The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-11


ing nothing at all. 1t was built by phil |
ip W., to whom wits of the times sug-
gesfed that he would better buy a river
or sell his bridge. In the reign of Charles |
H., the Court used to amuse itself by |
driving up and down the dry, rocky bed |
or the, Manzanares, and local traditions |
preserve many amusing mishaps that oc- |
CURED. Up to fifty years ago this great
city, of about 475,000 inhabitants, depend |
ed entirely upon the Galiegos. or human
carriers, for every drop of water used:
and SO scanty was the supply, and for
so nigh price did 1t sell, that most of
IT was drunk and very little left for Law
atory purposes. hanks to an English
company, the city is now abundantly
supplied with delicious water which is
distributed into every part by hydraulic
works. a. is brought from the source of
the river Lozoya, away UP in Guadar-
rama range, more tnan thirty miles
away. through an aqueduct which cost
twenty-five ml..-on pesos.
Though Ferdinand and Isabella occa-
sionaily set up their pilgrim tabernacle
on the decllvity that overhangs the Man.
2anares and Charles V. nursed his gout
mere, and other kings tarried awhile to
hunt in the neighooring forests, the
monkish King, Philip H., was first to de-
| clare Madrid "t--e only court and add
all its other high-sounding and meaning
less titles-"El Cu!dad Imperialy Corona
y
the imperial and crowned city, very no.
| Bile, very loyal and very heroic. John
Hay. our Secretary of State, in his book
entitled "Castillian Days." says on this
subject: 1T seems hard to conceive bow
king who had his choice OF Lisbon, with
/ its glorious harbor and unequaled commu-
nications: Seville with its delicious cli-
mate and natural beauty; Salamanca
and Toledo, with their wealth of tradi-
| ton, splendors OF architecture and re-
| nown of learning, should have chosen
this barren mountain for his home and
the seat of his empire. But when we
know this monkish King. we wonder no
longer. He chose Madrid simply because
| it was cheerless and bare and of ophthal-
mic ugliness. The royal kill-joy delight
| ed in having the dreariest capital on
earth. After awhile there seemed to
him too much life and humapity about
Madrid. and he built the Escurial, the
grandest idea of majesty and ennui the
world has ever seen. This vast mass of
granite has somehow acted as an anchor
that has held the capital fast moored at
Madrid through all succeeding years"
| Arrived at Madrid. you find the railway
station infested with an importunate
crowd of beggars, porters, guides and lot
/ terry ticket vendors, through whose fra
grant ranks you fairly fight a passage to
the line of waiting cabs. Jumping into
the nearest cab, you are hardly started
4
pulls up and an official, putting his head
into the door. politely requests you to
descend. What is the matter?" you ask,
/ fumbling for the ever-ready passport.
/ "Recomocer el equipage inspection of
baggage), is the reply. Oh, yes. Thoug.,
your trunks have gone to the custom
house, that little handbag was forgotten
in escaping the swarm of beggars at the
station, who now hem you in and settle
down upon you like locusts on Kansas
field Probably rain is falling, as it usu-
ally does five days out of seven in Mad
rid, but there you must stand in the mud
at the mercy of the crowd, with your ef-
fects exposed to the wet, while the in
: spector makes a deliberate examination
leven of your toothbrush and shakes out
your robe &c mutt. make sure that you
have nothing concealed in 1t; then thrusts
your things back hilter-skilter and chalk.
ing some cabalist:c signs upon the val'se
: bows low and permits you to proceed
5 There is no use in demonstrating, fol
these derechos de puertas, or gate du
: ties" are bound to be attended to. If yol
|, carried so much as an apple or sand
Z wich, it would be promptly confiscated
Y for the benefit of the government, ant
probably there would be a fine to pay, a
] not something worse. most vexatiou
a tax Is levied upon all articles of food be
, fore they are allowed to be carried with
a In the walls, or exposed for sale in th
o markets of any town. Every pound o
-four, every pint of wine, every orange
: pays tribute to the reigning family, AM
r of course the burden of this imposition
f upon the necessaries of life falls heavi
e est upon the poor. The tax is collects
y without pity, and the slightest attempt a
e evasion is sure to be followed by tn
y seizure of the eataDies in question, an
e the fine, or imprisonment, of the offend
It ers. These argus-eyed officials. who's
y wits are sharpened by hunger and ba
n pay, are, however, not altogether indif
n ferent to an influence styled Ell untar d
q las Manos, which, freely rendered, mean
= "greasing the machine.
l. Driving through wide and weil-pave
l. streets-such a contrast to Toledo an
l. Cordova.-you are struck by the extra
e ordinary number of tramway lines run
IS ming in all directions, and the word I'm
J. gleses," meaning English, labelled o
n rything In signt. In Spain the wor
e American" is applied only to Sou.
l. America, anu all the inventions of tn
r United States go under the term "Ingle
It ses." Thus, the street cars. made !
# Delaware, are credited to England, alon
) with st. Louis and Milwaukee beer, ~
e gin watches, and New York cocktails
n such as England never dreamed of. Their
e are "Ingleses" hats, "Ingleses' corsets
a "Ingleses' biscuits, 'Ingleses'' every
v thing, even to "Ingleses' maple suga
Is made In Vermont, and "Ingleses' ap
5, Piles grown in Michigan. 1he Hotel d
e Paris said to be the best in Madrid
!. fronts the Puerta del Sol. Gate of tn
r Sun, the great square which marns TN
J. exact center of the city, where te
s streets and all the tramway lines meet
e and where they diyerge like so many al
e teries. Here originally stood the gate @
l. the old Moorish fortress. 1t disappesre
z. long, long ago, and now the vast oblon
IS space is surrounded by splendid build
Y, ings of light-colored stone. showing dc
q cided Partisan taste and influence, whic
have helped to give Madrid the sobrique
a of "Lillle Paris In these edifices tn
e finest shops and clubs are located. an
J. the gorgeous cafes, with their gildin
J. and frescoes and walls of plate gias:
If One whole side of the square is occupie
,r by an enormous structure erected 10
is Charles III. and devoted to the Min1ste
st rio de la Gobernacion, or headquarter
le of the municipal and military govern
N ments of the city. The handsome tond
l. de Paris stands upon the ruins of the oil
lie Church of Buen Suceso, in which tn
l. good Canon Vinuesa was murdered an
a where, In 1908, Murat perpetrated one {
u his terrorist butcheries, many OF IN
" victims being buried on the spot Multi
ie tudes of peddlers of every descrfpuo