We came out into the sunlight and viewed with relief, by contrast with the dull museum, the very new and commonplace cathedral--oh, exceedingly poorly executed--and the castle or palace or residence of His Highness, the Prince of Monaco. I cannot imagine why Europe tolerates this man with his fine gambling privileges unless it is that the different governments look with opposition on the thought of any other government having so fine a source of wealth. France should have it by rights; and it would be suitable that the French temperament should conduct such an institution. The palace of the Prince of Monaco was as dull as his church and his museum; and the Monacoan Army drawn up in front of his residence for their morning exercise looked like a company of third-rate French policemen. However I secured as fine an impression of the beauty of Monaco and the whole coast from this height, as I received at any time during my stay; for it is like the jewel of a ring projecting out of the sea. You climb up to the Oceanographical Museum and the palace by a series of stairways and walks that from time to time bring you out to the sheer edge of the cliff overlooking the blue waters below. There is expensive gardening done here, everywhere; for you find vines and flowers and benches underneath the shade of palms and umbrella trees where you can sit and look out over the sea. Lovely panoramas confront you in every direction; and below, perhaps as far down as three and four hundred feet, you can see and hear the waves breaking and the foam eddying about the rocks. The visitor to Monte Carlo, I fancy, is not greatly disturbed about scenery, however. Such walks as these are empty and still while the Casino is packed to the doors. The gaming-tables are the great center; and to these we ourselves invariably returned. CHAPTER XXIX A FIRST GLIMPSE OF ITALY My days in Monte Carlo after this were only four, exactly. In spite of my solemn resolutions of the morning the spirit of this gem-like world got into my bones by three o’clock; and at four, when we were having tea at the Riviera Palace Hotel high above the Casino, I was satisfied that I should like to stay here for months. Barfleur, as usual, was full of plans for enjoyment; and he insisted that I had not half exhausted the charms of the place. We should go to some old monastery at Laghet where miracles of healing were performed, and to Cannes and Beaulieu in order to see the social life there.