Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-25


huts of palm lean against the walls, and
dirty negroes huddle in holes in the mas
Stve masonry. The frail ShantieS of the
poorer people are built within the ruins of
converts, forts and SeminarieS, and the as
pect of the present city is that of squat
ter crouched within the walls of a palace.
Though the city is overlooking the limits of
the ancient walls. which are broken down
OutgrOwn them entirely.
Entering through a gateway, overhang-
ing which is sentry turret built 400 years
ago, one instinctively recoils at the filth
and squalor of the modern city within the
walls. The streets are rough and ragged,
the sidewalks full of holes, and against the
sides of houses and in angles of the forth
fications are piled heaps of filth. The most
conspicuous ruin within the walls Is that
of the San Franciscan convent, built on a
hill behind the Casa de Colon, by the first
missionaries who came out here to convert
the Indians. Only a small portion of the old
convent is habitable now and this Is used
for the lodgment of the city'S insane, in a
wing of the original edifice- Deserted cor
rldors, roofess chapels. vine-draped arches,
massive walls with great trees growing on
them-these are all that remain of the
vast structure built in the sixteenth CEN
fury. So complete is the ruin that no one
can tell where the two famous men, AlonzO
de OJeda and Bartholomew Columbus,
who died and were buried here are now
resting. A subterranean passage is said to
connect the convent with another building
once used by the monks as a residence
known as the Casa del Gordon and now
used Il hotel.
Another convent ruin. also dating from
1863. is that of San Nicolas but the most
famous convent church, still in good
state of preservation, is that of San Do
mingo. Attached to this church are the
walls of Americas first institution of learn
Ing, in which taught the celebrated Bishop
Las Casas. whose history of Spanish
crimes is Il standing reproach to the nation
to which he belonged.
hara Sfn, ~
versity ever erected on the western hemis-
phere. though in a state of neglect and
condition of filthy surroundings impossible
to conceive The interior of San Domingo
Church has been carefully restored and
presents many features worthy of study.
The Cathedral.
But the most famous ecclesiastical struc-
ture is the cathedral. which was begun
in 1914. but not finished until the year
large white cross which was planted here
on the first arrival OF holy men, as an in
scription on one of its arms sets forth
This cross is of mahogany, about nine
feet high, and an exact duplicate of It was
sent to the expositit n. and IS now in the
/ ield museum. The cathedral lays claim
to at least one painting by the great
Murillo, and to several works by Velas-
quez: but of old manuscripts there are few
remaining, as, 1t is said, the celebrated
pirate, D.ake, robbed the church of all it
had He it was, also, who sent the cannon
ball into the roof of the cathedral where
1t may still be seen imbedded This itself
is reminder of the cathedrars ANTIQUITY:
to disport a relic of Elizabethan times
when Shakespeare and johnson and all
those ancient WORTHLESS fourished, and
Drake and Hawkins swept the sea- prior
to the destruction of the Spanish armada
Though exteriorily unattractfye-at least
not impressive-the cathedral has nave
OF grand proportions, with great pillars
supporting groined ceiling. and a high
altar covered with pure silver.
There twelve chapels in the cathe-
drai, each one sacred to some saint or con-
tanning the tomb of some famous Spanish
cavalier. At least one of these tombs
equals in it's carvings of the ..escudos"
(coats-of-arms) of the noble family II.
represents some of the best in the ca
thedral of Seville. In the pavement is a
slab eleven feet in length, with a magnifi-
cent escudo '-casque, helm and flowing
plUmes-bearing date 1851. One of the
chapels. with domed ceiling, has some
beautiful "azulejos, or Moorish iridescent
tiles. as fine any in the palace of the
Aihambra Another, at the left Of the high
aitar' holds an excellent painting fanked
by the kneeling figures of King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabella, evidently copied after
those OF the same individuals in the royal
chapel at Granada, in SPAIN
Everything, in fact, leads us back to the
time of Spanish domination. The work
mere Is OF the best that country produced
at the height of its glory. when the most
experienced craftsmen and the most famous
names also are all Spanish. Rack of the
TOMB or one of the early archbishops. whose
recilning figure is a beautiful examnle of
scuipturing, is small CELL which once
t II is alleged, the remains of Column
Dus' ana the two-leaved door of this cell
is wonderful specimen of elegant WOOD
carving. e"n' "oou
Ihese are some of the cathedral's treas.
I m; put the greatest, or that which the
Domlf leans seem to value most &c conS
cealed from vulgar view. unless sne 10,
permission be obtained to see it. This is
the casket containing the relics of (,olnno
rus ,hs, MhI I II Is claimed still remain here
thoush Havana also holds that her cathe,
oral has them safely incIosed within its
walls. within lbs
Well Worth a Visit.
BE that as it may-and this is a subject
Tor special examination-it would seem
mat San Domingo has ancient treasures
CROUCH to make of it a shrine well worth
visiting. Every street, every plaza. every
angle OF the inclosing walls. is identified
spain was truly great. Beneath the nave
ment of the cathedral is the tomb of
oNledc. the great historian: the old uni
seIslty was Tor long time the cherished
OBJECT OF the erudite Las Casas who taught
ara Iabored here: Bartholomew Christie
pher Diego and Luis Columbus all lived
mere at different times, and MANY other
OF the famed ''conquistadores," such as
Ponce de Leon and Ojeda.
NOW, how are the mighty faIIeni"
from occupation by Spanish hidalgos TO
be the capital of a mulatto monarchy. is n
long descent. For, despite the name of re-
public. under which the government Of
the Island masquerades it is really a des-
pousm; It's chosen president is a dicta-
TOT; Its people servile subjects, nothing else
The papers have noted lately an ATTEMPT
at revolution" In San Domingo. which
v as put down quickly and remorselessly.
the leaders shot. the rank and file impris-
oned A revolution here is but an incident
which rarely disturbs the placid current of
anairs In general. But it has occurred so
OFTEN, so many outbreaks of decent people
rebelling against oppression have taken
place, that now very few able men remain
who are available for presidential timber.
The present president has weeded them
out, persistently bounded them, and so
shrewdly applied the knife that he has not
many opponents when the time for e,ection
OF chief magistrate comes around
President Heureaux.
President Ulises Heureaux, who has for
rany years stood at the summit of fame
In San Domingo, is a soldier of fortune.
-h, 1,ts-