Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1882-12-23
could be revealed, by the side Of which
the tales of Montezuma and the Incas
OF Peru would sink into insignilicance.


tO NAbidAauIs
A visitor t. England's famous rock
says: BY 5 o'clock we had dropped
our anchor in the bay. Our vision of
the town, white and glittering, built
against the sheer side of the rock, had
made us impatient to land. But first
the sanitary inspectors visit was nee
essary. Then swarm of small boats
suddenly clustered around us and in
Vulnerable Spanish boatmen clamored
and bargained with us to take us
ashore-till all or nearly all had been
engaged. The row across the bay was
idyllic. The boatmen sang weird
adagio; the waves splashed and CUR
gled the sea-gulls flew low, flashing
like tanagers in the colored sunshine
cannon sounded from the outposts
and bugle wound it's curious melody
in the town.
| Landing here is q matter of diff
ficulty. You are surrounded by
multitude Of Moors in blue and scarlet,
of Spaniards with bright scarfs about
their waists, and of boys as naked as
strained propriety will allow, whic''
nigh drives you frantic by it's noisy
endeavors to relieve you of your bag
gage-not even showing mercy tSsthe
simple traveller who carries but cane.
"Luggy your sticky, mister?' was the
inquiry pressed upon me by every in
dividual member of that company. l
was stern, however, in my refusal of
assistance and after quarter of
an hour had reached the custom
house, which is not fifteen yards
off. Here permits were made out and
our party passed the waterproof gate.
More Moors, more Spaniards, more
naked boys, intermingled with donkeys
and Jews and Europeans the aroma
Of garlic boiled in bad Oil assailing
your nostrils from every quarter the
strange cries of the water-venders
driving their mules, and the barking
of dogs and the opportunities of would
be guides a narrow street lined with
stuccO houses, and shops where every
conceivable article is sold clouds of
tobacco smoke, siroccos of street dust,
carriages dashing by from the depths
of which dark eyes OF senoritas CLEAN
bewitchingly British red-coats, prig-
fused medley of a picture which mem
DRY presents to me tonight. This is
the first hours impression Of the town
of Gibraltar. The last hour has hard
ly changed it.
Having supped at the kings
ms"-where, by the way, we were
outrageously overcharged-we passed
along the crowded streets to an oriental
bazaar, where genuine Moor with a
turban, snub nose and a cockney
accent, sold us egregiously under the
pretense of selling trinkets, warranted
to come from Hafrica" We escaped
from his clutches only in time to reach
the Alameda gardens and hear very
monotonous concert played by the mil
itary band.
The next day we went ashore again
and assembled the rock on donkey back.
Up through the quaint Spanish streets,
over the narrow pathways on the side
Of the precipice, through the galleries
and past the sentries to the signal sta
ton, whence the finest of imaginable
vistas bursts upon the sight. Africa
and Spain mellow in the sunshine, and
the two seas, the Atlantic, the Mediter-
ranean, blue as the richest turquoise.
Our guide goes into rhapsodies. We
descend from our donkeys and drink
beer, conversing with the woman who
sells it the while. She says water is
scarce here at the top. No rain since
March. Our wag supposes that she
msst catch a cloud every morning and
condense it. She laughs and says that
clouds are plenty but the water is
pumped up. She means forced up. And
indeed the force must be enormous, for
the altitude is 1,400 feet.