Hyères

“ But then, I am bound to acknowledge that there are not many such in the neighborhood of our much-loved Hyères, and that, on the whole, the simple little place has far less beauty to recommend it than many of the towns along the Riviera. Its great merit for invalids arises from the air being a good deal softer than at most of the sea-coast resorts of the sick. Mary could sit out for hours in the open air at Hyères, when at Cannes, and even at San Remo, she could only have driven in a close carriage ”

“ At Hyères the Maurette rises as a natural screen, facing the sun, banking out the north wind, with the crau of the Gapeau on one side, and the bed of the Gapeau on the other; and of course, those who go to the South for shelter would naturally, one would suppose, keep the screen between themselves and the Mistral. ”

“ Hyères is the first reached in travelling eastwards of the great health resorts of the Riviera. It stands on the southern slope of a hill facing the sea, which is visible at a distance of about three miles off. The rocky summit of the hill is crowned with the ruins of an ancient castle, from which the steep and narrow streets of the old town radiate downwards. The town was formerly surrounded with walls, which have now been removed, and the space converted into a wide promenade, on which flourish the palms, oranges, and other tropical plants for which Hyères is famous. ”

“ The principal towns are Toulon, La Seyne, Hyères, Draguignan, its political capital, Brignoles and Fréjus. There are a number of mines (chiefly iron and coal) in the department, and salt is extracted from the marshes near Hyeres, while there are manufactories of pottery and extensive vineyards. La Seyne is the principal centre of industrial activity. Cut flowers are largely exported from Hyères. In 1901 the population of the department was 326,384. ”

“ The ILes de Hyères are a detached portion of the crystalline rocks of the Montagnes des Maures. Their climatic condition is very different from that of Hyères, as they are exposed to the sweep of every wind. They are bleak and uninviting. The only inhabitants are fishermen, Customs-officers, and the lighthouse men.
On L'Ile du Levant was a reformatory for young criminals, started by M. de Pourtalès, but it came to a disastrous end. ”

“ Down to Hyères we floated again, on the wings of the Aigle, I looking longingly across the valley where the [Pg 83] old town climbed a citadeled hill, and lay down at the foot of a sturdy though crumbling castle. If this were really my own tour, as I am trying to play it is, I would have commanded a long stop at Costebelle, to make explorations of the region round about. I can imagine no greater joy than to be able to stay at beautiful places as long as one wished, and to keep on doing beautiful things till one tired of doing them. ”

“ The Provençal natives of Hyères had little liking for the foreigners who thronged their town, but did not molest them, and ladies walked about freely in the lovely neighbourhood, so that Honor had no scruple in sending out her charges, unaccompanied except by Lieschen, in case the two others might wish to dispose of Maria, while they engaged in some pursuit beyond her powers. ”

“ In 1586 the town of Hyères was staunch in its [91] adherence to the king, but the castle that commanded it was occupied by the forces of the Baron de Méolhon, who was also Governor of the Port of Marseilles, and he was a Carcist, and inclined to favour the claims of the Duke of Savoy. He had placed a Captain Merle in the castle, with secret instructions to hold it for the duke.
M. de la Valette was Governor of Provence, and he saw himself obliged to make an attempt to take the castle. ”

“ This and the Hotel des Ambassadeurs, in the centre of the small town, are considered comfortable and more moderate.
Hyères is considered less costly than any of the other important places in the Riviera, regarding it as within the Riviera, which perhaps, strictly speaking, it is not. I believe it may be considered to be about 2 francs per day less than Mentone for corresponding accommodation and pension, and in all probability the reason for this is that it is not usually thought so attractive. The town itself is most uninviting. ”

“ As far as Meounes the road traverses a picturesque country (p. 129) , to Collobrières by La Crau and Pierrefeu (p. 130) .
xvii Steamer to La Seyne (pp. 124, 127) , to St. Mandrier (p. 127) , to the Iles d’Hyères or d’Or (pp. 124, 131) .
The Iles d’Or. Porquerolles, Port-Cros, Ile du Levant 131
Toulon to Hyères 132
Hyères. Hotels, cabs, drives, stage-coaches, excursions, productions, climate 133
Hyères to Les Salins, La Plage and the peninsula of Giens (p. 140) ; to Carqueyranne by Pomponiana (p. 141) ; to Bormes and Lavandou (p. 142) ; by coach to St. Tropez (p. 134) ”

“ Certainly call upon me, sir. I lodge in Mount Street with my sister—No. 16."
"I protest, madam, you are too good—"
"Again, no. I have told you, I like a man to talk as a man and not as an affected woman. I shall be pleased to welcome you."
She curtsied and went away on the Viscount's arm.
At the same moment a voice at Richard's elbow drawled:
"Do I see you at the vivacious widow's feet, my good Dick?"
Carstares turned to face his brother-in-law, Colonel Belmanoir.
"Is not all London?" he smiled.
"Oh, no! Not since the beautiful Gunnings' arrival. But I admit she is a dainty piece. And Lavinia? ”

“ Hyder returned to Seringapatam, which he had made his capital, and had strongly fortified, and he thence conducted an expedition against Malabar, which he conquered, and put the chiefs to death to make his hold of it the more secure. It is unnecessary to go minutely into the history of the next few years. Hyder organised an army of 100,000 men, officered by Frenchmen, and sometimes in confederation with the Nizam of the Deccan, sometimes in conjunction with the Mahrattas of the Western Ghauts, waged perpetual war on the English. ”

“ This Hyrax capensis, if it be not actually the same species as the Hyrax abyssinicus, is certainly very closely allied to it. It extends all over South Africa, from the south beyond the Zambesi; it generally selects rocky heights for its habitat; and, having once settled, it is extremely tenacious of its abode, not deserting it even though a farm or a village be established below. ”

“ They were as ambitious, and far more greedy of money than the heathen that they pretended to despise for their heathenism. They ought to have set a better example—but they did not. There never was a people that grasped more convulsively at dominion, or were less scrupulous in the means of obtaining it. They declared Hyder cruel and perfidious. He knew them to be both. This was the ground on which they stood. There were reasons why the English should avoid interfering with Hyder. ”

“ To Hyder’s palace high and low came, inquiring of me the nature of the Christian doctrine, so that I could speak as long as my strength allowed. Hyder’s younger son (not Tippoo) , seeing me in the Durbar or hall of audience, saluted me in a friendly manner and invited me to pay him a visit in his own apartments. I told him I would come most cheerfully, provided his father would give permission, since to do so, without his consent, might prove injurious both to himself and to me. Of this he was perfectly aware. Even the most intimate friends do not venture to speak their mind freely. ”

“ There, helped by other fugitive Christians, he began to clear away the primeval forest, and founded the castle and town which bear his name.
Gruyère thus became the cradle of a new race, which, constantly increasing in wealth and power, soon ruled over a vast extent of land peopled by many vassals. The Counts of Gruyère were in general good masters; and the land, carefully tilled by their dependants, grew more and more productive, until many villages dotted the country, while the tinkle of cow-bells was heard for miles around. ”

“ He is always associated with his brother Trophonius as a wonderful architect, the constructor of underground shrines and grottos for the reception of hidden treasure. When building a treasure-house for Hyrieus, the brothers fixed one of the stones in the wall so that they could remove it whenever they pleased, and from time to time carried off some of the treasure. Hyrieus thereupon set a trap in which Agamedes was caught; Trophonius, to prevent discovery, cut off his brother’s head and fled with it. He was pursued by Hyrieus, and swallowed up by the earth in the grove of Lebadeia. ”

“ Carstares opened the door and they entered.
"Then will you accept this in token of my regard, sir?"
Mr. Chilter gazed at the emerald ring that glowed and winked at him from the palm of my lord's hand. He looked up into the blue eyes and stammered a little.
"Indeed, sir—I—I—"
"'Tis honestly come by!" pleadingly. "Come, Mr. Chilter, you'll not hurt my feelings by refusing? You will keep it in remembrance of a man—a fat man, Mr. Chilter—who rudely jerked you on to the road?" ”

“ About fourteen different kinds of hyrax are known, some of which are found in Africa, and the others in Arabia, Syria, and Palestine. They all live in rocky districts high up on the sides of mountains, a great number making their burrows close to one another, just as rabbits do in a warren. They are very active and sure of foot, and scamper up and down the sides of the rocks with the greatest ease. ”

“ Hyder had now the justest reason to term them perfidious, and to hold them in distrust. Yet, though deeply exasperated by this treachery, he would in 1778 most willingly have renewed his alliance with them; and the presidency of Madras acknowledged their belief that, had not the treaty of 1769 been evaded, Hyder would never have sought other allies than themselves.19 There were the strongest reasons why they should have cultivated an amicable union with him, both to withdraw him from the French, and on account of his own great power and revenues. ”

“ One of the hunters that day had brought home a hyrax from the rocky hillside where he had been hunting, and that may have been what reminded the Alo Man of the story. The hyrax is a little beast about as big as a rabbit and something like one, but with ears like a guinea pig; and although neither the story-teller nor his listeners knew it, he is a very distant cousin of the rhinoceros, the elephant, and the other thick-skinned animals. But he [Pg 144] has no tusks or horns, and he wears a coat of grayish-brown fur, and hides in holes among the rocks. ”

“ An elder brother, who like himself was early turned out into the world to seek his own fortune, rose to command a brigade in the Mysore army, while Hyder, who never learned to read or write, passed the first years of his life aimlessly in sport and sensuality, sometimes, however, acting as the agent of his brother, and meanwhile acquiring a useful familiarity with the tactics of the French when at the height of their reputation under Dupleix. ”

“ The destruction of the Grey Friars' monastery took place in the lifetime of Robert Herrick, who was born in 1540; and the events connected with it must have been fresh in the recollection of his contemporaries; yet, in 1612, he does not appear to have been aware of the tradition which had been published for the first time by Speed in the previous year, or, if so, he had evidently no faith in it. We cannot do better than follow his example. ”

“ So spoke Hans Von Bloom. It was bold language for so young a naturalist!
It is true there was much reason in his holding to the opinion that the hyrax is no pachyderm. Its habits are so unlike those of the thick-skinned brutes—its mode of life so different from that of a rhinoceros.
Its habits are very simple, and can be told in a few words. It is gregarious; dwells upon the mountains, and in the most rocky places; makes its den in the crevices and caves that are found there, steals forth to eat or bask in the sun; runs timidly and with a shy suspicious look ”

“ In the context it is not intended to enter into a description of the different plants or of the localities in which they may most commonly be found, but merely to enumerate some of the more important ones; and in the following list all those inhabitants of the district, which are likely to interest the student of Botany or lover of Nature, are arranged in their various groups or orders:—
The River Wyre rises in the hills of Wyersdale and Bleasdale ”

“ Heliers, a delight to the quiet eye.
The people of the island had been good to her and her dead husband during the two short years of their married life, and had caused her to love the land which necessity made her home. Her child was brought up after the fashion of the better class of Jersey children, wore what they wore, ate what they ate, lived as they lived. She spoke the country patois in the daily life, teaching it to Guida at the same time that she taught her pure French and good English, which she herself had learned as a child, and cultivated later here. ”

“ The friars noticed that he had only one eye, and that it was in his forehead.
"In the name of God, who are you?" said a man of the friars.
"I am Crinnawn, son of Belore, of the Evil Eye. Let there be no fear on ye, I shall do ye no damage, for ye are courageous, good men. The people who were here are gone to eternal rest, body and soul. I know that ye are poor, and that there are plenty of poor people round about ye. Here are two purses for ye, one of them for yourselves, and the other one to divide upon the poor ”