The Republican journal., 1900-06-21

less robes, of various colors. of rich pat
terms Of embroidery, given by kings ant
queens, popes, archbishops and wealthy
ladies. Her crown, without it's Jewels
cost S25, 900, and her bracelets. brooche.
and other jewelry are worth the ramso1
OF several Kings. In Spain the WORSHIP
OF the Virgin is something like that
paid to an earthly queen and assumes az
oddly practical character. She has al
ways royal crown, household form.
ed of the greatest ladies of the land
who provide for her wardrobe. her
fetes and professions; and she had also
considerable landed estates, left to hel
in legacies, from which sacred revenue
is derived.
The great queen of this cathedral
is carved of black who'd and is seated
on silver throne, under a silver-gilt
canopy, supported by alabaster pillars.
In the year III it was saved from the
infdels by an Englishman who hid it in
a vault. where it remained until after
the reconquest of Toledo. Her famous
cloak was made in 1913, and in it the fol
lowing materials We're employed: 275
ounces of pearls. of various sizes: 800
ounces of gold thread: 100 ounces of
small pieces of enamelled gold and 20
ounces of emeralds and other precious
stones. 1t is a marvel Of the jeweler' S
art, the material entirely concealed by
precious stones. while black and pink
pearls and gems of every color and
purest water, wrought into leaves.
roses. tieur-de-lis. stars, crosses and
creScents.
Queerest of all the chapels is Tat
built by Alvero de Luna. Constable of
CASTLE, Grand Master of the Order of
Santiago, and Prime Minister Of John
II, whose mind and counsels he COM
pletely ruled for nearly forty years. He
lived in royal state, and when he rode
out was followed by thirty knights,
and he held three thousand lances in
his pay. His interference brought about
a marriage between his king and Isa-
bella of Portugal, who become his bitter
est enemy, and whose ascendency over
her husband was finally the cause of
| his ruin He was executed on trump
ed-up charge of high treason, in the
plaza of Valladolid, his last words being,
"And this is the reward of faithful ser
vice to my king" During his lifetime
he had prepared beautiful bronze tombs
for himself and his beloved wife. But
when he was disgraced, her relentless
master had them broken up and they
were made into two pulpits, which now
stand at the entrance to the Capilla
! Mayor. The existing sepulchres of ala
! baster. rich but much defaced, are due
to the 1ilial piety of his daughter Maria.
The original tombs had on top reclin-
| ing statues of the occupants, provided
with springs and hidden mechanism, so
that at every elevation OF the Host
they rose to their feet, bowed. knelt III
prayer: and then. when mass was over,
folded their hands upon their bronze
breasts and lay down again. What a
pity that these strange specimens of
medieval ingenuity could not have
| been spared. On tombs and floor, ce il
ing and walls. appears the sculptured
device OF the LlmaS-a hand grasping
a shining crescent: and above the altar
rises the equestrian Statue of Spain S
patron saint, trampling upon PROSTATE
Moors-titting emblem OF the domini-
| ton of ignorance and crime over intelii-
gence and art.
In the Capilla de los Reyes, chapel of
New Kings, so named to distinguish it
from the one IN which Kings Of earlier
times are buried, lie the bones of many
monarchs. from Henrique II, placed
here in 1879 his wife and son, to Gaia
lima de Lancashire, (1419. daughter of
John of Gaunt All the other chapels
are equally interesting, but it would re
quire days to explore the twenty. and
every page in this paper to describe
them. We cannot leave the cathedral
without mention of the measurable
chapel, large, separate building inter
ed near the great western door Its
history is this: At the Moorish inva-
sion, the Toledans defended themselves
CALAMITY, and when they yielded, OBJ
tanned the best conditions they could
Chief among the terms they insisted
upon was that they might preserve five
churches, in which there should be
absolute liberty of worship for those
who remained faithful to Christianity
Thus, through the four hundred years
of Moorish rule, the faith was kept
alive in Toledo, and the faithful bore
the name of Mos Arabes, mixed with
Arabs
FANNIE B. WARD.
Rank Examiner II r Tim a ~,