and the plateau at its top is barren and rocky, though the
short tufty thyme and myrtle grow in great abundance, to the delight
of the sheep and bees. The view obtained hence is amongst the most
beautiful in the world. Facing you is the deep blue Thyranean Sea,
sparkling with sails, and often on a clear day with the hazy outline
of the island of Corsica distinctly visible on its horizon. To the
right lies Nice, with all her domes, towers, churches, hotels, quays
and the interminable line of her palatial villas traced out as in a
map. Then range after range of mountains of every shape and nature,
grass grown, rocky, forest-covered, barren, rise one above the other
until the mists of distance alone efface them from sight. Along the
coast of France can be counted, from this point, not less than fifteen
separate bays and as many peninsulas and capes. Wherever the eye
lingers it is sure to discover enchanting districts--gardens of
surpassing loveliness, where grow groves of orange and lemon trees
white with blossom or golden with fruit; stately palms of many
varieties; the two-leaved eucalyptus; rose-bushes whose flowers are
far more numerous than their leaves; magnolia and camellia trees
capable of producing a thousand flowers; villas of Venetian, English,
Swiss, Italian, and Oriental architecture. Here by the sea is one of
such perfectly classical appearance that every moment one expects to
see issue from its marble peristyle the gracefully shaped Ione, Julia
or Lydia; there is a sweet little cottage, half buried in banksia
roses, which might have been transported from the Branch, Cape May or
the Isle of Wight. But if the view to your right is beautiful for its
luxuriant fertility, that to the left surpasses it in grandeur. Below
you is the pretty village of Villefranche, with its old church
and forts half hidden amongst the palms, which, together with the
innumerable aloe-plants of colossal proportions, give the scene a
truly African character. Villefranche reflects herself and her palms
upon the surface of the most mirror-like of bays, for even in the
stormiest weather no ripple stirs its waters--waters so deep that
the largest ships of war can anchor in them close to the shore.
The American frigates cruising in the Mediterranean usually make
Villefranche their winter resort, and the stately presences of the
Richmond, Plymouth, Shenandoah and Juniata are often to be seen here,
giving life to a scene which otherwise would