HOME OF REST FOR ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY AN OFFER FROM
MENTONE.
[TO PRI EDITOR OP PRA SPBCTATOR.°3 Slit,—It is a grand thing for a man to have seen the Riviera, its sea of sapphires and emeralds, its valleys and hilltop villages, and the beauty of its gardens. From Hylres to Genoa, every mile of the way is enchanted : and the enchant. went is most potent in April and May, when the roses are at the full fling of their extravagance, and the lemon-trees are heavy with gold, and the geraniums hang in masses of pink and scarlet, setting white walls aflame; and the fashionable people have gone away, and the ordinary man is made welcome to the Riviera in the height of its glory. That is the time for the sight which all of us long for, and many long in vain, and die without having seen palms, olives, pines, vines, cypresses, and roses enough to last them for the rest of their lives. If only one had the money to send some of them out to he made young again by the magic of the Riviera!
One would send them, of coarse, to Mentone. They should be allowed a day at Avignon: for the Palace of the Popes, emptied at last of French soldiers, and well restored, is of itself a holiday. And two days at Cannes: for they must see Grasse, and the Iles des Lerins. But Identone, above all places, is the place for them. The spirit of Mentcme is at peace with itself: it obeys the rule, Not too much f anything s there is stench of reserve in its prodigality, and of delicacy in its welcome. Not that it lags 'behind the other towns in the display of Casino, hotels, and lutoary-elicips; nor is it in any way dull, for it is next door to Monaco, and is on good calling-terms with that amazing little neighbour. Only, it has made up its mind to be temperate in its pleasures. Besides, it is a real seaside place: and, with rare wisdom, it forbids all motorists to spoil the best bit of its delightful sea-front. It has exercised no lees wisdom in the disposition of it public gardens, carrying them straight down, through the most precious part of its estate, from the Sospel valley to the sea: mountains at one end, music at the other. It has kept its railway well in the background of its life. And, best of all, there is the Annonciata:-- "Ille terrarum mihi praetor onanos
Angulus ridet"
The Annonciata is a hill, a hotel, and a little monastery : alLof them too good for words. The bill, beginning quietly with familiar plane-trees, rises to close-set terraces of vines and lemons. You walk up by a path which is all villas and little gardens, or you are carried up, by a funicular line, through a tangle of fruit and flowers, to one of the very best little hotels in the world. The air is cool, the hotel garden is fragrant with stocks and roses: and from this quiet garden there is such a view, and such a hillside walk, through a cloud of olive-woods, as very few of us deserve to have more than once.
The monastery, on the top of the hill, is beautiful in its outlines, and perfect in its position. Below it are vine- terraces. In front of it, looking toward the sea, is a wind- swept sunlit patch of ground, planted with mimosa, olives, eucalyptus, and cypresses : with a tall wooden cross, and steps down to the path to Mentone. The view is wonderful: and the whole place is silent. For the monastery is empty, locked up, abandoned under the Separation Order. The Franciscans have gone off into Italy: the word Claure, in big white letters, is painted on the door. You can get the keys from a near cottage, and go over the building. Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity have locked it up, squeezed the breath out of it, and packed off the Brothers. But the monastery building is private property : it belongs to If. Is Marquis de Monleon : some of his family are buried in the little chapel: and, from time to time, it is opened, and Mass is said there. The structure is in good repair; only a few windows broken: there is an ample kitchen, a refectory, and good dormitories. The building is thoroughly habitable : and the owner offers it, rent free, to any body of Roman Catholics who will maintain it as a house of religion, and as a Home of Rest for their clergy.
One has only to think of the work in the slums of our cities, the heartache and the grind of it. From that, to come straight—you can come very cheap, if you know how—to the Annonciata, to sit among eypresses and mimosa, and just look at the view. The quiet and the beauty of the place are perfect: it is seven hundred feet above the sea : and the funicular line is close at hand. Even in July, at that height, the place is not too hot to be delightful. It would be a fine change, for some overworked or broken-down man, to have a month's rest here. The offer of this monastery is made to any body of Roman Catholics, in any country : the building is fit for immediate occupancy : and the owner is resident in Mentone. It would not cost much, to mend some breakages, and clean up the empty rooms, and provide the ordinary comforts. A vast amount of money from England is merely wasted on the Riviera: a hundred pounds, or more, on this plan for a Home of Rest at Mentone, would not be wasted.— I am, Si,-, &e., STEPHEN PAGET. 21 La,dbroke Square, London, W.
[Why should not the Roman Catholic clergy of the diocese of Westminster form themselves into a Co-operative Society in order to take advantage of this offer ?—En. Spectator.]
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