200 PBOCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



August 4th. We left St. Sauveur for Bagneres-de-Bigorre, passing 

 again by Pierrefitte through the valley of Argelez and the towns of 

 Lourdes and Tarbes. The greater part of the route was flat and unin- 

 teresting, and the heat in the plain insufferable ; but at Tarbes, where 

 we again turned our faces towards the mountains, the views, though 

 distant, were fine and varied. 



At this time the corn harvest was over, and the peasantry were busy 

 threshing out the grain on open floors in the streets of Lourdes and 

 in the farm-yards of the country districts. The maize, however, was 

 not yet ripe, and the rich green of its foliage and silken tassels of its 

 flowers relieved the dry and barren aspect of the fields from which the 

 corn crops had been removed. 



As we again approached the mountains and the town of Bagneres 

 another storm of wind and rain swept over the outlying hills. In this 

 case we saw, but did not feel, its effects. The narrow and well-defined 

 limits of the storm were marked with great precision, and we could dis- 

 tinctly trace the line of the wind and rain as they coursed along the 

 base of the ridge before us. Indeed, as we continued to advance, we 

 came upon the path of the storm, so accurately marked that we noticed 

 one-half of the road in puddle and the other in dust. Numerous trees 

 had been broken or prostrated in the immediate suburbs of the town, and 

 yet at less than two miles distant we had a brilliant sun and perfect calm. 



Bagneres de Bigorre is delightfully situated at the entrance of a 

 valley leading into the mountains, but rather too distant for pedestrian 

 excursions. The neighbourhood is well wooded, and the country walks 

 numerous and shady. The town itself has a rus-in-urbe appearance, 

 very different from most French cities, and contains several good hotels. 

 The Hotel de Paris, at which we took up our quarters, was by far the 

 best we had met with in our present journey, and left nothing to desire 

 on the score of civility, cleanliness, and comfort. 



•r* TflT %fc •& K* 



The mineral springs at Bagneres are very numerous, but few of them 

 of great strength : they are chiefly valuable as forming a good prepara- 

 tion for the more powerful sources of Cauteretz or Bareges. The Salut 

 source, about a mile from the town, is the most frequented, and is plea- 

 santly situated at the end of an umbrageous avenue, the early morning's 

 walk to this source being probably the secret of much of its efficacy. It 

 is saline to the taste, and far from unpleasant, having a brisk refreshing 

 effect ; but neither this nor any of the other springs appears to have 

 much sulphur in its composition, if I may judge from the absence of 

 Barregine, which I could nowhere detect in the waters at Bagneres. 



The Flora of the country around Bagneres is said to be rich in species, 

 the Pic du Midi and Mont Hyeris being especially productive in rare and 

 beautiful plants. The season was, however, too advanced for successful 

 herborization, and I was forced to content myself with noting the few 

 flowers in the hedgerows and banks around. Saponaria officinalis was 

 conspicuous everywhere, and Erica vagam might be found in great abun- 



