The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1915-06-26

~ pa bdAAh A00AlIDOO Ali palms,
casting such vivid shadows in the
waters that it seemed to me, at
times, that the shadows were some
thing we were running into. Occas-
ionally a canoe would appear, : the
partly nude natives silently padding
by and it was all lovely, too. Then
the usual fiat darkness of the tropics
descended, as we reached the boat
landing and climbed the concrete
steps to the R. R. tracks where one
of the Plantation engines waited to
take US the half hours ride to the To-
cation of our homes. The voice of
manager-lady, saying, "Come,
wake up from your trance, stirred
me up a little, and bye and bye | got
my spirits back from a zero point-a
queer condition in such a warm
country. Later we had dinner al the
Assist. Administrators house-next
to ours, and a pleasant evening, and
then | was ready to take the usual
CHEEKY view of life once more. Per-
haps, after all, | was just hungry,
for in my Mexican experiences the
Rio outlook was just as primeval on
3 a. m. on that occasion. The trip
i'll Olit 11NCI IOWy WIiCn L iidNC 1CdcOll
for going to the Capital, and in the
instance when our manager took US
on a launch picnic, | find thoroughly
enjoyable and do not give a thought
to the loneliness, and then when one
gets to the Capital there are SO many
wonderful historical things to see, it
makes the first lesson in American
History seem less like a fairy tale,
Or1 1Yy 1f41-. @a4 L4- 49, 1n4.,-
the oldest church on this side of the
Atlantic-it takes in a whole block
n part of it is still incompleted,
where the old, old bronze bell hangs
there is a sort of tower still partly
built. A stone court leads into the
church and on either side of the main
door are two grooves, each contain
ing figures of bible times and pro-
tected by oval glass windows. In
the wall of the court close to the mar
row street pavement, that two can
just barely walk upon, is another win
dow of the same kind, with smaller
figures, and on the very-often Saint
days, the addition of flowers and can
dies. The interior of the church has
so many wonderful things in it that
up until the time mine own eyes be-
held them I had thought of as guess
So" The approach to the altar is
big and gorgeous and on one side of
the marble floor are two slabs-one
telling where the bones of Columbus
were first supposed to have rested,
and next to it, another, telling that
his bones later were really found,
proven by the manuscript found with
them. On the other side of the mar
BILE altar floor is still another marble
slab, beneath which the bones of Co.
lumbus' brother lie. Coming down
the steps from the altar on one side
is a large painting, cracked in thous-
ands of little lines. 1t is a picture of
the King and Queen Isabel in a de-
votional attitude and presented by
them to this church. As one comes
from the altar toward the front of
the church either side has continuous
smaller affairs for the different relig-
ious ceremonies and many of them
overlooking with floral designs left
there after the funerals of the
Islands prominent people, Presidents
and men who have died of later times
in its service. One contains a great
cross of the hardest polished wood,
niched all over by those visiting SOU
venir iends. This cross, according
to custom, was erected first and the
surrounding walls after. The big pill
lars of the church have been covered
with.a sort of pink plaster to protect
the crumbling joints of stone which
are breaking, as are also the outer
immense stone connections of the
building. I took a broken-off piece
of this pink cement, and laid it on the
bureau at the hotel, for safe-keeping.
The maid not possessing the same
reverence for the keepsake, threw it
out in my absence.
The really grand spectacle of the
building is a gigantic white marble
monument, circular and having steps
leading down to the base on all four
sides. Each side has also a big cop
per plate, with wrought figures of
Columbus history upon this first
him explaining his theories to the
Court, the shores of the New World
with the Indians giving homage, and
last, planting the Spanish flag and
taking possession in the name of the
King and Queen of SPAIN" l remem-
Der this last sentence as a school-day
chant. The monument is directly at
the entrance of the big front doors
leading off the court yard and extends
almost to the ceiling of the church.
The whole marble monument is beau
tifullv carved, particularly the figures
upon it of the type of men of the peri
cd. At the base are four gates to
which the steps OF the four sides lead,
and on Anniversary day these gates
are unlocked and one has the privi-
lege of gazing on the historic bones
of the Great Columbus, which lie in
a big beautiful iron box protected on
the top with a glass cover This mag
nifcent piece of sculpture was done in
Italy and took years to complete, fiji
teen or twenty. 1t is the loveliest
thing of that sort I have ever seen
made me wonder how such perfection
could. travel so many miles across
seas.
The really quaint thing about the
church is the limited number of seats,
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