Polo is generally played in the “Haute Plante” (in front of the Barracks), and bicycle races take place there also occasionally.  It is only a step from this pleasure-ground to the cemetery, and though this nearness never affects the joy of the children on the roundabouts or the young people swinging, yet it is another practical example that “in the midst of life we are in death.”

The Rue Bayard—­on the left of the Haute Plante—­leads to the cemetery gates, and the tombs extend behind the barracks; those of Protestants being divided from the Roman Catholics’ by a carefully kept walk leading from the right-hand corner of the first or Roman Catholic portion!

There is a charm about this last resting-place in spite of its mournfulness, and the many flowers load the air with a delicious perfume.  The marble statue of a Russian lady in fashionable costume, over her tomb, is considered a fine piece of sculpture, and many people go there simply to see it.

The two principal French churches are those of St. Martin and St. Jacques, but the latter is in every way the more beautiful.  The “Palais de Justice” stands close to St. Jacques, but facing the Place Duplaa, where many of the best houses are situated.  The Rue d’Orleans, communicating the Place Duplaa and the Route De Bordeaux, contains many Good French pensions, which have been previously mentioned.

By following the Rue St. Jacques past the church of the same name and turning down the street which cuts it at right angles, called the “Rue de la Fontaine”, the ancient part of the town can be reached.  It may be here remarked the peculiar characteristics of Pau, and yet probably seven visitors out of ten fail to notice it. the other end of “Fountain Street” leads into the Rue de la Prefecture. this is one of the very busiest streets in Pau, and if after leaving one of the magnificent new hotels we traverse this busy street, and then suddenly plunge down the Rue de la Fontaine to what was once the bed of the castle fosse—­where the houses are small and dirty, and the walls and slates barely hold together, so wretchedly old and tottering are they—­where, instead of bustle and grandeur, there is only gloom and poverty, and in place of the enjoyment of the present, there is the longing for a lot a little less hard in the future; we feel as though we had gone back several centuries in as many minutes, and have a decided wish to return to nineteenth-century civilisation again.

We did not find the rides and drives the least pleasant of our enjoyments, and there are so many places to visit, that picnics are plentiful as a matter of course.

The chief excursion from Pau is to Eaux Bonnes and Eaux Chaudes, but as there is a slight danger of damp beds there—­if you get any beds at all—­early in the year, we postponed this grand trip for another time.

Another long drive is to Lourdes and back, but this we did not take, as we meant to stop a night there later; but one day we made up a party for Betharram, which is a long way on the same road, and, under ordinarily kind auspices, a delightful day’s outing.