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. En route; a descriptive automobile tour through nine countries & over nineteen great passes of Europe . ges, and giving the startlingimpression when seen from a distance that one hasleapt back a thousand years, so perfect is itspreservation. At Toulouse we reached the first of the greatbattlefields of the Peninsula, or rather the last, thefield on which Soult suffered his final defeat at thehands of Wellington and hurriedly retreated toCarcassonne. From Toulouse till we reachedAlmai-ez, upon the Tagus, we passed through a landthat whispered Wellington at every turn; were Ito relate the battl
. En route; a descriptive automobile tour through nine countries & over nineteen great passes of Europe . ges, and giving the startlingimpression when seen from a distance that one hasleapt back a thousand years, so perfect is itspreservation. At Toulouse we reached the first of the greatbattlefields of the Peninsula, or rather the last, thefield on which Soult suffered his final defeat at thehands of Wellington and hurriedly retreated toCarcassonne. From Toulouse till we reachedAlmai-ez, upon the Tagus, we passed through a landthat whispered Wellington at every turn; were Ito relate the battles and sieges connected with thetowns and places we visited I would only be repeat-ing backwards the history of the Pensinular War,and I must remember that no matter how interestingit is, it has no connection whatever with an auto-mobile tour through Spain. At Tarbes we were under the spurs of the Pyreneesand heading straight for them on a pilgrimage toLourdes. Lourdes leaves a deep impression on themind—the tiny grotto with its myriad of flamingcandles, its crowds of devout worshippers, and its180. A FLYING GLIMPSE OF ITALY halo of crutches ; the Church of the Rosary perchedupon a rock seeming to stretch out two long bent armsas though to gather in its flock ; the Mont Calvarywith its motionless figures, often standing deep insnow; and above all the great silent nunneries,almost lost upon the surrounding mountains andshunning all intercourse w4th the living world. 181 CHAPTER XII IN THE LAND OF THE DONS Two excursions we made with Mercedes into theheart of the Pyrenees to Cauterets and Gavarnie,two short and beautiful drives; the road ever risingclimbs amidst the hills through fine scenery. Bothplaces were out of season, closed and bordering onthe snow-line. From Lourdes we travelled to Pau,ever in view of the snow heights, and from thereagain headed for the hills, determined this time topass through their midst and not to be turned back,as before, almost at the border. The
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