The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1896-07-18
THREE AMERICAN GIRLS
MAKE 4 TRIP THROUGH SPAIN UKAT
TENDED.
With the Characteristic independence
Of their Class
They See the Hidalgos and Study their
Customs.


Customs.
CoRDoyA, Spain, July 2.-When
we decided, three American girls, to
90 through Spain, people in Gibral
ter shook their heads. Cooks agent,
from whom we bought tickets so as
to avoid being cheated by the .cour-
teous employees of the railroad,
strongly advised US to take cour-
Ter. He would be always useful,
sometimes indispensable, and he
would cost us only three dollars
day, besides his travelling expenses.
But travelling in Spain is costly at
best, because one has to 90 first
class. There are not the fairly com.
Portable second class compartments
of France or Italy or the clean third
class ones of Germany, where one
can have cheerful converse with the
knitting peasant women. Besides
we had had a guide in Gibralter and
the experience had not filled us with
enthusiasm. When we were dumped
with our luggage on the landing
wharf, in the midst of drenching
rain, we stumbled from the Charyb-
dis of boatmen, cab drivers and por
tiers into the Scylla of a guide. He
took us to the Hotel Royal, where
the bill for one nights stay made
our purses quake, and we decided
that we would hardly fall among
worse thieves in Spain than we had
in this little strip of English terri
tory. So we took our lives in our
hands and started. And l want to
say to the girls who are preparing to
come over here, don't take a guide.
II you have the least independence
land what American girl has not)
you will find him more of bore than
benefit. Not the least trouble did
we have, and we did not know a
word of language. We learned to
gesture eloquently and effectively
and to say "Cuanto?' which means
GLOW much does it cost?' and
though the answer was wholly unin.
telligible we would hold up our 6ng-
ers and our interlocutor would do
the same. When he held up ten we
always shook our heads vigorously
and offered five. 1t was much more
fun than to talk commonplace Eng
lish and have it translated. And if
the extra expense isn't considera-
tion as it was with us) the money
can be much more proftably invest
ed in mantillas and bull fights. So
for sentimental and economical rea-
sons, go alone
When we took the little train at
Algicieras we were lucky enough to
get compartment to ourselves, and
with the instinct of the railway hog
we piled our luggage on the seats
and looked forbidding when anyone
glanced in. But after the train had
started the conductors head appear
ed at the window and be smilingly
explained, in perfectly plain Span
ish, that he could have put other
people in there, but -well--he had
not. For which consideration we
presented him with nine cents which
he received humbly and gratefully,
smiled all around, winked and dis
appeared.
the railway service in Spain is
not as perfect as it might be. In the
provincial cities only one train leaves
a day. If you miss it you have to
wait twenty-four hours for the next.
For the further convenience of the
public this train usually leaves at 6
a. M, and ii is one of the customs of
the country to reach it an hour be-
fore it starts. So whenever we want
ed to make journey we had to sub
nit to being called at A o'clock in
the morning, to dressing by candle
light, to driving an interminable dis
lance through ghostlike rows of
houses for stations are always in an
inaccessible part of the town. and
to waiting on cold, dim platforms
until some time after the appointed
hour, when the train would sleepily
start and we would try to finish our
maps in corners of the compartment
But even these uncomfortable Incl
dents are overlooked when we re-
member that it is this very absence
of modern convenience that makes
Spain so novel and interesting.
When the country learns to adapt
itself to the ways of travellers, much
of its originality and charm will
vanish
The first thing we did when we
reached Cordova was to visit the
mosque. Outside it is rather disap-
pointing, but the interior is a de
lightful surprise, with endless vistas
in every direction, the low arches
striped alternately in dull red and
white. There were thousand pill
lars, we were informed, and we pre-
terred not to attempt to verify the
statement. We roamed around in
the maze, studied the ver-changing
combinations of arches, and tried to
imagine the mosque when it was
first erected to be the Western Nee
ca. To-day glowing mosaics and
rich marbles have been carefully
covered with whitewash, piously de-
signed to hide such relics of heath
endom, and in the centre a chancel
has been constructed, where choir
boys were drowsily informing the YES
per service. We went out to gar
den nearby, formerly belonging to
the Alcazar We sat down on the |
grass (there were no prohibitive
signs) and ate oranges pulled from |
the trees above US. The woman who
opened the gate gathered bunch
es of roses for us, and socially offer
ed her apron on which to wipe our
fingers when we had finished eating.
We watched the Guadalquivir at our |
feet, with its rows of kneeling wash
arwomen on the bank; we looked at
the pink and yellow houses, at the
picturesque mezzin, and exchanged
the profound and original opinions
that Spain was lovely.
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