The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-10 00:00:00

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arts department. If one may fornfain ' , . •.'''''
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modern talent from the specimens sentloomazzlhAt ao. :-as
Spanish exhibition, the countrymen of Waeqaza
Morales, Ribeira, and Murillo have sadly degeno.
rated. There was a full length portrait of Queen
Isabella, coarse, heavy, and commonplace, by M:
Louis Madrayo. Side by side with Royalty is a
portrait which many who never saw the King Con-
sort believed to be his Majesty's, but which is said
to be that of the painter himself. A dance in the
court-yard of a posada by M. Fieros was excellent
in its way, and his picture of the noble cathedral of
Burgos and a chapel of that of Toledo have much
of the poetry of the sacred edifices of Spain. In
this department, too, Paris contr.butes something
—two portraits by Ricard, she! ehes of scenery in
France and the East, by MM. Courbet, Core% arid
Brest, and, as a specimen of historical painting,
Corneille reading one of his tragedies in the hotel
Ramhouillet. Bayonne boasts of two painters—
MM. Zs and Bonuat. A Neapolitan beggar-boy,
by the latter, is rtinrkkihly well done, and (Attracted
much attention. '.211-ez.zo baj(wco, Ezzeienza," aro
on I-da lips, eye, and extendrd hand, and your
first movement was to put your hand in your pocket
and give him a few eons. Bordeaux and Lyons
sent some good landscapes, and among other objects
of art were sketches in water-colours by the late
Eugene de la Croix, photographs, &e.
Not much was done, I fear, in the way of busia
ness by the exhibitors. I suspect that the one who
attracted most customers was a little French boy,
who kept a stall for the sale of knife sharpeners at
from 2f. to sf, a piece, and who was scarcely 11
years old. One could not pass his stall without
stopping to have a chat with him, as he stood
behind his counter dressed in a blue military tunic
with tiny gold epaulettes, a cap called a " bonnet
pelisse," and a little s sord banging up peacefully
in its little steel scabbard 'behind him. There was
nothing of pertness or forwardness in his manner.
He was polite to everybody; answered readily all
the questions put to him ; dwelt on the excellence
of his wares, testing them by experiments which
seemed to be conclusive. He spoke French so as to
be easily understood, with, of course, a decidedly
English accent ; and his mistakes, such as " tutoy-
ivy" everyone who converses with him, gave kit.
nito amusement to the bystanders. With all his
intelligence he was quite a child. When not en•
gaged in business he amused himself like a child.
On the whole the Bayonne Exhibition, though it
may turn out profitable as a speculation, was highly
creditable, particularly when we consider that it is
its first attempt in this way. No doubt the ex-
pected presence of the Emperor and Empress en■
couraged exhibitors to send some of the best speci.
mans of their industry,and the disappointment was
considerable. But, however hurtful to their inte-
rests, the absence of the Court seemed to make
little difference so far as Biarritz was concerned.
No doubt the score or two of persons attached
directly or indirectly to the Court were missed this
summer, but for the last six weeks and more Bier.
ritz was as peopled with visitors pretty n.ufah as
in previous years. The opening of the railroad
between Bayonne and San Sebastian, and the
completion of the line to Madrid, not to speak of
the Exhibition, had raised extravagan t hopes of
an enormously crowded season, which were by no
means realised. What is called the season is over,
yet up to the present many still linger in and about
Biarritz. And it is no wonder, for the sky is as
blue, the sun as bright, and the temperature as
warm as in July. The Port Vieux, the COte des
Barques, and the COtes des Four, or, as it is now
called, the COte Napoleon, were still frequented by
bathers. Those who do not swim, but prefer to lie
on the pure white sand, and let the breakers tumble
over them, those who prefer a plunge from the reek
and strike out to sea, may indulge in that most
healthy pleasure at any spot and at all hours of the
day. The water is the purest in the world, and at
the lowest tide you have no mud to wade through
to get to it, but a fine sandy beach.
Fsw persons now come to this part of the Pyre•
nees without paying a visit to Spain, were it only as
far as Irun, Fontainbin, San Sebastian, or Loyola,
the birthplace of the founder of the Jesuits, whose
convent still stands in that lovely valley. The line
runs from Bayonne through eve of the most pi -
turesque countries imsgineble—Bidart, Guetary, St,
Jean de Luz, where it crosses the Neville; and Hen-
days on the Bidassoa, from which you can almost
look into Fontarabia, skirts the sea coast, and con-
tinues its way along valleys and slops whose verdure
not even the July or August sun cm impair. The
first view °Aught of the little town of Passages is at
an opening of the road ; it suddenly appears rising
out of its little bay, locked in between the la'zquilet
sod Ulia hills, and the old castle of San Sebastian
in the distance is one of the most charming ima.
ginable. On the other hand, the approach to Bay-
onne by the valleys of the Nice and Adour, with
the slopes covered with handsome villas peeping out
feom the luxuriant foliage, and remarkable among
the fine mansions, the Case Caradoc of Lord
Howden, situated on the brow of the valley, with
its terraces glittering in the sun, its fair gardens,
and its sloping lawns. Near this place the Nive is
crossed by a bridge 83 metres long, and the Adour
by one of 268 metres. From Bayonne and San
Sebastian, and vice versa, there are three trains
daily—one at 6 a.m., and one at 3 'a.m., sad one at
6 p.m. The trip takes two hours and a half, in.
eluding the indispensable delay at the Spanish and
French Custom-houses, the former at Iran, and the
latter at Hendaya.
As I write the weather threatens a change. We
have just had a thunderstorm of some violence with
rain in abundance, but the temperature still warm.
A few days' continuous rain would clear Biarritz of
to remaining visitors.

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