D W Samways
Published: 2013-09
Total Pages: 28
Get eBook
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 edition. Excerpt: ... mentone to-day. mentone is a town of some ten or twelve thousand inhabitants, situated in the south-east corner of France, on the border of Italy. The Italian frontier is, indeed, the eastern limit of Mentone, and is constantly being crossed and re-crossed in the walks and drives of its visitors. It is placed in latitude 43 45', and longitude 70 35' east of (Greenwich. Monte Carlo is but 5! miles to the west, and Nice some 11 miles further. Mentone practically includes the whole tract of land lying between the promontory of Cap Martin on the west and the Italian frontier on the east, with the exception of the small portion belonging to the adjacent little commune of Roquebrune. These two limits are its natural boundaries, for the promontory of Cap Martin is continued shorevvards and northwards into Mont Agel, which rises at once to a height of nearly 4,000 feet, and communicates continuously with other mountains of equal height still further inland. The Italian frontier is marked out by a high ridge of limestone rock, which, rising rapidly from the sea, and passing in a northerly direction, soon attains an elevation of 3,700 feet at the summit of Mont Berceau, and, with but little intermediate descent, passes continuously into the still higher mountain, the Grammont, of 4,520 feet. These two boundaries east and west of Mentone are joined towards the north by a succession of mountains roughly parallel to the coast, having a mean height of over 3,000 feet. Mentone is, therefore, sheltered on three sides by a horse-shoe range of mountains continuous with one another by connecting ridges. The only weak point of any moment in this line of defence is the col or pass of Castillon, which falls slightly short of 2,500 feet, thus lowering the...