The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-30

possibility of their country's annexation
 to France or Spain, when their usually
 calm oX-eyes light up with patriotic frenzy which, when interpreted, means
 that they would die thousand deaths
 rather than give up their national pa-
 trimony to a stranger.
 The language which they speak is
 called the Catalan, and is spoken by no
 other race. Next to the. Gaelic, it is the | only living language in Europe. Only
 few of them know French or Castil-
 ian. They cling so tenaciously to their ! conservative ideas, that when a few
 years ago the French government oblig-
 ingly sought to accommodate them with
 telegraph posts, they rebelled against
 the innovation, and tore them down.
 It was while travelling in 1886 in the
 south of France that first heard of the existence of this quaint little republic
 Mine host of the leading inn in. the town l of Porte situated at the northern base l of the Pyrenees, was my informant. l immediately became possessed with a l desire to see and examine this terra ip-
 cognita for mysels. Securing the ser vices of a guide and mule, proceed
 ed up a mountain path in the dawn of a glorious July morning in the direction
 of this mysterious country. Several hours ride through somber ravines and up bridle paths flanked by the eternal hills, the caps of which were still, so to speak, crowns of immaculate snow, brought us 10 the only gateway to An
 dora along the banks of the crystal
 clear and beautiful river Valira.
 ig cit faa ba tn,,
 house--a mere shed, at the'door of which
 stood an official, who saluted us with
 the proverbial polteness of a modern
 Gaul. Passing his little structure we
 found ourselves at last within the con
 fines of Andora. Cataracts, smoky with
 vapor, tossed themselves recklessly
 down the mountain slopes to seek ref
 uge on the bosom of the river. Green
 plains, hedged in by hills, stretched far
 away in the distance. The skies over
 head were turquoise blue. Sweetly
 singing birds caroled on the branches of the stately pines that fiapked the
 banks of the Valira. The roar of the
 torrents drowning at times the melodies of the feathery songsters; the swish of the river as it sped along like a gilt tering serpent wriggling through tor tuous passages, and the cry of the eagle Tapping his wings from his eyrie among the cliffs, formed the music of an or chestra which I relished all the more because the instruments used by the choir were natures own. . ...
 Passing along the river's wooded banks I feasted my gaze on valleys of pastoral beauty where Pan might have played on his magic reed in the mytho- logical days of yore. Shepherds array ed in wide-leaved hats to protect them selves from the sun dawdled lazily on the green lush grass-their pastoral staffs lying within reach, and host of sheep and goats grazing all around | them. White-washed cottages, literally | perched on crags, looked down on us from the mountain slopes in the dis tance Mules provided with tinkling | bells and ridden by Andorese peasants | fitted hither and thither bearing bun dies of merchandise from town to town.
 Altogether found myself in a per feet Utopia such as that which was | once created by Sir Thomas More in one of his most exquisite dreamss- -. Il
 We reached in half an hour the town | of Andora, which is now the capitol of | the republic, and boasts 700 inhabitants. | It's narrow and crooked streets have a peculiar air of antiquity about them which ought to charm the heart of a scholar, for whom the past has always a fascination. A few stores, and one hundred private one-storied residences of red brick built in groups with broad spaces between each group, make up the town, which, of course, has in addi- ton It's Catholic chapel-all the Andor- ese by the way are Catholics-its parlia- ment house, its court house, and its prison.
 The legislature, which dates from the century, is an age-worn, grim and venerable looking structure. As entered it's large hall I saw at the fur ther end the presidents arm chair, be- hind which, suspended from rack in the wall, hung that officials hat and gown In another apartment are kept the achieves of the state.
 I had a long chat about Andora with the landlord of the stuffy and mosquito ridden inn where I stayed. He just knew sufficient French to enable me to follow him in his remarks. This noun .aineer whose cheeks were as red as boiled Holsters, was a living picture oftl Falstaff-he was such a gay fellow, md so inordinately stout. In reply to l query I put to him he exclaimed, &C., his speech with rapid ges- peculiar to the sons of the iunny south:
 '"The charter of our republic Is much ,lder, sir, than those of most modern nations. It was grahted to our fore athers by Louis Debonnaire, the son if the great Charlemagne on All Saints Day, A. D. S10. Since then we have l ,een free and independent people. True enough, we are under a double that of France and Spain, 10th of whose territories surround ours. Trance is represented by the prefect of he eastern Pyrenees, while Spain's in- erests are looked after by the prince ishop of Urgel, but their jurisdiction is . merely nominal" What is the personel of your execu- i've government" asked. 'The head syndic of Andorra, and his ub, or assistant. These are appointed q y our national parliament, which con ists of twenty-four members, four rep asentatives being allotted to each of { UT six communes (parishes) and elect