The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-05-13
Old GOA THE GOLDEN
ITS SITE is NOM ONLY A VAST AND
GRASSY TOMB.

In INDIA Magnificent Wilderness.
Its Masterpiece o., Art the Tomb Of
St. Frnacis Eav1er.
It YEAS said thai during the prosper
Gus times Of the Portuguese in Ind1a
you caald not have seen piece Of iron
in any merchants house. but ali sold
and silver. They coined immense guam
tires of the precious metals and used
to make piecess Of workmanship n
them for expectation. The very SOL
diers enriched themselves Dy com'
merce.
But then at last came the inquisldon,
which celebrated its terrible ana oeaoiy
rites with more fervor and vehenence
at Goa than in any other place. Aeal-
eious persecution, pestilence and wars
with the Dutch, disturbances arising
from an unsettled government, and,
above all, the slow but sure workings
Of the shortsighted policy Of the Portu-
guese in internaFFying and identifying
themselves with the Hirdoos Of the
lowest caste, made her fall as rapid as
her rise was sudden and prodigious.
In less than a century and e half aft
er pa Cana had landed on the Indian
shore the splendor Of Goa had departed
forever. The inhabitants fed before
the deadly fever which seoa fastened
upon the devoted precincts Of the city
and IN 175S the viceroy transferred MS
headquarters from the ancient capital
TO Parjina, about eight miles distant
Soon sfteyward the religious orders
were expelled, leaving their mssntd-
cent converts and churches all out Ut
terly deserted, and the inouisfaon was
suppressed upon the INSTRUMENTATION
Of the British government.
The place is now grass greWn VII
derness. But still the firm and well
built causeways Of this olden city and
its moldering splendors are reminiscent
Of echoing pageants and the tramp OF
armies which once sounded there AS
we tread the ancient wharf, lons,
broad road, lined with double TOW or
trees and faced with: stone, more sug'
cest;7e scene Of desofation can haodly
be conceived. Everything around teens
with melancholy associations, the very
rustlings Of the trees and nurnur OF
the waves sound Ike dirge for the De-
parted grandeur Of city.
Towering above a mass Of ruins a
solitary gateway tanks the entrance
to the Strada DIretta, the Straight
street so called because almost all the
streets IN old Goa are laid out-fn cus-
vitinear form. It was through chs
porta! surmounted By TIE figures OF
St. Catherine and Vasco da Cana thas
the newly appointed viceroys Of Goa:
passed IN trtunphal procession 10 Sns
palace.
Beyond the gate a level road, once; g.
populous thoroughfare, leads to the
Terra di Sabaio, 9 large square front
Ing the Primacial, or Cathedral OF Ss.
Catherine, who became the paue1
saint Of Goa when the place was cap
tured by Albuquerque on the day OF
her festival Gro7es Of eocoannt paailss
and mango topes now incuaaer the
ground once covered by troops OF horse.
The wealth. the busy life and the iux-
ury Of the old place are dead. hlses
and cebras infest the Gumbltag balls
which once resounded with the ban
ouet and the dance. and naaghs but
few old monks and nuns keeps vigil
amid it's desolation today.
But Goa possesses one treasure OF
great interest. This is the tomb OF
Francis Xavier, the great Jesuit mis-
sionary to the east. It is to be found IN
the Church Of Bon Jesus. It is mas
terpiece Of art which is lost to all but
the casual visitors to old Goa. Some
have rentured to suggest that no other
mausoleun in India or even in Asia ex-
cept the Tai Mahal can equal it. It is
built Of rich marble Of variegated col
ors. The lowest stage IS Of red and
purple jasper and Carrara alaoaster
adorned with statuettes and cherubs,
The middle stage is Of green and yellow
Jasper decorated with beautiful bronze
plates representing incidents in the life
Of the saint The highest Of the three
stages is surrounded by lovely rail-
ing OF red Jasper marked with white
spots, the adornments being figures or
angels, while its middle portion Is
1aced with columns elegantly carved.
whose intervening spaces are surmount-
ed by arches showing further incidents
in the life Of the saint. The fcaeEes OF
the four lateral columns aye Of black
stone and the plinths Of yellow jasper.
surmounting this last stage lies the
coffin overlaid with silver, gorgeous
receptacle embeliished with many e1.
uuisite specimens Of relief work.
Lumps Of silver depending around COM
plete the adoranent Of the shrine. It
is a worthy relic Of Goa's departed glo-
~.
The bell Of the Augustinian convent
still rings forth its vesper peal above
this old city Of ghosts, and it Is impos-
sible to forget the effect OF the deep,
mCUCUlUl uOlGS d. t4cS oIA@hS Scf0A@ wv
ear. Never was heard more beautiful
or more sadly musical summons than
that which calls in vain from the tower
Of the Augustnians to the forsaken and
solitary city.
It is all summed up in the eloquent
apostophe Of Sherer: ''Goa the golden
avists M n,s-e. Goa. where the aged
Da CANA closed his glorious life; Goap
where ,kle immortal Camoens sang and
suffered. 1t IS low but a vast and
grassy tomb. and. it seems as If Its thin
and gloomy population ct priests and
eriars were only spared to chant re-
QUEENS for its departed souls. st
James Gazette.
a Rigid Dutch Law.
More than 200 years ago the Dutch
- rAt0ic fhp3r