The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-02-02

q ~ ~ ~ IOt1m-In
Cathedral and the Columbus Monu-
ment-Thc Theatres.
Barcelona, shrine OF courtesy, harbor
of the wayfarer, shelter of the poor,
cradle OF the brave, champion OF the out
ragged, nurse OF friendship, unique in
position, unique In beautyi"
Such was the eulogium bestowed Upon
Barcelona by the great Ceryantes, several
ndr years ago-an eulogium war
ranted by a strangers experience in our
W day. The matchless site of the sec
ond city OF Spain, its luxuriant surround
ings, awaken enthusiasm as of old, while
even the briefest possible s~ojourn %sufiices
to make us feel at home. A winning
urbanity, a cosmopolitan amiableness,
characterize the townsfolk; Spanish
hauteur is here replaced by French COR
diality. Softness of manner and graces
of speech lend additional charm to a
race conspicuous for personal beauty.
Few European capitals can boast OF
finer public monuments, few indeed pos
sess such a promenade as its famous
Rambla. TIL Rambla may be regarded
as an epitome, not only OF the entire city,
but OF all Spain, and here the curious
traveller should take up his quarters. A
apEth ~ AlllaiA vi hlO ADk sDtCluCltS Hlttt
the eye in a day, while the normal aspect
is one of u~nimaginable pioturesqueness
and variety. The dark-eyed flower girls
with their rich floral displays; the coun-
try folks still adhering TO the costume of
Catalonia-the men sandaled and white
hosed; for headgear, SLOUGH caps of Grim
son, scarlet, or peach-colored felt, the
women with gorgeous silk kerchiefs
pinned under the chin-the Asturian
nursemaids in poppy-red skirts barred
with black, and dainty gold and lace
caps; the ladies tanning themselves as
they go in November, with black lace
msntillas over their pretty heads. All
these at first make us feel as il we were
taking part in a masquerade.
In striking contrast with the wide.
airy, ever brilliantly illuminated Rambla,
electric light doing duty for sunshine at
night, are the streets Of the old town.
The stranger may take any turning
either TO right or left-he Is sure to find
himself in one of these dusky narrow
thoroughfares, so small ofttimes the space
between window and opposite window
that n%eighbors might almost shake hands
Narrow as is the accommodation with
out, it must be narrower still within
since when folks move from one house {,
pNA "a GbOA0 dIh 1hdlAtlH aaN
hoisted up and passed through the iron
windows. The sight OF a chest of drawer
or a sofa in cloudland is comical enough,
although the system certainly has it,
advantages. Much manual labor is there
by spared, and the furniture doubtless
escapes injury from knocking about.
The wise traveller will elect to live on
the Rambla, but to spend his time in the
old town. Wherever be goes he is sure
to come upon some piece OF antiquity,
while here, in a great measure, he loses
sight of the cosmopolitan element char
acterizing the new quarters. Novel and
striking as is its aspect to the stranger,
Barcelona must nevertheless be described
as the least Spanish of Spanish towns.
The second seaport of Spain is still-as it
was in the Middle Ages-one of the most
important seats of international COM
merce on the Mediterranean. The hand
some Gale san Fernando leads to the
somber but grandiose old cathedral with
its lovely cloisters, magnificent towers
and bells. All churches in Spain, by the
way, must be visited III the forenoon;
even then the light is so dim that little
can be seen Of their treasures-pictures,
reliquaries, marble tombs. The cathedral
of Barcelona forms no exception to the
NV IN "a " hbOnN " IlCnlN
stained old glass, we are literally COM
PEELED to grope our way along the
crowded aisles. Mass is going on from
early morning till noon, and in the
glimmering jeweled light we can Just
discern the moving figures OF priests and
acolytes before the high altar, and scat
tered worshippers kneeling on the floor.
Equally vague are the glimpses we OBJ
tain Of the chapels - verItable little
museums ofrare and beautiful things un-
fortunately consigned to perpetual OBJ
scurity, yelled in never-fading twilight.
This stately old Cathedral, like so many
others, was never finished; works Of rep
aration and restoration are perpetually
going on, and the superb facade is now
in course OF entire reconstruction. Close
by stands the Palais de Justice, with it's
beautiful gothic court and carved stone
staircase, ;he balustrade supported by
lovely little statuettes or ~gargoyles, each
an artistic study in itself.
But a few minutes drive brings us
within sight OF q monument to one of the
worlds heroes. allude to the memorial
column recently raised to Columbus by
this same public-spirited and munilicent
City of Barcelona. Columbus, be it re-
mem bered, was received here by Ferdi-
manu- anu lbdutlld dlltT MS discovery oil |
America in 1892. Far and wide over hills
and city, palm-girt harbor and sea, as a
lighthouse towers the tremendous obe-
lisk, the figure of the great Genoese sur
mounting it, his feet placed on n golden
sphere, his outstretched arm pointing
triumphantly in the direction OF his
newly discovered continent, as much as
TO say, at is therel"
In the anita OF Catalonia Nineteentb /
century civilization and the medieval
spirit may still be called next door neigh
bors. The airy boulevards and handsome
villas OF suburban Algiers are not more
strikingly contrasted with the ancient
Moorish streets than the new quarters OF
Barcelona with the old. The Rambla, its
electric lights, its glittering shops, cafes,
clubs and theatres, recalls a Partisan
boulevard. In many of the ~tortuous,
m~alodorous streets of the old town there
is hardly room for a wheelbarrow to be