These figures are not wanting in majesty and expression. All are crowned and wear semi-sacerdotal garb. Castile holds an oar, Leon a cross. Behind them come Aragon and Navarre, sombre of countenance, wearing shirts of mail. On the bosom of each is displayed the national escutcheon: the Towers of Castile, the Lions of Leon, the Bats of Aragon, and the Chains of Navarre. The pall bears words traced by Isabella herself:
| "A Castilla y Leon, |
| Nuevo mundo dió Colon," |
and round the pedestal is an inscription which relates how the body of the immortal Admiral of the Indies was brought here when the "ungrateful America" revolted from the Spanish yoke. But however much the Spain of to-day may honour Columbus dead, it is hardly for her to reproach any land with ingratitude towards him.
Half-way between the main entrance and the choir, the Great Navigator's son is buried. An inscription on a slab invites the reader to pray for the soul of Don Fernando Colon, who, as Ford very truly says, would have been considered a great man if he had been the son of a less great father. He rendered important services to literature, and left behind him a library of 15,000 volumes, including some manuscripts of extreme rarity. It was ultimately acquired by the Crown, and constitutes the basis of the Biblioteca Columbina, housed in the Patio de los Naranjos.
The Royal Chapel is flanked by two little chapels, one of which, dedicated to St. Peter, contains some Zurbarans, impossible to distinguish in the dim light; while in the other (Capilla de la Concepcion grande) is a fine monument of Cardinal Cienfuegos and a crucifix attributed to Alonso Cano. Opening on to the north side are the chapels del Pilar, de las Evangelistas, de las Doncellas, de San Francisco, de Santiago, de las Escales, and del Bautisterio. In the latter is one of Murillo's most famous works, "The Vision of St. Anthony of Padua." Of Cano's works there is a specimen, the "Virgin and Child," over the altar of Belen, adjacent to the Puerta de los Naranjos. Valdés Leal and Juan de las Roelas are represented in the chapel of Santiago, and Herrera the younger by an ambitious "Apotheosis of St. Francis" in the chapel of that saint. In the Capilla de las Escalas are two works of Luca Giordano, strong in drawing, colour, and character. The same chapel contains the fine tomb of Bishop Baltasar del Rio, dating from about 1500.
In the south aisle are the chapels of the Mariscal, San Andres, las Dolores, la Antigua, San Hermenegildo, San José, Santa Ana, and Santa Laureana. These chapels are richer in sculpture than in painting. Kempener designed the beautiful altar-piece in the Capilla del Mariscal, and Montañez the grand statue of St. Hermenegildo in his chapel. On the west side of the Puerta de San Cristobal, over a small altar, is the "Generacion" of Luis de Vargas—the much praised "leg" picture which has given its name to the chapel. The fresco of St. Christopher that faces it is remarkable only for its size. You find such pictures of the saint at the entrances to many Spanish churches, the old belief having been that those who gazed upon it would not die unpreparedly that day. A much more ancient and interesting mural painting in the Byzantine style is to be seen in the large chapel of the "Antigua," where it was placed in 1578. The retablo of St. Anne's Chapel is also very old, and comes from the former cathedral. The next chapel, San José, is adorned by Valdés Leal's "Espousals of the Virgin." The Cathedral does not contain any fine ancient tombs. One of the best is that of Archbishop Mendoza, by Miguel Florentin, in the Antigua Chapel.
As every visitor to Seville professes a special devotion to Murillo, he will probably overlook the fine "Nativity" by Luis de Vargas to the right, on entering, of the Puerta del Nacimiento, and hurry at once to the more famous master's "Guardian Angel," between Puerta Mayor and Puerta del Bautismo. His "St. Leander" and "St. Isidore" are to be seen in the great Sacristy, where they are eclipsed by Kempener's beautiful "Descent from the Cross," before which Murillo himself used to stand for hours in rapt contemplation. The French cut this priceless work into five pieces, intending to remove it, and although their design was frustrated, the subsequent restoration was badly effected. The Sacristia de los Calices is a storehouse of art treasures. Here you may see Goya's "Saint Justa and Saint Rufina," a "Trinity" by "El Greco," the "Angel de la Guarda" and "St. Dorothy" of Murillo, the "Death of a Saint" by Zurbaran, and the superb crucifix of Montañez. A "Conception" by Murillo is in the Chapter House, a splendid hall in the Renaissance style.