church of St. Barth616my below, upon the city of Nice, and, beyond the 

 city, the blue waters of the Mediterranean sea." 



Since this was written, many changes have taken place in the old 

 garden, and not for the better, especially during the last few years. The 

 Fountain of Venus has been daubed over with common blue, and white- 

 wash has been applied with lavish hands to all the garden ornaments ; 

 while good trees and plants have been grubbed up to make way for 

 more palms and " fir-trees." A few more years and it will have sunk to 

 a level with all the other hotel gardens on the Riviera, and, as the 

 landlord says, " the visitors will like it much better." 



The granddaughter of the Commendatore, whom the writer met on 

 his last visit to the Villa Arson, writes : " The Villa was bought by my 

 grandfather, Commendatore Pierre Joseph Arson de St. Joseph, and is 

 one of the oldest in Nice. The east building was added by my father 

 in 1863 with the intention of letting it to the King of Bavaria. He 

 used to come in the evenings of April and May to visit my mother with 

 friends, she receiving on the garden terraces by moonlight. I remember 

 it all so well as a child. I used to sit in a tree with my brother Rene and 

 ♦watch the gay company. But just as the house was finished Maximilian 

 died, and the year after my father died also. The King and Queen of 

 Savoy, Carlo Felice and Maria Cristina visited my grandparents. Great 

 night fetes were given, and we have the jewels they left to my grand 

 father, consisting of a gold snufF-box with the Queen's initials in 

 diamonds and a necklace of amethysts and sapphires. Garibaldi came there 

 in 1855, assisting at my sister's baptism in the chapel, to whom he left 

 the flag he had carried in the American War. He came as President of 

 the ' Societe de Secours mutuel,' and the Society swore loyalty to my 

 tiny sister. Many of great name, princes, poets, painters, sculptors, 

 musicians, statesmen, have visited the dear old house. I remember well 

 Alphonse Karr, the French writer and critic, a great friend of my father. 

 He was the first in Nice to cultivate his flowers for sale, the pioneer of 

 the present floral trade of the Riviera. Lord Bulwer Lytton wrote one 

 , of his best novels in the garden under the big cypress tree. My grand- 

 father was a Freemason and wished to be buried in the garden, but his 

 remains are now in sacred ground." 



145 T 



