|
| THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA - The Exposition of 1893
gained
over all other World's Fairs because of its commemoration of Columbus, a
world's hero. No spirit of national pride was hurt, and several European
peoples were flattered by the extraordinary demonstration at Chicago.
Chief among the honors paid to Columbus was the erection at Jackson Park
of a reproduction of the Convent of La Rabida, at Palos, Spain, in which
Columbus took refuge, and where he matured his plans of sailing due
westward into the Ocean Sea. This reproduction was the idea of William E.
Curtis, then the director of the Bureau of American Republics, in the
State Department of the nation, and though viewed at first with some
disfavor, was in the end admited to have been the crowning feature of the
Exposition. The building, made in faithful imitation of its original -
even to the setting of exotic plants in the little interior court, was
filled with such a collection of relics as may never again be seen
together, and these relics were jealously guarded by United States regular
soldiers, continually on duty, who were under orders to speak to nobody,
except in the way of duty. His Holiness the Pope and the Duke of Veragua,
whose name is Christopher Columbus, were the chief patrons of the
undertaking, loaning to the collection the original letters of Columbus
and the maps and documents which are in possession of the Vatican. The
influence of the Arabic may be seen in the beautiful script which Columbus
wrote. The portraits of Columbus made a remarkable display, and proved
that nobody knows just how their original really looked. |
