e poor little birds, but also to those who miss their grateful
song of joy and praise.

We had a pleasant carriage excursion to Monte Carlo, by the Corniche
road, starting one brilliant morning soon after breakfast. Leaving
Mentone behind us, we commenced the circuit of the cliff road, which
gradually got higher and higher, occasionally passing through olive
plantations, and then suddenly emerging from their sombre shade to the
dazzling bright sea once more; then we doubled a finely wooded
promontory, almost a sheer precipice, catching a glimpse of the
beautiful little circling bays sparkling in the abyss below; sometimes
passing sharp curves in the road, which required very skilful driving,
there being but a low wall--and that partly broken in many places--to
divide us from a fall of about sixty feet! Still ascending, we gained
the summit of the first fine headland (I believe, the highest point),
and from thence had a most entrancing outlook. On the extreme left, a
lovely retrospective and bird's-eye view of charming Mentone; the towns
and little villages on the distant shore as far as Bordighera; dimpling
in the glowing sunshine, and before us, the long stretch of inimitable
blue sea, with just a feathery ripple on the golden sandy shores below,
winding in and out in a series of tiny bays and creeks; while beyond us,
like a realized dream of Paradise, lay the beautiful plague-spot of the
Riviera--the town of Monte Carlo, nested amid luxuriant gardens of
semi-tropical foliage, the mosque-like minarets and cupolas of the
casino standing boldly out on the heights and glittering in the sun.
Beyond this, another fine bay and promontory, on the summit of which
stands the Castle of Monaco; and below, surrounded by groves and
gardens, the town and principality of Monaco, with roads stretching out,
leading towards Villafranca and Nice.

I had seen Constantinople, Madeira, and many other parts of this fair
earth of ours, but I do not remember anything that compares with this
bit of Italian coast scenery, which I think is surely the loveliest in
the world.

Dismissing our carriage, we walked through Monte Carlo to Monaco, and
ascended to the palace of the prince. It stands on the summit of a bold
headland, surrounded by fortifications, from which we had another
splendid view. One can readily see how fair and beautiful a place, full
of the sweetest harmonies of nature, and filling the human heart with a
grateful sense of God's