is quite supreme; we know of no view in the Pyrenees, of a comparable nature, that could pretend to vie with the harmonious loveliness of the panorama that can be seen at sunset from Montreux across Lac Leman, when the water is rippleless and the mountains are bathed in a rosy flood.  But for all that, in other ways—­in flower-clothed slopes, in luxurious valleys, in winding rivers and foaming cascades—­the Pyrenees present pictures that, with the freshness of springtime to aid them, cannot fail to delight and charm.

Four roads cross the Pyrenees from France to Spain:  the Route Nationale, from Paris to Madrid via Bayonne; the Route Departementale, from Bayonne to Pampeluna via the Col d’Urdax; the Route Nationale, from Perpignan to Barcelona via Gerona; and the route from Pau to Jaca via Oloron.  There are other ways of entering Spain by the Cols (passes), but over these a horse track is the broadest path.

The principal bathing resorts on the French side are connected by the splendid Route Thermale, which extends for 70 miles; but, owing to its exposed position in some parts, especially between Eaux Bonnes and Argeles, and Bareges and Ste. Marie, it is only wholly open three or four months in the year!

Of the mineral springs it is sufficient to state here that, within the same extent of country, no other part of Europe can present such a wonderful choice.  There are three principal kinds—­the sulphurous, the saline, and the ferruginous; and over 200 springs contribute to them.  Some resorts have waters of each of these classes, and many have at any rate two out of the three.

Of these, fuller information is given in the Appendix, as well as the chief uses of each, and the affections for which they have been successfully used.

As regards sport, unattended by much labour or fatigue, the Pyrenees can hardly be recommended, except perhaps for fishing.  There is very good fishing in several of the rivers, but unhappily French conservancy laws are so lax—­if indeed they have any at all —­that peasants may frequently be seen at the waterside with a rod in one hand and a capacious net in the other, so that if unsuccessful with the first, they will at any rate not come home empty-handed; unless some brother “sportsman” has just preceded them over the same pools!

Though the wolves have nearly all been poisoned, there are still some bears to shoot in winter, and izard (a species of chamois) and capercailzie to pursue in autumn; but the “sportsmen” are many and the game few, and the way to their haunts lies by bad and unfrequented paths; so that “le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle.”  To the botanist and the geologist, however, there is a splendid field, which, varying in richness according to the locality, is more or less rich everywhere; and besides these, the entomologist will not visit this territory in vain.  To the mountaineer these almost numberless summits offer attractions of all kinds, from the wooded slope with its broad mule-path, to the ice-wall only to be scaled by the use of the rope and the hatchet.  There are ascents which a child almost might attempt in safety, and there are others where the bravest men might well quail.