St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-11-14

fOSSNSS 49,
to charm those who come in touch
with him.
Our hotel friend was called here from
grouse-shooting in Scotland, to bury
a rich octogenarian aunt, who since
the death of her husband, an Italian
count, had looked to this nephew as
a business adviser. To lose a
shooting season means to an Eng
lishman bitter disappointment, but
in this case the wind" was tempered
to the "shorn lamb" as the old count,
ess had made the nephew her sole ex-
ecutor and heir. To comply with
the formalities of the French law in
securing the proper legal authority
for transferring to England the pos
sessions of his aunt, was a tax on the
colonel's patience. She was English
by birth, an Italian subject by mar
riage, and she died on French soil in
the city OF Bordeaux, $50 miles from
her home, Pau. To get the French
officials to approve an old English
will where there were so many COM
plications, required diplomacy and
clever legal services, but the colonel
won his case, and last evening he
and his new belongings, jewels, sill
yer, laces and rare curios, etc,
were booked for London. Thus far
in life l have been spared such a
domestic loss, as fell to the lot of
Colonel T., but l feel sure that, cir
cumstances being the same, l should
meet the blow with the same manly
spirit and cheerful resignation.
To come out OF purely French
atmosphere into the warmth of an
English speaking colony like this at
Pau gave US as much pleasure as the
Old Apostle had when he met the
Brethren" at "Appii forum, and the
three taverns" as he journeyed from
Malta to Rome. Several visits to
Pau have given US good opportun-
ity to study the place and its sur
roundings. From the middle of May
to'the middle Of September it is a
good place to avoid. From October
to May the climate is in general
agreeable and the social life attrac-
tive. For refractory nerves, and for
pulmonary troubles the place stands
we'll in medical circles and the sun
and air-cure of this town at the foot
OF the Pvrenees are as highly recon-
mended as the mineral waters OF
Carlsbad and Vichy, for the disorders
which attract pilgrims to those
places. To me the charm of the place
is its social attraction and its natur-
al beauty. Thirty miles south are
the Pylenees, and from the wide ter
race which extends from the chateau
Henry the Fourth to the casino you
command one of the finest views in
Europe. Directly below, 200 feet
perhaps, is the Gave de Pau, rapid
winding stream, intersecting broad
and fertile valley, which stretches
towards Lourdes on the east, and
Riarritz on the west. Beyond the
river are the foot hills of the Pyre-
nees with vineyards and forests, dot
, ted with elegant villas and chateaux
in parks OF chestnut, walnut and
oak. The background is the noun
tam chain which marks the southern
boundary of France, and on clear
( dav the eye takes in one half the sky
| line of that limestone and granite
barrier which runs from the Atlantic
-, to the Mediterranean. Directly be
fore YOU, nearly SO miles away, is
| the bold peak of the Peak mid
d'OSsau, nearly 10 900 feet higher
than the valley at your leet.
One cannot spend fortnight here
as we have done, without becoming
/ attached to the people and the place
1 The English and the American col
ones are most hospitable and the
beauty of the place and its evirons
it's agreeable climate and charm
ing social atmosphere make Pat
: quite a rival of the better advertised
+ and more fashionable winter resorts
along the Riviera. The English have
brought their sports with them, a.
i they always do, and there is a fin'
: golf course, racing ground, tol
: hunting, good club and in all thes'
- diversions the Americans share.
Northwest OF Pau, four hours by
rail and 100 miles as the crow flies
: there is another health resor
s "Arcachon" which has good win
=. ter record in London, New York ant
Boston, besides being a tavorit
> summer resort for the mer
Vt chants of Bordeaux who cal
uave their villas by the sea
4 and transact their daily business 81
miles away. Opinions differ as tt
the attractions of Arcachon, som
[ calling it the most quiet and stupic
place in France, and Others the queer
t of French watering places. Thi
|. evening we 60 there to settle for our
selves the question of its position
among the many beautiful health re
o sorts of southern France.
Il H. L. CLAPP.
i Pau, Bases, Pyrenees
- Grand Hotel, Oct. 1900.