DEPABTMENT OP THE PYRENEES. 291 



d'Espagne water-fall has, moreover, the grand features of magnificent moun- 

 tain scenery — pine forests on the one hand, on the other bare precipicesj 

 above which you will probably see eagles wheeling in great circles." 



Beyond this there was yet another water-fall. " From a small grassy 

 plateau, you see the Gave rushing out of the Lac de Gaube, descend in a 

 bold unbroken heap down a lofty precipice; but though the fall is 

 unquestionably fine, it does not possess the interest of the double fall of the 

 Pont d'Espagne, which has the advantage of a far greater abundance of 

 water. 



" The path from this point to the Lac de Gaube, above three miles, is 

 wretched, being carried over fallen trees and great roots, among huge rocks, 

 and frequently through swampy ground. At length, after a long climb, I 

 emerged on a plateau, and saw a tiny sheet of turquoise-hued water, — 

 " ' A lofty precipice in front, 

 A sUent tam below.' 

 The Lac de Gaube, though only two miles and a half in circumference, is 

 yet the largest lake in the Pyrenees. What it lacks in extent is, however^ 

 in some measure compensated for by depth, for the sounding line shows 

 that it is 425 feet deep in the centre. The mountains around the lake are 

 bare, except where seamed by lines of straggling pines torn by the 

 avalanches which plunge down in the spring. The centre of the picture is 

 entirely filled by the noble Vignemale, 11,000 feet high robed with snow 

 and streaked by glaciers ; mists were curling up and wreathing the head of 

 this grand mountain while I gazed upon it — now settling like a pall upon its 

 crest, and now rent by blasts, disclosing the snowy heights and blue 

 glaciers. The sublimity of the scene is greatly heightened by the absence 

 of all cultivation. 



" Long before the Lac de Gaube is reached you exchange the glowing 

 warmth of Cauterets for a chilly temperature, and at the elevation of the 

 lake, nearly 6000 feet above the sea, vegetation is confined to stunted 

 pines and mountain flora." 



From Cauterets Mr Weld proceeded to Luz. Writing of the journey 

 from Pierrefitte, he says, — " On reaching Pierrefitte the road turns to the 

 right, and you immediately enter the grand gorge through which the Gave- 

 de-Pau descends from the mountains above Gavarnie. This defile is, if 

 possible, finer than that between Pierrefitte and Cauterets, the mountain 

 walls are closer and higher, frequently appearing to overlap each other ; 

 the woods are darker, and the torrent, which you cross over single-arched 

 bridges no less than seven times, makes perpetual music, chaffing over its 

 rooky bed. The present road is carried along a succession of shelves, 

 overhanging the Gave, at a great height ; very much lower, however, than 

 the old road, the dizzy elevation of which may be , seen by the remains of 

 the Pont d'Enfers, which hangs 300 feet above the present structure. On 

 our way up the gorge we met large flocks of goats, and droves of gaily 

 caparisoned mules, which had left Spain but two days before. Picturesque 

 animals are these goats and mules; they are in such excellent keeping 

 with the scenery ; and all along the border-land between France and Spain 

 you meet them, often in places where you wonder they find foot-hold. 



" A short distance from Luz the mountain walls recede, agriculture 

 reappears, and in the midst of a small triangular plain stands the small 

 town. It would be difficult to find a lovlier, or apparently more desirable 

 spot for a residence, and yet frequent floods during winter compel the 



