New-York tribune., 1882-03-06


position of the driver. For my part having gone on
by rail from Marseilles through Nice, to Mentone'
drove back from the latter town TO Nice by the
Cornice, and on a subsequent day took carriage
for the second stage of the route that from Mentono
to San Remo-thus beginning as 1t were IN the iniu
die. and proceeding to each end In turn Inc west
ern, or Nice-and- -Mentone section, is ncomparaDly
more beautiful than the other; is indeed, by com
mon consent, the Cornice par excellence; and
think that some of its most impressive enects can
only be enjoyed by taking it IN reverse as dlu'
The road leaves Mentone by an avenue Oh piahe
trees, of great height and hoary age, and passes
through a grove of magnificent olives, so mighty
and venerable that it seems not very extravagant
fancy TO think of them as having looked down upon
the march of the Roman soldiers along the VIA
Aureliana which highway may still be followed
under their spreading branches. Then the Cormce
begins TO ascend but out Of the face OF the nils,
which have seldom slope of less than forty-ive de-
grees and often are nearly perpendicular, at one
moment it looks out upon the sea and the next 1t
hangs over savage and sunless abyss as III turns
sharply up one Of the numerous mountain ravlnes,
crossing the head of the gorge by an arch
of masonry. and seeking the coast
again by the opposite flank The ascent
is almost without break, but the road Is so well
made and the grade easy that decent pair OF
horses can keep up pace of five miles an hour
without distress. The old town of Roccabruna,
the drown hil-fort" or Roquebrune. as they are
learning to call 1t under the French domination,
occupies curious mass of breccia on the dizzy edge
of a ravine 700 feet above the sea, and 200 feet
above the Cornce road. l say that 1t occupies }"
the breccia, and l know of no word which more
ftlv expresses tie use which the town has made OF
the gigantic blocks of conglomerate almost rec
tanrular in shape, and hardly distinguish
able at little distance from pies
of masonry The houses are built on IT, ana
bnilt against it, and built around II in the most ex-
traordinary manner, and hugo detached Jumps OF
II stand in the tange of dark lanes and squahd
hou ses as If they were basions of some outlandlsh
fortress-an effect rather heightened by the conspc
uous ruins of an old castle OH top of everything.
1t is just after mounting the promontory OF Cape ST.
Martin, which bounds the coast view from Mentone
toward the west, that turn corner and come
suddenly upon this remarkable town; and almost
M the same time prospect of singular beauty
opens ON the seaward side. Behind Men,
tone is visible over the point OF land,
and in the distance Bordighera basks In
the sunlight looking as it always does afar, but
never anear like charming ridge of cream-colored
houses and towers jutting into the blue sea- Down
below u.s. In the most picturesque of all possible po-
sitons lies the disreputable little principality OF
Monaco The town, the palace and the fortress,
huddled together upon a rock. seem to rise out OF
the Mediterranean. A narrow neck connects them
with the mainland, and at the base of the penin-
sula are the fairylike gardens. the palms. the ter
races the casno the gaudy theatre. the restaurants
and hotels and villas of the great gambling estab-
lishment of Monte Carlo, from which his
Serene Highness, the hereditary Prince,
derives his handsome income. The descent from our
point of view of this exquisite spot is hardly prach-
cable except for donkeys and English pedestrians;
but there is shore road to Nice branching oil
from the Cornice the other side of Roccabruna, by
which carriages can reach nearly all places of inter
est on the coast.
There Is a bold mountain prominence beyond
Monaco rising almost straight from the to a
height of 600 feet, and called the Dogs Head or
Tete de Chen. Inever could find the supposed re-
semblance to dog but that perhaps is not remark
able if the explanation of local antiquaries is cor
rect that cheR in the patOis of the country is can
and that can is only corruption of camp the summit
taking its name from the fact that the tete du camp
or headquarters of a French army, was planted on
it during one of the marches of the first Napoleon.
Here the Conice leaves the coast, and crosses the
mountain at distance of mile inland just where
the itineraries of the ancient Aurelian Road placed
the boundary between Italy and Gaul On this
spot according TO tradition, Augustus decisive
victory over the Ligurian tribes. On this spot, at
anv rate, he built an architectural monument to
commemorate the victory; the name of the existing
village of Turbia is a corruption of 7rophGa
August: and the ruins of the trophy itself are
visible from miles away. Only the massive base
ment of the old Roman work remains; and
on that stands a huge tower of the fourteenth
century, tumbling to destruction. but saved for a
while by modern repairs. Fragments of the Angus
tan monument have been traced to many queer
places 1t furnished material for building not only
the medieval tower but the houses of Turbia and
the ramparts which that village raised against the
Saracens it yielded cut-stOne for the church of
Monaco marble for the cathedral altar of Nice, and
slabs for the decoration of GenOese palaces and
bits of Ii are exhibited at st. Germain -en-Laye
and at Copenhagen. mile or two beyond Turbia
the Cornce reaches its greatest elevation, 21OOfect
above the sea- It is a desollte and wind-swept re-
gon on this exposed height: Alpe Summa, the sum-
init of the Maritime Alps, the Romans
called it; and the tops of the snow peaks
are seen among the mountains which stretch
away landward to the horizon. The road soon
turns TO the edge of the hits Overhanging the coast
and descends by course somewhat less tOrtuous
than its ascent, but not less rich in surprising
changes Half way down gorge a sugar loaf
rock and on the rock is the queereSt and most in
convenient of fortified towns, whose houses are so
compact and whose lanes narrow that il is
difficult TO separate from the mass the individuality
of any one building This is Eza. and report, which
it may be prudent to weigh carefully before accept
ing, declares that it built by the Phocaans and
that its name is corruption of Isis the tuelar god
dess of the temple whose ruins may be traced on
the summit of the rock
The proofs of Roman occupation are more satisfac
tory for inscriptions and other tangible rebcs are
produced to vouch for it, Later it was a haunt of
the Saracen pirates, and for this destiny nature
would seem to have especially adapted it. The lit
tle oman hay in front of it, called oddly enough the