210 Trip from Bayonne in France, to St. Sebaftian in Spain. [Oct 1, 
by the valley of Batgorry and Saint Feani 
Pied-du-Port. 
We accoidingly left Pamplona, at fix 
in the morning of the oth of July, 1788, 
on our mules, and following the road 
by which we had come, as far as Villalba, 
turned-to the right, in a north-eaft direc- 
tion, up the banks of the Arga, for three 
‘Jeagues or hours, until we reached a vil- 
lage where we halied, to allow the great 
“heats to go off, and dined on fome excel- 
‘Jent mutton, rich Navarre wine, and re- 
‘frefhing water. 
We then proceeded three leagues farther 
in a valley, deepening and narrowing gra- 
dually as we advanced ; the hills on each 
fide covered with thick woods, and pre- 
fenting an infinite variety of beautiful and 
romantic points of view. 
At laft we came to Oguza or Eguia, for 
it is pronounced both ways, where fome 
years before the king of Spain had ereéted 
a confiderable foundery of fhot and fhells. 
The iron is found in abundance and cf 
the beft quality, in the neighbouring 
mountains ; the furround'ng forefts fur- 
nifh fuel, and the siver Arga is made to 
ferve many purpofes in moving the ma- 
chinery, &c. 
Before leaving Pamplona, we had ap- 
plied to the commandant of the artillery 
there, for permiffion to vifit this eftablith- 
ment. This was not only moft readily 
granted, but direétions had been fent to 
the place, that preper preparations might 
be made for our feeing it to advantage. 
We were accordingly very civilly received 
by the manager of the foundery (who by 
the bye had been fome time in Britain, at 
the public expence), and had an opportu- 
nity of following the operations neceflary 
for cafting thet and fhells of various fizes, 
as far as our time would allow us. 
The fimplicity of the machinery for 
working the bellows, the contrivances for 
making the river ferviceable in various re- 
fpefts, but above all, the orderlinefs and 
filence (a ft:iking-contraft to what is every 
‘where obferved on the north fide of the 
Pyrenees) gave us great pleafure. 
In the ordinary courfe of working at 
Eguia, they make thirty 12 and 13 inch 
fhells per day. ‘Thefe are {ent down to 
Pamplona on mules, each carrying a 
couple, and are afterwards difpatched by 
the Ebro, to Barcelona, and cther parts 
on the Mediterranean ; or over land to 
St. Sebaftian, there to be embarked for 
Ferrol, &c. 
The fituation of this foundery is very 
romantic. The valley is fo narrow and the 
mountains on each fide are fo fieep, that 
the flopes have been fcooped out to make 
room for the magazines and other neceflary 
buildings. ‘ 
During our refrefhment in the houfe of 
the manager, we were prefented with wa-_ 
ter, which rufhes out of the bottom of the 
mountain, a few feet above the furface of 
the river, and which for limpidity, purity 
and. coolnefs, furpafied any we had ever 
feen. 
From Eguia the road runs two leagues 
farther along the bottom of the valley, o= 
many places dug out of the face of the 
precipices, having a low wall for the pre- 
tection of travellers over the river. 
At the end of thefe two leagues, the 
road, inftead of following the valley, which 
bears to the left hand, lay in a northern 
direction up the face of a fteep hill, 
where even the hardy mules muft reft from 
time to time, before they reach the top. 
On the fummit the view extends over 
a wild tra&t of mountains, onee, it is faid, 
much better wooded than they now are. 
This {pot is one ef the chief points of the 
boundaries between Spain and France. 
The defcent on the north fide is long and 
tedious, in fome places fufficiently un- 
pleafant, where the road is {cooped out of 
the rugged fides of gullies, worn by the 
torrents, in fuch a manner as to leave xo 
room for travellers who fhould meet, to 
pafs oe another, without confiderable 
difficulty. ; 
Tn fuch paffesas this, a perfon muft be ac- 
cuftomed to ufe the mule, before he can 
be prevailed on. to keep his back; but 
thereis fomething in the manner of placing 
the feet, and in the other motions of this 
animal, which tel!s his rider that he has 
only to be quiet in his faddle, and let the 
mule take his own way (and this he genes 
rally will do, whether the rider choofe it 
or not) and that no harm will happen to 
either of them. 
In good roads and ona plain country 
the mule fometimes grows carelefs and 
fiumbles, but the inftant he comes to 
mount or defcend a rough path, he feems 
to ehange his nature, his attention is 
routed, and he goes on with a fmoothne/s 
of motion, fometimes quick, fometimes 
flow, as he finds it to be convenient, which 
he did not before appear to poffefs. 
Before we came to the fummit of this 
mountain, we had Jaid our account with 
meeting the revenue-officers who guard 
this and fimilar paffes, and who make 
ftrict enquiry into the quantity of {pecie 
carried by travellers out of Spain. eo 
Each traveller is allowed to carry away 
with him in gold or filver, one thoufand ~ 
reals 
