JOURNEY HOME BY LAND. 181 



a,t this apparently gratuitous piece oi inconvenience and 

 delay, which attended every through train from Madrid to 

 Paris, we were assured that the Spanish autliorities, from 

 dread of some future French invasion, had forbidden their 

 own line to be prepared of the same gauge as that of their 

 northern neighbour: hence a daily vexation and annoy- 

 ance to innumerable travellers ; hence, too, no little ridicule 

 of the alarm of Spain. 



We found Biarritz enormously increased in size since 

 we had last visited it, but as beautiful as ever, with its 

 magnificent sea-view over the Bay of Biscay, and its 

 honey-combed rocks, through which the surf was ever 

 beating: itself into foam, and dashingf itself hio^h into the 

 air in spray, and forming ever new cascades of marvellous 

 beauty; and here we spent a quiet Sunday, fascinated, as 

 every one must be, by the charming views on every hand. 



From Biarritz we passed through the Landes, and were 

 disappointed to see no traces of the shepherds on tall stilts, 

 knitting as they reposed on the third support, with which 

 they used to be provided ; but these relics of primitive 

 days have passed away in the rapid march of time since 

 we visited this spot seven years ago. Moreover, the pine 

 forests, planted to consolidate the shifting sands, have 

 marvellously increased within that short period ; and we 

 found a luxuriance of soil and a fertility of which there 

 was no trace but the other day. 



We baited for one night at Bordeaux, and were much 

 impressed with the improvements of the city, which, (like 

 all the other great cities of PVance,) has been renovated 

 and almost rebuilt under the auspices of the present Em- 

 peror; and indeed, in proportion to their size, the great 

 provincial towns of France are scarcely behind the capital 

 in the beautifying they have undergone. But whether the 

 inhabitants, who are very heavily taxed to accomplish this 

 beautifying process, are altogether satisfied with the sys- 



