[Barn and the Pyrenees by Louisa Stuart Costello]@TWC D-Link bookBarn and the Pyrenees CHAPTER I 19/19
Strong affection seems to be felt by them towards their relations, and quarrels seem rare; the Bearnais are said to be drunkards; but I never remember to have seen any instances of this in the streets.
They are slovenly, and the lower classes extremely dirty; the market-women, in their white flannel peaked hoods of a hideous form, or their handkerchiefs loosely tied, without grace and merely for warmth, have in the cold season a very unpicturesque appearance, and the shrill shrieking voices of those who scream hot chesnuts to sell about the streets, uttering their piercing cry of "_tou cai, tou cai_!"[26] is anything but pleasing to the ear. The servants, however, seem good, industrious, honest, and very civil; and, as far as our own experience went, we saw only good conduct; while from our hostess at the Bain Royal we met with liberality and extreme courtesy; she, it is true, is from the refined city of Toulouse, but has long resided at Pau, and I should certainly counsel any stranger, whom, they would suit, to choose her apartments as a residence; for her pavilions are situated in the most agreeable position, out of the noise and dampness of the town, and with the whole range of Pyrenees constantly in uninterrupted view. [Footnote 26: All hot! all hot!].
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