Evening star., 1916-09-24
ANDORRA.
Copyright. 1915.
BY DIR. FRANK CRANE.

There are moods wherein we want
to go to Andorra. There are people
who naturally long for. are natural
citizens of, Andorra. though they never
heard of the place.
Andorra is the queerest little nation
in the world. 1t is composed of people
"the world forgetting, of the world for
got" 1t has no dealings with other
countries. no amba ssadors, no foreign
relations, no policy except to mind its
own business and to wish the habitants
OF other countries to mind theirs and
keep away.
1t is not land of fancy. it is not an
Alice-in w onderland place. 1t actually
exists. You can go thereby mule
however, for no railroad runs to 1t, not
even n wagon road.
1t Is hidden I'D in the Pyrenees noun
tains, between France and Spain. 1t
is some eighteen miles long and SIX
teen miles wide, and has about 5000
Inhabitants.
1t is somewhere around 1,100 years
old. and in all that time the customs
of the people have changed but little.
1t has never been famed for anything.
no progress, welcome no strangers and
do not hunger for knowledge. They
are ignorant. and glad of it.
1t is a republic in the sense that it
has not much of any government at
all. almost approaching that condition
of, the ancient Jews when. in the era
of the Judges. every man did what
was right in his own eyes" There is
no king, no nobility, no classes. social
or legal.
The president is a farmer who works
for living and whose official salary
is SO year.
. They have no police Anybody can
arrest you if you disturb the peace.
They have never produced any litera-
ture, art, music or science. They use
only the tools of their ancestors. They
want no change, and any one who tries
to improve conditions is looked upon
as mentally unbalanced.
One enterprising citizen, who had
Travelled in France, built hotel by
a fine spring, but. as nobody visited it.
and rs there are few travellers. who
penetrate the country, it closed its
doors. The only hotel they have now
is used also schoolhouse, Jail, town
hall and courthouse.
Outlandish as the place is. it is really
q symbol of the goal of many souls,
of al souls at certain times. when we
sian Cor "a lodge in some vast wilder
ness. some boundlcss contiguity of
shade"
look forward to a heaven which they
ina Gine to be kind of everlasting
celestial Andorra, where nobody does
anything nor wants anything. where
we never will be pestered by improve
ment. but will sit in the shade and
drink some forgetful draught forever
ard ever; amen.
There are times when existence irks,
and we ask nothing better than to
cease to be. We want to quit, to be
forgotten.
We are angry at the mother who
bore US Our grievance against the
world is that We exist.
There's a strong streak of Hamlet in
US. who would these fardels bear,
who would not shuttle off this mortal
coil" did he not fear to exchange his
sad lot here for a sadder hereafter?
To all. therefore, who have this kind
of mulligrubs. and would like to go
way, way off somewhere and crawl
into a hole and pull the hole in after
them We recommend Andorra. There
are no colleges to make you want ito
get on, no millionaires to excite your
envy, no war. no business, no society
just nothing.