The Argosy — page 145: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Letters from Majorca. 133 come across these large-minded ecclesiastics. At heart, I believe they are better, hold healthier views of life and religion, than your ascetic monk who would spend his days in fasting and his nights in vigil. Soller seems rather overcrowded. As I have said, the people stare at us with a large amount of misdirected curiosity. When we sally forth with our camera we are especial objects of attention. They are all anxious to be taken, and we have no difficulty in getting any amount of ready-made groups. The people are very civil, too, and allow us to go through their houses into their gardens to photo- SOLLER. graph views from the river. This is by far the most picturesque part of Soller. It would, indeed, be difficult to match elsewhere this strange accumulation of old bridges and ancient houses, and dilapi- dated walls, and dried up torrent. About us are the hills, towering around, shutting in our horizon. It becomes oppressive. We feel as if we wanted a free current of ‘ air. The place, I have said, is enervating, and the people are pallid. The church tower rises in the midst, square and pro- minent. It is an ancient building, but so altered and renewed that its antiquity is lost. We went in this afternoon. A special service was going on, and the place was crowded. A preacher in the pulpit was holding forth with much voice and gesticulation. Faces were upturned to him. The profound obscurity was relieved only by lighted candles on the far-off altar. Of course all this is very comicbooks.com