232 STE. MARGUERITE. 



this island and that the Ligurian pirates offered up sacri- 

 fices there. There is a legend which connects the name 

 of Ste. Marguerite, which the island now bears, with the 

 sister of St. Honoratus. It relates how, longing ver-s' 

 much to see her brother. Marguerite came to Lerina and 

 fell at his feet. The rules of the Order prohibited the 

 presence of women at Lerina, so St. Honoratus took his 

 sister to the island of Lero. where she abode and became 

 Abbess. Marguerite bid her brother farewell under a 

 cherrv tree in full bloom and he had to promise that he 

 would go and see her as often as the tree blossomed. 

 The hoh' Abbess pra^■ed so effectiveh- that the cherry 

 tree blossomed every month! 



In the }'car 1869 monks again inhabited the monastery 

 of St. Honorat. The see of Frejus had accjuired this 

 monaster\- in the ^-ear 1839. and ten years later sent 

 Cistercians thither. These monks are clothed in white 

 with black caps, black girdles and scapularies. Women 

 re not permitted to enter the monaster^', but the^' do 

 not lose much b}- this, for scarcely anything remains of 

 the older parts of the building, and the church is of 

 quite recent origin. The castle erected bevond the 

 monastery on the sea shore has far wider claims to 

 interest, and ladies are not prohibited from visiting it. 

 It is a strong building of cut stone that has defied the 

 ravages of time. Pierced hv but few windows and battle- 

 mented, it distinctl}- shows the purpose for ^hich it was 

 originally built. Seen from some distance this gre^' castle 

 stands out strikingly from the sea and the violet back- 

 ground of the Esterel mountains ; the dark green Pine 



a 



