The Portland daily press., 1898-02-15
SPAIN.
DIR. Bowker's Delightful Lecture at the
jefferson last Night.

The audience that gathered at Inc
Jefferson last evening to hear Dr. John
q. Bowker's second lecture-thls Time Oh
Spain-was composed, as at the FORMER
one, of many of our best known oltlzens
but it was not as large as 1t should nave
been and we hope at the last Lecture on
Hawaii, to see the theatre crowded. Inc
talk was mostly descriptive; record OF
q late journey through the Land OF cas-
tanet and bolera of romance ana song.
The lecturers rare good taste In seIectlon
was apparent as the succession OF beautl'
full pictures passed before the eyes OF his
audience, and these illustrations doubt
less imbued in the minds OF many OF his
hearers a strong desire to wander from
their own fresides.
Entering this ''favored region, with
glorious past at the south, through the
British possession of Gibraltar, gave DIR.
Bowker material for an unusually inter-
esting opening for his talk, in the pic
lures and description of that famous for
tress.
Gibraltar formed one of the ancient
pillars OF Hercules, looming 100 feet up
ward in the Spanish skies. The other
Dfllar. Ablya, was in Morocco, eight
miles across the straits. These two emf
nences were supposed to mark the west
ern boundaries of the world, and mad in
deed was he who sailed beyond them
Gibraltar lies stretched twoaand one-half
miles long on the bosom of the sea, and
is sometimes likeneda to mighty mon
ster. a couohant lion, guarding England's
many interests.
An illustrated description folio wed of
this wonderful fortress, the cannon, the
soldiers, the remarkable artificial har-
Dor. the Alameda, and the barracks,
where 5000 men are CHARTERED and pro
yisioned with food and supplies, with
arms to withstand siege of three years.
duration,
Ulalaga followed in turn, famous for
its grapes. wine, raisins, and it's stately
cathedral begun by Philip IL; Cadiz,
with its splendid show Of turret, tower,
and dome, to say nothing OF the cows
that dwell in marble halls; Ronda and
Cordova, celebrated Tor their mosque;
through Andalusin to Seville, reminis-
cent Of gaudily- dressed bull fighters and
the Spanish dancer of the bolera. the
cachucha and the fandango; reminiscent,
too. of Velasquez, of Murillo, and their
famous paintings; of the world famous
cathedral of Seville, one tower of which.
the Gibraltar, was used as model Tor the
splendid tower of the Madison square
garden, New York.
once the focus of all Spain's greatness,
with its splendid approaches, Its narrow,
crooked streets and its beautiful cathe-
dral; Of Madrid the capital CITY,, where
dweils the kind of Spain, Alfonso XIII.
DR.. Rowker feared that his future would
be troublesome, for with Cuban wars.
socialists, Carlists and dynamiters to con-
tend with, the king business can De
neither pleasant nor profitable.
The Escurial, near Madrid. marvellous
granite pile, was erected by Philip II to
serve the five fold purpose of church,
palace, prison, monastery and tomb. Here
in the Pantheon lies buried the kings of
Spain.
Turning eastward, a nights ride by
rail, brings one to Barcelona, the most
progressive city in Spain, with half
million population. Here Columbus was
received BY Ferdinand and Isabella after
one of his Journeys to the New World,
and here is the finest monument to
Columbus in the world.
Thirty miles from Barcelona lie the
famous mountain known as Montserrat,
famous for it's monastery, which contains
an image of the Blessed Virgin, clad
with apparel and jewels, the sale of which
would, lis said, easily defray the ex-
penses of the Cuban war.
Like Boabdil, last of the Moors, his
final stand in Spain was taken in Grana-
da, which was the capital of the Moorish
kings and from which they were routed
by Ferdinend and Isabella. The tomb of
the two monarchs, in the grand cathe-
draI, was shown, with its magnificent
erilling of bronze. The church is filled
with relics and one may see and touch
Isabella's crown and the golden casket
which held the jewels she was to have
pawned to aid Columbus in his mission.
Then followed graphic description of
the brightest of all Grapada's gems, the
palace of the Moorish kings. the world.
famous Alhambra, of which Washington
Irving has written SO yoluniinously. The
decorated chambers and passages, IN
equalledg outside OF india, the carvings,
fretwork, filings, stessellated walls and
the forests of graceful, slender
stone pillars, showing the marvels of
Moorish art, were described SO yividly
and pictured so beautifully that the
auditor left the theatre satisfied that he
had passed one OF the most delightful
of the winter.