skirts one side of the garden and adds so much to its picturesqueness ; but 

 a more convenieat road has of late years been brought along the flank of 

 the hill, and so up through the olive-yards. 



The older casino, built possibly some two hundred years ago, belongs 

 to that charming and simple type which is to be met with anywhere 

 between Cannes and Spezia ; it is a class of house which continued to be 

 built on this coast until about fifty years ago, when its place was usurped 

 by the pretentious suburban villa of the Parisian architect. With little 

 architectural pretension, it depends for its effect solely upon its good 

 proportions and broad masses. A deep cornice, below the parapet, 

 shades the upper windows ; some scrolls and curves break the sky-line 

 above, with urns or finials at the corners ; but beyond that there is 

 nothing to break the flat surface. 



These comparatively plain buildings were probably intended to be 

 frescoed in patterns more or less elaborate, as is still frequently done 

 beyond the Italian frontier. In fact, till quite recently, this casino was 

 decorated with plain panels, painted in two shades of that beautiful warm 

 red which was once so common around Genoa and Savona, and with 

 other simple embellishments about the doors and windows. 



Into the architectural features scattered about the garden, a pleasant 

 scheme of colour, cream white with red and ochre, was also carried, and 

 this had been toned into exquisite harmony with its surroundings by 

 exposure to sun and rain. 



The outlook from the upper windows of the house is most delightful. 

 The garden, with its quaint mingling of flowers and statues, lies before 

 you, flanked on either hand by fine groups of stone pine and cypress. 

 Beyond, often enveloped in a kindly mist, is the town of Nice with its 

 Chateau (the ancient Arx) standing out against the sea as a prominent 

 feature in the landscape ; while, to right and left, running down to the 

 sea, in which they lose themselves, are those spurs of the Alps which 

 give such character and variety to this lovely coast. 



The terrace adjoining the house is some seventy paces by twenty-five, 

 and is laid out with four plots placed end to end. These are bright 

 with flowers ; pansies of all shades, great scarlet and white poppies with 

 their lovely grey foliage, iris purple and pale blue, pelargoniums, 



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