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

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on many things, and on nothing more than
being the most Spanish city in Spain
that is, least changed by modern progress
In 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 Eeighbor'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 mue1zin of
old merely 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, to enjoy a glorious pros
| pect. At his feet lies the fiat-roofed.
| white-walled city; the vast cathedral; the
domes OF hundred churches. all covered
! with red and green titles; the splendid
towers OF the Alcazar and a score Of
Moorish mosques and minarets; suburban
villas amid masses Of yerdure; 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 and 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 infdel splendor
and from the balcony under the bells you
| seem TO hear the wrath of the muezZin
! still calling to the faithful: There is no
| God but Allah, and Mohsmmed is his Pro-
| pheti Prayer is better than sleep. Come
| to prayer"
Bathing Pools 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 a
moment beside the battered marble foun-
| tain where for 300 years the clearly Moors
! performed their morning ablutions. 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 cnce-sacTed fountain. then
trudge away with cheerful cries. "Aua!
A'ua! Quien, quiere a'ua? Templa muy
uena," 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 new-fangled no.
ton that warm water is more healthful
than cold on a 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-Al Man
sur. since displaced by the Romish cathe-
dral, dishgured 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 interposition Of the saints in
answer to praycr-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 find the most inter- |
esting il not the most valuable, collec- |
ton of books and manuscripts in the |
world-2O 600 musty volumes bound in vel |
lum beQueathed to the canons and book |
worms Of the cathedral by Columbus son. |
Fernando The great navigatOr's original /
ola.
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 Yves |
tern Ocean. There is also that queer old /
book on nonsense. The Travels of Marco /
Polo" which probably suggested TO Co
umbus 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 legble as copper plate |
and after 800 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 a mass Of material
pertaining to spains 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
Cunquistadores. recounting their expluits !
to the reignng sovereign. one OF the old
est is from Magellanes dated October "a. |
1913 Another. Of about the same period.
was written by Diego Veiasquez 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
Sant0 Domingo; from the Monk. Barthol-
omew de las Casas, reciting 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 eptomiz-
ed-if one could only get at those precious
documents, confirmation of the state
ment by historians. that Francisco pizar-
ro. the conQueror Of Peru. could not write
his name is found here. for letters pur-
porting 10 be his. bear his mark only.
1t is best 10 visit the Alcazar in the
morning. while one is fresh as may be-
a.. |