THE MENTOR 1913.09.15, No. 31,
Spain and Gibraltar

THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION

ESTABLISHED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POPULAR INTEREST
IN ART, LITERATURE, SCIENCE, HISTORY, NATURE, AND TRAVEL

CONTRIBUTORS—PROF. JOHN C. VAN DYKE, HAMILTON W. MABIE, PROF. ALBERT
BUSHNELL HART, REAR ADMIRAL ROBERT E. PEARY, WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, DWIGHT
L. ELMENDORF, HENRY T. FINCK, WILLIAM WINTER, ESTHER SINGLETON, PROF. G.
W. BOTSFORD, IDA M. TARBELL, GUSTAV KOBBÉ, DEAN C. WORCESTER, JOHN K. MUMFORD,
W. J. HOLLAND, LORADO TAFT, KENYON COX, E. H. FORBUSH, H. E. KREHBIEL,
SAMUEL ISHAM, BURGES JOHNSON, STEPHEN BONSAL, JAMES HUNEKER, W. J. HENDERSON,
AND OTHERS.

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Copyright, 1913, by The Mentor Association, Inc.
Entered as second-class matter March 10, 1913, at the post office at New York, N.Y.;
under the Act of March 3, 1879.

The Mentor

“A Wise and Faithful Guide and Friend”

SPAIN AND GIBRALTAR

A Trip Around the World with
DWIGHT L. ELMENDORF, Lecturer and Traveler

Gone is the ancient glory of Spain. To the visitor it appeals
chiefly as a country of a splendid past. This is not true, of course,
of some of the more populous localities. Barcelona is full of life
and commercially enterprising, and Madrid is full of activity and is a natural
center of interest as the capital of the nation. But many of the cities
and towns of Spain attract chiefly as interesting and picturesque survivals.
They breathe the atmosphere of a former age. We feel the influence of
it wherever we turn. Spain is not much traveled by tourists. More
would go perhaps if they realized what splendid scenery was there, and
how rich in historic and romantic associations the country was.

Since the days of the first inhabitants, the Iberians, and beginning
with the Celts who crossed the Pyrenees some five hundred years B. C.,
Spain has been invaded by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals
and Visigoths, Arabs and Moors, and each of these races has left evidences
of its dominion, in monuments of one kind or another, in architectural
forms, in roads and buildings, and in the language and customs of communities.
The interesting Basque people of the northern provinces of
Spain are declared by students of history to be almost unmixed descendants
of the original Iberians.

GENERAL VIEW OF TOLEDO

Toledo is one of the most ancient cities in Spain. It was at its zenith under the Moors. Later it became the
residence of the kings of Castile.

THE GLORY THAT WAS SPAIN’S

And in these many years what glory has been Spain’s! She has been
aptly called an “eddy of tribes and races.” Under Moorish rule she
commanded the Mediterranean. Then as a Christian kingdom, beginning
with Rodrigo the Cid and Alfonso VI in the eleventh century, and extending
through several hundred years under such famous rulers as Ferdinand
and Isabella and later Charles V and Philip II, Spain acquired the whole
peninsula and rose to be a great world power. In war she was a dreaded
foe of France, England, and the Netherlands. Her armada for years
swept the seas. In search of treasure and to extend Spain’s power and
possessions, Vasco da Gama discovered India and Columbus opened up
the new continents of the western world.

All the achievements of Spain in the brilliant past are brought home
to the visitor who spends even a few weeks in that country. So many
things in Spain are interesting for what they were! The visitor soon
comes to know the mood of Washington Irving, who dwelt for a time
in the Alhambra. His impressions are like those of a beautiful dream.
Irving withdrew from the world of his day and immersed himself in the
romance of the past. That is the mood in which the traveler will enjoy
himself most when visiting many places in Spain.

THE LAND OF THE DONS

Puente de Toledo, Madrid

The bridge of Toledo at Madrid was completed in 1872. The banks of
the stream are continually rising, and the piers are therefore partly
buried in the ground.

The very entrance to Spain is a fit preparation for the strange, interesting
and beautiful things to be seen there. No one can forget the day
that he crosses the impressive boundary between France and Spain, winding
about and tunneling through the majestic Pyrenees. Once this
superb mountain range is passed, the traveler feels as if he had come upon
a different world from any that he has seen before. His attention turns
first, most naturally, to the great cities, which differ essentially from one
another. Perhaps no two more contrasting cities could be selected than
Toledo and Madrid. Toledo was from the earliest times a capital city.
The Romans, Goths, Moors, and finally the Christians, made it the headquarters
of authority.
It was the scene of
the triumph of that
world-admired hero of
the eleventh century,
Rodrigo the Cid. Toledo
is in all respects
an impressive relic of
bygone splendor. Madrid,
on the other
hand, is a modern city.
In the days when Toledo
was most magnificent
and had a
population of over 200,000,
Madrid was a
little town. Today
Madrid numbers over
500,000 inhabitants,
while Toledo’s population
has dwindled to less than 30,000. In Toledo we find many things as they
have been for hundreds of years. The city is still famous for its swords.
The Toledo blade is known the world over today as it was in Roman times.

The traveler does well to visit Toledo first. Its very situation is
extraordinary. The river Tagus flows about it and almost binds it in like
a rope. The banks of the river are rocky and steep, and spanned by several
interesting old stone bridges.

A CITY OF THE PAST

The effect of Toledo viewed from the south and looking across the
gorge through which the river flows is remarkable. The city is inclosed
within ancient Moorish and Gothic fortifications, and presents an aspect
of a jumble of housetops dominated by two great structures, the cathedral
and the Alcázar.

PUERTA DEL SOL, MADRID

The “Gate of the Sun,” the big square in the center of
Madrid and the busiest spot in the city, has long
been the real political arena of Spanish history.

Enter Toledo, and you find novelty and picturesqueness on every
side. The streets are narrow and
crooked. The houses are blind and
forbidding on the outside, reserving
their attractions for their inner
courts. Everything about you is
strange and curious, and full of historic
significance. If you wish to get
the history of Spain in condensed
form, you will find it in Toledo.

The cathedral is the most important
feature of the city, and one
of the finest and most interesting
in Europe. The religious life of
Spain centered there for centuries.
On that site a Christian temple
stood in the sixth century. When
the Moors came they made a mosque
of it. Then Alfonso VI took possession
in 1085, and the Moors were
driven out. In the thirteenth century
the old building was torn down and
the present edifice was begun. During
265 years it was in course of
construction—a lifework for many
architects and artisans. And there the great archbishops of Toledo
controlled the government and civilization of Spain for years. Everything
of importance that made Spanish history was then in their hands.
You are made to realize this when you visit the cathedral. It contains
many valuable
relics of history
and art treasures.
When you have
seen these go to the
tower. The view
will repay you. The
most prominent
object to be seen
from there is the
Alcázar, standing
on the highest
ground of the city.
This building is the
phoenix that has
risen over conflagrations
of former
structures on that
site. The original building was a Roman citadel. When the Cid reigned
supreme, in the eleventh century, he resided there. Afterward fires consumed
the building, and it was rebuilt several times. It has been in
turn a castle, a palace, a cadet academy, and now it stands there a
stately and imposing monument to the past.

THE ESCORIAL

This immense building was constructed at the great cost of over $3,000,000, by
Philip II of Spain. It was the result of a vow made by the king to build a
monastery to Saint Lawrence.

MADRID, THE CAPITAL OF SPAIN

Madrid was made the capital by Philip II in 1560. It was not by
nature attractive. The winter winds are cruel, and the summer heat is
intense. The country roundabout is bleak, and for years after it became
the capital it remained a city of small buildings and unimposing appearance.
But the court being there, it was the center of all political and
religious activities. Arts and letters received their greatest stimulus under
the patronage of church and court. Cervantes lived there, and it was
in Madrid that he finished his immortal “Don Quixote.” The Bourbons
came into power in the eighteenth century, and then the great royal
palace was built. After that Madrid increased rapidly in population
and improved in appearance. Today it is a city of great activity, full of
life, gaiety, and fashion; in short, the Spanish Paris.

The two things that command most interest in Madrid are the
palace and the museum. The palace, which stands on high land on the
site of the old Moorish Alcázar, was erected between 1738 and 1764, and
is a most imposing structure, no matter from what side it is viewed. Some
idea of its immensity may be gathered
from the statement that it covers 26,900
square yards of ground and its sides are
500 feet long. Like many great structures
in Spain, it is built of native granite.
It is not easy to gain access to the interior
of the palace. Sometimes in the
absence of the royal family permission
may be obtained, and those who have
the privilege of being admitted find
there many relics of historic value, a
priceless collection of tapestry, a number
of most interesting old works of
art, and a library containing many
volumes of unique worth.

THE ESCORIAL

One of the monks of the monastery on the balcony,
overlooking the formal gardens.

LIBRARY OF THE ESCORIAL

This splendid room contains many rare and valuable
works. The older books stand with their fronts toward
the spectator and have their titles stamped on the
gilt edges.

The collection of paintings in the
art museum is one of the finest in all
Europe. There is a magnificent representation
of the Spanish school,
and especially of the great painter
Velasquez. There are sixty pictures
of his, including some of his most
brilliant works. There are also many
splendid examples of the art of
Murillo, and many paintings by Rubens
and Van Dyck.

THE ESCORIAL

Situated twenty-seven miles
from Madrid is the village and palace
of Escorial. The Escorial is a most
extraordinary building. Many of the
Spanish people regard it as the eighth
wonder of the world. It is a fitting
memorial of the cold, cruel monarch
who built it. It is related that Philip II constructed the Escorial in
fulfilment of a vow, made during the battle of St. Quentin, which took
place on Saint Lawrence’s day, August 10, 1557. King Philip declared
that he would, in case of victory, erect a memorial building to Saint
Lawrence that would transcend any structure of
its kind that had ever been built before.

THE LEANING TOWER OF
SARAGOSSA

GRANADA AND THE ALHAMBRA

The Alhambra occupies the plateau of the Monte de la Assabria. This wonderful
building was begun by Mohammed I, who was the originator of the motto
“Walâ ghâliba ill’ Allâhta âlà” (there is no conqueror but the Most High God),
which is so conspicuous among the inscriptions of the Alhambra.

Saint Lawrence, it will be remembered, was
burned to death on a gridiron, and it is said that, in
memorial of this, the structure of the Escorial was
planned to resemble a gridiron in form. There is
nothing authoritative to substantiate this tradition,
however. It is simply the story that goes with the
place. This monstrous building was begun in 1563
and was completed in 1584. It is a monastery and
a palace at the same time. Its vastness overwhelms
the mind. At first sight you are awed by the
solemn, stern, and forbidding aspect of the building,
and this first
impression is deepened
after going
through the immense
courts, corridors, and chambers. It has but little ornament to
relieve its severity. It is the work of a morbid and superstitious
man. As one visitor has put it, “Philip was the proudest
among kings and the most bigoted among devotees. What wonder
that he should build a convent and palace and make its costliest room
his sepulcher!”

The Escorial staggers description. Perhaps an
adequate idea of it may be had from a brief statement
of facts. It cost three and one-quarter million dollars,
and covers 500,000 square feet. It is 700 feet long,
580 feet wide, and is divided into sixteen courts. The
great towers at the corners rise 200 feet. The main
cupola or tower above the church, in the center, is 320
feet in height. When we add that there are 86
staircases, 89 fountains, 15 cloisters, 1,200 doors,
2,600 windows, and miles of corridors, we sum up
in a measure
the astounding
dimensions of
this wonderful
structure.

PALACIO DE GENERALIFE, GRANADA

The Palace of the Generalife was the summer residence
of the Moorish kings. This interior view shows the
Patio de la Acequia.

The Escorial
is well kept by
the Augustinian
brothers
who are in
charge. The
surrounding
terrace and
gardens are
carefully cultivated,
and
these outer
adornments
help a little to
soften the austerity of the stupendous
pile of granite buildings.

BELL TOWER, CORDOVA
CATHEDRAL

This tower is three hundred
feet high, and was built on the
foundations of the Moorish
minaret. At the top is a figure
of Saint Raphael with a
weather vane.

In this country of contrasts
there is no more striking contrast
than that between the cruel Escorial
and the romantic Alhambra. It is
pleasant to turn south to Granada; for the greatest treat of all for a visitor
in Spain awaits him there. Granada is picturesquely situated
in a valley, on ground that rises toward the hill of the Alhambra.
The view from the highest
points is beautiful.

THE ALHAMBRA

A SEVILLE INTERIOR

The private life of Seville is focused in the inner courts of the
houses. This picture shows the beauty of one of these courts.

Granada is not especially
attractive in itself. It is
chiefly a city of the past. It
is the Alhambra that draws
the visitor there. This celebrated
building is a dream
of Moorish magnificence
made real. It is impossible
to do justice to its wondrous
beauties in brief space. An
extensive literature has been
written in description and in
appreciation of its architectural
splendors and of its romantic interest. Washington Irving has
done most for the subject in his “Tales of the Alhambra.” He lived
there for a time, and wrote there during his stay. You will find his
name registered in the visitors’ book under date of 1829. The
Alhambra, like many Moorish buildings, is severely simple on the outside;
but when you enter your senses are captivated by the exquisite
beauty of design and decoration that stretches out before you as you
go through the courts and halls of this wonder palace. While in the
whole it presents an effect of
uniformity, there is infinite
variety in detail, and there
are countless forms of beauty
about you that captivate the
mind and fill the soul with
delight.

THE GARDENS OF THE ALCÁZAR, SEVILLE

The plants and flowers of these gardens are very beautiful.

Aside from the Alhambra
there are two buildings in Granada
that command special
attention,—the Palace of
Charles V, which adjoins the
Alhambra, and the Palace
of the Generalife. Both of
them have features of great architectural beauty. The former building
was never completed. The palace of the Generalife is situated to the
east of the Alhambra and 165 feet higher. It was the summer
residence of the Moorish kings. From there the finest view about
Granada can be had, covering the Alhambra below and stretching far
across the vega (plain) to the distant mountains. The interior of the
Generalife in its time must have been as beautiful as that of the Alhambra.
The most beautiful spot is the garden of the Generalife, with its terraces,
pools, grottoes, hedges, and overhanging trees.

SEVILLE

It is a great relief to turn from the squalor in Granada to the comforts
and delights of Seville. There is no town or city in Spain that can compare
in charm with Seville. By its snow-white cleanliness, its fragrant
fruit and flowers, its luxurious foliage, its gay and harmonious life, it
invites the traveler to stay—and few can resist the invitation. Once introduced
to the home life of the inhabitants, the visitor is apt to renounce
gladly for a time all thought of departure. Everywhere about him is
competence, comfort, and content. It seems as if families vie with one
another in making their homes attractive. The family life is in the inner
court or patio. That is the summer parlor, and there in the midst of
flowers, plants, and beautiful birds friendly parties gather in happy companionship.
It is in Seville, it seems to me, that the life of the native
Spaniard may be seen
in its most attractive
light.

THE HARBOR AT BARCELONA

Through Barcelona passes almost one-fourth of the entire foreign commerce
of Spain. This city is the most important commercial and industrial town
in Spain, and has a population of 530,000.

The two most
notable sights in Seville
are the Alcázar,
which was the palace
of the Moorish kings
and afterward the
home of Spanish rulers,
and the cathedral,
which is one of the
finest, largest, and
most beautiful Gothic
churches to be found
anywhere.

The Alcázar has
much of the beauty that is to be found
in the Alhambra. Many of the interior
decorations are not of the original building,
but were the result of a restoration,
and in this work many of the designs
were frankly borrowed from the
Alhambra.

The cathedral is one of the largest
and most beautiful in Europe. Within
this great building there are so many
interesting and valuable works of historic
and art interest that it might fairly
be called a museum. One feature of the
exterior of the cathedral arrests
the eye of a New Yorker at once,—the
tower. He is apt to exclaim
on sight of it, “The Madison
Square Tower!” The similarity
is close. When the plans of the Madison Square building were
made the tower of Seville was copied.

We have gone now far to the south. A few miles brings us to Cádiz,
on the ocean coast, or Malaga on the Mediterranean. The distance
from either of these two attractive cities to Gibraltar is short.

GIBRALTAR, THE IMPREGNABLE

FORTIFICATIONS AT GIBRALTAR

This, the key to the Mediterranean, is one of
the most important coast fortresses in the world.
It has been in possession of Great Britain
since 1704.

And when we reach Gibraltar the change of scene and life is abrupt
and almost startling. If we go to Gibraltar by the road from Spain,
we cross a narrow strip called Neutral Ground. It is arbitrarily fixed
territory between Spanish and British ground. It is so low that it can
hardly be seen from a distance. The effect is to make Gibraltar seem
like an island. In case of emergency it would not be difficult to blow up
this neutral strip and make an actual separation.

The rock of Gibraltar has been for years the symbol of stability and
of strength. It is in a military sense the “key to the Mediterranean.” It
was taken by the British in 1704, during the war of the Spanish Succession,
by Admiral George Rooke, who commanded the British fleet. It has
been fortified by the English government in a manner that is most discouraging
to anyone contemplating a hostile advance through the straits.

VIEW ACROSS THE NEUTRAL GROUND BETWEEN
GIBRALTAR AND SPAIN

In the distance is seen the misty outline of the Rock

The shape of Gibraltar is that of an enormous lion. As Thackeray
says, “It crouches there, to guard the passage for its British mistress.”
At the base of the rock are batteries; up on the summit are guns of
heavy caliber, and over its face are holes through which cannon muzzles
look out across the water like sullen and malignant eyes.

Gibraltar is over 1,400 feet high and is composed of limestone.
Under its present conditions of fortification it is declared to be impregnable.
It looks it. At the foot of the great rock is a town of 30,000
inhabitants, of whom 6,500 are soldiers, composing the British garrison.
In this town is to be found a cosmopolitan mixture of men, and the
character of it shifts from time to time according to conditions of traffic
through the straits. There is enough to entertain a visitor for a day.
Life there for a long time must grow monotonous. The impressions,
however, of a single day at Gibraltar are not forgotten. You carry away
the conviction that, whatever might happen to anything else in this
world, Gibraltar is likely to stay.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

CATHEDRAL OF TOLEDO, SPAIN

ONE

Rodrigo, last of the Gothic Kings of Spain, heard
in his palace at Toledo that the Moors had crossed
from Africa to Gibraltar. A little army led by
Tarik landed in 711 and marched northward, conquering
as it went. King Rodrigo, with a great force of
Spaniards, met them in Andalusia. He commanded the center.
The wings were led by King Witiza’s sons,
who, hoping to recover the country that
Rodrigo had taken from their father,
joined the Moors, and pressed with them
into battle. Rodrigo was surrounded and
cut down. The Moors marched northward,
taking city after city in the name
of Mohammed, till all Spain was theirs.
The last of the Gothic kings had fallen.

From that day to this Toledo has never
regained her position as the capital of
Spain. In the royal palace Tarik found
twenty-five crowns of the old Gothic kings,
golden and richly jeweled; the Psalms of
David written on goldleaf with dissolved
rubies, and the emerald table of Solomon.
Those crowns may still be seen; but no
one has ever seen the other treasures.

The Moorish kings, though they ruled
Toledo mildly, had no end of trouble from
the haughty nobility, who, robbed of their
high position, were always in revolt against
the conquerors. At last Sultan Hakim decided
to punish his unruly subjects. He
gave them a governor of their own race,
who pretended to hate the foreigners, but
was secretly in league with Hakim.

Amron soon won the hearts of his people
and built a great castle in the middle of
the city. There he held a reception for
Prince Abd-er-Rahman, to which all the
nobles and rich citizens of Toledo were invited.
Feeling the honor of royal presence,
which their city had not enjoyed for many
years, the Toledans went by thousands to
the castle. Told to enter one by one,
noble and grandee went in—but not to
feast. Five thousand lost their heads in
the trap. Amron thought, no doubt, that
it was a good joke; but he had not much
time to enjoy it. When the people realized
what he had done a mob gathered and
burned his castle, with Amron in it.

Toledo was early freed from Moorish
rule, and the greatest of those who helped
to maintain her independence was Rodrigo
Diaz the Cid, who, next to Napoleon, is
held by many to be the foremost heroic
figure in European history. He held important
court offices under Alfonso, living
in the Alcázar at Toledo. Many poems
and stories have been written about the
Cid. He belonged to a noble family, married
the granddaughter of Alfonso V, and
later made himself a king. The fate of a
battle was never in doubt if the Cid was
fighting; for his side was sure of victory.
Toward the end of his life, after hundreds
of battles and duels, he made his most
famous conquest, the taking of Valencia
from the Moors, in 1094. He ruled well
and justly for the next five years over
Valencia and Murcia, and in 1099 died of
anger over the defeat of his favorite lieutenant.
The Cid is Spain’s hero and saint,
familiar to all in legend and in song.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 31
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

ROYAL PALACE, MADRID, SPAIN

TWO

Standing on the grand stairway of the Royal
Palace, his hand upon the balustrade, and looking
at the splendor about him, Napoleon Bonaparte
said to his brother Joseph, to whom he had given
the throne of Spain, “You are better housed than I am.”
That was the emperor’s opinion of the royal residence in
Madrid. To Napoleon the conquest of
this ancient and famous land of Spain was
one of his greatest victories.

Many people, when they first see the
country around Madrid, are surprised at
the lack of trees there. It is known that
the mountains of that region were once
covered with a heavy growth of forest
which has since been cut away. The trees
were felled to put money into the royal
treasury. One reason they were never replanted
is that many of the Castilians have
a strong dislike for trees. They think only
of the birds that nest among the branches
and feed in grain fields; they forget that
trees are both useful and beautiful in
themselves, giving shade and moisture and
beautifying the scenery.

In later years a wise government has
come to see that the slight loss of farmland
is not nearly so important as the effect
woodlands have on climate. Groves now
dot the landscape with patches of refreshing
green, and the climate about Madrid
is already improving. It is hoped that the
bleak country, which now grows only a spare
crop of corn, will become fertile and fruitful
again when new forests have influenced a
more regular rainfall and a steadier temperature.
Scientific forestry can probably
redeem the error that was committed
centuries ago.

Madrid, though a modern city, has been
from the beginning a center of art and
literature. Velasquez went there from
Seville to spend the greater part of his life.
It was there that Cervantes, author of
“Don Quixote,” lived and died. More important,
perhaps, than any other figure in
the Spanish drama was Lope de Vega, a
native of the city. He led an eventful life
while writing poems and plays with wonderful
readiness. According to his own
statement, more than a hundred of his
plays were written so quickly that it took
only twenty-four hours from the time he
started to compose each one of them until
it had been produced on the stage. He
wrote 1,800 plays. He is said to have
printed 21,300,000 lines, which, if we can
believe his own account, was only a part
of all that he wrote. To do this he must
have written nearly nine hundred lines a
day all through his life.

Many other artists and writers have
worked in Madrid, and the Spanish
capital is still a well known center of
culture.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 31
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

ALCÁZAR AT SEVILLE, SPAIN

THREE

Tranquilly amid its gardens that glow with roses
and orange blossoms, the Alcázar of Seville, palace
of the old Castilian kings, stands now as it stood in
the days of the Moors. Here and there a ceiling, a
stairway, or a colonnade, damaged by fire or earthquake, has
been repaired according to architectural ideas of more modern
times; but in the main those Moorish
kings who built it could sleep, if they were
there today, in their own rooms undisturbed
by any feeling of strangeness.

The site on which the Alcázar was built
is probably the oldest in Seville. The
palace replaces an old Gothic castle, which
had been erected on the foundations of a
Roman villa. Uncertain traditions and
the imagination of historical writers have
pictured the houses of shepherds on the
same spot before history began.

There are many stories about the Alcázar,
both true and fabulous. The Court
of Maidens took its name from one of
these. It was said that a tribute of a
hundred maidens paid to the Mohammedan
ruler had been lodged in that part
of the Alcázar. History does not show
that the calif ever asked for such a tribute,
and it is probable that the Court of
Maidens had not been built at the time
when this incident is supposed to have
taken place. Nevertheless, such a story
has grown up, and has given the court a
name that it will doubtless bear for all time.

After Castile had thrown off Moorish
rule Seville was made the capital of Spain.
For several centuries Christian kings lived
in the Alcázar, adding somewhat to the
original structure as the Moors had left it.
The name of Pedro is more closely connected
than any other Spanish ruler with
the history and fiction of the building.
He was called Pedro the Cruel. A grim
sense of humor and a habit of going
through the streets of Seville in disguise
have made him the subject of many odd
tales and rumors. Some of these stories
are merely whimsical. He is said to have
met four candidates for a judge’s position
beside a pool in the gardens where they
had gone to find him. Pedro, turning to
the first, asked him what was floating in
the pool.

“An orange,” replied the candidate
without hesitation.

The second and third gave him the
same answer.

The fourth fished out the piece of fruit
with his staff, examined it, and replied
more accurately, “Half an orange.”

Pedro immediately gave him the appointment.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 31
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE, SPAIN

FOUR

There is a Spanish proverb that says, “Whom God
favors he gives a house in Seville.” The privilege of
living in that bright, gay city is considered by a
Spaniard to be the height of happiness. Other cities
are larger, wealthier, or more important politically than
Seville; but none holds a higher place in the hearts of the
Spanish people. When in the beginning
of the fifteenth century the old cathedral
was damaged by an earthquake, a meeting
was held to discuss what should be done
to restore it. Then one proposed that, instead
of repairing the old church, they
should build a new edifice, larger and
more magnificent than had ever been
imagined. They planned a cathedral that
should make all who saw it wonder at the
daring of those who began it. What
the public funds would not supply they
agreed to furnish out of their own purses.

Only 117 years were consumed in the
erection of this wondrous structure, which
is a short time as old cathedrals go. After
St. Peter’s at Rome and the Mezquita at
Cordova, it is the largest church in the
world. It is 414 feet long, 271 feet wide,
and 100 feet high to the top of the nave.
The immense pillars, as you look down the
church between them, seem to diminish
in the distance to the thickness of reeds.
Many another cathedral could stand inside
the nave of this one.

There are numerous churches in the
city; most of the older ones are built on the
foundations of mosques. The church of
La Caridad has a strange legend connected
with it. Don Miguel de Manara, the
founder, had been a profligate in his
youth, a sort of Don Juan, and was known
far and wide for his excesses. One night
when he was returning home alone he lost
his way, and wandered about in a daze,
unable to find his home. In imagination he
met a funeral procession, and stopping one
of the bearers inquired who it was that they
were taking to eternal rest at such an hour.

“Don Miguel de Manara,” he replied.

Greatly surprised at hearing his own
name, Don Miguel uncovered the face
and saw there his own features. The procession
immediately vanished; but left
him so deeply impressed that he was converted
and built a church and a hospital.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 31
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

VIEW OF ALHAMBRA. GRANADA, SPAIN

FIVE

The city of Granada was the last Moorish stronghold
in Spain. The usurpers had been driven from
province after province, while the power of Castile
increased in all the country round. Only the
province of Granada held firm. Even there, losses in war had
so weakened the Moors that their kings paid tribute to the
Christian rulers, down to the time of
Muley Hassan. He was a proud and cruel
monarch, so fond of the dignity his fathers
had held that he not only withheld the
tribute, but even made inroads into Spanish
territory.

A ten years’ war followed. Spain determined
to drive her enemy out of Europe
once and for all. In battle after battle
the Christians narrowed Hassan’s kingdom,
till the people of Granada rose in
revolt against the ruler whose bad luck
and tyranny made him so unpopular. He
was dethroned, and the kingdom given to
Boabdil, his son. Boabdil was if anything
more unfortunate than his father; for Ferdinand
and Isabella pushed their conquest
little by little up to the very walls of
Granada.

A long siege followed. The Moors, as
they lost the power they had held so long
over the rich and delightful lands of Spain,
tried every trick of warfare without effect.
Ferdinand had given orders not to attack
the city. He intended to win by starving
his enemies rather than by fighting, while
the Moors did all they could to provoke
a battle. One daring knight named Yarfe
rode out of the gates; unexpectedly he
made his way to the Christian camp, and
threw a spear into the ground close by
the royal pavilion as an insult to Queen
Isabella. In return Hernando del Pulgar,
disregarding the order of Ferdinand, broke
through the gates of Granada with a few
followers and pinned a tablet on the door
of a mosque with his dagger. Upon the
tablet were the words, “Ave Maria.” Thus
the knights of both sides showed their recklessness
under the long siege.

The Spanish army lay so long encamped
on the vega (plain) within view of the city
walls and the magnificent buildings of the
Alhambra that at last, after the tents had
been accidentally burned, Ferdinand ordered
a city to be built for the soldiers.
Each of the towns of Spain sent its share
of materials and in a remarkably short
time Santa Fé, as it was called, stood side
by side with Granada.

When all the vega was laid waste, when the
Moors were starving and discontented, and
a hostile walled city frowned in sight of the
Alhambra, Boabdil at length made terms
of peace. He said farewell to the palace
of Moorish kings and all the luxuries he
had enjoyed as its ruler, surrendered the
keys of the city to Ferdinand, and went
away greatly humbled. Never afterward
did the Moors hold power in Spain.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 31
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

ROCK OF GIBRALTAR

SIX

One night over two centuries ago a band of Spaniards,
led by a goatherd, crept up the rock of Gibraltar
to St. Michael’s cave, where dawn overtook them,
and where they remained all through the next day.
As soon as darkness had fallen again they scaled the wall,
surrounded the signal house, and in a few moments overpowered
the guard. The British in the
fortress never dreamed of danger so close
at hand. Ropes and ladders were lowered
stealthily over the precipice, and the
Spaniards, feeling sure of victory, brought
up several hundred men for the attack.
If all had gone well, Gibraltar might have
been in the hands of Spain again before
sunrise; but some part of the work was
clumsily done, for British sentries caught
the alarm, and a body of grenadiers,
hastily called together, rushed out upon
their midnight assailants. Gibraltar was
saved for the British. Some of the Spaniards
they hurled over the cliff; the rest
surrendered and were taken prisoners.

The history of Gibraltar was for many
centuries one of sieges and captures. The
rock was first known to the Greeks and
Romans as one of the pillars of Hercules;
the other, Mt. Abyla, stands on the African
shore. But at that period, when
ships rarely sailed out of the Mediterranean,
the “pillar” was unimportant to
any great nation in war. It fell into the
hands of Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians
and Visigoths at different periods
in history. Tarik, landing there when he
crossed from Africa into Spain, built a
castle on the rock, which was therefore
called Gebel-al-Tarik (Hill of Tarik), the
original form of the name Gibraltar. It
fell into the hands of England after the
Spaniards and Moors had fought over it
for centuries.

Once again, in the great siege that began
in 1779 and lasted more than three years,
England came dangerously near losing the
fortress. Spain and France took advantage
of British losses in America to open
fire on the Mediterranean stronghold.
After the garrison of over 5,000 men had
been reduced to starvation, and only the
bravery of General Eliott could keep them
together, Gibraltar was bombarded from
the mainland. Just when his command
seemed lost under the strain of attack and
of hardships endured so long, the Scotsman
led his troops to the attack, and, taking
the much larger Spanish army by surprise,
drove them back and burned their fortifications.
Again Spain and France attacked
from the sea; but Eliott burned their ships
with redhot cannonballs. The struggle
was renewed from time to time all during
the siege, until at last peace was proclaimed.
General Eliott, returning home,
was received with the highest military
honors for his courage.

England has been offered all of Spain’s
possessions in Africa in exchange for the
one great sterile rock; yet nothing will
induce her to give up that hold on the
gate of the Mediterranean.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 31
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

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