Having said that, which Ihave been longing to say out of my deep love for Spain and the Basques, I can rethe reader to travel the Basque country on his own account. He will start at Irun where the scars war are still evident, and make an excursion to nearby Fuenterrabia to admire the ancient walls, the Castle. of Charles V, the houses of Echeveste, -|Casadevante and Zuloaga and the old Basque cottages. He may see the fortress of Guadalupe which had to be conquered by General Franco's forces and roam the cliffs to gaze, at this time of year, on a halcyon sea and the distant fields of France.
Of San Sebastian the guide-books sing, so it is no use my doing so. It is, to my mind, a neat and beautiful modern city, with the finest beach in. Europe which" leaves' Biarritz "standing" Nearby are Renteria, Pasajes with a beautiful estuary, Hernani, Deva—a new seaside resort, and Zarauz, the latter has an ideal climate, fine beach and perfect accommodation. He will of course see the much-discussed Guernica with its "Arbol" Bilbao, and the scenes of battle from the French frontier to Oviedo. The defence of the latter constituted an epic. I would urge him not to forget the shrine of Covadonga, with the exquisite scenery in this neighbourhood. But, as I have said before, I am not going to steal the thunder of the guide-books. I could not try to do so without becoming lyrical over this Cantabrian fai land, and poetry is out of fashion. But I beseech him to try the' exquisite cider of Astigarraga (no connection with the wine of Asti), at the same time taking care to be abstemious, for it is so good that he will want to drink more than is good for him, and may also become lyrical.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.