Mexico weekly ledger., 1902-01-30

Thou g1yest safety from the breeze
to the blades Of grass and inspirest
terror in the very stars Of Heaven.
When the shining stzrs culver Il Is
through dread Of thee, and when the
gas Of the field bends down il is 20
give the thanks"
The last greatassembly Of the Mo0rs
gathered here at Boabdil's request to
consider the surrender Of the city TO
Ferdinand Here IS the gate through
which be marched out and which, at
bis request the conquerOr walled up
that no other foot should follow bis.
And yonder Is the rock yet called The
Last Sigh Of the Moor" where Boab-
dill. pzusiug IN his retreat from Gran
ada, Eept bis stern mother Tebukiug
him with the harsh ''weep not like a
woman Tor that which thou couldst
not defend like a man. The son Of
the Aihambra,r born within It's very
walls, who guided Us through the
rooms and r~eeessess- 2aaa2 charm 10
the cid familiar story.
Above the gateway to the palace IS
carved a key and a hand The Moorish
superstition was that Moorish power
In Spain would not be finally ended
until the hand clasped the key in the
fall Of the stone arch. The arch yet
stands with It's unelasped hand and key
and it's motto, "There is no cunQuerUr
but God"-almost the only object al
the ALEXANDRA unmutilated and
there are yet M0ors Of purest blood 10
Morocco who believe the faith Of
Islam viii again become ail-powerful
in Spain, and point TO the decline OF
the nations greatness for their proof.
There are some sights ofleSser inter
est at Granada. The Generalife, or
summer residence Of the Moorish
kings, is a picturesque villa upon a
neighboring hill nov owned By a rich
italian and kept in excellent condi-
ton.
The GYPSY quarter Of the town af-
fords a glimpse at this curious people,
with the worst and least attractive Of
whom America is familiar.
The cathedral OF Granada holds the
remains of Ferdinand and ISabellaand
also the lead coffin with the corpse Of
Philip the Handsome which his wife,
Joanna the Mad, carried around with
her on her journeys
Not far away is the little town Of
Santa Fe where was signed the royal
decree granting Columbus financial as
sista1ce for his first voyage OF dis
covery.
A little further on is the town Of
Pinos. which Columbus had reached,
on his way to France after what be re-
garded as the failure u his negotia-
lions with the Spanish monarchs and
from which be was recalled 70 court
BY Isabellas messenger TO her ever
lasting honor.
Spain, even In its dreariest portions
has a remarkably rich soil. II iscapa-
bic, under proper cultivation, Of pro-
ducIng wonderful crops. The olive
and the grape are the most valuable
products OF southern Spain. Exten-
sive olive orchards were seen, In many
Of them harvest in progress The
malaga grapes are the finest for eat
ing though some other varieties make
better wine. Irrigation is employed
In many places.
Most Of the farming is with wooden
plows-though nov and then o may
see more modern agricultural imple-
ments Numerous young olive orch
ards are being planted and in other
places the old trees have been pruned
that new and vigorous young shoots
may spring up which they quickly do.
All over SPAN may be seen ruined or
partially preserved Moorish watch
towers which were not only for signal
and defense, but guarded the olive
0rchards as we'll
SPANS QUEER CONTRASTS.
Spain is a country OF eOntrasts,a Dr..
Jekyn and Mr.. Hyde among nations
Its skies are as sunny as those Of Italy
and. further north, its hills are as
bleak and inh0spitabie as those Of
Labrador. Its people are courteous
and cruel, emotional 70 an extreme
In q cOsntry zhere universities -four
ished before America was discovered
twO-thirds CT the population can nei
read nor write When the Spaniarc
wishes to describe extreme poverty
he says, "p0OF as a sehOoimaSter.
Yet Spain allows its universities
special representation in the C0rtes
pensions its aged professors, and 10
diplomats are among the most accom-
plished in the world.
! Spanish civilization, like the PENN
! sula itself, shows traces Of the deposit
left BY the various races which in turI
! have held it. The Iberians, Ph0eni
clans, Romans. Goths, Nisig0ths
MoorS French and finally the prouI
Spaniard himself are represented il
It's architecture and It's life. Once th
mistress Of the world 1t now cal
scarcely keep itself together. Tb
better class Of spaniards see a grea
future for their country, however
They point to its wonderfully ricI
soil, It's inerhaustible mines, It's CON
manding situation and its yariea