ration--infection--death!

Meanwhile he pointed to the letter he was writing, and, drawing forward
with the other hand a chair, said that he was at that moment
memorializing the Foreign Office on the subject of these visas; that his
pain was extreme at seeing travellers compelled to send or come to his
office, and to lose thus much valuable time; he was likewise concerned
at their having to pay three francs each for so useless a ceremony as
his visa; but he wished it to be remarked, that it was at present a
ceremony quite indispensable; since, only four days back, a gentleman
had been compelled to return from the Spanish frontier (a distance of
seven leagues) in the middle of the night, in consequence of his having
neglected this, as yet, necessary observance.[1]

Leaving Bayonne by Diligence, although still at some distance from the
frontier, you are already in a Spanish vehicle. The only difference
consists in its being drawn by horses as far as Irun, a few hundred
yards in Spain, at which place they are replaced by a team of mules; but
the _mayoral_ is Spanish from the commencement, as also usually the
greater number of the travellers. From the first view of Spanish ground,
the monotony of the landscape ceases, and gives place to picturesque
scenery. This effect is as sudden as if produced by the whistle of a
scene-shifter. From the brow of a hill the valley of the Bidassoa opens
on the view, the bay on the right, two or three towns in the centre, and
beyond them, stretching to the left, the chain of the Pyrenees. This
opening scene is very satisfactory to the newly arrived traveller, whose
expectations have been rising towards fever-heat as he gradually neared
the object of his dreams--the "renowned romantic land;" the more so, as
he is well prepared, by the Landes of France, to enjoy to the utmost
the variety of scene afforded by the two days of mountain and valley
which separate the frontier from the town of Vitoria.

The Diligence comes to a halt every afternoon; the day's journey having
commenced at three in the morning. There are three of these days between
Bayonne and Burgos. At Tolosa and Vitoria--the intermediate places of
rest--the system is as follows: Arriving at about four in the afternoon,
an interval is allowed of about two hours, which in a long journey can
always be profitably employed, until the meal, called supper. This is
Homerically plentiful, and varied sufficiently to suit the tastes of all
s