THE BAY OF BISCAY. 157 



foundland. At the present day he is a landowner, 

 and one of the first master sailmakers of Bayonne. 

 Unhappily, however, his case is an honourable ex- 

 ception to the general rule, for recklessness and 

 dissipation keep up a constant state of poverty 

 amongst this population, which might so easily attain 

 to a state of competence ; and strangely enough it is 

 to the women more especially that this sad result is 

 to be attributed. Surrounded by sailors, they seem 

 to have adopted their character and manners. The 

 greater number give themselves up to drinking, and 

 when the father or sons return from some distant 

 cruise, there is always a bread or tavern bill to be 

 paid for with their earnings. The little that remains 

 from their wages is soon dissipated in the same 

 manner. It is thus that Guettary, which of itself 

 sends forth more than 200 men to the cod fisheries, 

 and which consequently receives annually from this 

 sole branch of commerce from 200,000 to 250,000 

 francs in hard money, suffers misery notwithstanding 

 this source of wealth, which would rapidly enrich the 

 neighbouring communities. There is certainly no 

 doubt that the Basques of the plain and of .the moun- 

 tains are very different in this respect from their 

 brothers of the coast, and it is very easy at compara- 

 tively short distances to obtain striking evidences of 

 the moralising influence of agricultural pursuits. 



To the right of the little harbour of which I have 

 already spoken, extends the sandy beach which con- 

 nects Guettary, Bidar and Biarritz. To the left 

 begin the rocks which run along the base of the 

 cliffs to the very mouth of the Bidassoa, and are un- 



