ON THE RIVIERA.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 152, 27 June 1914, Page 18

ON THE RIVIERA.

I THE WINTER DESTINATION OF THE •WEALTHYWORLD'S TENNIS CHAMPIONS AT PLAY. (By ANTHONY WILDING. ) The geographical position of the Riviera makes it such that the climate prevailing during the winter months is the best in Europe. The Mediterranean .bounds ii on the south, and the Alpcs Maritime*, with countless ranges . of hills, form a wall on the north side, effectively shutting out the cold winds. Thus, from December until April, when the whole of Europe is cold, foggy, or wet, this favoured stretch of Mediterranean sea-board, known as the Riviera, basks in glorious sunshine, and possesses a climate eminently suitable for golf, tennis, motoring. Hying, etc. It is well served .by luxurious express trains, which hurry day and night from every European capital. Little wonder, therefore, that with sireli facilities thousands of persons of every nationality avoid the long, dreary months of winter in their own northern climes, ana come south. MONTE CARLO AND ITS RULER. A further attraction of the Riviera— and. 1 fear, a fairly potent one —is Monte Carlo. We have all heard of it, and most people—pro-ua'bly to their cost —have been there. Gambling, in some form or other, goes on in every quarter of the globe. but .Monte Carlo'is one of the tew places in the world where gambling at roulette is openly- sanctioned. Here, at any rate, the'plav is scrupulously .fair and aboveb.iard. This is. of course, contrary to French law—l refer to the roulette,"not to the .fairness. Monte Carlo comprises the capital of the Lilliputian principality of .Monaco,su is less France than New Zealand. This principality is ruled by a gentleman well named the "Prince of Monaco." He is ot the purest lineage, being a direct descendant of the Grimaldi. His income, derived from the letting of the gamblimtables and Casino, generally, to Moll* sieur Edmund Rlanc and his company, is, to say the least of it. considerable. His hobby is a most interesting one, and incidentally one that is in its way useful to mankind. The Princess Alice, his very fine sea-going steam yacht, has probably voyaged further and" into more remote places than any other private yacht in the world. " During these strange voyages Monsieur le Prince fishes successfully for everything from a huge whale down to seaweed and fossils. He lets down strange nets in faraway oceans, and into them nil manner of animals crawl or swim, according to i I their several habits. He also lets down j wonderful instruments, which record the density, the pressure, the temperature, I etc.. of the water at different depths.! and all other matters interesting to j those understanding these things. He i has built adjacent to the Royal residence a most wonderful museum, where tranquilly swimming in comfortable homes are all kinds of fish, which, at some time in a chequered career, have mistaken the Prince's net for the o|>en sea. He also has in (his museum his whaV'bonts. gi'sis. harpoons, nets and appliances, and whole outfit used in the capturing of these wonderful sea reptiles. All this is interesting, as showing how, indirectly, much of the money thrown on to the roulette tables l.y Germans and others eventually finances a scheme for fish-catching. OTHER OFFICIALS OF THE PRINCIPALITY. Monsieur Edmund Rlanc, as everyone knows, is a good sportsman, and'liis favourite method of disbursing some of his profits is racing—an amusing and often rapid way. as explained before. Monte Carlo is a little principality, and its political head is now a French gentleman, by name Monsieur Finch. lie was a very successful judge, in (barge of a large district in Normandy. Now he lis in charge of the principality, and everything- goes along smoothly; a, few years ago the little principality was! threatened with a revolution, but none I id that with M. Flaeh at the wheel, lie looks typically French with his little' '. goatee beard and small Legion ■ il'lloiineur ribbon eternally in his but- : ton-hole. I have met him on several j occasions, and have always admired his : wonderful wit and extraordinary all- ! round knowledge. 1 Cannes. Mentone. Nice ami other j 1 Riviera towns are all within quite short, ' motor journeys from this wonderful j '■ .Monte Carlo.. Everyone, no matter (. where he or she resides on the Riviera. I" always makes a point of "trying their luck" there, and a ride to Monte Carlo |- on their own, or mote probably on a friend's motor for fiie purpose, is a .- , HOTEL ( HARGUS. Everything in life i- regulated In de- I maud and supply, even to hotel-. So here on the Riviera one can find hotels taking in people at 7 'i a day, all included, or ii .vie soars higher, the fantastic prices and luxurious comfort ..t tiie Motel de Pari- at Monte Carlo may suit one. Prices prevailing here can best be illustrated by a short story. On the Moldavia, coming over from Australia, was a very nice Australian pair on their I honeymoon. They went straight to i Cannes, and in a lew days decided to tike the usual trip to Monte Carlo for luniii. They chose as a matter of course, (lie best place to eat. (he Hotel de Paris. just as they would, no don; I:, choose the br-i, place "in Melbourne. A; the conclusion of .it very substantial and allsuH'eient dejeuner, the foul husband spied -ome huge, big straw'uerrirwrappe.l up in cottonwool on a sideboard. so said, "Have -ome strawberries, dear*' She replied, "Yes, 1 would like some." Accordingly, two healthy Australian appetites grit to work, and consumed ten of these beauties. On tbe end of his bill, which had already '.ak.-il all His breath away, was "10 strawberries at five francs apiece. oO francs." 1 don't believe li" ever ate another strawberry: at . le-isi. strawberries were not hi- favourite - fruit When lie'told mc about bis trip that j ni'.'bt. TENNIS. IN THE RIVIERA. | During the season tiie whole Riviera \ U crowded, and the people want some- j thing to do. therefore golf and tour.!are "played long and furiously. Every ! ■ bib in every town all along the Riviera I 'mis its lennis tournament. To a great ; extent these tournament.- are patronised by ii,. same |> layer-. 'Ihe tennis i- liu'i |

taken too seriously. A great interest ! attaches always to the handicap events. This year there have been many celebrated names in the tennis world playin down here. Brookes. Deeugis, the KJrimswroths, Count Salm, etc. The French champion has not up to now "made good," as the Americans would Say. He has always been easily defeated by Gordon Lowe, one of the best English players. Lowe is steadiness personified, aud has come on remarkably since his trip to Australasia with the English Davis Cup team. His game, still lacks personality and initiative. What I mean is. he generally docs the obvious thing, and. generally" speaking, his tactics anil litUle without guile. But what he does he does admirably. His passing strokes, both forehand and backhand, are the acme of accuracy. His volleying lias also improved considerably. ■ ha-ve beaten him about five times, but in all the matches I hat] to work very hard. Excepting tlie.se defeats he has bad a clear slate. My don'bles partner in all the Riviera tournaments has been Craig Riddle, tho American. Without being one of the very top-notchers, he is a sound "ood. reliable player. We have won eight open double eveitts liere, and lost one. A CHILD WONDER. Much has been written about a young French girl. Mile. Lenglen. 'Tins child is only 141, years old, but is already capable of seriously ex-tending the English champion, Mrs. Chambers ibis feat she actually accomplished at the Nice Tournament a few weeks agowhen Mrs. Chambers had to work at top ■pressure. As a matter of fact, tne isstte was never really in doubt, nnd il. will lie a little time before this child will be capable of winning at Wimbledon. However, her performance was remarkable enough, and all her strokes are absolutely good and sound, so her iennis career U'certain to be a very great one. At the Beaulieu Tournament everyone was most anxious to see how Lowe would fare against R. Kleinswroth, the crack Gorman player. But we were all doomed to disappointment, as Lowe just kept steady, and, thanks to Kleinwroth's mistakes, won easily. At Monte Carlo, however, the German showed much better form, but didn't get another shot al Lowe. At the moment of writing, Norman llrookes has arrived at Cannes, after an excellent voyage from Australia. He is very fit, and will before long be certain to produce very good form. He intends playing in some of the remaining Riviera, tournaments. These should afford him excellent preliminary practice. HON. A. J. BALFOUR AS A rLAYER. The Nice tournament owed its great success to the presence of the Right Hon. A. .). Balfour, M.P.. the ex-Prime Minister of England. We played together in the handicap doubles, and waded through to the final in a hold oi over forty couples. Mr. Balfour, though (ill year of age. plays a remarkably tine game. He has served a long apprenticeship to golf and real tennis, nnd can be relied upon to do tiie right thing at the right moment. The interest taken in his play was remarkable, and the amount of non-ense written in the Press astounding. The celebrated "Daily " sent i special reporter from London, whose sole occupation was lo record .\..J.li.'s prowess on Ihe court. The moment the cx-Pn-mier lost, his instructions were to return to Liiulon. Ou the eve of the final, the I'lster men got their lingers near the triggers of their gllll 5 . SO .Mr. Balfour was telegraphed for. However, we played our final at Nice, finished at tour-thirty. I motored him .back to Cannes f.i-t. and at li o'clock he was speeding bis way back to London in tbe train d.- luxe, thoroughly unhappy to be exchanging the sunny tenuis courts of the Riviera for the turmoil and broil of party polities. No better sportsman or mure charming man than Mr. Balfour ever lifted a tennis racquet to serve a double fault. THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM. Norman Brookes and a bevy of happy Dunlops are al present gracing Cannes. The former lost a match to mc ai the J'.e.iu Site tournament, but is playing better now, and is capable of reversing tiie result. Dunlop has not. yet gut form, but it is impossible lo get straight nil a boat and play well, in a strange light, and in strange surroundings. The Duke of Marlborough, otherwise known as the "intellectual fluke," is playing wiih Brookes in the handicap doubles, and. as they are in receipt of the liberal J start ol" plii= fi-(i of lo their chances appear rosy. The Davis Cup matches will I probably commence in England early in ; June. We meet Canada lirst. and. if] successful, play Germany. ]