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A PYRENEAN
PROVINCE^
PICKAIRINV/
WO sentiments, says the "little his-
tory of the province, which a wise
Fjn educational committee has provided
Pm for the children's use in old French
Jsjg '. J, Catalonia, two sentiments are native
to the heart of every good Catalan—
love of his country and the love of
A j a liberty. An ardent independence, as
1/ Vr the same authority explains, and a
distinguishing capacity for pursuing
serenely their self-appointed way have always
marked this hardy people. Hence it is that to
this day the Catalan retains his racial character
istics, cherishes hi 3 old traditions and—Catalan
to Catalan —speaks in the ancient tongue.
Again and again his country has changed
hands. The seaboard plains and the lofty high
lands upon the eastern Spanish frontier known
to the mediaeval world as Catalonia, _ have shared
the usual fate of border territories. Peoples from
the north and peoples from the south —Romans,
Visigoths, Moors, Franks, counts of Roussillon,
kings of Arragon and of Majorca, rulers of
France, rulers of Spain—in turn have conquered
or possesed the land. Hut the Catalan has never
ceased to feel himself a Catalan or lost his mas
tering sense of race.
The name Catalonia is usually taken to imply
merely the Spanish province, and to mention the
Catalans is to call up disturbing visions of in
dustrial strikes, evoking memories of anarchist
activity and desperate Harcelona riots. The pic
ture. it may, par parenthese, be said, is perhaps
hardly fair to the men whose energy has created
the largest, most flourishing seaport of Spain,
who, all said and done are certainly the most pro
gressive. most intelligent, most resourceful of
King Alfonso's subjects. In any case, the Cata
lans on the French side of the border are un-
Piip
A. TfOlS-5F IS' CJ,Z> V^IV/Zr
known to newspaper fame, nor does the traveling
public know very much as yet of the beautiful
and varied land which they are so proud to
inhabit.
It is tin* French man s boast that samples of the
world's best scenery and the range'of all its de
sirable climates are found within the boundaries
of his native country. In these respects French
Catalonia —which (with a portion of old Langue
doc) is defined upon the modern map as the
department Pyrenees Orientales —may be de
scribed as France in miniature. Mont Canigou,
admittedly one of the most majestic, most im
pressive of the Pyrenean peaks, is 9,500 feet
high; Pute Mai, a less conspicuous neighbor,
stands a trifle higher; and, clustered close, are
other splendid heights. The scenery among these
giants is of the kind we usually term "Alpine,"
but from the snow-slopes of the Canigou you may
look down upon the aun-burnt shores of Spain
and the blue, gleaming floor of the far-stretched
Mediterranean. Or, deserting the heights, and
starting, say, from Mont Louis, loftiest of the
fortified towns of France, and a new center for
winter sports, you descend the winding valley of
the Tet, and in an hour or so you find yourself
among the olive orchards. Soon magnolias, the
pointed aloe, even palms, are seen among the
vineyards and in the roadside gardens, while if
it be springtime, mimosas flaunt their feathery
plumes, and near and far under the sunny sky
stretch fields of pink peach blossom.
“To this favored land,” said “Dagonet,” writing
in the Referee, “Nature has been more than kind;
she has been effusive.” But a sun-filled, spar
kling air and the striking contrasts of the natural
scene are mot the only charms of Catalonia. For
the historian, the antiquarian or the archaeolo
gist the country abounds in interest. Its succes
sive conquerors failed appreciably to mold the
temper or to change the habits of its people; in
evitably they left behind them concrete vestiges
of occupation. Local tradition makes much of
les Arabes and the curious tall towers upon the
mountain spurs, of which the Tour de Goa, near
Vemet-les-Bains, is a conspicuous example, are
popularly ascribed to the vigilance of the Saracen
rulers. Obviously, however, these watch towers
are of far later construction, and, like many oth
er so-called Moorish remains, date from the Ar
ragon dominion, or—more probably—-from the
tenancy of the Majorcan kings. It was the kings
of Majorca who made Perpignan, now the chief
town of the department, a royal capital. The
architecture of Perpignan cathedral —as, indeed,
of most Catalan churches
-—shows marked trace of
Spanish influence.
A little below Perpig
nan is the small town of
Elne with the ruins of an
abbaye and some beauti
ful, richly-ornamented
cloisters. The Visigoths
made Elne the seat of an
important bishopric. In
Roman times the little
town, which then stood
actually upon the coast,
was known as Helena, So
called in compliment, to
the mother of the "good”
Emperor Constantine. Col
lioure, tiny but 1 extremely
picturesque, also owes its
name to the Romans.
Port Vendres, another
fishing port, still nearer
the frontier, was built upon the site of a temple
dedicated to the goddess Venus, and was origin
ally "Portus Venerus.”
The Romans were 500 years in Catalonia, and
besides the building of numerous roads, they
naturally found time to exploit some of the many
mineral springs. The insignificant townlet,
Prades, still possesses the remains of baths
which were constructed by the Romans; local
chroniclers assert that they also discovered the
healing waters at Vernet-les-Bains. Vernet,
which stands among the foothills of Mont 'Canl
gou, is a veritable “beauty spot” of the Pyrenees.
For centuries it has been frequented by French
men and Spaniards; latterly It has leaped into
SHIPS WHICH WILL NOT SINK
Once more we hear talk of an unsinkable ship,
remarks the New York Commercial- tAn English
inventor claims to have solved the problem, but
his experiments have been confined to a small
model only four feet in length and nine inches
wide, so the problem of applying his system to a
vessel v SOO or 1,000 feet in length is by no means
solved.
Few people outside of practical shipbuilders and
navigators understand the difference between a
large vessel and a small one in point of structural
strength. The strongest vessel that floats in the
water is a common rowboat. One can take an or
dinary rowboat and carry it by the ends or it
can rest on cleats under each end without break
ing in the middle, but the strongest man-of-war
or ocean liner that floats today would break in
two if subjected to a similar strain. The larger
a vessel the weaker it becomes in this respect,
and for this reason many apparently good ideas
which work out well in model form have failed
utterly when applied to Ic.-ge vessels.
It is doubtful if any real progress in building
ships has been made since the days of the Great
Eastern, as far as the use of water-tight compart
ments and bulkheads is concerned. The designer
of the Great Eastern divided that vessel into cel
lular compartments, and no improvement on this
plan has as yet been made, although it is not used
extensively because it requires too many hatches
for the loading and unloading of cargo.
The invention to w-hich reference has been
made consists of surrounding the vessel with a
water-tight belt divided into cells for the purpose
THE COCHRAN JOURNAL. COCHRAN, GEORGIA.
CSTJIZMJrS A'r/fOWjT
favor with the English as a winter spa. The old
village of Vernet, which faces the luxurious
grounds of the modern etablis- ’\ent, is a typical
Catalan village, and, owing to its situation, is
strangely picturesque. The red roofs of the
crumbling houses cover botli mau and beast, and
the narrow, twisting streets follow the outline
of the hillock in the manner usual with southern
mountain hamlets, but they are crowned by a
mediaeval church and chateau, and framed by
distant blue and purple heights. v Near at hand
Mont Canigou erects his Snowy head. For the
Catalans Mont Canigou is the "delectable moun
tain,” an object of admiring wonder, almost a
legendary god.
Another spa, made fashionable by the Romans,
is Amelie-les-Bains, a trim, Spanish-looking town
close on the frontier, whose warm climate at
tracts the French consumptive. Not far from
Ainelie is the pass across which Hannibal led his
legions on the historic march to Italy. The
Romans had previously sent ambassadors to beg
the Catalans not to allow the Carthaginian mer
cenaries to traverse their territory, but to turn
them back. Hannibal, however, contrived to
flatter the owners of the soil; Catalans and Carth
aginians made friends, and the Soldiers were al
lowed free passage. The Col de Perthuis Han
nibal’s route —and another Catalonian col are the
only two passes across the Pyrenees which are
practicable throughout the year; they offered a
convenient means of egress or retreat to Moor
ish and Spanish Invaders. Had there been no
good passage through the great chain the his
tory of the Catalans must have been less cheq
uered and the Catalonian seaboard might not
have formed a fairway for the restless warrior
peoples of mediaeval Europe.
of giving the vessel greater buoyancy as it sinks
In the water. There is really nothing new in
this ideea and it has been applied successfully in
building lifeboats and other small vessels. It
adds to the width of the vessel above the water
line and the inventor is wrong In claiming that it
would not interfere with its cargo-carrying capa
city.
Modern steamships are safe enough when at
sea, so far as the storms and lashing of the waves
are concerned. The dangers that threaten them
are collisions with other vessels, with derelicts or
with icebergs, and, of course, running ashore or
on a rock in a dense fog. Take two vessels of
equal size crossing each other's paths, let one
strike the other amidships and the vessel struck
would be cut in two If the other were going at full
speed. The tremendous force of the blow Is al
most beyond calculation. In the case of a ves
sel the size of the new Imperator, it would prob
ably be equal to a striking force of 8,000,000 foot
tons. No cellular belt or any other conceivable
construction would save a ship under such condi
tions. The thing to do Is to avoid all such risks
as far as possible. The Titanic was lost because
its captain had too much confidence in its unsink
able construction.
THEN TROUBLE BEGAN.
“Those who are unlucky in love are said to be
lucky at cards,” remarked Mrs. Gnagg.
“If that's the case,” responded Mr. Gnagg, "TO
bet I could break the bank at Monte Carlo.”
Qettfrterea Srailes
POOR GOAL.
—
"Baw-w-waw! I've set me heart on
bein' a pirate when 1 grows up and
ma sez I gotter be president.”
Not Too Simple.
The simple life would suit my bent.
I’d seek the forest path
If I knew just where I could rent
A cavern with a bath.
Unpardonable Sin.
"Some mis'bul sinner took an’
runned off wid the collection hat las’
meetin’ day,” said Brother Dickey,
"and I well knows dat ef dar was no
sich place ez hell, de good Lawd would
make one for dat sinner.”
“Was there much money in the
hat?”
“No, suh; day waren't so much ez a
brass button In it.”
“Then why are you so ,mad about
it?”
“Hit wus my hat,” he said.
Good at Addition.
Sammy was not prone to overexer
tion in the classroom; therefore, his
mother was both surprised and de
lighted when he came home one noon
with the announcement, ”1 got 100
this morning.”
"That's lovely, Sammy!” exclaimed
his proud mother. “What was it in?”
“Fifty in reading and fifty in 'rith
metic,” was Sammy's prompt reply.—
Lipplncott’s.
TOO VALUABLE.
The Easterner —Strange that you
never drink water.
Westerner —Say, from the part of
the west where I come from water is
too much needed for irrigation to be
wasted.
Still, It’s a Good Motto.
Tile Golden Itule does very well
When hung upon the wall,
But oftentimes, the truth to tell,
It doesn’t work at all.
Rare Bird.
“A unique editor, you say?”
"Very much so. He has never
asked, ‘ls poetry on the wane?'”
Youthful Independence.
"Father,” said the fair girl, “I have
arranged a very important interview
for you this evening. Harold Is going
to call on you."
“To make a formal request for your
hand, I suppose.”
“Not at all. He wants to look you
over and see how you would do for a
father-in-law.”
And Mother’s, Too.
“Mother, said the small boy at the
piano, "may I quit for a while?”
“Why? Are your hands tired?’’
“No. My hands aren’t, but my ears
are.”
Gentle Reminder.
“If I had my w r ay,” said the asser
tive man.
“Yes, yes,” said the sardonic friend,
“but you speak too late. You're mar- j
ried now.”
Queer Terms.
“There is one funny thing about, a
successful play.”
“What is that?”
“When it is a walkover they call
It a run.”
Respite From Ragtime.
“So the parade was a success?”
“Yes. It was a remarkable pa- I
rade.”
“In what particular?” j
“The band played tunes that were ;
appropriate to the occasion."
Fair Trial.
“Success will come to any one who
perseveres.”
“I don’t know about that. I’ve been
married for ten years now, and my
husband hasn’t liked anything I’ve had
for dinner yet.
Our Foolish Contemporaries.
Willie, aged twelve, was teasing his
busy mother. .When she gave him a
sharp rebuke he said contritely: “Oh,
mother, you mustn't mind my little
contemporaries."
“What’s that?" asked his mother in
surprise.
“You mustn't mind my little contem
poraries," he repeated.
“Do you know what the means?”
queried his mother.
“Why, yes, mother; contemporaries
arc little jokes like Life publishes in
the back of the paper every week” —
Life.
Modern Way.
“Salces alive!” ejaculated the Stork
upon meeting the little God of Love
crying bitterly. “What is the matter,
Dan?”
“The m-mum-matter," sobbed Cupid,
“is that Cupidity is making twice as
many matches as I am! Uh-wah!
hah! ha-a-a-ah!” —Judge.
POOR MAN.
Hen peck—-Oh! I'm acclimated to
wedded life now.
Henderson —What do you mean?
Henpeck—Why, I've been married
so long that I don’t mind it any
I more.
Oh, Joy!
The corn Is waving in the field
The beans denote a handsome yield,
All nature smiles, and It’s a “pipe"
That succotash will soon be ripe.
Political Economy.
“What’s the wrangle about in Plunk
ville?"
“Some of the community want to
maintain mudhoies and swell their
private fortunes by hauling automo
biles out. Others want to improve the
highways, pinch ’em for speeding, and
apply the proceeds to public works of
all kinds#
Sad Effect of Imagination.
“How's your husband, Mandy?”
“He’s po’ly, miss, very po’ly. He
ain’t able to do nuffin’ at all."
“Wliat the trouble?"
“Why jes’ a few weeks ago I axed
him if he couldn’t carry your washin’
to your home, ma’am, and de idee give
him such a stitch in de side dat he
jest ’bout sick all de time.”
His Favorite Flour.
McMasters was walking with a beau
tiful girl in a wild New England wood.
"What is your favorite flower, Mr. Me*
Masters?” the girl asked softly.
McMasters thought a moment, then
he cleared his throat and answered;
“Well, I believe I like the whole wheat
best.” —Washington Star.
Naturally So.
“What makes your husband taste
everything he sees lying around?”
“A consuming curiosity.”
His Prospect.
Stude —Do you smoke, professor?
Prof—Why, yes, I’m very fond of a
good cigar.
Stude —Do you drink, sir?
Prof—Yes, indeed! I enjoy nothing
better than a bottle of wine.
Stude —Gee! it’s going to cost mo
something to pass this course! —Cor-
nell Widow.
Modern Life.
“What's the quickest way of getting
to the sixty-seventh floor of the Sky
high building?”
“Take an express elevator to th*
flfty-firth floor. Then take a tram in
the corridor to the other side of the
building, where you can make close
connections with a fast local elevator
to the point you want."
Good Way.
A person said to a physician:
“Well, doctor, Mr. B. is dead, not
withstanding you promised to cure
him.”
The doctor replied: “You were ab
sent, sir, you did not follow the prog
ress of the cure. He died cured.”—
Judge.
The Messenger Boy.
“Where are you going, senator?
Y'ou seem busy.’'’
“I am busy. Got to take this pack
age of soil over to the agricultural
department to be assayed, then I must
send some seeds to one of my con
stituents, and find some summer
boarders for a man who says he voted
for me last fall.”
A Knocker.
There was a man away flown south
Who dearly liked to croak.
And people when he oped his mouth
Were sorry' that he spoke.