The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-30
QUEER CORNER OF SPAIN
A DAY SPENT AMONG MONKS AND
NUNS, DEAD KINGS AND QUEENS.
Mo~nasteries and Where
cense, Century After Century.

BURGOS, Spain, Aug. 15.-One Of the OBJ
jects of greatest interest in this quaint
old town is the Carthusian Monastery. two
or three miles from the city. which Queen
Isabella founded four centuries ago. You
proceed to the plaza and secure the coach
that looks least likely to fall TO pieces en-
route-being careful to make a distinct
bargain in advance with the rascally Jehu,
who, in spite of it, will endeayor to extort
some extra pesos from your purse. Can
he manage to give his rickety vehicle a
violent wrench by running over powder or
into a ditch, do you tarry a moment on
the way to look at some pleasant prospect,
do the mules, backing and jumping under
the merciless whip. rend a portion of their
rotten harness-you arc expected to make
good the loss several times over. You
cross the river, On the other side of which
is the Alameda-a long. narrow park
planted with elms, which furnishes a de-
lightful retreat for the people of the city
during the summer heat. 1t is a charming
drive through the tree-lined ~avenue-or
would be but for the onnipresent beggars,
who Keep pace with your carriage in spite
of their alleged infirmities. determined TO
be lin at the death whenever you come to
a halt. On one side of the Alameda are ex-
tensive barracks and long blue coats. The
military band. led by a dozen trumpeters. is
always a musical treat. First the trump
eters play a lively measure alone; then the
band takes up the strain, and finally all
united produce an excellent effect.
The monastery occupies a noble posi-
ton on top of a hill. from which an ex-
tensive view of the surrounding country
may be had. The outer court of the low,
rambling structure is ~pre-empted by an
other troupe of the noble army of beggars,
waiting the sure coming of all foreigners
who visit Burgos: and though the visitors
are not many in these days. everybody of
foreign birth is believed to be literally
made of money and counted on as iegiti-
mate prey. The only way to escape the
mendicants is to get inside the monastery
as quickly as possible. But this advice
applies only to male visitors, for, of
course, no women are ever admitted within
those sacred precincts.
NO WOMEN ADMITTED.
Pulling a rusty bell at the gate, pres
emily a small, grated window is drawn
aside revealing the cowled face of n
monk, who, in answer to request for ad-
iA-ioolOiiJ dllAiOuoiy luQQilCS A. llClC dlE dly
females in the party, as if the presence of
one of the sex would imperil his soul. Be-
ing assured that there is not a petticoat
in sight-the ladies having discreetly re-
tired TO the other side Of the bu~ilding-the
heavy door is unbarred and the male Wis
itor finds himself inside a long, damp
corridor. The rest of the Carthusian
monastery is, Of course, hearsay evidence,
so far as your correspondent is concerned,
who consoled herself while waiting igno-
miniously outside with the knowledge that
positions would presently be reversed when
we came to the nunnery. The visitor fol-
lows his guide, who wears a frock of
coarse and not oyer-clean white flannel,
with a cowl of the same drawn over his
closely-shaven head and sandals on his
stockingless feet; but the rules of his order,
though evidently very severe, do not forbid
him to wear a full and handsome beard.
Other monks are METAL with white cowls
over their shaven heads, softly slapping
the p%avements with their heelless slippers
as they pass to and fro about their daily
duties-sweeping the corridors, preparing
the food. etc.-for, though some of the
inmates are said to be Of noble blood,
there is no distinction here. and the broth
ers" perform all the mental offices of the
place. This monastery was begun in the
year 1442 by King John III, the father of
Isabella; and after King Johns death 1t
was completed by his more illustrious
daughter. who here buried both her par
ents. Hare says: Their glorious alabaster
monument is perhaps the most perfectly
glorious tomb in the world" On one side
of this royal sepulcher, also in front of
the high altar of the monastery chapel, is
a tomb Of far less pretension, to Isabella's
only brother, Alfonso, whose untimely
death left her pathway open to the throne.
Isabella, however, was not buried here in
the family mausoleum. which she built and
where she expected to rest at last with her
kindred. She lies beside her husband in
Grenada, the city which witnessed the
final conquest of the Moors. During the
later years of her life this place was natur-
ally the most sacred spot on earth to the
gentle and devout Queen. who often came
to pray before the tombs of her beloved
dead: and to this day. after the lapse of
four centuries, the Carthusian monks never
speak above a whisper IN this part Of the
monastery.
PAINTING WITH A HISTORY.
On the wall of another room is a curious
painting of scenes in the life Of our Lord,
which is made with leaves, to fold up like
a screen. 1t is the veritable one that was
carried by the pious couple, Ferdinand and
his queen, in all their wars, and was
placed on an improvised altar in their
every camp, where military mass was al
ways celebrated in the midst Of their
armies. The oldest part of the building,
which was the original chapel, has been
turned into a refectory, large enough to
serve 200 monks; but alas! there are now
only twenty-six. The Carthusian order,
you remember, was founded by Saint Bru-
no, in the year 1856. and was long one of
the ~strictest orders of the church, subject
to sternest rules of labor. as well as con-
slant prayer and penance. For centuries
the Carthusian monks were famous agri-
culturists. but in later years their lands
and resources have been confscated, until
now about their only revenue comes from
gifts and masses for dead. Their hours
for devotion are from s to 8 in the morning;
from 8 to 4 in the afternoon. and again in
the night. winter and summer, they are
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