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ISLE OF PHEASANTS.

CHAPTER III.

PROVINCE OF BISCAY-CHARACTER OF THE BISCAYANSMOCK BULL-FIGHT-IDIOT CHILD.

THE moment when the travellers crossed the Biddassoa was naturally one of excitement; they knew that they were then in Spain, and they looked with increased interest on the surrounding objects. They were twice stopped for their passports in a quarter of an hour; and they were glad of this interruption, for it gave them an opportunity for closer observation. Mr. Delville pointed out to them, on the right, an island called the Isle of Pheasants, formed by a turn in the river. It is small and uninhabited, and only remarkable for the conference held there in the reign of Louis XIV., between Cardinal Richilieu and Don Lewis de Haro; in which it was decided that the duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., should, accordingly to the will of Charles II., be proclaimed king of Spain, by the title of Philip V. Irun, the frontier-town of Spain, offered nothing to detain their attention; but as they passed on to Tolosa, they were delighted with the extreme beauty of

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DRAUGHT OXEN-CORUNA.

the scenery. Their road lay through green and fertile valleys; and the sides of the mountains, instead of being covered with forest-trees, were clothed with a great variety of fruit-trees, most of them in full bloom; and the eye was charmed, from the foot to the summit of the mountains, with the varying tints of the delicate blossoms. Some of the more common fruits were ripe; and, as they passed through the villages, the children threw them into the carriage, instead of flowers. From Bayonne to Biscay the nearest communication is by the coast; but the road had so bad a reputation for robbers, that Mr. Delville was obliged to go round by Vittoria. In ascending the mountains, which bound the plain in which that town is situated, oxen were used instead of mules for the steepest parts of the ascent. Calculating on their slowness, the young Delvilles chose to walk; but they found, to their mortification, that they were left far behind, and were glad to be waited for at last. Vittoria was descried long before they arrived there; and the travellers admired the streets, bordered with trees as a defence against the sun.

"It was here," said Mr. Delville," that, in 1808, the French repeatedly defeated the Spanish armies, which had been assembled near this city. That misfortune was followed by the recapture of Madrid and the retreat of Sir John Moore on Coruna. But at a later period, the English ob

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tained, near the town, a most splendid victory over king Joseph: one hundred and fifty pieces of French artillery fell into their hands, and between two and three thousand carriages of all kinds. That battle finally freed Spain from French dominion. It was one of the many proud days of England in which every man did his duty.'"

"How delightful," said Frank, "to hear of these things in the very spot where they happened! If I live to be a man I will never be anything but a soldier. Ellen, you are as fond of battles as I am."

“Of the success, Frank; not the battle. I am a fire-side soldier; though I love to hear of English valour as much as you do."

The first novelty that struck the travellers in Vittoria was the Spanish cloak. It was a warm spring day, but every one was wrapt up in one. The very boys in the street were pursuing their games in them. The colour of those worn by the lower class was brown; that of the upper, black or blue. The women wore their hair plaited and hanging down about their backs; but they looked in vain for the Spanish mantilla: it is not found so far north. After visiting the church, where several portly friars attracted their smiling notice, they went to the bread-market, where they found a variety of loaves, of all shapes and sizes, as

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CHILDREN DANCING.

white as pure flour. They had heard much of the delicacy of Spanish bread, and they found it fully equal to its reputation.

On their return home, by the great square, they were highly amused by an unexpected spectacle. Two or three hundred little girls, from eight to fourteen years of age, were assembled there, dancing with each other to the music of a flageolet and a Basque drum. Their movements were slow and dignified, and scarcely a smile was to be seen on any of their young faces. This was a sight that fixed the attention of the travellers. Nothing they had hitherto seen had shown them so strongly the difference between the continental manners and their own. Edward, however, was inclined to

His father checked this

look at it with contempt. feeling. "A philosopher, like you," he said, with a smile, "should look with interest on all modes of pleasure that they are different from those you have been accustomed to is only an argument for closer investigation. The national character is here displayed in a lively manner. These children are denied all literary instruction: the schools, so common in England, are unknown to them: they are therefore at liberty to pursue their amusement only, at an age when, in England, they would probably be engaged in toil. In their eyes their occupation is a dignified one, and con

BISCAYAN CHARACTERISTICS.

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ducted, as you see, with great propriety: for my own part, I should have been sorry to have missed this truly national sight."

Edward blushed and was silent; and Mr. Delville was happy to perceive afterwards, that his admonition was not thrown away, and that he took more interest in the small pleasures and minute traits of the strangers among whom he was thrown. Vittoria did not detain them longer than a day: they then resumed their route to Bilboa.

"We are now going into Biscay, then, papa," said Ellen.

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Yes, to Biscay, or, as the Spaniards call it, Viscaya. This name does not appear in history till a century after the establishment of the Arabs in Spain. The Biscayans resisted the Mahommetan power with unceasing vigilance; and, like the Asturians, claim for themselves the proud title of old Christians. These two northern provinces, alone, furnish three-fourths of the nobility of Spain. Whatever may be the vicissitudes of their fortune, they preserve the titles of their noble birth with extreme care. They are deeply attached to their freedom; and, by a fiction that soothes their pride, they call the taxes they pay, a gift. They acknowledge no king: the king of Spain is only lord of Biscay. The conscription does not extend to this province; and it is only in

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