135 



CHAP. VII. 



THE BAY OF BISCAY. 

 BIARRITZ. G UETT ART. SAINT JE AN-DE-LUZ. 



Departure for the Bay of Biscay. Bayonne. The bar of the 

 A dour. Biarritz. La chambre (Tumour. Geological problems 

 relating to the age of neighbouring rocks. Guettary. Saint- 

 Jean-de-Luz. Encroachment of the sea. Wearing away of the 

 coast; the ground swell. Hermellas. Extreme variability in the 

 type of the Annelids. The Polyophthalmians ; organic compli- 

 cation. Realisation of some of the fables of mythology. 

 Independence of the nervous centres in certain of the lower 

 animals ; transposition of the ordinary seat of certain sensations. 



THE early portion of June 1847 was a period of 

 much enjoyment to me, for after a two years' un- 

 avoidable delay, I was at length enabled to resume 

 my studies at the seaside ; the Bay of Biscay being 

 on this occasion the scene of my exploration*. This 

 expedition was almost like a voyage of^discovery, for 

 only one naturalist had preceded me in the zoological 

 investigation of this portion of the coast of France. 

 In 1794, M. Alexandre Brongniart had on different 

 occasions visited the mouth of the Adour, and ex- 

 plored the neighbourhood of Biarritz. Being in- 

 formed of my intentions, he placed his memoirs and 

 notes most freely at my disposal. Although he was 

 already then labouring under the disease to which 

 he fell a victim a few months afterwards, M. Bron- 



K 4 



