Part 1 (1/2)

Twixt France and Spain.

by E. Ernest Bilbrough.

PREFACE.

It has been my endeavour in this volume to provide an ill.u.s.trated gossiping Guide to the Spas of the Pyrenees. Unlike previous books on the same region, it deals with the resorts in spring, when they are most charming. A certain amount of detail--which is unavoidable in all guide-books--has been unavoidable here, and the rhymes have been introduced in the hope of lightening the reading. These rhymes, as a rule, have a distinct bearing on the subject under discussion; but they are inserted in such a manner that the reader can omit to read them--if he objects to such frivolities--without losing the sense of the prose.

Very little really fresh information has been gained about these beautiful mountains since Mr. Charles Packe published his 'Guide to the Pyrenees' in 1867: a few more springs have been discovered, a few more mountains have been successfully ascended, and the towns have gradually increased in size. There have been very few of those melancholy accidents that we so often hear of from Switzerland, because, probably, considerably fewer tourists attempt these mountains than attempt the Alps. In this volume no descriptions of scaling ice-walls, searching for the lammergeiers' nests, or any other great feats, will be found. It contains a plain account of what may be seen and done by any party visiting the mountain resorts in spring, without much trouble or fatigue; and the narrative form has been adopted throughout.

M. Dore's ill.u.s.trations speak for themselves; and Miss Blunt's spirited sketches are a valuable acquisition.

The Appendices have been compiled with great care; and--at the suggestion of an experienced M.D.--brief comments on the chief springs at the various Spas, and their healing properties, have been included in the general information.

I beg to acknowledge my indebtedness to M. Joanne's 'Pyrenees' and Mr. Black's 'Summer Resorts;' and I have also great pleasure in thanking Miss Blunt for her sketches, and my friend Mr. A. H. Crow, F.R.G.S., for his kindly a.s.sistance in correcting inaccuracies. As, however, it is extremely difficult to completely avoid them, I shall feel obliged for the notification of any others that may happen to exist.

E. E. B.

INTRODUCTION.

Considering the number of English and Americans who yearly visit Switzerland and the Riviera, it is astonis.h.i.+ng that so few, comparatively, ever think of approaching nearer to the Pyrenees than Pau. And it is more astonis.h.i.+ng still, that those who have been enabled to enjoy the beauty of these mountains from the Place Royale at Pau, should ever think of leaving their vicinity without a more intimate acquaintance with them.

It may be, that since the various resorts have gained celebrity for the healing powers of their waters, healthy travellers are of opinion that they will be surrounded by a crowd of sickly individuals, whose very appearance will spoil all the pleasure that they might otherwise experience. That this _might be_ the case _in the season_, at a few spas, is not to be denied, but _in spring_ not an invalid of that kind is to be met with, and the bathing establishments have no customers; but the scenery is everywhere at its best. Dr. Madden writes: ”The attractions of the Pyrenees are not, however, confined to the invalid traveller, but even for the pleasure tourist offer inducements for a pedestrian excursion in some respects superior to any in Switzerland;” and there can be no doubt that they have a beauty of their own quite distinct from the grandeur of the Alps, and yet equally as wonderful in its style.

Extending for nearly 300 miles from the foaming billows of the Biscay to the azure waters of the Mediterranean, they form a huge barrier ”'twixt France and Spain”; gaining their name of Pyrenees from the words ”Pic Neres,” which in the _patois_ of the country signifies ”black peaks!” That this t.i.tle is a misnomer for all but three months of the year--viz., from July to October--must be already a well-known fact; for who would call them ”black” when clothed in their garments of snow?

The highest summits are in the Maladetta group, and the Pic Nethou (11,170 ft.) is the highest of all; while the average height of this magnificent range of mountains is between five and six thousand feet.

Luxurious valleys branch out in all directions, fed by the mountain streams, and among the central heights the wonderful natural amphitheatres known as Cirques stand in majestic solitude. The Cirque of Gavarnie--the best known--possesses on a bright day in spring such a charm, in its snowy imperial splendour, as the Alps would fail to surpa.s.s. In scenes where a lake adds such wonderful effect, Switzerland is quite supreme; we know of no view in the Pyrenees, of a comparable nature, that could pretend to vie with the harmonious loveliness of the panorama that can be seen at sunset from Montreux across Lac Leman, when the water is rippleless and the mountains are bathed in a rosy flood. But for all that, in other ways--in flower-clothed slopes, in luxurious valleys, in winding rivers and foaming cascades--the Pyrenees present pictures that, with the freshness of springtime to aid them, cannot fail to delight and charm.

Four roads cross the Pyrenees from France to Spain: the Route Nationale, from Paris to Madrid _via_ Bayonne; the Route Departementale, from Bayonne to Pampeluna _via_ the Col d'Urdax; the Route Nationale, from Perpignan to Barcelona _via_ Gerona; and the route from Pau to Jaca _via_ Oloron. There are other ways of entering Spain by the Cols (pa.s.ses), but over these a horse track is the broadest path.

The princ.i.p.al bathing resorts on the French side are connected by the splendid Route Thermale, which extends for 70 miles; but, owing to its exposed position in some parts, especially between Eaux Bonnes and Argeles, and Bareges and Ste. Marie, it is only wholly open three or four months in the year!

Of the mineral springs it is sufficient to state here that, within the same extent of country, no other part of Europe can present such a wonderful choice. There are three princ.i.p.al kinds--the sulphurous, the saline, and the ferruginous; and over 200 springs contribute to them. Some resorts have waters of each of these cla.s.ses, and many have at any rate two out of the three.

Of these, fuller information is given in the Appendix, as well as the chief uses of each, and the affections for which they have been successfully used.

As regards sport, unattended by much labour or fatigue, the Pyrenees can hardly be recommended, except perhaps for fis.h.i.+ng.

There is very good fis.h.i.+ng in several of the rivers, but unhappily French conservancy laws are so lax--if indeed they have any at all --that peasants may frequently be seen at the waterside with a rod in one hand and a capacious net in the other, so that if unsuccessful with the first, they will at any rate not come home empty-handed; unless some brother ”sportsman” has just preceded them over the same pools!

Though the wolves have nearly all been poisoned, there are still some bears to shoot in winter, and izard (a species of chamois) and capercailzie to pursue in autumn; but the ”sportsmen” are many and the game few, and the way to their haunts lies by bad and unfrequented paths; so that ”le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle.” To the botanist and the geologist, however, there is a splendid field, which, varying in richness according to the locality, is more or less rich everywhere; and besides these, the entomologist will not visit this territory in vain. To the mountaineer these almost numberless summits offer attractions of all kinds, from the wooded slope with its broad mule-path, to the ice-wall only to be scaled by the use of the rope and the hatchet. There are ascents which a child almost might attempt in safety, and there are others where the bravest men might well quail.

For the ordinary pedestrian, beautiful walks abound in the vicinity of nearly every Spa, but near St. Sauveur, Luchon, Eaux Chaudes, and Argeles they are, we think, most charming. The roads on the whole are excellent, and the hotels, with hardly any exceptions, particularly clean and comfortable; and, with the one drawback of the bread (see Appendix D)--which can be easily remedied--the food is well cooked and well served.

It must be understood that the succeeding chapters only describe-- or attempt to describe--scenes that every one in moderate health can go and enjoy for themselves, and it is in the hope that a few more may be induced to visit the region about which they speak, that they have ever seen the light. For accurate information about the mountains and the best means of ascending them, no better guide-books could be wanted than Count Russell's 'Grandes Ascensions des Pyrenees' [Footnote: Hachette et Cie., Paris.] in French and English, and Mr. Chas. Packe's 'Guide to the Pyrenees'; [Footnote: Longmans and Co., London.] while for information of all kinds Monsieur P. Joanne's 'Pyrenees,' [Footnote: Hachette et Cie., Paris.] in French, could hardly be surpa.s.sed. For the ordinary traveller Mr. Black's 'South of France Summer Resorts, Pyrenees,'

&c., is a compact and useful companion; and for guidance in matters medical, Dr. Madden's 'Spas of the Pyrenees' and Dr. Lee's 'Baths of France' are exceedingly valuable.

With these preliminary remarks we beg to refer the reader to our experiences of 'A Spring in the Pyrenees.'