At dawn, a vision of Corsica grows from
the sea. The island lies eighty miles away, but one can trace the
dark strip of irregular peaks glowing amid the gold and purple of the
rising sun. If the air is clear and bright, the snows and overvaulting
clouds which crown its mountains shine all day, and glitter like an
apparition in the bright blue sky. 'Phantom fair,' half raised above
the sea, it stands, as unreal and transparent as the moon when seen in
April sunlight, yet not to be confounded with the shape of any cloud.
If Mentone speaks of Greek legends, and San Romolo restores the
monastic past, we feel ourselves at Bordighera transported to the
East; and lying under its tall palms can fancy ourselves at Tyre or
Daphne, or in the gardens of a Moslem prince.
Note.--Dec. 1873. My old impressions are renewed and confirmed
by a third visit, after seven years, to this coast. For purely
idyllic loveliness, the Cornice is surpassed by nothing in
the South. A very few spots in Sicily, the road between
Castellammare and Amalfi, and the island of Corfu, are its
only rivals in this style of scenery. From Cannes to Sestri is
one continuous line of exquisitely modulated landscape beauty,
which can only be fully appreciated by travellers in carriage
or on foot.
* * * * *
_AJACCIO_
It generally happens that visitors to Ajaccio pass over from the
Cornice coast, leaving Nice at night, and waking about sunrise to find
themselves beneath the frowning mountains of Corsica.
Pages:
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133