2')6 THE VAR VALLEY. 



earh' in the season, in an^' case not before the 

 commencement of April, as the heights onlv then 

 begin to deck tliemselves witli their green spring 

 co\'ering. We soon reach tire valley' of the ^"ar, in whose 

 pebbh- bed there are generalh- onh- narrow channels of 

 water. This view is not exacth- line, but the eye is at 

 once attracted b\- the background of mountains — those 

 might\' snow peaks that tower be\'ond the gorge through 

 which the ^'ar llo\^'S. The\' stand in line, the Cairc 

 Cougourda, Caire Agnel, Cima Giranda, and all the 

 other giants of the Maritime Alps. In the foreground, 

 on steep heights, the gre\' villages of Carros, Bonson and 

 Gatticres keep watch over tlie ^'alle'\-, looking as if tliev 

 had been placed there to enhance the romantic beautA' 

 of the landscape. To the West the mighty rock of Baou 

 de St. Jeannet forms a frame to the picture. With this 

 scene before us we reach Colomars where the line divides. 

 One branch continues on the left bank of the Var, the 

 other crosses it and turns up towards Grasse. Here the 

 rail at once begins to ascend steepl)' and the scenery grows 

 grander as we proceed. Now in the far distance to the 

 east the snowy crest of the Cima du Gelas, 10,.V=iO feet 

 high, dominates the scene. The massive cliff of the Baou 

 de St. Jeannet looms larger the nearer we approach. It 

 is as conspicuous a feature of the landscape here as the 

 Tete de Chien in the Monaco district. To tlie south-east 

 of St. Jeannet, and visible from afar, -lie the ruins of a 

 castle, called bv the people "The Witches' Castle". It 

 was once a "Commanderie" of the Knights Templar, 

 and its massive wedls still defy the ravages of time. At 



