[Illustration:  DAX.]

Orthez [Footnote:  See Appendix.] (120-3/4 miles) is of historic interest and possesses some noteworthy remains.  M. Dore has represented the Tour de Moncade, built in 1240, with mediaeval surroundings, and not quite as it may be seen now.  It was the scene of many of Gaston Phoebus’ greatest crimes.  The old fourteenth-century bridge over the river, with its central tower, could tell some tales too, if we could discover “sermons in stones”; and the plain below the town was the scene of one of Wellington’s many victories in 1814.

Two coaches start from Orthez, one to Salies (10 miles), celebrated for its salt springs, and the other to Mauleon-Licharre, a picturesque spot where fine views, cascades, and ruins abound.

[Illustration:  THE TOWER OF MONCADE, ORTHEZ.]

Passing the ancient town of Lescar (140-1/2 miles)—­of which we shall have more to say later—­the train is soon drawn up in the station of Pau, and directly the traveller shows his face outside, he is hailed by the “cochers” from the various hotels in a bewildering chorus.  This is the same, more or less, at every French town where English people congregate, and Pau only inclines, if anything, towards the “more.”

The first impression conveyed when leaving the station and passing along the Avenue de la Gare, is, that the town is mainly composed of the castle and magnificent hotels which tower above the station.  This, to a certain extent, is correct, for they occupy a large area, and the views from the windows of the hotels, as well as from those of the castle, are the finest in the town.  Issuing from the Avenue into the “Place de la Monnaie,” the ruins of the “Mint” tower, and above them the castle itself, come into full view, after which the road continues along the Rue Marca for a short distance, branching afterwards to the right into the most ancient square of the town, the Place Grammont.

The hotels de la Poste and Henri IV. are here situated, but the roads to the various other hotels and pensions diverge in different directions.  To the right up the Rue Bordenave and along the Rue Henri IV. is the route to all the finest hotels, of which the “France” is the best, and the “Gassion” the most imposing; the others are the Belle Vue, Splendide, Beau Sejour, and de la Paix, all with the exception of the last possessing the magnificent mountain view, but although from the windows of the “Paix” only a side glimpse can be obtained, yet at the same time this hotel faces the “Place Royale,” the popular resort of all classes in Pau.  From the left-hand corner of the Place Grammont a narrow street leads to the fine church of St. Jacques, which is also the nearest way to the grand Hotel Continental near Trinity Church, and the Pension Hattersly in the Rue Porte Neuve.  But the route more to the left still, leading up the hill and joining the Route de Bordeaux, past the Haute Plante parade ground, is the usual one followed, especially for the Pensions—­Lecour, Nogues, and Maison Piete in the Rue d’Orleans; Pension Etcherbest, in the Passage Plante Hotel de Londres, on the route de Billeres; and Maison Colbert, in the Rue Montpensier.