The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-05-03

unworthy the smiles Of any SeHoflta'
 A century ago there were many rich 1 and populous monaSteries in CordoVa; but nearly all of them have been desc | crated, or turned into schools and hos pitals Prominent among the few that 1 remain is Santa Marta, of the Jerony-
 mites; the monastery of the Padres oe Garcia, near the barracks of Alfonso XII; and the Fuen Santa, just outslde the city walls. The once wealthy con- vent of La Trinidad is now occupied by | a corps of Remonta de Cordoba or government horse-trainers, whose busi- ness is to break the wild horses or the
 Sierra for the Spanish cavalry. They wear short trousers turned up with red' and brown boots, laced and open at the sides.
 | The provincial museum would hafuly | be worth visit were it not for me Moorish relics. Among the latter is a | fine collection of spears; the brlm or an | Arabian we'll in green pottery, ln- scribed with text from the koran aio bell of the ninth century, with a Moz- arabic legend that hung in the tower or San Sebastian, the oldest convent In Spain.
 A number of delightful excursions
 may be made in the neighborhood of Cordova on foot, in the saddle or en coche. Within easy walking distance Is 1 the section known as Alcazar VleJo Nuevo, just beyond the city gate Whlch Philip II. caused to be erected on the ruins of the Moorish hBubu-l-kanterah "Gate of the Bridge" The Alcazar (royal palace) proper, was built on the site of Roderics' castle, the last or the Cloths, whose father, Theofred,s was a duke of Cordova. During Arab supre- macy the Archepiscopal palace, stable and huerta were under one reof. Later, the Inquisition occupied part or the same building; and half century ago its lower portion was converted into stables for the royal stallions large open space close by, called the Campo Santa, was the scene of many Chrlstlan l,martyrdoms under the Moslems. To visit the old high-walled garden Of the Alcazar one must obtain special permis- sion in town, and also pay an admission flee In it the orange trees and roses are still fiourishing-or their iineal de- scendants-whicht the first Arab ruler Tn
 Spain planted for his Sutana's pleasure hundreds of years ago. The place | seems haunted by the shades of dark eyed beauties secluded here-many thousands of them during the five cen turies of Moorish occupation.
 A favorite excursion is to the Herma- tiees of Val Paraiso-"Vale of Para disc" in the Serra- -Morena, four miles | 4 ~rf trn way, but mule-b back is better, for the road is extremely rough in places and finally ascends by paths too steep for wheels. Part of the way runs through charming woods, bright in spring time with citrus and purple iris. but not al- together safe from robbers, who may ! follow one out from the city. The bravest experience a creepy sensation at the sight of armed figures coming down the narrow trail; but generally 1t Is only some returning visitors or the Hermits going to town, who pass with the friendly Spanish salutation, va usted con Dios"--God be with you. The Brothers of the Hermitage are now less than twenty Their habits are brown and they follow the rule of Saint Paul, the Hermit. Close by, on the mountain side, was once the most magnificent Moorish structure in Cordova--the pal ace of Azzahra, built for his bride by the Caliph Annasir It was begun in the year 936, by artists from Bagdad and Constantinople--ten thousand men, twenty-five hundred mules and one | hundred camels being employed in the work. The palace contained forty-fiye ( hundred pillars of various kinds of pre- cious marbles; its great hall, the Khal- afat, had eight doors overlaid with gold
 and encrusted with precious stones, hung in horseshoe arches of ebony and ivory. In the lesser hall, called Almu- his, was magnificent fountain from Constantinople, decorated with many | figures of animals made of pure gold, adorned with precious stones, the water streaming from the mouths, Local tra- dition and history agree that the whole | land of islam contained nothing to com | pare with this palace, and it's beauties passed the power of language to de- scribe Annasir lived in it twenty-five years, with a force of twenty thousand servants besides 3,750 Schlavonian gar | deners, the annual expense of the estab- ! llshment exceeding five hundred thou- | sand dinars But In spite of this unpar- alleled magnificence the Khalif and his | bride went the way of all the earth and no doubt worms ate them as disrespect- l fully as commonor clay. All the mira l cles of art in Azzahra were totally de-
 stroyed in the year 1009 and now even the exact site of the palace is unknown. EANNTE1 E WARD