"Then I turned away in sadness, from these gay and thoughtless lays, Longing for my own dear country, and the voice of prayer and praise."
Leaving Marseilles--Toulon--Hyères--Fréjus--Coast scenery--The Hotel Windsor--An unexpected meeting, and a pleasant walk--Isles de Lerins --The Mediterranean--Defective drainage--Mosquitos and Nocturnal Pianos --Christmas Day--Cannes--The Pepper tree--The English cemetery--Antibes --Miscalled Health Resorts--Grasse--Orange blossoms--Leaving Cannes.
The _mistral_ blew us away from Marseilles, which we left on the afternoon of the 25th by the two o'clock train for Cannes. The route lay through rocky defiles, with numerous tunnels, for we were cutting through the promontories on the sea coast, of which we occasionally caught magnificent glimpses.
Of Toulon, the great naval arsenal of France, we saw but little as we passed quickly through its suburbs. Here it was that Napoleon, then a young lieutenant-colonel of artillery, first made his mark in the capture of the place by storm from the English in 1793. Englishmen, however, do not forget that it was accomplished only after a long and stubborn defence of its garrison, consisting of only a tenth of the storming party.
The little islands off Hyères look like gems in the clear dark sea. They were known in ancient times as the Stoechades, signifying "the arranged" islands, a name indicative of their position in a line from east to west. The town of Hyères seems tempting enough as a place of quiet residence, but the air is very unhealthy from the marshes in the vicinity.
So far our journey has been pretty close to the sea, but now we quitted the coast for a time, winding through the Montagnes des Maures, with an endless succession of tunnels, yet still obtaining frequent peeps at the coast scenery.
At Fréjus we were greatly pleased at the beautiful ruins of the ancient Roman amphitheatre, quite close to the station: the railway being on a viaduct here enabled us to get a good view, looking downwards. This amphitheatre, though not nearly so large as the coliseum at Rome, is far more perfect. This was the port where, in 1799, Napoleon landed on his return from Egypt; and from whence, fifteen years later, he embarked when banished to Elba. Fréjus was the ancient _Forum Julii_ established by Augustus Cæsar as a naval station.