24 BORDIGHERA. 



are about 20 of them (not t\\elve ^s the poet says) 

 iTrouped round an old well, and their position in this 

 wild, solitary spot washed b\' the sea wa\'es ma^' indeed 

 inspire the wanderer with poetic sentiments. The de- 

 scription of this place sketched in the "Motifs artistiques 

 de Bordighera" by Charles Garnicr, Architect of the 

 Grand Opera at Paris and of the Casino at Monte Carlo, 

 sho\\-s that not onh" German g-enius has been inspired 

 here. The style of the description is certainly rather 

 tlo\ver)- and reminds one of those florid decorations 

 which adorn his magnificent buildings. "This is the 

 place (he writes) which you should ^'isit, ye Artists; 

 this is the spot which a'ou must see, ^-e Poets: this is 

 the nonk which must hold \ou spell-bound, all }-e who 

 seek for li\'ing and ^■i^•id impressions, and who feel that 

 the pulse beats higher in the contemplation of Natm'e. 

 Sliould recollections of the East be awakened within 

 1,'ou when \oa wander in Old Bordighera and its sur- 

 roundings, think not that aou are standing there before 

 a comparison, nor ^-et before a resemblance. No! all 

 Judaea is embodied in this impression. 1 here is the 

 well of the \\oman of Samaria, or of 'Rebecca ; those are 

 the Jews, the Apostles: Jerusalem, Nazareth, T^ethlehem 

 lie before ^'0u on that modest promontory of Bordi- 

 ghera". The storm-lashed Date Palms round this old 

 well ^\ ith the ne\'er-to-be-forgotten background of sea, 

 ha\'e supplied innumerable painters witli subjects for 

 impressi\e pictures. 



There was much excitement in artistic circles when 

 it became known that the place had been bought by 



