The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-07-07
A Glimpse Of
Proud Old Spain
Once the Richest and Most Power
full Nation on the Face of
The Whole World.

The Whole World.
Among European powers, S pain
has back seat today, but its history
is as full of tradition and romance as
that of any other nation. Review
ing Spain's history we find that Spain
was at one time a colony of r m e.
Later on Spain was conquered by the
barbarians, the Moorish domination.
Then the Moors we're overthrown
and expelled by the Christians. From
this time, the conquest of Spain b Y
the Christians, begi ms the glorious
history of that country, when b e r
possessions were the vastest of any
nation in Europe. She was at this
time also the richest nation, drawing
an enormous income from her colo
nial possessions. Spain has produc-
ed in. her early years many m f
letters, statesmen and artists. Con-
slider for a moment the names an d
dates of a f W of these m en-. We
find that Seneca was born at Cordo-
ba n B. c., 3, the poet Lucan born
at the same place in A. D., 80. Still
later we find that b e birthplace of
Prudentius, the earliest of Christian
poets, was said to be at Tarragona in
A. D., 34S. In the sixteenth century
Spain was the greatest power in the
world. Her supremacy however was
impaired by the defeat and destruc-
tion of the Armada in 1888. Very
soon after this Spain commenced her
long but steady decline which re-
suited in her losing all of her vast
colonial possessions, by conquest of
other nations and revolutions.
Perhaps the most interesting part
of Spain is that portion lying in the
North known as the Basque Prov
inces. The Basques themselves are
not Spaniards, being ola differentrace
and ethnologists are not yet agreed
as to their exact place in the family
of races. The Basques are therefore
to students, racially and linguistically
a conundrum. They are big boned,
sturdy people, proud of their stock
and tenacious of their language and
customs.
Old CASTLE which is in the central
part of Spain is famous as the birth
place of Cid. Cid is hero W b is
celebrated in Spanish song and story,
just as Roland is in France. A large
number of the most interesting places
throughout the province are in some
way related to the life Of this great
Spanish warrior.
Salamanca with its old university,
which in the middle ages ranked with
the University Of Ok ord, b ad
some seven thousand students of all
At present there are
only few hundred and nearly all of
these from Spain. There are many
interesting spots in and around Sal
by reason of the many tradi-
tons d romances which cluster
about them.
New CASTLE is sanother famous city
which boasts of having a Ii ma t e
whichis considered the worstin Spain,
being excessively hot in Summer and
very cold in Winter. The residents
of New CASTLE have a proverb which
is: Untilthe fortieth of May donttake
off your overcoat." It is said in
time there is frequently
of forty degrees between
the sunny and shady sides of h
street. Among the places of interest
in New CASTLE are the Prado Muse
um and picture gallery which con-
tains many rare and valuable paint
ings of the Spanish school.
Andalusia abounds in Moorish and
Roman mains of architecture.
Nearly every corner in this fascinat-
ing section of Spain is celebrated in
history or tradition. Many famous
warriors, artists and writer's whose
names are still remembered we're
born in Andalusia.