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THE  ALHAMBRA 


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Washington  Irving. 


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The  Alhambra 


Selected  from  author's  Revised  Edition. 


BY 


Washington  Irving. 


TKIlitb  irntroOuction  anD  Bjplanaton?  IPlotes 
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INTRODUCTION. 

Washington  Irving  was  born  in  New  York,  April  3,  1783, 
tlie  year  in  which  the  British  troops  withdrew  from  the  city.  A 
few  months  after,  General  Washington  marched  in  with  the  Conti- 
nental army,  and  the  patriotic  mother  said  :  "  Washington's  work 
is  now  ended,  and  the  child  shall  be  named  after  him."  When 
Washington  was  again  in  New  York  as  first  President,  the  child's 
enthusiastic  Scotch  nurse  followed  the  hero  into  a  shop  one  day 
and  presented  his  young  namesake.  **  Please,  your  honor,"  said 
Lizzie,  "here's  a  bairn  was  named  after  you."  The  great  man 
gently  touched  the  boy's  head  and  bestowed  a  blessing  upon  his 
future  biographer. 

Irving's  early  education  was  unsystematic  and  limited,  being 
guided  mainly  by  his  own  inclinations,  which  were  opposed  to  the 
rigors  of  regular  study  and  instruction.  He  read  widely,  es- 
pecially books  of  travel  and  adventure,  and  amused  himself 
with  the  composition  of  juvenile  poems  and  plays.  At  sixteen  his 
school-days  were  over  and  he  entered  a  law  office,  but  he  had  no 
taste  for  the  profession  and  his  reading  was  more  in  books  of 
poetry  and  romance  than  in  books  of  law.  His  most  congenial 
occupations  during  these  years  were  converse  with  good  literature 
and  good  society,  day-dreaming,  and  wandering  along  the  banks 
of  the  Hudson,  gathering  its  legendary  lore,  by  which  he  was  soon 
to  make  this  region  classic  ground.  With  what  interest  and  ad- 
miration he  read  Addison's  "  Spectator  "  is  shown  by  his  first  ven- 
ture as  an  author,  when  nineteen  years  old,  a  series  of  critical  and 
humorous  letters  in  his  brother's  paper,  the  "  Morning  Chronicle," 
signed  "Jonathan  Oldstyle,"  In  1804,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health,  which  had  always  been  delicate,  he  was  sent  abroad.  He 
spent  some  time  in  France,  learned  the  language,  visited  Sicily, 
enjoying  an  adventure  with  pirates  on  the  way,  and  remained 
several  weeks  in  Rome,  drinking  in  the  wonderful  influences  of 
music  and  painting,  arts  that  were  kindred  to  his  nature  and 
tastes.     While  here  he  became  acquainted  with  the  painter  Wash- 

3 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

ington  Allston,  who  nearly  persuaded  liim  to  abandon  law  and 
letters  and  become  an  artist. 

On  his  return  to  America  lie  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  to  be  a 
*'  champion  at  the  tea-parties  "  was  more  agreeable  to  him  than  to 
be  a  pleader  of  causes  in  a  dirty  court-room.  A  graceful  manner, 
a  refined  taste,  and  a  ready  humor  made  him  everywhere  a  favorite 
in  society.  His  choice  of  literature  as  a  profession  was  practi- 
cally determined  when,  in  1806,  he  published,  in  conjunction  with 
his  brother  and  his  friend  Paulding,  the  "Salmagundi"  papers, 
brilliant  and  successful  periodical  essays  in  the  manner  of  the 
"Spectator"  and  Goldsmith's  "Citizen  of  the  World."  Three 
years  later  appeared  his  first  permanent  work,  that  masterpiece 
of  delicious  and  perennial  humor,  **  Knickerbocker's  History  of 
New  York."  The  book  was  remarkably  successful,  both  at  home 
and  abroad.  Sir  Walter  Scott  wrote  :  "  I  have  never  read  any- 
thing so  closely  resembling  the  style  of  Dean  Swift  as  the  annals 
of  Diedrich  Knickerbocker.  I  have  been  employed  these  few 
evenings  in  reading  them  aloud  to  Mrs.  S.  and  two  ladies  who  are 
our  guests,  and  our  sides  have  been  absolutely  sore  with  laugh- 
ing." While  engaged  upon  this  book  he  suffered  a  crushing  be- 
reavement in  the  death  of  Miss  Matilda  Hoffman,  to  whom  he  was 
soon  to  be  married.  The  anguish  of  this  event  colored  his  whole 
subsequent  life  and  writing.  It  "seemed,"  he  once  said,  "to 
give  a  turn  to  my  whole  character  and  throw  some  clouds  into 
my  disposition  which  have  ever  since  hung  about  it." 

In  1815  Irving  again  went  to  Europe,  intending  only  a  brief 
visit  in  the  interests  of  his  brother's  business,  but  the  visit  was 
prolonged  to  seventeen  years.  Several  years  were  spent  in  Eng- 
land, where  he  was  associated  with  the  most  distinguished  people 
in  literature  and  society.  The  poets  Southey,  Moore,  Campbell, 
and  Rogers  were  his  friends ;  to  the  happy  days  spent  in  the 
family  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  we  owe  the  charming  "  Recollections 
of  Abbotsford  ;"  and  in  the  Red  Horse  Inn  at  Stratford  are  still 
preserved  the  mementos  of  his  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  Shak- 
spere,  with  which  the  whole  world  is  now  familiar  through  his 
delightfuFdescriptions.  In  England  he  wrote  the  "  Sketch  Book," 
the  first  number  of  which  was  published  in  New  York  in  1819, 
introducing  to  the  world  the  immortal  "Rip  Van  Winkle."  It 
was  soon  republished  in  London,  and  made  him  famous  in  two 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

continents.  "  Geoffrey  Crayon  is  the  most  fashionable  fellow  of  the 
day,"  said  the  painter  Leslie.  "  His  Crayon — I  know  it  by 
heart,"  said  Lord  Byron  ;  "his  writings  are  my  delight."  Even 
the  great  reviewers  of  the  time,  who  did  not  credit  America 
with  the  ability  to  produce  a  work  of  genius,  were  loud  in  his 
praise.  The  "Sketch  Book"  was  the  first  link  in  the  bond  of 
literary  sympathy  that  was  to  reunite  England  and  America.  It 
was  followed  by  "  Bracebridge  Hall  "  and  "  Tales  of  a  Traveler," 
in  the  same  general  style. 

After  a  brief  sojourn  in  Germany  and  France,  Irving  went,  in 
1826,  to  Spain,  where  he  remained  three  years,  working  upon  his 
"Life  of  Columbus."  The  labor  resulted  also  in  three  other 
books  of  imperishable  beauty  and  interest,  "The  Alhambra,"  the 
"Conquest  of  Granada,"  and  the  "Legends  of  the  Conquest  of 
Spain."  While  there  he  received  unexpectedly  the  appointment 
of  Secretary  of  Legation  to  the  court  of  St.  James,  and  in  1830 
he  resumed  his  residence  in  England.  His  "Columbus"  had 
just  appeared  from  the  press,  and  honors  of  every  kind  now 
poured  in  upon  him.  From  the  Royal  Society  of  Literature  he 
received  the  gold  medal  of  King  George,  and  from  the  University 
of  Oxford  the  degree  of  D.C.L.,  which  title,  however,  his  mod- 
esty never  permitted  him  to  use.  Two  years  later  he  returned  to 
America,  and  met  with  an  overwhelming  reception  from  his  ad- 
miring countrymen. 

He  now  purchased  a  home  in  the  midst  of  his  old  haunts  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson.  Here  in  the  pretty  cottage  called  "  Sunny- 
side" — soon  overrun  with  English  ivy,  from  a  slip  from  Melrose 
Abbey — he  gathered  about  him  his  family  of  brothers,  nephews, 
and  nieces,  who,  owing  to  business  disaster,  were  largely  dependent 
upon  him  for  support.  Ten  happy  years  were  here  spent  in  literary 
labor,  resulting  in  the  "  Tour  on  the  Prairies,"  a  book  that  is  still 
one  of  the  best  records  of  adventure  in  the  wild  West,  ' '  Astoria, " 
"Recollections  of  Abbotsford  and  Newstead  Abbey,"  "Captain 
Bonneville,"  "  Wolfert's  Roost,"  "Life  of  Goldsmith,"  and 
* '  Mahomet  and  his  Successors. "  He  was  already  engaged  upon  his 
great  work,  the  "  Life  of  Washington,"  when,  on  the  recommen- 
dation of  Daniel  Webster,  then  Secretary  of  State,  he  was  appointed 
Minister  to  Spain,  an  appointment  eminently  fitting,  and  accepta- 
ble to  both  nations.     But  the  life  of  courts  and  palaces  had  lost 


0  INTEODUCTION. 

its  charms  for  him.  In  1845  he  writes  :  "I  long  to  be  once  more 
back  at  dear  little  Sunnyside,  while  I  have  yet  strength  and  good 
spirits  to  enjoy  the  simple  pleasures  of  the  country,  and  to  rally 
a  happy  family  group  once  more  about  me.  I  grudge  every  year 
of  absence  that  rolls  by.  To-morrow  is  my  birthday.  I  shall  then 
be  sixty-two  years  old.  The  evening  of  life  is  fast  drawing  over 
me ;  still  I  hope  to  get  back  among  my  friends  while  there  is  a 
little  sunshine  left."  The  following  year  "the  impatient  long- 
ing of  his  heart  was  gratified,"  says  his  biographer,  "and  he 
found  himself  restored  to  his  home  for  the  thirteen  years  of  happy 
life  still  remaining  to  him."  In  these  last  years  he  enjoyed  in 
full  measure  ' '  that  which  should  accompany  old  age,  as  honor, 
love,  obedience,  troops  of  friends."  His  life's  work  was  fittingly 
rounded  with  the  publication  of  his  "  Washington."  He  lived  to 
see  the  last  volume  issue  from  the  press  and  to  hear  the  voice  of 
universal  praise.  Death  came  at  the  close  of  a  beautiful  Indian- 
summer  day,  November  28,  1859,  and  he  was  buried  near  Sleepy 
Hollow,  amid  the  scenes  loved  by  him  through  life  and  made 
memorable  forever  by  his  magic  pen. 

The  personality  of  Irving  is  one  of  the  most  lovable  in  all  our 
literature,  and  this  personality  is  embodied  with  remarkable  full- 
ness in  his  writings.  The  grace  of  language,  the  chaste  and 
noble  thought,  the  touches  of  idealism  and  romance,  the  chival- 
rous regard  for  pure  womanhood,  the  genial  humor,  the  tender- 
ness, sympathy,  and  pathos  that  characterize  all  his  books,  were 
qualities  of  his  daily  life.  Says  William  Cullen  Bryant:  "He 
was  ever  ready  to  do  kind  offices  ;  tender  of  the  feelings  of  others; 
carefully  just,  but  gver  leaning  toward  the  merciful  side  of 
justice ;  averse  to  strife  ;  and  so  modest  that  the  world  never 
ceased  to  wonder  how  it  should  have  happened  that  one  so  much 
praised  should  have  gained  so  little  assurance."  The  presence  of 
this  gracious  personality  in  his  books  is  always  a  refining  and 
beneficent  influence  ;  no  one  reads  them  without  being  made  hap- 
pier and  better. 

His  mind  was  not  philosophical  or  profound,  and  he  did  not 
discuss  in  his  works  the  deeper  problems  of  human  life  and 
destiny.  Happiness,  truth,  nobility,  and  faith  Avere  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  his  philosophy.  The  ideal  and  spiritual 
simplicity  of  his  works  presents  a  wholesome  protest  against  the 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

feverish  unrest  and  sordid  materialism  of  the  literature  of  the 
present  day.  His  thoughts  turned  naturally  to  the  i)ast  ;  his  im- 
agination dwelt  most  contentedly  in  the  fields  of  history,  tradi- 
tion, and  romance.  The  air  of  enchantment  in  Moorish  Spain 
was  an  inspiration  to  him.  Mellow  England,  grown  old  in  his- 
tory and  song,  was  always  dear  to  him.  But  there  was  a  past  in 
American  history  that  he  loved  equally  well.  He  did  for  his 
native  land  what  Scott  did  for  Scotland,  investing  the  region  of 
the  Hudson  with  an  atmosphere  of  romance  and  poetry  as  dis- 
tinct and  national  as  that  which  rests  upon  the  Tweed  and  the 
banks  and  braes  of  Yarrow. 

While  studying  the  following  selections,  pupils  should  be  per- 
mitted to  read  some  historical  account  of  the  Moorish  occupation 
of  Spain,  such  as  Stanley  Lane-Poole's  "  Story  of  the  Moors  in 
Spain"  (Story  of  the  Nations  Series),  or  Charlotte  M.  Yonge's 
"Christians  and  Moors  of  Spain."  Prescott's  "History  of  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella"  should  be  at  hand,  and  especially  the 
author's  "Conquest  of  Granada."  Also  the  legends  and  tales 
contained  in  the  complete  edition  of  the  "  Alhambra"  should  be 
read,  if  possible,  in  connection  with  these  descriptive  sketches. 
In  the  class-room  reading  the  Spanish  quotations  may  be  omit- 
ted ;  the  pronunciation  of  Spanish  names  offering  any  difficulty 
is  given  in  the  notes.  An  effort  should  be  made  to  bring  before 
the  class  good  engravings  and  photographs  of  the  Alhambra. 

For  further  biographical  material,  consult  Charles  Dudley  War- 
ner's "Life  of  Washington  Irving"  (American  Men  of  Letters 
Series),  or  the  more  extended  biography  by  Trving's  nephew^ 
Pierre  Irving.  Curtis's  "  Homes  of  American  Authors  "  will  add 
interesting  information,  as  also  Bryant's  oration  upon  Irving,  in 
a  volume  entitled  "Orations  and  Addresses." 

These  selections  are  given  without  mutilation  or  abridgment  of 
the  text,  and,  by  the  courteous  permission  of  Messrs.  (i.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons,  they  are>eprinted  from  the  last  edition  revised  ])y  the 
author. 


IRVING'S  STYLE. 

"The  Goldsmifh  of  our  age," — Thackeray. 

'  •  His  external  English  style  was  fairly  entitled  to  be  called 
Addisonian,  and  he  easily  surpassed  Charles  Lamb  in  evenness  of 
execution." — Richardson's  American  Literature. 

' '  His  style  is  one  of  the  most  agreeable  in  the  whole  range  of 
our  literature.  It  is  transparent  as  the  light,  sweetly  modulated, 
unaffected,  the  native  expression  of  a  fertile  fancy,  a  benignant 
temper,  and  a  mind  which,  delighting  in  the  noble  and  the  beau- 
tiful, turned  involuntarily  away  from  their  opposites.  His  pecu- 
liar humor  was,  in  a  great  measure,  the  offspring  of  this  constitu- 
tion of  his  mind.  This  'fanciful  playing  with  common  things,' 
as  Mr,  Dana  calls  it,  is  never  coarse,  never  tainted  with  grossness, 
and  always  in  harmony  with  our  better  sympathies," — William 
Oullen  Bryant. 

"That  he  thoroughly  mastered  such  literature  as  he  fancied, 
there  is  abundant  evidence;  that  his  style  was  influenced  by 
the  purest  English  models  is  also  apparent.  But  there  remains 
a  large  margin  for  wonder  how,  with  his  want  of  training, 
he  could  have  elaborated  a  style  which  is  distinctively  his  own, 
and  is  as  copious,  felicitous  in  the  choice  of  words,  flowing, 
spontaneous,  flexible,  engaging,  clear,  and  as  little  wearisome 
when  read  continuously  in  quantity,  as  any  in  the  English  tongue. 
This  is  saying  a  great  deal,  though  it  is  not  claiming  for  him  the 
compactness,  nor  the  robust  vigor,  nor  the  depth  of  thought,  of 
many  other  masters  in  it.  It  is  sometimes  praised  for  its  sim- 
plicity. It  is  certainly  lucid,  but  its  simplicity  is  not  that  of 
Benjamin  Franklin's  style  ;  it  is  often  ornate,  not  seldom  diffuse, 
and  always  exceedingly  melodious.  It  is  noticeable  for  its  meta- 
phorical felicity.  But  it  was  not  in  the  sympathetic  nature  of 
the  author  to  come  sharply  to  the  point.  It  is  much  to  have 
merited  the  eulogy  of  Campbell  that  he  had  '  added  clarity  to  the 
English  tongue.'  "  —Charles  Dudley  Warner. 

8 


PALACE  OF  THE  ALHAMBKA. 


To  the  traveler  imbued  with  a  feeling  for  the  historical  and 
poetical,  so  inseparably  intertwined  in  the  annals  of  romantic 
Spain,  the  Alhambra  is  as  much  an  object  of  devotion  as  is 
the  Caaba  to  all  true  Moslems.  How  many  legends  and  tradi- 
tions, true  and  fabulous, — how  many  songs  and  ballads,  Ara-  5 
bian  and  Spanish,  of  love  and  war  and  chivalry,  are  associated 
with  this  Oriental  pile  !  It  was  the  royal  abode  of  the  Moor- 
ish kings,  where,  surrounded  with  the  splendors  and  refine- 
ments of  Asiatic  luxury,  they  held  dominion  over  what  they 
vaunted  as  a  terrestrial  {jaradise,  and  made  their  last  stand  10 
for  empire  in  Spain.  The  royal  palace  forms  but  a  part  of 
a  fortress,  the  walls  of  which,  studded  with  towers,  stretch 
irregularly  round  the  whole  crest  of  a  hill,  a  spur  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  or  Snowy  Mountains,  and  overlook  the  city;  exter- 
nally it  is  a  rude  congregation  of  towers  and  battlements,  w^ith  15 


.  3.  AIliainl>ra  fal-hain'brah):  This  Avord  sig^nifles,  in  Arabic,  "the  red 
house,"  so  called  from  the  red  brick  of  which  its  external  walls  are  con- 
structed. 

4.  Caaba  (kah'bah):  The  most  sacred  shrine  of  the  Mohammedans,  in  the 
temple  at  Mecca,  in  Arabia,  containing?  the  sacred  black  stone,  believed  to 
have  been  presented  to  Mahomet  by  the  anj^el  Gabriel.  All  Mohammedans 
turn  toward  this  point  during  their  devotions. 

4.  Moslem  (mos'lem):  A  Mussulmar),  or  believer  in  the  Mohammedan 
faith,  called  Mam. 

7.  The  palace  was  erected  chiefly  between  1248  and  1854.  Innnediately 
upon  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  in  14S)Ji,  the  Spaniards  betrau  to  deface  its 
beauties,  filling  up  the  open-work  with  whitewasli,  and  destroying?  the 
painting^  and  rich  gilding:.  Restor-atiotis  have  been  attempted  in  lecent 
years,  and  it  is  now  carefully  preserved. 

13.  Sierra  Nevada  (se-er'rah  na-vah'dah):  The  word  sierra  means  a  saw, 
hence  a  range  of  mountains  resembling  saw-teeth,  and  ncvada  means  a 
heavy  fall  of  snow. 

9 


10  PALACE    OP   THE    ALHAMBRA. 

no  regularity  of  plan  nor  grace  of  architecture,  and  giving 
little  promise  of  the  grace  and  beauty  which  prevail  within. 

In  the  time  of  the  Moors  the  fortress  was  capable  of  con- 
taining within  its  outward  precincts  an  army  of  forty  thousand 
5  men,  and  served  occasionally  as  a  stronghold  of  the  sover- 
eigns against  their  rebellious  subjects.  After  the  kingdom 
had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Christians,  the  Alhambra 
continued  to  be  a  royal  demesne,  and  was  occasionally  inhab- 
ited by  the  Castilian  monarchs.     The  emperor  Charles  V.  com- 

lo  menced  a  sumptuous  palace  within  its  walls,  but  was  deterred 
from  completing  it  by  repeated  shocks  of  earthquakes.  The 
last  royal  residents  were  Philip  V.  and  his  beautiful  queen, 
Elizabetta  of  Parma,  early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Great 
preparations  were  made  for  their  reception.     The  palace  and 

15  gardens  were  placed  in  a  state  of  repair,  and  a  new  suite  of 
apartments  erected,  and  decorated  by  artists  brought  from 
Italy.  The  sojourn  of  the  sovereigns  was  transient,  and  after 
their  departure  the  palace  once  more  became  desolate.  Still 
the  place  was  maintained  with  some  military  state.     The  gov- 

2oernor  held  it  immediately  from  the  crown;  its  jurisdiction  ex- 
tended down  into  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  and  was  independent 
of  the  captain-general  of  Granada.  A  considerable  garrison 
was  kept  up;  the  governor  had  his  apartments  in  the  front  of 
the  old  Moorish  palace,  and  never  descended  into  Granada 

25  without  some  military  parade.  The  fortress,  in  fact,  was  a 
little  town  of  itself,  having  several  streets  of  houses  within  its 
walls,  together  with  a  Franciscan  convent  and  a  parochial 
church. 

8.  Demesne  (de-meen'):  An  old  French  word,  originally  signifying:  the 
land  and  manor-house  or  castle  held  by  a  lord  for  his  own  use,  as  distin- 
guished from  tlie  land  distributed  among  his  tenants. 

9.  Charles  V.:  The  grandson  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Archduke  of 
Austria,  King  of  Spain,  the  Netherlands,  and  the  two  Sicilies,  and  Emperor 
of  Germany.  W^hat  important  events  in  Germany  during  his  reign  ?  Who 
were  his  great  rivals  on  the  thrones  of  Europe  ? 

18.  Philip  v.:  Grandson  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France.  Archduke  Charles  of 
Austria  contested  his  title  to  the  throne,  and  brought  on  the  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession  in  1702.    What  nations  were  involved  in  tins  war  '? 

27.  Franciscan  :  The  Franci.scans  were  an  order  of  monks  or  mendicant 
friars,  founded  by  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  Italy.  The  "Gray  Friars'"  and 
"  Barefooted  Friars"  were  of  this  order.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  were  buried 
in  this  monastery,  but  the  remains  were  finally  removed  to  the  stately 
mausoleum  erected  by  Charles  V.  in  the  neighboring  cathedral  of  Granada. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALIIAMBRA.  11 

The  desertion  of  the  court,  however,  was  a  fatal  blow  to  the 
Alhambra.  Its  Ijeaiitif  ul  halls  became  desolate,  and  some  of 
them  fell  to  ruin;  the  gardens  were  destroyed,  and  the  foun- 
tains ceased  to  play.  By  degrees  the  dwellings  became  filled 
with  a  loose  and  lawless  population,  contrabandistas,  who  5 
availed  themselves  of  its  independent  jurisdiction  to  carry  on 
a  wide  and  daring  course  of  smuggling,  and  thieves  and  rogues 
of  all  sorts,  who  made  this  their  place  of  refuge  whence  they 
might  depredate  upon  Granada  and  its  vicinity.  The  strong 
arm  of  government  at  length  interfered;  the  whole  community  lo 
was  thoroughly  sifted;  none  were  suffered  to  remain  but  such 
as  were  of  honest  character,  and  had  legitimate  right  to  a  resi- 
dence; the  greater  part  of  the  houses  were  demolished  and  a 
mere  hamlet  left,  with  the  parochial  church  and  the  Francis- 
can convent.  During  the  recent  troubles  in  Spain,  when  15 
Granada  was  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  the  Alhambra  was 
garrisoned  by  their  troops,  and  the  palace  was  occasionally 
inhabited  by  the  French  commander.  With  that  enlightened 
taste  which  has  ever  distinguished  the  French  nation  in  their 
conquests,  this  monument  of  Moorish  elegance  and  grandeur  20 
was  rescued  from  the  absolute  ruin  and  desolation  that  were 
overwhelming  it.  The  roofs  were  repaired,  the  saloons  and 
galleries  protected  from  the  weather,  the  gardens  cultivated, 
the  water-courses  restored,  the  fountains  once  more  made  to 
throw  up  their  sparkling  showers;  and  Spain  may  thank  her  25 
invaders  for  having  preserved  to  her  the  most  beautiful  and 
interesting  of  her  historical  monuments. 

On  the  departure  of  the  French  they  blew  up  several  towers 
of  the  outer  wall,  and  left  the  fortifications  scarcely  tenable. 
Since  that  time  the  military  importance  of  the  post  is  at  an  30 
end.  The  garrison  is  a  handful  of  invalid  soldiers,  whose 
principal  duty  is  to  guard  some  of  the  outer  towers,  which 
serve  occasionally  as  a  prison   of  state;  and  the  governor, 


5.  Contrabandistas:  Spanish  for  coiitrabandists,  smugglers.  From 
L.  contra,  against,  and  bmulum,  a  proclamation,  ban,  or  law. 

18.  After  the  French  Revolution,  Napoleon  invaded  Spain,  deposed  the 
king,  and  placed  his  brother  upon  the  tlu'one;  but  the  Spaniards,  aided  by 
England,  expelled  the  French  in  1814. 


12  PALACE    OF    THE    ALIIAMBRA. 

abandoning  the  lofty  hill  of  the  Alhambra,  resides  in  the 
center  of  Granada,  for  the  more  convenient  dispatch  of  his 
official  duties.  I  cannot  conclude  this  brief  notice  of  the  state 
of  the  fortress  without  bearing  testimony  to  the  honorable 
5  exertions  of  its  present  commander,  Don  Francisco  de  Serna, 
who  is  tasking  all  the  limited  resources  at  his  command  to  put 
the  palace  in  a  state  of  repair,  and  by  his  judicious  precautions 
has  for  some  time  arrested  its  too  certain  decay.  Had  his 
predecessors  discharged  the  duties  of  their  station  with  equal 

lo  fidelity,  the  Alhambra  might  yet  have  remained  in  almost  its 
pristine  beauty;  were  government  to  second  him  with  means 
equal  to  his  zeal,  this  relic  of  it  might  still  be  preserved  for 
many  generations  to  adorn  the  land,  and  attract  the  curious 
and  enlightened  of  every  clime. 

15  Our  first  object  of  course,  on  the  morning  after  our  arrival, 
was  a  visit  to  this  time-honored  edifice;  it  has  been  so  often, 
however,  and  so  minutely  described  by  triivelers,  that  I  shall 
not  undertake  to  give  a  comprehensive  and  elaborate  account 
of  it,  but  merely  occasional  sketches  of  parts,  with  the  inci- 

20  dents  and  associations  connected  with  them. 

Leaving  our  posada,  and  traversing  the  renowned  square  of 
the  Vivarrambla,  once  the  scene  of  Moorish  jousts  and  tourna- 
ments, now  a  crowded  market-place,  we  proceeded  along  the 
Zacatin,  the  main  street  of  what,  in  the  time  of  the  Moors, 

25  was  the  Great  Bazaar,  and  where  small  shops  and  narrow 
alleys  still  retain  the  Oriental  character.  Crossing  an  open 
place  in  front  of  the  palace  of  the  captain-general,  we  ascended 


15.  Irving  begins  the  introductory  sketch  entitled  "The  Journey"  with 
this  explanation:  "In  the  spring  of  1829,  the  author  of  this  woik,  whom 
curiosity  had  brought  into  Spain,  made  a  rambling  expedition  from  Seville 
to  Granada  in  company  with  a  friend,  a  member  of  the  Russian  embassy  at 
Madrid." 

17.  Some  of  the  recent  descriptions  that  will  be  especially  interesting  are 
to  be  found  in  Hare's  "Wanderings  in  Spain,"  Charles  A.  Stoddard's 
"  Spanish  Cities,"  De  Amicis'  "  Spain  and  the  Spaniards,"  Henry  T.  Finck's 
"  Spain  and  Morocco."  Lockhart's  "  Spanish  Ballads  "  will  also  add  inter- 
est, and  Mrs.  Hemaiis'  poem,  "The  Alhambra,"  and  Longfellow's  charm- 
ing "  Castles  in  Spjiin."  Those  who  are  near  large  libraries  should  see  the 
splendid  illustrations  of  the  Alhambra  in  Murphy's  "  Araliian  Antiquities 
of  Spain,"  and  Gowry  and  Jones's  "  Plans,  Elevations,  and  Details  of  the 
Alhambra." 

21.  Posada  (po-sah'dah):  An  inn  or  resting-place. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALTIAMBRA.  13 

a  confined  and  winding  street,  the  name  of  which  reminded 
U8  of  the  chivalric  days  of  Granada.  It  is  called  tlie  Calle,  or 
street  of  the  Gomeres,  from  a  Moorish  family  famous  in  chron- 
icle and  song.  This  street  led  up  to  the  Puerta  de  las  Granadas, 
a  massive  gateway  of  Grecian  architecture,  built  by  Charles  5 
v.,  forming  the  entrance  to  the  donuiins  of  the  Alhambra. 

At  the  gate  were  two  or  three  ragged  superannuated  sol- 
diers, dozing  on  a  stone  bench,  the  successors  of  the  Zegris 
and  the  Abencerrages;  while  a  tall,  meagre  varlet,  whose  rusty- 
brown  cloak  was  evidently  intended  to  conceal  the  ragged  lo 
state  of  his  nether  garments,  was  lounging  in  the  sunshine 
and  gossiping  with  an  ancient  sentinel  on  duty.  He  joined 
us  as  we  entered  the  gate,  and  offered  his  services  to  show  us 
the  fortress. 

I  have  a  traveler's  dislike  to  officious  ciceroni,  and  did  not  15 
altogether  like  the  garb  of  the  applicant. 

"  You  are  well  acquainted  with  the  place,  I  presume  ?" 

"Ninguno  mas;  pues  seiior,  soy  hijo  de  la  Alhambra." — 
(Nobody  better;  in  fact,  sir,  I  am  a  son  of  the  Alhambra  !) 

The  common  Spaniards  have  certainly  a  most  poetical  way  20 
of  expressing  themselves.  "A  son  of  the  Alhambra!"  the 
appellation  caught  me  at  once;  the  very  tattered  garb  of  my 
new  acquaintance  assumed  a  dignity  in  my  eyes.  It  was  em- 
blematic of  the  fortunes  of  the  place,  and  befitted  the  progeny 
of  a  ruin.  25 

I  put  some  further  questions  to  him,  and  found  that  his 
title  was  legitimate.  His  family  had  lived  in  the  fortress  from 
generation  to  generation  ever  since  the  time  of  the  Conquest. 


2.  Calle  (cal'lya):  Spanish  for  s6ee<. 

4.  Puerta  de  las  Granadas  (poo-er'tah  da  lahs  grah-nah'das):  Liter- 
ally the  Gate  of  tJie  Pomegranates.  Tlie  M'ord  qranada  means  pomegran- 
ate', so  when  Ferdinand  determined  to  beKi"  his  crusade  by  capturing  the 
smaller  fortresses  of  Granada  before  attempting  the  capital,  he  said,  "I 
will  pick  out  the  seeds,  one  by  one,  of  Ihis  pomegranate." 

8.  Zegris,  Abencerrages  (a-ben'ser-ra-jes):  Two  noble  families  of 
Granada,  between  wiiom  there  was  a  mortal  feud,  which  gave  rise  to  many 
romantic  stories. 

15.  Ciceroni  (sis-e-ro'ne):  The  plural  of  cicerone  (sis-e-ro'ne),  a  guide;  so 
called  from  the  great  Roman  orator  Cicero,  on  account  of  the  loquacity  of 
guides. 

^>8.  The  Conquest :  That  is,  since  the  conquest  of  Granada  in  1493. 


14  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBEA. 

His  name  was  Mateo  Ximenes,  "Then,  perhaps,"  said  I, 
"  you  may  be  a  descendant  from  the  great  Cardinal  Ximenes?" 
— "  Dios  Sabe  !  God  knows,  Seiior !  It  maybe  so.  We  are 
the  oldest  family  in  the  Alhambra, — Cliristianos  Viejos,  old 
5  Christians,  without  any  taint  of  Moor  or  Jew.  I  know  we 
belong  to  some  great  family  or  other,  but  I  forget  whom.  My 
father  knows  all  about  it:  he  has  the  coat  of  arms  hanging  up 
in  his  cottage,  up  in  the  fortress."  There  is  not  any  Spaniard, 
however  poor,  but  has  some  claim  to  high  pedigree.     The  first 

lo  title  of  this  ragged  worthy,  however,  had  completely  capti- 
vated me;  so  I  gladly  accepted  the  services  of  the  "  son  of  the 
Alhambra." 

We  now  found  ourselves  in  a  deep  narrow  ravine,  filled 
with  beautiful  groves,  with  a  steep  avenue,  and  various  foot- 

15  paths  winding  through  it,  bordered  with  stone  seats,  and 
ornamented  with  fountains.  To  our  left  we  beheld  the  towers 
of  the  Alhambra  beetling  above  us;  to  our  right,  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  ravine,  we  were  equally  dominated  by  rival 
towers  on  a  rocky  eminence.     These,  we  were  told,  were  the 

20  Torres  Vermejos,  or  vermilion  towers,  so  called  from  their 
ruddy  hue.  No  one  knows  their  origin.  They  are  of  a  date 
much  anterior  to  the  Alhambra:  some  suppose  them  to  have 
been  built  by  the  Eomans;  others,  by  some  wandering  colony 
of  Phoenicians.     Ascending  the  steep  and  shady  avenue,  we 

25  arrived  at  the  foot  of  a  huge  square  Moorish  tower,  forming  a 
kind  of  barbican,  through  which  passed  the  main  entrance  to 
the  fortress.  Within  the  barbican  was  another  group  of  vet- 
eran invalids,  one  mounting  guard  at  the  portal,  while  the 
rest,   wrapped  in  their   tattered   cloaks,  slept  on  the  stone 


2.  Ximenes  (ze-mee'neez):  This  celebrated  churchman  and  statesman 
was  Isabella's  confessor,  Ferdinand's  chief  counselor,  and  at  the  death  of 
Ferdinand  was  made  regent  of  the  kingdom. 

17.  Beetling:  To  beetle  is  to  jut  out,  overhang;  so  a  person  with  bushy, 
prominent  eyebrows  is  called  "beetle-browed.'"  Horatio  warns  Hamlet 
that  the  Ghost  may  tempt  him: 

"  toward  the  flood, 
Or  to  the  dreadful  summit  of  tlie  clifif 
That  beetles  o'er  his  base  into  the  sea." 
26.  Barbican:  The  barbican  was  an  outwork  for  defending  the  main  ap- 
proach to  a  castle,  often  the  gate-house  or  gateway-tower. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA.  15 

benches.  This  portal  is  called  the  Gate  of  Justice,  from  the 
tribunal  held  within  its  j)orch  during  the  Moslem  domination, 
for  the  immediate  trial  of  petty  causes:  a  custom  common  to 
the  Oriental  nations,  and  occasionally  alluded  to  in  the  Sacred 
Scriptures.  "  Judges  and  officers  shalt  thou  make  thee  in  alls 
thy  (jates^  and  they  shall  judge  the  people  with  just  judg- 
ment." 

The  great  vestibule,  or  porch  of  the  gate,  is  formed  by  an 
immense  Arabian  arch,  of  the  horseshoe  form,  which  springs 
to  half  the  height  of  the  tower.     On  the  keystone  of  this  arch  lo 
is  engraven  a  gigantic   hand.     Within  the  vestibule,  on  the 
keystone  of  the  portal,  is  sculptured,  in  like  manner,  a  gigantic 
key.     Those  who  pretend  to  some  knowledge  of  Mohammedan 
symbols  affirm  that  the  hand  is  the  emblem  of  doctrine,  the 
five  fingers  designating  the  five  principal  commandments  of  15 
the  creed  of  Islam,  fasting,  pilgrimage,  alms-giving,  ablution, 
and  war  against  infidels.     The  key,  say  they,  is  the  emblem 
of  the  faith  or  of  power;  the  key  of  Daoud,  or  David,  trans- 
mitted to  the  prophet.   "  And  the  key  of  the  house  of  David  will 
I  lay  upon  his  shoulder;  so  he  shall  open,  and  none  shall  shut,  20 
and  he  shall  shut,  and  none  shall  open."     (Isaiah  xxii.  22.) 
The  key,  we  are  told,  wavS  emblazoned  on  the  standard  of  the 
Moslems  in  opposition  to  the  Christian  emblem  of  the  cross, 
when  they  subdued  Spain  or  Andalusia.     It  betokened  the 
conquering  powder  invested  in  the  prophet.     "He  that  hath 25 
the  key  of  David,  he  that  openeth,  and  no  man  shutteth;  and 
shutteth,  and  no  man  openeth."     (Kev.  iii.  7.) 

A  different  explanation  of  these  emblems,  however,  was 
given  by  the  legitimate  son  of  the  Alhambra,  and  one  more  in 
nnison  with  the  notions  of  the  common  people,  who  attach  30 
something  of  mystery  and  magic  to  everything  Moorish,  and 
have  all  kinds  of  superstitions  connected  with  this  old  Moslem 
fortress.  According  to  Mateo,  it  was  a  tradition  handed  down 
from  the  oldest  inhabitants,  and  which  he  had  from  his  father 


G.  Deuteronomy  xvi.  18. 

16.  Islam  (is'lam^-  An  Arabic  word  meaning:  siibmiaaion,   obedience  to 
God  ;  the  name  usually  used  to  designate  the  religion  of  Mahomet. 


16  PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA. 

and  grandfather,  that  the  hand  and  key  were  magical  devices 
on  which  the  fate  of  the  Alhambra  depended.  The  Moorish 
king  who  built  it  was  a  great  magician,  or,  as  some  believed, 
had  sold  himself  to  the  devil,  and  had  laid  the  whole  fortress 
5  under  a  magic  spell.  By  this  means  it  had  remained  stand- 
ing for  several  years,  in  defiance  of  storms  and  earthquakes, 
while  almost  all  other  buildings  of  the  Moors  had  fallen  to 
ruin  and  disappeared.  This  spell,  the  tradition  went  on  to 
say,  would  last  until  the  hand  on  the  outer  arch  should  reach 

lo  down  and  grasp  the  key,  when  the  whole  pile  would  tumble 
to  pieces,  and  all  the  treasures  buried  beneath  it  by  the  Moors 
would  be  revealed. 

Notwithstanding  this  ominous  prediction,  we  ventured  to 
pass  through  the  spell-bound  gateway,    feeling  some  little 

15  assurance  against  magic  art  in  the  protection  of  the  Virgin,  a 
statue  of  whom  we  observed  above  the  portal. 

After  passing  through  the  barbican,  we  ascended  a  narrow 
lane,  winding  betw^een  walls,  and  came  on  an  open  esplanade 
within  the  fortress,  called  the  Plaza  de  los  Algibes,  or  Place  of 

20  the  Cisterns,  from  great  reservoirs  which  undermine  it,  cut  in 
the  living  rock  by  the  Moors  to  receive  the  water  brought  by 
conduits  from  the  Darro,  for  the  supply  of  the  fortress.  Here, 
also,  is  a  well  of  immense  depth,  furnishing  the  purest  and 
coldest  of  water, — another  monument  of  the  delicate  taste  of 

25  the  Moors,  who  were  indefatigable  in  tlieir  exertions  to  obtain 
that  element  in  its  crystal  purity. 

In  front  of  this  esplanade  is  the  splendid  pile  commenced 
by  Charles  V.,  and  intended,  it  is  said,  to  eclipse  the  residence 
of  the  Moorish  kings.     Much  of  the  Oriental  edifice  intended 

30  for  the  winter  season  was  demolished  to  make  way  for  this 
massive  pile.  The  grand  entrance  was  blocked  up  ;  so  that 
the  present  entrance  to  the  Moorish  palace  is  through  a  simple 
and  almost  humble  portal  in  a  corner.  With  all  the  massive 
grandeur  and  architectural  merit  of  the  palace  of  Charles  V., 


18.  Esplanade  (es-pla-nade'):  lu  a  nieiliaeval  town,  tlie  open  level  space 
between  the  citadel  and  the  first  houses  of  the  town.  Here,  the  high  level 
portion  of  the  outer  court. 


PALACE    OP   THE    ALIIAMBRA.  17 

we  regarded  it  as  an  arrogant  intruder,  and  passing  by  it  with 
a  feeling  almost  of  scorn,  rang  at  the  Moslem  portal. 

While  waiting  for  admittance,   our  self-imposed  cicerone, 
Mateo  Ximenes,   informed  us  that  the  royal  palace  was  in- 
trusted to  the  care  of  a  worthy  old  maiden  dame  called  Dona  5 
Antonia-Molina,  but  who,  according  to  Spanish  custom,  went 
by  the  more  neighborly  appellation  of  Tia  Antonia  (Aunt  An- 
tonia),  who  maintained  the  Moorish  halls  and  gardens  in  order 
and  showed  them  to  strangers.    While  we  were  talking,  the  door 
was  opened  by  a  plump  little  black-eyed  Andalusian  damsel,  lo 
whom  Mateo  addressed  as  Dolores,  but  who  from  her  bright 
looks  and  cheerful  disposition  evidently  merited  a  merrier  name. 
Mateo  informed  me  in  a  whisper  that  she  was  the  niece  of  Tia 
Antonia,  and  I  found  she  was  the  good  fairy  who  was  to  con- 
duct us  through  the  enchanted  palace.     Under  her  guidance  15 
we  crossed  the  threshold,  and  were  at  once  transported,  as  if 
by  magic  wand,  into  other  times  and  an  Oriental  realm,  and 
were  treading  the  scenes  of  Arabian  story.     Nothing  could  be 
in  greater  contrast  than  the  unpromising  exterior  of  the  pile 
with  the  scene  now  before  us.     We  found  ourselves  in  a  vast  20 
patio  or  court,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  up- 
ward of  eighty  feet  in  breadth,  paved  with  white  marble,  and 
decorated  at  each  end  with  light  Moorish  peristyles,  one  of 
which  supported  an  elegant  gallery  of  fretted   architecture. 
Along  the  moldings  of  the  cornices  and  on  various  parts  of  25 
the  walls  were  escutcheons  and  ciphers,  and  cuflc  and  Arabic 

2.  This  monument  of  Chai-les  V.'s  folly  is  two  hundred  and  forty  feet 
square,  and  stands  a  mere  shell,  without  a  roof.  It  is  in  the  Italian  style  of 
architecture  and  splendidly  ornamented  with  rich  carvings  and  bas-reliefs. 
The  money  with  which  it  was  built  was  extracted  from  tlie  Moors. 

11.  Dolores  (do-lor'es):  "  The  doleful;"'  from  the  Latin  dolor,  pahi, 
sorrow.    Tlie  Virgin  is  sometimes  called  "  Our  Lady  of  Dolors." 

21.  Patio  (pah'te-o):  Spanish  for  op^^N  spare  or  court.  The  Romans  said 
patens  of  anythinsr  lying:  open,  and  we  say  patent  of  a  thing  that  is  clear  or 
evident  to  all.  Trace  the  connection  still  further  in  letters  patent  and 
patent  rigJit. 

83.  Peristyles  f per'i-stiles) :  Rows  of  columns,  usually  surroimding:  some 
part  of  a  building^.     From  the  Greek  Trepi,  round,  and  (ttv\o^,  a  cohmm. 

26.  Escutcheon  :  An  old  French  word  belonginjf  to  heraldry,  from  Latin 
scutiun,  a  shield;  the  sliield  shaped  surface  upon  which  a  person's  arnioriai 
bearings  are  depicted  or  emblazoned. 

26.  Ciphers:  Monograms,  devices  formed  by  the  interweaving  of  initial 
letters. 

26.  Cufic  (ku'fik):  A  name  applied  to  the  characters  of  the  Arabic  alpha- 


18  PALACE    OF    THE    ALIIAMBRA. 

characters  in  high  relief,  repeating  the  pious  mottoes  of  the 
Moslem  monarchs,  the  builders  of  the  Alhambra,  or  extolling 
their  grandeur  and  munificence.  Along  the  centre  of  the 
court  extended  an  immense  basin  or  tank  (estanque),  a  hun- 
5  dred  and  twenty-four  feet  in  length,  twenty-seven  in  breadth, 
and  five  in  depth,  receiving  its  water  from  two  marble  vases. 
Hence  it  is  called  the  Court  of  the  Alberca  (from  al  Beerkah, 
the  Arabic  for  a  pond  or  tank).  Great  numbers  of  gold-fish 
were  to  be  seen  gleaming  through  the  waters  of  the  basin,  and 

lo  it  was  bordered  by  hedges  of  roses. 

Passing  from  the  Court  of  the  Alberca  under  a  Moorish 
archway,  we  entered  the  renowned  Court  of  Lions.  No  part 
of  the  edifice  gives  a  more  complete  idea  of  its  original  beauty 
than  this,  for  none  has  suifered   so  little   from  the  ravages 

15  of  time.  In  the  center  stands  the  fountain  famous  in  song 
and  story.  The  alabaster  basins  still  shed  their  diamond 
drops  ;  the  tw^elve  lions  which  support  them,  and  give  the 
court  its  name,  still  cast  forth  crystal  streams  as  in  the  days 
of  Boabdil.     The  lions,  however,  are  unworthy  of  their  fame, 

20  being  of  miserable  sculpture,  the  work  probably  of  some  Chris- 
tian captive.  The  court  is  laid  out  in  flower-beds,  instead  of 
its  ancient  and  appropriate  pavement  of  tiles  or  marble  ;  the 
alteration,  an  instance  of  bad  taste,  w^as  made  by  the  French 
when  in  possession  of  Granada.     Eound  the  four  sides  of  the 

25  court  are  light  Arabian  arcades  of  open  filigree  work,  sup- 
ported by  slender  pillars  of  white  marble,  w^hich  it  is  supposed 
w^ere  originally  gilded.  The  architecture,  like  that  in  most 
parts  of  the  interior  of  the  palace,  is  characterized  by  elegance 
rather  than  grandeur,  bespeaking  a  delicate  and  graceful  taste, 

30  and  a  disposition  to  indolent  enjoyment.  When  one  looks 
upon  the  fairy  traces  of  the  peristyles,  and  tlie  apparently 
fragile  fretwork  of  the  walls,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  so 

bet  as  used  in  the  Koran,  from  the  city  Cufa,  an  early  capital  of  the  caliphs, 
where  wei-e  the  most  skillful  copyists  of  the  Koran. 

1.  Some  of  these  mottoes  may  be  thus  translated:  "There  is  no  con- 
queror but  God;"  "  The  glory  of  the  Empire  belongs  to  God;"  "  God  is  our 
refuge;"  "  Perpetual  salvation;"  "  There  are  no  gifts  among  you  but  those 
of  God,"  etc. 
19   Boabdil  (ho-ab-deel'):  The  last  Moorish  King  of  Granada. 


PALACE    OP    THE    ATJIAMHRA.  lU 

much  has  survived  the  wear  and  tear  of  centuries,  the  shocks 
of  eartliquakes,  tlie  violence  of  war,  and  the  quiet,  though  no 
less  baneful,  pilferings  of  the  tasteful  traveler  :  it  is  almost 
sufficient  to  excuse  the  popular  tradition  that  the  whole  is 
protected  by  a  magic  charm.  5 

On  one  side  of  the  court  a  rich  portal  opens  into  the  Hall  of 
the  Abencerrages  :  so  called  from  the  gallant  cavaliers  of  that 
illustrious  line  who  were  here  perfidiously  massacred.  There 
are  some  who  doubt  the  whole  story,  but  our  humble  cicerone 
Mateo  pointed  out  the  very  wicket  of  the  portal  through  which  lo 
they  were  introduced  one  by  one  into  the  Court  of  Lions,  and 
the  white  marble  fountain  in  the  center  of  the  hall  beside 
which  they  were  beheaded.  He  showed  us  also  certain  broad 
ruddy  stains  on  the  pavement,  traces  of  their  blood,  which, 
according  to  popular  belief,  can  never  be  effaced.  15 

Finding  we  listened  to  him  apparently  with  easy  faith,  he 
added  that  there  was  often  heard  at  night,  in  the  Court  of 
Lions,  a  low  confused  sound,  resembling  the  murmuring  of  a 
multitude,  and  now  and  then  a  faint  tinkling,  like  the  distant 
clank  of  chains.  These  sounds  were  made  by  the  spirits  of  20 
the  murdered  Abencerrages  ;  who  nightly  haunt  the  scene  of 
their  suffering  and  invoke  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  on  their 
destroyer. 

The  sounds  in  question  had  no  doubt  been  produced,  as  I 
had  afterward  an  opportunity  of  ascertaining,  by  the  bubbling  25 
currents  and  tinkling  falls  of  water  conducted  under  the  pave- 
ment through  pipes  and  channels  to  supply  the  fountains;  but 
I  was  too  considerate  to  intimate  such  an  idea  to  the  humble 
chronicler  of  the  Alhambra. 

Encouraged  by  my  easy  credulity,  Mateo  gave  me  the  fol-  30 
lowing  as  an  undoubted  fact,  which  he  had  from  his  grand- 
father:— ■ 

There  was  once  an  invalid  soldier,  who  had  charge  of  the 
Alhambra  to  show  it  to  strangers;  as  he  was  one  evening, 
about  twilight,  passing  through  the  court  of  Lions,  he  heard  35 


10.  Wicket :  A  small  gate  or  dooi-way,  forming  a  part  of  a  larger  gate  or 
"portal." 


20  PALACE    OP    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

footsteps  on  the  Hall  of  the  Abencerrages  ;  supposing  some 
strangers  to  be  lingering  there,  he  advanced  to  attend  upon 
them,  when  to  his  astonishment  he  beheld  four  Moors  richly 
dressed,  with  gilded  cuirasses  and  cimeters,  and  poniards 
5  glittering  with  precious  stones.  They  were  walking  to  and 
fro,  with  solemn  pace  ;  but  paused  and  beckoned  to  him.  The 
old  soldier,  however,  took  to  flight,  and  conld  never  afterward 
be  prevailed  upon  to  enter  the  Alhambra.  Thus  it  is  that 
men  sometimes  turn  their  backs  upon  fortune  ;  for  it  is  the 

lo  firm  opinion  of  Mateo  that  the  Moors  intended  to  reveal  the 
place  where  their  treasures  lay  buried.  A  successor  to  the 
invalid  soldier  was  more  knowing;  he  came  to  the  Alhambra 
poor,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year  went  off  to  Malaga,  bought 
houses,  set  up  a  carriage,  and  still  lives  there,  one  of  the  rich- 

15  est  as  well  as  oldest  men  of  the  place;  all  which,  Mateo  sagely 
surmised,  was  in  consequence  of  his  finding  out  the  golden 
secret  of  these  phantom  Moors. 

I  now  perceived  I  had  made  an  invaluable  acquaintance  in 
this  son  of  the  Alhambra,  one  who  knew  all  the  apocryphal 

20  history  of  the  place,  and  firmly  believed  in  it,  and  whose 
memory  was  stuffed  with  a  kind  of  knowledge  for  which  I 
have  a  lurking  fancy,  but  which  is  too  apt  to  be  considered 
rubbish  by  less  indulgent  philosophers.  I  determined  to  cul- 
tivate the  acquaintance  of  this  learned  Theban. 

25  Immediately  opposite  the  Hall  of  the  Abencerrages,  a  portal, 
richly  adorned,  leads  into  a  hall  of  less  tragical  associations. 
It  is  light  and  lofty,  exquisitely  graceful  in  its  architecture, 
paved  with  white  marble,  and  bears  the  suggestive  name  of 
the  Hall  of  the  Two  Sisters.     Some  destroy  the  romance  of  the 

30  name  by  attributing  it  to  two  enormous  slabs  of  alabaster 
which  lie  side  by  side  and  form  a  great  part  of  the  pavement: 
an  opinion  strongly  supported  by  Mateo  Ximenes.  Others  are 
disposed  to  give  the  name  a  more  poetical  significance,  as  the 
vague  memorial  of  Moorish  beauties  who  once  graced  this  hall, 

24.  Liearned  Theban  :  I^ear  says,  in  the  scene  with  Edg:ar  {King  Lpnr, 
III.  4),  "  I'll  talk  a  woi-d  witli  this  same  learned  Thehan."  According 
to  Grecian  lej^end,  Oedipus,  King  of  Thebes,  guessed  the  riddle  propounded 
by  the  Sphinx,  which  had  before  baffled  the  wisdom  of  all  men. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA.  21 

which  was  evidently  a  part  of  the  royal  harem.  This  opin- 
ion I  was  happy  to  find  entertained  by  our  little  bright-eyed 
guide,  Dolores,  who  pointed  to  a  balcony  over  an  inner  porch, 
which  gallery,  she  had  been  told,  belonged  to  the  women's 
apartment.  "  You  see,  sefior,"  said  she,  "  it  is  all  grated  and  5 
latticed,  like  the  gallery  in  a  convent  chapel  where  the  nuns 
hear  mass;  for  the  Moorish  kings,"  added  she,  indignantly, 
"  shut  up  their  wives  just  like  nuns." 

The  latticed  "jalousies,"  in  fact,  still  remain,  whence  the 
dark-eyed  beauties  of  the  harem  might  gaze  unseen  upon  the  10 
zambras  and  other  dances  and   entertainments   of  the  hall 
below. 

On  each  side  of  this  hall  are  recesses  or  alcoves  for  ottomans 
and  couches,  on  which  the  voluptuous  lords  of  the  Alhambra 
indulged  in  that  dreamy  repose  so  dear  to  the  Orientalists.  A  15 
cupola  or  lantern  admits  a  tempered  light  from  above  and  a 
free  circulation  of  air  ;  while  on  one  side  is  heard  the  refresh- 
ing sound  of  waters  from  the  fountain  of  the  lions,  and  on  the 
other  side  the  soft  plash  from  the  basin  in  the  garden  of  Lin- 
daraxa.  20 

It  is  impossible  to  contemplate  this  scene,  so  perfectly 
Oriental,  without  feeling  the  early  associations  of  Arabian 
romance,  and  almost  expecting  to  see  the  white  arm  of  some 
mysterious  princess  beckoning  from  the  gallery,  or  some  dark 
eye  sparkling  through  the  lattice.  The  abode  of  beauty  is  here  25 
as  if  it  had  been  inhabited  but  yesterday;  but  where  are  the 
two  sisters,  where  the  Zoraydas  and  Lindaraxas  I 

An  abundant  supply  of  water,  brought  from  the  mountains 
by  old  Moorish  aqueducts,  circulates  throughout  the  palace, 
supplying  its  baths  and  fish-pools,  sparkling  in  jets  within  its  30 
halls  or  murmuring  in  channels  along  the  marble  pavements. 


9.  Jalousies  :  The  French  jalousie,  jealousy,  denotes  also  a  latt?ce  or 
window-blind;  hence  a  gallery  or  veranda  inclosed  with  lattice-work  or 
slatted  fi-aines. 

11.  Zambras  :  The  zambra  (Sp.  tham'brah)  was  a  Moorish  festival,  with 
mnsic  and  dancing. 

37.  Zoraydas  :  Zorayda  was  one  of  the  tlree  beautiful  princesses  impris- 
oned, according;  to  legend,  in  the  Tower  of  the  Princesses.  Irving  tells  the 
Story  later  in  the  volume.    The  story  of  Lindaraxa  is  given  on  page  43, 


82  PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA. 

When  it  has  paid  its  tribute  to  the  royal  pile,  and  visited  its 
gardens  and  parterres,  it  flows  down  the  long  avenue  leading 
to  the  city,  tinkling  in  rills,  gushing  in  fountains,  and  main- 
taining a  perpetual  verdure  in  those  groves  that  embower  and 
5  beautify  the  whole  hill  of  the  Alhambra. 

Those  only  who  have  sojourned  in  the  ardent  climates  of 
the  South  can  appreciate  the  delights  of  an  abode  combining 
the  breezy  coolness  of  the  mountain  with  the  freshness  and 
verdure  of  the  valley.     While  the  city  below  pants  with  the 

lo  noontide  heat,  and  the  parched  Vega  trembles  to  the  eye,  the 
delicate  airs  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  play  through  these  lofty 
halls,  bringing  with  them  the  sweetness  of  the  surrounding 
gardens.  Everything  invites  to  that  indolent  repose,  the  bliss 
of  southern  climes;  and  while  the  half -shut  eye  looks  out  from 

15  shaded  balconies  upon  the  glittering  landscape,  the   ear  is 
lulled  by  the  rustling  of  groves  and  the  murmur  of  running 
-  streams. 

I  forbear  for  the  present,  however,  to  describe  the  other 
delightful  apartments  of  the  palace.     My  object  is  merely  to 

20  give  the  reader  a  general  introduction  into  an  abode  where,  if 
so  disposed,  he  may  linger  and  loiter  with  me  day  by  day  until 
we  gradually  become  familiar  with  all  its  localities. 


10.  Vega  (va'gah):  An  open  plain  near  the  city,  which  in  the  days  of  the 
Alhambra's  glory  was  "a  vast  garden  of  delight,  refreslied  by  numerous 
fountains,  and  by  the  silver  windings  of  the  Xenil.'"  "  Celebrated,"  says 
Prescott,  "  as  the  arena,  for  more  than  two  centuries,  of  Moorish  and 
Christian  chivalry,  every  inch  of  whose  soil  may  be  said  to  have  been  fer- 
tilized with  human  blood." 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALIIAMBRA.  23 


Important   Negotiations. — The   Author  Succeeds  to  the 
Throne   of  Boabdil. 

The  day  was  nearly  spent  before  we  could  tear  ourselves  from 
this  region  of  poetry  and  romance  to  descend  to  the  city  and 
return  to  the  forlorn  realities  of  a  Spanish  posada.  In  a  visit 
of  ceremony  to  the  Governor  of  the  Alhambra,  to  whom  we 
had  brought  letters,  we  dwelt  with  enthusiasm  on  the  scenes  5 
we  had  witnessed,  and  could  not  but  express  surprise  that  he 
should  reside  in  the  city  when  he  had  such  a  paradise  at  his 
command.  He  pleaded  the  inconvenience  of  a  residence  in 
the  palace  from  its  situation  on  the  crest  of  a  hill,  distant 
from  the  seat  of  business  and  the  resorts  of  social  intercourse.  lo 
It  did  very  well  for  monarchs,  who  often  had  need  of  castle 
walls  to  defend  them  from  their  own  subjects.  "But,  senors," 
added  he,  smiling,  "if  you  think  a  residence  there  so  de- 
sirable, my  apartments  in  the  Alhambra  are  at  your  service." 

It  is  a  common  and  almost  indispensable  point  of  polite- 15 
ness  in  a  Spaniard,  to  tell  you  his  house  is  yours. — "  Esta  casa 
es  siempre  a  la  disposicion  de  Vm." — "  This  house  is  always  at 
the  command  of  your  Grace. "     In  fact,  anything  of  his  which 
you"  admire,  is  immediately  offered  to  you.     It  is  equally  a 
mark  of  good  breeding  in  you  not  to  accept  it ;  so  we  merely  20 
bowed  our  acknowledgments  of  the  courtesy  of  the  Governor 
in  offering  us  a  royal  palace.     We  were  mistaken,  however. 
The  Governor  was  in  earnest.     "You  will  find  a  rambling  set 
of  empty,  unfurnished  rooms,"  said  he;   "but  Tia  Antonia, 
who  has  charge  of  the  palace,  may  be  able  to  put  them  in  25 
some  kind  of  order,  and  to  take  care  of  you  while  you  are 
there.     If  you  can  make  any  arrangement  with  her  for  your 
accommodation,  and  are  content  with  scanty  fare  in  a  royal 
abode,  the  palace  of  King  Chico  is  at  your  service." 


29.  King  Chifo  (che'ko):  King  Boabdil,  called  el  Chico,  the  younger,  to 
distinguish  him  from  a  usurping  uncle. 


24  PA.LACE    OF    THE    ALHA^IBRA. 

We  took  the  Governor  at  his  word,  and  hastened  up  the 
steep  Calle  de  los  Gomeres,  and  through  the  great  Gate  of 
Justice,  to  negotiate  with  Dame  Antonia, — doubting  at  times 
if  this  were  not  a  dream,  and  fearing  at  times  that  the  sage 

5  Dueiia  of  the  fortress  might  be  slow  to  capitulate.  We  knew 
we  had  one  friend  at  least  in  the  garrison,  who  would  be  in 
our  favor,  the  bright-eyed  little  Dolores,  whose  good  graces  we 
had  propitiated  on  our  first  visit ;  and  who  hailed  our  return 
to  the  palace  with  her  brightest  looks. 

lo  All,  however,  went  smoothly.  The  good  Tia  Antonia  had  a 
little  furniture  to  put  in  the  rooms,  but  it  was  of  the  common- 
est kind.  We  assured  her  we  could  bivouac  on  the  floor. 
She  could  supply  our  table,  but  only  in  her  own  simple  way  ; 
— we  wanted  nothing  better.     Her  niece,  Dolores,  would  wait 

15  upon  us ;  and  at  the  word  we  threw  up  our  hats  and  the 
bargain  was  complete. 

The  very  next  day  w^e  took  up  our  abode  in  the  palace,  and 
never  did  sovereigns  share  a  divided  throne  with  more  perfect 
harmony.     Several  days  passed  by  like  a  dream,  w^hen  my 

20  worthy  associate,  being  summoned  to  Madrid  on  diplomatic 
duties,  was  compelled  to  abdicate,  leaving  me  sole  monarch  of 
this  shadowy  realm.  For  myself,  being  in  a  manner  a  hap- 
hazitrd  loiterer  about  the  world,  and  prone  to  linger  in  its 
pleasant  places,  here  have  I  been  suffering  day  by  day  to  steal 

25  away  unheeded,  spell-bound,  for  aught  I  know,  in  this  old 
enchanted  pile.  Having  always  a  companionable  feeling  for 
m>  reader,  and  being  prone  to  live  with  him  on  confidential 
terms,  I  shall  make  it  a  point  to  communicate  to  him  my 
reveries  and  researches  during  this  state  of  delicious  thraldom. 
If  they  have  the  power  of  imparting  to  his  imagination  any 

30  of  the  witching  charms  of  the  place,  he  will  not  repine  at  lin- 
gering with  me  for  a  season  in  the  legendary  halls  of  the 
Alhambra. 


5.  Dueiia  (doo-a'nyali):  Formerly  the  chief  lady  in  waiting  on  the  queen 
in  Spnin,  anJ  finally  an  elderly  woman  eniployed  as  a  governess  or 
chaperon.  The  same  as  durnna  or  dona,  mistress,  lady;  coiresponding 
to  the  masculine  don,  master,  sir:  Latin  domina,  mistress;  masc.  domi- 
nus,  master.    What  familiar  English  words  from  thig  root  ? 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALIIAMBEA.  25 

And  first  it  is  proper  to  give  him  some  idea  of  my  domestic 
arrangements:  they  are  rather  of  a  simple  kind  for  the  occu- 
pant of  a  regal  palace;  but  I  trust  they  will  be  less  liable  to 
disastrous  reverses  than  those  of  my  royal  predecessors. 

My  quarters  are  at  one  end  of  the  Governor's  apartment,  a  5 
suite  of  empty  chambers,  in  front  of  the  palace,  looking  out 
upon  the  great  esplanade  called  la  plaza  de  los  algihes  (the 
place  of  the  cisterns);  the  apartment  is  modern,  but  the  end 
opposite  to  my  sleeping-room  communicates  with  a  cluster  of 
little  chambers,  partly  Moorish,  partly  Spanish,  allotted  to  the  10 
chatelaine  Doiia  Antonia  and  her  family.     In  consideration  of 
keeping  the  palace  in  order,  the  good  dame  is  allowed  all  the 
perquisites  received  from  visitors,  and  all  the  produce  of  the 
gardens  ;  excepting  that  she  is  expected  to  pay  an  occasional     ' 
tribute  of  fruits  and  flowers  to  the  Governor.     Her  family  con- 15 
sists  of  a  nephew  and  niece,   the  children  of  two  different 
brothers.     The  nephew,  Manuel  Molina,  is  a  young  man  of 
sterling  worth  and  Spanish  gravity.     He  had  served  in  the 
army,  both  in  Spain  and  the  West  Indies,  but  is  now  studying 
medicine  in  the  hope  of  one  day  or  other  becoming  physician  20 
to  the  fortress,  a  post  worth  at  least  one  hundred  and  forty 
dollars   a    year.     The   niece   is   the  plump   little  black-eyed 
Dolores  already  mentioned;  and  who,  it  is  said,  will  one  day 
inherit  all  her  aunt's  possessions,  consisting  of  certain  petty 
tenements  in  the  fortress,  in  a  somewhat  ruinous  condition  it  25 
is  true,  but  which,  I  am  privately  assured  by  Mateo  Ximenes, 
yield  a  revenue  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ;  so 
that  she  is  quite  an  heiress  in  the  eyes  of  the  ragged  son  of 
the  Alhainbra.     I  am  also  informed  by  the  same  observant 
and  authentic  personage,  that  a  quiet  courtship  is  going  on  30 
between  the  discreet  Manuel  and  his  bright-eyed  cousin,  and 
that  nothing  is  wanting  to  enable  them  to  join  their  hands 
and  expectations  but  his  doctor's  diploma,  and  a  dispensation 
from  the  Pope  on  account  of  their  consanguinity. 

The  good  Dame  Antonia  fulfils  faithfully  her  contract  in  35 

11.  ChS.telaine  (shat'e-lane):  The  lady  of  the  castle  or  chateau,  who  car- 
ried the  keys  of  the  castle  suspended  from  the  girdle  by  a  chain. 


26  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBEA. 

regard  to  my  board  and  lodging;  and  as  lam  easily  pleased, 
I  find  my  fare  excellent,  while  the  merry -hearted  little 
Dolores  keeps  my  apartment  in  order,  and  officiates  as  hand- 
maid at  meal-times.  I  have  also  at  my  command  a  tall, 
5  stuttering,  yellow-haired  lad,  named  Pepe,  who  works  in  the 
gardens,  and  w^ould  fain  have  acted  as  valet ;  but  in  this  he 
w^as  forestalled  by  Mateo  Ximenes,  "  the  son  of  the  Alham- 
bra."  This  alert  and  officious  wight  has  managed,  somehow 
or  other,  to  stick  by  me  ever  since  I  first  encountered  him  at 

10  the  outer  gate  of  the  fortress,  and  to  weave  himself  into  all 
my  plans,  until  he  has  fairly  appointed  and  installed  himself 
my  valet,  cicerone,  guide,  guard,  and  historiographic  squire ; 
and  I  have  been  obliged  to  improve  the  state  of  his  wardrobe, 
that  he  may  not  disgrace  his  various  functions  ;  so  that  he 

15  has  cast  his  old  brown  mantle  as  a  snake  does  his  skin,  and 
now  appears  about  the  fortress  with  a  smart  Andalusian  hat 
and  jacket,  to  his  infinite  satisfaction,  and  the  great  astonish- 
ment of  his  comrades.  The  chief  fault  of  honest  Mateo  is  an 
over-anxiety  to  be  useful.     Conscious  of  having  foisted  him- 

20  self  into  my  employ,  and  that  my  simple  and  quiet  habits 
render  his  situation  a  sinecure,  he  is  at  his  wit's  ends  to 
devise  modes  of  making  himself  important  to  my  welfare.  I 
am  in  a  manner  the  victim  of  his  officiousness  ;  I  cannot  put 
my  foot  over  the  threshold  of  the  palace,  to  stroll  about  the 

25  fortress,  but  he  is  at  my  elbow,  to  explain  everything  I  see  ; 
and  if  I  venture  to  ramble  among  the  surrounding  hills,  he 
insists  upon  attending  me  as  a  guard,  though  I  vehemently 
suspect  he  would  be  more  apt  to  trust  to  tlie  length  of  his  legs 
than  the  strength  of  his  arms,  in  case  of  attack.     After  all, 

30  however,  the  poor  fellow  is  at  times  an  amusing  companion  ; 
he  is  simple-minded  and  of  infinite  good  humor,  with  the 
loquacity  and  gossip  of  a  village  barber,  and  knows  all  the 
small-talk  of  the  place  and  its  environs  ;  but  what  he  chiefly 
values  himself  on  is  his  stock  of  local  information,  having  the 


12  Historiographic  squire:  A  squire  was  originally  an  attendant  upon 
a  knight,  and  the  kistorioyrapher  was  an  official  historian  appointed  by  the 
crow^n. 


PALACE    OF   THE    ALIIAMBRA.  27 

most  marvellous  stories  to  relate  of  every  tower,  and  vault, 
and  gateway  of  the  fortress,  in  all  of  which  he  places  the  most 
implicit  faith. 

Most    of    these    he    has  derived,    according   to  his  own 
account,  from  his  grandfather,  a  little  legendary  tailor,  who  5 
lived  to  the  age  of  nearly  a  hundred  years,  during  which  he 
made  but  two  migrations  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  fortress. 
His  shop,  for  the  greater  part  of  a  century,  was  the  resort  of 
a  knot  of  venerable  gossips,  where  they  would  pass  half  the 
night  talking  about  old  times,  and  the  wonderful  events  and  lo 
hidden  secrets  of  the  place.     The  whole  living,  moving,  think- 
ing, and  acting  of  this  historical  little  tailor  had  thus  been 
bounded  by  the  walls  of  the  Alhambra  ;  within  them  he  had 
been  born,  within  them  he  lived,  breathed,  and  had  his  being ; 
within    them    he    died    and    was    buried.      Fortunately    for  15 
posterity  his    traditionary  lore    died    not    with    him.      The 
authentic  Mateo,  when  an  urchin,   used  to  be  ian  attentive 
listener  to  the   narratives   of    his  grandfather,    and   of  the 
gossiping  group  assembled  round  the  shop-board,  and  is  thus 
possessed  of  a  stock  of  valuable  knowledge  concerning  the  20 
Alhambra,   not  to  be  found  in  books,  and  well  worthy  the 
attention  of  every  curious  traveler. 

Such  are  the  personages  that  constitute  my  regal  household; 
and  I  question   whether  any  of  the  potentates,  Moslem  or 
Christian,  who  have  preceded  me  in  the  palace,  have  been  25 
waited  upon  with  greater  fidelity,  or  enjoyed  a  serener  sway. 

When  I  rise  in  the  morning,  Pepe,  the  stuttering  lad  from 
the  gardens,  brings  me  a  tribute  of  fresh-culled  flowers,  which 
are  afterward  arranged  in  vases  by  the  skillful  hand  of 
Dolores,  who  takes  a  feminine  pride  in  the  decoration  of  my  30 
chambers.  My  meals  are  made  wherever  caprice  dictates; 
sometimes  in  one  of  the  Moorish  halls,  sometimes  under  the 
arcades  of  the  Court  of  Lions,  surrounded  by  flow-ers  and 
fountains  :  and  when  I  walk  out,  I  am  conducted  by  the  assid- 
uous Mateo  to  the  most  romantic  retreats  of  the  mountains,  35 
and  delicious  haunts  of  the  adjacent  valleys,  not  one  of  which 
but  is  the  scene  of  some  wonderful  tale. 


28  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

Though  fond  of  passing  the  greater  part  of  my  day  alone, 
yet  I  occasionally  repair  in  the  evenings  to  the  little  domestic 
circle  of  Doiia  Antonia.  This  is  generally  held  in  an  old 
Moorish  chamber,  which  serves  the  good  dame  for  parlor, 
5  kitchen,  and  hall  of  audience,  and  which  must  have  boasted 
of  some  splendor  in  the  time  of  the  Moors,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  traces  yet  remaining;  but  a  rude  fireplace  has  been 
made  in  modern  times  in  one  corner,  the  smoke  from  which 
has  discolored  the  walls,  and  almost  obliterated  the  ancient 

lo  arabesques.  A  window,  with  a  balcony  overhanging  the  val- 
ley of  the  Darro,  lets  in  the  cool  evening  breeze  ;  and  here  I 
take  my  frugal  supper  of  fruit  and  milk,  and  mingle  with  the 
conversation  of  the  family.  There  is  a  natural  talent  or 
mother-wit,  as  it  is  called,  about  the  Spaniards,  which  renders 

15  them  intellectual  and  agreeable  companions,  whatever  may  be 
their  condition  in  life,  or  however  imperfect  may  have  been 
their  education:  add  to  this,  they  are  never  vulgar;  nature 
has  endowed  them  with  an  inherent  dignity  of  spirit.  The 
good  Tia  Antonia  is  a  woman  of  strong  and  intelligent,  though 

20 uncultivated  mind;  and  the  bright-eyed  Dolores,  though  she 
has  read  but  three  or  four  books  in  the  whole  course  of  her 
life,  has  an  engaging  mixture  of  naivete  and  good  sense,  and 
often  surprises  me  by  the  pungency  of  her  artless  sallies. 
Sometimes  the  nephew  entertains  us  by  reading  some  old 

25  comedy  of  Calderon  or  Lope  de  Vega,  to  which  he  is  evi- 
dently prompted  by  a  desire  to  improve  as  well  as  amuse 
his  cousin  Dolores;  though,  to  his  great  mortification,  the 
little  damsel  generally  falls  asleep  before  the  first  act  is  com- 
pleted.    Sometimes  Tia  Antonia  has  a  little  levee  of  humble 

30  friends  and  dependents,  the  inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  ham- 
let, or  the  wives  of  the  invalid  soldiers.  These  look  up  to  her 
with  great  deference,  as  the  custodian  of  the  palace,  and  pay 
their  court  to  her  by  bringing  the  news  of  the  place,  or  the 
rumors  that  may  have  straggled  up  from  Granada.     In  listen- 


25  Calderon  (kal'de-ron),  T^ope  tie  Vega  (lo'pa  da  va'gah) :  Celebrated 
Spanish  dramatic  authors.  Lope  is  said  to  have  written  over  two  thousand 
dramas. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA.  29 

ing  to  these  evening  gossipings  I  have  picked  up  many  curious 
facts  illustrative  of  the  manners  of  the  people  and  the  pecul- 
iarities of  the  neighborhood. 

These  are  simple  details  of  simple  pleasure;  it  is  the  nature 
of  the  place  alone  that  gives  them  interest  and  importance.    5 
I  tread  haunted  ground,  and  am  surrounded  by  romantic  asso- 
ciations.    From  earliest  boyhood,  when,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson,  I  first  pored  over  the  pages  of  old  Gines  Perez  de 
Hytas's  apocryplial  but  chivalresque  history  of  the  civil  wars 
of  Granada,  and  the  feuds  of  its  gallant  cavaliers,  the  Zegris  lo 
and   Abencerrages,  that  city  has  ever  been  a  subject  of  my 
waking  dreams  ;  and  often  have  I  trod  in  fancy  the  romantic 
halls  of  the  Alhambra.     Behold  for  once  a  day-dream  real- 
ized; jet  I  can  scarce  credit  my  senses,  or  believe  that  I  do 
indeed  inhabit  the  palace  of  Boabdil,  and  look  down  from  its  i5 
balconies  upon  chivalric  Granada.     As  I  loiter  through  these 
Oriental  chambers,  and  hear  the  murmur  of  fountains  and  the 
song  of  the  nightingale;   as  I  inhale  the  odor  of  the  rose,  and 
feel  the  influence  of  the  balmy  climate,  I  am  almost  tempted 
to  fancy  myself  in  the  paradise  of  Mahomet,   and  that   the  20 
plump  little  Dolores  is  one  of  the  bright-eyed  houris,  destined 
to  administer  to  the  happiness  of  true  believers. 


21.  Hoiiris  (how'riz):  Nymphs  of  paradise,  who,  according  to  the  Koran, 
■will  attend  the  faithful. 


30  PALACE   OF   THE   ALHAMBRA. 


Inhabitants  of  the  Alhambra. 

I  HAVE  often  observed  that  the  more  proudly  a  mansion  has 
been  tenanted  in  the  day  of  its  prosperity,  the  humbler  are  its 
inhabitants  in  the  day  of  its  decline,  and  that  the  palace  of  a 
king  commonly  ends  in  being  the  nestling-place  of  a  beggar. 
5  The  Alhambra  is  in  a  rapid  state  of  similar  transition. 
Whenever  a  tower  falls  to  decay,  it  is  seized  upon  by  some 
tatterdemalion  family,  who  become  joint-tenants,  with  the 
bats  and  owls,  of  its  gilded  halls;  and  hang  their  rags,  those 
standards  of  poverty,  out  of  its  windows  and  loop-holes. 

10  I  have  amused  myself  with  remarking  some  of  the  motley 
characters  that  have  thus  usurped  the  ancient  abode  of  roy- 
alty, and  who  seem  as  if  placed  here  to  give  a  farcical  termina- 
tion to  the  drama  of  human  pride.  One  of  these  even  bears 
the  mockery  of  a  regal  title.     It  is  a  little  old  woman  named 

15  Maria  Antonia  Sabonea,  but  who  goes  by  the  appellation  of 
la  Eeyna  Coquina,  or  the  Cockle-queen.  She  is  small  enough 
to  be  a  fairy;  and  a  fairy  she  may  be  for  aught  I  can  find 
out,  for  no  one  seems  to  know  her  origin.  Her  habitation  is 
in  a  kind  of  closet  under  the  outer  staircase  of  the  palace,  and 

20  she  sits  in  the  cool  stone  corridor,  plying  her  needle  and  sing- 
ing from  morning  till  night,  with  a  ready  joke  for  every  one 
that  passes;  for  though  one  of  the  poorest,  she  is  one  of  the 
merriest  little  women  breathing.  Her  great  merit  is  a  gift  for 
story-telling,  having,  I  verily  believe,  as  many  stories  at  her 

25  command  as  the  inexhaustible  Scheherezade  of  the  Thousand 
and  One  Nights.     Some  of  these  I  have  heard  her  relate  in  the 
evening  tertulias  of  Dame  Antonia,  at  which  she  is  occasion- 
ally a  humble  attendant. 
That  there  must  be  some  fairy  gift  about  this  mysterious 


25.  Scheherezade  (she-be're  zade^ :  The  daugrhter  of  the  ffrand  vizier  of 
the  Indies,  who  relates  the  tales  of  the  '*  Arabian  Nights"  to  the  sultan 
Schahriah . 

27.  Tertulia(ter-too'le  ah):  A  club  or  evening  party. 


PALACE    OF   THE    ALIIAMBRA.  31 

little  old  woman,  would  appear  from  her  extraordinary  luck, 
since,  notwithstanding  her  being  very  little,  very  ugly,,  and 
very  poor,  she  lias  had,  according  to  her  own  account,  five 
husbands  and  a  half,  reckoning  as  a  half  one  a  young  dragoon, 
who  died  during  courtship.     A  rival  personage  to  this  little  5 
fairy  queen  is  a  portly  old  fellow  with  a  bottle-nose,  who  goes  • 
about  in  a  rusty  garb,  with  a  cocked  hat  of  oil-skin  and  a  red 
cockade.     He  is  one  of  the  legitimate  sons  of  the  Alhambra, 
and  has  lived  here  all  iiis  life,  tilling  various  offices,  such  as 
deputy  alguazil,  sexton  of  the  parochial  church,  and  marker  lo 
of  a  fives-court  established  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  towers. 
He  is  as  poor  as  a  rat,  but  as  proud  as  he  is  ragged,  boasting 
of  his  descent  from  the  illustrious  house  of  Aguilar,  from 
which  sprang  Gonzalvo  of  Cordova,  the  grand  captain.     Nay, 
he  actually  bears  the  name  of  Alonzo  de  Aguilar,  so  renowned  15 
in  the  history  of  the  Conquest,  though  the  graceless  wags  of 
the  fortress  have  given  him  the  title  of  el  padre  santo,  or  the 
holy  father,  the  usual  appellation  of  tlie  Pope,  which  I  had 
thought  ^00  sacred  in  the  eyes  of  true  Catholics  to  be  thus 
ludicrously  applied.     It  is  a  whimsical  caprice  of  fortune  to  20 
present,  in   the   grotesque   person   of  this   tatterdemalion,  a 
namesake  and  descendant  of  the  proud  Alonzo  de  Aguilar,  the 
mirror  of  Andalusian  chivalry,  leading  an  almost  mendicant 
existence  about  this  once  haughty  fortress,  which  his  ancestor 
aided  to  reduce;  yet  such  might  have  been  the  lot  of  the  de-  25 
scendants  of   Agamemnon   and  Achilles,  had  they  lingered 
about  the  ruins  of  Troy  ! 

Of  this  motley  community,  I  find  the  family  of  my  gossip- 
ing squire,  Mateo  Ximenes,  to  form,  from  their  numbers  at 

10.  Alguazil  (al-grwah-zeel'):  A  constable. 

11.  Marker  of  ,a  fives-court :  One  who  keeps  the  score  at  the  game  of 
fives  or  hand-tennis. 

14.  Gonzalvo  :  For  the  deeds  of  this  great  hero,  see  Prescott's  "  Histoi-y 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella."  He  was  the  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  of  Spanish 
chivalry.  "  His  splendid  military  successes  have  made  the  name  of  Glouzalvo 
as  familiar  to  his  countrymen  as  that  of  Cid,  which,  floating  down  the  stream 
of  popular  melody,  has  been  treasured  up  as  a  part  of  the  national  history." 
The  romantic  death  of  his  brother,  Alonzo  de  Aguilar  (ah-ghe-lar'),  is  cele- 
brated in  the  ballad,  "  Death  of  Don  Alonzo  of  Aguilar  "  (Lockhart's  "  Span- 
ish Ballads"). 

26.  Agamemnon,  Achilles  (ag-a-mem'non,  a-kil'leez):  The  heroes  of 
Homer's  "|Iliad,  '  leaders  of  the  Greeks  in  the  war  against  Troy. 


32  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

least,  a  very  important  part.  His  boast  of  being  a  son  of  the 
Alhambra  is  not  unfounded.  His  family  has  inhabited  the 
fortress  ever  since  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  handing  down  an 
hereditary  poverty  from  father  to  son;  not  one  of  them  having 
5  ever  been  known  to  be  worth  a  maravedi.  His  father,  by 
trade  a  ribbon-weaver,  and  who  succeeded  the  historical  tailor 
as  the"  head  of  the  family,  is  now  near  seventy  years  of  age, 
and  lives  in  a  hovel  of  reeds  and  plaster,  built  by  his  own 
hands,  just  above  the  iron  gate.     The  furniture  consists  of  a 

lo  crazy  bed,  a  table,  and  two  or  three  chairs;  a  wooden  chest 
containing,  besides  his  scanty  clothing,  the  "  archives  of  the 
family."  These  are  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  papers  of 
various  lawsuits  sustained  by  different  generations;  by  which 
it  would  seem  that,  with  all  their  apparent  carelessness  and 

15  good  humor,  they  are  a  litigious  brood.  Most  of  the  suits 
have  been  brought  against  gossiping  neighbors  for  questioning 
the  purity  of  their  blood,  and  denying  their  being  Christianos 
viejos,  i.e.,  old  Christians,  without  Jewish  or  Moorish  taint. 
In  fact,  I  doubt  whether  this  jealousy  about  their  blood  has 

20 not  kept  them  so  poor  in  purse:  spending  all  their  earnings  on 
escribanos  and  alguazils.  The  pride  of  the  hovel  is  an 
escutcheon  suspended  against  the  wall,  in  which  are  em- 
blazoned quarterings  of  the  arms  of  the  Marquis  of  Caiesedo, 
and  of  various  other  noble  houses,  with  which  this  poverty- 

25  stricken  brood  claim  affinity. 

As  to  Mateo  himself,  who  is  now  about  thirty-five  years  of 
age,  he  has  done  his  utmost  to  perpetuate  his  line  and  con- 
tinue the  poverty  of  the  family,  having  a  wife  and  a  numerous 
progeny,    who  inhabit   an  almost   dismantled  hovel  in   the 

30  hamlet.  How  they  manage  to  subsist.  He  only  who  sees  into 
all  mysteries  can  tell ;  the  subsistence  of  a  Spanish  family  of 
the  kind  is  always  a  riddle  to  me;  yet  they  do  subsist,  and 

5.  Maravedi  (mar-a-va'dl):  A  Spanish  coin  worth  about  one  quarter  of  a 
cent. 

21.  Esci'ibano  (es-kre-bah'no):  A  notary  public. 

2;i  Quarter! II g:.s  :  When  a  family  was  entitled  by  inheritance  to  more 
than  oue  coat-of-arms,  the  escutcheon  or  shield  was  divided  usually  into 
four  parts,  quarieriugs,  and  each  family  device  placed  in  a  separate  com- 
partment. 


PALACE    OF    THE    AIJIAMBKA.  33 

what  is  more,  appear  to  enjoy  tlieir  existence.  The  wife  takes 
her  holiday  stroll  on  the  Paseo  of  Granada,  with  a  child  in 
her  arms  and  half  a  dozen  at  her  heels;  and  the  eldest 
daughter,  now  verging  into  womanhood,  dresses  her  hair  with 
flowers,  and  dances  gayly  to  the  castanets.  5 

There  are  two  classes  of  people  to  whom  life  seems  one  long 
holiday, — the  very  rich  and  the  very  poor;  one,  because  they 
need  do  nothing;  the  other,  because  they  have  nothing  to  do; 
but  there  are  none  who  understand  the  art  of  doing  nothing 
and  living  upon  nothing  better  than  the  poor  classes  of  Spain.  lo 
Climate  does  one  half,  and  temperament  the  rest.  Give  a 
Spaniard  the  shade  in  summer  and  the  sun  in  winter,  a  little 
bread,  garlic,  oil,  and  garbances,  an  old  brown  cloak  and  a 
guitar,  and  let  the  world  roll  on  as  it  pleases.  Talk  of  poverty  ! 
with  him  it  has  no  disgrace.  It  sits  upon  him  with  a  gran- 15 
diose  style,  like  his  ragged  cloak.  He  is  a  hidalgo,  even  when 
in  rags. 

The  ' '  sons  of  the  Alhambra  "  are  an  eminent  illustration  of 
this  practical  philosophy.  As  the  Moors  imagined  that  the 
celestial  paradise  hung  over  this  favored  spot,  so  I  am  inclined  20 
at  times  to  fancy  that  a  gleam  of  the  golden  age  still  lingers 
about  this  ragged  community.  They  possess  nothing,  they  do 
nothing,  they  care  for  nothing.  Yet,  though  apparently  idle 
all  the  week,  they  are  as  observant  of  all  holy  days  and  saints' 
days  as  the  most  laborious  artisan.  They  attend  all  fetes  and  25 
dancings  in  Granada  and  its  vicinity,  light  bonfires  on  the 
hills  on  St.  John's  eve,  and  dance  away  the  moonlight  nights 

2.  Paseo  (pah-sa'o):  A  public  walk. 

5.  Castanets  (cas'ta-nets)  :  Little  instruments  held  in  the  hands  and 
clapped  with  the  fingers,  much  used  by  the  Moors  and  Spaniards  in  their 
dances.  The  word  means  chestnut,  which  they  resemble  in  shape.  See 
illustration  in  dictionary. 

13.  Garbances:  Chick  peas ;  a  kind  of  pulse,  much  used  as  food  in 
Spain 

16.  Hidalgo  (M-dal'go):  A  Spanish  gentleman  by  birth,  who  hp.s  the  right 
to  be  called  Don.  The  word  is  from  the  L.  fili^is  Italicus,  Itahan  son,  i.e.,  one 
upon  whom  the  right  of  Roman  citizenship  has  been  conferred. 

27.  St,  John's  eve:  "A  night  frequently  ahuded  to  in  the  old  Spanish 
stories  and  ballads,  as  one  devoted,  both  by  Moors  and  Christians,  to  gayer 
superstitions  and  adventures  more  various  than  belonged  to  any  other  of 
the  old  national  liolidays"  (Ticknor's  "History  of  Spanish  Literature'"'). 
This  holiday  was  June  24,  celebrating  the  birth  of  John  the  Baptist.  See, 
in  Lockliart,  "  Song  for  the  morning  of  the  day  of  St.  John,"  and  "The 
Admiral  Guarinos." 


34  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

on  the  harvest-home  of  a  small  [field  within  the  precincts  of 
the  fortress,  which  yields  a  few  bushels  of  wheat. 

Before  concluding  these  remarks,  I  must  mention  one  of  the 
amusements  of  the  place,  which  has  particularly  struck  me. 
5  I  had  repeatedly  observed  a  long  lean  fellow  perched  on  the 
top  of  one  of  the  towers,  maneuvering  two  or  three  fishing- 
rods,  as  though  he  were  angling  for  the  stars.  I  was  for  some 
time  perplexed  by  the  evolutions  of  this  aerial  fisherman,  and 
my  perplexity  increased  on  observing  others  employed  in  like 

10  manner  on  different  parts  of  the  battlements  and  bastions;  it 
was  not  until  I  consulted  Mateo  Ximenes  that  I  solved  the 
mystery. 

It  seems  that  the  pure  and  airy  situation  of  this  fortress  has 
rendered  it,  like  the  castle  of  Macbeth,   a  prolific  breeding- 

15  place  for  swallows  and  martlets,  who  sport  about  its  towers  in 
myriads,  with  the  holiday  glee  of  urchins  just  let  loose  from 
school.  To  entrap  these  birds  in  their  giddy  circlings,  with 
hooks  baited  with  flies,  is  one  of  the  favorite  amusements  of 
the  ragged  "sons  of  the  Alhambra,"  who,  with  the  good-for- 

20  nothing  ingenuity  of  arrant  idlers,  have  thus  invented  the  art 
of  angling  in  the  sky. 


1.  Harvest-liome :   The  harvesting,  or  bringing  home  of  the  harvest. 
The  festival  at  the  conclusion  of  the  harvesting,  formerly  so  much  enjoyed 
bv  the  peasantry,  was  called  harvest-home. 
'14.  Banquo  says  to  Duncan,  as  they  are  about  to  enter  Macbeth's  castle  : 
"  This  guest  of  summer. 
The  temple-haimting  martlet,  does  approve 
By  his  lov'd  mansion ry  that  the  heaven's  breath 
Smells  wooingly  here:  no  jutty,  frieze. 
Buttress,  nor  coign  of  vantage,  but  this  bird 
Hath  made  his  pendent  bed  and  procreant  cradle: 
Where  they  most  breed  and  haunt,  I  have  observ'd 
The  air  is  delicate." 


PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA.  35 


The  Hall  of  Ambassadors. 

In  one  of  my  visits  to  the  old  Moorish  chamber  where  the 
good  Tia  Antonia  cooks  her  dinner  and  receives  her  company, 
I  observed  a  mysterious  door  in  one  corner,  leading  apparently 
into  the  ancient  part  of  the  edifice.  My  curiosity  being 
aroused,  I  opened  it,  and  found  myself  in  a  narrow,  blind  5 
corridor,  groping  along  which  I  came  to  the  head  of  a  dark, 
winding  staircase,  leading  down  an  angle  of  the  Tower  of 
Comares.  Down  this  staircase  I  descended  darkling,  guiding 
myself  by  the  wall  until  I  came  to  a  small  door  at  the  bottom, 
throwing  which  open,  I  was  suddenly  dazzled  by  emerging  lo 
into  the  brilliant  antechamber  of  the  Hall  of  Ambassadors, 
with  the  fountain  of  the  court  of  the  Alberca  sparkling  before 
me.  The  antechamber  is  separated  from  the  court  by  an  elegant 
gallery,  supported  by  slender  columns  with  spandrels  of  open- 
work in  the  Morisco  style.  At  each  end  of  the  antechamber  15 
are  alcoves,  and  its  ceiling  is  richly  stuccoed  and  painted. 
Passing  through  a  magnificent  portal,  I  found  myself  in  the 
far-famed  Hall  of  Ambassadors,  the  audience  chamber  of  the 
Moslem  monarchs.  It  is  said  to  be  thirty-seven  feet  square 
and  sixty  feet  high;  occupies  the  whole  interior  of  the  Tower  20 
of  Comares;  and  still  bears  the  traces  of  past  magnificence, 
rhe  walls  are  beautifully  stuccoed  and  decorated  with  Morisco 
fancifulness;  the  lofty  ceiling  was  originally  of  the  same 
favorite  material,  with  the  usual  frost-work  and  pensile  orna- 
ments or  stalactites;  which,  with  the  embellishments  of  vivid  25 
coloring  and  gilding,  must  have  been  gorgeous  in  the  extreme. 

8.  Darkling  :  Adv.,  in  the  dark,  blindly. 

14.  Spandrels  :  The  triangular  spaces  between  the  outer  curves  of  ad- 
joining arches  and  the  horizontal  line  or  string-course  abovj  them. 

15.  Morisco  (mo-ris'ko):  Moorish  or  Moresque  style.  How  do  Moorish 
columns  and  arches  differ  from  the  Grecian  and  the  Gothic? 

24.  Pensile  (pen'sil):  Hanging,  pendent.  From  h.  pendere,  to  hang,  pp. 
pensus.    What  other  words  from  this  root? 

26.  Says  Irving  in  a  note:  "To  an  uupracticed  eye  the  light  rilievos  and 
fanciful  arabesques  which  cover  the  walls  of  the  Alhambra  appear  10  have 
been  sculptured  by  the  hand,  with  a  minute  and  patient  labor,  an  inexhaust- 


36  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

Unfortunately  it  gave  way  during  an  earthquake,  and  brought 
down  with  it  an  immense  arch  which  traversed  the  hall.  It 
was  replaced  by  the  present  vault  or  dome  of  larch  or  cedar, 
with  intersecting  ribs,  the  whole  curiously  wrought  and  richly 
5  colored;  still  Oriental  in  its  character,  reminding  one  of 
"  those  ceilings  of  cedar  and  vermilion  that  we  read  of  in  the 
Prophets  and  the  Arabian  Nights, " 

From  the  great  height  of  the  vault  above  the  windows,  the 
uj^per  part  of  the  hall  is  almost  lost  in  obscurity;  yet  there  is 

lo  a  magnificence  as  well  as  solemnity  in  the  gloom,  as  through 
it  we  have  gleams  of  rich  gilding  and  the  brilliant  tints  of  the 
Moorish  pencil. 

The  royal  throne  was  placed  opposite  the  entrance  in  a 
recess,  which  still  bears  an  inscription  intimating  that  Yusef  I. 

15  (the  monarch  who  completed  the  Alhambra)  made  this  the 
throne  of  his  empire.  Everything  in  this  noble  hall  seems  to 
have  been  calculated  to  surround  the  throne  with  impressive 
dignity  and  splendor;  there  was  none  of  the  elegant  voluptu- 
ousness which  reigns  in  other  parts  of  the  palace.     The  tower 

20  is  of  massive  strength,  domineering  over  the  whole  edifice  and 
overhanging  the  steep  hill-side.  On  three  sides  of  the  Hall  of 
Ambassadors  are  windows  cut  through  the  immense  thickness 
of  the  walls,  and  commanding  extensive  prospects.  The  bal- 
cony of  the  central  window  especially  looks  down  upon  tke 

25  verdant  valley  of  the  Darro,  with  its  walks,  its  groves  and 
gardens.  To  the  left  it  enjoys  a  distant  prospect  of  the  Vega; 
while  directly  in  front  rises  the  rival  height  of  the  Albaycin, 
with  its  medley  of  streets,  and  terraces,  and  gardens,  and 
once  crowned  by  a  fortress  that  vied  in  power  with  the  Alham- 


ible  variety  of  detail,  yet  a  general  uniformity  and  harmony  of  design  truly 
astonishing;  and  this  may  especially  be  said  of  the  vaults  and  cupolas, 
•which  are  wrought  like  honeycombs,  or  frost-work,  with  stalactites  and 
pendants  which  confound  the  beholder  with  the  seeming  intricacy  of  their 
patterns.  The  astonishment  ceases,  however,  when  it  is  discovered  that 
this  is  all  stucco-work;  plates  of  plaster  of  Paris,  cast  in  molds  and  skill- 
fully joined  so  as  to  form  patterns  of  every  size  and  form.  .  .  .  Much  gilding 
was  used  in  the  stucco-work,  especially  of  the  cupolas  and  the  interstices 
were  delicately  penciled  with  brilliant  colors,  such  as  vermilion  and  lapia 
lazuli,  laid  on  with  the  wliites  of  eggs." 

7.  From  Urquhart's  "Pillars  of  Hercules." 

27.  Albaycin  (al-bay'sin) :  A  suburb  of  Granada. 


PALA.CE    OF   THE   ALHAMBRA.  37 

bra.  "Ill-fated  the  man  who  lost  all  this!"  exclaimed 
Charles  V.,  as  he  looked  forth  from  this  window  npon  the 
enchanting  scenery  it  commands. 

The  balcony  of  the  window  where  this  royal  exclamation 
was  made,  has  of  late  become  one  of  my  favorite  resorts,  I  5 
have  just  been  seated  there,  enjoying  the  close  of  a  long  brill- 
iant day.  The  sun,  as  he  sank  behind  the  purple  mountains 
of  Alhama,  sent  a  stream  of  effulgence  up  the  valley  of  the 
Darro,  that  spread  a  melancholy  pomp  over  the  ruddy  towers 
of  the  Alhambra;  while  the  Vega,  covered  with  a  slight  sultry  lo 
vapor  that  caught  the  setting  rays,  seemed  spread  out  in  the 
distance  like  a  golden  sea.  Not  a  breath  of  air  disturbed  the 
stillness  of  the  hour,  and  though  the  faint  sound  of  music  and 
merriment  now  and  then  rose  from  the  gardens  of  the  Darro, 
it  but  rendered  more  impressive  the  monumental  silence  of  15 
the  pile  which  overshadowed  me.  It  was  one  of  those  hours 
and  scenes  in  which  memory  asserts  an  almost  magical  power  ; 
and,  like  the  evening  sun  beaming  on  these  moldering  towers, 
sends  back  her  retrospective  rays  to  light  up  the  glories  of  the 
past.  20 

As  I  sat  watching  the  effect  of  the  declining  daylight  upon 
this  Moorish  pile,  T  was  led  into  a  consideration  of  the  light, 
elegant,  and  voluptuous  character  prevalent  throughout  its 
internal  architecture,  and  to  contrast  it  with  the  grand  but 
gloomy  solemnity  of  tlie  Gothic  edifices  reared  by  the  Spanish  25 
conquerors.     The  very  architecture  thus  bespeaks  the  opposite 
and  irreconcilable  natures  of  the  two  warlike  people  who  so 
long  battled  here  for  the  mastery  of  the  Peninsula.     By  de 
grees  I  fell  into  a  course  of  musing  upon  the  singular  fortunes 
of  the  Arabian  or  Moriseo  Spaniards,  whose  whole  existence  is  30 
as  a  tale  that  is  told,  and  certainly  forms  one  of  the  most 
anomalous  yet  splendid  episodes  in  history.     Potent  and  dura- 
ble as  was  their  dominion,  we  scarcely  know  how  to  call  them. 
They  were  a  nation  without  a  legitimate  country  or  name.     A 
remote  wave  of  the  great  Arabian  inundation,  cast  upon  the  35 
shores  of  Europe,  they  seem  to  have  all  the  impetus  of  the 
first  rush  of  the  torrent.     Their  career  of  conquest,  from  the 


38  PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA. 

rock  of  Gibraltar  to  the  cliffs  of  the  Pyrenees,  was  as  rapid 
and  brilliant  as  the  Moslem  victories  of  Syria  and  Egypt. 
Nay,  had  they  not  been  checked  on  the  plains  of  Tours,  all 
France,  all  Europe,  might  have  been  overrun  with  the  same 
5  facility  as  the  empires  of  the  East,  and  the  Crescent  at  this 
day  have  glittered  on  the  fanes  of  Paris  and  London. 

Eepelled  within  the  limits  of  the  Pyrenees,  the  mixed  hordes 
of  Asia  and  Africa,  that  formed  this  great  irruption,  gave  up 
the  Moslem  principle  of  conquest,  and  sought  to  establish  in 

10  Spain  a  peaceful  and  permanent  dominion.  As  conquerors, 
their  heroism  was  only  equalled  by  their  moderation ;  and  in 
both,  for  a  time,  they  excelled  the  nations  with  whom  they 
contended.  Severed  from  their  native  homes,  they  loved  the 
land  given  them  as  they  supposed  by  Allah,  and  strove  to 

15  embellish  it  with  everything  that  could  administer  to  the 
happiness  of  man.  Laying  the  foundations  of  their  power  in 
a  system  of  wise  and  equitable  laws,  diligently  cultivating  the 
arts  and  sciences,  and  promoting  agriculture,  manufactures, 
and  commerce,  they  gradually  formed  an  empire  unrivalled 

20  for  its  prosperity  by  any  of  the  empires  of  Christendom;  and 
diligently  drawing  round  them  the  graces  and  refinements 
which  marked  the  Arabian  empire  in  the  East,  at  the  time  of 
its  greatest  civilization,  they  diffused  the  light  of  Oriental 
knowledge  through  the  western  regions  of  benighted  Europe. 

25  The  cities  of  Arabian  Spain  became  the  resort  of  Christian 
artisans,  to  instruct  themselves  in  the  useful  arts.  The  uni- 
versities of  Toledo,  Cordova,  Seville,  and  Granada  were 
sought  by  the  pale  student  from  other  lands  to  acquaint  him- 
self with  the  sciences  of  the  Arabs  and  the  treasured  lore  of 

30  antiquity;  the  lovers  of  the  gay  science  resorted  to  Cordova 

3.  Tours  (toor) :  The  Moors,  under  the  leaders  Musa  and  Taric,  entered 
Spain  in  711  and  advanced  triumphantly  into  France  as  far  as  Tours,  where 
they  were  totally  defeated  in  732,  by  the  French  king,  Charles  Martel. 

5.  Crescent :  The  figure  of  the  new  moon,  used  as  the  symbol  or  emblem 
of  the  Tui-kish  power  and  of  Mohammedanism,  as  the  cross  is  the  symbol 
of  Christianity.     Why  is  the  neiv  moon  called  crescent  ? 

14.  Allali  :"The  Arabic  name  of  the  Supreme  Being. 

30.  Gay  science  :  The  Troubadours  of  France  called  their  art  of  poetry 
the  "  gay  science."  Their  beautiful  songs  are  still  studied  and  imitated  by 
our  best  poets. 


PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBKA.  39 

and  Granada  to  imbibe  the  poetry  and  music  of  the  East; 
and  the  steel-chxd  warriors  of  the  North  hastened  thither  to 
accomplish  themselves  in  the  graceful  exercises  and  courteous 
usages  of  chivalry. 

If  the  Moslem  monuments  in  Spain,  if  the  Mosque  of  Cor-  5 
dova,  the  Alcazar  of  Seville,  and  the  Alhambra  of  Granada, 
still  bear  inscriptions  fondly  boasting  of  the  power  and  per- 
manency of  their  dominion,  can  the  boast  be  derided  as  arro- 
gant and  vain  ?    Generation  after  generation,  century  after 
century,  passed  away,  and  still   they  maintained  possession  lo 
of  the  land.     A  period  elapsed  longer  than  that  which  has 
passed  since  England  was  subjugated  by  the  Norman  Con- 
queror, and  the  descendants  of  Musa  and  Taric  might  as  little 
anticipate  being  driven  into  exile  across  the  same  straits  trav- 
ersed by  their  triumphant  ancestors,  as  the  descendants  of  15 
Rollo  and  William,  and  their  veteran  peers,  may  dream  of 
being  driven  back  to  the  shores  of  Normandy. 

With  all  this,  however,  the  Moslem  empire  in  Spain  was  but 
a  brilliant  exotic,  that  took  no  permanent  root  in  the  soil  it 
embellished.  Severed  from  all  their  neighbors  in  the  West  by  20 
impassable  barriers  of  faith  and  manners,  and  separated  by 
seas  and  deserts  from  their  kindred  of  the  East,  the  Morisco- 
Spaniards  were  an  isolated  people.  Their  whole  existence  was 
a  prolonged,  though  gallant  and  chivalric  struggle  for  a  foot- 
hold in  a  usurped  land.  25 

They  were  the  outposts  and  frontiers  of  Islamism.  The 
Peninsula  was  the  great  battle-ground  where  the  Gothic  con- 

5.  Mosque  (mosk):  A  Mohauiinedaii  church.  The  Mosque  of  Cordova 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  Moorish  architecture  in  Europe, 
with  its  wonderful  labyrinth  of  pillars,  porphyry  and  jasper  and  marble  of 
many  a  tint,  originally  twelve  hundred  in  number.  There  were  nineteen 
gateways  of  bronze,  and  four  thousand  and  seven  hundred  lamps,  fed  with 
perfumed  oil,  shed  light  and  fragrance  tlirough  its  brilliant  aisles. 

6.  Alcazar  (al-ka  zar'):  A  fortress,  castle,  or  royal  palace.  The  Alcazar 
of  Seville,  in  beauty  and  interest,  is  exceeded  only' by  the  Alhambra. 

13.  3Iusa,  Taric  (moo'sah,  tah'rik):  Leaders  of  the  Moors  when  they 
conquered  Spain. 

16.  Kollo  :  The  viking  who  with  his  Northmen  (Normans),  entered  France 
in  the  year  912,  and  took  possession  of  the  part  called  after  them  Nov- 
niandy. 

16.  William  :  Duke  of  Normandy,  who  conquered  England  in  10G6  and 
ruled  it  as  king. 

27.  These  Gothic  conquerors  took  possession  of  Spain  in  the  first  half  of 


40  PALACE    OF    THE    ALTIAMBRA. 

querors  of  the  North  and  the  Moslem  conquerors  of  the  East 
met  and  strove  for  mastery  ;  and  the  fiery  courage  of  the 
Arab  was  at  length  subdued  by  the  obstinate  and  persevering 
valor  of  the  Goth. 
5  Never  was  the  annihilation  of  a  people  more  complete  than 
that  of  the  Morisco-Spaniards.  Where  are  they  ?  Ask  the 
shores  of  Barbary  and  its  desert  places.  The  exiled  remnant 
of  their  once  powerful  empire  disappeared  among  the  bar- 
barians of  Africa,  and  ceased  to  be  a  nation.     They  have  not 

loeven  left  a  distinct  name  behind  them,  though  for  nearly  eight 
centuries  they  were  a  distinct  people.  The  home  of  their 
adoption,  and  of  their  occupation  for  ages,  refuses  to  acknowl- 
edge them,  except  as  invaders  and  usurpers.  A  few  broken 
monuments  are  all  that  remain  to  bear  witness  to  their  power 

15  and  dominion,  as  solitary  rocks,  left  far  in  the  interior,  bear 
testimony  to  the  extent  of  some  vast  inundation.  Such  is  the 
Alhambra; — a  Moslem  pile  in  the  midst  of  a  Christian  land; 
an  Oriental  palace  amidst  the  Gothic  edifices  of  the  West;  an 
elegant  memento  of  a  brave,  intelligent,  and  graceful  people, 

20  who  conquered,  ruled,  flourished,  and  passed  away. 


the  fifth  century-  The  name  of  the  principal  tribe,  the  Vandals,  is  pi^e- 
served  in  the  beautiful  word  Andalusia.  Origin  and  meaning  of  the  word 
vandalism  .^ 


PALACE    OF   THE    ALIIAMBKA.  41 


The  Mysterious  Chambers. 

As  I  was  rambling  one  day  about  the  Moorish  halls,  my  at- 
tention was,  for  the  first  time,  attracted  to  a  door  in  a  remote 
gallery,  communicating  apparently  with  some  part  of  the 
Alhambra  which  I  had  not  yet  explored.  I  attempted  to  open 
it,  but  it  was  locked.  I  knocked,  but  no  one  answered,  and  5 
the  sound  seemed  to  reverberate  through  empty  chambers. 
Here  then  was  a  mystery.  Here  was  the  haunted  wing  of  the 
castle.  How  was  I  to  get  at  the  dark  secrets  here  shut  up 
from  the  public  eye  ?  Should  I  come  privately  at  night  with 
lamp  and  sword,  according  to  the  prying  custom  of  heroes  of  10 
romance;  or  should  I  endeavor  to  draw  the  secret  from  Pepe 
the  stuttering  gardener;  or  the  ingenuous  Dolores,  or  the 
loquacious  Mateo  ?  Or  should  I  go  frankly  and  openly  to 
Dame  Antonia  the  chatelaine,  and  ask  her  all  about  it  ?  I 
chose  the  latter  course,  as  being  the  simplest  though  the  least  15 
romantic;  and  found,  somewhat  to  my  disappointment,  that 
there  was  no  mystery  in  the  case.  I  was  welcome  to  explore 
the  apartment,  and  there  was  the  key. 

Thus  provided,  I  returned  forthwith  to  the  door.  It  opened 
as  I  had  surmised,  to  a  range  of  vacant  chambers;  but  they  20 
were  quite  different  from  the  rest  of  the  palace.  The  architec- 
ture, though  rich  and  antiquated,  was  European.  There  was 
nothing  Moorish  about  it.  The  first  two  rooms  were  lofty; 
the  ceilings,  broken  in  many  places,  were  of  cedar,  deeply 
paneled  and  skillfiilly  carved  with  fruits  and  flowers,  inter-  25 
mingled  with  grotesque  masks  or  faces. 

The  walls  had  evidently  in  ancient  times  been  hung  with 
damask;  but  now  were  naked,  and  scrawled  over  by  that  class 
of  aspiring  travelers  who  defile  noble  monuments  with  their 
worthless  names.  The  windows,  dismantled  and  open  to  wind  30 
and  weather,  looked  out  into  a  charming  little  secluded 
garden,  where  an  alabaster  fountain  sparkled  among  roses  and 
myrtles,  and  was  surrounded  by  orange  and  citron  trees,  some 


42  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

of  which  flnng  their  branches  into  the  chambers.  Beyond 
these  rooms  were  two  saloons,  longer  but  less  lofty,  looking 
also  into  the  garden.  In  the  compartments  of  the  paneled 
ceilings  were  baskets  of  fruit  and  garlands  of  flowers,  painted 
5  by  no  mean  hand,  and  in  tolerable  preservation.  The  walls  also 
had  been  painted  in  fresco  in  the  Italian  style,  but  the  paint- 
ings were  nearly  obliterated;  the  windows  were  in  the  same 
shattered  state  with  those  of  the  other  chambers.  This  fanci- 
ful suite  of  rooms  terminated  in  an  open  gallery  with  balus- 

lo  trades,  running  at  right  angles  along  another  side  of  the  gar- 
den. The  whole  apartment,  so  delicate  and  elegant  in  its 
decorations,  so  choice  and  sequestered  in  its  situation  along 
this  retired  little  garden,  and  so  different  in  architecture  from 
the  neighboring  halls,  awakened  an  interest  in  its  history.     I 

15  found  on  inquiry  that  it  was  an  apartment  fitted  up  by  Italian 
artists  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  at  the  time  when 
Philip  V.  and  his  second  wife,  the  beautiful  Elizabetta  of 
Farnese,  daughter  of  the  t>uke  of  Parma,  were  expected  at 
the  Alhambra.     It  was  destined  for  the  queen  and  the  ladies 

20  of  her  train.  One  of  the  loftiest  chambers  had  been  her 
sleeping-room.  A  narrow^  staircase,  now  walled  up,  led  up  to 
a  delightful  belvidere,  originally  a  mirador  of  the  Moorish 
sultanas,  communicating  with  the  harem;  but  which  was  fitted 
up  as  a  boudoir  for  the  fair  Elizabetta,  and  still  retains  the 

25  name  of  el  tocador  de  la  Reyna,  or  the  queen's  toilette. 

One  window  of  the  royal  s!eeping-room  commanded  a  pros- 
pect of  the  Generalife  and  its  embowered  terraces;  another 
looked  out  into  the  little  secluded  garden  I  have  mentioned, 
which  was  decidedly  Moorish  in  its  character,  and  also  had  its 

30  history.     It  was  in  fact  the  garden  of  Lindaraxa,  so  often 

22.  Belvidere  (bel-vi-deer'):  A  part  of  the  upper  story  of  a  building,  open 
to  the  air  on  one  or  more  sides,  affording  a  fine  view  and  a  means  of  enjoy- 
ing the  cool  evening  breezes.    From  hel,  beautiful,  and  vedere.  a  view. 

22.  Mirador  (mir-a-dore'):  The  same  as  belvidere.  Any  balcony  afford- 
ing an  extensive  view.  Sp.  mirm\  behold;  L.  mirari,  wonder  at.  How  are 
the  words  mirage,  mirror,  admire,  miracle,  associated  with  tliis  ? 

23.  Sultana  (sool-tah'uah):  The  wife  of  a  sultan,  a  Moorish  emperor  or 
king. 

27.  Generalife  (Sp.  ha-ner-ah-lee'fa):  This  was  a  summer  palace  of  the 
Moorish  kings,  to  which  they  resorted  during  the  sultry  months  to  enjoy  a 
more  breezy  region  than  that  of  the  Alhambra, 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALIIAMBRA.  43 

mentioned  in  descriptions  of  the  Alhambra,  but  who  this  Lin- 
daraxa,  was  I  had  never  heard  explained.  A  little  research 
gave  me  the  few  particulars  known  about  her.  She  was  a 
Moorish  beauty  who  flourished  in  the  court  of  Muhamed  the 
Left-Handed,  and  was  the  daughter  of  his  loyal  adherent,  the  5 
alcayde  of  Malaga,  who  sheltered  him  in  his  city  when  driven 
from  the  throne.  On  regaining  his  crown,  the  alcayde  was 
rewarded  for  his  fidelity.  His  daughter  had  her  apartment 
in  the  Alhambra,  and  was  given  by  the  king  in  marriage  to 
Nasar,  a  young  Cetimerian  prince  descended  from  Aben  Hud  lo 
the  Just.  Their  espousals  were  doubtless  celebrated  in  the 
royal  palace,  and  their  honeymoon  may  have  passed  among 
these  very  bowers. 

Four  centuries  had  elapsed  since  the  fair  Lindaraxa  passed 
away,  yet  how  much  of  the  fragile  beauty  of  the  scenes  she  i5 
inhabited  remained!     The  garden  still  bloomed  in  which  she 
delighted;  the  fountain  still  presented  the  crystal  mirror  in 
which  her  charms  may  once  have  been   reflected;   the  ala- 
baster, it  is  true,  had  lost  its  whiteness;  the  basin  beneath,     , 
overrun   with  weeds,   had  become   the   lurking-place  of  the  20 
lizard,  but  there  was  something  in  the  very  decay  that  en- 
hanced the  interest  of  the  scene,  speaking  as  it  did  of  that 
mutability,  the  irrevocable  lot  of  man  and  all  his  works. 

The  desolation  too  of  these  chambers,  once  the  abode  of  the 
proud  and  elegant  Elizabetta,  had  a  more  touching  charm  for  25 
me  than  if  I  had  beheld  them  in  their  pristine  splendor,  glit- 
tering with  the  pageantry  of  a  court. 

When  I  returned  to  my  quarters,  in  the  governor's  apart- 
ment, everything  seemed  tame  and  commonplace  after  the 
poetic  region  I  had  left.  The  thought  suggested  itself:  Why  30 
could  I  not  change  my  quarters  to  these  vacant  chambers? 
that  would  indeed  be  living  in  the  Alhambra,  surrounded  by 
its  gardens  and  fountains,    as  in  the  time  of  the  Moorish 

7.  Alcayde  (al-kade')  :  In  Spain,  a  commander  of  a  fortress  or  fortified 
town. 

13.  One  of  the  things  in  which  the  Moorish  kings  interfered  was  in  the 
marriage  of  their  nobles:  hence  it  came  that  all  the  senors  attached  to  the 
royal  person  were  married  in  the  palace;  and  there  was  always  a  chamber 
destined  for  the  ceremony. — Irving. 


44  PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA. 

sovereigns.  I  proposed  the  change  to  Dame  Antonia  and  her 
family,  and  it  occasioned  vast  surprise.  They  could  not  con- 
ceive any  rational  inducement  for  the  choice  of  an  apartment 
so  forlorn,  remote,  and  solitary.  Dolores  exclaimed  at  its 
5  frightful  loneliness  ;  nothing  but  bats  and  owls  flitting  about, 
— and  then  a  fox  and  wildcat  kept  in  the  vaults  of  the  neigh- 
boring baths,  and  roamed  about  at  night.  The  good  Tia  had 
more  reasonable  objections.  The  neighborhood  was  infested 
by  vagrants  ;  gypsies  swarmed  in  the  caverns  of  the  adjacent 

lo  hills;  the  palace  was  ruinous  and  easy  to  be  entered  in  many 
places;  the  rumor  of  a  stranger  quartered  alone  in  one  of  the 
remote  and  ruined  apartments,  out  of  the  hearing  of  the  rest 
of  the  inhabitants,  might  tempt  unwelcome  visitors  in  the 
night,  especially  as  foreigners  were  alw^ays  supposed  to  be 

15  well  stocked  with  money.  I  was  not  to  be  diverted  from  my 
humor,  however,  and  my  will  was  law  with  these  good  people. 
So,  calling  in  the  assistance  of  a  carpenter,  and  the  ever 
officious  Mateo  Ximenes,  the  doors  and  windows  were  soon 
placed  in  a  state  of  tolerable  security,  and  the  sleeping-room 

20  of  the  stately  Elizabetta  prepared  for  my  reception.  Mateo 
kindly  volunteered  as  a  body-guard  to  sleep  in  my  ante- 
chamber; but  I  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  put  his  valor 
to  the  proof. 

With  all  the  hardihood  I  had  assumed  and  all  the  precau- 

25  tions  I  had  taken,  I  must  confess  the  first  night  passed  in 
these  quarters  was  inexpressibly  dreary.  I  do  not  think  it 
was  so  much  the  apprehension  of  dangers  from  without  that 
affected  me,  as  the  character  of  the  place  itself,  with  all  its 
strange  associations:  the  deeds  of  violence  committed  there; 

30  the  tragical  ends  of  many  of  those  who  had  once  reigned  there 
in  splendor.  As  I  passed  beneath  the  fated  halls  of  the  Tower 
of  Comares  on  the  way  to  my  chamber,  I  called  to  mind  a 
quotation,  that  used  to  thrill  me  in  the  days  of  boyhood: 

"  Fate  sits  on  these  dark  battlements  and  frowns; 
oe  And,  as  the  portal  opens  to  receive  me, 

A  voice  in  sullen  echoes  through  the  courts 
Tells  of  a  nameless  deed  l" 

37.  The  motto  on  the  title-page  of  Mrs.  Radcliffe's  romance.  "The  Mys- 
teries of  Udolpho," 


PALACE    OF   THE    ALTIAMBRA.  45 

The  whole  family  escorted  me  to  my  chamber,  and  took 
leave  of  me  as  of  one  engaged  on  a  perilous  enterprise;  and 
when  I  heard  their  retreating  steps  die  away  along  the  waste 
•antechambers  and  echoing  galleries,  and  turned  the  key  of 
my  door,  I  was  reminded  of  those  lio]jgoblin  stories,  where  5 
the  hero  is  left  to  accomplish  the  adventure  of  an  enchanted 
house. 

Even  the  thoughts  of  the  fair  Elizabetta  and  the  beauties  of 
her  court,  w^ho  had  onee  graced  these  chambers,  now,  by  a 
perversion  of  fancy,  added  to  the  gloom.  Here  was  the  scene  lo 
of  their  transient  gayety  and  loveliness;  here  were  the  very 
traces  of  their  elegance  and  enjoyment;  but  what  and  where 
w^ere  they  ?  Dust  and  ashes  !  tenants  of  the  tomb  !  phantoms 
of  the  memory  ! 

A  vague  and  indescribable  awe  was  creeping  over  me.     1 15 
would   fain   have   ascribed    it  to  the    thouglits    of    robbers 
awakened  by  the   evening's   conversation,  but   I   felt  it  was 
something  more  unreal  and  absurd.     The  long-buried  super- 
stitions of  the   nursery   were  reviving,    and   asserting  their 
power  over  my  imagination.     Everything  began  to  be  affected  20 
by  the  working  of  my  mind.     The  whispering  of  the  wind 
among  the  citron-trees  beneath  my  window   had  something 
sinister.     I  cast  ray  eyes  into  the  garden  of  Lindaraxa;  the 
groves  presented  a  gulf  of  shadows;  the  thickets,  indistinct 
and  ghastly  shapes.     I  was  glad  to  close  the  window,  but  my  25 
chamber  itself  became  infected.     There  was  a  slight  rustlino- 
noise  overhead;  a  bat  suddenly  emerged  from  a  broken  panel 
of  the  ceiling,  flitting  about  the  room  and  athwart  my  solitary 
lamp;  and  as  the  fateful  bird  almost  tlouted  my  face  with  his 
noiseless  wing,  the  grotesque  faces  carved  in  high  relief  in  the  30 
cedar  ceiling,  whence  he  had  emerged,  seemed  to  mope  and 
mow  at  me. 

Bousing  myself,  and  half  smiling  at  this  temporary  weak- 
ness, I  resolved  to  brave  it  out  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  hero 
of  the  enchanted  house;  so,  taking  lamp  in  hand,  I  sallied  35 
forth  to  make  a  tour  of  the  palace.     Notwithstanding  every 
mental  exertion  the  task  was  a  severe  one.     I  had  to  traverse 


46  PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA. 

waste  halls  and  mysterious  galleries,  wliere  the  rays  of  the  lamp 
extended  but  a  short  distance  around  me.  I  walked,  as  it 
were,  in  a  mere  halo  of  light,  walled  in  by  impenetrable  dark- 
ness. The  vaulted  corridors  were  as  caverns;  the  ceilings  of 
5  the  halls  were  lost  in  gloom.  I  recalled  all  that  had  been  said 
of  the  danger  from  interlopers  in  these  remote  and  ruined 
apartments.  Might  not  some  vagrant  foe  be  lurking  before  or 
behind  me,  in  the  outer  darkness?  My  own  shadow,  east 
upon  the  wall,  began  to  disturb  me.     The  echoes  of  my  own 

lo  footsteps  along  the  corridors  made  me  pause  and  look  round. 
I  was  traversing  scenes  fraught  with  dismal  recollections.  One 
dark  passage  led  down  to  the  mosque  where  Yusef,  the  Moor- 
ish monarch,  the  finisher  of  the  Alhambra,  had  been  basely 
murdered.     In  another  place  I  trod  the  gallery  where  another 

15  monarch  had  been  struck  down  by  the  poniard  of  a  relative 
whom  he  had  thwarted  in  his  love. 

A  low  murmuring  sound,  as  of  stifled  voices  and  clanking 
chains,  now  reached  me.  It  seemed  to  come  from  the  Hall  of 
the  Abencerrages.     I  knew  it  to  be  the  rush  of  water  through 

20  subterranean  channels,  but  it  sounded  strangely  in  the  night, 
and  reminded  me  of  the  dismal  stories  to  which  it  had  given 
rise. 

Soon,  however,  my  ear  was  assailed  by  sounds  too  fearfully 
real  to  be  the  work  of  fancy.     As  I  was  crossing  the  Hall  of 

25  Ambassadors,  low  moans  and  broken  ejaculations  rose,  as  it 
were,  from  beneath  my  feet.  I  paused  and  listened.  They 
then  appeared  to  be  outside  of  the  tower— then  again  within. 
Then  broke  forth  bowlings  as  of  an  animal— then  stifled 
shrieks  and  inarticulate  ravings.     Heard  in  that  dead  hour 

30  and  singular  place,  the  effect  was  thrilling.  I  had  no  desire 
for  further  perambulation;  but  returned  to  my  chamber  with 
infinitely  more  alacrity  than  I  had  sallied  forth,  and  drew  my 
breath  more  freely  when  once  more  within  its  walls  and  the 
door  bolted  behind  me.     When  I  awoke  in  the  morning,  with 

35  the  sun  shining  in  at  my  window  and  lighting  up  every  part 
of  the  building  with  his  cheerful  and  truth-telling  beams,  I 
could  scarcely  recall  the  shadows  and  fancies  conjured  up  by 


PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA.  47 

the  gloom  of  the  preceding  night;  or  believe  that  the  scenes 
around  me,  so  naked  and  apparent,  could  have  been  clothed 
with  such  imaginary  horrors. 

Still,  the  dismal  bowlings  and  ejaculations  I  had  heard  were 
not  ideal;  they  were  soon  accounted  for,  however,  by  my  5 
handmaid  Dolores:  being  the  ravings  of  a  poor  maniac,  a 
brother  of  her  aunt,  who  was  subject  to  violent  paroxysms, 
during  which  he  was  confined  in  a  vaulted  room  beneath  the 
Hall  of  Ambassadors. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  evenings  a  thorough  change  took  10 
place  in  the  scene  and  its  associations.  The  moon,  which 
when  I  took  possession  of  my  new  apartments  was  invisible, 
gradually  gained  each  evening  upon  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  and  at  length  rolled  in  full  splendor  above  the  towers, 
pouring  a  flood  of  tempered  light  into  every  court  and  hall.  15 
The  garden  beneath  my  window,  before  wrapped  in  gloom, 
was  gently  lighted  up,  the  orange  and  citron  trees  were  tipped 
with  silver:  the  fountain  sparkled  in  the  moonbeams,  and 
even  the  blush  of  the  rose  was  faintly  visible. 

I  now  felt  the  poetic  merit  of  the  Arabic  inscription  on  the  20 
walls, — "  How  beauteous  is  this  garden;  where  the  flowers  of 
the  earth  vie  with  the  stars  of  heaven.  What  can  compare 
with  the  vase  of  yon  alabaster  fountain  filled  with  crystal 
water  ?  nothing  but  the  moon  in  her  fullness,  shining  in  the 
midst  of  an  unclouded  sky  !"  25 

On  such  heavenly  nights  I  would  sit  for  hours  at  my  window 
inhaling  the  sweetness  of  the  garden,  and  musing  on  the 
checkered  fortunes  of  those  whose  history  was  dimly  shadowed 
out  in  the  elegant  memorials  around.  Sometimes,  when  all 
was  quiet,  and  the  clock  from  the  distant  cathedral  of  Granada  30 
struck  the  midnight  hour,  I  have  sallied  out  on  another  tour 
and  wandered  over  the  whole  building;  but  how  different 
from  my  first  tour!  No  longer  dark  and  mysterious;  no 
longer  peopled  with  shadowy  foes;  no  longer  recalling  scenes 
of  violence  and  murder;  all  was  open,  spacious,  beautiful;  35 
everything  called  up  pleasing  and  romantic  fancies;  Lindaraxa 
once  more  walked  in  her  garden ;  the  gay  chivalry  of  Moslem 


48  TALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

Granada  once  more  glittered  about  the  Court  of  Lions  !  Who 
can  do  justice  to  a  moonlight  night  in  such  a  climate  and  such 
a  place  ?  The  temperature  of  a  summer  midnight  in  Andalusia 
is  perfectly  ethereal.  We  seem  lifted  up  into  a  purer  atmos- 
5  phere;  we  feel  a  serenity  of  soul,  a  buoyancy  of  spirits,  an 
elasticity  of  frame,  which  render  mere  existence  happiness. 
But  when  moonlight  is  added  to  all  this,  the  effect  is  like 
enchantment.  Under  its  plastic  sway  the  Alhambra  seems  to 
regain  its  pristine  glories.     Every  rent  and  chasm  of  time, 

lo  every  moldering  tint  and  weather-stain  is  gone;  the  marble 
resumes  its  original  whiteness;  the  long  colonnades  brighten 
in  the  moonbeams;  the  halls  are  illuminated  with  a  softened 
radiance, — we  tread  the  enchanted  palace  of  an  Arabian 
tale! 

15  What  a  delight,  at  such  a  time,  to  ascend  to  the  little  airy 
pavilion  of  the  queen's  toilet  (el  tocador  de  la  reyna),  which, 
like  a  bird-cage,  overhangs  the  valley  of  the  Darro,  and  gaze 
from  its  light  arcades  upon  the  moonlight  prospect  !  To  the 
right,  the  swelling  mountains  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  robbed  of 

20  their  ruggedness  and  softened  into  a  fairy  land,  with  their 
snowy  summits  gleaming  like  silver  clouds  against  the  deep 
blue  sky.  And  then  to  lean  over  the  parapet  of  the  Tocador 
and  gaze  down  upon  Granada  and  the  Albaycin  spread  out 
like  a  map  below;  all  buried  in  deep  repose;  the  white  palaces 

25  and  convents  sleeping  in  the  moonshine,  and  beyond  all  these 
the  vapory  oga  fading  away  like  a  dreamland  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

Sometimes  the  faint  click  of  castanets  rises  from  the  Ala- 
meda,  where  some   gay  Andalusians  are  dancing  away  the 

30  summer  night.  Sometimes  the  dubious  tones  of  a  guitar 
and  the  notes  of  an  amorous  voice  tell  perchance  the  where- 
about of  some  moonstruck  lover  serenading  his  lady's  win- 
dow. 


28.  Alameda  (ah-lah  ma'tlah):  The.  general  name  for  a  public  walk  shaded 
with  trees  (literally,  a  poplar-grove).  This  Alameda  is  by  the  river  .Xenil 
and  "  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  beautiful  promenade  in  the 
world." 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALIIAMBRA.  49 

Such  is  a  faint  picture  of  the  moonlight  nights  I  have 
passed  loitering  about  the  courts  and  halls  and  balconies  of 
this  most  suggestive  pile;  "feeding  my  fancy  with  sugared 
suppositions,"  and  enjoying  that  mixture  of  reverie  and  sen- 
sation which  steals  away  existence  in  a  southern  climate  ;  so  5 
that  it  has  been  almost  morning  before  I  have  retired  to  bed, 
and  been  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  falling  waters  of  the  fountain 
of  Lindaraxa. 


50  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 


Panorama  from  the  Tower  of  Comares. 

It  is  a  serene  and  beautiful  morning:  the  sun  has  not  gained 
sufficient  power  to  destroy  the  freshness  of  the  night.  What 
a  morning  to  mount  to  thessummit  of  the  Tower  of  Comares, 
and  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  Granada  and  its  environs  ! 
5  Come  then,  worthy  reader  and  comrade,  follow  my  steps 
into  this  vestibule,  ornamented  with  rich  tracery,  which  opens 
into  the  Hall  of  Ambassadors.  We  will  not  enter  the  hall, 
however,  but  turn  to  this  small  door  opening  into  the  wall. 
Have  a  care!   here  are  steep  winding  steps  and  but  scanty 

loliglit;  yet  up  this  narrow,  obscure,  and  spiral  staircase,  the 
proud  monarchs  of  Granada  and  their  queens  have  often 
ascended  to  tlie  battlements  to  watch  the  api)roach  of  invad- 
ing armies,  or  gaze  with  anxious  hearts  on  the  battles  in  the 
Vega. 

15  At  length  we  have  reached  the  terraced  roof,  and  may  take 
breath  for  a  moment,  while  we  cast  a  general  eye  over  the 
splendid  panorama  of  city  and  country;  of  rocky  mountain, 
verdant  valley,  and  fertile  plain;  of  castle,  cathedral,  Moorish 
towers,  and  Gothic  domes,  crumbling  ruins,   and   blooming 

20  groves.  Let  us  approach  the  battlements,  and  cast  our  eyes 
immediately  below.  See,  on  this  side  we  have  the  whole  plain 
of  the  Alhambra  laid  open  to  us,  and  can  look  down  into  its 
courts  and  gardens.  At  the  foot  of  the  tower  is  the  Court  of 
the  Alberca,  with  its  great  tank  or  flshpool,  bordered  with 

25  flowers;  and  yonder  is  the  Court  of  Lions,  with  its  famous 
fountain,  and  its  light  Moorish  arcades;  and  in  the  center  of 
the  pile  is  the  little  garden  of  Lindaraxa,  buried  in  the  heart 
of  the  building,  with  its  roses  and  citrons  and  shrubbery  of 
emerald  green. 


24,  Court  of  tlie  Alberca :    A  portion  of  the  wall  of  this  court  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1890. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA.  61 

That  belt  of  battlements,  studded  with  square  towers, 
straggling  round  the  whole  brow  of  the  hill,  is  the  outer 
boundary  of  the  fortress.  Some  of  the  towers,  you  may  per- 
ceive, are  in  ruins,  and  their  massive  fragments  buried  among 
vines,  fig-trees,  and  aloes.  5 

Let  us  look  on  this  northern  side  of  the  tower.  It  is  a 
giddy  height;  the  very  foundations  of  the  tower  rise  above  the 
groves  of  the  steep  hill-side.  And  see!  a  long  fissure  in  the 
massive  walls  shows  that  the  tower  has  been  rent  Ijy  some  of 
the  earthquakes  which  from  time  to  time  have  thrown  Granada  lo 
into  consternation;  and  which,  sooner  or  later,  must  reduce 
this  crumbling  pile  to  a  mere  mass  of  ruin.  The  deep  narrow 
glen  below  us,  which  gradually  widens  as  it  opens  from  the 
mountains,  is  the  valley  of  the  Darro;  you  see  the  little  river 
winding  its  way  under  embowered  terraces,  and  among  1 5 
orchards  and  flower-gardens.  It  is  a  stream  famous  in  old 
times  for  yielding  gold,  and  its  sands  are  still  sifted  occasion- 
ally, in  search  of  the  precious  ore.  Some  of  these  white 
pavilions,  which  here  and  there  gleam  from  among  groves  and 
vineyards,  were  rustic  retreats  of  the  Moors,  to  enjoy  the  20 
refreshment  of  their  gardens.  Well  have  they  been  compared 
by  one  of  their  poets  to  so  many  pearls  set  in  a  bed  of 
emeralds. 

The  airy  palace,  with  its  tall  white  towers  and  long  arcades, 
which  breasts  yon  mountain,  among  pompous  groves  and  25 
hanging  gardens,  is  the  Generalife,  a  summer  palace  of  the 
Moorish  kings,  to  which  they  resorted  during  the  sultry 
months  to  enjoy  a  still  more  breezy  region  than  that  of  the 
Alhambra.  The  naked  summit  of  the  height  above  it,  where 
you  behold  some  shapeless  ruins,  is  the  Silla  del  Moro,  or  seat  30 
of  the  Moor,  so  called  from  having  been  a  retreat  of  the 
unfortunate  Boabdil  during  the  time  of  an  insurrection,  where 
he  seated  himself,  and  looked  down  mournfully  upon  his 
rebellious  city. 

A  murmuring  sound  of  water  now  and  tlien  rises  from  the  35 
valley.     It  is  from  the  aqueduct  of  3'on  Moorish  mill,  nearly 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill.     The  avenue  of  trees  beyond  is  the 


52  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

Alameda,  along  the  bank  of  the  Darro,  a  favorite  resort  in 
evenings,  and  a  rendezvous  of  lovers  in  the  summer  nights, 
when  the  guitar  may  be  heard  at  a  late  hour  from  the  benches 
along  its  walks.     At  present  you  see  none  but  a  few  loitering 

5  monks  there,  and  a  group  of  water-carriers.  The  latter  are 
burdened  with  water-jars  of  ancient  Oriental  construction, 
such  as  were  used  by  the  Moors.  They  have  been  filled  at  the 
cold  and  limpid  spring  called  the  fountain  of  Avellanos.  Yon 
mountain   path   leads   to   the  fountain,   a  favorite  resort  of 

lo  Moslems  as  well  as  Christians  ;  for  this  is  said  to  be  the 
Adinamar  (Aynu-1-adamar),  the  "Fountain  of  Tears,"  men- 
tioned by  Ibn  Batuta  the  traveler,  and  celebrated  in  the  his- 
tories and  romances  of  the  Moors. 

You  start!  'tis  nothing  but  a  hawk  that  we  have  frightened 

15  from  his  nest.  This  old  tower  is  a  complete  breeding-place 
for  vagrant  birds;  the  swallow  and  martlet  abound  in  every 
chink  and  cranny,  and  circle  about  it  the  whole  day  long; 
while  at  night,  when  all  other  birds  have  gone  to  rest,  the 
moping  owl  comes  out   of  its   lurking-place,   and  utters  its 

20  boding  cry  from  the  battlements.  See  how  the  hawk  we  have 
dislodged  sweeps  away  below  us,  skimming  over  the  tops  of 
the  trees,  and  sailing  up  to  the  ruins  above  the  Generalife! 

I  see  you  raise  your  eyes  to  the  snowy  summit  of  yon  pile  of 
mountains,  shining  like  a  white  summer  cloud  in  the  blue  sky. 

25  It  is  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the  pride  and  delight  of  Granada; 
the  source  of  her  cooling  breezes  and  perpetual  verdure,  of 
her  gushing  fountains  and  perennial  streams.  It  is  this 
glorious  pile  of  mountains  which  gives  to  Granada  that  com- 
bination of  delights  so  rare  in  a  southern  city,— the  fresh 

30  vegetation  and  temperate  airs  of  a  northern  climate,  with  the 
vivifying  ardor  of  a  tropical  sun,  and  the  cloudless  azure  of  a 
southern  sky.  It  is  this  aerial  treasury  of  snow,  which, 
melting  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  the  summer  heat, 
sends  down  rivulets  and  streams  through  every  glen  and  gorge 

35  of  the  Alpuxarras,  diffusing  emerald  verdure  and  fertility 
throughout  a  chain  of  happy  and  sequestered  valleys. 

Those  mountains  may  be  well  called  the  glory  of  Granada. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ATJIAMIJRA.  53 

They  dominate  the  whole  extent  of  Andalusia,  and  may  be 
seen  from  its  most  distant  parts.  The  muleteer  hails  them,  as 
he  views  their  frosty  peaks  from  the  sultry  level  of  tlie  plain; 
and  the  Spanish  mariner  on  the  deck  of  his  bark,  far,  far  off 
on  the  bosom  of  the  blue  Mediterranean,  watches  them  with  a  5 
pensive  eye,  thinks  of  delightful  Granada,  and  chants,  in  low 
voice,  some  old  romance  about  the  Moors. 

See  to  the  south  at  the  foot  of  those  mountains  a  line  of 
arid  hills,  down  which  a  long  train  of  mules  is  slowly  moving. 
Here  was  the  closing  scene  of  Moslem  domination.  From  the  lo 
summit  of  one  of  those  hills  the  unfortunate  Boabdil  cast  back 
his  last  look  upon  Granada,  and  gave  vent  to  the  agony  of  his 
soul.  It  is  the  spot  famous  in  song  and  story,  "  The  last  sigh 
of  the  Moor." 

Further  this  w^ay  these  arid  hills  slope  down  into  the  luxuri- 15 
ous   Vega,    from   which  he   had  just  emerged:    a  blooming 
wilderness  of  grove  and  garden,  and  teeming  orchard,  with 
the  Xenil  winding  through   it  in   silver  links,   and  feeding 
Innumerable  rills;  which,  conducted  through  ancient  Moorish 
channels,  maintain  the  landscape  in  perpetual  verdure.     Here  20 
were  the  beloved  bowers  and  gardens,  and  rural  pavilions,  for 
which   the    unfortunate    Moors   fought   with  such   desperate 
valor.     The  very  hovels  and  rude  granges,  now^  inhabited  by 
boors,  show,  by  the  remains  of  arabesques  and  other  tasteful 
decoration,  that  they  were  elegant  residences  in  the  days  of  25 
the  Moslems.     Behold,   in  the  very  center  of  this  eventful 
plain,  a  place  which  in  a  manner  links  the  history  of  the  Old 
World  with  that  of  the  New.     Yon  line  of  walls  and  towers 
gleaming  in  the  morning  sun  is  the  city  of  Santa  Fe,  built  by 
the  Catholic  sovereigns  during  the  siege  of  Granada,  after  a  30 
conflagration  had  destroyed  their  camp.     It  was  to  these  walls 
Columbus  was  called  back  by  the  heroic  queen,  and  within 


13.  The  hill  is  called  "  The  Hill  of  Tears."  See  Prescott's  account  of  the 
departure  of  Boabdil,  'Ferdinand  and  Isabella."  Pt.  I.  eh,  15;  also,  "The 
Flight  from  Granada,"  in  Lockhart's  "Spanish  Ballads." 

82.  The  city  was  built  in  eighty  days,  and  the  name  Santa  Fe  (Holy  Faith) 
given  to  it  by  Queen  Isabella,  who  was  in  the  camp  at  the  time.  See 
Irving's  "  Conquest  of  Granada,"  II.  41. 


54  PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA. 

them  the  treaty  was  concluded  which  led  to  the  discoveryof 
the  Western  World.  Behind  yon  promontory  to  the  west  is 
the  bridge  of  Finos,  renowned  for  many  a  bloody  fight  between 
Moors  and  Christians.  At  this  bridge  the  messenger  overtook 
5  Columbus  when,  despairing  of  success  with  the  Spanish 
sovereigns,  he  was  departing  to  carry  his  project  of  discovery 
to  the  court  of  France. 

Above  the  bridge  a  range  of  mountains  bounds  the  Vega  to 
the  west, — the    ancient  barrier  between    Granada    and    the 

lo  Christian  territories.  Among  their  heights  you  may  still  dis- 
cern warrior  towns  ;  their  gray  walls  and  battlements  seeming 
of  a  piece  with  the  rocks  on  which  they  are  built.  Here  and 
there  a  solitary  atalaya,  or  watch-tower,  perched  on  a  moun- 
tain-peak, looks  down  as  it  were  from  the  sky  into  the  valley 

15  on  either  side.  How  often  have  these  atalayas  given  notice, 
by  fire  at  night  or  smoke  by  day,  of  an  approaching  foe  !  It 
was  down  a  cragged  defile  of  these  mountains,  called  the  Pass 
of  Lope,  that  the  Christian  armies  descended  into  the  Vega. 
Round  the  base  of  yon  gray  and  naked  mountain  (the  moun- 

20  tain  of  Elvira),  stretching  its  bold  rocky  promontory  into  the 
bosom  of  the  plain,  the  invading  squadrons  would  come  burst- 
ing into  view,  with  flaunting  banners  and  clangor  of  drum  and 
trumpet. 
Five  hundred  years  have  elapsed  since  Ismael  ben  Ferrag,  a 

25  Moorish  king  of  Granada,  beheld  from  this  very  tower  an  in- 
vasion of  the  kind,  and  an  insulting  ravage  of  the  Vega  ;  on 
which  occasion  he  displayed  an  instance  of  chivalrous  mag- 
nanimity, often  witnessed  in  the  Moslem  i)rinces ;  "whose 
history,"  says  an  Arabian  writer,  "  abounds  in  generous  actions 

30  and  noble  deeds  that  will  last  through  all  succeeding  ages,  and 
live  forever  in  the  memory  of  man. " — But  let  us  sit  down  on 
this  parapet,  and  I  will  relate  the  anecdote. 

It  was  in  the  year  of  grace  1319  that  Ismael  ben  Ferrag  be- 
held from  this  tower  a  Christian  camp  whitening  the  skirts  of 

35  yon  mountain  of  Elvira.  The  royal  princes,  Don  Juan  and  Don 
Pedro,  regents  of  Castile  during  the  minority  of  Alfonso  XL, 
had  already  laid  waste  the  country  from  ATcaudete  to  Algala  la 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALTIAMRRA.  55 

Real,  capturing  the  castle  of  Illora  and  setting  fire  to  its 
suburbs,  and  they  now  carried  their  insulting  ravages  to  the 
very  gates  of  Granada,  defying  the  king  to  sally  forth  and  give 
them  battle. 

Ismael,  though  a  young  and  intrepid  prince,  hesitated  to  ac-  5 
cept  the  challenge.  He  had  not  sufficient  force  at  hand,  and 
awaited  the  arrival  of  troops  summoned  from  the  neighboring 
towns.  The  Christian  princes,  mistaking  his  motites,  gave  up 
all  hope  of  drawing  him  forth,  and  having  glutted  themselves 
with  ravage,  struck  their  tents  and  began  their  homeward  10 
march.  Don  Pedro  led  the  van,  and  Don  Juan  brought  up  the 
rear,  but  their  march  was  confused  and  irregular,  the  army 
being  greatly  encumbered  by  the  spoils  and  captives  they  had 
taken. 

By  this  time  King  Ismael  had  received  his  expected  resources,  15 
and  putting  them  under  the  command  of  Osmyn,  one  of  the 
bravest  of  his  generals,  sent  them  forth  in  hot  pursuit  of  the 
enemy.     The  Christians  were  overtaken  in  the  defiles  of  the 
mountains.    A  panic  seized  them  ;  they  were  completely  routed, 
and  driven  with  great  slaughter  across  the  borders.     Both  of  20 
the  princes  lost  their  lives.     The  body  of  Don  Pedro  was  car- 
ried off  by  his  soldiers,  but  that  of  Don  Juan  was  lost  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night.     His  son  wrote  to  the  Moorish  king,  en- 
treating that  the  body  of  his  father  might  be  sought  and 
honorably  treated.     Ismael  forgot  in  a  moment  that  Don  Juan  25 
was  an  enemy,  who  had  carried  ravage  and  insult  to  the  very 
gate  of  his  capital ;  he  only  thought  of  him  as  a  gallant  cavalier 
and  a  royal  prince.     By  his  command  diligent  search  was  made 
for  the  body.     It  was  found  in  a  barranco  and  brought  to 
Granada.     There  Ismael  caused  it  to  be  laid  out  in  state  on  30 
a  lofty  bier  surrounded  by  torches  and  tapers,  in  one  of  these 
halls  of  the  Alhambra.     Osmyn  and  other  of  the  noblest  cava- 
liers were  appointed  as  a  guard  of  honor,  and  the  Cliristian 
captives  were  asseml^led  to  i)ray  around  it. 

In  the  mean  time,  Ismael  wrote  to  the  son  of  Prince  Juan  to  35 

4.  Barranco  (bar-raug'ko)  :  A  deep  ravine,  or  mountain  gorge. 


56  PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAM'BRA. 

send  a  convoy  for  the  body,  assuring  him  it  should  be  faith- 
fully delivered  up.  In  due  time,  a  band  of  Christian  cava- 
liers arrived  for  the  purpose.  They  were  honorably  received 
and  entertained  by  Ismael,  and,  on  their  departure  with  the 
5  body,  the  guard  of  honor  of  Moslem  cavaliers  escorted  the 
funeral  train  to  the  frontier. 

But  enough  ; — the  sun  is  high  above  the  mountains,  and 
pours  his  full  fervor  on  our  heads.     Already  the  terraced  roof 
is  hot  beneath  our  feet ;  let  us  abandon  it,  and  refresh  our- 
lo  selves  under  the  arcades  by  the  Fountain  of  the  I^ions. 


PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA.  57 


The  Court  of  Lions. 

The  peculiar  charm  of  this  old  dreamy  palace  is  its  power  of 
calling  up  vague  reveries  and  picturings  of  the  past,  and  thus 
clothing  naked  realities  with  the  illusions  of  the  memory  and 
the  imagination.     As  I  delight  to  walk  in  these  ' '  vain  shadows, " 
I  am  prone  to  seek  those  parts  of  the  Alhambra  which  are  5 
most  favorable  to  this  phantasmagoria  of  the  mind;  and  none 
are  more  so  than  the  Court  of  Lions,  and  its  surrounding  halls. 
Here  the  hand  of  time  has  fallen  the  lightest,  and  the  traces  of 
Moorish  elegance  and  splendor  exist  in  almost  their  original 
brilliancy.     Earthquakes  have  shaken  the  foundations  of  this  lo 
pile,  and  rent  its  rudest  towers;   yet  see!   not  one  of  those 
slender  columns  has  been  displaced,  not  an  arch  of  that  light 
and  fragile  colonnade  given  way,  and  all  the  fairy  fretwork  of 
these  domes,  apparently  as  unsubstantial  as  the  crystal  fabrics 
of  a  morning's  frost,  exist  after  the  lapse  of  centuries,  almost  15 
as  fresh  as  if  from  the  hand  of  the  Moslem  artist.     I  \vTite  in 
the  midst  of  these  mementos  of  the  past,  in  the  fre^  hour  of 
early  morning,  in  the  fated  Hall  of  the  Abencerrages.     The 
blood-stained  fountain,  the  legendary  monument  of  their  mas- 
sacre, is  before  me;  the  lofty  Jet  almost  casts  its  dew  upon  my  20 
paper.     How  difficult  to  reconcile  the  ancient  tale  of  violence 
and  blood  with  the  gentle  and  peaceful  scene  around  !     Every- 
thing here   appears    calculated    to   inspire  kind   and    happy 
feelings,  for  everything  is  delicate  and  beautiful.     The  very 
light  falls  tenderly  from  above,  through  the  lantern  of  a  dome  25 
tinted  and  wrought  as  if  by  fairy  hands.     Through  the  ample 
and  fretted  arch  of  the  portal  I  behold  the  Court  of  Lions,  with 
brilliant  sunshine  gleaming  along  its  colonnades  and  sparkling 
in  its  fountains.     The  lively  swallow  dives  into  the  court,  and, 
rising  with  a  surge,  darts  away  twittering  over  the  roofs;   the  30 
busy  bee  toils  humming  among  the  flower-beds;   and  painted 
butterflies  hover  from  plant  to  plant,  and  flutter  up  and  sport 


58  PALACE    OF    THE    ALUAMBRA. 

with  each  other  in  the  sunny  air.  It  needs  but  a  slight 
exertion  of  the  fancy  to  picture  some  pensive  beauty  of  the 
harem,  loitering  in  these  secluded  haunts  of  Oriental  luxury. 
He,  however,  who  would  behold  this  scene  under  an  aspect 
5  more  in  unison  with  its  fortunes,  let  him  come  when  the 
shadows  of  evening  temper  the  brightness  of  the  court,  and 
throw  a  gloom  into  the  surrounding  halls.  Then  nothing  can 
be  more  serenely  melancholy,  or  more  in  harmony  with  the  tale 
of  departed  grandeur. 

10  At  such  times  I  am  apt  to  seek  the  Hall  of  Justice,  whose 
deep  shadowy  arcades  extend  across  the  upper  end  of  the  court. 
Here  was  performed,  in  presence  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 

'  and  their  triumphant  court,  the  pompous  ceremonial  of  high 
mass,  on  taking  possession  of  the  Alhambra.     The  very  cross 

15  is  still  to  be  seen  upon  the  wall,  where  the  altar  was  erected, 
and  where  officiated  the  Grand  Cardinal  of  Spain,  and  others 
of  the  highest  religious  dignitaries  of  the  land.  I  picture  to 
myself  the  scene  when  this  place  was  filled  with  the  conquering 
host,  that  mixture  of  mitered  prelate  and  shaven  monk,  and 

20  steel-clad  knight  and  silken  courtier;  when  crosses  and  crosiers 
and  religious  standards  were  mingled  with  proud  armorial 
ensigns  and  the  banners  of  the  haughty  chiefs  of  Spain,  and 
flaunted  in  triumph  through  these  Moslem  halls.  I  picture  to 
myself  Columbus,  the  future  discoverer  of  a  world,  taking  his 

25  modest  stand  in  a  remote  corner,  the  humble  and  neglected 
spectator  of  the  pageant.  I  see  in  imagination  the  Catholic 
sovereigns  prostrating  themselves  before  the  altar,  and  pouring 
forth  thanks  for  their  victory;  while  the  vaults  resound  with 
sacred  minstrelsy  and  the  deep-toned  Te  Deum. 

30  The  transient  illusion  is  over, — the  pageant  melts  from  the 
fancy, — monarch,  priest,  and  warrior  return  into  oblivion  with 
the  poor  Moslems  over  whom  they  exulted.  The  hall  of  their 
triumph  is  waste  and  desolate.  The  bat  flits  about  its  twilight 
vault,   and  the  owl   hoots  from    the    neighboring  tower  of 

35  Comares. 

29.  Te  Deum  :  An  ancient  hymn,  used  especially  in  services  of  thanks- 
giving.   It  begins  with  the  words  Te  Deum  Imidanixis,  Thee,  God,  we  praise. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALIIAMIJRA.  59 

Entering  the  Court  of  the  Lions  a  few  evenings  since,  I  was 
almost  startled  at  beholding  a  tnrbaned  Moor  quietly  seated 
near  the  fountain.  For  a  moment  one  of  the  fictions  of  the 
place  seemed  realized:  an  enchanted  Moor  had  broken  the 
spell  of  centuries,  and  become  visible.  He  proved,  however,  5 
to  be  a  mere  ordinary  mortal;  a  native  of  Tetuan  in  Barbary, 
who  had  a  shop  in  the  Zacatin  of  Granada,  where  he  sold 
rhubarb,  trinkets,  and  perfumes.  As  he  spoke  Spanish  fluently, 
I  was  enabled  to  hold  conversation  with  him,  and  found  him 
shrewd  and  intelligent.  He  told  me  that  he  came  up  the  hill  lo 
occasionally  in  the  summer,  to  pass  a  part  of  the  day  in  the 
Alhambra,  which  reminded  him  of  the  old  palaces  in  Barbary, 
being  built  and  adorned  in  similar  style,  though  with  more 
magnificence. 

As  we  walked  about  the  palace,  he  pointed  out  several  of  1 5 
the  Arabic  inscriptions,  as  possessing  much  poetic  beauty. 

"Ah,  sefior,"  said  he,  "when  the  Moors  held  Granada,  they 
were  a  gayer  people  than  they  are  nowadays.  They  thought 
only  of  love,  music,  and  poetry.  They  made  stanzas  upon 
every  occasion,  and  set  them  all  to  music.  He  who  could  20 
make  the  best  verses,  and  she  who  had  the  most  tuneful  voice, 
might  be  sure  of  favor  and  preferment.  In  those  days,  if  any 
one  asked  for  bread,  the  reply  was,  make  me  a  couplet;  and 
the  poorest  beggar,  if  he  begged  in  rhyme,  would  often  be 
rewarded  with  a  piece  of  gold."  25 

"And  is  the  popular  feeling  for  poetry,"  said  I,  "entirely 
lost  among  you  ?" 

"By  no  means,  seilor;  the  people  of  Barbary,  even  those  of 
the  lower  classes,  still  make  couplets,  and  good  ones  too,  as  in 
old  times;  but  talent  is  not  rewarded  as  it  was  then;  the  rich  30 
prefer  the  jingle  of  their  gold  to  the  sound  of  poetry  or  music." 

As  he  was  talking*  his  eye  caught  one  of  the  inscriptions 
which  foretold  perpetuity  to  the  power  and  glory  of  the  Moslem 
monarchs,  the  masters  of  this  pile.  He  shook  his  head,  and 
shrugged  his  shoulders,  as  he  interpreted  it.  "Such  might 35 
have  been  the  case,"  said  he;  "the  Moslems  might  still  have 
been  reigning  in  the  Alhambra,  had  not  Boabdll  been  a  traitor, 


60  PALACE    OF   THE    ALHAMBRA. 

and  given  np  his  capital  to  the  Christians.  The  Spanish 
monarchs  would  never  have  been  able  to  conquer  it  by  open 
force." 

I  endeavored  to  vindicate    the    memory  of    the    unlucky 

5  Boabdil  from  this  aspersion,  and  to  show  that  the  dissensions 

which  led  to  the  downfall  of  the  Moorish  throne  originated  in 

the  cruelty  of  his  tiger-hearted  father;   but  the  Moor  would 

admit  of  no  palliation. 

"Muley  Abul  Hassan,"  said  he,   "might  have  been  cruel; 

10  but  he  was  brave,  vigilant,  and  patriotic.  Had  he  been  prop- 
erly seconded,  Granada  would  still  have  been  ours;  but  his  son 
Boabdil  thwarted  his  plans,  crippled  his  power,  sowed  treason 
in  his  palace,  and  dissension  in  his  camp.  May  the  curse  of 
God  light  upon  him  for  his  treachery!"     With  these  words  the 

15  Moor  left  the  Alhambra. 

The  indignation  of  my  turbaned  companion  agrees  with  an 
anecdote  related  by  a  friend,  who,  in  the  course  of  a  tour 
in  Barbary,  had  an  interview  with  the  Pacha  of  Tetuan.  The 
Moorish  governor  was  particular  in  his  inquiries  about  Spain, 

20  and  especially  concerning  the  favored  region  of  Andalusia,  the 
delights  of  Granada,  and  the  remains  of  its  royal  palace.  The 
replies  awakened  all  those  fond  recollections,  so  deeply  cher- 
ished by  the  Moors,  of  the  power  and  splendor  of  their  ancient 
empire  in  Spain.     Turning  to    his    Moslem  attendants,   the 

25  Pacha  stroked  his  beard,  and  broke  forth  in  passionate  lamen- 
tations, that  such  a  scepter  should  have  fallen  from  the  sway 
of  true  believers.  He  consoled  himself,  however,  with  the 
persuasion  that  the  power  and  prosperity  of  the  Spanish  nation 
were  on  the  decline;  that  a  time  would  come  when  the  Moors 

30  would  conquer  their  rightful  domains;  and  that  the  day  was 
'  perhaps  not  far  distant  when  Mohammedan  worship  would 
again  be  offered  up  in  the  Mosque  of  Cordova,  and  a  Moham- 
medan prince  sit  on  his  throne  in  the  Alhambra. 

Such  is  the  general  aspiration  and  belief  among  the  Moors  of 


18.  Paclia  (pa-shah'),  also  spelled  Pas/ta:  A  governor;  strictly,  a  title  of 
honor,  among  the  Turks,  placed  after  the  name;  sometimes  conferred  upon 
clistinguished  foreigners,  as  Emin  Pasha, 


PALACE    OP   THE    ALIIAMTiRA.  61 

Barbary;  who  consider  Spain,  or  Andaluz,  as  it  was  anciently 
called,  their  rightful  heritage,  of  which  they  have  been  de- 
spoiled by  treachery  and  violence.  These  ideas  are  fostered 
and  perpetuated  by  the  descendants  of  the  exiled  Moors  of 
Granada,  scattered  among  the  cities  of  Barbary.  Several  of  5 
these  reside  in  Tetuan,  preserving  their  ancient  names,  such  as 
Paez  and  Medina,  and  refraining  from  intermarriage  with  any 
families  who  cannot  claim  the  same  high  origin.  Their 
vaunted  lineage  is  regarded  with  a  degree  of  popular  deference 
rarely  shown  in  Mohammedan  communities  to  any  hereditary  lo 
distinction,  excepting  in  the  royal  line. 

These  families,  it  is  said,  continue  to  sigh  after  the  terres- 
trial paradise  of  their  ancestors,  and  to  put  up  prayers  in  their 
mosques  on  Fridays,  imploring  Allah  to  hasten  the  time  when 
Granada  shall  be  restored  to  the  faithful:  an  event  to  which  15 
they  look  forward  as  fondly  and  confidently  as  did  the  Christian 
crusaders  to  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.     Nay,  it  is 
added  that  some  of  them  retain  the  ancient  maps  and  deeds    ' 
of  the  estates  and  gardens  of  their  ancestors  at  Granada,  and 
even  the  keys  of  the  houses;  holding  them  as  evidences  of  their  20 
hereditary  claims,  to  be  produced  at  the  anticipated  day  of 
restoration. 

My  conversation  with  the  Moors  set  me  to  musing  on  the 
fate  of  Boabdil.  Never  was  surname  more  applicable  than 
that  bestowed  upon  him  by  his  subjects  of  el  Zogoybi,  or  the  25 
Unlucky.  His  misfortunes  began  almost  in  his  cradle,  and 
ceased  not  even  with  his  death.  If  ever  he  cherished  the 
desire  of  leaving  an  honorable  name  on  the  historic  page,  how 
cruelly  has  he  been  defrauded  of  his  hopes!  Who  is  there  that 
has  turned  the  least  attention  to  the  romantic  history  of  the  30 
Moorish  domination  in  Spain,  without  kindling  with  indigna- 
tion at  the  alleged  atrocities  of  Boabdil  ?  Who  has  not  been 
touched  with  the  woes  of  his  lovely  and  gentle  queen,  sub- 
jected by  him  to  a  trial  of  life  and  death,  on  a  false  charge  of 

1.  Audaluz  (Sp.  ahn-dah-looth'):  The  same  as  Andalusia.  1 


62  PALACE    OF   THE   ALHAMBRA. 

infidelity  ?  Who  has  not  been  shocked  by  his  alleged  murder 
of  his  sister  and  her  two  children,  in  a  transport  of  passion  ? 
Who  has  not  felt  his  blood  boil  at  the  inhuman  massacre  of  the 
gallant  Abencerrages,  thirty-six  of  whom,  it  is  affirmed,  he 
5  ordered  to  be  beheaded  in  the  Court  of  Lions  ?  All  these 
charges  have  been  reiterated  in  various  forms;  they  have 
passed  into  ballads,  dramas,  and  romances,  until  they  have 
taken  too  thorough  possession  of  the  public  mind  to  be  eradi- 
cated.    There  is  not  a  foreigner  of  education  that  visits  the 

lo  Alhambra,  but  asks  for  the  fountain  where  the  Abencerrages 
were  beheaded;  and  gazes  with  horror  at  the  grated  gallery 
where  the  queen  is  said  to  have  been  confined;  not  a  peasant 
of  the  Vega  or  the  Sierra,  but  sings  the  story  in  rude  couplets, 
to  the  accompaniment  of  his  guitar,  while  his  hearers  learn  to 

15  execrate  the  very  name  of  Boabdil. 

Never,  however,  was  name  more  foully  and  unjustly  slan- 
dered. I  have  examined  all  the  authentic  chronicles  and 
letters  written  l)y  Spanish  authors,  contemporary  with  Boabdil; 
some  of  whom  were  in  the  confidence  of  the  Catholic  sover- 

20  eigns,  and  actually  present  in  the  camp  throughout  the  war. 
I  have  examined  all  the  Arabian  authorities  I  could  get  access 
to,  through  the  medium  of  translation,  and  have  found  nothing 
to  justify  these  dark  and  hateful  accusations.  The  most  of 
these  tales  may  be  traced  to  a  work  commonly  called  "The 

25  Civil  Wars  of  Granada,"  containing  a  pretended  history  of  the 
feuds  of  the  Zegris  and  Abencerrages,  during  the  last  struggle 
of  the  Moorish  empire.  The  work  appeared  originally  in 
Spanish,  and  professed  to  be  translated  from  the  Arabic  by 
one  Gines  Perez  de  Hita,  an  inhabitant  of  Murcia.     It  has 

30  since  passed  into  various  languages,  and  Florian  has  taken 
from  it  much  of  the  fable  of  his  Gonsalvo  of  Cordova:  it  has 
thus,  in  a  great  measure,  usurped  the  authority  of  real  history, 
and  is  currently  believed  by  the  people,  and  especially  the 


30.  Florian :    A    French   novelist  and   poet,  author   of   many   popular 
romances.    He  translated  "  Don  Quixote  "  iuto  French. 


PALACE    OF    THE    ALHAMBRA.  63 

peasantry  of  Granada.  The  whole  of  it,  however,  is  a  mass  of 
fiction,  mingled  with  a  few  disfigured  truths,  which  give  it  an 
air  of  veracity.  It  bears  internal  evidence  of  its  falsity;  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  Moors  being  extravagantly  mis- 
represented in  it,  and  scenes  depicted  totally  incompatible  with 
their  habits  and  their  faith,  and  which  never  could  have  been 
recorded  by  a  Mohammedan  writer. 


ENGLISH  CLASSIC  SERIES, 

FOB 

Classes  in  English  Literature,  Beading,  Grammar,  etc, 

EDITED   BY    EMINENT   ENGLISH    AND   AMERICAN   SCHOLARS, 

Each  Volume  contains  a  Sketch  of  the  Author's  Life,  Prefatory  and 
Explanatory  Notes,  etc.,  etc. 


1  Byron's    Prophecy    of    Dante. 

(Cantos  I.  and  II.) 
8  Milton's  L.' Allegro,  and  II  Pen- 
seroso. 

3  Lord  Bacon's  Essays,  Civil  and 

Moral.     (Selected.) 

4  Byron's  Prisoner  of  Chillon. 

5  Moore's       Fire       Worshippers. 

(Lalla  Rookh.    Selected. ) 

6  Goldsmith's  Deserted  Village. 

7  Scott's     Marniion.       (Selections 

from  Canto  VI.) 

8  Scott's  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel. 

(Introduction  and  Canto  I.) 

9  Burns'sCotter'sSaturdayNight, 

and  other  Poems 

10  Crabbe's  The  Village. 

11  Canipbell^s  Pleasures  of  Hope. 

(Abridgment  of  Part  I.) 
13  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Bunyan's 
Pilgrim's  Progress. 

13  Macaulay's  Armada,  and  other 

Foems. 

14  Shakespeare's  Merchant  of  Ve- 

nice.    (Selections  from  Acts  I., 
inland  IV.) 

15  Goldsmith's  Traveller. 

16  Hogg's  Queen's  Wake,  and  Kil- 

meny. 

17  Coleridge's  Ancient  Mariner. 

18  Addison's  Sir  Roger  de  Cover- 

ley. 

19  Gray's     Elegy    in     a    Country 

Churchyard. 

20  Scott'sLady  ofthe  Lake.  (Canto 

I.) 

81  Shakespeare's  As  You  Like  It, 
etc.    (Selections.) 

22  Shakespeare's  King  John,  and 
Richard  II.    (Selections.) 

J83  Shakespeare's  Henry  IV.,  Hen- 
ry V.,  Henry  VI.    (Selections.) 

84  Shakespeare's  Henry  VIII.,  and 

Julius  Caesar.    (Selections.) 

85  Wordsworth's  Excursion.  (Bk.I.) 

86  Pope's  Essay  on  Criticism. 

87  Spenser'sFaerieQueene.  (Cantos 

I.  and  n.) 

88  Cowper's  Task.    (Book  I.) 

89  Milton's  Comus. 

30  Tennyson's  Enoch  Arden,  The 
Lotus  Eaters,  Ulysses,  and 
Tithonus. 


31  Irving's  Sketch  Book.  (Selec- 
tions.) 

33  Dickens's  Christmas  Carol. 
(Condensed.) 

33  Carlyle's  Hero  as  a  Prophet. 

34  Macaulay's  Warren    Hastings. 

(Condensed.) 

35  Goldsmith's    Vicar    of    Wake- 

field.   (Condensed.) 

36  Tennyson's    The    Two    Voices, 

and  A  Dream  of  Fair  Women, 

37  Memory  Quotations. 

38  Cavalier  Poets. 

39  Dryden's    Alexander's     Feast, 

and   MacFlecknoe. 

40  Keats's  The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes. 

41  Irving.'s  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hol- 

low, j 

48  Lamb's  Tales  from  Shake- 1 
speare. 

43  Le  Row's  How  to  Teach  Read- 

ing. 

44  Webster's    Bunker    Hill    Ora- 

tions. 

45  The    Academy    Ortho6pist.     A 

Manual  of  Pronunciation. 

46  Milton's    Lycidas,    and    Hymn 

on  the  Nativity. 

47  Bryant's  Thanatopsis,  and  other 

Poems. 

48  Ruskin's      Modern      Painters. 

(Selections.) 

49  The  Shakespeare  Speaker. 

50  Thackeray's    Roundabout    Pa- 

pers. 

51  Webster's   Oration    on  Adams 

and  Jefl'erson. 
58  Brown's  Rab  and  his  Friends. 

53  Morris's     Life    and    Death    of 

Jason. 

54  Burke's  Speech   on  American 

Taxation. 

55  Pope's  Rape  of  the  Lock. 

56  Tennyson's  Elaine. 

57  Tennyson's  In  Memorlam. 

58  Church's  Story  of  the  ^neid. 

59  Church's  Story  of  the  Iliad. 

60  Swift's     Gulliver's    Voyage    to 

Lilliput. 

61  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Lord  Ba- 

con.   (Condensed.) 
68  The  Alcestis  of  Euripides.  Eng- 
lish Version  by  Rev.  R.  Potter.M.  A. 


(Additional  numbers  on  next  page.) 


English  Classic  Series-continue. 


63  The    Antigone    of    Sophocles. 

English  Version  by  Thos.  Franck- 
lin,  D.D. 

64  Elizabeth    Barrett    Browning. 

(Selected  Poems.) 

65  Robert     Browning.        (Selected 

Poems.) 

66  Addison's  Spectator.    (Selec'ns.) 

67  Scenes     from    George     Eliot's 

Adam  Bede. 

68  Matthew  Arnold's  Culture  and 

Anarchy. 

69  DeQulncey's  Joan  of  Arc. 

70  Carlyle's  Essay  on  Burns. 

71  Byron's    Childe    Harold's  Pil- 

grimage. 
73  Poe's  Raven,  and  other  Po^ms. 
73  &  74  Macaulay's    Lord     Clive, 

(Double  Number.) 

75  Webster's  Reply  to  Hayne. 

76  &  77  Macaulay's    Lays    of   An- 

cient Rome.    (Double  Number.) 

78  American  Patriotic  Selections: 

Declaration  of  Independence, 
Washington's  Farewell  Ad- 
dress, liincoln's  Gettysburg 
Speech,  etc. 

79  &  80  Scott's  L-ady  of  the  Lake. 

(Condensed.) 

81  &  83  Scott's  Marmion.  (Con- 
densed.) 

83  &  84  Pope's  Essay  on  Man. 

85  Shelley's  Skylark,  Adonals,  and 

other  Poems. 

86  Dickens's      Cricket      on      the 

Hearth. 

87  Spencer's  Philosophy  of  Style. 

88  Lamb's  Essays  of  Elia. 

89  Cowper's  Task,  Book  IL 

90  W^ordsvvorth's  Selected  Poems, 

91  Tennyson's  The  Holy  Grail,  and 

Sir  Galahad. 

92  Addison's  Cato. 

93  Irving's    Westminster    Abbey, 

and  Christmas  Sketches. 

94  &  95  Macaulay's  Earl  of  Chat- 
'    ham.     Second  Essay. 

96  Early  English  Ballads. 

97  Skelton,    Wyatt,    and    Surrey. 

(Selected  Poems.) 

98  Edwin  Arnold.    (Selected  Poems.) 

99  Caxton  and  Daniel.    (Selections.) 

100  Fuller  and  Hooker.  (Selections.) 

101  Marlowe's  Jew  of  Malta.   (Con- 

densed.) 

103-103  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Mil- 
ton. 

104-105  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Ad- 
dison. 

106-107  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Bos- 
well's  Johnson. 

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biographical  sketch  of  the  author, 
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brief  history  of  English  language  to 
time  of  Chaucer,  and  glossary.  Bounti 
in  boards.    Mailing  price,  35  cents. 

Chaucer's  The  Squieres  Tale.  With 
portrait  and  biographical  sketch  of 
author,  glossary,  and  full  explanatory 
notes.  Boards.  Mailing  price,  35  cents. 

Chaucer's  The  Knightes  Tale, 
With  portrait  and  biographical  sketch 
of  author,  glossary,  and  full  explan- 
atory notes.  Boards.  Mailing  price, 
40  cents. 

Goldsmith's  She  Stoops  to  Con- 
quer. With  biographical  sketch  of 
author,  and  full  explanatory  notes. 
Boards.     Mailing  price,  30  cents. 

Homer's  Iliad.  Books  I.  and  VI. 
Metrical  translation  by  George  How- 
land.  With  introduction  and  notes. 
Mailing  price,  25  cents. 

Homer's  Odyssey.  Books  I.,  V.,' 
IX.,  and  X.  Metrical  translation  by 
George  Howland.  With  introductiorv 
and  notes.    Mailing  price,  25  cents. 

Horace's  The  Art  of  Poetry.  Trans- 
lated in  verse  by  George  Howland. 
Mailing  price,  25  cents. 

Defoe's  Robinson  Crusoe.  Editedi 
by  Peter  Parley,  with  introduction 
and  notes.  169  pp.  16mo.  Linen^ 
Mailing  price,  30  cents. 

to  Teachers. 


Full  Descriptive  Catalogue  sent  on  application. 


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