Castles and Chateaux of Old Navarre and the Basque ProvincesMansfield, M. F. (Milburg Francisco)
History
Castles and Chateaux of Old Navarre and the Basque Provinces
Mansfield, M. F. (Milburg Francisco)
Castles -- France; Pyrenees -- Description and travel
In 1902, this prelate and his "faithful" from all the Catalan country,
in Spain as well as France, made the Fête de Saint Martin (11th
November) memorable. To give a poetic and sentimental importance to this
occasion the bishop invited the "Consistoire" of the "Jeux Floraux" of
Barcelona to hold their forty-fourth celebration here at the same time.
On a golden November sunlit day, amid the ring of mountains all
resplendent with a brilliant autumn verdure, this grandest of all Fêtes
of St. Martin was held. In the midst of the throng were the Bishop of
Perpignan in his pontifical robes, and the mitred Abbé de la Trappe--a
venerable monk with snowy beard and vestments. At the head of the
procession floated the reconstituted banner of the Comte Guifred,
bearing the inscription "_Guifre par la gracia de Dieu Comte de Cerdanya
y de Conflent_." The local clergy from all over Roussillon and Catalonia
were in line, and thousands of lay pilgrims besides.
At the church, when the procession finally arrived, was celebrated a
Pontifical Mass. At the conclusion of this religious ceremony the
Catalans of Barcelona took possession of the old basilica and the "_fête
littéraire_" commenced.
The emotion throughout both celebrations was profound, and at the end
there broke out seemingly interminable applause and shouts of "_Vive la
Catalogne!_" "_Vive le Roussillon._" "_Vive Barcelone!_" "_Vive
Perpignan!_"
Back of the Canigou, between it and the main chain of the Pyrenees, is
the smiling valley of the Tech and Vallespir.
The route from Perpignan into Spain passes by Le Boulou, on the Tech.
If one is en route to Barcelona, and is not an automobilist, let him
make his way to Le Boulou, which is really an incipient watering-place,
and take the diligence up over the Col de Perthus and down into Spain on
the other side. The hasty travellers may prefer the "Paris-Barcelone
Express," but they will know not the joy of travel, and the entrance
into Spain through the cut of Cerbère is most unlovely.
France has fortified the Col de Perthus, but Spain only guards her
interests by her _carabiniers_ and _douaniers_. The little bourg of
Perthus consists of but one long main street, formed in reality by the
"Route Internationale," of which one end is French and the other, the
Calle Mayor, is Spanish.
Above the village is Fort Bellegarde. It looks imposing, but if guns
could get near enough it would doubtless fall in short order. It was
built by Vauban under Louis XIV, in 1679, on a mamelon nearly fifteen
hundred feet above the pass, and its situation is most commanding. To
the west was another gateway into Spain, once more frequented than the
Col de Perthus, but it has been made impracticable by the military
strategists as a part of the game of war.
Just beyond Le Boulou is Céret, a little town at an elevation of a
couple of hundred metres above the sea.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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