Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-07-05
GIBRALTAR.
The Rock Upon Which Great Britain Hs,
Built Her Stronghold.

iLOndon StanlardI
What hd'St thou in thy treasured
caves and cell. Thou ever sounding and
mysterioIs main :" A partial answer to
Mrs. Hemans's nSsrutable question has
lust been supplied by bay whose waters
cover many q long forgotten wreck, and
whose iloor should he strewn with ~ many
mementocs OF sea battles ~ any spot in the
world over which the waves cbb and dow.
For scores of centuries the straits and
bay Of Gibraltar, or Gebel Tarik-thc d" Hill
Of Tarik," Saracenic general have
witnessed their full share Oi fighting among
various races of comb.tiye and maritime
men. History tells Us little Of the sea aud
land battles in which it Is probable that
TIE PhUnicanS must have often en-
gagged during the three centuries which
saw the lands and coasts OF the Mediter-
ranean thicbly covered with their forts,
their factories. From about thirteen
hundred down 10 thousand years be-
fore the Christian era the ships OF
these indeiatgahle mariners plOwed
the waters. Of every known sea and
carried the commerce Of the world TO every
port which their restless spirit OF adventure
had orencd to naval and commercial enter
priSe. We know that. having cOlOniZcd
the whole coast OF Spain, they left the pill
lars OF Hercules behind them and pushed
boldly into the Atlantic until they had dis
covered the Tin Islands. which they call
the Scilies, and made their way 10 the
southern shores Of Britain itself. They
were the universal traders and carriers Of
the ocean IN days when these islands were
occupied by barbarouS sayages; and it i
even related by DiodoruS that, embarrassed
with the multitude Of the precious metals
which they found in the mines Of Tar
tessuS, the PhGnicians made their very
anchors Of silver, not knowing now to store
its superabundant treasures away IN the
holds Of their puny vessels. Tyre and ST.
don grew, under their enlightened rule, to
be the greatest and richest marts Of COM
merce in the world, and an alliance with
Hiram. the King Of Tyre, was eagerly
sought by Solomon, the wiseSt and greatest
% Isr.eliti,h Kings. Who can say, indeed.
whether, among the long-lOst treasures
living at the bottom of Gibraltar bag. a
silver anchor, belonging TO the for
mer mistress OF the seas, may
not itself be included? Its recovery
would not be less precious. III the
eyes Of our modern antiquarians. than
the evidences Of the existence OF an
cieIt Troy which Dr. SchlieiDan believes
he has excavated at IIissarlik, or thsn the
seyen.branched candlestck brought from
Jerusalem to Rome by the Emperor Titus,
and alleged by DR.. Dyer TO be, in all proba-
bility, lying buried at this moment in the
yellow mud at the bottom OF the Tiber.
Leaving behind us the dim and mysty reye-
lations Of ancient history, which speak OF
the Pillars Of Hercules as the western
boundary Of the world, we now come TO
times when Gibraltar and its lion couchant-
like rock were gazed at with envy
by more recent invaders OF Spain.
.'Who can doubt" SAYS recent
writer. "that such leaders as Hamilcar
and Hannibal must have been awake 10 :he
importance OF Gibraltar as permanent
stronghold for maritime nation when they
made their expeditions from Africa into
Europe?" The Romans may have east
wistful eyes at its strength when they were
fighting with Carthage for possession OF
Spain. All. however, that we know for
certain Is that about eleven centuries since
the Saracens invaded Spain under their
great General Tarik Ibn-Sayid, and seized
upon the Rock OF Gibraltar, which they
fortified as the base OF their operations
against the kingdom OF the Visigoths.