St. Maximin.
On this branch line, 12 m. W. from Brignoles, is [St. Maximin], 1043 ft. above the sea, pop. 3400. Inns: H. du Var; France. The church of this ancient town was commenced by Charles II. of Sicily towards the end of the 13th cent, over the underground chapel of St. Maximin, 1st cent. It has no transept. The nave is 239½ ft. long and 91½ ft. high, and the aisles on each side 211 ft. long and 58 ft. high. The width of the church is 127½ feet. The exterior is ugly and unfinished. The interior of the roof rests on triple vaulting shafts rising from 10 piers on each side of the nave. Above the western entrance is a large and fine-toned organ, which was saved from destruction by the organist Fourcade playing upon it the Marseillaise. The case, the pulpit, and the lovely screen of the sanctuary are of walnut wood from the forest of Ste. Baume. Few parts of any church present such an admirable combination of beauty, elegance, and symmetry as this sanctuary, by a Flemish monk, Frère Louis, in 1692. Round the screen are 20 sculptured panels, each bearing within a wreath a representation in relief of one of the incidents in the life of some celebrated member of the order of St. Dominic. Under them are 92 stalls in 4 rows; at one end is the rood-loft, and at the other the high altar against the apsidal wall. The entrance is by one door on each side, adorned with chaste sculpture and spiral colonnettes. To the left, or N. of the altar, is a relief by Puget (?) in marble, representing the Ascension of Mary Magdalene, and on the other side, in terra-cotta, Mary receiving the Communion from St. Maximin down in the crypt where she died. The reredos of the altar at the east end of the N. aisle consists of a painting on wood by an Italian artist in 1520. In the centre is a large Crucifixion, and on each side 8 paintings on panels representing the Passion. Below, on the table of the altar, is an Entombment. In the second chapel from this is another reredos in the same style, representing St. Laurent, St. Anthony, St. Sebastian, and St. Aquinius. Here, in a small window-like recess, is a very ancient iron Crucifixion. From the chapel behind the pulpit is the entrance into the cloister and convent, 13th and 14th
cents. The sculpture above the sound-board of the pulpit is of one piece, and represents the Ascension of Mary Magdalene. The undulating fluting on the panels and the sculpture on the railing are very graceful. Behind is the stair down to the crypt in which Mary Magdalene died after having swallowed a consecrated wafer given her by St. Maximin. Her body was afterwards put into the elaborately-carved alabaster sarcophagus on the left side of the altar. The marble sarcophagus next it contained some bones of the Innocents Mary is said to have brought with her from Palestine. Opposite Mary’s is the marble sarcophagus of St. Maximin, 1st cent., and then follow the sarcophagi, also in sculptured marble, of St. Marcella (Mary’s maid) and St. Sidonius, 2d cent. They are all empty, having been rifled at the Revolution of 1793. In the shrine on the altar is the skull of Mary Magdalene, and in a sort of bottle the greater part of one of her armbones. (See also under [Six Fours], p. 123.) The cave of Ste. Baume, in which Mary Magdalene is said to have lived 34 years, is situated among the picturesque mountains, partly in the Var, and partly in the Bouches du Rhône, [ Mont Bretagne. Trets.] of which the culminating point is Mont Bretagne, 3498 ft. To go to it, coach to La Poussiere, 5½ m. S.W., then ascend to the cave by Nans, 5 hrs. distant. Frequented by pilgrims. From the chapel St. Pilon, 3285 ft. above the cave, glorious view. (See [map, p. 123].) 12 m. W. from St. Maximin and 12 E. from Gardanne is [Trets], pop. 2200; Inn: France; a dirty town surrounded by its old walls garnished with square towers. In the neighbourhood are coalpits, but they are small and unimportant.
MARSEILLES
MENTON 75¼ 79¾ [LE LUC] station, 1½ m. from the town, pop. 3900. Inns: Poste; Rousse. Coach daily from the station by a beautiful road across the Maure mountains to St. Tropez, 26 m. S.E., by La Garde Fraisenet and Cogolin. Fare, 5 frs. Time, 4 to 5 hours. The coach, shortly after leaving the station, begins the ascent of the Maures, amidst vines, olives, chestnuts, and firs. On the top of the pass, 1495 ft. above the sea and 12 m. from Luc, is the village of La Garde Fraisenet, pop. 750, where the horses are changed. This was the site of the Grand-Fraxinet, one of the strongholds of the Saracens. 17 m. from Luc and 5 from La Garde is, on an eminence, Grimaud, pop. 1400, an interesting village with arcaded streets. In the principal square is a deep well hewn in the rock. The massive walls of the church are built of large blocks of granite. On the top of the hill is the castle built by Jean Cosse in the 15th cent., and occupied till the
middle of the 18th. 19 m. from Luc, 7 from St. Tropez, and 25½ E. from Hyères, is Cogolin, pop. 1000; Inn: Piffard; situated on an eminence. On the top of the hill the Saracens had a castle, from which they were driven ([p. 187]), and all the fortifications destroyed excepting one tower, now the town clock tower. By the roadside, about half-way between Cogolin and St. Tropez, is a very large fir tree. 32 m. N.E. from Hyères and 26 m. S.E. from Luc station is
[St. Tropez], pop. 3300, Inn: Grand Hotel, a house with large rooms, at the head of the port on the quay, commanding an excellent view of the bay. The town, as usual, consists of dirty narrow streets. The church is in the style found in the valley of the Rhône and along the east coast of the Mediterranean. Nave surrounded by arches on high piers or tall slight columns, such as at Tournon and Hyères. Small chancel and no apsidal chapels, but generally an altar on the right and left of the high altar, one of the two usually being to “Maria sine labe concepta.” Behind the church, on a hill, is the citadel; and at the foot of the hill, close to the sea, the cemetery. At the head of the harbour, opposite the Grand Hotel, is a statue of Pierre André de Suffren, one of the greatest admirals France ever had. He was born at St. Cannat, in Provence, 13th July 1726, and died at Paris 8th December 1788. The promenade has seven rows of large Oriental plane trees. The sea-urchins of St. Tropez are very good. The drive by diligence from Luc to St. Tropez is more beautiful than from Hyères to St. Tropez. Coach daily to Hyères, 32½ m. W.
Draguignan. Lorgues.
MARSEILLES
MENTON 84½ 70½ [LES ARCS], pop. 1200, H. de France. Branch line 8 m. N. to [Draguignan] on the Nartubie, pop. 10,000. Hotels: *Bertin; Poste; France; Var. From the side of the H. Bertin diligences start for Salernes, pop. 2250, on the Bresque. Inn: H. Bernard; 13½ m N.W. from Draguignan (see [map, p. 123]). From Salernes the coach proceeds to Aups, pop. 2350, on the Grave, 1657 ft. above the sea, and 7½ m. N. from Salernes. Inn: Gontard, with good beer. From Aups diligence to Manosque by [Riez] (see p. 166). Also diligence to Brignoles by [Barjols] (see p. 143). From Draguignan diligence 3 times in the week to Fayence, pop. 1000, situated half-way to Grasse. Diligence also to [Lorgues], pop. 3000; Inn: Bonne Foy; 6 m. W.
Draguignan is situated on the south side of the Malmont mountains, which attain an elevation of 1995 ft. In the old town is the clock-tower, 58 ft. high, commanding an extensive view of the plain and of the surrounding mountains. In the new town the streets are broad and intersected by avenues and a beautiful promenade containing
thirteen rows of lofty Oriental plane trees, about twenty in each row. The Jardin des Plantes is small. In the Place aux Herbes is one of the ancient gateways. Preserved fruits, oil, raw silk, and leather are the principal products, ¾ m. from Draguignan, by the road to Comps, is a large dolmen composed of one flat stone resting on four similar stones. The top slab is 16 ft. long by 12½ wide and 1½ thick. The others are each 7 ft. high, excepting one, which is broken. Indications of markings may be traced. Growing around this interesting Celtic monument are an oak, a splendid specimen of a “micocoulier” (Celtis australis), and a juniper, 20 ft. high, of a very great age. The way to it is from the H. Bertin, ascend the street, and take the first road left. When within a few yards of the kilomètre stone, indicating 1 kil. from Draguignan and 30 from Comps, take the private road to the left, leading into an olive tree plantation (see [map, p. 123]).