glish royalty went elsewhere, Russian Grand Dukes and
Balkan princelings saved the day for the snobs. Consequently, the town
has spread annoyingly into the country. A row of hotels faces the sea,
and on side streets are less pretentious hotels, invariably advertised
as a minute's walk from the sea. A mile inland is another quarter of
fashionable hotels for those whom the splashing of the waves makes
nervous. Then the interminable suburbs of villas and _pensions_
commence.

When city people seek a change of climate, they do not always want a
change of environment. They are intent upon living the same life as at
home, upon following the same round of amusements. They cannot be
happy without their comforts and conveniences, and this means the
impossibility of getting away from streets and buildings and noises and
crowds. The class that has monopolized the Riviera has tried to
recreate Paris in the Midi. If one wants to find the country right on
the sea coast, one must get off the train before reaching Cannes.
Between Cannes and the Italian frontier, one does not have the sea
without the city. Only by going inland can one find the country
without missing the sight and feel of the sea. For everywhere the land
rises. The valleys rise. Roads keep mounting and curving to avoid
heavy grades, and foothills do not hide the Alps and the Mediterranean.
After escaping from Cannet, the outermost suburb, the road to Mougins
goes through a valley of oranges and roses. There are stone farmhouses
with thatched roofs and barns that give forth the smell of hay. There
are cows and chickens.

We were congratulating ourselves upon having given up the casino long
before we reached Mougins. We forgave the _cocher_ his exaggeration
about the workers in the rose fields. When one sees in paintings and
in the cinematograph pretty girls engaged in agricultural pursuits, it
is more than even money that they are models and actresses in disguise.
I am enthusiastic in my cult of the country, but I have never carried
it to the point of becoming ecstatic over country maidens. There must
be, of course, as many good-looking girls in the country as in the
city. But could a chorus of milkmaids to satisfy New York or Paris be
recruited outside New York or Paris?

When we reached the uncompromising stretch of road that led up to
Mougins, we took mercy upon the horses. The _cocher_ had not driven
them as slowly as he had promised. We walked