Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-02

Special correspondence.
oporto. Portugal. Nov. 2o.-You may
think II an easy matter to do" the
sights Of a compact city Of only isO,OOo-
untll you have tried II In oporto. and
found more woarlness " the flesh. and
especially OF the feet. than In amy
mountain climbing you ever encoun-
tered. While the horizontal streets near
est the quay ale wider. well built and
comparatively level. most OF the others
are totally impossible for wheeled We
hiclcs. being either too narrow. or al
most perpendicular. or full of deep
holes and gullies. worn into the origin
al pave Of the Goths and Romans and
never repaired since their lonR-past
| day. 10 and down the stony alleys
| you toll. In the damp and chilly autumn
weather Jostled on the footwide side
walks By the motley throng. which re-
CARDS you. u at all. with unfriendiy
starcs as representatives OF the dreadful
nation OF Yankee porcoa." ,plgsJ u
whom these people have chicny heard
during the last year or two. through the
woes OF their brothers across the Span
iah border. At every step you are Inn
portuned by bcsgnrs In nlthy rags. In
whose ou,s,retchcd hands you discern
unpleasant probabilities u smallpox
plague and lcprosy-whlc their owners,
with fawning lips and hate In their
| eyes. call upon Nossa scnhora and all
her saints to reward you for mllrcls
bestowed.
Talk about following In the footsteps
OF antiquity In this old. old city Of
eighty odd churches, are several whose
foundations were laid more than a
thousand years ago. The oldest build
lng In oporto Is the chapel OF cedo
| Zelda, built a. ID. 800. by the vislgoth
King Theodore, and etlil not altoge-
thor a ruin. Next in quaininess Of ar
chitceturc. though not In agc. Is the
Tore dos ClerEios. Clover OF the
Clergy. a small church built about
TWO CENTURIES AGO.
with the highest tower In Portugni--an
odd. square splrc OF something over
two hundred feet. which has served
since time out Of mind as a landmark
| Tor sailors far out at sea. The church
OF Nonsn Scnhora ia Lappa.-a me Cor
| flnthinn cdlncc ~ ancient date. II best
known to the rtadlrg public through the
l NNI pun winch EffffuAlnHN OF ANNilNAh
have perpctrated concerning Its da-
lnppa-dt led condition. The great
| cathedral was a noble cdlfcc away back
ia the dawn " Portuguese history. but
has been airociously modcrnlzed by
| nineteenth century vandals. You may
spend many pleasant and profitable
| days exploring these dim sanctuafles
and tracing therein the cnrmarka Of
changing religions. Some OF them
speak OF the days OF Moorish supreme
acy. when the turbancd hordea OF Ad-
dul lInssan ovcrran the peninsula;
others OF the brief but brilliant reign
OF AlmanHar de Cordova. which began
In the year $50; others OF the French
and GaHcuns. whose turn came IN 800,
ana others OF rollicklng King John and
the later ana gentler Pcdr0s.
There used To be an incredible num-
Der Of converts In oporto; but they were
mostly destroyed during the mem
orable Helgc Of iSi1. which nearly an
| initiated the city and wiped out a third
Of Its population, and others have more
recently been appropriated by the gov-
| crnmcnt to secular uses. on the high
bluffs OF the east bank OF the DOuro
stands the famous convent Ia Serrn,
| which at one time was said to be be-
yond compare with It's wealth OF cary
Ing. quaint arches and Moorish Alham-
| bra courts, was converted into barracks
few years ago; and now horses
munich rcant ratlons In the cloistera
| Nn'IN ilhilhh InAiAhltu iNflI AVG alhlAH
~, while under. sized. under-fed Portu-
gucsc soldiers play cards In the long re-
! fectory and "curA" with supernatural
nncc Of hes their hard lot OF hunger and
| Inactivity.
one of the hnndsomoat structures In
oporto II the archbiahops palace. situ-
ated on a jutting rock 40 high In air
that II reminds you OF Mahomct'H cof-
| nm. suspended between earth and
heaven, and you marvel that It has not
dropped on long ago. upon the house
| tops directly beneath. Americans are
not In high favor with
his woRsHipFUL HIGHNEss
Just at present. and II IN useless to try
10 obtain an audience. but you may be-
| grnciously permitted To view the grand
stairway-a famous work OF art which
stands about third In the HtairwayH Of
/ the world. reckoning that Of the new
/ Congressional library OF Washington
at the head-which leads TO the arch
| episcopal apartments.
Next In point " beauty. II not OF
! coHtliness, IN the English factory house.
| Of white granite with deliberately
| wrought facade. II comprlsca on n
magnificent scale all the appurtcnnnces
! OF an up-to-date club house. with ball
room. rcfrcshment hall. library. read
| ing rooms, card rooms etc: and here
| the large but lonesome English colony
spends It's leisure hours
Iht new 'Dolfu, or exchange, once
the monastery OF Sac Francisco. IN one
| OF the most beautifully decorated
structures In Portugal The walls and
| iioors VI It's grand salon arr entirely
covered with inlald devices In the rar-
est woods Of Brazil, highly polished but
| In their natural culors-palo greens,
dark reds, rose pink, browns, grays,
ivory white and ebony curiuusly inter-
mingled. There are suites of lofty
apartments, all claborutely decorated. a
splendid glass covered court set with
palms. and magnificent reception
room, wherein the president of the
bolaa. with the dlEnitnriea of the city,
are wont 20 welcome distinguished
strangers. and now and then give swell
fetcs TO the beauty and chivalry OF
Oporto.
The mint should be visited. where the
curious Portuguese coins are stamped:
also the art gallery. the public library
with ita $1,000 volumes. In all Lam
gunges,
LIVING AND DEAD.
but English: and the great opera house,
with It's tiers above tiers OF shabby |
boxes. Some OF the boxes are equipped |
with black curtains, In which are peep |