Béarn and the Pyrenees : $b A legendary tour to the country of Henri QuatreCostello, Louisa Stuart
History
Béarn and the Pyrenees : $b A legendary tour to the country of Henri Quatre
Costello, Louisa Stuart
Béarn (France) -- Description and travel; Pyrenees -- Description and travel
eulogium before from a very talkative artist of Poitiers, who described
them as of enormous, nay incredible, size, but delicate as _natives_: we
were, therefore, surprised to see perfect miniatures, not larger than a
shilling, very well-flavoured, but _unfed_. They form the _délices_ of
all this part of the world, at this season, and are eagerly sought for
from hence to the furthest navigable point of the Garonne.
We were particularly fortunate in the weather, which was bright, warm,
and inspiriting; and when we reached the walk which leads to the baths,
we were in raptures with the whole scene which presented itself. The
fine broad sea, smooth and green, lay shining in the sun, without a
ripple to disturb its serenity; and for about a quarter of a mile along
its margin extended one of the most beautiful promenades I ever beheld.
The first part of it is planted with small young trees, on each side of
a good road, which extends between verdant plains where _glacis_ are
thrown up. This leads to the great walk; a thick grove of magnificent
trees, shading a very wide alley of turf of _English_ richness. Here and
there are placed seats, and all is kept with the greatest neatness. The
establishment of the baths is ornamental, and pretty, and very
extensive. About half way up this promenade, next the sea, grounds laid
out with taste, and affording shade and pastime in their compartments,
surround the building. A Chinese pagoda, a Grecian temple, numerous
arbours and seats are there for strollers; and swings and see-saws for
the exercise of youthful bathers after their dips. Altogether, it is the
most charming place of the kind I ever saw: the warm baths are as good
as possible, and the arrangement of those in the sea are much better
than at Dieppe, Havre, or Granville. There is a row of little pavilions
on the edge of the sea, where bathers undress; and a paved way leads
them to an enclosed space where are numerous poles fixed, with ropes
reaching from one to the other at different depths. The bathers hold by
these ropes: and a large company can thus assemble in the water
together, and take as much of the sea as they please, unaccompanied by
guides; but, if they are timid, there are _men_ ready to attend and
protect them. The costume is a tunic and trowsers of cloth or stuff,
with a large handkerchief over the head. Hour after hour will the
adventurous bathers continue in the water; dancing, singing, and
talking, while the advancing waters dash, splash, and foam all round
them, exciting peals of laughter and screams of delight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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