The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-12
TARRAGONA.
ALONG THESPINISU COAST OFTHE
MEDITERRANEAN
A Famous CathedraI-Th Monks q
Pablet.


to see the inside of it's famous cathe-
dral, would be like making the tour of
Egypt and emitting the pyramids, OF
the Nile. Cathedrals are so common in
Spain that to describe one-tenrh OF
them would consume years of time and
larger stock of patience than your
scribe possesses; but this Tarragona is
so unique and beautiful that it is i'm
possible to pass it by without mention.
Begun in the twelfth century and the
work continued for about three hun
dred years, but never completed
enough has been finished to show the
magnificent plans of generations of
architects and to make it one of the
finest specimens in existence of the
pure Gothic style. You approach the
building by a long, steep flight of
steps, which lead to wide and deeply
recessed doorway, hanked by two
massive square piers, crowned by pin
nacles and surmounted by a glorious
rose" window. Around these piers are
a series of small decorated arches, and
just above them are corresponding
inches for more than score of apos-
ties and prophets, each under a Gothic
canopy. A number Of the nitches are
vacant, which is accounted for by the
tradition that the old saints grow
weary Of standing so long in one posi-
ton, and so, at the end Of every hun
dredth year one of them steps down
and disappears. The interior of the
church is cruciform with lofty nave
and two aisles. The twenty enormous
pillars that support the roof are
I. ~ -
very same that once belonged to st.
PauPs in London, and were sold by
Henry the Eighth, with a lot of other
church furniture. There are splendid
chapels, and rich windows of purple
and orange glass, and tombs of heroes,
and altar-service worth a kings ram
som; but the greatest wonder and GU
riosity about the old sanctuary is it's
carvings, everywhere rich and exquisite
in. detail, from the draperies of the
saints, wrought with utmost delicacy
and minuteness, to the insects that
seem to hang and actually wriggle
among the interviewed leaves Of the
high altar. A multitude of artists
made this carving the holy work of
their lives, religious conscientiousness
expressed in every mark of the chisel.
BY reason of this, the cathedral clois-
tiers are considered the most interesting
In Spain, if not in the world The en-
trance door is divided in the center by
a pillar, carved from base to capital,
and resting on a heap of twisted ser
penis, of such sinister and threatening
appearance that you hesitate to pass
them. Overhead the Alteration of the
Magi the symbols Of the Evangelists,
the three kings asleep in the same bed I
(uncomfortaby night-capped with their |
crowns), and a winged herald coming |
to awaken them to go on to Bethlehem |
all so marvelously life-like that you
can hardly believe they are only in |
stone or marble. Nearly every inch of |
surface in these cloisters is curiously |
and carefully carved. Besides legends
of the saints, passion scenes and histor-
zeal events hunting scenes and even
cock fights are minutely portrayed.
One of the quaintest represents a COM
pany of mice conducting the funeral of
a cat, which is borne on a bier. In
front march priestly mice, in full ca
nonicals, carrying the sprinkling brush
and holy water. Alongside walks the
eexton-mouse, with trowel to dig the
grave, and the mourners follow deco
rously, but with as little appearance of
grief as might be expected over the de-
mise of the arch enemy. The corpse of
the cat is admirably carved and the
expressions on all the faces is worth
coming far to see. In the second scene
the cat, who has only been shamming
death, is springing from the bier, while
the priestly mice, holding up their
gowns and spilling the holy water, the
sexton mouse throwing away his crow
el mournerS and undertakers are
scattering in all directions, with lud-
crously changed expression of counte-
nances. The cloister gardens are equal
ly quaint, with Gothic arches cut and
from box and other shrubs,
and great beds of myrtle ana ivy
trained into singular shapes. In its
walls are embedded fragments of Ro-
man sculpture, said to be portions of
the temple of Augustus. In another .
angle is a Moorish arch of Mihrab, or {
oratory, with a Cutie inscription which ,
states that it was made by Giafar, for
Prince Abdalla Abdur-rahman 1.-The {
servant of God-of the compassionate" ]
N the year $50. {
After the cathedral the next most in
object in this neighborhood is
If Poblet which nothing should induce
,ou to omit, though it necesstates a I
ailway journey of twenty miles or {
more. on go by the Lerida line to q
passing on the way :
through Reus, a lively manufacturing t
own Of thirty thousand inha bitants, in t
trongest possible contrast to sta tely t
rarragona. Reus is the great seat of t
he manufacture of French imitation S
vines, principally Chabdis, Macon and "
cry poor champagne 1t is the birth I
lace of the Painter Fortuny, and also C
f General Prim, the sword of whose Il
recious relic in the town hall. Prim, t
S you remember was made Condo f
Count de Reus as a reward for his n
murder of monks at this fl
lace in 1885. k
A little further on you cross the Riba | h
liver, on a fine, new iron bridge and b
ass several cotton factories grouped /;
bout La Riba station. Montblanch, fl
ear the foothills of the grand Sierra C.
e Prades, is a decayed old moated n
own, with feudal walls, towers and Ii
our gates, where the kings of Aragon a
ED cortes in the middle ages. Poblet Ii
several miles nearer the mountains | y
YER the toughest apology of a road it "
possible to conceive You take a tar e
ina, the only public vehicle of the re- ri
lon, but find it advisable, out of re- CT