest pools were as visible as if they had been 
 swimming in a crystal basin. A rushing, rum- 
 bling noise proceeding from the bank upon the 
 right of the path, betrayed the vicinity of the 
 fountain of Nanpounts. Like other similar tor- 
 rents, it gushes in a large volume of water from 
 a mountain of primitive limestone, and the natives 
 believe that is the outlet of the waters of the 
 Etang de Lherz, situated a couple of miles upon 
 the other side of the mountain. In mountains of 
 such formation, distance is no argument against 
 this supposition; and there are many places in 
 the Pyrenees where such streams can be traced a
 
 236 A SUMMER IN 
 
 great way through the caverns in the mountains 
 of primitive limestone. 
 
 I did not intend to remain in the village of 
 Aulus, but to have walked down the valley to 
 Oust or Siex, but a very unforeseen but most 
 welcome rencontre altered my intention. At a 
 short distance from .the fountain of Nanpounts, I 
 met a traveller whom I felt confident I had seen 
 somewhere before, but when or where I could not 
 at the moment recollect. We thus passed each 
 other, but I had only proceeded a few paces ere 
 I resolved to satisfy myself of the identity of the 
 stranger ; and accordingly I sent back my guide 
 to inquire of the stranger's guide if his master 
 was English, Having learnt that he was, I made 
 no hesitation in introducing myself to a country- 
 man in a place so far from home, and where two 
 individuals of the same nation were so unlikely to 
 meet. 
 
 My countryman I discovered to be the Pro- 
 fessor of Natural Philosophy in the University of 
 Edinburgh, whom I had often seen, although, 
 until then, I had not had the good fortune to 
 become acquainted with him. We were soon 
 seated on the bank together, the Professor giving
 
 THE PYRENEES. 237 
 
 me information regarding some of the routes I 
 intended pursuing, and through which he had 
 passed, and which I afterwards found of much 
 service to me, and I in return mentioned to him 
 those through which I had wandered. The 
 Professor intended to remain all night at Aulus, I 
 on the contrary had several hours walking before 
 me; but the time had passed so pleasantly, that 
 our conversation by the river side had been of 
 some duration, when my guide, hinting as to the 
 distance which we had to go, I shook hands with 
 the Professor, and we pursued our different paths. 
 But very short consideration was sufficient to 
 convince me how much more preferable it would 
 be to return to Aulus, and enjoy the society of a 
 countryman, than to proceed alone to Siex. It is 
 not often that such an agreeable rencontre takes 
 place in such wilds ; in the present instance, par- 
 ticularly acceptable to me from the high talents 
 and amiable character of the individual whom I 
 had the happiness to meet. 1 therefore gave 
 orders, to the right about face, and in a very short 
 time we overtook the Professor. I told him my 
 intention of accompanying him back to Aulus, 
 and he agreed with me in thinking that the
 
 238 A SIMMER IN" 
 
 arrano-ement was au exceedingly s^ood one. In 
 the principal house of the village, we found a 
 couple of beds which we were told we could have, 
 and having ordered dinner, we strolled out until 
 it was prepared for us. There is a forge at 
 Aulus which is worked only a few months during 
 the year, as the mineral has to be brought across 
 the mountains from the mines of Rancie, and the 
 charcoal all the way from St. Girons, and this in 
 bad weather, or in winter cannot be accomplished. 
 To the forge we directed our steps ; the Pro- 
 fessor had not, I believe, seen a forge upon the 
 Catalan principle before, and I was anxious to 
 have him explain part of the mystery connected 
 with its operations which I did not altogether 
 understand, and which he most obligingly did. 
 
 From the forsre we sauntered to the summit of 
 one of the beautifully-wooded knolls in the centre 
 of the basin ; where we remained enjoying the 
 coolness of its shady groves, until we thought 
 that the old woman at the auberge would be 
 expecting our return. 
 
 Although we had secured a couple of beds, 
 yet we occupied the same apartment ; and, al- 
 though inditl'erently well lodsfed, I suspect that I
 
 THE PYRENEES. 239 
 
 Ma.s much more fortunate and comfortable than 
 my friend. The beds were clean, and of the 
 same length, suiting me perfectly well ; but, as 
 the Professor happens to be somewhat more than 
 rather tall, it followed, as a matter of course, that 
 the bed in which I had suflScient room to stretch 
 myself was nearly half a yard too .short for him. 
 Nothing is more difficult, I may say, impossible, 
 than to arrange ones-self satisfactorily in a bed 
 which is too short ; I have always found it so, 
 and have invariably been troubled with a nervous 
 twitching of the limbs, and a particular desire to 
 stretch my legs out, whenever I have discovered 
 that I could not do so ; however, the Professor, 
 accustomed to meet with such inconveniences, 
 was much more contented than I should have 
 been under such circumstances. Next morninsr, 
 after breakfast, we proceeded on our different 
 routes ; and I left Aulus, accompanied by the 
 proprietor of the establishment in which we had 
 passed the night, the baths, and the forge. 
 
 The valley becomes narrower towards the vil- 
 lage of Erce : it is no longer interspersed with 
 woody knolls und shady groves, and the forests 
 hang more formally upon the mountain-sides, but
 
 240 A SUMMER INT 
 
 it is yet rich in that picturesque beauty which a 
 profusion of nature's most admired features can 
 bes.tow upon it ; and, although the basin of 
 Aulus is certainly the most delightful portion of 
 it, still the long avenue which leads into it from 
 the valley of the Sallat, forms a charming and 
 suitable approach to the little paradise it con- 
 tains. 
 
 Each valley of the Pyrenees is, to the natives 
 of it, a little world in itself; and their traditionary 
 history, and early associations, are limited by the 
 mountains which inclose it ; beyond which, the 
 greater part of them never pass, but spend their 
 lives within the circle of their own commune. 
 Some restless and discontented spirits there may 
 be among them, who, like Rasselas, imagining 
 that all is harmony and happiness beyond the 
 boundaries of their valley, leave it to make their 
 " choice of life," to seek employment and riches 
 elsewhere ; but, generally, a short and unsatis- 
 factory pursuit of the object of their search, con- 
 vinces them, that their habits and their ignorance 
 have not formed them for mixing in the world, 
 and buffetting with its storms ; and they return 
 to their birth-place, satisfied, that the simple com-
 
 TUF. PVH FAFFS. 241 
 
 petence wliicli it provides for all its children is 
 more secure ; and its still simpler enjoyments 
 afford to them more substantial happiness than 
 can be acquired by mixing with a world whose 
 ways they do not understand, and whose sub- 
 tleties are to them a riddle which they cannot 
 solve. Such " prodigal sons," upon their return, 
 become, from the knowledge of the world which 
 they may have gained within a few leagues of 
 their own valley, the oracles of the hamlet ; and 
 continue so, until some aspirant, his ambition 
 roused by the oft-repeated tale, whose marvels 
 increase in proportion as their novelty has worn 
 off, follows the course of his predecessor; and, 
 like him, returns to act his part in exciting, or 
 imposing upon, the credulity of his community. 
 
 Quarrels and feuds are not unfrequent between 
 the inhabitants of neighbouring valleys; and they 
 can retain their animosity, and exercise their 
 vengeance upon each other, as signally as ever 
 was displayed in the annals of our Highland 
 clans. An instance of this occurred a short time 
 ago in the valley d'Erce. 
 
 The property of the woods and pasturages of 
 Fouillets, one of the upper valleys of the district, 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 A SUMMER IN 
 
 have been, for a long period, the subject of litiga- 
 tion ; and, of course, in such a state of society, 
 the origin of much hatred between the inhabi- 
 tants of Aulus and those of Erce. It seems, that 
 a native of the former commune, a man much 
 esteemed, and the father of a family, had, as 
 usual, gone up to the forests to procure fire-wood. 
 Night came on, and he did not return. No one 
 could imatj-ine what had become of him. The 
 whole commune assembled, and, with lights and 
 torches, set off to the mountains. The night was 
 spent in an unavailing search for him. The 
 shepherds of Laspeires, natives of Erce, when 
 interrogated regarding him, declared that they 
 had not seen him, although they had been all the 
 day preceding in the vicinity of the place where 
 he must have been cutting wood ; but, upon the 
 following day, between their cabin and Casiarens, 
 his body was discovered in a hole, half covered 
 over with stones, and horribly disfigured with 
 wounds. He had been beat to death by the 
 spades of eight men of Erce. The victim of 
 this feud was not more obnoxious to the inhabi- 
 tants of Erce than others of his valley, but the 
 general hatred subsisting between the parties led
 
 THE PYRKNF.ES. 24.^ 
 
 them to commit the horrid act. The murderers 
 were tried for the crime, found guilty, and they 
 are now in the gallies. By the commission of 
 this crime, the breach between the parties has 
 been so widened that they seldom or never have 
 the slightest intercourse, although living' within a 
 couple of miles of each other. When they meet, 
 they pass each other in silence, and without the 
 most simple act of recognition, so common among 
 utter strangers. 
 
 I regretted that it was not possible for me to 
 remain a few days at Aulus, and hunt the bear 
 among the deep and solitary ravines of the central 
 ridge, where that lord of the Pyrenean forest is 
 more frequently to be encountered than in most 
 other districts of the mountains. I would strongly 
 recommend those who are fond of this sport to 
 make Aulus, or St. Lizier, at the source of the 
 Sallat, their head-quarters for a week or two ; 
 and, if they can be successful any where in the 
 Pyrenees, they will be successful there. The 
 bear is now become scarce in the Pyrenees ; but 
 what of that ? — there is the more glory in killing 
 him. 
 
 My companion was possessed of a very fine 
 K 2
 
 244 A SUMMER IN 
 
 dog, of the species common on the Spanish fron- 
 tier, which had paid me great attention ever since I 
 had been rather civil to him at dinner the preced- 
 ing day. The dog was now accompanying his 
 master to his residence in the village of Oust ; 
 where we parted company, I taking the road to 
 Seix. At the village of Oust, prettily situated at 
 the junction of the waters of Erce and Sallat, we 
 enter the little plain of Seix, inclosed on all sides 
 (except where the river Sallat has found an exit 
 for itself) by mountains of a tamer aspect than 
 those which border the waters of Erce. 
 
 It was here, when it was the custom to search 
 for gold dust in the beds of some of the Pyrenean 
 torrents, that the greatest quantity was collected. 
 The sands between Seix and St. Sermin were the 
 most productive, and that found in the stream of 
 the Nert the most esteemed. Notwithstanding 
 this evidence of the existence of the precious 
 metal somewhere about the source, or in the 
 course of these streams, no mines have been dis- 
 covered which could be profitably worked. 
 
 When crossing the bridge at the entrance to 
 the village of Seix, the dog which I have men- 
 tioned as belonging to the inn-keeper of Aulus,
 
 THE PYRENEES. 245 
 
 came up to me. He had left his master at Oust, 
 and followed on my trail ; and he appeared so 
 glad at having overtaken me, that I allowed him 
 to follow me to the other village, that he might 
 have a share of my breakfast, be taken care of, 
 and returned to his owner.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Destruction of the Pyrenean Forests— Anecdote of a Dog — Change 
 of Weather — Retreat from the Mountains — Valley of the Sallat 
 —Fly Fishing — Valley of the Castilllonalse— St. Girons — The 
 Garonne— St. Martory — Chateau de Montespan — St. Gaudens — 
 Valley of Luchon— St. Bertrand — Industry of the Peasantry — 
 Basin of Luchon — Pretty Blanchiseuses — Another Anecdote of 
 a Dog — Town of Luchon — Mineral Springs — Table d'Hote — 
 Recommendation to Travellers — Scenery around Luchon — Val 
 de Lys— Ports of Estaous and Viel — Superstition of the Shep- 
 herds — Lakes of the Seculejo and Espingo — Glaciers of the Port 
 d'Oo— Wild Flowers— Famous Punch. 
 
 I BREAKFASTED in Company with the govern- 
 ment inspector of the forests. He seemed perfectly 
 aware of the shameful system of spoliation and 
 destruction pursued among the forests of the 
 Pyrenees, which has been prevalent for so many
 
 THE PYRENEES. 247 
 
 years, and which, if not checked, will, at no dis- 
 tant period, leave those mountains as destitute of 
 wood as the greater part of our Scottish hills 
 and mountains were previous to the praiseworthy 
 and patriotic exertions of their proprietors to 
 repair the damages occasioned by the folly or 
 carelessness of their ancestors. 1 mentioned to 
 the inspector the advice which a canny Scottish 
 laird gave to his son — " Be aye planting a tree, 
 Jock ; it will grow when ye are sleeping." And 
 I told him, I thought the advice would he equally 
 applicable to his government. 
 
 During breakfast, a young man entered, who 
 stated, that he had been sent by the master of the 
 dog to bring him back to Oust ; unless I chose 
 to retain him at the price whicli he had men- 
 tioned to me as that which he wished to obtain 
 for him. Aware, that, in the event of any dili- 
 gence travelling, he would be rather an inconve- 
 nient addition to my baggage, 1 told the lad to 
 take him away ; and as he was unwilling to quit 
 his quarters, I threatened him with a caning, 
 which had the effect of making him accompany 
 the messenger. 
 
 A quarter of an hour had not, however, elapsed
 
 248 A SUMMER IN 
 
 from the departure of the man, ere the dog was 
 again underneatli the breakfast table ; and, a 
 short time afterwards, the lad returned, puffing 
 and blowing, and declaring that he could not get 
 the animal to follow him. We now tied a cord 
 round his neck ; and I bade my guide go along 
 with the lad, and help him a part of the way- 
 home. Accordingly, the two set forth ; and, 
 wishing to put an end to the dog's friendship for 
 me, I performed the unwilling piece of cruelty of 
 striking him. 
 
 But all would not do; the animal proceeded 
 quietly as far as the bridge ; when, turning upon 
 the guide, who was leading him, he nearly tore 
 his coat off, and, regaining his liberty, came 
 scampering into the auberge, dragging his cord 
 along with him. I had witnessed this last exhi- 
 bition from the window of the house : there could 
 be, therefore, no doubt of the animal's affection 
 for me, so I at once paid the price of him to the 
 lad, and determined to take him along with me. 
 
 Hitherto I had, from the commencement of my 
 expedition among the mountains, been so fortu- 
 nate as to have had a continued track of the very 
 finest weather — each morninu' came but to usher
 
 THK PYRENEES. 249 
 
 in a day, if possible, more delicious than the pre- 
 ceding one. But, at Aulus, Mr. Forbes informed 
 me, that in the Hautes Pyrenees, the weatlier 
 had been very uncertain and rainy. So I tlioug-ht 
 that, most probably, in quitting Arriege, I should 
 leave the fine weather behind me. So it really 
 happened ; for the clouds, which had looked very 
 threatening ever since I had entered the valley of 
 the Sallat, began to discharge their contents pre- 
 vious to my leaving Seix. I waited for an hour 
 or two, in hopes that the clouds would blow over ; 
 but there was no appearance of this taking place. 
 I had been too long accustomed to the aspect 
 which the high and low Pyrenees present, when 
 there is a probability of the bad weather continu- 
 ing, not to foresee, upon this occasion, the little 
 chance of fair weather for some days, at least. 
 This being the case, I had to consider what I 
 ouQfht to do, and in what direction to bend mv 
 steps. My intention was, to have explored the 
 valleys of the Castillionaise, mounted to the sum- 
 mit of Mont Vallier, and crossed by the Tuc de 
 Mauberme to Bagneres de Luchon. The bad 
 weather blew this intention to the winds ; so that 
 I was obliged, either to remain at Seix for the
 
 250 A SUMMER IN 
 
 arrival of more propitious weather, or proceed 
 down the valley of Sallat to St. Giron, and thence 
 by the diligence to Luchon, Most people are 
 acquainted with the miseries of a country inn in 
 rainy weather ; and, as I had no inclination to 
 become a passive spectator of the enjoyment of 
 the web-footed tribes in the puddle, or to have to 
 compassionate the crest-fallen cock, or the soiled 
 and drooping plumage of his seraglio, I bade my 
 guide strap on my knapsack. We left Seix in 
 the rain, and proceeded down the valley ; where, 
 either at St. Girons, or at St. Martory, I would, 
 most probably, find a diligence which would carry 
 me to Luchon. 
 
 The river escapes from the little plain of Seix, 
 through a dark and narrow gorge. Near which, 
 placed upon the last peak of the chain of Uston, 
 is the Chateau de Mirabel ; its " donjon keep" is 
 in good preservation, and overtops the surround- 
 ing woods to a great height. The road follows 
 the course of the river, which, twisting among 
 the many hills which form, as it were, the bul- 
 warks, or connecting links between the mountains 
 and the low country, — all of which so strongly 
 resemble each other in shape and character as to
 
 THE PYRENEES. 251 
 
 be rather monotonous, — must be, if its appearance 
 did not greatly deceive me, a good trouting 
 stream; its banks are unincumbered with wood, 
 it is neither too rapid nor too still, and its waters 
 are not so clear as the streams in the vicinity of 
 the mountains in general are; while the excellent 
 trouts produced at breakfast bear witness to its 
 contents : but I am afraid that it, like most of the 
 rivers in the south of France, is spoilt for fly- 
 fishing by the frequent intrusion of the net. 
 There seems to be no restriction against the use 
 of this unfair mode of piscatory warfare in the 
 Pyrenean departments ; the net is the universal 
 engine of destruction in use ; and, consequently, 
 those streams which, but for the system pursued, 
 could not be otherwise than full of fish, can 
 scarcely boast of a few minnows. Greater care 
 is taken of some of the larger rivers ; upon the 
 Garonne, for instance, where the fishings are 
 either let, or permission from the Government is 
 required, before a line can be cast into it. 1 
 think that the use of the net might, with advan- 
 tage to the peasant, be prohibited ; for I have 
 often heard them complain of the scarcity of fish 
 in their streams, caused by its depredations, and
 
 252 A SUMMER IN 
 
 I have no doubt, that were it so, the result would 
 be that the peasant, taking to the rod and fly, 
 would, in a very short time, have as great a con- 
 tempt for the " fillet" as old Isaac Walton him- 
 self. A few miles from Seix, I passed the 
 entrance to the pretty and fertile valley in which 
 Massat, surrounded by its iron mines and forges, 
 is situated. It is one of the largest and most 
 populous iron manufacturing towns in the 
 Pyrenees. 
 
 Near St. Girons, the valley of the Castillionaise 
 unites with that of the Sallat, and the country 
 assumes the delightful character which a rich and 
 productive soil, broken into gentle swells and 
 undulations, covered with orchards and vine- 
 yards, with copses and hamlets, can bestow upon 
 it. St. Girons is situated at the junction of the 
 Lezard with the Sallat, in the middle of a country 
 teeming with plenty, and is an industrious and 
 thriving little town. 
 
 I arrived in St. Girons just in time to secure 
 the coupe of the diligence for my dog and 
 myself, change my wet clothes for dry, and leave 
 the place for St. Martory. The dog followed me 
 into the vehicle as if he had been quite accus-
 
 THE PYRENEES. 253 
 
 tomed to travelling, laid himself down underneath 
 the seat, and did not display that inquisitive 
 propensity which untravelled dogs generally 
 have, to stare out of the windows. 
 
 At a short distance from St. Girons, upon the 
 east bank of the river, and built upon a noble 
 platform which overhangs it, is the ancient 
 archiepiscopal town of St. Lizier. It was, at one 
 period, the capital of the district, and the whole 
 of the adjacent country belonged to it ; it is 
 now shorn of its ancient rights and grandeur, 
 dwindled into insignificance, and has nought to 
 recommend it to the attention of the traveller, but 
 the beauty of its site, and the admirable view 
 which it commands of the mountains. Beyond 
 St. Lizier, the valley increases in width and 
 beauty, until it becomes an extensive plain, 
 interspersed with wooded hillocks, or grassy 
 slopes, and watered by the various tributary 
 streams which flow into the Sallat. 
 
 The old chateau of Prat marks the limits of 
 the department of Arriege. We then enter the 
 department of the Haute Garonne, and from the 
 neighbourhood of the little town of Sallies, we 
 have the first peep of that noble river, which.
 
 254 A SUMMER IN 
 
 from its source among the Spanish mountains, at 
 the head of the Valley d'Arran, until it reaches 
 the Atlantic, after a course of a hundred and forty- 
 leagues, presents along its banks so many scenes 
 of savage wildness, sublimity, and grandeur, ere 
 it forsakes the Pyrenees ; when, as if suiting its 
 character to the districts through which it flows, 
 it no longer dashes along in all the uncontrolled 
 turbulence of a mountain-river, but, gently and 
 silently steals through the sunny plains, and laves 
 the vine-clad hills of Guienne and Gascony. At 
 St. Martory, I left the diligence, which proceeded 
 to Toulouse ; and waited for that which, at a 
 very early hour next morning, passed through 
 the place, on its way from Toulouse to Luchon. 
 
 St. Martory, like most of the towns in the 
 district which extends from Narbonne by Tou- 
 louse, along the outports of the Pyrenees, boasts 
 of its Roman origin, and has furnished its quota 
 of antique busts and bas-reliefs to the collection 
 of the academy of Toulouse. I was fortunate 
 in procuring places in the diligence from Tou- 
 louse, and, by day-break, Caesar and I were 
 en route for Bao^neres de Luchon. 
 
 Upon an isolated monticule, within a short
 
 THE PYRENEES. 255 
 
 distance of St. Gauden, and upon tlie right l)ank 
 of the river, are the ruins of the Chateau de 
 Montespan, almost hid among the wood which 
 surrounds them. It was in this chateau, so dis- 
 tant from Paris, that the husband of the artful 
 woman who had undermined the influence of the 
 beautiful and gentle La Valliere, lived in seclu- 
 sion and retirement ; whilst the haughty fa- 
 vourite exulted in the success of her guilty ambi- 
 tion, and ruled over the most depraved court 
 which ever existed. 
 
 Nothing can be more agreeable than the ap- 
 pearance of the country between St. Martcry and 
 the entrance to the valley of Luchon. It is, 
 perhaps, the most beautiful plain which the 
 Garonne waters in its course, the most fertile and 
 productive, and containing the most delightful 
 sites any where to be met with. There is no 
 monotony in its features, for its surface is diver- 
 sified by myriads of the most lovely wooded or 
 verdant knolls, as various in their forms as in 
 their numbers, and crowned with the ruins of 
 ancient castles, or the prosperous villages of the 
 district. 
 
 St. Gaudens is said to have derived its name
 
 256 A SUMMER IN 
 
 one of the worthies who, in 470, fell a sacrifice to 
 the bigotry of the fierce, valiant Euric, the cham- 
 pion of Arianism ; less illustrious than his son 
 Alaric, who put an end to the persecutions which 
 his father had so signally encouraged, but who 
 perished young and regretted by the hand of 
 Clovis, upon the fatal field of Vongle. 
 
 At La Broquere, we again encountered the 
 Garonne, which we had quitted at St. Gaudens. 
 This river, after in vain endeavouring to follow 
 the course, which, from its source until its junc- 
 tion with the Neste, it seems as if it had been 
 intent upon pursuing, turns suddenly to the east. 
 When it unites with that stream, near Mont- 
 rejeau, and flows towards Toulouse ; where, as if 
 regretting its deviation from its original intention, 
 it returns to the west, which it follows for the 
 remainder of its course. 
 
 The valley of Luchon may be divided into 
 three sections, all different in their characters. 
 The first, that from Montrejeau to Cierp, is open, 
 rich, and highly cultivated. The second, that 
 from Cierp to Luchon, is more confined ; the 
 mountains which skirt it become lofty ; and the 
 traveller perceives, that every step which he
 
 riiK pvur.NF.K.s. '2i)i 
 
 uclvances, is conveying him into scenes more pic- 
 turesque tlian those which he has passed through, 
 and increasing in boldness and grandeur ; the 
 summits of the high central range are to be seen 
 peering into the clouds, and, if he has that love 
 of the wilds which I have, he will again exult in 
 the near prospect of exploring their recesses. 
 The third part of the valley, that from Luchon to 
 Venasque, is a series of gorges, ravines, pastur- 
 ages, and woods, until the snowy range from 
 Avhich the Pique derives its source, separates the 
 two countries. 
 
 As the diligence mounted slowly the steep 
 ascents in which the road through the valley of 
 Luchon abounds, I walked alongside of a lady 
 and gentleman who had, for the first time in 
 their lives, visited the Pyrenees. I was greatly 
 amused with their remarks upon the appearance 
 of the valley. The plains of Languedoc had 
 hitherto been the objects of their contemplation, 
 the corn-fields and the vineyards, the sluggish 
 river and the fishponds, formed the scenery with 
 which all their ideas of the picturesque were 
 associated. The mountain, with its tapestry of 
 wood ; the enormous rocks which overhung the 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 258 A SUMMER IN 
 
 road, threatening- to annihilate them by their 
 fall ; the river, pent up within its narrow coarse, 
 and foaming with wrath at its detention ; the 
 thundering cascade ; and the villages perched 
 among the heights, where their roads seemed but 
 a pathway of a span's breadth — were, to my 
 companions, features as strange and wonderful as 
 they were novel and delightful. 
 
 One of the most remarkable places in this 
 valley, — or, rather, at the entrance to this valley, 
 — is St. Bertrand, which is built upon a conical 
 height upon the right bank of the river. This 
 town, and its ancient cathedral, merit highly the 
 traveller's notice. But, as my visit to it was 
 upon another occasion, I shall, for the present, 
 defer giving an account of it. 
 
 There are two considerable valleys which open 
 into that of Luchon. The valley of Barousse is 
 that which stretches away to the south-east of 
 St. Bertrand, and through which flows the little 
 river of Ourse. It is one of the most populous^ 
 but least interesting, lateral valleys of the dis- 
 trict. There are considerable forests in it, and 
 marble quarries ; but, from its isolated situation, 
 or, rather, from the circumstance that it lies be-
 
 'IHF, PVUr.NKF.s. 251) 
 
 tween the two general routes from Luchou to 
 Bagneres de Bigorre, it is liiirdly ever visited l)y 
 strangers, and has even been overlooked by tlie 
 best geologists of the l^yrenees, although it pos- 
 sesses some formations which ought to have drawn 
 their attention. 
 
 The other great valley which opens into that 
 of Luchon does so in the vicinity of the village of 
 Cierp. It is sometimes styled the valley of the 
 Garonne, but, more frequently, the valley d'Arran, 
 and there is scarcely another valley in the 
 Pyrenees which can boast of so much beauty, or 
 which will afibrd so much pleasure to those who 
 may explore its solitudes. 
 
 From Cierp to Luchon the valley is lovely and 
 delightful ; irrigated pastures, corn-fields, and 
 hamlets embowered in wood, hang upon the 
 mountain-steeps. Industry, waging war with the 
 obstacles which oppose her progress, has con- 
 quered them ; and here, as elsewhere among 
 these mountains, she has bordered their bases 
 with a fringe of green and gold; the yellow corn, 
 waving wherever sufficient soil could be scraped 
 together to cover the seed, or the peasant fine' 
 footing secure enough to enable him to hoe it. 
 
 s 2
 
 260 A SUMMER IN 
 
 The village, or rather town, of Luchon, — for 
 it is one of the largest watering-places in the 
 Pyrenees, — is situated in an amphitheatre formed 
 by the junction of several of the smaller diverging 
 valleys with that which bears its name. The 
 basin is of considerable extent, inclosing some of 
 the most luxuriant prairies any where to be seen, 
 and the mountains rising from it are of very con- 
 siderable elevation, some of them attaining a 
 heig-ht of eig^ht or nine hundred toises, studded 
 with villages and hamlets, many of which, such 
 as Juset and Montauban, are most picturesquely 
 situated. 
 
 The diligence drove into the court-yard of the 
 Hotel de France, and was instantly surrounded 
 by a variety of claimants upon the notice of the 
 victims of their persecution. One set of half- 
 clad, dirty-looking fellows, beat up recruits for 
 the respective inns at which they officiated as 
 decrotteurs, and shoved their half French, half- 
 English, hotel cards into your hands, if you 
 would take them, or into your pocket if you 
 refused. Another most importunate class, in- 
 sisted upon conducting you to the best lodgings 
 in the place, where each window was said to pos-
 
 THE PYRENEES. 261 
 
 sess the most charming and enchanting view ; 
 but which, in all probability, looked into a court- 
 yard, or upon the bustling Place. Such tormen- 
 tors could be shaken oil'; but there was a third 
 class, of most insinuating manners, and prepos- 
 sessing appearance, which it was not such an 
 easy matter to turn aside from, or to address with 
 the usual " Allez vous en." These were the 
 smartly-dressed, sprightly-looking peasant-girls, 
 who wished to know if Monsieur would employ 
 them in washing his linens. Undoubtedly, 
 many will find this a most trying situation to 
 be placed in, especially those who have a general 
 wish to oblige the whole sex ; and, still more 
 disagreeable will it be to those vf\\o would not, for 
 the world, be the unhappy cause of strife or 
 contention, among a host of pretty mountaineers ; 
 and, as I happened to be one of those who 
 would avoid this cruelty, I acted the part of the 
 most consummate politician, accepted the services 
 of every fair blanchisseuse who tendered them, 
 pleased all, and created no jealousy ; but, per- 
 fectly uncertain in what quarter of the town I 
 should take up my quarters, of course I could 
 not tell them where to find " Monsieur's linens."
 
 262 A SUMMER IN 
 
 In the court-yard of the hotel, I found a friend 
 waiting for me whom I had expected to meet; 
 and we set out together to look for lodgings. 
 Unwilling to take my dog through the various 
 houses which, in our search, we might visit, I 
 tied him up in the stable and left him. We 
 walked over a considerable part of the town, and 
 at last arrived at the apartments which my friend 
 occupied, and where I resolved also to establish 
 myself. 
 
 We had been gone from the hotel for, perhaps, 
 an hour, when there was a violent scraping at the 
 door of the room in which we were ; and, upon 
 opening it, my dog, in an ecstasy of delight, 
 bounded in. He had ate through the cord by 
 which I had attached him to the manger of the 
 stable, tracked me over the town, and through 
 all the places in which I had been, until, arriving 
 at the house in which he found me, he had waited 
 until the street door was opened, and had then 
 discovered me in one of its most distant apart- 
 ments. This displayed some stretch of sagacity 
 and instinct upon the part of an animal which 
 was only sixteen months old, and had never been 
 in Luchon, or, indeed, in any town, in its life
 
 THE PYRENEES. 263 
 
 before. Since then, he and 1 have travelled 
 not a few hundred leagues together, and time 
 has not failed to increase our mutual atfection.* 
 
 Luchon is, without exception, one of the most 
 agreeable watering places in the Pyrenees, its 
 advantages over many of its rivals in fame and 
 beauty are great. From its size, you are not 
 thrown into such immediate contact with the 
 infirm in health, nor elbowed by the more dis- 
 agreeable frequenters of these places, the unfor- 
 tunate and miserable creatures who stray thither 
 for the purpose of killing — neither izards nor 
 bears, but to them a still more deadly enemy — 
 time ; and who may be seen spurring the over- 
 wrought ponies of the place, along its walks and 
 avenues, or "Lazy Lawrence" like, dozing over a 
 stile, inwardly cursing such vulgar sights as 
 mountains, woods, and rivers are, when compared 
 with the enjoyments of the Palais Royal of the 
 
 * CtBsar lias now become a useful member of his master's 
 family ; docs duty as pony to liis children, acts the part of the 
 most excellent watch-dog in guarding his property ; and belies 
 the statement, that the Pyrcnean dogs lose their natural vivacity 
 and qualities, and decenerate in character, when taken from their 
 native mountains.
 
 264 A SUMMER IN 
 
 metropolis, the Allees de Tourny of Bordeaux, or 
 the ramparts of Toulouse. 
 
 In the height of the season, which is from 
 June until the end of September, there are fre- 
 quently above a thousand strangers in the little 
 town, where the accommodation is equal to that 
 of its rivals, and certainly not more expensive. 
 The greater part of its visitors are those whom 
 the summer heats have driven from Toulouse, 
 and the southern districts, and consist of all those 
 whose circumstances will permit them to leave 
 home and enjoy the coolness of the mountain 
 air. 
 
 The baths are extensive and well arranged. 
 The warm springs have been long known and 
 celebrated for their medicinal properties, and are 
 taken both internally and externally. They are 
 said to be efficacious in chronic rheumatisms, 
 paralysis, catarrh, and various other disorders ; 
 when drank, they are taken either pure or mixed 
 with milk ; there are also sudatories attached to 
 the establishment, which are heated by the 
 waters of the warm springs which flow through 
 them. In these stew-pots the air is so hot and 
 suffocatingly thick, that these vapour baths are
 
 THE PYHENEES. 2(35 
 
 not in general favour, and those persons who do 
 use them, cannot remain in them above a quarter 
 of an hour. 
 
 The springs are some distance from the baths, 
 and are brought underground to them ; they 
 emit a smeil resembling musty eggs, their taste is 
 flat, and the action of the air, heat, and light 
 decomposes the waters, and renders them of a 
 milky appearance, affording a most convincing 
 proof, that if any benefit is expected to be derived 
 from their use, they ought to be taken at the spot 
 where they issue from the rock, and that even 
 conveying them in covered tanks or pipes must 
 deteriorate their qualities. Handsome baths, and 
 elegant fountains may tend to overcome the 
 repugnance to the use of the waters, but they 
 ought not, as is too frequently the case, to be 
 erected in situations chosen more with a view to 
 adorn the town, than to preserve the intrinsic 
 characters of the waters. The Latin inscriptions 
 which abound, attest that the waters were known 
 and used by the Romans. 
 
 The restaurants of Luchon are superior to any 
 in the Pyrenees, and the tables d'hote are more 
 fully attended. Their charges are not more than
 
 266 A SUMMER IX 
 
 sixty or seventy francs a month, and for that sum 
 they provide a dejeuner a la fourchette, and 
 dinner, both equally v^^ell supplied. Single 
 travellers, and those v^^ho either from habit or 
 indifference can eat their dinners without being 
 disgusted by the greedy, guzzling system which 
 too frequently pervades a French table d'hote, 
 cannot do better than resort to these places ; and 
 if they will permit me, I will here beg leave to 
 recommend to their special attention the Hotel de 
 Commerce; and as my simple recommendation 
 and testimony to the excellence of its " cuisine," 
 may not be sufficient to entice strangers to 
 bestow upon it their " custom,'' I cannot do better 
 than allow the worthy Maitre d'Hotel to become 
 his own trumpeter, by presenting a fac simile of 
 his hotel card, which at once determined us to 
 give him our patronage, and which no doubt will 
 lead all other Englishmen to follow our example.
 
 TIIK PYKENLES. 267 
 
 ^oui tir OTommcrff. 
 
 BAGNJERES DE LUCHON. 
 
 Ferret, of Paris head Cook to Lord Beverly 
 for several years has, the honor to, inform the 
 English that his Hotel has in general been, 
 patronizet by their, nation, and he assures them 
 that no exertion shall be wanting on, his part to 
 merit, a, continuance of the reputation his Estab- 
 lishment, has for its cleanliness and wholesome- 
 ness, and he respect fully solicits the patronage of 
 the English visitors. 
 
 Luchon may be fixed upon as a central point, 
 from which excursions may be made to the sum- 
 mits of some of the most magnificent mountains, 
 and into many of the most interesting valleys of 
 the Pyrenees. I remained at Luchon several 
 days, and intruded upon the solitude of many of 
 its dusky forests and wild fastnesses, enchanted 
 with some, and delighted witli all. The les.s
 
 268 A SUMMER IN 
 
 interesting of these expeditions I shall pass over, 
 and confine my narrative to those which pleased 
 me most. I vi^as now no longer a solitary tra- 
 veller, no longer a pedestrian, for my rambles in 
 this neighbourhood were taken in the company of 
 two friends, pleasant, sociable, and amusing, who 
 had no aversion to walking, on the contrary they 
 preferred it, but they were in the unfortunate 
 predicament of possessing a spirit which was 
 willing but a body which was weak. One of our 
 first excursions was to the Val de Lys, which 
 from its proximity to Luchon, and the possibility 
 of its being reached on horseback, is the most 
 frequent resort of |the idlers and convalescents of 
 the watering place. The path which leads to 
 the Lys, passes by the foot of the monticule upon 
 the summit of which are the remains of the 
 Castel Vieil, which in olden times had been 
 built to defend the entrance to the valley of 
 Luchon, by the Ports of the Portillon and 
 Venasque, and whose decayed walls and crumb- 
 ling ramparts, were, during the late war, deemed 
 worthy of being crowned with cannon. The 
 invalids of Luchon, those who are not able to 
 take the longer journey to the Val de Lys, tlock
 
 TUF. PVKF.XEF.S. 269 
 
 liere in numbers, where if a charming view of the 
 basin of Luchon and the dark woods and moun- 
 tains of the Birbe, and invigorating air, can con- 
 duce to the recovery of health, they may enjoy 
 them to their heart's content. After an hour's 
 slow marching along the banks of the river, the 
 wood so inclosing the path as completely to 
 exclude the rays of the sun, and render it a 
 delightful promenade in the extreme heats of 
 summer, we entered a very narrow and precipi- 
 tous defile, within which is the little valley of the 
 Lys. It is the valley of Aulus upon a smaller 
 scale : Aulus is the portrait, Lys the miniature, 
 and both are equally worthy of admiration ; all 
 the beauties of Aulus are drawn together and 
 concentrated within the high mountain which 
 incloses this Arcadia of Luchon. Flowers of 
 every description deck its verdant meadows, and 
 tinge the masses of dark rock which have rolled 
 from the mountains into it. Single trees of great 
 age and size, are, park like, scattered through its 
 little plain, while its limits are fringed with wood, 
 and bounded by the mountain steeps, and 
 wherever there is sufficient slope to retain as
 
 270 A SUMMER IN 
 
 much soil as will aftbrd nourishment to a tree, a 
 bush, or a wild flower, the nakedness of the dark 
 walls are hidden under the most exquisite variety 
 of foliage. The sycamore, the beech, the oak, 
 the lime, the elder, the dwarf elm, the ash, the 
 hawthorn, the hazel, the maple, the lilac, the 
 service tree, and a profusion of lilies, from which 
 the valley derives its name, blended together, 
 cover the slopes, and creep along the cliffs, the 
 trees decreasing in size as they approach the 
 colder regions, where the dark pine of hardier 
 growth has no rivals of the forest, but in solitary 
 grandeur reigns among their wilds. The beauty 
 of this little valley is greatly enhanced by the 
 numerous torrents, which, born among the glaciers 
 of the Carbious, form a circle of cascades round 
 it ; in some places, shooting over its perpendicular 
 walls, the volume of water ere it has reached the 
 valley, has become a sheet of thin spray, brilliant 
 in colour when the rays of the sun strike upon it, 
 and noiseless in its fall ; in others, the stream^ 
 hopping as it were from shelf to shelf, now 
 dashes over a ledge of rock in sounding turbu- 
 lence, now disappears among the foliage of the
 
 THE I'VUKNIlKS. 271 
 
 trees or bushes, until, issuing again with collected 
 force, it springs from the crest of some lower 
 platform into the valley. 
 
 The Ports d'Estaous and Viel, at the extreme 
 source of the Val de Lys, are reached after sur- 
 mounting the barriers which inclose it, by passing 
 the little lake of Estaous, and through the Alpine 
 scenes of glaciers and sterile mountains which 
 border the deep ravines which lead to the summits 
 of the central ridge. The Port de Viel, although 
 difficult and dangerous, and impassable for the 
 greater part of the season, is yet at times the path 
 which the adventurous contrabandier makes 
 choice of, to elude the vigilance of the douaniers, 
 with his mules laden with wool. The simple 
 minded mountaineers who tend their flocks for a 
 few weeks of the season in the neighbourhood of 
 the Carbious, are impressed with the idea, that 
 quantities of gold and silver are inclosed within 
 its glaciers ; they have frequently attempted to 
 search for these hidden treasures, and have 
 upon more than one occasion perished in the 
 attempt. These peasants, when unsuccessful in 
 attaining any of the objects of their hopes or
 
 272 A su.MMEn risr 
 
 wislies, and when they soliloquize over their dis- 
 appointments, never ascribe their lot to the 
 wisdom or justice of the Almighty, but unmerci- 
 fully lay the whole of their bad luck to the 
 shameful and unwarranted interference of the 
 devil. 
 
 Another of the many objects of curiosity and 
 mountain grandeur in the vicinity of Luchon, are 
 the lakes of Seculejo and Espingo. The route to 
 these lakes is through the valley of Larboust, 
 passing the little chapel of St. Aventin, whose 
 traditionary history, and the marvellous powers of 
 the saint whose name it bears, are said to be very 
 extraordinary. They were told me by one of the 
 guides, but it so happened, that during the time 
 he was relating the wonders to me, I was so 
 intent upon watching the issue of a fierce battle in 
 the air between a vulture and an eagle, a sight 
 that is rarely seen, and admiring the evolutions of 
 the birds, and the tactics they displayed in the 
 contest, that the miracles of St. Aventin have 
 either escaped my memory, or at most left but a 
 dreamy impression behind. 
 
 At the village of Oo, the path strikes into the
 
 THE PVRFAKKS. 273 
 
 small pastoral valley of Lasto, and tollovvs tlie 
 course of its stream until it reaches its limits, 
 where a wall of delabre looking rock, with a con- 
 siderable body of water tumbling over it, incloses 
 it. This, apparently at first, insurmountable 
 obstacle for equestrians, is passed without diffi- 
 culty, by clambering up the channels of various 
 little rivulets, and winding among the ledges, 
 where the most difficult parts of the path have 
 been formed by the inhabitants of the commune, 
 who exact a toll upon every person who visits the 
 lakes. By means of this passage, another little 
 valley, or rather ravine is arrived at, through 
 which the waters from the lakes brawl in noisy 
 turbulence among tlie fallen blocks of granite 
 which impede their course. A circular mass 
 of dark mountains hem in the upper part of this 
 ravine, and in the hollow at their base is the 
 Seculejo. The lake is not large, what in England 
 would be called a mountain tarn, but a wild and 
 savage spot. 
 
 Inclosed on all sides, excepting where its 
 water find an egress by precipices, whose dark 
 walls and high summits exclude the sun and 
 
 VOL I. T
 
 274 A SUMMER IN 
 
 light, it is a scene of silence and solitude, a 
 lonely and secluded place, its stillness only- 
 broken by the rushing noise of the cataract 
 (which from a height of nearly one thousand feet, 
 falls into the lake), the whooping of the eagle, or 
 the scream of the vulture, as they sweep across 
 its waters, or, alas ! for the harmony of the 
 scene ! the noisy laughter of the gay monde from 
 Luchon. The commune of the Oo, have built a 
 hut upon the banks of the lake, and here the toll 
 is collected from those who visit it ; a piece of 
 imposition which has no parallel among the 
 Pyrenees, and at variance with the general 
 conduct of the French, who justly pride them- 
 selves upon the freedom of admission in their 
 country, to all places of interest. The platform 
 from which the cascade falls, can only be reached 
 on foot by a steep path, called the Escala ; from 
 this platform a narrow gorge leads to the foot of 
 another tier of rock, above which are the two 
 small lakes of the Espingo. The vicinity of 
 these lakes is still more savage and dreary than 
 the Seculejo ; the central ridge towers above 
 them where the two ports of Portillon and Oo are 
 separated by the Montarque, and at the base of
 
 T}IE PYREXF.ES. 275 
 
 this mountain is tlie lake called Selh de la Baque, 
 one of the few lakes in the Pyrenees which are 
 always covered witli ice. Here commence the 
 glaciers, which extend from the Port d"Oo to the 
 Crabioules, and cover a surface nearly equal to 
 those of the Maladetta. 
 
 By the Port d'Oo it is possible to cross the 
 frontier to the Spanish village of Venasque, and 
 to one habituated to the mountains, it is a 
 fatiguing, but not impossible day's journey from 
 Luchon, it is not, however, a path frequented 
 by chasseurs or contrabandiers, much less used 
 as a means of transit betwixt the two countries. 
 The environs of the lake d'Espingo, the icy 
 Baque, the Port d'Oo, the little lake de Nere, the 
 gorge of Esquierry, and the Seculejo, abound in 
 the most beautiful and rare plants of the Pyre- 
 nees, the gorge d'Esquierry in particular, which 
 has been styled the Flore des Pyrenees. 
 
 Before leaving the borders of the Seculejo 
 upon the day which we visited it, the rain came 
 down in torrents, and we were thoroughly 
 drenched and shivering with cold before we 
 reached Luchon ; but the repast which M. Perret 
 bestowed upon us after our arrival consoled us 
 
 T 2
 
 276 THE PYRENEES. 
 
 for our ducking, and the bowl of exquisite punch 
 which Meg* Merrillies (as we styled the huge raw- 
 boned, naked-armed barmaid) brought enveloped 
 in flames to our lodgings afterwards, breathed 
 defiance to both colds and rheumatisms.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Expedition to the Port of V^cnasque — Hospital of Luchon — Doua- 
 niers — French Intervention in the Spanish Quarrel, and its Con- 
 sequences — Magnificence of the Port of Venasque — Extraor- 
 dinary appearance of the Mist — The Maladetta — Avalanches — 
 Loss of a Guide — Hints to those who would climb the Maladetta 
 — Famous Trou de Toro — Ports de Picade and Pomorou — 
 Spanish Valley of the Artique Telline — Anxiety of the Christine 
 Shepherds — Ouil de Goneou — Source of the Garonne — Quantity 
 of Timber — Valle}- d'Arran — Disagreeable Situation — Village of 
 Bososte — Terror of the Peasantry — Spanish Old Woman — Mise- 
 ries of Civil War. 
 
 The aspect of the morning being rather 
 unpropitious, we delayed setting out upon our 
 expedition to the Port de Venasque until the 
 forenoon, the clouds then began to clear away, 
 and we lost not a moment in taking advantage of
 
 278 A SUMMER IN 
 
 the favourable but uncertain weather. A two 
 hours' ride along the banks of the Pique brought 
 us to the Hospital of Luchon. This building is 
 what in Scotland would be called a shealing, one 
 half of which is devoted to the accommodation of 
 travellers, the other used as the permanent resi- 
 dence of a strong party of douaniers, who are 
 stationed here to prevent smuggling upon a dis- 
 trict of the frontier upon which it is next to 
 impossible to do so effectually. The Ports by 
 which the contrabandiers can pass from one 
 country to another are nearly as numerous as 
 there are douaniers to guard them ; and, as these 
 officers dare not attempt to cross the path of the 
 contrabandiers, unless when secure of establish- 
 ing their authority by force, which they can only 
 do when several of them are in company, it fol- 
 lows that more than one half of the ports are 
 always unguarded. 
 
 Great complaints have been made against the 
 French government on account of the quantities 
 of stores which have been conveyed to the parti- 
 zans of Pon Carlos, through the Pyrenees ; and 
 the authorities of that country have even been 
 accused of conniving at the infraction of the law.
 
 THE PYREXEE.S. 279 
 
 There never has been cause for such complaints ; 
 and such insinuations are most unfounded. Every 
 one who has visited the wilds of the Pyrenees 
 must be perfectly sensible of the impossibility of 
 completely preventing smuggling upon the fron- 
 tiers of the two countries. The whole troops of 
 France could not, supposing they were stationed 
 along the frontier of Spain, be an adequate secu- 
 rity. Hundreds of the paths among these moun- 
 tains are known only to the natives, or to those 
 engaged in the illegal traffic. Soldiers and 
 douaniers may be posted in the valleys and out- 
 lets ; but they cannot be quartered upon the 
 mountains and among the precipices. They may 
 keep a tolerable sharp look out so long as day- 
 light permits them to see about them ; but, when 
 night comes, and the contrabandiers are at their 
 work, the soldiers and douaniers must return to 
 their quarters in the valleys. They might as 
 well search for a needle in a hay-stack, and with 
 as much probability of their finding it, as en- 
 deavour to hunt the smugglers of the Pyrenees in 
 the dark : and the utmost that the French govern- 
 ment can, under such circumstances, and using 
 the greatest possible vigilance, be expected to
 
 280 A SUMMER IN 
 
 accomplish, must be merely to increase the dan- 
 gers of his trade, by throwing a few additional 
 obstacles in the way of the contrabandier ; but, 
 not diminishing its profits, the inducements to 
 smuggle are still the same as before, and in- 
 creased difficulties can be overcome by increased 
 exertion. Don Carlos ynust receive supplies from 
 France ; and, so long as he has money to pay for 
 them, he will continue to do so. The additional 
 restrictions of the French government, and the 
 vigilance of their douaniers, may indeed raise the 
 price of his necessaries, and thus occasion his 
 resources to disappear the sooner ; but, so long 
 as he can afford to pay the contrabandiers of the 
 Pyrenees, they will work for him, and supply his 
 wants ; nay more, if they have faith in his suc- 
 cess, they will, and can, give him credit. 
 
 There is another cause which greatly favours 
 Don Carlos in drawing supplies from France ; it 
 is, the universal discontent which prevails through- 
 out the whole of the French frontier departments, 
 induced by the stagnation of the commerce which 
 they carried on with Spain. In many districts, 
 the Spanish wool was bought in great quantities, 
 manufactured into cloth in France, and re-sold in
 
 THK PYRENEES. 281 
 
 Spain. Thousands of mules, not only those bred 
 by the peasants in the Pyrenean districts, but from 
 Poitou, and other central departments, were 
 annually exported into Spain. These, as well as 
 many other sources of profit to the French inhab- 
 itant, are now, by reason of the present war, 
 drained up; but, as those individuals thrown out 
 of employment cannot live on air, numbers of 
 them are reduced to earn their bread illegally, 
 who, previous to the disturbed state of the adja- 
 cent provinces, were honest and industrious 
 members of the community. 
 
 • Some of the precautionary measures adopted 
 by their government have also given great annoy- 
 ance and offence, particularly to one class of the 
 French peasantry, those who were chasseurs, 
 either from delighting in the sport, or with a view 
 to profit. The cause of this' annoyance was a 
 late order issued by the government, prohibiting 
 the sale of a single ounce of powder in the 
 Pyrenean departments, unless the buyer produced 
 a permit, written upon stamped paper, and signed 
 both by the Maire and the Prefet, authorizing 
 him to purchase it. Even when possessed of this 
 order, the chasseur could not purchase more
 
 282 A SUMMER IN 
 
 than half a pound at one time; so that he was 
 obliged to come down from the mountains, lose 
 his time, the fine weather, and his sport, to buy 
 another half pound of powder. This harsh 
 measure nearly drove the mountaineers into re- 
 bellion ; many of whom complained, that, since 
 all the commerce upon the frontier had already 
 been destroyed, and with it the means of subsist- 
 ence, that it was hard that they should be almost 
 prohibited from gaining a livelihood by the only 
 honest means which was left to them, the chase ; 
 and the poor fellows have expressed more grati- 
 tude when I have given them the contents of my 
 powder-flask, than if I had given them ten times 
 its value in money. When I wished to purchase 
 a quantity of powder, I applied to a few friends, 
 who, having all petitioned the authorities for 
 permission to purchase the permitted half-pound, 
 and received the necessary orders, I carried the 
 whole, sometimes a dozen, to the gun-maker, and 
 could then buy as many half-pounds of powder. 
 
 It must, therefore, be apparent, that the French 
 government have endeavoured to prevent Don 
 Carlos from drawing supplies from their territory, 
 by adopting the most severe measui?es by which
 
 THE PYRENEES. 283 
 
 they could hope to effect their object ; and have 
 done so, by the sacrifice of the commerce of the 
 Pyrenean departments, and causing poverty and 
 dissatisfaction among their inhabitants. 
 
 The hospital of Luchon has been most judi- 
 ciously placed, so as to command a view of the 
 gorges v^^hich lead, the one upon the left of the 
 building to the Port de Picade, the other in front 
 of it to the Port de Venasque ; and down either 
 of which all those legally employed in the traflfic 
 between the two countries must pass. This 
 advantageous position is a source of great com- 
 fort to the douaniers, an old one of whom I 
 espied upon our arrival, at the door of the house, 
 with his spy-glass at his eye, watching the 
 entrance to the defile. 
 
 Towards the head of the gorge we overtook a 
 string of mules laden with bread, destined for the 
 Spanish garrison in the Port of Venasque, should 
 it not have the bad fortune to meet a few hungry 
 Carlists in its way there. The ascent was neither 
 difficult nor tedious, until we reached the upper 
 part of the gorge ; where at a short distance from 
 the circular wall of rock which incloses it, it would 
 require an expert eye to discover any pathway
 
 284 A SUMMER IN 
 
 sufficiently broad for the mules and horses to 
 tread upon. But here, as elsewhere, where man 
 finds it his interest to overcome such obstacles, 
 he has succeeded. The path crossing to the left 
 bank of the ravine, is, with the usual facilities 
 which the water channels afford, aided by built 
 ledges in those places where it skirts the edge of 
 the rock, carried in a zigzag direction to the plat- 
 form above the gorge, everywhere steep and 
 fatiguing for the horses, but safe and practicable 
 to the most timorously disposed person. To 
 those who cannot walk, to be able to ride to the 
 Port of Venasque, must be a great luxury ; to me 
 it was quite the contrary. The hired ponies of 
 the watering places are not always mountain- 
 bred ; in which case, the rider is too much occu- 
 pied in taking care of the animal under him, 
 whose blunders might give him an ugly fall, to 
 enjoy the scenery among which he is scrambling. 
 I, therefore, very soon dismounted, and left my 
 horse to take care of himself, satisfied that he 
 could not wander from the narrow path, and that 
 should he loiter, he would be driven on by the 
 rest of the party, who were some distance behind 
 me.
 
 THE PVRE.VKES. 285 
 
 When we left the Hospital, heavy clouds of mist 
 hung upon all the high summits, and more par- 
 ticularly upon those in the vicinity of the Port ; 
 but, as it is frequently the case, that this appear- 
 ance is confined to particular regions, above 
 which the atmosphere again becomes clear 
 and pure, we did not on that account delay pro- 
 ceeding. Having accomplished the ascent of the 
 first staircase from the valley, the path leads over 
 a series of low summits, which lie between it and 
 the last, whose landing-place is the Port. The 
 mists were here so very intense, that my hopes of 
 getting above them, or of their clearing away, 
 began to decline. Fortunately, the wind fresh- 
 ened ; and then, although we did not see all that 
 was to be seen in this part of the ascent, still we 
 were more than recompensed by having that 
 which we did see exhibited to us in a peculiar 
 manner, which had a strange but splendid eft'ect. 
 The mist, broken by the wind, came sweeping 
 over our heads, sometimes enveloping us in dark- 
 ness, sometimes exposing the blue sky, and a 
 part of the mountains. Section after section of 
 the bald and towering masses which rose above 
 the path were displayed to us one after another,
 
 286 A SUMMER IN 
 
 as if the whole had been a sight too great for us 
 to look upon. Sometimes the clouds opened, and 
 the snows, sparkling in the sunbeams, were before 
 us ; at others, an enormous peak of the mountain 
 would shoot its dark head through the mist, and, 
 without visible support, seem as if it were about 
 to fall upon us. Again, when we imagined our- 
 selves hemmed in on all sides by the mountains, 
 arid within a few feet of their rugged sides, a 
 passing breeze would disclose the dark waters of 
 the lakes hundreds of feet beneath us. 
 
 Thus the effect of light and darkness, of sun- 
 shine and of mist, working upon materials of such 
 grandeur as those near the Port of Venasque, was 
 a sight well worthy of admiration, and one which 
 is rarely to be seen. A considerable quantity of 
 snow had fallen during the preceding day ; but, 
 from the number of peasants who pass this Port, 
 it seldom happens, excepting in the severe 
 weather of winter, that the path is blocked up. 
 Each muleteer carries along with him a pick-axe 
 and wooden shovel, with which he very soon 
 cuts a way for himself through the snow wreaths, 
 and this being repeated by those who follow, the 
 snow has seldom time to accumulate.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 287 
 
 Several lakes are situated in the hollows amona: 
 the various summits which border the path ; but, 
 from seeing them in the imperfect manner in 
 which I did, I can form no estimate of their 
 extent. They cannot, however, be very large, 
 mere reservoirs for the waters of the snow wreaths, 
 which, undeserving of the name of glaciers, yet 
 remain all the year round protected from the sun 
 and wind in the deep ravines and gorges. 
 
 Another staircase, similar to the last, but, if 
 possible, still steeper, and rendered slippery by 
 the melting snow, is ascended before arriving at 
 the base of the high ridge of rock in which is the 
 Port of Venasque. The Port is formed by a 
 narrow slit in this wall of rock, so narrow and 
 confined, that it almost would have been possible 
 to have supposed it the work of man if a glance 
 at the immense height of the rocks through which 
 it leads did not convince us that nature alone had 
 opened up the passage. 
 
 Excepting the intervals of light which the 
 gusts of wind, by dispersing the mists, had be- 
 stowed upon us, we had hitherto, comparatively 
 speaking, been shrouded in darkness, particularly 
 for the ten minutes preceding our arrival at the
 
 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Port ; my astonishment may therefore be imagined 
 when, the instant that I stepped beyond the limits 
 of the Port, I stood in the purest atmosphere — 
 not a particle of mist, not even a cloud, was per- 
 ceptible. The phenomenon was curious, and its 
 interest greatly heightened, from the situation in 
 which it took place. The mist, rolling up the 
 valley through which we had passed, was the 
 moment that it could be said to reach the Spanish 
 frontier, — the moment it encircled the edges of the 
 high ridges which separated the countries, thrown 
 back, as it were, indignantly, by a counter 
 current from the Spanish side. The conflicting- 
 currents of air, seemingly of equal strength, and 
 vmable to overcome each other, carried the mist 
 perpendicularly from the summits of the ridge ; 
 and filling up the crevices and fissures in its 
 uneven surface, formed a wall many thousand 
 feet above it, of dark and (from the appearance 
 of solidity which its massive and perpendicular 
 character bestowed upon it) apparently impene- 
 trable matter. 
 
 We were glad, indeed, to find the view from 
 the Port so unobstructed. The Maladetta, — in 
 Spanish, The cursed mountain, — the highest of
 
 THE PVHEXEES. 289 
 
 the Pyrenees, and the most difhcult of ascent, 
 rose immediately in front of us, separated from 
 the ridge upon which we stood by a small circular 
 valley, of no great extent. From the Port of 
 Venasque, the Maladetta assumes the appearance 
 of a sugar-loaf, lying at a considerable angle. It 
 is robed in glaciers, excepting near its crest, 
 where the black and craggy rocks which form its 
 highest peaks, rise above the snows. The aspect 
 of the Maladetta from the French frontier, espe- 
 cially when seen from the Port of Venascjue, 
 which, from its great height, considerably de- 
 tracts from the grandeur of the opposite moun- 
 tain, rather disappointed me. I had seen so 
 many of the great summits of the Pyrenees, so 
 imposing and magnificent in their character, that 
 I could not help picturing in my mind's eye, the 
 Maladetta, the queen of the range from sea to sea, 
 excelling them all in appearance as she does in 
 height. The Maladetta does not do this; still, 
 although she does not stand forth in that dignity 
 and majesty with which, as the loftiest of them 
 all, I had supposed her to be invested, the know- 
 ledge of her superiority and height, and the 
 immensity of the glacier which enshrouds the 
 VOL. I. u
 
 290 A SUMMER IN' 
 
 whole of the northern side of the mountain, are 
 quite sufficient to strike the beholder with admir- 
 ation ; and the view from the Port of Venasque, 
 of the Maladetta, with her silver mantle, the wild 
 valley at her feet, and the ramparts of gigantic 
 precipices which nearly encircle it, the de 
 r Essera, and the mountains of Catalonia and 
 Arragon, must ever rank high among the most 
 sublime scenery of these mountains. 
 
 I regret exceedingly, that I did not see the 
 Maladetta from the Spanish side of the mountain; 
 upon that quarter, it is comparatively free from 
 snow or glacier ; and from which, if I might 
 hazard an opinion from what I did see, I should 
 think that its appearance must be far more strik- 
 ing than from the French side. It is there 
 almost insulated from the high summits, which, 
 upon the northern side, crowd around it ; and 
 has the full benefit arising from want of rivals. 
 The highest of the summits of the Maladetta, — 
 the pic de Nethon, 1671 toises above the level 
 of the ocean, has never yet been surmounted, 
 notwithstanding that many naturalists have made 
 the attempt ; and several of the guides and chas- 
 seurs having been lost among the crevices of the
 
 THE PYRENEES. 291 
 
 glaciers, no individual has latterly been cour- 
 ageous enough to lead the way. 
 
 Formerly, there used to be a shealing near the 
 foot of the Maladetta, but the avalanches being 
 frequent in its neighbourhood, the inmates had 
 for safety removed their lonely dwelling a little 
 further down the mountain to avoid them. A 
 very few months had, however, elapsed, since the 
 removal had been effected, before the new build- 
 ing, with all its inhabitants, was destroyed. An 
 avalanche had broken away from a quarter of the 
 mountain where such catastrophes were unlooked 
 for, and passing over the hut, entombed within it 
 five women and three children. The father of the 
 family was absent when the dreadful accident 
 took place ; upon his return from Venasque, he 
 was the first to become aware of the horrid event; 
 nothing remained to mark where his home had 
 stood, but the fatal mass of snow underneath 
 which all that was dear to him was buried ; " ne 
 comptant plus sur la terre." Our guide pointed 
 out to us the part of the glacier, where, a few 
 years preceding, a relation of his had perished 
 in one of tis crevices. 
 
 Two young mining engineers, M. M. Edouard 
 u
 
 292 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Blavier, of Paris, and Edouard de Belly, of Stras- 
 bourg, left Luchon upon the tenth of August, 
 1824, accompanied by Barran (the unfortunate 
 guide who perished) and his son, with the inten- 
 tion of ascending the Maladetta. About six 
 o'clock in the evening, they arrived at the Plaine 
 des Etangs, where they spent the night in a 
 Spanish cabin; most probably that which has 
 since been overwhelmed by the avalanche. At 
 five the next morning, they commenced the ascent 
 with Barran alone, his son being left at the cabin, 
 in charge of the horses. By eight o'clock, they 
 had gained the edge of the glacier, where they 
 breakfasted behind a large piece of rock, to secure 
 themselves against injury from the stones which 
 were continually rolling down the mountain. 
 Barran spoke with confidence of being able to 
 overcome the dangers of the apertures in the 
 snow. Having passed the morain, they put on 
 their crampers, and entered upon the glacier — at 
 some places presenting a surface of ice, in others 
 covered with a coating of soft snow, they sunk 
 above the ankle. They met with no obstacles to 
 arrest their progress, until they arrived within a 
 short distance of the upper edge of the glacier.
 
 THE PYUENEES. 293 
 
 where an immense crevice in the ice lay right 
 across their path, into which they gazed with 
 affright by means of holding each other's arms. 
 They could not cross this gulf, so they searched 
 to the left, where the snow had formed an arch 
 over it, for a place secure enough to sustain their 
 weight; but one of the young gentlemen, having 
 sunk his baton to its full length, informed 
 Barran of the circumstance, who advanced still 
 further to the left, and sounded with his own. 
 The snow appeared to him of sufficient solidity 
 to bear his weight ; so he placed one foot upon 
 it, and carried the other in advance of it, as far as 
 he could stretch out, believing in this manner to 
 leave the crevice between his legs. The abyss 
 was directly beneath him, and the moment that 
 he endeavoured to make a second step, the snow 
 gave way with the pressure, and poor Barran 
 was engulfed, uttering while he went down the 
 agonizing cries of — '• Great God ! I am sinking ! 
 I am lost ! I am drowning !" Destitute of any 
 means whereby to render assistance to tlie 
 perishing guide, one of the witnesses of this 
 terrible scene, set oif as fast as he could to the 
 cabin where Barran's son had been left, to
 
 294 A SUMMER IN 
 
 brino' him, and a piece of cord which they had 
 left there. 
 
 The same wailing cries were repeated for the 
 space of two minutes ; but there was no hope of 
 saving the poor fellow. These two minutes 
 elapsed, and the last exclamations of Barran — 
 "I am sinking" — gurgled through the snows. 
 The miserable witness to this closing scene called 
 in vain upon Barran ; he never answered. The 
 horrified young man could no longer remain 
 where he was, and went off to rejoin his com- 
 panion. They mounted again, with Barran's son 
 and the cord, to the spot where his father was 
 entombed ; and they again called upon him, but 
 in vain — the voice of his son could not rouse 
 him. 
 
 Persuaded that he was dead, they descended 
 the mountain; and, worn out with fatigue and 
 grief, they reached the cabin at half-past ten at 
 night, where they lost no time in sending infor- 
 mation of the catastrophe to Barran's other sons; 
 who, at five in the morning, arrived from Luchon 
 with men and cords. Conducted by their 
 younger brother, they ascended the Maladetta, to 
 attempt, if possible, to recover the body of their
 
 THE PVKENKES. 295 
 
 unhappy parent. The three brothers arrived at 
 the fissure ; when they were convinced of the 
 death of their father, who did not respond to 
 their cries, and of the impossibility of extri- 
 cating his corpse which was sunk in the water 
 with which the bottom of the cavity was filled. 
 
 Ever since this melancholy event, the guides 
 of Luclion have disliked the idea of ascending 
 the Maladetta ; and no one has made the attempt 
 from the French side. It was my intention to 
 have endeavoured to reach the summit of this 
 mountain ; but I was deterred by the lateness of 
 the season, and more particularly by the recent 
 fall of snow, by which a slight covering would 
 have been spread over the rents and fissures of 
 the glaciers, and their dangers rendered infinitely 
 greater. After a track of fine weather, and in 
 the best season, which would be about the middle 
 of August, I am satisfied, that, with proper pre- 
 cautions, the horrors of the Maladetta might, 
 with no great difliculty, be overcome. It is not 
 known that any human being has ever trod upon 
 the summit of the Maladetta; and, although it 
 may be a foolish ambition to be the first to do so, 
 and the honour not worth the trouble and risk
 
 296 A SUM ME It IN 
 
 which might gain it, still there must be consider- 
 able pleasure experienced on finding oneself in a 
 situation which has never been that of another, 
 independent of any scientific knowledge which 
 might be acquired upon the occasion. If I have 
 another opportunity, I shall endeavour to ascend 
 the Maladetta : meanwhile, should any adven- 
 turous individual attempt before me, I would 
 here offer a few hints for his guidance. 
 
 First of all, I would make sure of having good 
 guides. The greater number of those at Luchon 
 will not do ; they are too much accustomed to 
 keep to a beaten track to be the best fitted to 
 trace out a new one, when there can be no 
 guidance to them but that experience which a 
 habitude to untrodden paths can alone bestow 
 upon them. I should, however, pick out two or 
 three of the best of them, and provided with a 
 good coil of rope, and provisions for some days, 
 leave Luchon for the Spanish village ofVenasque; 
 I should there procure three of the most noted 
 chasseurs who are in the habit of following the 
 izard among the snows of the Maladetta, and 
 with our party increased in number to six or 
 more, I should rest during the night at the foot of
 
 THE PYRENEES. 297 
 
 the mountain. By daylight the following morn- 
 ing I should commence the ascent, and as soon as 
 we arrived within the boundaries of the glaciers, 1 
 should arrange the party in the following order : 
 the most experienced guides or chasseurs should 
 take the lead, having first passed a twist of the 
 rope round his waist, for I would not have him 
 leaving me, as poor Barran did ; the rest of the 
 party should follow in line, a few paces distant 
 from each other, and all secured to the rope. By 
 this simple expedient the dangers of the glaciers 
 would in a great measure be avoided, and should 
 any of our numbers sink in the snow, he could 
 instantly be extricated by those who were either 
 before or behind him. That the whole party 
 should go down together, is a very improbable 
 circumstance, as the fissures and rents in the 
 snow or ice are seldom of great width, and 
 marching in line a few paces distant from each 
 other, we would cover sufficient space to secure a 
 firm footing for at least some of our number, who 
 could then render assistance to the others, and in 
 this manner, I think I should be able to reach the 
 summit of the Maladetta. 
 
 The southern sides of the Pyrenean mountains
 
 298 A SUMMER IN 
 
 are in general more steep and rugged than the 
 northern, but as the southern has the great 
 advantage of being almost entirely free from 
 snow at one period of the summer, I should, 
 therefore, ascend the Maladetta from the Spanish 
 side of the mountain, and not, as has always 
 hitherto been the case, by crossing the immense 
 glacier on the French frontier. The ascent of 
 Mont Perdu, which is only a few feet lower than 
 the Maladetta, and many others of the highest of 
 these mountains can only be accomplished from 
 their southern sides. 
 
 Upon a shelf of the rock to the right of the 
 entrance to the port of Venasque,* there is a 
 small cross of iron, and by scrambling still higher 
 up the rock above it, a better and more extensive 
 view of the valley de I'Essera and the mountains 
 of Arragon. 
 
 From the Port of Venasque we descended into 
 the basin beneath, and crossing it, mounted to 
 the Port de Pomerou, the entrance into the 
 Spanish valley of Artique Telline. This Port is 
 situated where the frontier ridge forms an angle 
 
 * Sometimes styled Benasque.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 299 
 
 with that which extends towards the Toro, at the 
 base of which mountain, and in the basin which 
 these two ridges and the Maladetta almost encir- 
 cles, is the famous Trou de Toro, an immense 
 gulf into which the accumulated waters of the 
 surrounding glaciers precipitate themselves. It 
 is affirmed, that the waters which disappear in 
 the Trou de Toro, follow a subterranean course 
 until they again burst forth in the valley of Artique 
 Telline. I see no reason to disbelieve this state- 
 ment ; the mountains which separate the Trou de 
 Toro from the Trou de Goneou, where a volume 
 of water of similar quantity to that which is lost 
 in the Trou de Toro issues, are composed of lime- 
 stone, which invariably abound in great cavities. 
 If those two volumes of water are actually the 
 same, then the principal source of the Garonne, by a 
 singular accident, is derived from the glaciers of the 
 Maladetta, which is situated in Spain, and separated 
 from France by a very high ridge of mountains. 
 
 The Port de Picade, which leads to the 
 Hospital of Venasque, which we had passed in the 
 morning, is almost close to that of the Pomerou, 
 and as we were undecided whether to return to 
 Luchon by it, or in spite of the want of passports,
 
 300 A SUMMER IN 
 
 and the proximity of the Carlists, to visit the 
 valley d'Arran, we chose the vicinity of a fine 
 spring of water situated between the two Ports, as 
 the spot where we should eat our provisions for 
 the day, and in assembled conclave deliberate 
 upon the important subject. The latter route 
 was unanimously agreed upon. The invigorating 
 air of the mountains, the excellence of the viands 
 which Meg Merrilies had carefully provided for 
 us, washed down by the best wine of old Ferret's 
 cellar, had elevated the spirits of some of our 
 party (no doubt previously well strung up by the 
 grandeur of the scenery) to a pitch which would 
 have taken a greater host than that which Don 
 Carlos commanded, to have subdued. 
 
 *' Wi' tlpenny we fear nae evil, 
 
 Wi' iisquebae — we'd face the deevil !" 
 
 For myself, one look into the Port de Picade was 
 sufficient to deter me from going that way. 
 There the mist had thickened so as to present an 
 appearance almost as disagreeable to wade through, 
 as would one of the Brunnens of Nassau.
 
 THE PYUEXEES. 301 
 
 Having finished our dinner and our consulta- 
 tion, we proceeded down the ravine leading into 
 the valley of Artique Telline. The descent was 
 very rugged and steep, and difficult lor the 
 horses. One of our party, following my example, 
 was descending on foot, when he stumbled, and 
 spraining his ancle very severely, was obliged 
 to mount again. At the bottom of the ravine, we 
 found a number of Spanish shepherds, who in 
 momentary expectation of a visit from the Car- 
 lists, had driven down their flocks from the 
 mountains, and for security were about to proceed 
 nearer home. The poor fellows were in great 
 anxiety, and they inquired if we could give them 
 any intelligence regarding the motions of their 
 enemies, the Carlists, for the inhabitants of the 
 valley d'Arran being almost to a man Christinos, 
 they knew well the fate which awaited them 
 when the Carlists should break into their beauti- 
 ful' valley. 
 
 This ravine is one of the three, which, uniting 
 near the spot where the waters lost in the Tron do 
 Tora again make their appearance from the valley 
 of the Artique Telline. Soon after leaving the 
 shepherds, we entered the forest which extends
 
 302 A SUMMER IN 
 
 over the whole of the Artiqiie Telline and its 
 dependent valleys. The situation of the great 
 fountain of the Oiiil, or Trou de Goneou, is 
 exquisitely beautiful. The forests of ages cover 
 the slopes and heights around the Ouil, and 
 darken the sides of the three upper valleys v^^hich 
 unite a little way beneath it. The woodman's 
 axe has not yet been heard to ring among these 
 impenetrable woods, and the trees in size and 
 magnificence are equal to any in the Pyrenees. 
 The path by which we were descending through 
 the forest, made a bend nearly opposite to the 
 fountain, and an opening in the woods gave us a 
 full view of it. The stream that issues from it is 
 by far the most considerable of all the sources de 
 the same nature which exist in these mountains ; 
 it becomes at once a considerable river, and at its 
 junction with the streams from the Ports of 
 Pomerou and Vielle, the largest timber can be 
 floated down it. The waters of the Maladetta 
 dart forth from their subterranean canal with the 
 force and velocity which their rapid descent of 
 some thousand feet may be supposed to have 
 inspired them; and as if astonished at the changed 
 character of the scene from that in which they
 
 THE PYRENEES. 303 
 
 were born, they break in unbridled fury over the 
 precipices and steeps, form many cataracts, and 
 dashing among the rocks below, water the adjoin- 
 ing woods witli the clouds of spray they create. 
 Unfortunately, we were from the length of the 
 ride to Bososte, where we intended to pass the 
 night, and the lateness of the hour, most reluc- 
 tantly obliged to quit a spot which offered so 
 many inducements to a prolonged stay. 
 
 The valley of the Artique Telline is completely 
 pastoral, the banks of its river abounding in the 
 richest meadows, bordered by its great forests, 
 upon which, towards its extremity, the great 
 demand for timber by their French neighbours, is 
 causing the natives to make fearful inroads, 
 fearful, because no prudent measures are adopted 
 to keep up the supply ; and the mountains which 
 are once stripped of their woods, have no chance 
 of regaining their former beauty and value, but 
 remain in all the ugliness of an ill cut and 
 decayed forest. The quantity of timber which is 
 yearly floated down the Garonne, from this, and 
 the adjacent districts of the valley d'Arran, must 
 be immense ; some idea may be formed of it from 
 the fact, that the river for many miles below the
 
 304 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Hermitage of the Artique was, when we passed 
 along its banks, so encumbered with timber, that 
 though there was sufficient depth of water to float 
 the trees, large as they were, it yet was insuf- 
 ficient to transport the quantity which at so many 
 various points are thrown into it, and the logs 
 had become so wedged together, that it would 
 have been possible to have descended the stream 
 upon the raft formed by them. The trees are 
 felled far up the mountains, and drawn by manual 
 labour down to the water's edge, where, if the 
 stream be already blocked up by the quantity of 
 wood thrown into it, many labourers are set to 
 work at the place where the stoppage has com- 
 menced, and by means of separating the logs 
 where they have been jammed together, and 
 huddled one above another, they again shoot 
 away with the stream, jostling and bruising each 
 other on their route, until they are taken out of 
 the river at the depot, and carted to the saw- 
 mills of Fos and St. Beat, where they are cut into 
 planks, and sent to Toulouse, Marseilles, and 
 other ports. 
 
 A very heavy shower came on before we had 
 quitted the Artique Telline, and drove us for
 
 IHK HVUK NKKS. 305 
 
 shelter into one of the granaries by the way-side, 
 where we did not remain very long, for the 
 clouds had descended too low to allow us to hope 
 for a change of weather, and our friend who had 
 sprained his ankle, was complaining bitterly ot 
 the pain which he was suftering. 
 
 The entrance to the valley d'Arran, has in 
 olden times been defended by the Castel Leon, 
 famous in story, built upon some heights on the 
 right bank of the river, and deriving 'its name 
 from some fancied resemblance which they have 
 to the lord of the forest. 
 
 It was now getting late and dark, and we were 
 riding over one of the most broken and uneven 
 paths which can be imagined, exposed to torrents 
 of rain, from which we had nothing to protect us 
 but the thin linen blouzes generally worn by the 
 peasants and by travellers in the summer, so that 
 we were soon as wet as if we had been dragged 
 through the river ; the night too had become very 
 cold, so that altogether our situation had become 
 rather an unpleasant one, and would have made 
 no bad caricature of a party of pleasure. Could 
 we have got smartly along the road we should 
 have laughed at such triHes, but our horses were 
 
 VOL. 1. X
 
 306 A SUMMER IN 
 
 jaded — perfectly ''done up," and stumbling over 
 the inequalities of the road, plainly demonstrated 
 that it would be better to allow them to proceed 
 leisurely than have our necks broken among the 
 rocks, or have the remaining spark of that ardour 
 which flamed so brightly upon the mountains, 
 extinguished by a roll into the river. To add to 
 our miseries, the sprained ankle of our friend had 
 now become so swollen with exertion, and so 
 much more painful, that it was impossible for him 
 to put his horse out of a walk. Thus wet, cold, 
 and hungry, we crawled along, and about three 
 hours after darkness had overtaken us we reached 
 Bososte. Well aware of the scene of confusion 
 in which we should find the village, I had taken 
 the precautionary measure of sending forward one 
 of the guides, to prepare at least a good fire at 
 which to warm our shivering persons, for, as 
 to procuring beds, I had great doubts of our 
 seeing such luxuries. Near the entrance to the 
 village, we found our avant courier waiting for us, 
 who hearing the clattering of our horses' hoofs, 
 hailed us in the darkness, and conducted us 
 through the purlieus of the place to the posada. 
 We were shown up stairs into a large chamber,
 
 THE PYRF.XEES. 307 
 
 lit up with a tire corresponding in size to its 
 dimensions, and blazing most cheerfully. As we 
 had expected, we found the inmates of the house, 
 as well as the whole inhabitants of the village, in 
 a state of great anxiety and distress, in hourly 
 expectation of the Carlists breaking into the 
 valley ; the inhabitants of which, as I have 
 already mentioned, being to a man in the interest 
 of the Queen, they had little to hope from their 
 clemency, and every thing to fear from the " no 
 quarter " warfare of their enemies. 
 
 The young men of the valley were out in the 
 mountains opposing the Carlists, but from the 
 accounts brought in, had been outnumbered, and 
 forced to retire, and all those who were not 
 actually engaged in the defence of the district, 
 were busily employed in depositing their worldly 
 goods in places of safety, or transporting them to 
 the village of Fos, upon the French frontier, to 
 which the greater part of the inhabitants intended 
 emigrating on the morrow. The inmates of the 
 posada, whose relations were among those who 
 were fighting, conscious that in the event of their 
 defeat, the burning brand would be applied to 
 their dwellings, determined to leave nothino- but 
 
 X 2
 
 308 A SUMMER IX 
 
 its walls to the vengeance of the Carlists, had 
 already dismantled their abode of its furniture. 
 Fortunately for us, there still remained three 
 mattresses which were not to be sent off until the 
 following morning, and these we immediately 
 arranged on the floor, as near to the fire as 
 possible. Our lame friend was the first object of 
 attention ; the pain from his ankle was so intense, 
 that he could not put his foot to the ground, not 
 even move it without suffering torture. He was 
 laid upon one of the mattresses, and consigned to 
 the care of the old grandmother of the family, 
 who had evinced great sympathy for him since 
 our arrival. This old woman was the most 
 sorrow-stricken looking creature I ever beheld ; 
 care, anxiety, and grief had laid such hold upon 
 her, that she seemed imbued with life merely 
 that her limbs might be kept in motion. Her 
 sympathy for our friend was expressed by the 
 immediate kindliness with which she commenced 
 dressing his ankle, and administering to his com- 
 fort, which she did in perfect silence, without 
 uttering a word. Having bathed the inflamed 
 limb with decoctions which she thought would 
 reduce the swelling, she bound it up with a roll
 
 THE PYRENEES. 309 
 
 of cotton ligature which one of her sons, who 
 was standing by (a fine looking young fellow who 
 had just arrived from the mountains, where he 
 had been engaged with the Carlists) drew from 
 his breast, and which had been intended for his 
 own or his comrades' necessities. Althoug^h the 
 poor creature spoke not, yet many a deep sigh, 
 during her work of charity, told that her old 
 heart was nigh bursting with grief; and when I 
 chanced to express my admiration of her son's 
 appearance, she shook her head mournfully, too 
 clearly demonstrating her fear that his manly 
 form might soon be lost to her. 
 
 The most perfect stillnes:^ reigned throughout 
 the house, it seemed as if death had already 
 entered it; the very children forgot their playful 
 bustle, and crowded around their mother, and 
 every inmate trod as if the creaking of a shoe 
 would have been an outrage. 
 
 We obtained a plentiful supply of what provi- 
 sions the people had, and so kind were they, that 
 the son brought us, from some hidden store, a 
 bottle of the most delicious wine I ever tasted. 
 " It is," said he, '' so old that we do not know its 
 age, but we value it very highly, and it is only
 
 310 A SUMMER IN 
 
 given as a restorative to those who are in delicate 
 health." 
 
 Long after my companions were enjoying the 
 repose which their tedious journey required, I 
 remained in conversation with the old woman's 
 son, whom I had persuaded to partake of our 
 supper. He told me that the CarJists, incensed 
 at the inhabitants of the valley d'Arran from their 
 declaration in favour of the Queen, were fast 
 approaching to take vengeance upon them. He 
 had already been fighting in Catalonia against 
 them, but had little hope that they should be 
 able to prevent their entrance into his native 
 valley. " When they do come," said he, " we shall 
 then have our houses and our property burnt and 
 destroyed, and they among us who may be taken, 
 will have few minutes left them to repeat their 
 '^Aves.' "* Many of his comrades and relations 
 had perished in the conflicts which had taken 
 place, and the scenes of massacre and butchery 
 which he related as having witnessed, were 
 absolutely horrifying. 
 
 * Soon after our departure, the enemy broke into this beautiful 
 valley ; upon whose inhabitants, and their property, even more 
 than the wonted savage ferocity of the Carlists was wreaked.
 
 THI-: PVU KNEES. 31 1 
 
 " The wife," said he, " of my most intimate 
 friend, is at present under our roof; her husband 
 was shot a few days ago by the Carlists, and she 
 is still ignorant of the circumstance. She and 
 her little girl, her only child, were sent here for 
 safety, and her husband, who with others had 
 been endeavouring to make head against the 
 enemy, was taken prisoner near his own house, 
 instantly strapped to a tree and shot. We have 
 not dared to tell her all this, and she believes that 
 he has been taken prisoner ; but us the Carlists 
 have quitted the district where her home is 
 situated, she leaves this to-morrow to return to it, 
 which she will find in ashes, and become 
 acquainted with her husband's death." While 
 he was telling me this tale of sorrow, the object 
 of it, a young woman apparently not more than 
 twenty years of age, passed through the room, 
 leading her little girl ; one of the many thousand 
 unfortunates whose happiness has been blasted by 
 this horrid war.
 
 CHAPTER Xllf. 
 
 Departure from BososLe — Emigration of tlie Peasantr}- — Return 
 into France — Scene with tlie French Douaniers — St. Beat — 
 Pyrenean marbles — Interesting Town and Cathedral of St. Ber- 
 trand — Antiquities — History of St. Bertrand — Cause of its 
 Destruction — Merovingian treachery — Interior of the Cathedral 
 — Curious Paintings — More curious Relics — Incivility of the Priest 
 — Famous Grotto — Lose our way — Village of St. Laurent— Night's 
 Quarters — Flight from them — La Barthe—Its Comforts — 
 Capvern — Castle of Mauvoisin — Abbey of L'Escaledieu. 
 
 We slept most comfortably upon our mattresses, 
 undisturbed by the Carlists, or any other intru- 
 ders until morning, when our guides, anxious for 
 departure, awoke us. The good old woman's 
 kindness had been of considerable service to her 
 patient ; her prescriptions had greatly alleviated
 
 A .su:\niLR i\ riiF. i-vkkxees. 313 
 
 the pain which he sufl'ered iVoin liis ankle, and 
 her son recommending the use of spardi/ks 
 instead of shoes, he was quite able to resume his 
 journey. Grateful for the extreme kindness 
 which these poor people had shown to us, even 
 in the midst of their own distress, we mounted 
 our horses, and parted from them with that 
 sorrow which a knowledge of the calamities 
 which were soon to fall upon them occasioned. 
 
 " Bella " is ever " horrida bella," let the causes 
 which have given rise to it be what they will ; 
 whether in defence of our rights, real or supposed, 
 whether to repel foreign aggression or domestic 
 insurrection ; still the results are the same. Cir- 
 cumstances may palliate, nay, even excuse an 
 appeal to arms, but the pitying eye of humanity 
 will not, while it gazes upon the harrowing- 
 scene of a' battle field, seek to divine the causes 
 which have led man to rob his fellow-creature of 
 that animating spirit which he could not give 
 him, or having once taken, return to him, but will 
 regard the etiects of warfare — call it ancient or 
 modern, barbarous or civilized — with the same 
 conscious sentiment — that thet^e man has usurped 
 a power which does not and cannot belong to
 
 314 A SUMMER IN 
 
 him. Some wars are more miserable in their 
 relations than others ; but that war in which 
 father is arrayed against son, and brother against 
 brother in deadly strife, and shedding each 
 other's blood without remorse or pity, can find no 
 parallel. Such in character is the war now 
 raging in the north of Spain, and such the 
 unnatural crimes which the uncurbed ambition of 
 the members of one single family can spread over 
 a nation.* 
 
 As we passed through the village, we found 
 the greater part of its inhabitants assembled at 
 the residence of the governor of the district ; 
 those who were soldiers, waiting for their orders ; 
 those who were emigrating to Fos, for their 
 passports. Conspicuous in appearance among 
 the former, was the son of the old woman of the 
 posada, who recognizing his friends of the pre- 
 ceding evening, came forward and shook hands 
 
 * Heningsen, in his " Campaign with Zumalacarrcgui," mentions 
 an affecting anecdote connected with the civil war ; I alUide to 
 the capture and execution of the commandant of the fortified 
 church of Villafranca. The prisoner's father Ximenes, was the 
 devoted partisan of Don Carlos, '• and he saw his eldest and once 
 best beloved son, about to suffer dcatli with the consciousness that 
 he liad done his part to bring him to so bitter a punishment.''
 
 THE PYRENEES. 315 
 
 with us ; he was in high spirits, and about to set 
 out with a reinforcement to his party in the 
 mountains, and as I am confident that he \vouhl 
 be " foremost in the fight," it would be almost 
 hopeless to expect that he is now alive. 
 
 A little stream which flows into the Garonne a 
 few miles below Bososte, is the boundary between 
 the two countries; and at the bridge which 
 crosses it, called the Pont du Roi, the advanced 
 guard of the French troops on the frontier is 
 posted. The guard was composed of the sentry, 
 who challenged us, and three or four soldiers 
 who were sleeping upon the grassy knoll beside 
 him. He challenged us, but made no difficulty 
 in allowing us to enter the French territory, 
 although coming from Spain, and without pass- 
 ports. We did not, however, get off so easily at 
 Fos, where the douaniers demanded our pass- 
 ports, and upon our declaring that we had none, 
 plainly told us that we must return into Spain, 
 from which no individual would be permitted to 
 enter France^ who could not produce a passport. 
 This intimation placed us in a somewhat dis- 
 agreeable situation. To be obliged to return to 
 Bososte to bare walls and empty cupboards was
 
 316 A SUMMER IN 
 
 bad enough in all conscience, but to be forced to 
 steal or to fight our way through the Carlist 
 parties, who ere this, might be in the passes at 
 the head of the valley, was doubly annoying. 
 
 We expostulated with the green-coated gentle- 
 men, declared that we had left Luchon the 
 preceding day, appealed to our guides for the 
 truth of our story, but we could not satisfy them ; 
 " how were they to be certain of the fact ?" I 
 could not help laughing when one of the officers 
 made this remark, for it brought to my recollec- 
 tion the predicament in which a gentleman riding 
 out in the vicinity of Edinburgh, found himself. 
 He had paid at one of the turnpike gates, a 
 ticket from which enables the possessor to pass 
 through all the other gates within a certain 
 district, and carefully, as he imagined, deposited 
 the little passport in his pocket. Arrived at 
 another gate, the keeper demanded his ticket, 
 and the gentleman, pulling up, and putting his 
 hand in his pocket, searched it right and left, 
 diving into every corner of it, but the inch square 
 piece of paper was nowhere to be found. It 
 had flown away, or perhaps in using his pocket- 
 handkerchief it had been blown away ; but sure
 
 THK pvK f:\ee.s. :H7 
 
 it was tlie thing was lost. The gentleman j)ro- 
 tested that he had paid at such and such a gate, 
 and obtained a ticket ; but no, the keeper was 
 not satisfied. The money was of no consequence, 
 but the gentleman was indignant that his word 
 should be doubted ; so convinced of the decisive 
 nature of the appeal he was about to make, he 
 raised himself in his stirrups, and staring in the 
 keeper's face said, " Have the kindness, my 
 friend, to look into my countenance, and tell me 
 if you think it the physiognomy of one who, for 
 the paltry sum of twopence, would tell you a lie ?" 
 The keeper did as he was desired, and stretching 
 out his hand, answered, " I'll thank you for two- 
 pence." 
 
 The douaniers seemed to put the same reliance 
 upon our assertions, that we had only left Luchon 
 the preceding day, as the gatekeeper that this 
 gentleman had lost his ticket. The affair began 
 to look serious, and the possibility that wc should 
 be turned back, very great. The spot where the 
 altercation took place, was at the entrance to the 
 village of Fos, almost the first house of which is 
 one of "entertainment." Fortunately its sign- 
 board caught my eye, and I immediately pro-
 
 318 A SUMMER IN 
 
 posed that we should, instead of standing in the 
 heat upon the road, walk into the auberge, and 
 there consider the matter coolly, which a draught 
 of the host's best would probably enable us to do, 
 and at all events, if we had to return, it would be 
 quite as well to part good friends. The propo- 
 sition was acceded to, and the contents of the 
 host's best cask was put in requisition ; the 
 cooling effects were wonderful ; a universal 
 cheerfulness prevailed, the circumstance of our 
 detention was forgotten, or the worthy officers 
 had too much politeness to recollect it, but 
 certain it was that we left them to finish the last 
 litre bottle of wine, bade them goodbye, re- 
 mounted our horses, and proceeded down the 
 valley to St. Beat. 
 
 The situation of this little town is very pictu- 
 resque. The portion of the valley d'Arran 
 between Fos and St. Beat, spacious and ex- 
 tremely beautiful and riante, is here almost closed 
 in by the mountains which on each side flank the 
 town. St. Beat has been built in the narrow 
 gorge, where there is scarcely sufficient width for 
 the river and a narrow street of houses, which on 
 either side line the banks; and in many places
 
 THE PYRENEES. 319 
 
 the space is so confined, that tlic under part of the 
 precipices have been scooped out, and houses 
 built under them. In olden times the Spanish 
 possessions in this valley comprised the town and 
 castle of St. Beat, the crumbling walls of which 
 crown an isolated mass of rock situated in the 
 centre of the defile, and completely guarding the 
 entrance to it. 
 
 It is a curious circumstance, that both the two 
 great nations which are separated from each 
 other by the Pyrenees, should each of them 
 possess, as it were, a key which admitted them to 
 the territories of their neighbour, through the 
 otherwise impassable districts of these mountains. 
 Thus France possesses nearly one half of the 
 Cerdagne, which lies altogether upon the Spanish 
 side of the Pyrenees, and in the severe weather 
 of winter is almost cut off from the resources of 
 the country of which it forms a portion, but the 
 possession of which, in ancient warfare, gave the 
 French great facilities in invading the finest of 
 the Spanish provinces : Spain, again, by means 
 of the valley d'Arran, could at any time pour its 
 troops through the strongest and most defensible 
 of all the Pyrenean fastnesses. It seems strange
 
 320 A SUMMER IX 
 
 that the commissioners who settled the boundaries 
 between the two countries, did not take this coin- 
 cidence into consideration, and propose that an 
 exchange should have taken place. The advan- 
 tages of the concession would have been mutual. 
 In the vicinity of St. Beat, there are some 
 of the purest statuary marble quarries in the 
 Pyrenees, great blocks of which are transported 
 to all parts of the kingdom. The marbles of 
 these mountains, — at an early period in much 
 estimation, and of which the greater part of the 
 most ancient and exquisitely carved altars of the 
 country are executed, — had fallen into disuse ; 
 succeeded by the more rare, but scarcely more 
 beautiful, Italian marbles. This taste for foreign 
 marbles had caused those of the Pyrenees to be 
 almost forgotten ; but, latterly, as the French 
 have taken a greater interest in their mountainous 
 departments, their marbles have again become 
 popular. Great expense is incurred in working 
 the quarries ; and many marheries have been 
 established. That at Bagneres de Bigorre is 
 well worth visiting ; and there specimens of the 
 various marbles found in the Pyrenees can be 
 procured.
 
 THK I'VRF.XEF.S. 321 
 
 The defile of St. Beat opens into the wide 
 plain which forms a portion of the valley of 
 Luchon, and in which the Garonne unites with 
 the Pique. We crossed to the left bank of the 
 river, for the purpose of visiting the remarkable 
 old town and cathedral of St. Bertrand ; which, 
 of the many interesting places in the Pyrenees, is 
 perhaps the most deserving of notice, not only 
 by reason of the great beauty of its situation, but 
 from its great antiquity, and the numerous his- 
 torical incidents connected with it. 
 
 Soon after the murder of the high-minded and 
 disinterested Sertorius, the various tribes of which 
 his army had been composed, were defeated and 
 driven out of Spain by the victorious troops of 
 Pompey. That general, preferring the humane 
 expedient of colonizing the scattered bands be- 
 yond the Pyrenees, to the barbarous, but more 
 usual system, of extermination, collected them 
 together, and selected the site of the modern 
 St. Bertrand, as that upon which they should 
 build a city, to which he gave the name of 
 Lugdunum. This city was founded sixty-nine 
 years after Christ, and was divided into two 
 parts ; the upper occupying the situation of the 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 322 A SUMMER IN 
 
 present St. Bertrand, the lower, extending around 
 the base of the high monticule upon which it is 
 built. This city became the capital of the Con- 
 venae (the designation given to the people who 
 had built it, and the inhabitants of the surround- 
 ing country), and continued to increase in size 
 and importance, until the end of the sixth cen- 
 tury, when it was entirely destroyed by Gontran, 
 King of Burgundy. 
 
 The circumstances attending the destruction 
 of Lugdunum, and the story of the unhappy 
 individual who was the cause of it, form a 
 melancholy illustration of the treachery and 
 cruelty which desolated France during the period 
 of the Merovingian dynasties. 
 
 Gondovald, the son of Chlotaire the First, was 
 the hero of the tragedy. His mother, from her 
 imprudent conduct, was discarded by Chlotaire ; 
 and her child, persecuted by his own father, 
 because the boy's uncle, Childebert, King of Paris, 
 having no family, had adopted him as hisheir. This 
 arrangement destroying Chlotaire 's ambitious 
 hopes of succeeding his brother in the sovereignty 
 of Paris, Gondovald was at last disowned by him, 
 degraded from his rank as a Merovingian prince^
 
 THE P V R E V E ES . 3*23 
 
 by having- his flowing hair, the prerogative of his 
 birth, cut oft, and imprisoned at Cologne. Es- 
 caping from Cologne, he fled into Italy, where 
 he was kindly received, and protected by Narses 
 for several years. After Narses' death, he went 
 to Constantinople ; where he was received with 
 marked distinction by the Emperor Justinian. 
 The succeeding emperors, Tiberius and Maurice, 
 were equally kind to Gondovald, acknowledging 
 and treatinof him as the son of a kins:. Durino- 
 the period of his residence at the court of the 
 emperors, the most profound hatred subsisted 
 between his brothers Chilperic and Gontran, 
 arising from the division of the provinces which, 
 in right, ought to have belonged to Gondovald. 
 
 The princes of the kingdom of Austrasia, 
 afraid that their kingdom would become united 
 with that of Burgundy, or Paris, resolved to 
 recall Gondovald from his exile, and to aid him 
 in the recovery of his dominions ; as illegitimacy 
 was, in those days, no barrier to the throne, it 
 was suflicient that he was of the blood of Clovis. 
 They accordingly sent ambassadors to Constan- 
 tinople ; who, after much persuasion, prevailed 
 upon Gondovald to enter upon the enterprize. 
 
 V 2
 
 324 A SUMMER IN 
 
 Plentifully supplied with treasure by the Greek 
 emperor,* he embarked along with the ambassa- 
 dors, and arrived at Marseilles. Gondovald was 
 there joined by several powerful auxiliaries, and 
 his cause wore every aspect of success. The 
 chief of the ambassadors, however, proved faith- 
 less to him, seduced his supporters, and, robbing 
 him of his treasures, fled into Burgundy. Gon- 
 dovald, however, still prosecuted the enterprize 
 in which he was engaged ; and, after having 
 experienced varieties of fortune, after having 
 conquered the countries around Angouleme, 
 Perigeux, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, and taken 
 their capitals, he again became a victim to 
 treachery. 
 
 The King of Burgundy corrupted his Austra- 
 sian allies, who withdrew themselves from Gon- 
 dovald's interests, and left him with a far inferior 
 army to contend against that which his brother 
 had sent against him. He was obliged to retreat 
 along the banks of the Garonne, by A gen, until 
 
 * In return for this assistance, it was agreed, upon the part of 
 Gondovald, that the coinage of his kingdom should be in the 
 name of the emperor — thus acknowledging him as superior.
 
 THE PYKENEES. 325 
 
 he reached Lugdunum. That city, strong in its 
 natural position, upon an isolated summit, and 
 well-fortified, was chosen by him as the scene of 
 his last struggle, for the object the attainment of 
 which had brought him into France. He had 
 still a force under his command quite sufficient to 
 garrison the town, with provisions for several 
 years ; and he could not want for water, as there 
 was a fountain within the walls which never 
 failed. 
 
 Thus situated, Gondovald might have defied 
 the hosts of Burgundy, and forced them to raise 
 the siege ; but he was fated a third time to suffer 
 by the treachery of his allies. The most daring 
 assaults of the besiegers were, for a long time, 
 repelled ; and they were driven back with dis- 
 grace and slaughter. But the Burgundian gold 
 effected that which its swords could not do. The 
 Duke Bladaste was gained over ; who, taking 
 advantage of the confusion occasioned by the 
 rejoicings for the victory which the garrison had 
 gained over the enemy, set fire to the archi- 
 episcopal palace, and escaped to the besieger's 
 camp. 
 
 The attack upon the town was renewed next
 
 326 A SUMMER IN 
 
 morning ; the efforts of the enemy were re- 
 doubled ; every stratagem was put in requisition : 
 but without success, and Gondovald was again 
 victorious. The fidelity of Mummole, Governor 
 of Avignon, and the Bishops of Gap and 
 Waddon, his remaining supporters, was not proof 
 against the offers of the besiegers ; and they con- 
 spired to deliver Gondovald into the hands of his 
 enemies. And, to effect their purpose, they 
 endeavoured to persuade him that his brother 
 Gontran would yet receive him kindly, and 
 forget what had passed between them. They 
 said to him — 
 
 " Tu sais quelle fidelite nous t avons gardee ; 
 ecoute maintenant notre conseil : tu a souvent 
 demande d' etre conduit a ton frere ; le temps est 
 venu. Nous avons parle a des serviteurs de 
 Gontran ; ils disent que leur roi ne veut point 
 ta perte, parce qu'il nest reste que peu de 
 rejetons de sa race. Sors done de la ville ; tu 
 ne rencontreras point de perils." Gondovald 
 comprit leur pensee — "Qui m'a tire de ma 
 retraite?" leur demanda-t-il. " De qui aije 
 ecoute les conseils ? Par qui voulais-je regner ? 
 C'est en vous, apres Dieu, que j' avois mis mon
 
 THK !»Yi: KNEES. 3"27 
 
 esperance. Si vous m' avez trompe, Dieu 
 vous en demandera compte, et sou juge- 
 ment sera centre vous." " Notre bouche," 
 repondit Mummole, " n' a point profere le men- 
 songe. Viens, les hommes de Gontran t' atten- 
 dent. Sois sans crainte ; quitte cependant ce 
 baudrier dor dont la vue les offenserait." 
 
 Simple-minded to the last, or aware that he 
 could not defend the place should Mummole and 
 the Bishops desert him, he yielded to their en- 
 treaties to accompany them to the camp of the 
 besiegers. They had scarcely left the city when 
 he was met by his traitor friend, Gontran Boson, 
 the chief of the ambassadors who had brought 
 him from Constantinople, and 01 Ion, Count of 
 Bourges, who, aware of what was passing within 
 the walls, had come to receive him. Gondovald 
 now perceived that he was a prisoner ; and, 
 raising his hands to heaven, " Juge des hommes," 
 s'ecria-t-il, " toi qui n'es que justice et que verite, 
 sois maintenant lappui de ma cause, et venge- 
 moi des traitres qui mont vendu a mes oppres- 
 seurs." 
 
 Having uttered these words, he descended the 
 hill ; the path is very steep and rapid : and,
 
 328 A SUMMER IN 
 
 when he had arrived at a considerable distance 
 from the gate, Ollon, who followed him, taking 
 advantage of his position, struck Gondovald to 
 the earth, and then endeavoured to stab him with 
 his lance, which the excellence of the cuirass 
 prevented. Gondovald recovered himself, and, 
 sword in hand, endeavoured to regain the town ; 
 but the villain Boson, as if to consummate his 
 wickedness, hurled a stone at him, which, striking 
 Gondovald upon the forehead, stunned him. The 
 soldiers then surrounded and murdered him. 
 After having heaped all sorts of indignities upon 
 his body, they tied his feet with cords, and 
 (Achilles like) dragged it with derision round the 
 camp, until satisfied with their brutality, they 
 left the body unburied. 
 
 After Gondovald 's death, his betrayers carried 
 the treasures out of the town, and the Burgun- 
 dians entered upon the following day, and sacked 
 and burned it. Not a living thing remained 
 within its walls, and not an edifice was left 
 standing. 
 
 Five hundred years elapsed from the period 
 when Lugdunum was destroyed by the soldiers 
 of Burgundy, before it was again inhabited.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 329 
 
 Towards the end of the eleventh century, the 
 holy father St. Bertrand, who, from being origin- 
 ally a poor monk of the hermitage of Capadour, 
 among the gorges of the Tourmalet, had, by his 
 piety and sanctity, and the performance of many 
 miracles, acquired great power and authority in 
 the district, chose the site of the ancient Lug- 
 dunum as that upon which he should erect the 
 famous cathedral which now bears his name. 
 Devotees flocked to St. Bertrand from all quar- 
 ters ; pilgrimages were made to its shrine from 
 all countries ; and, during the superstition of 
 centuries, its altars were as popular, and the 
 relics of its founder as venerated, as those of any 
 other saint in the calendar. 
 
 St. Bertrand is, as 1 have already mentioned, 
 situated upon a remarkable circular hill, which 
 stretches from the higher summits which lie 
 behind it into the plain. Upon this hill, the site 
 of the upper and strongest part of the antique 
 Lugdunum, is the present town ; and, at its 
 base, and all through the flat country which 
 extends from it toward the Garonne, are the 
 remains of the city destroyed by Gontran's army. 
 Every field abounds in these ruins, and if an
 
 330 A SUMMER IN 
 
 estimate of the size of the ancient city may be 
 formed from a view of these evidences, it must 
 have been of great size and extent. A circuitous 
 road vi^inds round the hill to the entrance to 
 St. Bertrand, which is defended by strong walls, 
 and massy gates. 
 
 We proceeded at once to the most interesting 
 object in the place, its large and towering cathe- 
 dral. While admiring the front of the cathedral, 
 we were accosted by an individual who addressed 
 us with, " How do you do, sacirs V whom we 
 afterwards discovered to be a half-idiot old 
 soldier, who during his campaigning had picked 
 up the above stock of English, which now served 
 him as an introduction to persons of that nation 
 who might visit the place. 
 
 Escorted by this half crazy being, whose re- 
 marks upon the various ornaments of the building 
 added not a little to our amusement, if not 
 instruction, we examined the interior of the 
 cathedral. Its aisles are very fine, and the 
 carving of the wood-work which surrounds the 
 choir and the canons' stalls, remarkably well- 
 executed. There are several good paintmgs ; 
 among the number, a series which are intended
 
 THE PYRENEES. 331 
 
 to represent the occasions upon which the mir- 
 acles attributed to Saint Bertrand were wrought.* 
 There is one picture behind the altar in wliicli 
 St. Bertrand is represented as preaching upon a 
 hill side to a few devotees, while the holy father's 
 mule, which has been tied to a tree, is having its 
 tail cut off by some unconverted sinner. This pic- 
 ture, in the estimation of our conductor, was the 
 chef d'ceuvre of the collection ; and he expatiated 
 at great length upon its character and execution. 
 After having satisfied our curiosity in the 
 cathedral, we were about to quit it, when we 
 were told that the greatest curiosities which it 
 contained were yet to be shown to us. These 
 curiosities were relics of St. Bertrand, held in 
 profound veneration by the people of the district, 
 and consisted of certain portions of the holy 
 father's wearing apparel. Of course, we ex- 
 pressed much anxiety to look upon such sacred 
 articles ; and our conductor knocked at the door 
 of the refectory, to request the father who had 
 
 * The character of tlic paintings of this series is siniihir to that 
 of those which, ii> the cathedral of Carlisle, represent tiie tempta- 
 tions of St. Anthony.
 
 332 A SUMMER tN 
 
 charge of the precious garments, to exhibit them 
 to us. The priest came to the door ; and, to our 
 great disappointment, rather snappishly replied, 
 that he was engaged in confessing, and could not 
 show them to us. Now, I had good reason to 
 know that the holy father was not saying what was 
 the case, but put us off with this excuse because 
 he did not wish to show the things to us. The 
 truth was, that my dog had followed me into the 
 church, and fatigued, had very unceremoniously 
 laid himself down upon the matted steps of the 
 altar. The pri'^st, whom I had seen passing 
 through the church, had discovered the intruder ; 
 and, at the same time, hearing our suppressed 
 laughter, while contemplating the strange picture 
 behind it, he had determined that such irreligious 
 heretics should not profane the relics of his 
 patron saint by looking upon them ; or, perhaps, 
 strongly suspecting that our irreverential eyes 
 might discover in the holy vestments the small 
 clothes of some worthy Friar Tuck, esteemed 
 it safer not to test the strength of our faith. 
 
 About a couple of miles to the north of St. 
 Bertrand, is the magnificent grotto of St. Bertrand 
 in the centre of the wooded hill which forms the
 
 THE PYRENEES. 333 
 
 promontory between the Nesle and the Garonne. 
 We procured guides and candles at a cottage in 
 the vicinity, and visited it. The entrance is no 
 larger than a fox's earth, and so very narrow that 
 we were obliged to crawl on our hands and 
 knees for several yards, after which it widened so 
 as to permit of our standing upright, and a few 
 paces brought us into one of the finest and most 
 extensive subterranean caverns I ever beheld. 
 The stalactites were beautiful, and the columns 
 and arches formed by them of great size. It 
 seemed as if the whole heart of the mountain had 
 been scooped out, and the interior divided into 
 enormous halls, communicating with each other 
 by Gothic looking doors and passages. Our 
 dozen candles but faintly illuminated the immense 
 caverns through which we passed, and to which 
 there appeared no limits. How long we might 
 have wandered in this grotto, without meeting 
 with any barrier to our progress, it would be 
 impossible to tell, but we walked forward in a 
 tolerably straight direction for at least half an 
 hour,''and then we only returned because our time 
 and candles were shortening. All limestone caverns 
 present much the same appearances, but this of
 
 334 A SUMMER IN 
 
 St. Bertrand is upon a grander scale, and more 
 prolific in the varieties of the forms and shapes 
 which its petrifactions and stalactites assume, 
 than any other which I have visited. 
 
 Although it was early when we left Bososte, 
 still we had loitered so much upon our way, that 
 it was nearly dark when we emerged from our 
 subterranean expedition. We were undecided 
 where to pass the night; whether to go a little 
 out of our way, and make sure of comfortable 
 quarters at Montrejeau, or, keeping the route to 
 Bagneres until we reached La Barthe, remain 
 there. None of us had passed this way before, 
 so it was left to the guides to decide ; and the 
 most noisy, but least useful of them, a native of 
 Bagneres de Bigorre, affecting to know the dis- 
 trict best, persuaded us to turn towards La 
 Barthe. 
 
 The evenings of the south, mild, cool, and, 
 after the intolerable heats of the day, pleasant 
 and agreeable though they are, are yet destitute 
 of one charm which renders the summer evenings 
 of the north so exquisitely delightful. The 
 Southerns scarcely know what twilight is ; if 
 they do, it is but in name, for with them the sun
 
 THE PYRENEES. 335 
 
 sets as if he had been performing a toilsome task 
 which he rejoiced at having completed, and 
 having done so, he vanishes as it were witliout 
 regret, leaving them in darkness. How far 
 otherwise does he leave us in Britain ! there his 
 is no sudden death, but he sets as if in sorrow at 
 parting; the lamp of his glory is not extinguished 
 at once, but its expiring rays wax fainter so 
 gradually and imperceptibly, that at last they 
 may almost be mistaken for the herald streaks of 
 his reappearance. 
 
 Upon this occasion the sudden darkness was 
 doubly unwelcome; the guides mistook the path, 
 and became so bewildered among the lanes and 
 fields, and woods, that by the hour when we 
 should have reached La Barthe, we found our- 
 selves still wandering upon the banks of the 
 Nesle. It was then too late to think of proceed- 
 ing farther, even although our horses could have 
 carried us, which they could not ; we, therefore, 
 sought the nearest village, and arrived at St. 
 Laurent. 
 
 None of the party were acquainted with the 
 localities of this large and dirty village, so that it 
 was a matter of conjecture as to which of its
 
 336 A SUMMER ly 
 
 narrow lanes led to an auberge Its inhabitants 
 were all in bed, and when we knocked at their 
 doors to gain information, the only response was 
 the barking of the dogs. As a last resource we 
 separated, and taking different directions dived 
 into the purlieus of the place, trusting that 
 chance would lead some of us to where we would 
 be " taken in.'* In this manner we explored the 
 lanes, until one of the party having succeeded in 
 finding an auberge, came to tell the others of his 
 success. I remember meeting with this indi- 
 vidual, who experienced as great difficulty in 
 findino- his way back to the auberore as he had in 
 originally discovering it; and we would have 
 passed it, if some others of the party, who had also 
 discovered the house, had not shouted at their 
 success. 
 
 The owner of the auberge having no accommo- 
 dation in his own house, transferred us to that of 
 his brother in law adjoining, a most unprepossess- 
 ing looking building. In passing through the 
 court yard, a Pyrenean dog flew upon my friend 
 Caesar, but after a single round finding that he 
 had " caught a Tartar," he wisely withdrew, and 
 allowed us to enter. When the fight commenced
 
 IMF. PVRENKKS. 337 
 
 I was about to call my dog- oil, but the owner of 
 the other prevented me, observing that it would 
 be much better that the animals should become 
 acquainted with each otliers strength at first, 
 than have them, quarreling and growling the 
 whole night. What he said was perfectly true, 
 for the combatants, as if mutually respecting each 
 other, evinced in their conduct while they were 
 tocrether, the most dio^nified forbearance. 
 
 Supper was cooked at the aoberge and brought 
 to us, and our astonishment may be conjectured 
 when we found a capital turkey set before us. 
 As to beds, there were but two in the house, and 
 one of them was in a chamber where some of the 
 family had died a few days before, and it was 
 thought we would not relish sleeping there. 
 Upon examination, however, it turned out that 
 this chamber had two beds in it, and as both of 
 them could not have been occupied by the 
 individual in question, we liad no objection to 
 make use of that which had not, and the guides 
 taking possession of the hayloft, we slept soundly 
 enough, considerino- the character of our quar- 
 ters. 
 
 Daylight the next inurnino- disclosed the 
 
 VOL. 1. /.
 
 ^38 A SUMMER IN 
 
 beauties of the place into which we liad strayed, 
 and they were certainly of a class nearly corre- 
 sponding to those of the Andorrian village of 
 Escaldos. To pull on our clothes and be oft' was 
 really a matter of necessity, and we were not 
 long- of accomplishing it. 
 
 Half an hours canter along the banks of the 
 Nesle brought us to La Barthe, whose auberge, 
 as remarkable for its comfort and cleanliness as 
 the house in which we had passed the night had 
 been for the opposite qualities, caused us doubly 
 to regret the bad fortune of the preceding- 
 evening. To add to the satisfaction which the 
 sight of this cheerful looking little inn gave us, 
 we found such a breakfast preparing in the 
 cuisine as would have delighted the most fas- 
 tidious taste. A couple of gorgeous ducks, and a 
 prime little round of veal were revolving slowly 
 and sadly upon the spit, as they received the 
 finishing decorations from the hands of as tidy 
 a looking Phillis as ever spoilt her beauty in the 
 heated atmosphere of a kitchen. Had the good 
 people been expecting us for weeks, they could 
 not have entertained us better than they did, or 
 provided more liberally for our craving appetites.
 
 THE PYRENEES. 339 
 
 Should any of my readers ever pass through La 
 Barthe, he may feel certain of being well received 
 at the house I speak of, obtaining an excellent 
 breakfast or dinner, and a bed whose comforts 
 would tempt even an unwearied traveller to sleep. 
 I know neither the name of the people nor the 
 designation of the inn, but I can mention one 
 landmark by which it will be easily discovered, 
 which has stood for many centuries, and will last 
 longer than the auberge or its inhabitants ; it is 
 the ancient square tower at the east end of tlie 
 village; the auberge is situated upon the opposite 
 side of the road immediately in front of it. 
 
 We crossed the moor which lies between La 
 Barthe and Capvern (famous for its mineral 
 waters), and there gained the great road from 
 Toulouse to Bagneres de Bigorre. About a 
 couple of miles from Capvern, and close to the 
 road, is the celebrated old castle of Mauvoisin. 
 Its situation upon the extremity of the ridge 
 which drops into the valley of the Arros, is 
 grand and imposing ; and the amazing solidity of 
 the structure, its immense size, and the courage 
 displayed by its garrison in 1373, w^ho held it for 
 the English, to whom the country of Bigorre at
 
 340 A SUMMER IN 
 
 that period appertained, against the elite of 
 France commanded by the Duke of Anjou, com- 
 bine to render it an object of interest to the 
 English traveller. Before the invention of gun- 
 powder, it must have been almost impregnable, 
 and only to be reduced by famine, or by cutting 
 off the springs which supplied the garrison with 
 water. It was by means of the latter expedient 
 that the Duke of Anjou forced its garrison to 
 surrender ; but even then they only did so upon 
 condition of being allowed to go where they 
 liked, and to take what property they chose along 
 with them. 
 
 The building is in form of a square ; the walls 
 of great height, without a single window or 
 aperture, and appearing a mass of solid masonry 
 strengthened by huge buttresses. The entrance is 
 by the eastern side, from the second story of 
 the building, and has been reached by means of 
 a half moon arch thrown from the platform in 
 front of the castle to the doorway. This arch 
 has now fallen away, and, as there is no other 
 loophole but the doorway, it is impossible to get 
 into the interior of the building, excepting by 
 means of a ladder of considerable length. I
 
 THE PYRENEES. ^^41 
 
 endeavoured to procure one at tlie village, but 
 could not ; and was thus prevented from examining 
 the interior, which I exceedingly regretted. 
 
 Beneath the castle, and at a short distance 
 from it, are the ruins of the Abbey of L'Escale- 
 dieu, secluded in a nook of the valley, and 
 embowered amonar its overhano-inor woods. The 
 road passing by the abbey, winds over the hills 
 which separate its little valley from that of the 
 Adour, in which is Bagneres de Bigorre, the 
 cleanliest, the freshest (from its mountain air, and 
 the streams which flow through its streets), and 
 for two months in the year, the gayest little town 
 in France. 
 
 END OF VOL. 1
 
 LONDON : 
 J„HADDON, CASTLE STREET, FINSBURY. 

 
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