Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-09-03
THIS MAGIC ISLAND
OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
Prepared and Issued by
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
Amid the trials Of heat. H. c. of
L. and politics it may be restful 10
read of a place where cool breezes
blow, and the scenery is magic, where
people are peaceable and honest and
there are no ~profiteers. where the
women T pretty, charming and
easily entertained, and life moves
along with a songl" says a bulletin
from the Washington, ID. c. head
quarters of the National Geographic
Society.
There is such a spot. Ten hours
out from continental Spain on a fairly
fast and quite comfortable steamer
lies a little archipelago-the Balearic
Islands-whose largest island called
Mallorca, or Majorica, is perhaps the
most enchanting corner, one OF the
most interesting and pleasing, as Wen
as one of the most forgotten islands
of the Mediterranean. The following
account of its attractions Is summar-
lied from the description Of an eye
witness, Col. Ernesto de March y de
Garcia-Mesa, Spanish Army.
"A great painter and writer called
II the island of caIm,'" for there
everyone moves, rests, talks, and con-
ducts his courtships as il the day had
forty-eight hours, the mile about IT,
900 feet, and the span of human life
seven hundred years, so little haste DO
they make in living and enjoying life.
One Mallorquin of noble family Is
said to have waited forty-fve years in
determining to lead his sweetheart
to the altar. with no protest from her,
and without having been slain in ex-
ASPIRATION by his mother-in-law.
Last SUMMER during the latter
part of July when the Thermometer
in washington and New York stood
around 80 degrees in the shade, ana
in Madrid ran to blood heat. h
breezes famed these island folk to
the tune OF 76 degrees,
THE surface of the island is ex-
tremeIy varied. The fiat lands, ad-
mirably cultivated and covered al
most entirely with orange, lemon, al
mond, and olive trees, spread out be-
.yond mountains four or five thousand
feet high. Upon the sides of these
peaks snug little villages seem to
hang. Like many of the Mediterran-
can islands whose anne are sugges-
tive of NEUROLOGICAL lore, Mallorca's
%littoral, especially that extending
from Dragonera to Pollensa and from
Soller to the extremity of Formentor
is indeed picturesque. The natural
beauty of its huge cliffs, seeming to
be touched by both wav and cloud
at the same moment, is awe-inspiring
and mysterious. Visitors are apt TO
feel reasonably sure that nymphs, un-
Dimes, sirens, and tritons once peo-
pied its grottos, and Ligea comDed
her lovely hair with her golden
comb on some of the queer Jutting
rocks at their entrances.
tsNy1, ao fhfz ~WnnAarff island an
impractical place to spend a few
months. There are about 120 miles
of railroads on the island, and a sys-
tenn of local roads which permit of a
travellers visiting many of the CHIEF
points of interest with ease and COM
fort.
'These people who take life SO
leisurely are not lazy, shiftless, or un-
pleasant in personal appearance or
They r intelligent, honest,
capable of work, sober and econom-
ical. These cha acteristics preserved
throughout ries of uninterrupt-
ed peace and tranquility have made
them ~peaceable. trusting, and home
loving. The men are of medium
height, strong, and agile. They have
brilliantly in many of the
championship sporting events held in
Spain, and wherever they have gone
on the continent their undertakings
have been marked with success. And
as for the women, Col. March, in
writing of them says:
"sThey possess the same lovely skin
as the women of North America, fea-
lures as if sculptured by Phidias or
Praxiteles, and they walk like god
desses.' But he Iaments in the next
breath that they know nothing OF the
Joy of living due partially to an
cestral Arabic influences and to the
tact that their island has for SO Ion
been under strict religious repres-
sion. He calls Mallorca the love-
Hest cage on the planet, its wonder
full, intelligent and gracious women
being as bored as odalisks in a harem
without a sultan
Like many of the regions and
cities of Italy, this island OF the Ba-
learic group lost amid the waters OF
the Mediterranean. has many inter-
esting treasures in art, history, arch
aeology, and architecture. Its Cathe-
dral and the palaces of some Of the
nobility are truly enchanting.
And an all important feature! The
cost of living is cheap in Mallorca.
would not be astonished to know
that he could become a member OF
.Royal Club of Regattas,' fully
and comfortably equipped for about
20 cents a month in dues? Though
prices have risen here as elsewhere
during the War;, the aforementioned
Spanish colonel says that it is the
spot of all Europe and America
where one could have lived the most
reasonably during these past V
years. II
1.-The Balearic group, belonging to
Spain, consists of five main islands
and several islets. It is ruled as a
military district, but the mother
country has been wise enough TO re-
cruit the soldiers she needed Tor as
cinIine from among the islanders
themselves thus insuring a satisfac-
tory rule"