OCR Text |
Show I Numerous and Varied Collections of I Portraits of Christopher Columbus I Special to Tho Tribune. ST. LOUIS, May 2S. Eleven years ago In Chicago, at the Columbian exposition, exposi-tion, one naturally expected to hear a good deal about Columbus; so much did one hear indeed, that tho old slander of any ono eU having discovered the "gem of the ocean" almost died. out. One gave him his bit of laurel gladly, without question, and one wandered through the old convent of La Rablda feeling Just half a league from tho little lit-tle waport of Palos de Mogucr In Andalusia. An-dalusia. Every step seemed hallowed ground and one looked over one's shoulder shoul-der with some apprehension, expecting to see a spiritual procession of ancient Franciscan friars In the goodly company com-pany of the ghost of a certain Genoese sailor. The Louisiana Purchase exposition Is "another story," and one which even Kipling can scarcely describe adequately, adequate-ly, but It has been too courteous" to slight the memory of the long-ago visitor visi-tor to our Afteenth century shores. One Small Corner. There Is at least one email corner of the great t'how where tho tired spirit of the great navigator (In cast It should pass unchallenged n vigilant Jefferson guard) may fet at home. This is the touthweatorn end of the United States Government building, where the color scheme of the main roof with its blue celling, red rafters and the clear white of its windows has been allowed to change to a cool, neutral green In roof and walls; and here, properly. Is found the one spot which might be called cosmopolitan cos-mopolitan In that it Is occupied by the exhibit of an International bureau, representing rep-resenting all American republics. This bureau was the pet Idea of that great apostle of co-operation diplomatically diplomati-cally termed "reciprocity," to plain people peo-ple the "getting together" of people with tho tome fundamental principles and the samo ultimate aim; In this case tho Idea of Independent government nnd the glorious liberty for which the word republic stands. The bureau of tho American republic was founded by the Arst International conference of American Statos held In Washington In 1S30, of which conference James G. Blalno was the president, and to which he lent all the magnetic enthusiasm enthu-siasm which carried to a happy consummation consum-mation ho many Ideas which ho advocated. advo-cated. In 1301 a pocond Pan-American conference con-ference was hold, which gave fresh Impetus Im-petus and a wider scope to this organization organ-ization of American republics; and t this conference It wns resolved to place under tho bureau's fostering care a library, li-brary, to be devoted, exclusively, to Americana and to be namad, in memory mem-ory 'of Christopher Columbus, the Co- lumbu3 Memorial library. It Is young, as yet, and little known, but It has sent Its tribute to tho greatest of World's fairs In tho form of some raro books and old American maps and bits of Co-lomblana. Co-lomblana. South. American Products, Ono Is half startled to And amid commercial-looking glass vases In which are displayed samplee of South American Ameri-can rice, all varieties of coffee In all stages of development, little Auffy bundles bun-dles Of cotton from the Holds of Paraguay, Para-guay, wool which once eheltered some wandering lamb on the great plains of the Rio do La Plata and bits of bright-colored bright-colored silk from silk worms fed on the mulberry trees of Central America Interesting In-teresting reminders of those misty days when Columbus was seized with a uew idea, dreamed of an unknown world, and sailed out in his caravels to discover dis-cover us. On tho main wall of this exhibit are pictured several haunted houses which should interest all Americans. The Arst is a dilapidated looking old house from whose walla tho plaster hangs dejectedly dejected-ly and whose shutters, even to a limited imagination, aro plainly endowed with a propensity for creaking with thrilling portent on any windy night. This Is the old house In Genoa where, tradition claims, Columbus Arst opened his eyes to the light of a world wherein he was to cut jo bfave a Agure and to meet with his share of human Ingratitude. Another plcturo shows the cross which marks the spot where on a gloomy night, discouraged and foot sore, he stopped to beg for bread and water from the prior of tne convent of La Rablda and found a friend In his need. There arc other houses full of memories. Cloister of St. Die. Beneath a Ano oil painting of Matthias Mat-thias Ringman, a member of tho Gym-nasj Gym-nasj Vosgrln. who carried from Paris to St. DIo the letter of Amerlcus Ves-puclus Ves-puclus which, when translated, christened chris-tened the new world, hangs a picture of the entrance to the cloister of St. Die. where the "Cosmographla Introductlo" was tranlated. Father on appears the quaint walled citadel of St. Die Itself and tho house where the continent of America was actually christened. After this seemingly disloyal excursion, excur-sion, one returns to an absorbed Interest Inter-est In "ChrlKopher Columbus, His Own Book of Privilege." bound in stout boards and fastened by iron chains, a magnificent photographic fac simile of the manuscript in the archives of the Foreign olllc In Parifs with a fac simile of the bag In which Columbus transmitted trans-mitted hi Book of Privilege to the Genoeae Kmbaiuador, In March. 1502. What irtroug Interest one must take m thla log-book of tho sturdy Admiral which he kept through fair weather and foul and. also, in his letter to his friend and banker, Xlcolo Oderigo. at Genoa, and all sorts of other quaint and musty documents concerning him and his descendants, de-scendants, as for Instance tho autograph letter of his wn Diego to Charles V , saying that if cho Emperor will give him priests enough he will convert In ten years all the Indians between Boro del Drago (Trinidad) and Cape Graclas 'a Dlos (Honduras), an undertaking truly worthy of a son of Columbus, Alarming1 Array of Portraits. After having one's memory thoroughly thorough-ly refreshed as to Columbus and his somewhat tragic story, one retires to a far corner near the door to rest and. there is brought up with n round turn and a momentary doubt as to the properties prop-erties of the cool class of unfermentcd grape Juice which one has in the Mines and Metallurgy building nearby. Surely there was only one Christopher Columbus! And yet here Is an alarming array of faces, no two of which aro alike In type or expression and each otllclally labelled Columbus. Since oAlclnl labels are like Caesar's wife, there la nothing left for tho unenlightened but the belief be-lief that here, at last, Is the original "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" on a grand scale a man who was all sorts and conditions of men. from a Flemish pirate pi-rate to a type of cherubic Innocence which would have driven Raphael crazy. There is Columbus In his tender youth with a phantom whip for background and a look of concentrated purpose and century old wisdom surely remarkable In the child of humble wool-combers nf Genoa; Columbus with long, lank hair carefully combed at the sides and covering cov-ering the ears; In this picture ho has a nice, clean Innocent face, and what can be seen of the Aguro Is carefully wrapped In the toga of a Roman Senator. Sen-ator. Then there Is a Columbus with a broad, heavy face entirely Flemish In character, with a big, Aat nose, two warts on the right cheek and the hair arranged symmetrically In horizontal rows of curls, with a cap and the conventional con-ventional dress. From what remote ancestor an-cestor did the Italian sailor inherit this foreign face? The label says this is a copy of tho Do Barry engraving and that the original was painted from life by order of the Catholic kings, before Columbus sailed on his Arst voyage of discovery, and that this original was stolen from the Hall of the Council of the Indies and taken to the Netherlands. Origlnnl by a Court Painter. Besides this plcturo hangs an equally authentic presentation of the features of the great discoverer from the original origi-nal by Antonio de Rlnson. The old court painter to Ferdinand nnd Isabella the Catholic must have known Columbus Colum-bus nnd listened to tho history of his voyages from his own Hps. Furthermore, although taken from a plcturo centuries old, this face has such a spirited and vigorous expression that one feels that It must have been taken directly from life and that here, at last. Is Columbus with bright Intelligent eyes, a human, humorous mouth and scant hair, prematurely gray. There Is a totally different Columbus In the next line, however, who commands com-mands attention a Columbus wjth snow white hair parted in tho middle. He is clothed In a low-necked white shirt without a collar, and a scarlet coat: In ono hand ho holds an hourglass hour-glass and in the other a chart. In tho background of distant landscape an Indian In-dian wanders dimly and vaguely around. The expression of this face Is Indescribably Inde-scribably coy, not to say coquettish. There are others one which depicts tho hard-handed navigator of unknown seas as a typical candy who might havo graced the court of good Queen Bess, with queenly cropped hair, mustache and goatee, and wearing ruffs and wristbands of a kind which did not come Into fashion until somo hundred years after hla death. But the picture one takes away in memory is that ot "Columbus in Chnine." from the historical painting by Wappers. In this he appears as we best like to Imagine him (except for the chains) a man of great and venerable personality, with deep-set gloomy eyes looking out with direct and noble scorn beyond the petty tyrnnny of his Jealous contemporaries. |