hanging over the Bay of Biscay.

Our next stopping-place after leaving San Sebastian was Bayonne,--that
is "The Good Port,"--about forty miles further towards the French
frontier. It is a city of some thirty thousand inhabitants, located at
the junction of the Adour and Nive rivers, in the Lower Pyrenees. Here,
again, the cathedral forms nearly the only attraction to strangers;
though very plain, and with little architectural pretension, still it is
gray, old, and crumbling, plainly telling the story of its age. The city
has considerable commerce by the river, both in steam and sailing
vessels, and exports a very respectable amount of domestic products.
Most continental cities have their Jews' quarter,--the Ghetto, as it is
called; but in Bayonne the race is especially represented by the
descendants of those who escaped death at the hands of the Inquisition,
in the time of Philip II. They form fully one third of the population,
judging from appearances; and though not characterized by neatness or
cleanliness, their quarter is the home of numerous rich men. They have
retained their old Spanish and Portuguese names and fortunes. Many of
the Jewish capitalists of London, Paris, and Havre, are from Bayonne.
There is a decided difference in the manners and the dress of the people
from those of Spain generally, being more like those of the Basque
Provinces, to which it belongs geographically.

Here one sees the palace where Catherine de Medici and the Duke of Alba
planned the terrible massacre of the Huguenots. In and about the city
some very pleasant drives may be enjoyed. A large, well-shaded public
garden commences just at the city gates and extends along the left bank
of the Adour. It will occur to the reader that the familiar military
weapon, the bayonet, got its name from Bayonne, having been invented,
or rather discovered, here. It seems that a Basque regiment, during an
engagement with the Spaniards near this spot, had entirely exhausted
their ammunition; but fixing their long knives in the muzzles of their
guns, they thus successfully charged on and defeated the enemy. The
legend is mentioned, as every one must listen to it from the local
guides, though--between ourselves--it is a most gross anachronism.

We have not yet come to a conclusion as to what language our landlord
spoke. He certainly understood French, though he did not attempt to
express himself in it. It was not Spanish, that we know; therefore it
must