After going through the narrow entrance of La Rabida they found little
dark rooms with pictures and maps and charts of Columbus and Isabel in
many different forms. In the southwest room they found a table and doors
and bricks and the key from the house of Columbus. In the case among the
many sacred relics was a locket said to contain some of the dust of that
great man. They saw the Lotto portrait which was used on the souvenir
half dollars. There were the Indian idols which Columbus brought to
Isabel, one of the canoes in which the Indians came out to meet him, and
even one of the bolts to which Columbus was chained. Each one of the
party were continually discovering the most wonderful things. Fanny
found an autograph letter of the great Cortez and she wrote in her note
book from the book of Waltzeemuller where he said, "Americus has
discovered a fourth part more of the world and Europe and Asia are named
for women this country ought to be called America or land of Americus
because he has an acute intellect."
While she was writing this an old gentleman came up to her and said,
"Say, Miss, I want to see the remains of Columbus, I heard they are here
with a soldier on each side of his body."
Fanny pointed to the place where the locket was but he was disappointed
and did not care to go "just to see a pinch of dust in a locket."
Aunt was sitting on her camp stool in the room where the table of
Columbus was, but to get a nearer view of something she left it for a
moment. Just then a family of man and wife with five children came in
and found that they were standing at the table and by the door of
Columbus. The woman saw the chair and supposing it to be a part of the
Columbus furniture sat down in it. Then she arose and called her
husband. "Henry come here and set in this chair. Thank God I've set
where Columbus set." The husband sat in it awhile and then each one of
the children time about, while Aunt Sarah waited patiently for them to
get through, not wanting to break the pleasure of their great
achievement.
[Illustration: "THANK GOD I'VE SET WHERE COLUMBUS SET."]
Tired of further sight seeing, our family decided to leave the grounds,
and started on their homeward journey with over two hours ahead of them.
There was no use walking through streets when they could pass nearly
the whole distance through buildings. This was one of the ways to
economize on travel and time.
Across the bridge from La Rabida was the great archway entrance of the
Agricultural hall. Around the old convent with its low-browed walls ran
a width of fresh dirt at intervals over which were stuck the ancient
signs, "Keep off the grass," but no grass was yet visible.
"That's what I don't like about this White City. So much of it is so,
and so much of it ain't so that I never can tell what is so," said
Uncle.
In the Agricultural hall there were never ending wonders for the farmer.
All the agricultural ingenuity of the earth was centered here.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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