The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-07
Some Things Most Travellers Miss
By c. F. MARKELL

os Oe IT
 The man who ever aims to widen his horizon and succeeds in his effort is spending most profitable life and if he be an individual of sentiment, culture and refinement the expansion of his vision boundary. mental or physical. is a source of unexcelled pleasure.
 Nothing so expands the horizon as travel provided it is pursued intellgently and nothing so stores the mind with the sweets of reflection, which are the richest treasures of old age. One who has lived in Arcadia may learn to know that there is world of poverty and sorrow. but he has lived in Arcadia
 The citizen of the world senses an in- pression of ownership in the world s wealth of art and architectural glory. I have never gazed at the Milo or Capitoline Venus without feeling that she was part, ly mine. She belongs to the public and I am part of the public. Her actual own CTS can do no more than look at and ad- rnire her. and can do as much. Every time I return to gaze at Mona Lisa I half imagined that her indescribable smile was one of personal recognition and welcome and when she was stolen I felt as if had lost a friend. The great shadowy, im- pressive cathedrals are mine to visit at my pleasure, and even the gorgeous pal aces whose public salons and suites I have seen so often imbue me with a sense of possession.f I am familiar with their windings and their stairways. I know their etres. as the French say, and being so familiar with them must feel at home upon each repetitive visit.
 There is one statue In the Glyptothek at Munich that I invariably kiss when the guard is not looking; know the pig cons in the Piazzo St. Marco at Venice, the bears at Berne, the sheep at kenil- worth and the peafowls at Warwick cas- tle
 l have often marvelled why so many people travel who have apparently no conception of what they are to see nor appreciation thereof after they have seen: I once met a lady upon a. Mediterranean steamer who was protesting against her husband taking her to Venice, and when I later met her In Germany the same sea- son she remarked to Mrs. Markell that she was so glad she had gone to Venice, as she got such nice, cheap silk stockings there. I have also known ladies who re- fused. to leave the carriage to visit a cathedral, saying they had seen enough Catholic churches and wanted to visit some Protestant ones. I once had a man ask me which was the proper name of the river, the Rhine or the Rhone.
 More pleasure is to be derived from travelling from knowing beforehand that which you are to see, than in receiving in- formation as you go, and I was once so insistent upon seeing a certain stone in a museum and described it so minutely that my guide was convinced I had previously visited the place.
 While I propose in this paper to go over the beaten track I shall at the same time venture to present few features that not one traveller in 10000 Is cognizant of, even after many months of sojourn in the local ities where they exist.
 Many of the Mediterranean tourists in the early spring stop over at Gibraltar and run up into Spain to see the cath edrals and galleries of ancient Iberia, among which are those of Cordova. This city is quite picturesque and associated with many romantic stories, but it pays one to drive a. few miles out to the Hill of the Bride" and visit the site of Med inat-ez-Zahra (City of the Fairest, built 1000 years ago by the Calf Abd-erRah man I'll, and named after his favorite wife.
 One-third of the royal revenue was spent in It's building, which consumed 40 years and 10000 workmen labored daily at the task. Every day 5000 blocks of stone were cut and polished and 5000 beasts of burden were daily used to carry them to the spot. Of the 40O0 columns in addition to those hewn from the home quarries of Tarra- gona and Almerfa, many were presented by the Emperor of Constantinople and many came from Rome, Carthage, Sfax and other leading centers of art The Hall of the Caliphs had a roof of marble and gold with walls of the same materials enclosing wonderfully sculptured foun- tain presented by the Greek Emperor. There were 15,000 doors coated with iron and polished brass: in the middle of the hall was a huge basin of quicksilver, upon either side of which were eight doors set in ivory and ebony and adorned with shone through these doors the lake of quicksilver was set quivering and the whole room was filled with flashes like lightning, causing the courtiers to cover their dazzled eyes. This Is all well worth knowing and the dreaming that one. en- gages in more than pays for the trouble experienced in reaching the site of this an- cient glory.
 On little side street, not a stones throw from the Cancellaria the Jews market), in Rome, is still to be seen the remnants of a most remarkable statue that was associated with wonderful legend. No one knew who fashioned it or comprehended it's raison d'etre. It was the figure of male, very tall and held It's right arm extended Upon its pointed index finger was the inscription, Strike here" the purport of which was a source of endless mystery and speculation.
 Finally a monk observed that at a cer- tain hour of the day the extended digit cast a shadow upon the ground and con- ceivng the idea that this was the signi1- canoe of the admonition, he carefully marked the spot where the shade rested and at midnight began to dig upon the spot. He soon came to flight of steps leading to a metal door, which he opened and entered a large hall filled with richly apparelled but silent courtiers. All gazed at the intruder, but said nothing. The as- founded visitor passed on to the second hall. which was thronged with ladies whose robes glittered with jewels and prec- ious stones and whose tiaras were set with stones and whose tiaras were set with costly gems, but who, like their male companions, observed an unbroken si-