your enthusiasm wanes somewhat when you get into the picture and see
that there are many places where the gilt has been knocked off the
gingerbread and has not been put back again. But we must all take off
our hats to the "old town," for it was there, indisputably, that
Columbus rigged up and started for America. If he had only known what
he was about and the people had understood all that was to happen, they
would have had a brass band on the pier and have set off plenty of
skyrockets in the evening. 'Twas ever thus! The "knockers" boo-ed him
from their shores and said he was crazy, but history plants his feet on
the topmost rung of fame long after the bitter end, when short commons
were with him uncommon short.

SEVILLE

The "Corkonians" took the train for Seville, and it was a corker in
length for it took three engines and all the first-class carriages in
Andalusia to carry us to our destination.

The management had about a carload of plaited straw lunch baskets and
filled them with good things, so we had a continuous picnic _en route_.
When we arrived we found almost every carriage in this city of 150,000
people lined up in a big square for the distribution of the party, as
the principle of procedure was, first come first served. There was a
motion picture for you that lasted twenty minutes, but there was a
place for every man and every man had his place, so we were all
comparatively happy and started in to "do" the town.

Seville has one of the largest, finest and richest Gothic Cathedrals in
existence; it has absolutely everything that can in reason be demanded
of a cathedral, with or without price, including in part a full line of
old masters, headed by Murillo and Velasquez (who were born here);
bones of the good dead ones--and some bad ones--silver gilt organs, a
court of orange trees in full bloom, the Columbian library (established
by Fernando, Columbus' son), containing nothing but books, books,
books! Then again there are _acres_--I was going to say--of stained
glass windows, but perhaps I had better stick to the simple truth and
say innumerable windows, showing every variation of the rainbow in
their brilliant, deftly interwoven tints. Once more we find jewels of
great price, solid silver trophies (which before the slump in silver
would have placed any honest man above the corrosion of carking care);
and wood-carving by masters of the trade whose artistic feeling was
graphically described by o