144 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



with the perforated rocks of the Attala'i, whose 

 isolated pinnacles have been strangely fashioned into 

 various shapes by the waves that are rapidly wearing 

 them away. Between the Pointe des Basques and 

 Attalai lies Port-Vieux, from whence many whalers 

 were wont to set sail year by year in former times, 

 although the harbour, which is constantly being con- 

 tracted, can now do little more than give shelter to a 

 few stray fishing smacks. Encased as it were within 

 this charming framework, lie the picturesque habita- 

 tions of Biarritz. Some of the houses occupying the 

 plateau and the bottom of the valley constitute the 

 village and its principal street, whilst others are 

 grouped here and there, by chance, as it were, and in 

 accordance with the nature and character of the 

 ground. The green blinds and dazzlingly white 

 walls of these cottages, give them an air of cleanli- 

 ness and comfort, which is well adapted to attract 

 visitors, arid each year the nomad population which 

 flocks to Biarritz tends more and more to convert it 

 into a fashionable watering-place, to the loss of the 

 invalids who formerly resorted to it. 



The coasts of the Bay of Biscay are extremely 

 dangerous, even to the most skilful swimmers, 

 except at a few sheltered spots. The Port-Vieux 

 is, however, perfectly adapted for bathing, for it 

 seems like a basin artificially formed by the hand of 

 man for the very purpose. On either side, the two 

 points of the cape break the force of the waves and 

 neutralise the effect of the currents. The sandy 

 bottom slopes gently upwards towards the shore, 

 which is overlooked by the last houses of the village, 



