tus Caesar as a naval station.

At Les Arcs we again approached the coast. The country as we drew nearer
Cannes is very interesting and romantic--great rocky glens and chasms,
with here and there glimpses of the beautiful Mediterranean. It was
about here that we first caught sight of the snow-crested Alps, forming
a grand and sublime background to the lovely scenery.

Many of the little towns _en route_ are finely and picturesquely
situated on the hill-side, overlooking great ravines. Their churches
perched on the highest pinnacle, the wonder being how their
congregations get to them! But probably many of them are only convents.

What very different lives people lead on this fair earth! What a
contrast between the inhabitants of a great city, with its wearing cares
and its exciting pleasures, and the dweller in these isolated, peaceful,
silent mountain homes! To some the latter life would be intolerable
while strength and human passion last; but these poor yet happy people,
being nearer to Nature, are often nearer also to Nature's God.

We now pass through groves of olive trees, whose sombre and silver
tinted foliage, and wonderfully gnarled and twisted trunks, give quite a
foreign tone to the landscape. Also the orange trees, with their green
and golden fruit and enchantingly fragrant white blossoms; and the
lordly palm, with its graceful outline clearly defined against the blue
sky.

It has frequently been a question with me which tree is the most useful
to man, especially in the east--the olive, bamboo, palm, or cocoa-nut.
The first carries my mind back to pleasant memories of the Holy Land and
Mount Olivet, where a single tree is said to bear fruit for more than a
thousand years. We know the fine and wholesome oil it yields. Its fruit
is used as food, and its beautifully grained wood is highly valued for
cabinet purposes. Then the bamboo, which, growing by the water-side, is
so refreshing to hear whispering in the breeze, is used for very many
purposes, being at once so light and strong; for carrying great burdens,
for aqueducts, house-building, musical instruments, and for numerous
other purposes and articles useful and ornamental; while the graceful
palm, or cocoa-nut, provides food, drink, clothing, and building
material. Each doubtless in its region and sphere is equally prized. But
the more we examine and understand the bountiful gifts of God for our
use and happiness, harmonizing so well with our needs, th