SABLES D’OLONNE, a seaport town of France, the chef-lieu of an arrondissement of the department of La Vendée, is situated on the Atlantic seaboard in 46° 30' N. lat., 300 miles south-west of Paris by the railway for Tours and La-Roche-sur-Yon. The town stands between the sea on the south and the port on the north, while on the west it is separated by a channel from the suburb of La Chaume, built at the foot of a range of dunes 65 feet high, which terminates southwards in the rocky peninsula of L’Aiguille (the Needle), defended by Fort St Nicholas. To the north of Sables extend salt-marshes and oyster-parks, stocked from Auray or Cape Breton, and yielding 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 oysters per annum. The port of Sables, consisting of a tidal basin and a wet-dock, is accessible only to vessels of from 350 to 400 tons, and is dangerous when the winds are from the south-west. The entrance is shown by six lights; a seventh lighthouse, that of the Barges, a mile out at sea to the west, has a height of 80 feet and is visible for 17 to 18 nautical miles. In 1882 145 vessels (62,073 tons) entered and 146 vessels (61,037 tons) cleared. The staple articles of trade are grain, wine, cattle, timber, salt, tar, fish, building stone, manures; 400 boats are engaged in the sardine fishery. The beautiful smoothly sloping beach, a mile in length, is much frequented by bathers. It is lined by an embankment which serves as a promenade and drive, and is bordered by hotels, villas, and cafés. The population in 1881 was 9769, that of the commune 10,420. Founded by Basque or Spanish sailors, Sables was the first place in Poitou invaded by the Normans in 817. Louis XI., who went there in 1472, granted the inhabitants various privileges, improved the harbour, and fortified the entrance. ...