The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-04

SEVILLE, Spain, Jan. 31.-This sunniest
capital of Andalusia prides itself nightly
on many things, and on nothing more than
| being the most Spanish city in SPAIN
that is. least changed by modern progress.
| In a place where Father Time seems to
have been standing absolutely still since
the days Of the Caliphs-where everybody
lives and moves according to his own
sweet will and nobody pays the slightest
heed TO his reighbor's affairs, any pleas
ant happening grows easily into a habit.
| Thus we find ourselves arising before the
lark and mounting the Giralda Tower-day
after day, as regularly as the muezzin of
| old-mereiy to see the sun spring out OF
bed behind the dark Moreno range and
come smiling over the valley of the Qua
dalquiver.
One need not climb the whole three hun
dred and fifty feet Of the minaret, nor even
| go half way up. 10 enjoy a glorious pros
| pect. At his feet lies the flat-roofei.
white-walled city; the vast cathedral; the
| dones of hundred churches, all covered
! with red and green titles; the splendid
| towers OF the Alcazar, and score Of
| Moorish mosques and minarets; suburban
| villas amid masses of verdure; the historic
| river, sweeping around the outskirts and
away TO the sea- bearing the varied craft
| of commerce. the beautiful valley OF the
| Guadalquiver-here green and gold orange
| orchards, there shimmering grey with the
foliage of olive groves; green valleys and
| little villages nesting in the foothills; big
| trees and palm trees; hedges of aloes and
| rosevines wreathing garden walls; the
| deep blue of the sky the quaint costumes
| of the people astir in the fields and the
| streets, the Ginning of bells, the clamor of
hawks ard pigeons in the belfry overhead
all combine to delight the senses and
| fill the memory with fadeless visions Of
beauty. The old Moslem minaret looks
| down sullenly upon this iniidel splendor,
| and from the balcony under the bells you
| seem to hear the wrath of the muezZin
still calling to the faithful: "Yhere is no
God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Pro-
| phet, Prayer is better than sleep. Come
| to prayer"
Bathing Poole of Ancient Moors.
Descending TO the earth again from Abu-
Yusuf Yakub's tower, we emerge into the
Court of Orange Trees" and stand for
! moment beside the battered marble foun-
tain where for 800 years the clearly Moors
performed their morning additions. Chill
dren play all day long under the cool
arcades, stray goats and donkeys browse
in the grove, and water carriers fill their
kegs at the once-sacred fountain. then
trudge away with cheerful cries, "A'ua!
A'ua. Quien. quiere a'ua? Templ'a muy
'uenau Water, Water, Who wants wa
ter? Tepid and good" Water selling is a
profitable business in Seville, and, besides
their kegs and porous jugs, many of the
aguadores carry kettles of boiling water
for the Spaniards have a newfangled no.
ton that warm water is more healthful
than cold on summers day. Only
two sides of the original Court of Or
ange Trees remain. the quaint Moor
ish arch and bronze doors which led 10 the
twelfth century mosque Of Jacub- Man
sur, since displaced by the Romish cathe-
dral, disfgured by some terra Gotta stat
ues, made as late as 1919. The old gate
way leading from the street into the court
has been partially rebuilt, and in the re-
cess where the kadi used to dispense JUS
tice two images are enshrined-one of the
Saviour in His agony, with bloody face and
rolling eyes; the other His Virgin Mother
The sanctity of these images is attested
by numerous proofs Of miraculous cures,
wrought by interpostion of the saints in
answer to prayer-discarded crutches. pic
lures, and wax representations of sores,
deformities. and other human ills exhib-
tied on shelves. The little altar in front
is always surrounded by kneeling devotees
and its broad copper tray is well covered
with coin.
Climb a worn stone staircase to a suite
OF rooms in the upper story Of the old
mosque, and you will fnd the most inter-
esting il not the most valuable, collec-
ton of books and manuscripts in the
world-20, 600 musty volumes bound in vel
linn IN he IL
worms of the cathedral by Columbus son.
Fernando. The great navigator's original
manuscripts are preserved in a glass case.
Some Of them were written in the dun
geons of the Inquisition; and maps and
charts with marginal notes on them are
disculored with the salt spray of the Wes-
tern Ocean There is also that queer old
book on nonsense, The Travels of Marco
Polo" which probably suggested TO Co
lumbus the existence of another hemis-
phere At any rate, he set great store by
the book and took It on all his voyages.
II bears evidence of much study and US
age. nearly every page being enriched
with notes in Columbus own hand. The
writing though Of the antique style call
ed grabbed" is legible as copper plate, |
and after 100 years the ink is hardly faded |
Histories of Spanish Conquests.
In the Lonja, or Exchange Literally, |
Long Room. which contains the royal ar
chives of the Indies. is mass of material
pertaining to SPANS conquests in the |
Western World They are stored in hand |
some mahogany cases behind locked glass |
doors-great bundles of letters and doc
uments many OF priceless value which |
have never yet been fully Investigated. |
Most of the letters are from the great !
Conquistadores. recounting their exploits |
TO the reigning sovereign. One OF the old |
est is from Magelanes dated October "a |
1913. Another, of about the same period |
was written by Diego Veasquez from La |
Isle Fernandina (Cuba) complaining OF |
the disobedience of Cortez, who had taken |
possession of the ships and armament |
which Velasquez had collected and gone |
off with them-to what we now know was !
the conquest OF Mexico
Beside this letter is another written |
three years later by Cortez himself to |
Charles V, giving an account OF his great |
discoveries and acquisitions in the land OF |
the MonteZumas. There are letters from |
Columbus son, Diego, who was Viceroy of |
Santo Domingo; from the Monk, Barthol- |
omew de las Casas, recting the wrongs of |
the Indians; from Juan Ponce de Leon |
while on his memorable search for the |
Fountain OF Eternal Youth; from Herman |
do de Soto in his terrible march through |
the swamps of Florida; from monks who |
built the mission houses in San Angus |
tine and far California. in short the early |
romance and history of America epitomiz- |
ed-if one could only get at those precious |
documents, confirmation of the state |
ment by historians that Francisco PiZar- |
ro the couaueror OF Peru could not write |