Show 0wWtfti rfl WlW lV t Gem of Sunny Spain ffir4fo M fflt + Jb MRw rI t MnM + + 1f + + J Special Correspondence Seville one of the ancient capital cities of Spain the seat cuccosslvoly of Phoenician Roman Gothic Moorish Moor-ish and Spanish rulers Is one of the most charming of places for the Idler who wishes to see Spanish life nt Its best Its climate Is worm and delightful Flowers bloom in Its gardens utmost I the year round The oranges of Seville Se-ville are esteemed as among the finest produced In tho old world Its people are hospitable sympat Ico ns tho Spanish call any one taking tak-ing a kind Interest In another indolent indo-lent and gay They enjoy life as only a southern Spaniard can taking profound pro-found pleasure In sociability In singIng sing-Ing their national songs in playing I the guitar and In dancing They areas are-as carefree as any people one may meet In Spain and though the life of their city has not the bubbling exuberance ex-uberance of that In southern Italy It Is bright enough to win for Seville the I character of a Joyous place The Spanish inane a proverb that lIe who has seen Seville has seen a marvel They are proud of the city of Its antiquity the character of its people and the beauty of Its daughters The houses of Seville aro very old some of them dating from the Moorish Moor-ish period It is a place of quaint doorways odd windows charming patios and other characteristic architectural archi-tectural features of southern Spain It Is the home of the cloaked gallant singing a serenade at his ladys balcony bal-cony to the accompaniment of his guitar or standing in the shadow by her barred window whispering sweet nothings In her ear It is the custom of Seville to havo courting conducted conduct-ed thus and lovers arc Jocularly called eaters of Iron i Home of the Bullfight To the casual traveler Seville presents pre-sents besides the charm of its life some attractions of moro than ordinary ordi-nary Interest It Is the home of the bullfight and holds the finest fights In the country except possibly those at Madrid which are under the patronage pa-tronage of royalty It Is also to go to the other extreme of tho list famous as tho birthplace and home of the great painter Murlllo Its public buildings are beautiful and their traditions go back to tho days of Julius Caesars residence in the city which ho ruled for Rome Seville like most Spanish cities has oho distinguishing object of more Interest than all others It Is tho Ol ralda tower one of the finest In the world whose beautiful proportions rise grandly above the citys roofs The tower was erected In 119G and was consecrated by the Moors to use asa as-a muezzin tower from which the faithful faith-ful were called to prayer In the adjoining ad-joining mosque When driven out of Seville In 1238 the followers of Mahomet Ma-homet wished to destroy this tower rather than have it fall Into tho hands of Christians Their purpose was happily thwarted and one of the most striking architectural features of Spain preserved It was not Improved Im-proved however by being Incorporated Incorporat-ed into the cathedral or i by the belfry bel-fry added to 1r The original tower was 250 feet high it Is CO feet square nt the base The material is stono for the lower S7 feet and above that brick relieved by tracery and arabesques ara-besques The color of the tower Is pink It contains no staircase tho nscent to tho top being made up in cllnnd planes thlrtyllvo In number up which ono might easily ride to the top on horseback horseback Ornaments of the Tower In the days of the Moors thorp ornamented orna-mented the top of the tower four brazen balls cast by a celebrated alchemist al-chemist native of Sicily to the order or-der of the Moorish rulers They wero so largo that the keystone of the arch In the entrance had to he removed re-moved to get them In The Iron I bar which supported tliem weighed half a ton This strange ornament is said to havo cost 000110 It was thrown from the tower by an earthquake earth-quake In 1395 157 joins after the Moors were driven from Seville and was never replaced Thcro are now In the tower of the Glralda a chime of sv t bells teen ytwo In number which ring eelY afternoon at 3 t com o Tin large I Is calld Santa Maria and weighs I eighteen tons The clock in the tower replaced one that was tho first overset over-set up In Spain Installed In 1400 A P The figure crowning the tower Is of bronze and Is known as El Glra dlllo Tho tower takes Its name from this figure which is a weather vane revolving In tho wind the Spanish word to turn being glrar Tho figure weighs 2COO pounds and Is fourteen four-teen feet high It was cast In 1668 Superb View of the City A superb view may be obtained from tho belfry of the Glralda tower embracing the city with Its redtiled roofs Its white walls and Its beautiful I gardens the river Guadalquivir tho rich country down the valley and tho hills rising in amethyst ranges eastward east-ward toward the heart of Andalucia The Olralda tower has a counter at 4ty af r4 ° d d v yu e a5o1 4t y 3 y 1 I f j t7 t tc Z 5 6 r I t I I Matadors part In the tower of Madison Square garden In New York which while not an exact copy Is m the same style Tho cathedral of Seville though very large would not be notable architecturally ar-chitecturally without its famous Gi ralda tower The chief objects of Interest In-terest in it for the ordinary traveler are several superb paintings by Mu rlllo and the tomb of Christopher Columbus Co-lumbus son Fernando In a room inline in-line ancient mosque near by a part of which only has been preserved is the library of Fernando containing many of his fathers books B p tg s j 11a ° v G la x w M a 1 6e xr n Famous Golden Tower |