On passing over a rise a little beyond Tartas a great view to the south and south-east appears, and on a fine day one notices on the distant horizon what at first seems to be a long pale ruffle of cloud. The next glimpse, however, shows them to be the snowy peaks of the Pyrenees, ranging from 6,000 to 11,000 feet in height. The ethereal beauty of the huge mountain barrier that has for so long formed the frontier of France and Spain, when seen at a distance under the sunshine of a spring afternoon, is one of the loveliest sights in Europe. The delicacy of the amethyst and violet shadows is as exquisite as mother-of-pearl. The distant range appears and vanishes as the car races along a series of switchback hills, and every glimpse is a picture framed with the tall red stems of pines and firs, with a golden foreground of gorse. There is scarcely a tree passed without gashes in the bark, and a small earthenware cup attached to each, into which the resinous gum trickles--if it is possible to use such a word in connection with a fluid of the consistency of the thickest honey. The inquiring individual who puts a finger into one of the pots to discover the nature of its contents is impressed for several hours afterwards with its adhesiveness. [Illustration: No. 11. MONT-DE-MARSAN TO BIARRITZ.] Just before reaching Pontoux and in that village the road is paved. The road goes to the right after the open space in Pontoux, and there continue to be wide views at intervals across the River Adour down below on the left. The town of Dax is not entered unless one wishes to make a slight détour to the left. It can be plainly seen across the river from the main road. The hot mineral springs, for which Dax still has a small reputation, were known to the Romans as _Aquæ Tarbellicæ_, and Hare writes of the ‘curious Roman fortifications destroyed in 1856.’ The church was rebuilt in the seventeenth century. [Illustration: No. 11. MONT-DE-MARSAN TO BIARRITZ.] The scenery continues of the same forest character until near Ondres, and only two other villages are passed--St. Géours-de-Marenne, with a quaint semi-fortified type of church, and St. Vincent-de-Tyrosse, with a modern church shaded by big plane-trees. When this latter village is passed cork oaks begin to abound, and near Ondres come the first glimpses of the sea horizon of the Bay of Biscay. The road crosses one of the group of small lakes scattered over the hilly country between the Adour and the sea. They are the only lakes in France. Some of the lower peaks and a confusion of dark green foot-hills of the western extremity of the Pyrenees are boldly conspicuous as one goes due south on the last few miles to BAYONNE A portion of the town is on the north bank of the Adour, but all that is interesting is reached when the long bridge has been crossed.