The Pyrenees, with Excursions into Spain

Chapter I

'lV. Journey to Pau — Orthez — The court of Gaston de Foix — Pleasant society at Pau — The Moon of the South, p. 272

CHAPTER XV.

Journey to Bagneres de Bigorre — Lourdes and its Castle — Montrejean — Bagneres de Luchon — Terrific storm and fire p. 284

CHAPTER XVI.

Legend of Castel Biel and St. Bertrand de Comminges, p. 301

CHAPTER XVII.

Visit to the Lac d'Oo, or Seculejo — Cascade of Montauban — Ride to the Vall.e du Lys — Hopelessly bad weather, p. 321

CHAPTER XVIII.

Excursion into Spain — Splendid forest scenery — Hospice de Venasque — Spanish honesty, and veneration for the mountain pass — Ln Maledetta — Pierre Barran — Sad effects of parting in anger p. VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIX.

Passage of the Gorge de Pomero — Desolate scenery — Beautiful flowers in the Spanish valley of Artiga de Lin — Tale of Catarina de Comminges and Alphonso, King of Aragon p. 358

CHAPTER XX.

Entrance into the Valley of Aran — Numerous villages — Aubert — Montcorban — Catalonian peasants — Arrival at Viella — Miserable quarters p. THE PYRENEES WITH EXCURSIONS INTO SPAIN. VOL. I. LADY CHATTERTON'S IRELAND. Second Edition, in Two Volumes, post octavo, With Illustrations, RAMBLES IN THE SOUTH OF IRELAND. BY LADY CHATTERTON. " A charming book, full of picturesque descriptions, interesting observations on life and manners, amusing anecdotes, legendary lore, just feeling, and sound common sense." — Literary Gazette. SlttlslirH "hy Lilly sTiattertoii and ilirtwnmislonr'faflislli'hDIS Printed taleraerrierfleimiil and C" THE TOWNS OF FONTARABIA AND HENDAYE ON THE RIVER BIDASSOA THE PYRENEES WITH EXCURSIONS INTO SPAIN 1!Y LADY CHATTERTON, AUTHOR OF " RAMBLES IN THE SOUTH OE IRELAND," " HOME SKETCHES," etc. etc.

IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET. 1843. LIST OF THE PLATES. VOL. i. The Towns of Fontarabia and Hendaye on the River Bidassoa Frontispiece The Castle of Chambord facing page 92 The Castle of Chenonceaux 106 Hernani 196 The Fort and Lighthouse of St. Sebastian .... 213 Ouyarzon, or Ourgunzun Castle and Town, Spain . 251 Castel- Bielle, with the Port de Venasque Mountains 306 The Village of Montcorban, in the Valley of Aran, Spain, 376 VOL. II. Town of Castel-Leon Frontispiece The Convent of Mitz-Aran, in the Valley of Aran, Catalonia facing page 2 Bagneres de Bigorre 29 The Town of Cauterets 109 Notre-Dame de Pouy la Hunt, in the Valley of Azun, 124 Pic du Midi de Pau, from Bios Artigues .... 164 The ruined Castle of Lordat, on the road to Ax . . 247 Foix, from the road to Toulouse THE PYRENEES etc. etc.

CHAPTER I.

Arrival at Montreuil — Historical Recollections of Abbeville — The Battle of Crecy — Thoughts on the advantages of experience and old age. Friday, May 1. — Montreuil, Hdtel de VEurope. — We crossed over from Dover to Boulogne this morning, and afterwards enjoyed the drive here extremely. We were much amused at the change of scene, the cheerful aspect of the towns in this country ; and the contrast between France and England seemed as striking as if we had never been abroad before, yet this is the ninth time I have crossed the Channel ! Then we had a lovely moonlight walk round the ramparts, and were surprised at the deserted look of the town. So few lights were twinkling VOL. I. B RECOLLECTIONS OF ABBEVILLE. in the windows, and there was so little move ment or noise in the streets, we could not imagine what had become of the gay population we had seen on our arrival.

The only thing that stirred seemed to be a pension dejeunes demoiselles, who wrere walking two and two, followed by some Black Nuns. We saw them enter the gateway of a large gloomy house, in which, like most of the others, there were no lights visible through the open windows. I delight in the cheerful aspect of French inns, and their pretty light beds, which I always think give pleasant dreams ; and here, too, are some venerable tapestry chairs, which look as if they had been embroidered by Marie Antoi nette's maids of honour. Abbeville H6tel de V Europe, Saturday. — A hot but pleasant drive of four hours and a half, brought us here at three o'clock, and we have got all our comforts out, and established our selves, till Monday, in a very pretty apartment looking on the garden. To an invalidalmost the entire pleasure of travelling depends upon the look of the rooms, and the view from them, whether it be cheerful THE HERO OF CRECY. 3 or otherwise; and therefore I think a little tour in those countries which have good inns, must be of great use to the spirits, if not to the health of sufferers.

In England the hotels are by no means so cheerful or amusing, nor in my opinion, half so comfortable, or the food half so good, as abroad. The scenery is rather pretty about Nouvion — the last post before we reached Abbeville. It was a place often visited by Louis XL ; and there, the combination of light and shade along the avenue, a few peasants' carts, the steeple of a village church, and a group of rough, high-roofed cottages formed an interesting picture. Then, on our left, was the Forest of Crecy, whose fine beech trees are now in the full glory of their spring costume, and whose very name conjured up visions of valour and victory, and recalled pleasantly to mind the monument we saw only the day before yesterday at Canterbury Cathedral of the young hero of Crecy, whose touching epitaph in Norman-French (written by himself,) we tried to decipher ; and about three leagues on our right was St. Valery, the place from which William the Norman embarked to conquer Eng land. b LA TOUR d'hAROLD. 4 There is still a tower in the place called La Tour d'Harold, into which Harold was thrown by Gui, Count of Ponthieu, when that unfortunate prince was obliged, by a storm, to land at St. Valery ; and this scene is represented in the famous Bayeux tapestry.

Harold was, how ever, liberated by William of Normandy. He returned to England, and, as we all know, on the death of Edward the Confessor, caused him self to be proclaimed King. This exasperated William of Normandy, who then collected his troops, and embarked from St. Valery to invade England, assisted by its Seigneur, and the Count Gui de Ponthieu. We could not see the spot, but its vicinity made us imagine a race of still more bold and hardy warriors than those of our third Edward, traversing the old woods of Crecy : and I thought of the ambitious dreams in which some of those old Normans may have indulged — dreams which, indeed, have not only been realized, but seem to survive in the minds of their numerous descendants, who still bear, and still do honour to their names. Eight hundred years ! — It is a glorious period — even in it self sublime ; for, as Kant says, " eine lange THE CHURCH AT ABBEVILLE. 5 dauer ist erhaben ;" and when the same name, accompanied by the same noble spirit, is handed down through so long a period, there is some thing extremely interesting in its contemplation.

But my scribbling will not become sublime, I fear, by being long, so I will merely add that, at Bernay, the post about half way between Mon treuil and this place — there is a very good inn ; and this, to us degenerate travellers, is more to the purpose than all the conquests and glory of St. Valery and Crecy. Evening. — We have been much surprised at the extreme beauty of the church here. The facade and two towers over the entrance are very highly ornamented — irregular, but magnificent. The exteriors of Gothic churches abroad always appear more rich than those of our own cathe drals, because the statues still remain in their niches : but the interior is seldom so highly orna mented, and the filthy pavement, and all the gilt gingerbread-looking ornaments of Roman-catholic shrines, have a tawdry appearance, which is always disappointing.

Our cathedrals, too, are now restored, and so beautifully kept, that I fear we shall be more than ever disgusted with the interiors of the churches abroad; HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS We had afterwards a damp exploring walk through the town. We went round part of the ramparts, and saw a splendid sunset — lost our way, and made a great detour, which tired me extremely ; but I am now enjoying this pretty room (with its comfortable red velvet chairs and Louis XIV. furniture and decorations), and the moon is shining brightly through the two open windows which look on the garden, and the heavy thunder-shower has given a fresher smell to the lilacs and other sweet flowers which bloom there, and the soft summer lightning is gleam ing in the horizon — now and then, bringing vividly toviewthe darkoutlines of gableends and pinnacles ; at other moments, shining through the branches of the trees and illuminating the garden.

There are many interesting historical recollections connected with Abbeville, and I have been reading of several remarkable things which happened here in early times. Abbeville was the chief town of Ponthieu — at least, after the year 990 — when it was surrounded with walls by Hugues Capet, for before that period Montreuil was the chief residence of the counts. Count Gui of Ponthieu fought at the battle of Hast- CONNECTED WITH ABBEVILLE. 7 ings, and afterwards, with Philip I. of France, against Flanders, — as Louandre says, in his in teresting History, — "Et recu de ce prince l'odieux mission de plonger dans un cachot la Princesse Berthe, qu'il avait repudiee pour epouser Bertrade. Renfermee a Montreuil-sur- Mer, dans une tour qui subsiste encore dans la citadelle, et qui parte son nom, la reine infor tunee y mourut de chagrin et de misere, vers 1095."

Count Gui died in 1101 : his daughter and heiress, Agnes, married Robert (called Le Diable) Count of Bellesme Alencon, who treated her cruelly, kept her a prisoner in his Castle of Bellesme, tried to poison her, and she at last took refuge at Abbeville, where she died, in 1 120, at a house near the Porte Comtesse, and which belonged since to the Knights Templars. Adele, the beautiful daughter of Count Jean, of Ponthieu, who lived in 1190, was married to Thomas de St. Valery ; and having been mal treated by some brigands into whose power she fell, her father caused her to be thrown into the sea, thinking thus to efface " l'affront fait a son sang." This subject has been chosen for several tragedies and novels. Her brother Guillaume married, in 1196, Alix, sister to Philippe Au- HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. guste, who had been affianced to our Richard Cœur de Lion, but the marriage was prevented by the infamous conduct of his father Henry II.

The great-grand-daughter of the Count Guil laume, of Ponthieu,* was the celebrated Elea nor, wife of Edward I., who shewed his affec tion for her memory by the erection of those beautiful crosses at Northampton and other places. Edward did homage at Amiens to the French king for the Comte. He often came here ; and fortified his castle near La Porte St. Gilles, on the Paris road, and embellished it with gardens, in 1282. He also obtained permission of Philippe le Hardi to coin money here. Ponthieu then passed to England, and Ed ward II. came to do homage here, and married Isabella, daughter of Philippe le Bel. The vicissitudes of her life are well known. After various efforts she at last succeeded, with the as sistance of Holland, in placing her son Ed ward III. on our throne. On her imprisonment in Castle Rising, for misconduct, the revenues * His only daughter was Marie, whose eldest daughter, Jeanne, married Ferdinand III., of Castille and Leon, in 1237, and her daughter Eleanor afterwards married our Edward I. THE BATTLE OF CRECY. 9 of Ponthieu were assigned for her support.

Our great Edward III., indignant at being obliged to do homage for Ponthieu, went to war with Phi lippe de Valois, and assumed a right to the crown of France for his mother. Louandre gives a very interesting description of the battle of Crecy. Edward said, after having in vain attempted to enter Abbeville (which had been seized by Philip), " Je suis ici sur mes terres, et je veux les defendre." Lie chose an excellent position for the encampment of his army, and, on the evening before " the engagement, retired to his oratory, and prayed to God that, if he should combat his enemies on the morrow, he might come off with honour. The next day, he and the Prince of Wales heard mass, and communicated. The greater part of the army did the same, confessed, and made proper preparations."* He (Louandre) attributes the defeat of the French, in some measure, to the impetuosity of the Due d' Alencon, who commanded the men at-arms.

The king had given orders for the army to halt, in order to allow a little time for rest after a fatiguing march, before commencing * Froissart. THE BATTLE OF CRECY. the attack. This order the Duke disregarded, and advanced with his division ; others were in duced to press forward, under the supposition, when they saw the Duke's movement, that the King's order had been countermanded, and thus the army reached the ground in the greatest disorder. The Genoese archers, in the pay of France, began the attack about three o'clock, in the Valley of Troyelles. There had been a great storm of ra*_n, and, according to Froissart, " a very terrible eclipse of the sun," which after wards shone out brilliantly full in the faces of the French, thus blinding the Genoese, while the English archers had it in their backs.

Be sides this, the bowstrings of the Genoese were re laxed by the rain, whilst the bows of the English, having been kept in their cases during the storm, were in good condition. The Genoese were thus unable to advance. The Due d'Alencon, exasperated by this check, led his troops for ward through the broken ranks of his own friends, exclaiming, " Tuez-moi cette canaille la!" Thus, numbers of them were trampled to death, and the whole line thrown into inextric able confusion. When Philip rode up with THE KING OF BOHEMIA. 11 the reserve, in full expectation of victory, great was his horror to find the battle nearly lost. He made a gallant attempt to restore the fortune of the day, and had a horse killed under him ; and it was only late in the evening, after his followers were reduced to not more than sixty men, that he suffered himself to be led off from the field.

He at first took refuge in the Castle of La Broie, and from thence fled to Amiens. The loss of the French was enormous, — almost incredible, when compared with the small force of the English army and its trifling loss. The brave but rash D'Alencon, the bro ther of the King of France, was among the slain ; as was the King of Bohemia, whose heroic con duct was so conspicuous. He had lost his sight by means, it was said, of poison, in the Italian wars ; yet, blind as he was, he requested that he might be led " so far into the engagement that he might strike one stroke with his sword." His wish was gratified, and the reins of his horse were attached to those of two of his knights. Their bodies were found together the morning after the battle, and it was his plume and motto, " Ich dien," which have furnished to our princes of Wales so interesting a memorial of this day's THE BATTLE OF CRECY. victory.

The King of Bohemia was buried in the Abbaye des Valoires, with this inscription : — " L'an mil quarente six trois cents, Comme la chronique tesmoigne, Fut apporte et mis ceans, Jean Luxembourg, Roi de Behaigne, The conduct of the young Prince of Wales was admirable. The division which he com manded bore the brunt of the attack, and he was at one time in considerable danger from the im petuosity and numbers of his assailants. In this extremity, Sir Thomas Norwich was de spatched by the Earl of Warwick to the King, to ask for reinforcements. " No," replied Ed ward, " let the boy win his spurs. I am deter mined, if it please God, that all the glory and honour of this day shall be given to him, and to those into whose care I have entrusted him." There are some lines by an old poet, Jean Douchet, who in an epitaph on Philippe de Valois, wishes to shew that the defeat of the French is to be attributed to their dress: " Puis a Crecy perdis mcs gindarmes Trente cinque mille nonobstant leurs grands armes, Par le moyen de leurs acoustremens, Et chaperons et autres vestemens, Lesquels flottoient de toutes parts en terre, Qui n'estoient bons pour gens de bien de guerre."

THE FOSSE AUX BALLADES. 13 Philip's son, the unfortunate King Jean, was afterwards taken prisoner by our Black Prince, at the battle of Poitiers, and remained several years in London, till he at last signed the treaty of Bretigny, which restored Ponthieu to Eng land, to the great despair of the inhabitants of Abbeville, who hated the English. Ringois, a rich citizen of this place, was taken to Dover Castle, and put to death by drowning, because he would not acknowledge the English dominion ; and this event, too, has been made the subject of a tragedy. Soon afterwards, it came into the possession of the French, remained with them ever after, and the last Count of Ponthieu was poor Charles X., who retained that title after he lost his throne. In old times the inhabitants of Abbeville seem to have had great taste for music and poetry, and there were " jeux floraux and combats of verse in the adjoining woods," at a place still called Fosse aux Ballades.

In 1463, Louis XL arrived at Abbeville to re purchase the county of Ponthieu from Charles le Bon, Duke of Burgundy ; but it fell again under the dominion of Burgundy, as Charles the Bold made his entry here in 1466. He, however, dying without issue, Ponthieu reverted to France, HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS. and Charles VIII. came to Abbeville on the 1 7th June, 1493. Louis XII. was married here in 1514, to Mary of England, sister to Henry VIII. , and the ceremony was solemnized with great splen dour. The Princess entered the town on horse back, " moult triomphalement," by la Porte Merende, (the one through which we came yesterday from Montreuil.) She rode under a dais of white satin ; it was embroidered with roses and porcupines, (the device of King Louis,) and adorned with a fringe of red gold, and sup ported by silver batons, ornamented with leaves of pure gold.

" Sa coiffure," says the old chronicle, " a la faconde son pays, etait enrichie de pierres precieuses a l'entour de ses tem plettes," and divers " beaux mysteres et hon nestes" were represented. Many cart-loads of filth were removed on the occasion from the streets, which were usually so dirty as to render boots or stilts indispensable. They were married at the Hotel Grutuze, an old house nearly opposite the church. It is now a magazin de sel ; but we fancied, before we knew its name, that it must possess some historical interest, from its quaint and venerable appearance. There existed some curious old customs in OLD CUSTOMS. 15 Abbeville ■ a man condemned to be hung, might be saved if a woman offered, of her own accord, to marry him. This piece of good for tune happened to a robber at Hautvilliers in 1400 ; but the girl was lame, and he actually re fused her, saying to the hangman, " Alle cloque, je n'en veux mie, attaqu' me ;" — " She limps — I do not at all like her for a wife ; tie me up."

It seems the echevins (sheriffs) and the mayor had all the authority in their own hands ; but they were guided in their decisions by custom. Animals were sometimes executed : thus in 1413, a pig which had mutilated, or, as the old chronicle says, " murdry" a child, was dragged by the hind legs to the place of execution, and hung by the legs till he died. Sometimes animals thus condemned, were executed, dressed in men's clothes. Plays taken from Scripture subjects were often represented. " The Passion" was played in 1451 ; and, in 1452, " Les jeux de la vie de Monsieur St. Quentin ;" in 1493, those of Mon sieur St. Roch. Sunday Evening. — There was a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning last night — very awful : it lighted up my pretty Louis Quatorze bed-room in the most brilliant, but livid manner.

THUNDER STORM. The outer Venetian blinds were closed, but the blue flames seemed actually to dance about the room, and were reflected in ghastly attitudes by the numerous looking-glasses, highly polished floor, and secretaire. I drew round the blue silk bed-curtains, and tried to go to sleep, by im pressing on my mind that silk is a non-con ductor of electricity, but it would not do. We have had such a pleasant day ; I shall be quite sorry to leave this delightful hotel, and our pretty red sitting-room, and blue bed-room, and the slippery stairs, and airy passage ; the smiling waiter and good-humoured maid, and the dear old landlady, who wears the same cap, and looks exactly as she did sixteen years ago, when I first came here — not a day older. The nice dinners, too, with all the varieties of petits plats, we both enjoy so much j the old tea-kettle, with its enormous handle, which is sure to be hotter than the water it contains, and the soft rich carpet, with its vivid flowered pattern, which puts me pleasantly in mind of one worked by Miss P , two hundred years ago, in my bedroom at poor dear old K ; so does the elaborately carved pedestal to a marble-slab, and the ornamented frame of a looking-glass in REFLECTIONS ON TRAVELLING. my bedroom.

It is strange that we have had a period of very ugly furniture since then, which France seems to have escaped. Why was this ? It is certainly delightful to travel for amusement ; and I fear many of us who have the power of doing as we like, do not value this privilege as we ought. I mean that many people, instead of enjoying the independence they possess, long for some place or position in the world, which, however honourable it may be, must necessarily prevent them from going where they wish. Perhaps it is wisely ordained that such should be the case ; ambition and vanity, though sad torments to those who possess them, have nevertheless their uses, and keep the world in a state of activity, which, in our degenerated condition, is necessary for its well being. They act like a high wind, and assist to blow away the pestilential influence of sloth and indifference.

Well, be that as it may, I am right glad we have the entire disposal of ourselves, and have the whole world before us ; and, what is better still, the whole summer — and even the spring. And this is a piece of good fortune that rarely occurs to those who, like us, have London, and all its pleasant world, for our dear home. VOL. i. c THOUGHTS ON THE ADVANTAGES OF AGE. We have left it while the delicious long days are still lengthening, and are but too happy that we have neither parliament nor place to compel us to remain. We are happy, too, in possessing unprejudiced feelings and independent views, which are great sources of enjoyment. We look on the world as it is, and value all the various grades of our fellow-creatures according to their real merit, rather than by their supposed value in the world's eye.

Strange to say, I look forward with more bounding pleasure to this tour than I did when, at blooming fifteen, I set out on my first visit to France ; yet my health is not nearly so good as it was then, nor had I lost some of those dear friends whom I thought it impossible to survive. This wonderful improvement in cheerfulness as I have grown old should be a great encourage ment to those who suffer from low spirits, and is chiefly to be attributed to the religious feel ings I have attained. At fifteen I had no settled opinions on religion, and I trace my gradual im provement in happiness to the hope I have, by degrees, attained of enjoying eternal bliss in an other world. The pleasure, too, that we derive from experience and the cultivation of our tastes, CHARMS OF HOME. increases as we grow old, and more than com pensates for the buoyant animal spirits which generally belong to youth.

This is particularly the case in the enjoyment of fine scenery, or rather in the simple contemplation of nature. The country between London and Andover always appeared to me extremely ugly before I had visited many beautiful scenes in other countries. On returning home, I expected to be im pressed more than ever by its want of beauty, and was therefore much surprised on travelling through it, to find myself admiring several parts extremely ; no spot appeared to me uninterest ing. Here there was a new pleasure, a power to find beauty in that which had before appeared so plain ; and this new faculty I attribute to the intense enjoyment I had experienced in contem plating nature in its loveliest forms. As a child, I used to long for beautiful scenery, and felt convinced I should be happier if I lived in a pretty country ; and such I found to be the case — not only when in the midst of beauty, but afterwards also.

The recollection of my enjoy ment seemed to give me the power of finding most unexpected charms in the plain aspect of my native dells. c2 BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. This longing to live amid fine scenery, which I cannot help thinking innate, — for, in my case, it was not caused by any outward impression, — proves to me that we are destined for a more perfect state, our aspirations being always after something more perfect than this world can afford. I have never yet beheld in reality scenes of such loveliness as I sometimes see in my dreams, nor heard music so exquisite as the strains which sometimes bless my slumbers.

Chapter II

Journey to Compiegne — Comparison between the taste in furniture of Louis XIV. and Napoleon — Jeanne d'Arc — Arrival at Paris. Paris, Wednesday. — We left Abbeville at seven on Monday morning, — passed through Picquigny, — where Louis XI. had an interview with Edward IV. on the bridge, and where the ruins of the old castle, celebrated by Madame Sevigne, above the town, is a fine object. We arrived at Amiens about half-past eleven, and were much pleased with the cathedral. It seems to have been finished in the manner intended when begun, which is not often the case with such a long and elaborate work as a highly decorated Gothic church. It is in the form of a simple cross. The ARRIVAL AT COMPIEGNE. entrance front, and indeed the whole exterior, is quite beautiful ; over the centre entrance-door are colossal figures of the twelve apostles and other saints, very well carved ; on the outside of the choir are some curious old coloured groups of carved figures.

There was a dreadful massacre in the cathedral at the time of the Reformation, and the stones of the pavement are crossed in consequence. At the western end are fine re cumbent figures, in brass, of the founders of the church, which narrowly escaped being used for cannon balls during the wars. " It was a pity they were not," said one of our party, " because they would have then been canonized." There is a spire over the centre of the transept, like those in some of our English cathedrals, which is very beautiful, but I thought it much too small for the size of the church, at least it appeared so to us, who have so lately seen and admired Salisbury's gigantic steeple. Much pleased with the town of Amiens. The houses in the older streets and in the place are very picturesque. We passed two pleasant, but fatiguing hours there, and reached Compiegne at half-past seven.

The view as we descended towards Compiegne PALACE OF COMPIEGNE. 23 was very fine : the town, with its old towers and steeples, was below us, on the left the huge Palace, skirted by gardens and fine woods, its extensive park and forest covering the undulating heights around : the broad river Oise, passing through the town and then winding among green meadows to the right, reflected the brilliant colours of a sunset-sky, and gave animation to the whole scene. We went, next morning, at eight, to see the palace. The original building was erected by the early kings. The palace was rebuilt by Louis XIV., and restored, after the sufferings of the Revolution, by Napoleon. The last time he was there was in 1 8 1 1 . It again suffered in the war of 1814, but is now in perfect order, and very magnificent.