At last, on the 2d of February 1861, he agreed to a treaty, by which he ceded all his rights and privileges over Roccabruna and Mentone for the sum of four million francs, reserving only his sovereignty over Monaco under French protection. Since 1861, accordingly, Mentone has in all respects been part and parcel of France, and participated in its national progress. Monaco alone, consisting of a patch of territory extending three and a half miles along the coast, by a width at broadest of one mile, remains a petty dependent sovereignty under Charles III., who lives part of the year at Paris, and at other times in his palace in the town of Monaco. His son and heir-apparent, Charles-Honore, born in 1848, was recently married to a daughter of the late Duke of Hamilton. Since it was attached to France, Mentone, with some ground in its neighbourhood, has been a commune of the Alpes Maritimes, with a mayor and council for its local administration. So smoothly are its civic affairs conducted, that one hears little or nothing of them. There is a Hôtel de Ville, but it is by no means of an obtrusive character. It is comprehended in the upper floor of a building in a lane which ascends from the main street towards the cemetery. Adjoining is the office of the police, an establishment of a very limited nature. The annual municipal revenue is 120,000 francs, derived principally from an octroi, or petty duties on articles of consumption brought into the town; and the expenditure, including outlay on schools and hospitals, is the same amount. The settled population of Mentone is 6000. Besides the few sergents de ville who act as street police, there is a small body of Gendarmerie Impériale, members of which may be seen lounging about in military costume, but ready to mount and be off on any mission appropriate to their functions. Though situated on the frontier, Mentone has no garrison worth mentioning. The only soldiers observable are a single company of one of the regiments of the line, exhilarated in their marching by three drummers and a trumpeter. To the credit of the French army, the soldiers when off duty conduct themselves with great propriety. They may be seen reading on the seats in the public promenades, or taking a walk in groups amidst the rural scenery, circumstances which may be thought to speak well for their character. CHAPTER III.