Dwight L. Elmendorf

“ The large columns were nearly twelve feet thick and sixty-two feet high. On top of each a hundred men could have stood. Each column was made up of many half-drums put together, and on them are raised reliefs, once painted with bright colors, picturing the events in the reigns of the various kings of Egypt. But now their glory has departed. The walls of the temple have fallen, and all that we can see is a mass of ruins, resembling the litter of an avalanche. ”

“ No one can forget the day that he crosses the impressive boundary between France and Spain, winding about and tunneling through the majestic Pyrenees. Once this superb mountain range is passed, the traveler feels as if he had come upon a different world from any that he has seen before. His attention turns first, most naturally, to the great cities, which differ essentially from one another. Perhaps no two more contrasting cities could be selected than Toledo and Madrid. Toledo was from the earliest times a capital city. ”

“ It is trite and ineffective simply to say that the Grand Canal is the great artery and thoroughfare of Venice. It is so much more than that: it is a magnificent show course adorned with two hundred or more magnificent palaces dating from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries, and beautiful churches and interesting public buildings. A sightseeing trip in a gondola affords the visitor an object of architectural beauty and historic interest at every rod. ”

“ The landscape is delightfully varied,—here a bold and lofty promontory, there a wooded hill, and down near the coast richly cultivated plains. The traveler passes steep and frowning cliffs, whose bases are washed by the surf of the Mediterranean, whose summits are crowned by the venerable ruins of towers erected in bygone ages for protection against pirates.
Many of the towns in the Riviera are situated in fertile valleys or on picturesque hills; while others are perched like nests among the rocks. ”

“ The Dutch farmer has not changed in several hundred years. He is a thrifty, contented individual, and his life will interest you. You will find the country families hospitable, and you will learn much from them that the city Hollanders have not told you. As you go through the farm districts you will be impressed with the varied color and the picturesque qualities of everything. And though you may not be an artist you must, in the course of a sojourn in Holland, feel the stir of art consciousness. ”

“ The road leading down to the old Nile gate is a very beautiful one. Crossing the bridge there, we see the picturesque Nile boats, like the lateen boats of the Mediterranean. The avenue leads out to the pyramids, and there in the far distance you can see them,—those golden cones about which is wrapped so much of Egypt's history and mystery. The first sight of the pyramids naturally means much to any intelligent traveler. ”

“ More literally speaking, it was not the Bridge of the Rialto that Shylock refers to in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” but the district nearby.
It is difficult for anyone who has visited Venice to select single points for comment or description. The city appeals to him as a whole, and each object of beauty in it is a part of the wonderful whole. The essence of Venice is a dreamy, poetic charm,—a charm of light, color, and form, not of sound. ”

“ No traveler can find greater variety in scene and life, in language and habit, in climate and condition, than he gets in the course of a full Mediterranean tour. Few travelers make the whole circuit of the Mediterranean. This great inland sea is usually visited only in parts, and while the traveler is in transit from one point to another. There is no general description that can apply to the whole of this interesting body of water. On every shore there is something that is new and different, and somewhere on these shores there is something to delight each one. ”

“ The Alhambra, like many Moorish buildings, is severely simple on the outside; but when you enter your senses are captivated by the exquisite beauty of design and decoration that stretches out before you as you go through the courts and halls of this wonder palace. While in the whole it presents an effect of uniformity, there is infinite variety in detail, and there are countless forms of beauty about you that captivate the mind and fill the soul with delight. ”

“ Rotterdam, the famous commercial center of Holland, lies fourteen miles from the North Sea at the union of two rivers, one of which is called the Rotte, and with the great dam erected on its banks gives to the town its name. To a visitor the most notable feature of this great Dutch city is its multitude of bridges, most of which are drawbridges, continually rising and falling like parts of a huge machine. ”

“ No one knows the full beauty of Scotland who has not visited the islands. Their picturesque and varied attractions pronounce them the true and natural offspring of the parent land.
Scotland has long been called the land of scenery and of song. The two are intimately associated. The scenery of Scotland has inspired many of her songs, and the songs have paid tribute in return by celebrating the beauty of the scenery in affectionate and eloquent phrase. ”

“ The mind balks in contemplation of the monuments of Egypt. They whisper messages from so far distant a time that we stagger in trying to grasp their meaning.
A visit through Egypt usually begins with Cairo. And it is just as well that it is so; for in Cairo there is much that is modern and much that is familiar to the English traveler. It is, therefore, a good way for the visitor to break into ancient Egypt. In Cairo modern people mingle with the sons of ancient Egyptians. ”

“ There is the wide, gradually shelving beach, ceaselessly washed by the rolling surf, crowded with people of all ages and stations, bobbing in the water, frolicking on the beach, or sedately seated in the shaded chairs. Back on the beach runs the long line of hotels and cottages that we find at all great ocean resorts. ”

“ A gondola is a long black skiff, with graceful lines and a swanlike prow sweeping up from the water. It is typically Venetian. It is admirably adapted to the work it has to do. There are only two points in all Venice where a gondola may not go even at low water,—one near the great theater of the Fenice, and the other near the Palazza Mocenigo at San Stae.
Two is the best number of passengers for a gondola. The rower is out of sight, behind. All is ideal. There is no noise, no dust, not even the feeling of motion, except the ripple of water past the bow. ”

“ It is not easy to sum up the beauties of Scotland within the space of a few pages. It is a land where Nature and Romance go hand in hand, Nature affording a background of rare beauty, while Romance invests it with vital human interest. ”

“ The Dutch people successfully resisted Spanish domination at a time when Spain was a supreme world power, and then they built up a government of their own in a country where they had to fight for the very existence of the land. In government administration, in thrift and commercial enterprise, in exploration and colonization, in literature, and in arts, Holland has proved herself to be a wonderful little country. ”

“ Olives, with their grotesque and gnarled stems, are grown on great plantations in the Riviera. The warm climate produces luxuriant growths of figs, vines, citrons, oranges, oleanders, myrtles, and aloes. Bright green pine forests meet the eye, and even palms are seen occasionally.
Thousands of visitors spend the winter in the chain of towns and villages that stretches from one end of the Riviera to the other,—Nice; Monte Carlo in Monaco, the little independent principality; Mentone, the last town in the French Riviera ”

“ The streets are narrow and crooked. The houses are blind and forbidding on the outside, reserving their attractions for their inner courts. Everything about you is strange and curious, and full of historic significance. If you wish to get the history of Spain in condensed form, you will find it in Toledo.
The cathedral is the most important feature of the city, and one of the finest and most interesting in Europe. The religious life of Spain centered there for centuries. On that site a Christian temple stood in the sixth century. When the Moors came they made a mosque of it. ”

“ LUXOR, FROM OPPOSITE BANK OF THE NILE
Egypt is a country of impressive temples and monuments, the interest of which has not been exhausted by a library of books on the subject. A trip through Egypt is not complete without a visit to the Ramesseum and that unique monument, the Temple of Denderah. The latter is a building set apart in architectural and in historic interest. It is not imposing; but it has an appeal that the other temples have not. It was a place of mystery. Its inner chamber, the sanctuary of Denderah, was sacred to Pharaoh himself. ”

“ The Hague is the political capital of Holland, and in some ways the most beautiful and interesting of all Dutch cities. It is a most cosmopolitan town, and its population includes many distinguished people. Among the cities of Holland, The Hague leads in culture and refinement, as Amsterdam and Rotterdam do in commerce. It is, moreover, the most attractive city. In neatness and in cleanliness it is claimed that The Hague cannot be excelled by any city in the world. ”

“ BELL TOWER, CORDOVA CATHEDRAL
This tower is three hundred feet high, and was built on the foundations of the Moorish minaret. At the top is a figure of Saint Raphael with a weather vane.
In this country of contrasts there is no more striking contrast than that between the cruel Escorial and the romantic Alhambra. It is pleasant to turn south to Granada; for the greatest treat of all for a visitor in Spain awaits him there. Granada is picturesquely situated in a valley, on ground that rises toward the hill of the Alhambra. The view from the highest points is beautiful. ”

“ As one writer said, “Mount Vesuvius is to the Neapolitan bay what Fujiyama is to many a landscape of Japan,—the lofty background of the picture, and the grand presiding genius of the place. By day it proudly waves its plume of smoke, by night its torch of fire, as if it claimed to be the champion of destruction.” ”

“ It is impossible in rough weather to enter the cave by boat. The method of visiting is to land some distance away and enter by a protected footpath. Once inside, the effect of surging, roaring waves overarched by echoing walls of basalt is most impressive. The basaltic columns—similar in formation to those of the Giants Causeway, across the sea on the coast of Ireland—rear themselves in parallel lines like a formidable palisade constructed for the support and protection of the cave. ”

“ So strange and so strong is the power of fiction over truth, in Venice, as everywhere else, that Portia and Emilia, Cassio, Antonio, and Iago appear to have been more real here than are the women and men in real life. ”

“ Stand on the parapet of the Citadel, and look over Cairo, and see the sun rise. Far in the distance is a sandstorm. Many people in the United States think that the weather in Egypt is as clear as crystal always. That is a great mistake. The days there are rarely as clear as American clear days. In January, February, and March you are likely to have sandstorms, or the sirocco, or wind from the desert, which almost obliterate the sun.
Down by the edge of the desert is the Dead City. The tombs there and their interiors are wonderful. The beautiful buildings have been allowed to decay. ”

“ It holds a place among the greatest museums of the world, and in its devotion to its own particular subject—Dutch art and history—it is unique. It is not the lover of art alone who will find the place fascinating: the historian will be held by the military, naval, and colonial collection; the antiquarian will linger over the old works in gold and silver, the models of ships of different periods, antique books and furniture, textiles and stained glass; while the artist will regard the picture galleries as a treasure house. ”

“ It seems as if families vie with one another in making their homes attractive. The family life is in the inner court or patio. That is the summer parlor, and there in the midst of flowers, plants, and beautiful birds friendly parties gather in happy companionship. It is in Seville, it seems to me, that the life of the native Spaniard may be seen in its most attractive light. ”

“ Little churches and chapels peering from the somber foliage of cypresses, and gigantic gray pinnacles of rock frowning upon the smiling plains, frequently enhance the charms of the scenery; while the vast expanse of the Mediterranean, with its ever changing hues, dazzles the eye with its beauty. ”