. En route; a descriptive automobile tour through nine countries & over nineteen great passes of Europe . behind us, we passed againacross the sandy isthmus, to our relief, facing thegale of wind. After San Fernando we left our roadof the previous day. Over a turbulent stream, itswaters held in check by the hurricane, we crossedby means of a plank bridge of boats, which creakedand groaned as Mercedes crawled over its heavysurface. The road still crossed the salt marshes,cutting between the white pyramids. Cape Trafal-gar, a misty outline on our right, brought backthoughts of that noble victory
. En route; a descriptive automobile tour through nine countries & over nineteen great passes of Europe . behind us, we passed againacross the sandy isthmus, to our relief, facing thegale of wind. After San Fernando we left our roadof the previous day. Over a turbulent stream, itswaters held in check by the hurricane, we crossedby means of a plank bridge of boats, which creakedand groaned as Mercedes crawled over its heavysurface. The road still crossed the salt marshes,cutting between the white pyramids. Cape Trafal-gar, a misty outline on our right, brought backthoughts of that noble victory, purchased at sodear a cost. Striking inland, we hummed along inthe teeth of the gale ; the road was fairly good,although at one place we came upon two stretchesof heavy metal—the loose stones piled nigh a footin height, and extending for more than a these we sank, the bottom of the car scrapingover them with a heartbreaking grind. We werecrossing the battlefield upon which was fought thedecisive encounter between Roderick, King of theChristian Goths, and Tarik the Moor, with his208. THE DESIRE OF OUR HEARTS seven thousand followers, on his march from Gib-raltar, that battle which, for nearly eight centuries,delivered Spain to Moorish rule ; making her, duringthat period, a shining example of chivalry andcivilisation to the rest of Europe. Upon the sweetpasture lands around we often saw large herds ofhorses grazing peacefully by the roadside, but dis-turbed by our appearance, the beautiful creaturesgalloped quickly away. At last we struck the coast and sighted theMediterranean. The sea we had left that morninghad been of a grey colour, covered with whitecrests; the sea we saw now was of the deepest blue,a match to the cloudless sky above. We hadpassed through the Straits and were upon the mostsouthern point of land in Europe, Cape Tarifa : thatspot on which had landed twelve hundred yearsbefore, Tarik the Moor, with only five hundred mento sample the land whic
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjecteuropedescriptionand
