Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-01-11


ish square that | told you about yes
place and Injuries the effect of the
quaint old buildings, with their white
walls, their balconies hung with bird
cages and towering jassanine And
one cannot recover from the shock OF
seeing these venerable old piles illnm,
mated by electric bulbs One resents
such Innovations. They are all right
In modern hotel. where You need
them to read your gude.book in the
evening and make notes for tomor.
rows letter but they have no business
around the altar of the cathedral and
in the old palace of the Inauisition
One resents this incongruous mixing
| up of the seventh century with the
| twentieth
The Inqusition building is as
| gloomy and solemn as anything you
can imagine, The solitary cloisters
and the stately quadrangle appear To
be deserted. for the only living thing
we saw was a bakers boy shuffllng
along with tray of bread. The walls
of the arcade. which used to turn a
deaf ear to the shreks of the tortured.
and the groans Of dying heretics, and
are covered with ancient paintings de-
picting the horrors which unbelievers
| Will suffer in the next world. are IL
Illuminated by electric light Just think
of 1t! And what right have these
modern Toledoans to introduce tele-
phones and typewritcrs into these
| oh 10 %
What righ, have they to hang arc
lights from poles in the Iocodover
| But there Is no one to complain to
hut the moon. You see this mixture
of ancient and modern everywhere.
| II you will go into any of the old
| churches at service tlme You Will find
| barcfooted monks. cloalted and hooded,
singing from ancient mssnls by cleo
| tric light, The dungeons and even the
| tombs are Illuminated the same way
| for the benefit of tourists. and as /
have already told you, incandesceni
bulbs are taxing the place OF candles
| upon the affairs, which | think is ir-
| reverant and ought to be prohibited
by the bishops. We are told that the
| ever-burning candles that we find in
Catholic churches are in Imitation OF
the eternal fire that was kept alive by
| the vestal virgins In ancient Rome, but
do not think an electric light can
| have any efficacy.
And what Is the more extraordinary,
the electricity Is generated by the an
cient mills of the Moors. down on the
banks of .ae river. They are quaint
old places. 400 and 1900 years old.
The Romans built great aqucducts, as
they did everywhere, 10 bring water
to the city but all traces of them have
disappeared; sstsn the Moors. who
doing things. hoisted their water
from the river with a wheel. which
was also destroyed When the Christ
ians came .ney carried their daily
supply up the hill on the backs OF don.
keys. 1t is an old proverb that the
Romans built walls and fortrcsses, the
Greeks made statues, the Christians
erected crosses and the Mohammedans
dug wells
Among the curious features of To-
edo which unfortunately remain no
longer were water clocks. devised by
a Moorish genius named Az-Zarcal.
who placed them on the banks of the
Tagus so ,Aat the people could read
the time. They were run by water
power, and were 80 famous that Dan.
iel Merlac. an English astronomer,
came all the way from oxford In I.oy
20 study them.
a. ~
OF the river is the so-called Bano de
le Cava, where, according to the story.
Zoraide. the laughter oi Count Julian,
used to go to bathe. and IRON the WIN
dows of the palace the great Roderick.
the Go,. king. saw her beauties one
day. The result OF his passions, then
inspired. was a quarrel. and the out
ragged father summoned the Moors. en-
abled them 10 invade the city. and so
Roderick lost his kingdom. The story
is told in Scott's vision OF Don Rod
eric. the Last Of the Gothic Kings"
Another romance, quite different In
its results. Is told OF the Castle of San
servando. which played a great part
| in the history OF the thirteenth cen
| Jury. Near by close To the bridge OF
Alcantara, by winch We enter the city,
is the ruin OF the castle OF the Prin-
cess Galiana. who entertained the
great Charlemagne when he came to
| Toledo He iell In love with her and
she with him. for his sake she accept.
ed Christianity and returned with him
TO France. where she shared HIS
throne and became In every way a
good wife and good queen. Very
little now remains OF this once mag
nlficent fortress, and the walls and
loose rubbish have been utilized by
some gypsy folks who have made rude
dwellings Of them.
| While am telling the romances oi
Toledo there Is still another quite as
interesting as any. about the wife oi
the man who built one of the great
bridges over the Tagus. When he
found that his work had been defec
tive and that II the false work that
sustained the arches were taken away
the bridge would fall. he went home
in state OF mind. as you can imag
inc. and did what every man ought
to dO-tOld his trouble to his wife