Alhambra E-book

                                      1832
                                  THE ALHAMBRA

                              by Washington Irving









Electronically Enhanced Text (c) Copyright 1996, World Library(R)



              Preface to the Revised Edition.
-
  Rough draughts of some of the following tales and essays were
actually written during a residence in the Alhambra; others were
subsequently added, founded on notes and observations made there. Care
was taken to maintain local coloring and verisimilitude; so that the
whole might present a faithful and living picture of that microcosm,
that singular little world into which I had been fortuitously
thrown; and about which the external world had a very imperfect
idea. It was my endeavor scrupulously to depict its half Spanish, half
Oriental character; its mixture of the heroic, the poetic, and the
grotesque; to revive the traces of grace and beauty fast fading from
its walls; to record the regal and chivalrous traditions concerning
those who once trod its courts; and the whimsical and superstitious
legends of the motley race now burrowing among its ruins.
  The papers thus roughly sketched out lay for three or four years
in my portfolio, until I found myself in London, in 1832, on the eve
of returning to the United States. I then endeavored to arrange them
for the press, but the preparations for departure did not allow
sufficient leisure. Several were thrown aside as incomplete; the
rest were put together somewhat hastily and in rather a crude and
chaotic manner.
  In the present edition I have revised and re-arranged the whole
work, enlarged some parts, and added others, including the papers
originally omitted; and have thus endeavored to render it more
complete and more worthy of the indulgent reception with which it
has been favored.
                                                  W. I.
  Sunnyside, 1851.


                      The Journey.
-
  IN THE spring of 1829, the author of this work, 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.
Accident had thrown us together from distant regions of the globe, and
a similarity of taste led us to wander together among the romantic
mountains of Andalusia. Should these pages meet his eye, wherever
thrown by the duties of his station, whether mingling in the pageantry
of courts, or meditating on the truer glories of nature, may they
recall the scenes of our adventurous companionship, and with them
the recollection of one, in whom neither time nor distance will
obliterate the remembrance of his gentleness and worth.
  And here, before setting forth, let me indulge in a few previous
remarks on Spanish scenery and Spanish travelling. Many are apt to
picture Spain to their imaginations as a soft southern region,
decked out with the luxuriant charms of voluptuous Italy. On the
contrary, though there are exceptions in some of the maritime
provinces, yet, for the greater part, it is a stern, melancholy
country, with rugged mountains, and long sweeping plains, destitute of
trees, and indescribably silent and lonesome, partaking of the
savage and solitary character of Africa. What adds to this silence and
loneliness, is the absence of singing birds, a natural consequence
of the want of groves and hedges. The vulture and the eagle are seen
wheeling about the mountain-cliffs, and soaring over the plains, and
groups of shy bustards stalk about the heaths; but the myriads of
smaller birds, which animate the whole face of other countries, are
met with in but few provinces in Spain, and in those chiefly among the
orchards and gardens which surround the habitations of man.
  In the interior provinces the traveller occasionally traverses great
tracts cultivated with grain as far as the eye can reach, waving at
times with verdure, at other times naked and sunburnt, but he looks
round in vain for the hand that has tilled the soil. At length, he
perceives some village on a steep hill, or rugged crag, with
mouldering battlements and ruined watchtower; a strong-hold, in old
times, against civil war, or Moorish inroad; for the custom among
the peasantry of congregating together for mutual protection is
still kept up in most parts of Spain, in consequence of the maraudings
of roving freebooters.
  But though a great part of Spain is deficient in the garniture of
groves and forests, and the softer charms of ornamental cultivation,
yet its scenery is noble in its severity, and in unison with the
attributes of its people; and I think that I better understand the
proud, hardy, frugal and abstemious Spaniard, his manly defiance of
hardships, and contempt of effeminate indulgences, since I have seen
the country he inhabits.
  There is something too, in the sternly simple features of the
Spanish landscape, that impresses on the soul a feeling of
sublimity. The immense plains of the Castiles and of La Mancha,
extending as far as the eye can reach, derive an interest from their
very nakedness and immensity, and possess, in some degree, the
solemn grandeur of the ocean. In ranging over these boundless
wastes, the eye catches sight here and there of a straggling herd of
cattle attended by a lonely herdsman, motionless as a statue, with his
long slender pike tapering up like a lance into the air; or, beholds a
long train of mules slowly moving along the waste like a train of
camels in the desert; or, a single horseman, armed with blunderbuss
and stiletto, and prowling over the plain. Thus the country, the
habits, the very looks of the people, have something of the Arabian
character. The general insecurity of the country is evinced in the
universal use of weapons. The herdsman in the field, the shepherd in
the plain, has his musket and his knife. The wealthy villager rarely
ventures to the market-town without his trabuco, and, perhaps, a
servant on foot with a blunderbuss on his shoulder; and the most petty
journey is undertaken with the preparation of a warlike enterprise.
                                                  
  The dangers of the road produce also a mode of travelling,
resembling, on a diminutive scale, the caravans of the east. The
arrieros, or carriers, congregate in convoys, and set off in large and
well-armed trains on appointed days; while additional travellers swell
their number, and contribute to their strength. In this primitive
way is the commerce of the country carried on. The muleteer is the
general medium of traffic, and the legitimate traverser of the land,
crossing the peninsula from the Pyrenees and the Asturias to the
Alpuxarras, the Serrania de Ronda, and even to the gates of Gibraltar.
He lives frugally and hardily: his alforjas of coarse cloth hold his
scanty stock of provisions; a leathern bottle, hanging at his
saddle-bow, contains wine or water, for a supply across barren
mountains and thirsty plains; a mule-cloth spread upon the ground is
his bed at night, and his pack-saddle his pillow. His low, but
clean-limbed and sinewy form betokens strength; his complexion is dark
and sunburnt; his eye resolute, but quiet in its expression, except
when kindled by sudden emotion; his demeanor is frank, manly, and
courteous, and he never passes you without a grave salutation: "Dios
guarde a usted!" "Va usted con Dios, Caballero!" ("God guard you!"
"God be with you, Cavalier!")
  As these men have often their whole fortune at stake upon the burden
of their mules, they have their weapons at hand, slung to their
saddles, and ready to be snatched out for desperate defence; but their
united numbers render them secure against petty bands of marauders,
and the solitary bandolero, armed to the teeth, and mounted on his
Andalusian steed, hovers about them, like a pirate about a merchant
convoy, without daring to assault.
  The Spanish muleteer has an inexhaustible stock of songs and
ballads, with which to beguile his incessant wayfaring. The airs are
rude and simple, consisting of but few inflections. These he chants
forth with a loud voice, and long, drawling cadence, seated sideways
on his mule, who seems to listen with infinite gravity, and to keep
time, with his paces, to the tune. The couplets thus chanted, are
often old traditional romances about the Moors, or some legend of a
saint, or some love-ditty; or, what is still more frequent, some
ballad about a bold contrabandista, or hardy bandolero, for the
smuggler and the robber are poetical heroes among the common people of
Spain. Often, the song of the muleteer is composed at the instant, and
relates to some local scene, or some incident of the journey. This
talent of singing and improvising is frequent in Spain, and is said to
have been inherited from the Moors. There is something wildly pleasing
in listening to these ditties among the rude and lonely scenes they
illustrate; accompanied, as they are, by the occasional jingle of
the mule-bell.
  It has a most picturesque effect also to meet a train of muleteers
in some mountain-pass. First you hear the bells of the leading
mules, breaking with their simple melody the stillness of the airy
height; or, perhaps, the voice of the muleteer admonishing some
tardy or wandering animal, or chanting, at the full stretch of his
lungs, some traditionary ballad. At length you see the mules slowly
winding along the cragged defile, sometimes descending precipitous
cliffs, so as to present themselves in full relief against the sky,
sometimes toiling up the deep arid chasms below you. As they approach,
you descry their gay decorations of worsted stuffs, tassels, and
saddle-cloths, while, as they pass by, the ever-ready trabuco, slung
behind the packs and saddles, gives a hint of the insecurity of the
road.
  The ancient kingdom of Granada, into which we* were about to
penetrate, is one of the most mountainous regions of Spain. Vast
sierras, or chains of mountains, destitute of shrub or tree, and
mottled with variegated marbles and granites, elevate their sunburnt
summits against a deep-blue sky; yet in their rugged bosoms lie
ingulfed verdant and fertile valleys, where the desert and the
garden strive for mastery, and the very rock is, as it were, compelled
to yield the fig, the orange, and the citron, and to blossom with
the myrtle and the rose.
                                                 
-
  * Note to the Revised Edition.- The Author feels at liberty to
mention that his travelling companion was the Prince Dolgorouki, at
present Russian minister at the Court of Persia.
-
  In the wild passes of these mountains the sight of walled towns
and villages, built like eagles' nests among the cliffs, and
surrounded by Moorish battlements, or of ruined watchtowers perched on
lofty peaks, carries the mind back to the chivalric days of
Christian and Moslem warfare, and to the romantic struggle for the
conquest of Granada. In traversing these lofty sierras the traveller
is often obliged to alight, and lead his horse up and down the steep
and jagged ascents and descents, resembling the broken steps of a
staircase.
  Sometimes the road winds along dizzy precipices, without parapet
to guard him from the gulfs below, and then will plunge down steep,
and dark, and dangerous declivities. Sometimes it struggles through
rugged barrancos, or ravines, worn by winter torrents, the obscure
path of the contrabandista; while, ever and anon, the ominous cross,
the monument of robbery and murder, erected on a mound of stones at
some lonely part of the road, admonishes the traveller that he is
among the haunts of banditti, perhaps at that very moment under the
eye of some lurking bandolero. Sometimes, in winding through the
narrow valleys, he is startled by a hoarse bellowing, and beholds
above him on some green fold of the mountain a herd of fierce
Andalusian bulls, destined for the combat of the arena. I have felt,
if I may so express it, an agreeable horror in thus contemplating,
near at hand, these terrific animals, clothed with tremendous
strength, and ranging their native pastures in untamed wildness,
strangers almost to the face of man: they know no one but the solitary
herdsman who attends upon them, and even he at times dares not venture
to approach them. The low bellowing of these bulls, and their menacing
aspect as they look down from their rocky height, give additional
wildness to the savage scenery.
                                                 
  I have been betrayed unconsciously into a longer disquisition than I
intended on the general features of Spanish travelling; but there is a
romance about all the recollections of the Peninsula dear to the
imagination.
  As our proposed route to Granada lay through mountainous regions,
where the roads are little better than mule paths, and said to be
frequently beset by robbers, we took due travelling precautions.
Forwarding the most valuable part of our luggage a day or two in
advance by the arrieros, we retained merely clothing and necessaries
for the journey and money for the expenses of the road, with a
little surplus of hard dollars by way of robber purse, to satisfy
the gentlemen of the road should we be assailed. Unlucky is the too
wary traveller who, having grudged this precaution, falls into their
clutches empty handed: they are apt to give him a sound ribroasting
for cheating them out of their dues. "Caballeros like them cannot
afford to scour the roads and risk the gallows for nothing."
  A couple of stout steeds were provided for our own mounting, and a
third for our scanty luggage and the conveyance of a sturdy Biscayan
lad, about twenty years of age, who was to be our guide, our groom,
our valet, and at all times our guard. For the latter office he was
provided with a formidable trabuco or carbine, with which he
promised to defend us against rateros or solitary footpads; but as
to powerful bands, like that of the "sons of Ecija," he confessed they
were quite beyond his prowess. He made much vainglorious boast about
his weapon at the outset of the journey, though, to the discredit of
his generalship, it was suffered to hang unloaded behind his saddle.
  According to our stipulations, the man from whom we hired the horses
was to be at the expense of their feed and stabling on the journey, as
well as of the maintenance of our Biscayan squire, who of course was
provided with funds for the purpose; we took care, however, to give
the latter a private hint, that, though we made a close bargain with
his master, it was all in his favor, as, if he proved a good man and
true, both he and the horses should live at our cost, and the money
provided for their maintenance remain in his pocket. This unexpected
largess, with the occasional present of a cigar, won his heart
completely. He was, in truth, a faithful, cheery, kind-hearted
creature, as full of saws and proverbs as that miracle of squires, the
renowned Sancho himself, whose name, by the by, we bestowed upon
him, and like a true Spaniard, though treated by us with companionable
familiarity, he never for a moment, in his utmost hilarity,
overstepped the bounds of respectful decorum.
  Such were our minor preparations for the journey, but above all we
laid in an ample stock of good humor, and a genuine disposition to
be pleased, determining to travel in true contrabandista style, taking
things as we found them, rough or smooth, and mingling with all
classes and conditions in a kind of vagabond companionship. It is
the true way to travel in Spain. With such disposition and
determination, what a country is it for a traveller, where the most
miserable inn is as full of adventure as an enchanted castle, and
every meal is in itself an achievement! Let others repine at the
lack of turnpike roads and sumptuous hotels, and all the elaborate
comforts of a country cultivated and civilized into tameness and
commonplace; but give me the rude mountain scramble; the roving,
haphazard, wayfaring; the half wild, yet frank and hospitable manners,
which impart such a true game flavor to dear old romantic Spain!
                                                 
  Thus equipped and attended, we cantered out of "Fair Seville city"
at half-past six in the morning of a bright May day, in company with a
lady and gentleman of our acquaintance, who rode a few miles with
us, in the Spanish mode of taking leave. Our route lay through old
Alcala de Guadaira (Alcala on the river Aira), the benefactress of
Seville, that supplies it with bread and water. Here live the bakers
who furnish Seville with that delicious bread for which it is
renowned; here are fabricated those roscas well known by the
well-merited appellation of pan de Dios (bread of God), with which, by
the way, we ordered our man, Sancho, to stock his alforjas for the
journey. Well has this beneficent little city been denominated the
"Oven of Seville"; well has it been called Alcala de los Panaderos
(Alcala of the bakers), for a great part of its inhabitants are of
that handicraft, and the highway hence to Seville is constantly
traversed by lines of mules and donkeys laden with great panniers of
loaves and roscas.
  I have said Alcala supplies Seville with water. Here are great tanks
or reservoirs, of Roman and Moorish construction, whence water is
conveyed to Seville by noble aqueducts. The springs of Alcala are
almost as much vaunted as its ovens; and to the lightness,
sweetness, and purity of its water is attributed in some measure the
delicacy of its bread.
  Here we halted for a time, at the ruins of the old Moorish castle, a
favorite resort for picnic parties from Seville, where we had passed
many a pleasant hour. The walls are of great extent, pierced with
loopholes; inclosing a huge square tower or keep, with the remains
of masmoras, or subterranean granaries. The Guadaira winds its
stream round the hill, at the foot of these ruins, whimpering among
reeds, rushes, and pond-lilies, and overhung with rhododendron,
eglantine, yellow myrtle, and a profusion of wild flowers and aromatic
shrubs; while along its banks are groves of oranges, citrons, and
pomegranates, among which we heard the early note of the nightingale.
  A picturesque bridge was thrown across the little river, at one
end of which was the ancient Moorish mill of the castle, defended by a
tower of yellow stone; a fisherman's net hung against the wall to dry,
and hard by in the river was his boat; a group of peasant women in
bright-colored dresses, crossing the arched bridge, were reflected
in the placid stream. Altogether it was an admirable scene for a
landscape painter.
  The old Moorish mills, so often found on secluded streams, are
characteristic objects in Spanish landscape, and suggestive of the
perilous times of old. They are of stone, and often in the form of
towers with loopholes and battlements, capable of defence in those
warlike days when the country on both sides of the border was
subject to sudden inroad and hasty ravage, and when men had to labor
with their weapons at hand, and some place of temporary refuge.
                                                 
  Our next halting place was at Gandul, where were the remains of
another Moorish castle, with its ruined tower, a nestling place for
storks, and commanding a view over a vast campina or fertile plain,
with the mountains of Ronda in the distance. These castles were
strong-holds to protect the plains from the talas or forays to which
they were subject, when the fields of corn would be laid waste, the
flocks and herds swept from the vast pastures, and, together with
captive peasantry, hurried off in long cavalgadas across the borders.
  At Gandul we found a tolerable posada; the good folks could not tell
us what time of day it was- the clock only struck once in the day, two
hours after noon; until that time it was guesswork. We guessed it
was full time to eat; so, alighting, we ordered a repast. While that
was in preparation we visited the palace once the residence of the
Marquis of Gandul. All was gone to decay; there were but two or
three rooms habitable, and very poorly furnished. Yet here were the
remains of grandeur: a terrace, where fair dames and gentle
cavaliers may once have walked; a fish-pond and ruined garden, with
grape-vines and date-bearing palm-trees. Here we were joined by a
fat curate, who gathered a bouquet of roses and presented it, very
gallantly, to the lady who accompanied us.
  Below the palace was the mill, with orange-trees and aloes in front,
and a pretty stream of pure water. We took a seat in the shade, and
the millers, all leaving their work, sat down and smoked with us;
for the Andalusians are always ready for a gossip. They were waiting
for the regular visit of the barber, who came once a week to put all
their chins in order. He arrived shortly afterwards: a lad of
seventeen, mounted on a donkey, eager to display his new alforjas or
saddle-bags, just bought at a fair; price one dollar, to be paid on
St. John's day (in June), by which time he trusted to have mown beards
enough to put him in funds.
  By the time the laconic clock of the castle had struck two we had
finished our dinner. So, taking leave of our Seville friends, and
leaving the millers still under the hands of the barber, we set off on
our ride across the campina. It was one of those vast plains, common
in Spain, where for miles and miles there is neither house nor tree.
Unlucky the traveller who has to traverse it, exposed as we were to
heavy and repeated showers of rain. There is no escape nor shelter.
Our only protection was our Spanish cloaks, which nearly covered man
and horse, but grew heavier every mile. By the time we had lived
through one shower we would see another slowly but inevitably
approaching; fortunately in the interval there would be an outbreak of
bright, warm, Andalusian sunshine, which would make our cloaks send up
wreaths of steam, but which partially dried them before the next
drenching.
  Shortly after sunset we arrived at Arahal, a little town among the
hills. We found it in a bustle with a party of miquelets, who were
patrolling the country to ferret out robbers. The appearance of
foreigners like ourselves was an unusual circumstance in an interior
country town; and little Spanish towns of the kind are easily put in a
state of gossip and wonderment by such an occurrence. Mine host,
with two or three old wiseacre comrades in brown Cloaks, studied our
passports in a corner of the posada, while an Alguazil took notes by
the dim light of a lamp. The passports were in foreign languages and
perplexed them, but our Squire Sancho assisted them in their
studies, and magnified our importance with the grandiloquence of a
Spaniard. In the mean time the magnificent distribution of a few
cigars had won the hearts of all around us; in a little while the
whole community seemed put in agitation to make us welcome. The
corregidor himself waited upon us, and a great rush-bottomed arm-chair
was ostentatiously bolstered into our room by our landlady, for the
accommodation of that important personage. The commander of the patrol
took supper with us- a lively, talking, laughing Andaluz, who had made
a campaign in South America, and recounted his exploits in love and
war with much pomp of phrase, vehemence of gesticulation, and
mysterious rolling of the eye. He told us that he had a list of all
the robbers in the country, and meant to ferret out every mother's son
of them; he offered us at the same time some of his soldiers as an
escort. "One is enough to protect you, senores; the robbers know me,
and know my men; the sight of one is enough to spread terror through a
whole sierra." We thanked him for his offer, but assured him, in his
own strain, that with the protection of our redoubtable squire,
Sancho, we were not afraid of all the ladrones of Andalusia.
                                                 
  While we were supping with our Drawcansir friend, we heard the notes
of a guitar, and the click of castanets, and presently a chorus of
voices singing a popular air. In fact mine host had gathered
together the amateur singers and musicians, and the rustic belles of
the neighborhood, and, on going forth, the courtyard or patio of the
inn presented a scene of true Spanish festivity. We took our seats
with mine host and hostess and the commander of the patrol, under an
archway opening into the court; the guitar passed from hand to hand,
but a jovial shoemaker was the Orpheus of the place. He was a
pleasant-looking fellow, with huge black whiskers; his sleeves were
rolled up to his elbows. He touched the guitar with masterly skill,
and sang a little amorous ditty with an expressive leer at the
women, with whom he was evidently a favorite. He afterwards danced a
fandango with a buxom Andalusian damsel, to the great delight of the
spectators. But none of the females present could compare with mine
host's pretty daughter, Pepita, who had slipped away and made her
toilette for the occasion, and had covered her head with roses; and
who distinguished herself in a bolero with a handsome young dragoon.
We ordered our host to let wine and refreshment circulate freely among
the company, yet, though there was a motley assembly of soldiers,
muleteers, and villagers, no one exceeded the bounds of sober
enjoyment. The scene was a study for a painter: the picturesque
group of dancers, the troopers in their half military dresses, the
peasantry wrapped in their brown cloaks; nor must I omit to mention
the old meagre Alguazil, in a short black cloak, who took no notice of
any thing going on, but sat in a corner diligently writing by the
dim light of a huge copper lamp, that might have figured in the days
of Don Quixote.
  The following morning was bright and balmy, as a May morning ought
to be, according to the poets. Leaving Arahal at seven o'clock, with
all the posada at the door to cheer us off we pursued our way
through a fertile country, covered with grain and beautifully verdant;
but which in summer, when the harvest is over and the fields parched
and brown, must be monotonous and lonely; for, as in our ride of
yesterday, there were neither houses nor people to be seen. The latter
all congregate in villages and strong-holds among the hills, as if
these fertile plains were still subject to the ravages of the Moor.
  At noon we came to where there was a group of trees, beside a
brook in a rich meadow. Here we alighted to make our midday meal. It
was really a luxurious spot, among wild flowers and aromatic herbs,
with birds singing around us. Knowing the scanty larders of Spanish
inns, and the houseless tracts we might have to traverse, we had taken
care to have the alforjas of our squire well stocked with cold
provisions, and his bota, or leathern bottle, which might hold a
gallon, filled to the neck with choice Valdepenas wine.* As we
depended more upon these for our well-being than even his trabuco,
we exhorted him to be more attentive in keeping them well charged; and
I must do him the justice to say that his namesake, the
trencher-loving Sancho Panza, was never a more provident purveyor.
Though the alforjas and the bota were frequently and vigorously
assailed throughout the journey, they had a wonderful power of
repletion, our vigilant squire sacking every thing that remained
from our repasts at the inns, to supply these junketings by the
road-side, which were his delight.
-
  * It may be as well to note here, that the alforjas are square
pockets at each end of a long cloth about a foot and a half wide,
formed by turning up its extremities. The cloth is then thrown over
the saddle, and the pockets hang on each side like saddle-bags. It
is an Arab invention. The bota is a leathern bag or bottle, of
portly dimensions, with a narrow neck. It is also oriental. Hence
the scriptural caution, which perplexed me in my boyhood, not to put
new wine into old bottles.
                                                 
-
  On the present occasion he spread quite a sumptuous variety of
remnants on the green-sward before us, graced with an excellent ham
brought from Seville; then, taking his seat at a little distance, he
solaced himself with what remained in the alforjas. A visit or two
to the bota made him as merry and chirruping as a grasshopper filled
with dew. On my comparing his contents of the alforjas to Sancho's
skimming of the flesh-pots at the wedding of Camacho, I found he was
well versed in the history of Don Quixote, but, like many of the
common people of Spain, firmly believed it to be a true history.
  "All that happened a long time ago, senor," said he, with an
inquiring look.
  "A very long time," I replied.
  "I dare say more than a thousand years"- still looking dubiously.
                                                 
  "I dare say not less."
  The squire was satisfied. Nothing pleased the simple-hearted
varlet more than my comparing him to the renowned Sancho for
devotion to the trencher, and he called himself by no other name
throughout the journey.
  Our repast being finished, we spread our cloaks on the green-sward
under the tree, and took a luxurious siesta in the Spanish fashion.
The clouding up of the weather, however, warned us to depart, and a
harsh wind sprang up from the southeast. Towards five o'clock we
arrived at Osuna, a town of fifteen thousand inhabitants, situated
on the side of a hill, with a church and a ruined castle. The posada
was outside of the walls; it had a cheerless look. The evening being
cold, the inhabitants were crowded round a brasero in a chimney
corner; and the hostess was a dry old woman, who looked like a
mummy. Every one eyed us askance as we entered, as Spaniards are apt
to regard strangers; a cheery, respectful salutation on our part,
caballeroing them and touching our sombreros, set Spanish pride at
ease; and when we took our seat among them, lit our cigars, and passed
the cigar-box round among them, our victory was complete. I have never
known a Spaniard, whatever his rank or condition, who would suffer
himself to be outdone in courtesy; and to the common Spaniard the
present of a cigar (puro) is irresistible. Care, however, must be
taken never to offer him a present with an air of superiority and
condescension; he is too much of a caballero to receive favors at
the cost of his dignity.
  Leaving Osuna at an early hour the next morning, we entered the
sierra or range of mountains. The road wound through picturesque
scenery, but lonely; and a cross here and there by the road side,
the sign of a murder, showed that we were now coming among the "robber
haunts." This wild and intricate country, with its silent plains and
valleys intersected by mountains, has ever been famous for banditti.
It was here that Omar Ibn Hassan, a robber-chief among the Moslems,
held ruthless sway in the ninth century, disputing dominion even
with the caliphs of Cordova. This too was a part of the regions so
often ravaged during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella by Ali
Atar, the old Moorish alcayde of Loxa, father-in-law of Boabdil, so
that it was called Ali Atar's garden, and here "Jose Maria," famous in
Spanish brigand story, had his favorite lurking places.
  In the course of the day we passed through Fuente la Piedra near a
little salt lake of the same name, a beautiful sheet of water,
reflecting like a mirror the distant mountains. We now came in sight
of Antiquera, that old city of warlike reputation, lying in the lap of
the great sierra which runs through Andalusia. A noble vega spread out
before it, a picture of mild fertility set in a frame of rocky
mountains. Crossing a gentle river we approached the city between
hedges and gardens, in which nightingales were pouring forth their
evening song. About nightfall we arrived at the gates. Every thing
in this venerable city has a decidedly Spanish stamp. It lies too much
out of the frequented track of foreign travel to have its old usages
trampled out. Here I observed old men still wearing the montero, or
ancient hunting cap, once common throughout Spain; while the young men
wore the little round-crowned hat, with brim turned up all round, like
a cup turned down in its saucer, while the brim was set off with
little black tufts like cockades. The women, too, were all in
mantillas and basquinas. The fashions of Paris had not reached
Antiquera.
                                                 
  Pursuing our course through a spacious street, we put up at the
posada of San Fernando. As Antiquera, though a considerable city,
is, as I observed, somewhat out of the track of travel, I had
anticipated bad quarters and poor fare at the inn. I was agreeably
disappointed, therefore, by a supper table amply supplied, and what
were still more acceptable, good clean rooms and comfortable beds. Our
man, Sancho, felt himself as well off as his namesake, when he had the
run of the duke's kitchen, and let me know, as I retired for the
night, that it had been a proud time for the alforjas.
  Early in the morning (May 4th) I strolled to the ruins of the old
Moorish castle, which itself had been reared on the ruins of a Roman
fortress. Here, taking my seat on the remains of a crumbling tower,
I enjoyed a grand and varied landscape, beautiful in itself, and
full of storied and romantic associations; for I was now in the very
heart of the country famous for the chivalrous contests between Moor
and Christian. Below me, in its lap of hills, lay the old warrior city
so often mentioned in chronicle and ballad. Out of yon gate and down
yon hill paraded the band of Spanish cavaliers, of highest rank and
bravest bearing, to make that foray during the war and conquest of
Granada, which ended in the lamentable massacre among the mountains of
Malaga, and laid all Andalusia in mourning. Beyond spread out the
vega, covered with gardens and orchards and fields of grain and
enamelled meadows, inferior only to the famous vega of Granada. To the
right the Rock of the Lovers stretched like a cragged promontory
into the plain, whence the daughter of the Moorish alcayde and her
lover, when closely pursued, threw themselves in despair.
  The matin peal from church and convent below me rang sweetly in
the morning air, as I descended. The market-place was beginning to
throng with the populace, who traffic in the abundant produce of the
vega; for this is the mart of an agricultural region. In the
market-place were abundance of freshly plucked roses for sale; for not
a dame or damsel of Andalusia thinks her gala dress complete without a
rose shining like a gem among her raven tresses.
  On returning to the inn I found our man Sancho, in high gossip
with the landlord and two or three of his hangers-on. He had just been
telling some marvellous story about Seville, which mine host seemed
piqued to match with one equally marvellous about Antiquera. There was
once a fountain, he said, in one of the public squares called IL
fuente del toro, the fountain of the bull, because the water gushed
from the mouth of a bull's head, carved of stone. Underneath the
head was inscribed:
-
                                                 
                     EN FRENTE DEL TORO
                      SE HALLEN TESORO.
-
(In front of the bull there is treasure.) Many digged in front of
the fountain, but lost their labor and found no money. At last one
knowing fellow construed the motto a different way. It is in the
forehead (frente) of the bull that the treasure is to be found, said
he to himself, and I am the man to find it. Accordingly he came late
at night, with a mallet, and knocked the head to pieces; and what do
you think he found?
  "Plenty of gold and diamonds!" cried Sancho eagerly.
  "He found nothing," rejoined mine host dryly; "and he ruined the
fountain."
                                                 
  Here a great laugh was set up by the landlord's hangers-on; who
considered Sancho completely taken in by what I presume was one of
mine host's standing jokes.
  Leaving Antiquera at eight O'clock, we had a delightful ride along
the little river, and by gardens and orchards, fragrant with the odors
of spring and vocal with the nightingale. Our road passed round the
Rock of the Lovers (el Penon de los Enamorados), which rose in a
precipice above us. In the course of the morning we passed through
Archidona, situated in the breast of a high hill, with a three-pointed
mountain towering above it, and the ruins of a Moorish fortress. It
was a great toil to ascend a steep stony street leading up into the
city, although it bore the encouraging name of Calle Real del Llano
(the Royal Street of the Plain), but it was still a greater toil to
descend from this mountain city on the other side.
  At noon we halted in sight of Archidona, in a pleasant little meadow
among hills covered with olive-trees. Our cloaks were spread on the
grass, under an elm by the side of a bubbling rivulet; our horses were
tethered where they might crop the herbage, and Sancho was told to
produce his alforjas. He had been unusually silent this morning ever
since the laugh raised at his expense, but now his countenance
brightened, and he produced his alforjas with an air of triumph.
They contained the contributions of four days' journeying, but had
been signally enriched by the foraging of the previous evening in
the plenteous inn at Antiquera; and this seemed to furnish him with
a set-off to the banter of mine host.
-
                     EN FRENTE DEL TORO
                                                 
                      SE HALLEN TESORO
-
would he exclaim, with a chuckling laugh, as he drew forth the
heterogeneous contents one by one, in a series which seemed to have no
end. First came forth a shoulder of roasted kid, very little the worse
for wear; then an entire partridge; then a great morsel of salted
codfish wrapped in paper; then the residue of a ham; then the half
of a pullet, together with several rolls of bread, and a rabble rout
of oranges, figs, raisins, and walnuts. His bota also had been
recruited with some excellent wine of Malaga. At every fresh
apparition from his larder, he would enjoy our ludicrous surprise,
throwing himself back on the grass, shouting with laughter, and
exclaiming "Frente del toro!- frente del toro! Ah, senores, they
thought Sancho a simpleton at Antiquera; but Sancho knew where to find
the tesoro."
  While we were diverting ourselves with his simple drollery, a
solitary beggar approached, who had almost the look of a pilgrim. He
had a venerable gray beard, and was evidently very old, supporting
himself on a staff, yet age had not bowed him down; he was tall and
erect, and had the wreck of a fine form. He wore a round Andalusian
hat, a sheep-skin jacket, and leathern breeches, gaiters, and sandals.
His dress, though old and patched, was decent, his demeanor manly, and
he addressed us with the grave courtesy that is to be remarked in
the lowest Spaniard. We were in a favorable mood for such a visitor;
and in a freak of capricious charity gave him some silver, a loaf of
fine wheaten bread, and a goblet of our choice wine of Malaga. He
received them thankfully, but without any grovelling tribute of
gratitude. Tasting the wine, he held it up to the light, with a slight
beam of surprise in his eye, then quaffing it off at a draught, "It is
many years," said he, "since I have tasted such wine. It is a
cordial to an old man's heart." Then, looking at the beautiful wheaten
loaf, "Bendito sea tal pan!" "Blessed be such bread!" So saying, he
put it in his wallet. We urged him to eat it on the spot. "No,
senores," replied he, "the wine I had either to drink or leave; but
the bread I may take home to share with my family."
  Our man Sancho sought our eye, and reading permission there, gave
the old man some of the ample fragments of our repast, on condition,
however, that he should sit down and make a meal.
  He accordingly took his seat at some little distance from us, and
began to eat slowly, and with a sobriety and decorum that would have
become a hidalgo. There was altogether a measured manner and a quiet
self-possession about the old man, that made me think that he had seen
better days; his language too, though simple, had occasionally
something picturesque and almost poetical in the phraseology. I set
him down for some broken-down cavalier. I was mistaken; it was nothing
but the innate courtesy of a Spaniard, and the poetical turn of
thought and language often to be found in the lowest classes of this
clear-witted people. For fifty years, he told us, he had been a
shepherd, but now he was out of employ and destitute. "When I was a
young man," said he, "nothing could harm or trouble me; I was always
well, always gay; but now I am seventy-nine years of age, and a
beggar, and my heart begins to fail me."
                                                 
  Still he was not a regular mendicant: it was not until recently that
want had driven him to this degradation; and he gave a touching
picture of the struggle between hunger and pride, when abject
destitution first came upon him. He was returning from Malaga
without money; he had not tasted food for some time, and was
crossing one of the great plains of Spain, where there were but few
habitations. When almost dead with hunger, he applied at the door of a
venta or country inn. "Perdon usted por Dios, hermano!" ("Excuse us,
brother, for God's sake!") was the reply- the usual mode in Spain of
refusing a beggar.
  "I turned away," said he, "with shame greater than my hunger, for my
heart was yet too proud. I came to a river with high banks, and
deep, rapid current, and felt tempted to throw myself in: 'What should
such an old, worthless, wretched man as I live for?' But when I was on
the brink of the current, I thought on the blessed Virgin, and
turned away. I travelled on until I saw a country-seat at a little
distance from the road, and entered the outer gate of the
court-yard. The door was shut, but there were two young senoras at a
window. I approached and begged. 'Perdon usted por Dios, hermano!'-
and the window closed.
  "I crept out of the court-yard, but hunger overcame me, and my heart
gave way: I thought my hour at hand, so I laid myself down at the
gate, commended myself to the Holy Virgin, and covered my head to die.
In a little while afterwards the master of the house came home. Seeing
me lying at his gate, he uncovered my head, had pity on my gray hairs,
took me into his house, and gave me food. So, senores, you see that
one should always put confidence in the protection of the Virgin."
  The old man was on his way to his native place, Archidona, which was
in full view on its steep and rugged mountain. He pointed to the ruins
of its castle. "That castle," he said, "was inhabited by a Moorish
king at the time of the wars of Granada. Queen Isabella invaded it
with a great army; but the king looked down from his castle among
the clouds, and laughed her to scorn! Upon this the Virgin appeared to
the queen, and guided her and her army up a mysterious path in the
mountains, which had never before been known. When the Moor saw her
coming, he was astonished, and springing with his horse from a
precipice, was dashed to pieces! The marks of his horse's hoofs," said
the old man, "are to be seen in the margin of the rock to this day.
And see, senores, yonder is the road by which the queen and her army
mounted: you see it like a ribbon up the mountain's side; but the
miracle is, that, though it can be seen at a distance, when you come
near it disappears!"
  The ideal road to which he pointed was undoubtedly a sandy ravine of
the mountain, which looked narrow and defined at a distance, but
became broad and indistinct on an approach.
                                                 
  As the old man's heart warmed with wine and wassail, he went on to
tell us a story of the buried treasure left under the castle by the
Moorish king. His own house was next to the foundations of the castle.
The curate and notary dreamed three times of the treasure, and went to
work at the place pointed out in their dreams. His own son-in-law
heard the sound of their pickaxes and spades at night. What they found
nobody knows; they became suddenly rich, but kept their own secret.
Thus the old man had once been next door to fortune, but was doomed
never to get under the same roof.
  I have remarked that the stories of treasure buried by the Moors, so
popular throughout Spain, are most current among the poorest people.
Kind nature consoles with shadows for the lack of substantials. The
thirsty man dreams of fountains and running streams, the hungry man of
banquets, and the poor man of heaps of hidden gold: nothing
certainly is more opulent than the imagination of a beggar.
  Our afternoon's ride took us through a steep and rugged defile of
the mountains, called Puerto del Rey, the Pass of the King; being
one of the great passes into the territories of Granada, and the one
by which King Ferdinand conducted his army. Towards sunset the road,
winding round a hill, brought us in sight of the famous little
frontier city of Loxa, which repulsed Ferdinand from its walls. Its
Arabic name implies "guardian," and such it was to the vega of
Granada, being one of its advanced guards. It was the strong-hold of
that fiery veteran, old Ali Atar, father-in-law of Boabdil; and here
it was that the latter collected his troops, and sallied forth on that
disastrous foray which ended in the death of the old alcayde and his
own captivity. From its commanding position at the gate, as it were,
of this mountain pass, Loxa has not unaptly been termed the key of
Granada. It is wildly picturesque; built along the face of an arid
mountain. The ruins of a Moorish alcazar or citadel crown a rocky
mound which rises out of the centre of the town. The river Xenil
washes its base, winding among rocks, and groves, and gardens, and
meadows, and crossed by a Moorish bridge. Above the city all is savage
and sterile, below is the richest vegetation and the freshest verdure.
A similar contrast is presented by the river; above the bridge it is
placid and grassy, reflecting groves and gardens; below it is rapid,
noisy and tumultuous. The Sierra Nevada, the royal mountains of
Granada, crowned with perpetual snow, form the distant boundary to
this varied landscape; one of the most characteristic of romantic
Spain.
  Alighting at the entrance of the city, we gave our horses to
Sancho to lead them to the inn, while we strolled about to enjoy the
singular beauty of the environs. As we crossed the bridge to a fine
alameda, or public walk, the bells tolled the hour of oration. At
the sound the wayfarers, whether on business or pleasure, paused, took
off their hats, crossed themselves, and repeated their evening prayer-
a pious custom still rigidly observed in retired parts of Spain.
Altogether it was a solemn and beautiful evening scene, and we
wandered on as the evening gradually closed, and the new moon began to
glitter between the high elms of the alameda.
  We were roused from this quiet state of enjoyment by the voice of
our trusty squire hailing us from a distance. He came up to us, out of
breath. "Ah, senores," cried he, "el pobre Sancho no es nada sin Don
Quixote." ("Ah, senores, poor Sancho is nothing without Don Quixote.")
He had been alarmed at our not coming to the inn; Loxa was such a wild
mountain place, full of contrabandistas, enchanters, and infiernos; he
did not well know what might have happened, and set out to seek us,
inquiring after us of every person he met, until he traced us across
the bridge, and, to his great joy, caught sight of us strolling in the
alameda.
                                                 
  The inn to which he conducted us was called the Corona, or Crown,
and we found it quite in keeping with the character of the place,
the inhabitants of which seem still to retain the bold, fiery spirit
of the olden time. The hostess was a young and handsome Andalusian
widow, whose trim basquina of black silk, fringed with bugles, set off
the play of a graceful form and round pliant limbs. Her step was
firm and elastic; her dark eye was full of fire, and the coquetry of
her air, and varied ornaments of her person, showed that she was
accustomed to be admired.
  She was well matched by a brother, nearly about her own age; they
were perfect models of the Andalusian majo and maja. He was tall,
vigorous, and well-formed, with a clear olive complexion, a dark
beaming eye, and curling chestnut whiskers that met under his chin. He
was gallantly dressed in a short green velvet jacket, fitted to his
shape, profusely decorated with silver buttons, with a white
handkerchief in each pocket. He had breeches of the same, with rows of
buttons from the hips to the knees; a pink silk handkerchief round his
neck, gathered through a ring, on the bosom of a neatly-plaited shirt;
a sash round the waist to match; bottinas, or spatterdashes, of the
finest russet leather, elegantly worked, and open at the calf to
show his stockings and russet shoes, setting off a well-shaped foot.
  As he was standing at the door, a horseman rode up and entered
into low and earnest conversation with him. He was dressed in a
similar style, and almost with equal finery- a man about thirty,
square-built, with strong Roman features, handsome, though slightly
pitted with the small-pox; with a free, bold, and somewhat daring air.
His powerful black horse was decorated with tassels and fanciful
trappings, and a couple of broad-mouthed blunderbusses hung behind the
saddle. He had the air of one of those contrabandistas I have seen
in the mountains of Ronda, and evidently had a good understanding with
the brother of mine hostess; nay, if I mistake not, he was a favored
admirer of the widow. In fact, the whole inn and its inmates had
something of a contrabandista aspect, and a blunderbuss stood in a
corner beside the guitar. The horseman I have mentioned passed his
evening in the posada, and sang several bold mountain romances with
great spirit. As we were at supper, two poor Asturians put in in
distress, begging food and a night's lodging. They had been waylaid by
robbers as they came from a fair among the mountains, robbed of a
horse, which carried all their stock in trade, stripped of their
money, and most of their apparel, beaten for having offered
resistance, and left almost naked in the road. My companion, with a
prompt generosity natural to him, ordered them a supper and a bed, and
gave them a sum of money to help them forward towards their home.
  As the evening advanced, the dramatis personae thickened. A large
man, about sixty years of age, of powerful frame, came strolling in,
to gossip with mine hostess. He was dressed in the ordinary Andalusian
costume, but had a huge sabre tucked under his arm, wore large
moustaches, and had something of a lofty swaggering air. Every one
seemed to regard him with great deference.
  Our man Sancho whispered to us that he was Don Ventura Rodriguez,
the hero and champion of Loxa, famous for his prowess and the strength
of his arm. In the time of the French invasion he surprised six
troopers who were asleep: he first secured their horses, then attacked
them with his sabre, killed some, and took the rest prisoners. For
this exploit the king allows him a peseta (the fifth of a duro, or
dollar) per day, and has dignified him with the title of Don.
                                                 
  I was amused to behold his swelling language and demeanor. He was
evidently a thorough Andalusian, boastful as brave. His sabre was
always in his hand or under his arm. He carries it always about with
him as a child does her doll, calls it his Santa Teresa, and says,
"When I draw it, the earth trembles" ("tiembla la tierra").
  I sat until a late hour listening to the varied themes of this
motley group, who mingled together with the unreserve of a Spanish
posada. We had contrabandista songs, stories of robbers, guerilla
exploits, and Moorish legends. The last were from our handsome
landlady, who gave a poetical account of the infiernos, or infernal
regions of Loxa, dark caverns, in which subterranean streams and
waterfalls make a mysterious sound. The common people say that there
are money-coiners shut up there from the time of the Moors, and that
the Moorish kings kept their treasures in those caverns.
  I retired to bed with my imagination excited by all that I had
seen and heard in this old warrior city. Scarce had I fallen asleep
when I was aroused by a horrid din and uproar, that might have
confounded the hero of La Mancha himself whose experience of Spanish
inns was a continual uproar. It seemed for a moment as if the Moors
were once more breaking into the town, or the infiernos of which
mine hostess talked had broken loose. I sallied forth half dressed
to reconnoiter. It was nothing more nor less than a charivari to
celebrate the nuptials of an old man with a buxom damsel. Wishing
him joy of his bride and his serenade, I returned to my more quiet
bed, and slept soundly until morning.
  While dressing, I amused myself in reconnoitering the populace
from my window. There were groups of fine-looking young men in the
trim fanciful Andalusian costume, with brown cloaks, thrown about them
in true Spanish style, which cannot be imitated, and little round majo
hats stuck on with a peculiar knowing air. They had the same
galliard look which I have remarked among the dandy mountaineers of
Ronda. Indeed, all this part of Andalusia abounds with such
game-looking characters. They loiter about the towns and villages,
seem to have plenty of time and plenty of money: "horse to ride and
weapon to wear." Great gossips; great smokers; apt at touching the
guitar, singing couplets to their maja belles, and famous dancers of
the bolero. Throughout all Spain the men, however poor, have a
gentleman-like abundance of leisure, seeming to consider it the
attribute of a true cavaliero never to be in a hurry; but the
Andalusians are gay as well as leisurely, and have none of the squalid
accompaniments of idleness. The adventurous contraband trade which
prevails throughout these mountain regions, and along the maritime
borders of Andalusia, is doubtless at the bottom of this galliard
character.
  In contrast to the costume of these groups was that of two
long-legged Valencians conducting a donkey, laden with articles of
merchandise, their musket slung crosswise over his back ready for
action. They wore round jackets (jalecos), wide linen bragas or
drawers scarce reaching to the knees and looking like kilts, red fajas
or sashes swathed tightly round their waists, sandals of espartal or
bass weed, colored kerchiefs round their heads somewhat in the style
of turbans but leaving the top of the head uncovered; in short,
their whole appearance having much of the traditional Moorish stamp.
                                                 
  On leaving Loxa we were joined by a cavalier, well mounted and
well armed, and followed on foot by an escopetero or musketeer. He
saluted us courteously, and soon let us into his quality. He was chief
of the customs, or rather, I should suppose, chief of an armed company
whose business it is to patrol the roads and look out for
contrabandistas. The escopetero was one of his guards. In the course
of our morning's ride I drew from him some particulars concerning
the smugglers, who have risen to be a kind of mongrel chivalry in
Spain. They come into Andalusia, he said, from various parts, but
especially from La Mancha, sometimes to receive goods, to be
smuggled on an appointed night across the line at the plaza or
strand of Gibraltar, sometimes to meet a vessel, which is to hover
on a given night off a certain part of the coast. They keep together
and travel in the night. In the daytime they lie quiet in barrancos,
gullies of the mountains or lonely farm-houses; where they are
generally well received, as they make the family liberal presents of
their smuggled wares. Indeed, much of the finery and trinkets worn
by the wives and daughters of the mountain hamlets and farm-houses are
presents from the gay and open-handed contrabandistas.
  Arrived at the part of the coast where a vessel is to meet them,
they look out at night from some rocky point or headland. If they
descry a sail near the shore they make a concerted signal; sometimes
it consists in suddenly displaying a lantern three times from
beneath the folds of a cloak. If the signal is answered, they
descend to the shore and prepare for quick work. The vessel runs close
in; all her boats are busy landing the smuggled goods, made up into
snug packages for transportation on horseback. These are hastily
thrown on the beach, as hastily gathered up and packed on the
horses, and then the contrabandistas clatter off to the mountains.
They travel by the roughest, wildest, and most solitary roads, where
it is almost fruitless to pursue them. The custom-house guards do
not attempt it: they take a different course. When they hear of one of
these bands returning full freighted through the mountains, they go
out in force, sometimes twelve infantry and eight horsemen, and take
their station where the mountain defile opens into the plain. The
infantry, who lie in ambush some distance within the defile, suffer
the band to pass, then rise and fire upon them. The contrabandistas
dash forward, but are met in front by the horsemen. A wild skirmish
ensues. The contrabandistas, if hard pressed, become desperate. Some
dismount, use their horses as breast-works, and fire over their backs;
others cut the cords, let the packs fall off to delay the enemy, and
endeavor to escape with their steeds. Some get off in this way with
the loss of their packages; some are taken, horses, packages, and all;
others abandon every thing, and make their escape by scrambling up the
mountains. "And then," cried Sancho, who had been listening with a
greedy ear, "se hacen ladrones legitimos"- and then they become
legitimate robbers.
  I could not help laughing at Sancho's idea of a legitimate calling
of the kind; but the chief of customs told me it was really the case
that the smugglers, when thus reduced to extremity, thought they had a
kind of right to take the road, and lay travellers under contribution,
until they had collected funds enough to mount and equip themselves in
contrabandista style.
  Towards noon our wayfaring companion took leave of us and turned
up a steep defile, followed by his escopetero; and shortly
afterwards we emerged from the mountains, and entered upon the far
famed Vega of Granada.
  Our last mid-day's repast was taken under a grove of olive-trees
on the border of a rivulet. We were in a classical neighborhood; for
not far off were the groves and orchards of the Soto de Roma. This,
according to fabulous tradition, was a retreat founded by Count Julian
to console his daughter Florinda. It was a rural resort of the Moorish
kings of Granada, and has in modern times been granted to the Duke
of Wellington.
                                                 
  Our worthy squire made a half melancholy face as he drew forth,
for the last time, the contents of his alforjas, lamenting that our
expedition was drawing to a close, for, with such cavaliers, he
said, he could travel to the world's end. Our repast, however, was a
gay one; made under such delightful auspices. The day was without a
cloud. The heat of the sun was tempered by cool breezes from the
mountains. Before us extended the glorious Vega. In the distance was
romantic Granada surmounted by the ruddy towers of the Alhambra, while
far above it the snowy summits of the Sierra Nevada shone like silver.
  Our repast finished, we spread our cloaks and took our last siesta
al fresco, lulled by the humming of bees among the flowers and the
notes of doves among the olive-trees. When the sultry hours were
passed we resumed our journey. After a time we overtook a pursy little
man, shaped not unlike a toad and mounted on a mule. He fell into
conversation with Sancho, and finding we were strangers, undertook
to guide us to a good posada. He was an escribano (notary), he said,
and knew the city as thoroughly as his own pocket. "Ah Dios,
senores! what a city you are going to see. Such streets! such squares!
such palaces! and then the women- ah Santa Maria purisima- what
women!" "But the posada you talk of," said I; "are you sure it is a
good one?"
  "Good! Santa Maria! the best in Granada. Salones grandes- camas de
luxo- colchones de pluma (grand saloons- luxurious sleeping rooms-
beds of down). Ah, senores, you will fare like King Chico in the
Alhambra."
  "And how will my horses fare?" cried Sancho.
  "Like King Chico's horses. Chocolate con leche y bollos para
almuerza" ("chocolate and milk with sugar cakes for breakfast"),
giving the squire a knowing wink and a leer.
                                                 
  After such satisfactory accounts nothing more was to be desired on
that head. So we rode quietly on, the squab little notary taking the
lead, and turning to us every moment with some fresh exclamation about
the grandeurs of Granada and the famous times we were to have at the
posada.
  Thus escorted, we passed between hedges of aloes and Indian figs,
and through that wilderness of gardens with which the Vega is
embroidered, and arrived about sunset at the gates of the city. Our
officious little conductor conveyed us up one street and down another,
until he rode into the courtyard of an inn where he appeared to be
perfectly at home. Summoning the landlord by his Christian name, he
committed us to his care as two caballeros de mucho valor, worthy of
his best apartments and most sumptuous fare. We were instantly
reminded of the patronizing stranger who introduced Gil Blas with such
a flourish of trumpets to the host and hostess of the inn at
Pennaflor, ordering trouts for his supper, and eating voraciously at
his expense. "You know not what you possess," cried he to the
innkeeper and his wife. "You have a treasure in your house. Behold
in this young gentleman the eighth wonder of the world- nothing in
this house is too good for Senor Gil Blas of Santillane, who
deserves to be entertained like a prince."
  Determined that the little notary should not eat trouts at our
expense, like his prototype of Pennaflor, we forbore to ask him to
supper; nor had we reason to reproach ourselves with ingratitude;
for we found before morning the little varlet, who was no doubt a good
friend of the landlord, had decoyed us into one of the shabbiest
posadas in Granada.


                   Palace of the Alhambra.
-
  TO THE traveller 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 traditions, true and
fabulous; how many songs and ballads, Arabian and Spanish, of love and
war and chivalry, are associated with this oriental pile! It was the
royal abode of the Moorish kings, where, surrounded with the splendors
and refinements of Asiatic luxury, they held dominion over what they
vaunted as a terrestrial paradise, and made their last stand 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; externally it is a rude congregation of
towers and battlements, with 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 containing
within its outward precincts an army of forty thousand men, and served
occasionally as a strong-hold of the sovereigns 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 inhabited by the Castilian monarchs. The emperor
Charles V commenced 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 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
governor held it immediately from the crown, its jurisdiction extended
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 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.
  The desertion of the court, however, was a fatal blow to the
Alhambra. Its beautiful halls became desolate, and some of them fell
to ruin; the gardens were destroyed, and the fountains ceased to play.
By degrees the dwellings became filled with a loose and lawless
population; contrabandistas, who 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 was
thoroughly sifted; none were suffered to remain but such as were of
honest character, and had legitimate right to a residence; the greater
part of the houses were demolished and a mere hamlet left, with the
parochial church and the Franciscan convent. During the recent
troubles in Spain, when 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 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 watercourses restored,
the fountains once more made to throw up their sparkling showers;
and Spain may thank her 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 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, abandoning the lofty hill of the Alhambra, resides
in the centre 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 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 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.
  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 travellers, that I shall not undertake to
give a comprehensive and elaborate account of it, but merely
occasional sketches of parts with the incidents and associations
connected with them.
                                       
  Leaving our posada, and traversing the renowned square of the
Vivarrambla, once the scene of Moorish jousts and tournaments, now a
crowded market-place, we proceeded along the Zacatin, the main
street of what, in the time of the Moors, 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 a confined and winding street, the name
of which reminded us of the chivalric days of Granada. It is called
the Calle or street of the Gomeres, from a Moorish family famous in
chronicle and song. This street led up to the Puerta de las
Granadas, a massive gateway of Grecian architecture, built by
Charles V, forming the entrance to the domains of the Alhambra.
  At the gate were two or three ragged superannuated soldiers,
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 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 traveller's dislike to officious ciceroni, and did not
altogether like the garb of the applicant.
  "You are well acquainted with the place, I presume?"
  "Ninguno mas; pues senor, 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 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 emblematic of the fortunes of the
place, and befitted the progeny of a ruin.
  I put some farther 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. His name was Mateo
Ximenes. "Then, perhaps," said I, "you may be a descendant from the
great Cardinal Ximenes?"- "Dios sabe! God knows, senor! It may be
so. We are the oldest family in the Alhambra- Cristianos viejos, old
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 title of this ragged worthy,
however, had completely captivated 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 footpaths 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 opposite side of the ravine,
we were equally dominated by rival towers on a rocky eminence.
These, we were told, were the 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 Romans; others, by some wandering colony of
Phoenicians. Ascending the steep and shady avenue, we 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 veteran invalids, one mounting guard
at the portal, while the rest, wrapped in their tattered cloaks, slept
on the stone benches. This portal is called the Gate of Justice,
from the tribunal held within its porch 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. "Judge and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates,
and they shall judge the people with just judgment."
  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 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 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,
transmitted 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, and
he shall shut and none shall open." (Isaiah xxii. 22.) The key we
are told was 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 power invested in the
prophet. "He that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man
shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth." (Rev. iii. 7.)
  A different explanation of these emblems, however, was given by
the legitimate son of the Alhambra, and one more in unison with the
notions of the common people, who attach something of mystery and
magic to every thing Moorish, and have all kind 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 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 under a magic spell. By this means it had remained standing
for several hundred 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 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 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 between walls, and came on an open esplanade within the
fortress, called the Plaza de los Algibes, or Place of 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 the Moors, who were indefatigable in their 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 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,
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 intrusted to the care
of a worthy old maiden dame called Dona Antonia-Molina, but who,
according to Spanish custom, went by the more neighborly appellation
of Tia Antonia (Aunt Antonia), 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, 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 conduct us through the
enchanted palace. Under her guidance 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 patio or court one hundred and fifty
feet in length, and upwards 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 mouldings of the cornices and on various parts of the
walls were escutcheons and ciphers, and cufic and Arabic 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 hundred 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 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
suffered so little from the ravages of time. In the centre stands
the fountain famous in song and story. The alabaster basins still shed
their diamond drops; the twelve 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, being of
miserable sculpture, the work probably of some Christian 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, was made by the French when in possession of Granada.
Round the four sides of the court are light Arabian arcades of open
filigree work supported by slender pillars of white marble, which it
is supposed were 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, and a disposition to indolent enjoyment. When one looks upon
the fairy traces of the peristyles, and the apparently fragile
fretwork of the walls, it is difficult to believe that so much has
survived the wear and tear of centuries, the shocks of earthquakes,
the violence of war, and the quiet, though no less baneful, pilferings
of the tasteful traveller; it is almost sufficient to excuse the
popular tradition that the whole is protected by a magic charm.
  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 they were introduced one by one
into the Court of Lions, and the white marble fountain in the centre
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.
  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 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
afterwards an opportunity of ascertaining, by the bubbling currents
and tinkling falls of water conducted under the pavement 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 following as an
undoubted fact, which he had from his grandfather:
                                      
  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 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 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 could never afterwards be
prevailed upon to enter the Alhambra. Thus it is that men sometimes
turn their backs upon fortune; for it is the 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 richest 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 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
cultivate the acquaintance of this learned Theban.
  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 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, which was evidently a part of the royal harem.
This opinion 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, senor," said she, "it is all grated and 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 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 cupola or lantern
admits a tempered light from above and a free circulation of air;
while on one side is heard the refreshing sound of waters from the
fountain of the lions, and on the other side the soft plash from the
basin in the garden of Lindaraxa.
                                      
  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, as if it had been inhabited
but yesterday; but where are the two sisters; where the Zoraydas and
Lindaraxas!
  An abundant supply of water, brought from the mountains by old
Moorish aqueducts, circulates throughout the palace, supplying its
baths and fishpools, sparkling in jets within its halls, or
murmuring in channels along the marble pavements. 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 maintaining a perpetual verdure in those
groves that embower and 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 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. Every thing invites to that indolent repose,
the bliss of southern climes; and while the half-shut eye looks out
from 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 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.
-
                                      
               Note on Morisco Architecture
-
  To an unpractised eye the light relievos and fanciful arabesques
which cover the walls of the Alhambra appear to have been sculptured
by the hand, with a minute and patient labor, an inexhaustible 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 honey-combs, or frostwork, 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 moulds and skilfully joined so as to form
patterns of every size and form. This mode of diapering walls with
arabesques and stuccoing the vaults with grotto-work, was invented
in Damascus, but highly improved by the Moors in Morocco, to whom
Saracenic architecture owes its most graceful and fanciful details.
The process by which all this fairy tracery was produced was
ingeniously simple: The wall in its naked state was divided off by
lines crossing at right angles, such as artists use in copying a
picture; over these were drawn a succession of intersecting segments
of circles. By the aid of these the artists could work with celerity
and certainty, and from the mere intersection of the plain and
curved lines arose the interminable variety of patterns and the
general uniformity of their character.
  Much gilding was used in the stucco-work, especially of the cupolas:
and the interstices were delicately pencilled with brilliant colors,
such as vermilion and lapis lazuli, laid on with the whites of eggs.
The primitive colors alone were used, says Ford, by the Egyptians,
Greeks, and Arabs, in the early period of art; and they prevail in the
Alhambra whenever the artist has been Arabic or Moorish. It is
remarkable how much of their original brilliancy remains after the
lapse of several centuries.
  The lower part of the walls in the saloons, to the height of several
feet, is incrusted with glazed tiles, joined like the plates of
stucco-work, so as to form various patterns. On some of them are
emblazoned the escutcheons of the Moslem kings, traversed with a
band and motto. These glazed tiles (azulejos in Spanish, az-zulaj in
Arabic) are of Oriental origin; their coolness, cleanliness, and
freedom from vermin, render them admirably fitted in sultry climates
for paving halls and fountains, incrusting bathing rooms, and lining
the walls of chambers. Ford is inclined to give them great
antiquity. From their prevailing colors, sapphire and blue, he deduces
that they may have formed the kind of pavements alluded to in the
sacred Scriptures- "There was under his feet as it were a paved work
of a sapphire stone" (Exod. xxiv. 10); and again, "Behold I will lay
thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with
sapphires." (Isaiah liv. 11.)
                                      
  These glazed or porcelain tiles were introduced into Spain at an
early date by the Moslems. Some are to be seen among the Moorish ruins
which have been there upwards of eight centuries. Manufactures of them
still exist in the peninsula, and they are much used in the best
Spanish houses, especially in the southern provinces, for paving and
lining the summer apartments.
  The Spaniards introduced them into the Netherlands when they had
possession of that country. The people of Holland adopted them with
avidity, as wonderfully suited to their passion for household
cleanliness; and thus these Oriental inventions, the azulejos of the
Spanish, the az-zulaj of the Arabs, have come to be commonly known
as Dutch tiles.


                   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 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. It
did very well for monarchs, who often had need of castle walls to
defend them from their own subjects. "But senores," added he, smiling,
"if you think a residence there so desirable, my apartments in the
Alhambra are at your service."
  It is a common and almost indispensable point of politeness 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, any thing 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 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 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."
                                       
  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 Duena 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.
  All, however, went smoothly. The good Tia Antonia had a little
furniture to put in the rooms, but it was of the commonest 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 upon us and at the word we threw up our hats and
the bargain was complete.
  The very next day we 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, when my 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 haphazard loiterer about the world and prone to linger in
its pleasant places, here have I been suffering day by day to steal
away unheeded, spellbound, for aught I know, in this old enchanted
pile. Having always a companionable feeling for my 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 of the witching charms of the place, he will not
repine at lingering with me for a season in the legendary halls of the
Alhambra.
  At first it is proper to give him some idea of my domestic
arrangements; they are rather of a simple kind for the occupant 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 suite of
empty chambers, in front of the palace, looking out upon the great
esplanade called la plaza de los algibes (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 chatelaine Dona 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 consists 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 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 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 Alhambra. I am also
informed by the same observant and authentic personage, that a quiet
courtship is going on 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 regard to
my board and lodging; and as I am easily pleased, I find my fare
excellent; while the merry-hearted little Dolores keeps my apartment
in order, and officiates as handmaid at meal-times. I have also at
my command a tall, stuttering, yellow-haired lad, named Pepe, who
works in the gardens, and would fain have acted as valet; but, in
this, he was forestalled by Mateo Ximenes, "the son of the
Alhambra." This alert and officious wight has managed, somehow or
other, to stick by me ever since I first encountered him at 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 historio-graphic squire; and I have been
obliged to improve the state of his wardrobe, that he may not disgrace
his various functions; so that he 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
astonishment of his comrades. The chief fault of honest Mateo is an
over-anxiety to be useful. Conscious of having foisted himself 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 fortress, but he is at my elbow, to
explain every thing 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 the length of
his legs than the strength of his arms, in case of attack. After
all, 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 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 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 hidden secrets of the place. The whole living, moving,
thinking, 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 posterity, his traditionary
lore died not with him. The authentic Mateo, when an urchin, used to
be an attentive listener to the narratives of his grandfather, and
of the gossip group assembled round the shopboard; and is thus
possessed of a stock of valuable knowledge concerning the Alhambra,
not to be found in books, and well worthy the attention of every
curious traveller.
  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 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
afterwards arranged in vases, by the skilful hand of Dolores, who
takes a female pride in the decorations of my chamber. 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
flowers and fountains: and when I walk out, I am conducted by the
assiduous Mateo, to the most romantic retreats of the mountains, and
delicious haunts of the adjacent valleys, not one of which but is
the scene of some wonderful tale.
  Though fond of passing the greater part of my day alone, yet I
occasionally repair in the evenings to the little domestic circle of
Dona Antonia. This is generally held in an old Moorish chamber,
which serves the good dame for parlor, 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
arabesques. A window, with a balcony overhanging the valley 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 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
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 comedy of Calderon or Lope de
Vega, to which he is evidently 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 completed. Sometimes Tia Antonia has a little levee of
humble friends and dependents, the inhabitants of the adjacent hamlet,
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 listening to these evening
gossipings I have picked up many curious facts, illustrative of the
manners of the people and the peculiarities of the neighborhood.
                                      
  These are simple details of simple pleasures; it is the nature of
the place alone that gives them interest and importance. I tread
haunted ground, and am surrounded by romantic associations. From
earliest boyhood, when, on the banks of the Hudson, I first pored over
the pages of old Gines Perez de Hytas's apocryphal but chivalresque
history of the civil wars of Granada, and the feuds of its gallant
cavaliers, the Zegries 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
realized; yet I can scarce credit my senses, or believe that I do
indeed inhabit the palace of Boabdil, and look down from its 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 plump little Dolores is one of the bright-eyed
houris, destined to administer to the happiness of true believers.


                 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 the beggar.
  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 loopholes.
  I have amused myself with remarking some of the motley characters
that have thus usurped the ancient abode of royalty, and who seem as
if placed here to give a farcical termination to the drama of human
pride. One of these even bears the mockery of a regal title. It is a
little old woman named Maria Antonia Sabonea, but who goes by the
appellation of la Reyna 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 she sits in the
cool stone corridor, plying her needle and singing 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 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 occasionally
a humble attendant.
  That there must be some fairy gift about this mysterious little
old woman, would appear from her extraordinary luck, since,
notwithstanding her being very little, very ugly, and very poor, she
has 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 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 his life, filling various offices,
such as deputy alguazil, sexton of the parochial church, and marker 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 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 the
Pope, which I had thought too sacred in the eyes of true Catholics
to be thus ludicrously applied. It is a whimsical caprice of fortune
to 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 descendants of Agamemnon and
Achilles, had they lingered about the ruins of Troy!
  Of this motley community, I find the family of my gossiping
squire, Mateo Ximenes, to form, from their numbers at 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 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 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 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
Cristianos viejos, i. e. old Christians, without Jewish or Moorish
taint. In fact, I doubt whether this jealousy about their blood has
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 emblazoned quarterings of the
arms of the Marquis of Caiesedo, and of various other noble houses,
with which this poverty-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 continue the poverty of
the family, having a wife and a numerous progeny, who inhabit an
almost dismantled hovel in the 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 what is more, appear to enjoy their 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.
  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. 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
grandiose 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 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 dancings in Granada and its
vicinity, light bonfires on the hills on St. John's eve, and dance
away the moonlight nights 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. I had
repeatedly observed a long lean fellow perched on the top of one of
the towers, manoeuvring 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 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-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-nothing ingenuity of arrant idlers, have thus
invented the art of angling in the sky.


                 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 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 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 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 of
Comares; and still bears the traces of past magnificence. The walls
are beautifully stuccoed and decorated with Morisco fancifulness;
the lofty ceiling was originally of the same favorite material, with
the usual frostwork and pensile ornaments or stalactites; which,
with the embellishments of vivid coloring and gilding, must have
been gorgeous in the extreme. 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 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."*
-
  * Urquhart's Pillars of Hercules.
-
  From the great height of the vault above the windows the upper
part of the hall is almost lost in obscurity; yet there is 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 (the monarch who
completed the Alhambra) made this the throne of his empire. Every
thing in this noble hall seems to have been calculated to surround the
throne with impressive dignity and splendor; there was none of the
elegant voluptuousness which reigns in other parts of the palace.
The tower is of massive strength, domineering over the whole edifice
and overhanging the steep hillside. On three sides of the Hall of
Ambassadors are windows cut through the immense thickness of the
walls, and commanding extensive prospects. The balcony of the
central window especially looks down upon the 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 Alhambra. "Ill fated the man who lost all this!"
exclaimed Charles V, as he looked forth from this window upon 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 have just been seated
there, enjoying the close of a long brilliant 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 vapor that caught the setting ray, 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 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 mouldering towers, sends back her retrospective
rays to light up the glories of the past.
  As I sat watching the effect of the declining daylight upon this
Moorish pile, I 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 the Gothic edifices reared by the Spanish 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 degrees, I fell into a course of musing upon
the singular fortunes of the Arabian or Morisco-Spaniards, whose whole
existence is as a tale that is told, and certainly forms one of the
most anomalous yet splendid episodes in history. Potent and durable 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 shores of Europe, they seem to
have all the impetus of the first rush of the torrent. Their career of
conquest, from the 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 facility as the
empires of the East, and the crescent at this day have glittered on
the fanes of Paris and London.
  Repelled 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 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 embellish it with every thing 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 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.
  The cities of Arabian Spain became the resort of Christian artisans,
to instruct themselves in the useful arts. The universities of Toledo,
Cordova, Seville, and Granada, were sought by the pale student from
other lands to acquaint himself with the sciences of the Arabs, and
the treasured lore of antiquity; the lovers of the gay science,
resorted to Cordova and Granada, to imbibe the poetry and music of the
East; and the steel-clad 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 Cordova, the
Alcazar of Seville, and the Alhambra of Granada, still bear
inscriptions fondly boasting of the power and permanency of their
dominion; can the boast be derided as arrogant and vain? Generation
after generation, century after century, passed away, and still they
maintained possession of the land. A period elapsed longer than that
which has passed since England was subjugated by the Norman Conqueror,
and the descendants of Musa and Taric might as little anticipate being
driven into exile across the same straits, traversed by their
triumphant ancestors, as the descendants of 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
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 foothold in a usurped land.
  They were the outposts and frontiers of Islamism. The peninsula
was the great battle-ground where the Gothic conquerors 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.
  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 barbarians of Africa, and ceased to be a nation.
They have not even 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 acknowledge
them, except as invaders and usurpers. A few broken monuments are
all that remain to bear witness to their power 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, who conquered, ruled, flourished, and passed
away.


                   The Jesuits' Library.
-
  SINCE indulging in the foregoing reverie, my curiosity has been
aroused to know something of the princes, who left behind them this
monument of Oriental taste and magnificence; and whose names still
appear among the inscriptions on its walls. To gratify this curiosity,
I have descended from this region of fancy and fable, where every
thing is liable to take an imaginary tint, and have carried my
researches among the dusty tomes of the old Jesuits' Library, in the
University. This once boasted repository of erudition is now a mere
shadow of its former self, having been stripped of its manuscripts and
rarest works by the French, when masters of Granada; still it contains
among many ponderous tomes of the Jesuit fathers, which the French
were careful to leave behind, several curious tracts of Spanish
literature; and above all, a number of those antiquated
parchment-bound chronicles for which I have a particular veneration.
  In this old library, I have passed many delightful hours of quiet,
undisturbed, literary foraging; for the keys of the doors and
bookcases were kindly intrusted to me, and I was left alone, to
rummage at my pleasure- a rare indulgence in these sanctuaries of
learning, which too often tantalize the thirsty student with the sight
of sealed fountains of knowledge.
  In the course of these visits I gleaned a variety of facts
concerning historical characters connected with the Alhambra, some
of which I here subjoin, trusting they may prove acceptable to the
reader.


                          Alhamar.
                 The Founder of the Alhambra.
-
  THE Moors of Granada regarded the Alhambra as a miracle of art,
and had a tradition that the king who founded it dealt in magic, or at
least in alchemy, by means whereof he procured the immense sums of
gold expended in its erection. A brief view of his reign will show the
secret of his wealth. He is known in Arabian history as Muhamed
Ibn-l-Ahmar; but his name in general is written simply Alhamar, and
was given to him, we are told, on account of his ruddy complexion.*
-
  * Et porque era muy rubio llamaban lo los Moros Abenalhamar, que
quiere decir bermejo... et porque los Moros lo llamaban Benalhamar que
quiere decir bermejo tomo los senales bermejos, segun que los
ovieron desputes los Reyes de Granada.- BLEDA, Cronica de Alfonso XI.
  [And because his complexion was very ruddy the Moors called him
Abenalhamar, which means "vermilion"... and because the Moors called
him Benalhamar, which means vermilion, he took bright red for his
insignia, just as the Kings of Granada have done ever since.]
                                                      
-
  He was of the noble and opulent line of the Beni Nasar, or tribe
of Nasar, and was born in Arjona, in the year of the Hegira 592 (A. D.
1195). At his birth the astrologers, we are told, cast his horoscope
according to Oriental custom, and pronounced it highly auspicious; and
a santon predicted for him a glorious career. No expense was spared in
fitting him for the high destinies prognosticated. Before he
attained the full years of manhood, the famous battle of the Navas (or
plains) of Tolosa shattered the Moorish empire, and eventually severed
the Moslems of Spain from the Moslems of Africa. Factions soon arose
among the former, headed by warlike chiefs, ambitious of grasping
the sovereignty of the Peninsula. Alhamar became engaged in these
wars; he was the general and leader of the Beni Nasar, and, as such,
he opposed and thwarted the ambition of Aben Hud, who had raised his
standard among the warlike mountains of the Alpuxarras, and been
proclaimed king of Murcia and Granada. Many conflicts took place
between these warring chieftains; Alhamar dispossessed his rival of
several important places, and was proclaimed king of Jaen by his
soldiery; but he aspired to the sovereignty of the whole of Andalusia,
for he was of a sanguine spirit and lofty ambition. His valor and
generosity went hand in hand; what he gained by the one he secured
by the other; and at the death of Aben Hud (A. D. 1238), he became
sovereign of all the territories which owned allegiance to that
powerful chief He made his formal entry into Granada in the same year,
amid the enthusiastic shouts of the multitude, who hailed him as the
only one capable of uniting the various factions which prevailed,
and which threatened to lay the empire at the mercy of the Christian
princes.
  Alhamar established his court in Granada; he was the first of the
illustrious line of Nasar that sat upon a throne. He took immediate
measures to put his little kingdom in a posture of defence against the
assaults to be expected from his Christian neighbors, repairing and
strengthening the frontier posts and fortifying the capital. Not
content with the provisions of the Moslem law, by which every man is
made a soldier, he raised a regular army to garrison his strong-holds,
allowing every soldier stationed on the frontier a portion of land for
the support of himself, his horse, and his family; thus interesting
him in the defence of the soil in which he had a property. These
wise precautions were justified by events. The Christians, profiting
by the dismemberment of the Moslem power, were rapidly regaining their
ancient territories. James the Conqueror had subjected all Valencia,
and Ferdinand the Saint sat down in person before Jaen, the bulwark of
Granada. Alhamar ventured to oppose him in open field, but met with
a signal defeat, and retired discomfited to his capital. Jaen still
held out, and kept the enemy at bay during an entire winter, but
Ferdinand swore not to raise his camp until he had gained possession
of the place. Alhamar found it impossible to throw reinforcements into
the besieged city; he saw that its fall must be followed by the
investment of his capital, and was conscious of the insufficiency of
his means to cope with the potent sovereign of Castile. Taking a
sudden resolution, therefore, he repaired privately to the Christian
camp, made his unexpected appearance in the presence of King
Ferdinand, and frankly announced himself as the king of Granada. "I
come," said he, "confiding in your good faith, to put myself under
your protection. Take all I possess and receive me as your vassal"; so
saying, he knelt and kissed the king's hand in token of allegiance.
  Ferdinand was won by this instance of confiding faith, and
determined not to be outdone in generosity. He raised his late enemy
from the earth, embraced him as a friend, and, refusing the wealth
he offered, left him sovereign of his dominions, under the feudal
tenure of a yearly tribute, attendance at the Cortes as one of the
nobles of the empire, and service in war with a certain number of
horsemen. He moreover conferred on him the honor of knighthood, and
armed him with his own hands.
  It was not long after this that Alhamar was called upon, for his
military services, to aid King Ferdinand in his famous siege of
Seville. The Moorish king sallied forth with five hundred chosen
horsemen of Granada, than whom none in the world knew better how to
manage the steed or wield the lance. It was a humiliating service,
however, for they had to draw the sword against their brethren of
the faith.
                                                     
  Alhamar gained a melancholy distinction by his prowess in this
renowned conquest, but more true honor by the humanity which he
prevailed upon Ferdinand to introduce into the usages of war. When
in 1248 the famous city of Seville surrendered to the Castilian
monarch, Alhamar returned sad and full of care to his dominions. He
saw the gathering ills that menaced the Moslem cause; and uttered an
ejaculation often used by him in moments of anxiety and trouble-
"How straitened and wretched would be our life, if our hope were not
so spacious and extensive." "Que angosta y miserable seria nuestra
vida, sino fuera tan dilatada y espaciosa nuestra esperanza!"
  As he approached Granada on his return he beheld arches of triumph
which had been erected in honor of his martial exploits. The people
thronged forth to see him with impatient joy, for his benignant rule
had won all hearts. Wherever he passed he was hailed with acclamations
as "El Ghalib!" (the conqueror). Alhamar gave a melancholy shake of
the head on hearing the appellation. "Wa le ghalib il Allah!"
("There is no conqueror but God!"), exclaimed he. From that time
forward this exclamation became his motto, and the motto of his
descendants, and appears to this day emblazoned on his escutcheons
in the halls of the Alhambra.
  Alhamar had purchased peace by submission to the Christian yoke; but
he was conscious that, with elements so discordant and motives for
hostility so deep and ancient, it could not be permanent. Acting,
therefore, upon the old maxim, "arm thyself in peace and clothe
thyself in summer," he improved the present interval of tranquillity
by fortifying his dominions, replenishing his arsenals, and
promoting those useful arts which give wealth and real power. He
confided the command of his various cities to such as had
distinguished themselves by valor and prudence, and who seemed most
acceptable to the people. He organized a vigilant police, and
established rigid rules for the administration of justice. The poor
and the distressed always found ready admission to his presence, and
he attended personally to their assistance and redress. He erected
hospitals for the blind, the aged, and infirm, and all those incapable
of labor, and visited them frequently; not on set days with pomp and
form, so as to give time for every thing to be put in order, and every
abuse concealed; but suddenly, and unexpectedly, informing himself, by
actual observation and close inquiry, of the treatment of the sick,
and the conduct of those appointed to administer to their relief. He
founded schools and colleges, which he visited in the same manner,
inspecting personally the instruction of the youth. He established
butcheries and public ovens, that the people might be furnished with
wholesome provisions at just and regular prices. He introduced
abundant streams of water into the city, erecting baths and fountains,
and constructing aqueducts and canals to irrigate and fertilize the
Vega. By these means prosperity and abundance prevailed in this
beautiful city, its gates were thronged with commerce, and its
warehouses filled with luxuries and merchandise of every clime and
country.
  He moreover gave premiums and privileges to the best artisans;
improved the breed of horses and other domestic animals; encouraged
husbandry; and increased the natural fertility of the soil twofold
by his protection, making the lovely valleys of his kingdom to bloom
like gardens. He fostered also the growth and fabrication of silk,
until the looms of Granada surpassed even those of Syria in the
fineness and beauty of their productions. He moreover caused the mines
of gold and silver and other metals, found in the mountainous
regions of his dominions, to be diligently worked, and was the first
king of Granada who struck money of gold and silver with his name,
taking great care that the coins should be skilfully executed.
  It was towards the middle of the thirteenth century, and just
after his return from the siege of Seville, that he commenced the
splendid palace of the Alhambra; superintending the building of it
in person; mingling frequently among the artists and workmen, and
directing their labors.
                                                     
  Though thus magnificent in his works and great in his enterprises,
he was simple in his person and moderate in his enjoyments. His
dress was not merely void of splendor, but so plain as not to
distinguish him from his subjects. His harem boasted but few beauties,
and these he visited but seldom, though they were entertained with
great magnificence. His wives were daughters of the principal
nobles, and were treated by him as friends and rational companions.
What is more, he managed to make them live in friendship with one
another. He passed much of his time in his gardens; especially in
those of the Alhambra, which he had stored with the rarest plants
and the most beautiful and aromatic flowers. Here he delighted himself
in reading histories, or in causing them to be read and related to
him, and sometimes, in intervals of leisure, employed himself in the
instruction of his three sons, for whom he had provided the most
learned and virtuous masters.
  As he had frankly and voluntarily offered himself a tributary vassal
to Ferdinand, so he always remained loyal to his word, giving him
repeated proofs of fidelity and attachment. When that renowned monarch
died in Seville in 1254, Alhamar sent ambassadors to condole with
his successor, Alonzo X, and with them a gallant train of a hundred
Moorish cavaliers of distinguished rank, who were to attend round
the royal bier during the funeral ceremonies, each bearing a lighted
taper. This grand testimonial of respect was repeated by the Moslem
monarch during the remainder of his life on each anniversary of the
death of King Ferdinand el Santo, when the hundred Moorish knights
repaired from Granada to Seville, and took their stations with lighted
tapers in the centre of the sumptuous cathedral round the cenotaph
of the illustrious deceased.
  Alhamar retained his faculties and vigor to an advanced age. In
his seventy-ninth year (A. D. 1272) he took the field on horseback,
accompanied by the flower of his chivalry, to resist an invasion of
his territories. As the army sallied forth from Granada, one of the
principal adalides, or guides, who rode in the advance, accidentally
broke his lance against the arch of the gate. The councillors of the
king, alarmed by this circumstance, which was considered an evil omen,
entreated him to return. Their supplications were in vain. The king
persisted, and at noontide the omen, say the Moorish chroniclers,
was fatally fulfilled. Alhamar was suddenly struck with illness, and
had nearly fallen from his horse. He was placed on a litter, and borne
back towards Granada but his illness increased to such a degree that
they were obliged to pitch his tent in the Vega. His physicians were
filled with consternation, not knowing what remedy to prescribe. In
a few hours he died, vomiting blood and in violent convulsions. The
Castilian prince, Don Philip, brother of Alonzo X, was by his side
when he expired. His body was embalmed, enclosed in a silver coffin,
and buried in the Alhambra in a sepulchre of precious marble, amidst
the unfeigned lamentations of his subjects, who bewailed him as a
parent.
  I have said that he was the first of the illustrious line of Nasar
that sat upon a throne. I may add that he was the founder of a
brilliant kingdom, which will ever be famous in history and romance,
as the last rallying place, of Moslem power and splendor in the
peninsula. Though his undertakings were vast, and his expenditures
immense, yet his treasury was always full; and this seeming
contradiction gave rise to the story that he was versed in magic
art, and possessed of the secret for transmuting baser metals into
gold. Those who have attended to his domestic policy, as here set
forth, will easily understand the natural magic and simple alchemy
which made his ample treasury to overflow.


                      Yusef Abul Hagig.
                The Finisher of the Alhambra.
-
  TO THE foregoing particulars, concerning the Moslem princes who once
reigned in these halls, I shall add a brief notice of the monarch
who completed and embellished the Alhambra. Yusef Abul Hagig (or as it
is sometimes written, Haxis) was another prince of the noble line of
Nasar. He ascended the throne of Granada in the year of grace 1333,
and is described by Moslem writers as having a noble presence, great
bodily strength, and a fair complexion, and the majesty of his
countenance increased, say they, by suffering his beard to grow to a
dignified length and dying it black. His manners were gentle, affable,
and urbane; he carried the benignity of his nature into warfare,
prohibiting all wanton cruelty, and enjoining mercy and protection
towards women and children, the aged and infirm, and all friars and
other persons of holy and recluse life. But though he possessed the
courage common to generous spirits, the bent of his genius was more
for peace than war, and though repeatedly obliged by circumstances
to take up arms, he was generally unfortunate.
  Among other ill-starred enterprises, he undertook a great
campaign, in conjunction with the king of Morocco, against the kings
of Castile and Portugal, but was defeated in the memorable battle of
Salado, which had nearly proved a death-blow to the Moslem power in
Spain.
  Yusef obtained a long truce after this defeat, and now his character
shone forth in its true lustre. He had an excellent memory, and had
stored his mind with science and erudition; his taste was altogether
elegant and refined, and he was accounted the best poet of his time.
Devoting himself to the instruction of his people and the
improvement of their morals and manners, he established schools in all
the villages, with simple and uniform systems of education; he obliged
every hamlet of more than twelve houses to have a mosque, and purified
the ceremonies of religion, and the festivals and popular
amusements, from various abuses and indecorums which had crept into
them. He attended vigilantly to the police of the city, establishing
nocturnal guards and patrols, and superintending all municipal
concerns. His attention was also directed towards finishing the
great architectural works commenced by his predecessors, and
erecting others on his own plans. The Alhambra, which had been founded
by the good Alhamar, was now completed. Yusef constructed the
beautiful Gate of Justice, forming the grand entrance to the fortress,
which he finished in 1348. He likewise adorned many of the courts
and halls of the palace, as may be seen by the inscriptions on the
walls, in which his name repeatedly occurs. He built also the noble
Alcazar or citadel of Malaga, now unfortunately a mere mass of
crumbling ruins, but which most probably exhibited in its interior,
similar elegance and magnificence with the Alhambra.
  The genius of a sovereign stamps a character upon his time. The
nobles of Granada, imitating the elegant and graceful taste of
Yusef, soon filled the city of Granada with magnificent palaces; the
halls of which were paved with mosaic, the walls and ceilings
wrought in fretwork, and delicately gilded and painted with azure,
vermilion, and other brilliant colors, or minutely inlaid with cedar
and other precious woods; specimens of which have survived, in all
their lustre, the lapse of several centuries. Many of the houses had
fountains, which threw up jets of water to refresh and cool the air.
They had lofty towers also, of wood or stone, curiously carved and
ornamented, and covered with plates of metal that glittered in the
sun. Such was the refined and delicate taste in architecture that
prevailed among this elegant people; insomuch that to use the
beautiful simile of an Arabian writer, "Granada, in the days of Yusef,
was as a silver vase filled with emeralds and jacinths."
                                             
  One anecdote will be sufficient to show the magnanimity of this
generous prince. The long truce which had succeeded the battle of
Salado was at an end, and every effort of Yusef to renew it was in
vain. His deadly foe, Alfonzo XI of Castile, took the field with great
force, and laid siege to Gibraltar. Yusef reluctantly took up arms,
and sent troops to the relief of the place. In the midst of his
anxiety, he received tidings that his dreaded foe had suddenly
fallen a victim to the plague. Instead of manifesting exultation on
the occasion, Yusef called to mind the great qualities of the
deceased, and was touched with a noble sorrow. "Alas!" cried he,
"the world has lost one of its most excellent princes; a sovereign who
knew how to honor merit, whether in friend or foe!"
  The Spanish chroniclers themselves bear witness to this magnanimity.
According to their accounts, the Moorish cavaliers partook of the
sentiment of their king, and put on mourning for the death of Alfonzo.
Even those of Gibraltar, who had been so closely invested, when they
knew that the hostile monarch lay dead in his camp, determined among
themselves that no hostile movement should be made against the
Christians. The day on which the camp was broken up, and the army
departed bearing the corpse of Alfonzo, the Moors issued in multitudes
from Gibraltar, and stood mute and melancholy, watching the mournful
pageant. The same reverence for the deceased was observed by all the
Moorish commanders on the frontiers, who suffered the funeral train to
pass in safety, bearing the corpse of the Christian sovereign from
Gibraltar to Seville.*
-
  * Y los moros que estaban en la villa y Castillo de Gibraltar
despues que sopieron que el Rey Don Alonzo era muerto, ordenaron
entresi que ninguno non fuesse osado de fazer ningun movimiento contra
los Christianos, ni mover pelear contra ellos, estovieron todos quedos
y dezian entre ellos qui aquel dia muriera un noble rey y Gran
principe del mundo.
  [And the Moors that were in the city and Castle of Gibraltar,
after they knew that King Don Alonzo was dead, ordered among
themselves that no one should dare to make any move against the
Christians, nor to start fighting against them, and they all
remained quiet and told each other that on that day had died a noble
king and a great prince of the world.]
                                            
-
  Yusef did not long survive the enemy he had so generously
deplored. In the year 1354, as he was one day praying in the royal
mosque of the Alhambra, a maniac rushed suddenly from behind and
plunged a dagger in his side. The cries of the king brought his guards
and courtiers to his assistance. They found him weltering in his
blood. He made some signs as if to speak, but his words were
unintelligible. They bore him senseless to the royal apartments, where
he expired almost immediately. The murderer was cut to pieces, and his
limbs burnt in public to gratify the fury of the populace.
  The body of the king was interred in a superb sepulchre of white
marble; a long epitaph, in letters of gold upon an azure ground,
recorded his virtues. "Here lies a king and martyr, of an
illustrious line, gentle, learned, and virtuous; renowned for the
graces of his person and his manners; whose clemency, piety and
benevolence, were extolled throughout the kingdom of Granada. He was a
great prince; an illustrious captain; a sharp sword of the Moslems;
a valiant standard-bearer among the most potent monarchs," &c.
  The mosque still exists which once resounded with the dying cries of
Yusef, but the monument which recorded his virtues has long since
disappeared. His name, however, remains inscribed among the delicate
and graceful ornaments of the Alhambra, and will be perpetuated in
connection with this renowned pile, which it was his pride and delight
to beautify.


                   The Mysterious Chambers.
-
  AS I WAS rambling one day about the Moorish halls, my attention 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 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
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 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 were quite different
from the rest of the palace. The architecture, 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 panelled and skilfully carved with fruits and
flowers, intermingled 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
travellers who defile noble monuments with their worthless names.
The windows, dismantled and open to wind 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 of which flung 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 panelled ceilings
were baskets of fruit and garlands of flowers, painted by no mean
hand, and in tolerable preservation. The walls also had been painted
in fresco in the Italian style, but the paintings were nearly
obliterated; the windows were in the same shattered state with those
of the other chambers. This fanciful suite of rooms terminated in an
open gallery with balustrades, running at right angles along another
side of the garden. 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 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 Duke
of Parma, were expected at the Alhambra. It was destined for the queen
and the ladies 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 name of el tocador de la
Reyna, or the queen's toilette.
  One window of the royal sleeping-room commanded a prospect 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 history. It was in fact the
garden of Lindaraxa, so often mentioned in descriptions of the
Alhambra; but who this Lindaraxa was I have 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 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 Cetimerien prince descended from Aben Hud the
Just. Their espousals were doubtless celebrated in the royal palace,
and their honeymoon may have passed among these very bowers.*
-
                                      
  * Una de las cosas en que tienen precisa intervencion los Reyes
Moros es en el matrimonio de sus grandes: de aqui nace que todos los
senores llegadas a la persona real si casan en palacio, y siempre huvo
su quarto destinado para esta ceremonia.
  One of the things in which the Moorish kings interfered was in the
marriage of their nobles: hence it came that all the senores
attached to the royal person were married in the palace; and there was
always a chamber destined for the ceremony.- Paseos por Granada.
-
  Four centuries had elapsed since the fair Lindaraxa passed away, yet
how much of the fragile beauty of the scenes she 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 alabaster, it is true, had lost its whiteness; the
basin beneath, overrun with weeds, had become the lurking-place of the
lizard, but there was something in the very decay that enhanced 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 me than if I had
beheld them in their pristine splendor, glittering with the
pageantry of a court.
                                     
  When I returned to my quarters, in the governor's apartment, every
thing seemed tame and common-place after the poetic region I had left.
The thought suggested itself: Why 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
sovereigns. I proposed the change to Dame Antonia and her family,
and it occasioned vast surprise. They could not conceive any
rational inducement for the choice of an apartment so forlorn,
remote and solitary. Dolores exclaimed at its frightful loneliness;
nothing but bats and owls flitting about- and then a fox and wild-cat,
kept in the vaults of the neighboring baths, roamed about at night.
The good Tia had more reasonable objections. The neighborhood was
infested by vagrants; gipsies swarmed in the caverns of the adjacent
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 always supposed to be 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 of the stately Elizabetta prepared for my reception.
Mateo kindly volunteered as a body-guard to sleep in my antechamber;
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 precautions 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; 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;
         And, as the portal opens to receive me,
                                     
         A voice in sullen echoes through the courts
         Tells of a nameless deed!
-
  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
hobgoblin stories, where 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, who had once graced these chambers, now, by a perversion of
fancy, added to the gloom. Here was the scene of their transient
gayety and loveliness; here were the very traces of their elegance and
enjoyment; but what and where were they?- Dust and ashes! tenants of
the tomb! phantoms of the memory!
                                     
  A vague and indescribable awe was creeping over me. I would fain
have ascribed it to the thoughts of robbers awakened by the
evening's conversation, but I felt it was something more unreal and
absurd. The long-buried superstitions of the nursery were reviving,
and asserting their power over my imagination. Every thing began to be
affected by the working of my mind. The whispering of the wind,
among the citron-trees beneath my window, had something sinister. I
cast my 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 chamber itself became infected. There was a
slight rustling 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 flouted my face with his
noiseless wing, the grotesque faces carved in high relief in the cedar
ceiling, whence he had emerged, seemed to mope and mow at me.
  Rousing myself, and half smiling at this temporary weakness, I
resolved to brave it out in the true spirit of the hero of the
enchanted house; so, taking lamp in hand, I sallied forth to make a
tour of the palace. Notwithstanding every mental exertion the task was
a severe one. I had to traverse waste halls and mysterious
galleries, where 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 darkness. The vaulted corridors were as caverns; the
ceilings of 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, cast upon the wall, began to
disturb me. The echoes of my own 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 Moorish monarch, the finisher of the Alhambra, had been basely
murdered. In another place, I trod the gallery where another 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 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 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 howlings as of an animal-
then stifled shrieks and inarticulate ravings. Heard in that dead hour
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 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 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 howlings and ejaculations I had heard were not
ideal; they were soon accounted for, however, by my 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 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. 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
walls: "How beauteous is this garden, where the flowers of the earth
vie with the stars of the heaven! What can compare with the vase of
yon alabaster fountain filled with crystal water? Nothing but the moon
in her fulness, shining in the midst of an unclouded sky!"
  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 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; every thing
called up pleasing and romantic fancies; Lindaraxa once more walked in
her garden; the gay chivalry of Moslem 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 atmosphere; 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; every mouldering 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!
  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 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 and convents sleeping in the moonshine, and beyond all these
the vapory Vega fading away like a dream-land in the distance.
  Sometimes the faint click of castanets rises from the Alameda, where
some gay Andalusians are dancing away the summer night. Sometimes
the dubious tones of a guitar and the notes of an amorous voice,
tell perchance the whereabout of some moon-struck lover serenading his
lady's window.
                                     
  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 sensation which steal away
existence in a southern climate; so 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.


               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 the summit of the Tower of Comares, and take a
bird's-eye view of Granada and its environs!
  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 light; yet up this narrow, obscure, and
spiral staircase, the proud monarchs of Granada and their queens
have often ascended to the battlements to watch the approach of
invading armies, or gaze with anxious hearts on the battles in the
Vega.
  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 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 fishpool, bordered with flowers; and
yonder is the Court of Lions, with its famous fountain, and its
light Moorish arcades; and in the centre 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.
  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 perceive, are in ruins, and
their massive fragments buried among vines, fig-trees and aloes.
  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 I a long fissure in the massive walls,
shows that the tower has been rent by some of the earthquakes, which
from time to time have thrown Granada 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 imbowered terraces, and among
orchards and flower-gardens. It is a stream famous in old times for
yielding gold, and its sands are still sifted occasionally, in
search of the precious ore. Some of those white pavilions, which
here and there gleam from among groves and vineyards, were rustic
retreats of the Moors, to enjoy the 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 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 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 then rises from the valley. It is
from the aqueduct of yon Moorish mill, nearly at the foot of the hill.
The avenue of trees beyond is the 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 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 Moslems as well as Christians;
for this is said to be the Adinamar (Aynu-l-adamar), the "Fountain
of Tears," mentioned by Ibn Batuta the traveller, and celebrated in
the histories and romances of the Moors.
  You start! 'tis nothing but a hawk that we have frightened 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 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. 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 combination of delights so rare in a southern city:
the fresh 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 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. 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 the 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 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 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 way these arid hills slope down into the luxurious
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 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 the
Moslems. Behold, in the very centre 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 conflagration had destroyed their camp. It
was to these walls Columbus was called back by the heroic queen, and
within them the treaty was concluded which led to the discovery of the
Western World. Behind yon promontory to the west is the bridge of
Pinos, renowned for many a bloody fight between Moors and
Christians. At this bridge the messenger overtook 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 Christian territories.
Among their heights you may still discern 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 watchtower,
perched on a mountain peak, looks down as it were from the sky into
the valley on either side. How often have these atalayas given notice,
by fire at night or smoke by day, of an approaching foe I 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 mountain of Elvira), stretching its
bold rocky promontory into the bosom of the plain, the invading
squadrons would come bursting into view, with flaunting banners and
clangor of drum and trumpet.
  Five hundred years have elapsed since Ismael ben Ferrag, a Moorish
king of Granada, beheld from this very tower an invasion of the
kind, and an insulting ravage of the Vega; on which occasion he
displayed an instance of chivalrous magnanimity, often witnessed in
the Moslem princes, "whose history," says an Arabian writer,
"abounds in generous actions and noble deeds that will last through
all succeeding ages, and live for ever 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 beheld from
this tower a Christian camp whitening the skirts of yon mountain of
Elvira. The royal princes, Don Juan and Don Pedro, regents of
Castile during the minority of Alfonso XI, had already laid waste
the country from Alcaudete to Alcala la 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 accept
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 motives, gave up all hope of drawing him forth,
and having glutted themselves with ravage, struck their tents and
began their homeward 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, 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 the princes lost their lives.
The body of Don Pedro was carried off by his soldiers, but that of Don
Juan was lost in the darkness of the night. His son wrote to the
Moorish king, entreating that the body of his father might be sought
and honorably treated. Ismael forgot in a moment that Don Juan 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 a lofty bier, surrounded by torches and
tapers, in one of these halls of the Alhambra. Osmyn and other of
the noblest cavaliers were appointed as a guard of honor, and the
Christian captives were assembled to pray around it.
  In the meantime, Ismael wrote to the son of Prince Juan to send a
convoy for the body, assuring him it should be faithfully delivered
up. In due time, a band of Christian cavaliers arrived for the
purpose. They were honorably received and entertained by Ismael,
and, on their departure with the 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 ourselves under the Arcades by
the Fountain of the Lions.


                        The Truant.
-
  WE HAVE had a scene of a petty tribulation in the Alhambra, which
has thrown a cloud over the sunny countenance of Dolores. This
little damsel has a female passion for pets of all kinds, and from the
superabundant kindness of her disposition one of the ruined courts
of the Alhambra is thronged with her favorites. A stately peacock
and his hen seem to hold regal sway here, over pompous turkeys,
querulous guinea-fowls, and a rabble rout of common cocks and hens.
The great delight of Dolores, however has for some time past been
centred in a youthful pair of pigeons, who have lately entered into
the holy state of wedlock, and even supplanted a tortoise-shell cat
and kittens in her affections.
  As a tenement for them wherein to commence housekeeping, she had
fitted up a small chamber adjacent to the kitchen, the window of which
looked into one of the quiet Moorish courts. Here they lived in
happy ignorance of any world beyond the court and its sunny roofs.
Never had they aspired to soar above the battlements, or to mount to
the summit of the towers. Their virtuous union was at length crowned
by two spotless and milk-white eggs, to the great joy of their
cherishing little mistress. Nothing could be more praiseworthy than
the conduct of the young married folks on this interesting occasion.
They took turns to sit upon the nest until the eggs were hatched,
and while their callow progeny required warmth and shelter; while
one thus stayed at home, the other foraged abroad for food, and
brought home abundant supplies.
  This scene of conjugal felicity has suddenly met with a reverse.
Early this morning, as Dolores was feeding the male pigeon, she took a
fancy to give him a peep at the great world. Opening a window,
therefore, which looks down upon the valley of the Darro, she launched
him at once beyond the walls of the Alhambra. For the first time in
his life the astonished bird had to try the full vigor of his wings.
He swept down into the valley, and then rising upwards with a surge,
soared almost to the clouds. Never before had he risen to such a
height, or experienced such delight in flying; and, like a young
spendthrift just come to his estate, he seemed giddy with excess of
liberty, and with the boundless field of action suddenly opened to
him. For the whole day he has been circling about in capricious
flights, from tower to tower, and tree to tree. Every attempt has been
vain to lure him back by scattering grain upon the roofs; he seems
to have lost all thought of home, of his tender helpmate, and his
callow young. To add to the anxiety of Dolores, he has been joined
by two palomas ladrones, or robber pigeons, whose instinct it is to
entice wandering pigeons to their own dovecotes. The fugitive, like
many other thoughtless youths on their first launching upon the world,
seems quite fascinated with these knowing but graceless companions,
who have undertaken to show him life, and introduce him to society. He
has been soaring with them over all the roofs and steeples of Granada.
A thunder-storm has passed over the city, but he has not sought his
home; night has closed in, and still he comes not. To deepen the
pathos of the affair, the female pigeon, after remaining several hours
on the nest without being relieved, at length went forth to seek her
recreant mate; but stayed away so long that the young ones perished
for want of the warmth and shelter of the parent bosom. At a late hour
in the evening, word was brought to Dolores, that the truant bird
had been seen upon the towers of the Generalife. Now it happens that
the Administrador of that ancient palace has likewise a dovecote,
among the inmates of which are said to be two or three of these
inveigling birds, the terror of all neighboring pigeon-fanciers.
Dolores immediately concluded, that the two feathered sharpers who had
been seen with her fugitive, were these bloods of the Generalife. A
council of war was forthwith held in the chamber of Tia Antonia. The
Generalife is a distinct jurisdiction from the Alhambra, and of course
some punctilio, if not jealousy, exists between their custodians. It
was determined, therefore, to send Pepe, the stuttering lad of the
gardens, as ambassador to the Administrador, requesting that if such
fugitive should be found in his dominions, he might be given up as a
subject of the Alhambra. Pepe departed accordingly, on his
diplomatic expedition, through the moonlit groves and avenues, but
returned in an hour with the afflicting intelligence that no such bird
was to be found in the dovecote of the Generalife. The
Administrador, however, pledged his sovereign word that if such
vagrant should appear there, even at midnight, he should instantly
be arrested, and sent back prisoner to his little black-eyed mistress.
  Thus stands the melancholy affair, which has occasioned much
distress throughout the palace, and has sent the inconsolable
Dolores to a sleepless pillow.
  "Sorrow endureth for a night," says the proverb, "but joy cometh
in the morning." The first object that met my eyes, on leaving my room
this morning, was Dolores, with the truant pigeon in her hands, and
her eyes sparkling with joy. He had appeared at an early hour on the
battlements, hovering shyly about from roof to roof, but at length
entered the window, and surrendered himself prisoner. He gained little
credit, however, by his return; for the ravenous manner in which he
devoured the food set before him showed that, like the prodigal son,
he had been driven home by sheer famine. Dolores upbraided him for his
faithless conduct, calling him all manner of vagrant names, though,
woman-like, she fondled him at the same time to her bosom, and covered
him with kisses. I observed, however, that she had taken care to
clip his wings to prevent all future soarings; a precaution which I
mention for the benefit of all those who have truant lovers or
wandering husbands. More than one valuable moral might be drawn from
the story of Dolores and her pigeon.


                        The Balcony.
-
  I HAVE spoken of a balcony of the central window of the Hall of
Ambassadors. It served as a kind of observatory, where I used often to
take my seat, and consider not merely the heaven above but the earth
beneath. Besides the magnificent prospect which it commanded of
mountain, valley, and vega, there was a little busy scene of human
life laid open to inspection immediately below. At the foot of the
hill was an alameda, or public walk, which, though not so
fashionable as the more modern and splendid paseo of the Xenil,
still boasted a varied and picturesque concourse. Hither resorted
the small gentry of the suburbs, together with priests and friars, who
walked for appetite and digestion; majos and majas, the beaux and
belles of the lower classes, in their Andalusian dresses; swaggering
contrabandistas, and sometimes half-muffled and mysterious loungers of
the higher ranks, on some secret assignation.
  It was a moving picture of Spanish life and character, which I
delighted to study; and as the astronomer has his grand telescope with
which to sweep the skies, and, as it were, bring the stars nearer
for his inspection, so I had a smaller one, of pocket size, for the
use of my observatory, with which I could sweep the regions below, and
bring the countenances of the motley groups so close as almost, at
times, to make me think I could divine their conversation by the
play and expression of their features. I was thus, in a manner, an
invisible observer, and, without quitting my solitude, could throw
myself in an instant into the midst of society- a rare advantage to
one of somewhat shy and quiet habits, and fond, like myself, of
observing the drama of life without becoming an actor in the scene.
  There was a considerable suburb lying below the Alhambra, filling
the narrow gorge of the valley, and extending up the opposite hill
of the Albaycin. Many of the houses were built in the Moorish style,
round patios, or courts, cooled by fountains and open to the sky;
and as the inhabitants passed much of their time in these courts,
and on the terraced roofs during the summer season, it follows that
many a glance at their domestic life might be obtained by an aerial
spectator like myself, who could look down on them from the clouds.
  I enjoyed, in some degree, the advantages of the student in the
famous old Spanish story, who beheld all Madrid unroofed for his
inspection; and my gossiping squire, Mateo Ximenes, officiated
occasionally as my Asmodeus, to give me anecdotes of the different
mansions and their inhabitants.
  I preferred, however, to form conjectural histories for myself,
and thus would sit for hours, weaving, from casual incidents and
indications passing under my eye, a whole tissue of schemes,
intrigues, and occupations of the busy mortals below. There was scarce
a pretty face or a striking figure that I daily saw, about which I had
not thus gradually framed a dramatic story, though some of my
characters would occasionally act in direct opposition to the part
assigned them, and disconcert the whole drama. Reconnoitering one
day with my glass the streets of the Albaycin, I beheld the procession
of a novice about to take the veil; and remarked several circumstances
which excited the strongest sympathy in the fate of the youthful being
thus about to be consigned to a living tomb. I ascertained to my
satisfaction that she was beautiful; and, from the paleness of her
cheek, that she was a victim, rather than a votary. She was arrayed in
bridal garments, and decked with a chaplet of white flowers, but her
heart evidently revolted at this mockery of a spiritual union, and
yearned after its earthly loves. A tall, stern-looking man walked near
her in the procession; it was, of course, the tyrannical father,
who, from some bigoted or sordid motive, had compelled this sacrifice.
Amid the crowd was a dark handsome youth, in Andalusian garb, who
seemed to fix on her an eye of agony. It was doubtless the secret
lover from whom she was for ever to be separated. My indignation
rose as I noted the malignant expression painted on the countenances
of the attendant monks and friars. The procession arrived at the
chapel of the convent; the sun gleamed for the last time upon the
chaplet of the poor novice, as she crossed the fatal threshold, and
disappeared within the building. The throng poured in with cowl, and
cross, and minstrelsy; the lover paused for a moment at the door. I
could divine the tumult of his feelings; but he mastered them, and
entered. There was a long interval- I pictured to myself the scene
passing within; the poor novice despoiled of her transient finery, and
clothed in the conventual garb; the bridal chaplet taken from her
brow, and her beautiful head shorn of its long silken tresses. I heard
her murmur the irrevocable vow. I saw her extended on a bier: the
death-pall spread over her, the funeral service performed that
proclaimed her dead to the world; her sighs were drowned in the deep
tones of the organ, and the plaintive requiem of the nuns; the
father looked on, unmoved, without a tear; the lover- no- my
imagination refused to portray the anguish of the lover- there the
picture remained a blank.
                                                  
  After a time the throng again poured forth, and dispersed various
ways, to enjoy the light of the sun and mingle with the stirring
scenes of life; but the victim, with her bridal chaplet, was no longer
there. The door of the convent closed that severed her from the
world for ever. I saw the father and the lover issue forth; they
were in earnest conversation. The latter was vehement in his
gesticulations; I expected some violent termination to my drama; but
an angle of a building interfered and closed the scene. My eye
afterwards was frequently turned to that convent with painful
interest. I remarked late at night a solitary light twinkling from a
remote lattice of one of its towers. "There," said I, "the unhappy nun
sits weeping in her cell, while perhaps her lover paces the street
below in unavailing anguish."
  The officious Mateo interrupted my meditations and destroyed in an
instant the cobweb tissue of my fancy. With his usual zeal he had
gathered facts concerning the scene, which put my fictions all to
flight. The heroine of my romance was neither young nor handsome;
she had no lover; she had entered the convent of her own free will, as
a respectable asylum, and was one of the most cheerful residents
within its walls.
  It was some little while before I could forgive the wrong done me by
the nun in being thus happy in her cell, in contradiction to all the
rules of romance; I diverted my spleen, however, by watching, for a
day or two, the pretty coquetries of a dark-eyed brunette, who, from
the covert of a balcony shrouded with flowering shrubs and a silken
awning, was carrying on a mysterious correspondence with a handsome,
dark, well-whiskered cavalier, who lurked frequently in the street
beneath her window. Sometimes I saw him at an early hour, stealing
forth wrapped to the eyes in a mantle. Sometimes he loitered at a
corner, in various disguises, apparently waiting for a private
signal to slip into the house. Then there was the tinkling of a guitar
at night, and a lantern shifted from place to place in the balcony.
I imagined another intrigue like that of Almaviva; but was again
disconcerted in all my suppositions. The supposed lover turned out
to be the husband of the lady, and a noted contrabandista; and all his
mysterious signs and movements had doubtless some smuggling scheme
in view.
  I occasionally amused myself with noting from this balcony the
gradual changes of the scenes below, according to the different stages
of the day.
  Scarce has the gray dawn streaked the sky, and the earliest cock
crowed from the cottages of the hill-side, when the suburbs give
sign of reviving animation; for the fresh hours of dawning are
precious in the summer season in a sultry climate. All are anxious
to get the start of the sun, in the business of the day. The
muleteer drives forth his loaded train for the journey; the
traveller slings his carbine behind his saddle, and mounts his steed
at the gate of the hostel; the brown peasant from the country urges
forward his loitering beasts, laden with panniers of sunny fruit and
fresh dewy vegetables: for already the thrifty housewives are
hastening to the market.
                                                 
  The sun is up and sparkles along the valley, tipping the transparent
foliage of the groves. The matin bells resound melodiously through the
pure bright air, announcing the hour of devotion. The muleteer halts
his burdened animals before the chapel, thrusts his staff through
his belt behind, and enters with hat in hand, smoothing his coal-black
hair, to hear a mass, and put up a prayer for a prosperous wayfaring
across the sierra. And now steals forth on fairy foot the gentle
senora, in trim basquina, with restless fan in hand, and dark eye
flashing from beneath the gracefully folded mantilla; she seeks some
well-frequented church to offer up her morning orisons; but the
nicely-adjusted dress, the dainty shoe and cobweb stocking, the
raven tresses exquisitely braided, the fresh plucked rose, gleaming
among them like a gem, show that earth divides with Heaven the
empire of her thoughts. Keep an eye upon her, careful mother, or
virgin aunt, or vigilant duenna, whichever you be, that walk behind I
  As the morning advances, the din of labor augments on every side;
the streets are thronged with man, and steed, and beast of burden, and
there is a hum and murmur, like the surges of the ocean. As the sun
ascends to his meridian the hum and bustle gradually decline; at the
height of noon there is a pause. The panting city sinks into
lassitude, and for several hours there is a general repose. The
windows are closed, the curtains drawn; the inhabitants retired into
the coolest recesses of their mansions; the full-fed monk snores in
his dormitory; the brawny porter lies stretched on the pavement beside
his burden; the peasant and the laborer sleep beneath the trees of the
Alameda, lulled by the sultry chirping of the locust. The streets
are deserted, except by the water-carrier, who refreshes the ear by
proclaiming the merits of his sparkling beverage, "colder than the
mountain snow (mas fria que la nieve)."
  As the sun declines, there is again a gradual reviving, and when the
vesper bell rings out his sinking knell, all nature seems to rejoice
that the tyrant of the day has fallen. Now begins the bustle of
enjoyment, when the citizens pour forth to breathe the evening air,
and revel away the brief twilight in the walks and gardens of the
Darro and Xenil.
  As night closes, the capricious scene assumes new features. Light
after light gradually twinkles forth; here a taper from a balconied
window; there a votive lamp before the image of a Saint. Thus, by
degrees, the city emerges from the pervading gloom, and sparkles
with scattered lights, like the starry firmament. Now break forth from
court and garden, and street and lane, the tinkling of innumerable
guitars, and the clicking of castanets; blending, at this lofty
height, in a faint but general concert. "Enjoy the moment," is the
creed of the gay and amorous Andalusian, and at no time does he
practise it more zealously than in the balmy nights of summer,
wooing his mistress with the dance, the love ditty, and the passionate
serenade.
  I was one evening seated in the balcony, enjoying the light breeze
that came rustling along the side of the hill, among the tree-tops,
when my humble historiographer Mateo, who was at my elbow, pointed out
a spacious house, in an obscure street of the Albaycin, about which he
related, as nearly as I can recollect, the following anecdote.


                 The Adventure of the Mason.
-
  THERE WAS once upon a time a poor mason, or bricklayer, in
Granada, who kept all the saints' days and holidays, and Saint
Monday into the bargain, and yet, with all his devotion, he grew
poorer and poorer, and could scarcely earn bread for his numerous
family. One night he was roused from his first sleep by a knocking
at his door. He opened it, and beheld before him a tall, meagre,
cadaverous-looking priest.
  "Hark ye, honest friend!" said the stranger; "I have observed that
you are a good Christian, and one to be trusted; will you undertake
a job this very night?"
  "With all my heart, Senor Padre, on condition that I am paid
accordingly."
  "That you shall be; but you must suffer yourself to be blindfolded."
  To this the mason made no objection; so, being hoodwinked, he was
led by the priest through various rough lanes and winding passages,
until they stopped before the portal of a house. The priest then
applied a key, turned a creaking lock, and opened what sounded like
a ponderous door. They entered, the door was closed and bolted, and
the mason was conducted through an echoing corridor, and a spacious
hall, to an interior part of the building. Here the bandage was
removed from his eyes, and he found himself in a patio, or court,
dimly lighted by a single lamp. In the centre was the dry basin of
an old Moorish fountain, under which the priest requested him to
form a small vault, bricks and mortar being at hand for the purpose.
He accordingly worked all night, but without finishing the job. Just
before daybreak the priest put a piece of gold into his hand, and
having again blindfolded him, conducted him back to his dwelling.
                                   
  "Are you willing," said he, "to return and complete your work?"
  "Gladly, Senor Padre, provided I am so well paid."
  "Well, then, to-morrow at midnight I will call again."
  He did so, and the vault was completed.
  "Now," said the priest, "you must help me to bring forth the
bodies that are to be buried in this vault."
                                  
  The poor mason's hair rose on his head at these words: he followed
the priest, with trembling steps, into a retired chamber of the
mansion, expecting to behold some ghastly spectacle of death, but
was relieved on perceiving three or four portly jars standing in one
corner. They were evidently full of money, and it was with great labor
that he and the priest carried them forth and consigned them to
their tomb. The vault was then closed, the pavement replaced, and
all traces of the work were obliterated. The mason was again
hoodwinked and led forth by a route different from that by which he
had come.
  After they had wandered for a long time through a perplexed maze
of lanes and alleys, they halted. The priest then put two pieces of
gold into his hand. "Wait here," said he, "until you hear the
cathedral bell toll for matins. If you presume to uncover your eyes
before that time, evil will befall you." So saying, he departed.
  The mason waited faithfully, amusing himself by weighing the gold
pieces in his hand, and clinking them against each other. The moment
the cathedral bell rang its matin peal, he uncovered his eyes, and
found himself on the banks of the Xenil; whence he made the best of
his way home, and revelled with his family for a whole fortnight on
the profits of his two nights' work; after which, he was as poor as
ever.
  He continued to work a little, and pray a good deal, and keep
saints' days and holidays, from year to year, while his family grew up
as gaunt and ragged as a crew of gipsies. As he was seated one evening
at the door of his hovel, he was accosted by a rich old curmudgeon,
who was noted for owning many houses, and being a griping landlord.
The man of money eyed him for a moment from beneath a pair of
anxious shagged eyebrows.
  "I am told, friend, that you are very poor."
                                  
  "There is no denying the fact, senor- it speaks for itself"
  "I presume then, that you will be glad of a job, and will work
cheap."
  "As cheap, my master, as any mason in Granada."
  "That's what I want. I have an old house fallen into decay, which
costs me more money than it is worth to keep it in repair, for
nobody will live in it; so I must contrive to patch it up and keep
it together at as small expense as possible."
  The mason was accordingly conducted to a large deserted house that
seemed going to ruin. Passing through several empty halls and
chambers, he entered an inner court, where his eye was caught by an
old Moorish fountain. He paused for a moment, for a dreaming
recollection of the place came over him.
                                  
  "Pray," said he, "who occupied this house formerly?"
  "A pest upon him!" cried the landlord, "it was an old miserly
priest, who cared for nobody but himself He was said to be immensely
rich, and, having no relations, it was thought he would leave all
his treasures to the church. He died suddenly, and the priests and
friars thronged to take possession of his wealth; but nothing could
they find but a few ducats in a leathern purse. The worst luck has
fallen on me, for, since his death, the old fellow continues to occupy
my house without paying rent, and there is no taking the law of a dead
man. The people pretend to hear the clinking of gold all night in
the chamber where the old priest slept, as if he were counting over
his money, and sometimes a groaning and moaning about the court.
Whether true or false, these stories have brought a bad name on my
house, and not a tenant will remain in it."
  "Enough," said the mason sturdily, "let me live in your house
rent-free until some better tenant present, and I will engage to put
it in repair, and to quiet the troubled spirit that disturbs it. I
am a good Christian and a poor man, and am not to be daunted by the
Devil himself, even though he should come in the shape of a big bag of
money!"
  The offer of the honest mason was gladly accepted; he moved with his
family into the house, and fulfilled all his engagements. By little
and little he restored it to its former state; the clinking of gold
was no more heard at night in the chamber of the defunct priest, but
began to be heard by day in the pocket of the living mason. In a word,
he increased rapidly in wealth, to the admiration of all his
neighbors, and became one of the richest men in Granada: he gave large
sums to the church, by way, no doubt, of satisfying his conscience,
and never revealed the secret of the vault until on his deathbed to
his son and heir.


                   The Court of Lions.
-
  THE peculiar charm of this dreamy old 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 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 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 as fresh
as if from the hand of the Moslem artist. I write in the midst of
these mementos of the past, in the fresh hour of early morning, in the
fated Hall of the Abencerrages. The blood-stained fountain, the
legendary monument of their massacre, is before me; the lofty jet
almost casts its dew upon my paper. How difficult to reconcile the
ancient tale of violence and blood with the gentle and peaceful
scene around! Everything 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
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 busy bee toils
humming among the flower beds, and painted butterflies hover from
plant to plant, and flutter up and sport 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 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 surrounding
halls. Then nothing can be more serenely melancholy, or more in
harmony with the tale of departed grandeur.
  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 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 mitred prelate and shaven monk, and
steel-clad knight and silken courtier; when crosses and crosiers and
religious standards were mingled with proud armorial ensigns and the
banners of 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 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.
  The transient illusion is over- the pageant melts from the fancy-
monarch, priest, and warrior, return into oblivion, with the 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 Comares.
  Entering the Court of the Lions a few evenings since, I was almost
startled at beholding a turbaned 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, 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
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 the
Arabic inscriptions, as possessing much poetic beauty.
  "Ah, senor," 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 make the best verses, and she who had the most
tuneful voice, might be sure of favor and preferment. In those days,
if anyone 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."
  "And is the popular feeling for poetry," said I, "entirely lost
among you?"
  "By no means, senor; the people of Barbary, even those of lower
classes, still make couplets, and good ones too, as in old times,
but talent is not rewarded as it was then; the rich 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 have been the case," said he; "the
Moslems might still have been reigning in the Alhambra, had not
Boabdil been a traitor, and given up 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 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; but he was
brave, vigilant, and patriotic. Had he been properly 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 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 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 cherished by the Moors, of the power and
splendor of their ancient empire in Spain. Turning to his Moslem
attendants, the Pacha stroked his beard, and broke forth in passionate
lamentations, that such a sceptre 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 would
reconquer 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 Mohammedan prince sit on his throne in the
Alhambra.
  Such is the general aspiration and belief among the Moors of
Barbary, who consider Spain, or Andaluz, as it was anciently called,
their rightful heritage, of which they have been despoiled 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 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
distinction, excepting in the royal line.
  These families, it is said, continue to sigh after the terrestrial
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 they look forward as
fondly and confidently as did the Christian crusaders to the
recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. 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 hereditary claims, to be produced at the
anticipated day of restoration.
                                          
  My conversation with the Moor 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 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
Moorish domination in Spain, without kindling with indignation at
the alleged atrocities of Boabdil? Who has not been touched with the
woes of his lovely and gentle queen, subjected by him to a trial of
life and death, on a false charge of 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 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 eradicated. There is
not a foreigner of education that visits the 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 execrate the very name of Boabdil.
  Never, however, was name more foully and unjustly slandered. I
have examined all the authentic chronicles and letters written by
Spanish authors, contemporary with Boabdil, some of whom were in the
confidence of the Catholic sovereigns, 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 Civil Wars
of Granada, containing a pretended history of the feuds of the Zegries
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 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 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 misrepresented in it, and scenes depicted
totally incompatible with their habits and their faith, and which
never could have been recorded by a Mahometan writer.
  I confess there seems to me something almost criminal, in the wilful
perversions of this work: great latitude is undoubtedly to be
allowed to romantic fiction, but there are limits which it must not
pass; and the names of the distinguished dead, which belong to
history, are no more to be calumniated than those of the illustrious
living. One would have thought, too, that the unfortunate Boabdil
had suffered enough for his justifiable hostility to the Spaniards, by
being stripped of his kingdom, without having his name thus wantonly
traduced, and rendered a by-word and a theme of infamy in his native
land, and in the very mansion of his fathers!
  If the reader is sufficiently interested in these questions to
tolerate a little historical detail, the following facts, gleaned from
what appear to be authentic sources, and tracing the fortunes of the
Abencerrages, may serve to exculpate the unfortunate Boabdil from
the perfidious massacre of that illustrious line so shamelessly
charged to him. It will also serve to throw a proper light upon the
alleged accusation and imprisonment of his queen.


                     The Abencerrages.
-
  A GRAND line of distinction existed among the Moslems of Spain,
between those of Oriental origin and those from Western Africa.
Among the former the Arabs considered themselves the purest race, as
being descended from the countrymen of the Prophet, who first raised
the standard of Islam; among the latter, the most warlike and powerful
were the Berber tribes from Mount Atlas and the deserts of Sahara,
commonly known as Moors, who subdued the tribes of the sea-coast,
founded the city of Morocco, and for a long time disputed with the
oriental races the control of Moslem Spain.
  Among the oriental races the Abencerrages held a distinguished rank,
priding themselves on a pure Arab descent from the Beni Seraj, one
of the tribes who were Ansares or Companions of the Prophet. The
Abencerrages flourished for a time at Cordova; but probably repaired
to Granada after the downfall of the Western Caliphat; it was there
they attained their historical and romantic celebrity, being
foremost among the splendid chivalry which graced the court of the
Alhambra.
  Their highest and most dangerous prosperity was during the
precarious reign of Muhamed Nasar, surnamed El Hayzari, or the
Left-handed. That ill-starred monarch, when he ascended the throne
in 1423, lavished his favors upon this gallant line, making the head
of the tribe, Yusef Aben Zeragh, his vizier, or prime minister, and
advancing his relatives and friends to the most distinguished posts
about the court. This gave great offence to other tribes, and caused
intrigues among their chiefs. Muhamed lost popularity also by his
manners. He was vain, inconsiderate, and haughty; disdained to
mingle among his subjects; forbade those jousts and tournaments, the
delight of high and low; and passed his time in the luxurious
retirement of the Alhambra. The consequence was a popular
insurrection; the palace was stormed; the king escaped through the
gardens, fled to the sea-coast, crossed in disguise to Africa, and
took refuge with his kinsman, the sovereign of Tunis.
  Muhamed el Zaguer, cousin of the fugitive monarch, took possession
of the vacant throne. He pursued a different course from his
predecessor. He not only gave fetes and tourneys, but entered the
lists himself, in grand and sumptuous array; he distinguished
himself in managing his horse, in tilting, riding at the ring, and
other chivalrous exercises; feasted with his cavaliers, and made
them magnificent presents.
  Those who had been in favor with his predecessor, now experienced
a reverse; he manifested such hostility to them that more than five
hundred of the principal cavaliers left the city. Yusef Aben Zeragh,
with forty of the Abencerrages, abandoned Granada in the night, and
sought the court of Juan the king of Castile. Moved by their
representations, that young and generous monarch wrote letters to
the sovereign of Tunis, inviting him to assist in punishing the
usurper and restoring the exiled king to his throne. The faithful
and indefatigable vizier accompanied the bearer of these letters to
Tunis, where he rejoined his exiled sovereign. The letters were
successful. Muhamed el Hayzari landed in Andalusia with five hundred
African horse, and was joined by the Abencerrages and others of his
adherents and by his Christian allies; wherever he appeared the people
submitted to him; troops sent against him deserted to his standard;
Granada was recovered without a blow; the usurper retreated to the
Alhambra, but was beheaded by his own soldiers (1428), after
reigning between two and three years.
                                             
  El Hayzari, once more on the throne, heaped honors on the loyal
vizier, through whose faithful services he had been restored, and once
more the line of the Abencerrages basked in the sunshine of royal
favor. El Hayzari sent ambassadors to King Juan, thanking him for
his aid, and proposing a perpetual league of amity. The king of
Castile required homage and yearly tribute. These the left-handed
monarch refused, supposing the youthful king too, much engaged in
civil war to enforce his claims. Again the kingdom of Granada was
harassed by invasions, and its Vega laid waste. Various battles took
place with various success. But El Hayzari's greatest danger was
near at home. There was at that time in Granada a cavalier, Don
Pedro Venegas by name, a Moslem by faith, but Christian by descent,
whose early history borders on romance. He was of the noble house of
Luque, but captured when a child, eight years of age, by Cid Yahia
Alnayar, prince of Almeria, who adopted him as his son, educated him
in the Moslem faith, and brought him up among his children, the
Cetimerian princes, a proud family, descended in direct line from Aben
Hud, one of the early Granadian kings. A mutual attachment sprang up
between Don Pedro and the princess Cetimerien, a daughter of Cid
Yahia, famous for her beauty, and whose name is perpetuated by the
ruins of her palace in Granada; still bearing traces of Moorish
elegance and luxury. In process of time they were married; and thus
a scion of the Spanish house of Luque became engrafted on the royal
stock of Aben Hud.
  Such is the early story of Don Pedro Venegas, who at the time of
which we treat was a man mature in years, and of an active,
ambitious spirit. He appears to have been the soul of a conspiracy set
on foot about this time, to topple Muhamed the Left-handed from his
unsteady throne, and elevate in his place Yusef Aben Alhamar, the
eldest of the Cetimerian princes. The aid of the king of Castile was
to be secured, and Don Pedro proceeded on a secret embassy to
Cordova for the purpose. He informed King Juan of the extent of the
conspiracy; that Yusef Aben Alhamar could bring a large force to his
standard as soon as he should appear in the Vega, and would
acknowledge himself his vassal, if with his aid he should attain the
crown. The aid was promised, and Don Pedro hastened back to Granada
with the tidings. The conspirators now left the city, a few at a time,
under various pretexts; and when King Juan passed the frontier,
Yusef Aben Alhamar brought eight thousand men to his standard and
kissed his hand in token of allegiance.
  It is needless to recount the various battles by which the kingdom
was desolated, and the various intrigues by which one half of it was
roused to rebellion. The Abencerrages stood by the failing fortunes of
Muhamed throughout the struggle; their last stand was at Loxa, where
their chief, the vizier Yusef Aben Zeragh, fell bravely fighting,
and many of their noblest cavaliers were slain: in fact, in that
disastrous war the fortunes of the family were nearly wrecked.
  Again, the ill-starred Muhamed was driven from his throne, and
took refuge in Malaga, the alcayde of which still remained true to
him.
  Yusef Aben Alhamar, commonly known as Yusef II, entered Granada in
triumph on the first of January, 1432, but he found it a melancholy
city, where half of the inhabitants were in mourning. Not a noble
family but had lost some member; and in the slaughter of the
Abencerrages at Loxa, had fallen some of the brightest of the
chivalry.
                                            
  The royal pageant passed through silent streets, and the barren
homage of a court in the halls of the Alhambra ill supplied the want
of sincere and popular devotion. Yusef Aben Alhamar felt the
insecurity of his position. The deposed monarch was at hand in Malaga;
the sovereign of Tunis espoused his cause, and pleaded with the
Christian monarchs in his favor; above all, Yusef felt his own
unpopularity in Granada; previous fatigues had impaired his health,
a profound melancholy settled upon him, and in the course of six
months he sank into the grave.
  At the news of his death, Muhamed the Left-handed hastened from
Malaga, and again was placed on the throne. From the wrecks of the
Abencerrages he chose as viziers Abdelbar, one of the worthiest of
that magnanimous line. Through his advice he restrained his vindictive
feelings and adopted a conciliatory policy. He pardoned most of his
enemies. Yusef, the defunct usurper, had left three children. His
estates were apportioned among them. Aben Celim, the oldest son, was
confirmed in the title of Prince of Almeria and Lord of Marchena in
the Alpuxarras. Ahmed, the youngest, was made Senor of Luchar; and
Equivila, the daughter, received rich patrimonial lands in the fertile
Vega, and various houses and shops in the Zacatin of Granada. The
vizier Abdelbar counselled the king, moreover, to secure the adherence
of the family by matrimonial connections. An aunt of Muhamed was
accordingly given in marriage to Aben Celim, while the prince Nasar,
younger brother of the deceased usurper, received the hand of the
beautiful Lindaraxa, daughter of Muhamed's faithful adherent, the
alcayde of Malaga. This was the Lindaraxa whose name still
designates one of the gardens of the Alhambra.
  Don Pedro de Venegas alone, the husband of the princess
Cetimerien, received no favor. He was considered as having produced
the late troubles by his intrigues. The Abencerrages charged him
with the reverses of their family and the deaths of so many of their
bravest cavaliers. The king never spoke of him but by the
opprobrious appellation of the Tornadizo, or Renegade. Finding himself
in danger of arrest and punishment, he took leave of his wife, the
princess, his two sons, Abul Cacim and Reduan, and his daughter,
Cetimerien, and fled to Jaen. There, like his brother-in-law, the
usurper, he expiated his intrigues and irregular ambition by
profound humiliation and melancholy, and died in 1434 a penitent,
because a disappointed man.
  Muhamed el Hayzari was doomed to further reverses. He had two
nephews, Aben Osmyn, surnamed El Anaf, or the Lame, and Aben Ismael.
The former, who was of an ambitious spirit, resided in Almeria; the
latter in Granada, where he had many friends. He was on the point of
espousing a beautiful girl, when his royal uncle interfered and gave
her to one of his favorites. Enraged at this despotic act, the
prince Aben Ismael took horse and weapons and sallied from Granada for
the frontier, followed by numerous cavaliers. The affair gave
general disgust, especially to the Abencerrages who were attached to
the prince. No sooner did tidings reach Aben Osmyn of the public
discontent than his ambition was aroused. Throwing himself suddenly
into Granada, he raised a popular tumult, surprised his uncle in the
Alhambra, compelled him to abdicate, and proclaimed himself king. This
occurred in September, 1445.
  The Abencerrages now gave up the fortunes of the left-handed king as
hopeless, and himself as incompetent to rule. Led by their kinsman,
the vizier Abdelbar, and accompanied by many other cavaliers, they
abandoned the court and took post in Montefrio. Thence Abdelbar
wrote to Prince Aben Ismael, who had taken refuge in Castile, inviting
him to the camp, offering to support his pretensions to the throne,
and advising him to leave Castile secretly, lest his departure
should be opposed by King Juan II. The prince, however, confiding in
the generosity of the Castilian monarch, told him frankly the whole
matter. He was not mistaken. King Juan not merely gave him
permission to depart, but promised him aid, and gave him letters to
that effect to his commanders on the frontiers. Aben Ismael departed
with a brilliant escort, arrived in safety at Montefrio, and was
proclaimed king of Granada by Abdelbar and his partisans, the most
important of whom were the Abencerrages. A long course of civil wars
ensued between the two cousins, rivals for the throne. Aben Osmyn
was aided by the kings of Navarre and Aragon, while Juan II, at war
with his rebellious subjects, could give little assistance to Aben
Ismael.
                                            
  Thus for several years the country was torn by internal strife and
desolated by foreign inroads, so that scarce a field but was stained
with blood. Aben Osmyn was brave, and often signalized himself in
arms; but he was cruel and despotic, and ruled with an iron hand. He
offended the nobles by his caprices, and the populace by his
tyranny, while his rival cousin conciliated all hearts by his
benignity. Hence there were continual desertions from Granada to the
fortified camp at Montefrio, and the party of Aben Ismael was
constantly gaining strength. At length the king of Castile, having
made peace with the kings of Aragon and Navarre, was enabled to send a
choice body of troops to the assistance of Aben Ismael. The latter now
left his trenches in Montefrio, and took the field. The combined
forces marched upon Granada. Aben Osmyn sallied forth to the
encounter. A bloody battle ensued, in which both of the rival
cousins fought with heroic valor. Aben Osmyn was defeated and driven
back to his gates. He summoned the inhabitants to arms, but few
answered to his call; his cruelty had alienated all hearts. Seeing his
fortunes at an end, he determined to close his career by a signal
act of vengeance. Shutting himself up in the Alhambra, he summoned
thither a number of the principal cavaliers whom he suspected of
disloyalty. As they entered, they were one by one put to death. This
is supposed by some to be the massacre which gave its fatal name to
the Hall of the Abencerrages. Having perpetrated this atrocious act of
vengeance, and hearing by the shouts of the populace that Aben
Ismael was already proclaimed king in the city, he escaped with his
satellites by the Cerro del Sol and the valley of the Darro to the
Alpuxarra mountains, where he and his followers led a kind of robber
life, laying villages and roads under contribution.
  Aben Ismael II, who thus attained the throne in 1454, secured the
friendship of King Juan II by acts of homage and magnificent presents.
He gave liberal rewards to those who had been faithful to him, and
consoled the families of those who had fallen in his cause. During his
reign, the Abencerrages were again among the most favored of the
brilliant chivalry that graced his court. Aben Ismael, however, was
not of a warlike spirit; his reign was distinguished rather by works
of public utility, the ruins of some of which are still to be seen
on the Cerro del Sol.
  In the same year of 1454 Juan II died, and was succeeded by Henry IV
of Castile, surnamed the Impotent. Aben Ismael neglected to renew
the league of amity with him which had existed with his predecessor,
as he found it to be unpopular with the people of Granada. King
Henry resented the omission, and, under pretext of arrears of tribute,
made repeated forays into the kingdom of Granada. He gave
countenance also to Aben Osmyn and his robber hordes, and took some of
them into pay; but his proud cavaliers refused to associate with
infidel outlaws, and determined to seize Aben Osmyn; who, however,
made his escape, first to Seville, and thence to Castile.
  In the year 1456, on the occasion of a great foray into the Vega
by the Christians, Aben Ismael, to secure a peace, agreed to pay the
king of Castile a certain tribute annually, and at the same time to
liberate six hundred Christian captives; or, should the number of
captives fall short, to make it up in Moorish hostages. Aben Ismael
fulfilled the rigorous terms of the treaty, and reigned for a number
of years with more tranquillity than usually fell to the lot of the
monarchs of that belligerent kingdom. Granada enjoyed a great state of
prosperity during his reign, and was the seat of festivity and
splendor. His sultana was a daughter of Cid Hiaya Abraham Alnayar,
prince of Almeria; and he had by her two sons, Abul Hassan, and Abi
Abdallah, surnamed El Zagal, the father and uncle of Boabdil. We
approach now the eventful period signalized by the conquest of
Granada.
  Muley Abul Hassan succeeded to the throne on the death of his father
in 1465. One of his first acts was to refuse payment of the
degrading tribute exacted by the Castilian monarch. His refusal was
one of the causes of the subsequent disastrous war. I confine
myself, however, to facts connected with the fortunes of the
Abencerrages and the charges advanced against Boabdil.
                                            
  The reader will recollect that Don Pedro Venegas, surnamed El
Tornadizo, when he fled from Granada in 1433, left behind him two
sons, Abul Cacim and Reduan, and a daughter, Cetimerien. They always
enjoyed a distinguished rank in Granada, from their royal descent by
the mother's side; and from being connected, through the princes of
Almeria, with the last and the present king. The sons had
distinguished themselves by their talents and bravery, and the
daughter Cetimerien was married to Cid Hiaya, grandson of King Yusef
and brother-in-law of El Zagal. Thus powerfully connected, it is not
surprising to find Abul Cacim Venegas advanced to the post of vizier
of Muley Abul Hassan, and Reduan Venegas one of his most favored
generals. Their rise was regarded with an evil eye by the
Abencerrages, who remembered the disasters brought upon their
family, and the deaths of so many of their line, in the war fomented
by the intrigues of Don Pedro, in the days of Yusef Aben Alhamar. A
feud had existed ever since between the Abencerrages and the house
of Venegas. It was soon to be aggravated by a formidable schism
which took place in the royal harem.
  Muley Abul Hassan, in his youthful days, had married his cousin, the
princess Ayxa la Horra, daughter of his uncle, the ill-starred sultan,
Muhamed the Left-handed; by her he had two sons, the eldest of whom
was Boabdil, heir presumptive to the throne. Unfortunately at an
advanced age he took another wife, Isabella de Solis, a young and
beautiful Christian captive; better known by her Moorish appellation
of Zoraya; by her he had also two sons. Two factions were produced
in the palace by the rivalry of the sultanas, who were each anxious to
secure for their children the succession to the throne. Zoraya was
supported by the vizier Abul Cacim Venegas, his brother Reduan
Venegas, and their numerous connections, partly through sympathy
with her as being, like themselves, of Christian lineage, and partly
because they saw she was the favorite of the doting monarch.
  The Abencerrages, on the contrary, rallied round the sultana Ayxa;
partly through hereditary opposition to the family of Venegas, but
chiefly, no doubt, through a strong feeling of loyalty to her as
daughter of Muhamed Alhayzari, the ancient benefactor of their line.
  The dissensions of the palace went on increasing. Intrigues of all
kinds took place, as is usual in royal palaces. Suspicions were
artfully instilled in the mind of Muley Abul Hassan that Ayxa was
engaged in a plot to depose him and put her son Boabdil on the throne.
In his first transports of rage he confined them both in the Tower
of Comares, threatening the life of Boabdil. At dead of night the
anxious mother lowered her son from a window of the tower by the
scarfs of herself and her female attendants; and some of her
adherents, who were in waiting with swift horses, bore him away to the
Alpuxarras. It is this imprisonment of the sultana Ayxa which possibly
gave rise to the fable of the queen of Boabdil being confined by him
in a tower to be tried for her life. No other shadow of a ground
exists for it, and here we find the tyrant jailer was his father,
and the captive sultana, his mother.
  The massacre of the Abencerrages in the halls of the Alhambra, is
placed by some about this time, and attributed also to Muley Abul
Hassan, on suspicion of their being concerned in the conspiracy. The
sacrifice of a number of the cavaliers of that line is said to have
been suggested by the vizier Abul Cacim Venegas, as a means of
striking terror into the rest. If such were really the case, the
barbarous measure proved abortive. The Abencerrages continued
intrepid, as they were loyal, in their adherence to the cause of
Ayxa and her son Boabdil, throughout the war which ensued, while the
Venegas were ever foremost in the ranks of Muley Abul Hassan and El
Zagal. The ultimate fortunes of these rival families is worthy of
note. The Venegas, in the last struggle of Granada, were among those
who submitted to the conquerors, renounced the Moslem creed,
returned to the faith from which their ancestor had apostatized,
were rewarded with offices and estates, intermarried with Spanish
families, and have left posterity among the nobles of the land. The
Abencerrages remained true to their faith, true to their king, true to
their desperate cause, and went down with the foundering wreck of
Moslem domination, leaving nothing behind them but a gallant and
romantic name in history.
                                            
  In this historical outline, I trust I have shown enough to put the
fable concerning Boabdil and the Abencerrages in a true light. The
story of the accusation of his queen, and his cruelty to his sister,
are equally void of foundation. In his domestic relations he appears
to have been kind and affectionate. History gives him but one wife,
Morayma, the daughter of the veteran alcayde of Loxa, old Aliatar,
famous in song and story for his exploits in border warfare; and who
fell in that disastrous foray into the Christian lands in which
Boabdil was taken prisoner. Morayma was true to Boabdil throughout all
his vicissitudes. When he was dethroned by the Castilian monarchs, she
retired with him to the petty domain allotted him in the valleys of
the Alpuxarras. It was only when (dispossessed of this by the
jealous precautions and subtle chicanery of Ferdinand, and elbowed, as
it were, out of his native land) he was preparing to embark for
Africa, that her health and spirits, exhausted by anxiety and long
suffering, gave way, and she fell into a lingering illness, aggravated
by corroding melancholy. Boabdil was constant and affectionate to
her to the last; the sailing of the ships was delayed for several
weeks, to the great annoyance of the suspicious Ferdinand. At length
Morayma sank into the grave, evidently the victim of a broken heart,
and the event was reported to Ferdinand by his agent, as one
propitious to his purposes, removing the only obstacle to the
embarkation of Boabdil.


                   Mementos of Boabdil.
-
  WHILE my mind was still warm with the subject of the unfortunate
Boabdil, I set forth to trace the mementos of him still existing in
this scene of his sovereignty and misfortunes. In the Tower of
Comares, immediately under the Hall of Ambassadors, are two vaulted
rooms, separated by a narrow passage; these are said to have been
the prisons of himself and his mother, the virtuous Ayxa la Horra;
indeed, no other part of the tower would have served for the
purpose. The external walls of these chambers are of prodigious
thickness, pierced with small windows secured by iron bars. A narrow
stone gallery, with a low parapet, extends along three sides of the
tower just below the windows, but at a considerable height from the
ground. From this gallery, it is presumed, the queen lowered her son
with the scarfs of herself and her female attendants during the
darkness of the night to the hillside, where some of his faithful
adherents waited with fleet steeds to bear him to the mountains.
  Between three and four hundred years have elapsed, yet this scene of
the drama remains almost unchanged. As I paced the gallery, my
imagination pictured the anxious queen leaning over the parapet;
listening, with the throbbings of a mother's heart, to the last echoes
of the horses' hoofs as her son scoured along the narrow valley of the
Darro.
  I next sought the gate by which Boabdil made his last exit from
the Alhambra, when about to surrender his capital and kingdom. With
the melancholy caprice of a broken spirit, or perhaps with some
superstitious feeling, he requested of the Catholic monarchs that no
one afterwards might be permitted to pass through it. His prayer,
according to ancient chronicles, was complied with, through the
sympathy of isabella, and the gate was walled up.*
-
  * Ay una puerta en la Alhambra por la qual salio Chico Rey de los
Moros, quando si rindio prisionero al Rey de Espana D. Fernando, y
le entrego la ciudad con el castillo. Pidio esta principe como por
merced, y en memoria de tan importante conquista, al que quedasse
siempre cerrada esta puerta. Consintio en allo el Rey Fernando, y
des de aquel tiempo no solamente no se abrio la puerta sino tambien se
construyo junto a ella fuerte bastion.- MORERI'S Historical
Dictionary.
                                          
  [There was a gate in the Alhambra by which Chico the King of the
Moors went out when he gave himself up as a prisoner to the King of
Spain, Don Ferdinand, and surrendered to him the city and the
castle. This prince asked as a favor, and in memory of such an
important conquest, that this portal always remain closed. King
Ferdinand consented to this, and from that time not only was the
gate not opened but also a strong bastion was constructed around it.]
-
  I inquired for some time in vain for such a portal; at length my
humble attendant, Mateo Ximenes, said it must be one closed up with
stones, which, according to what he had heard from his father and
grandfather, was the gateway by which King Chico had left the
fortress. There was a mystery about it, and it had never been opened
within the memory of the oldest inhabitant.
  He conducted me to the spot. The gateway is in the centre of what
was once an immense pile, called the Tower of the Seven Floors (la
Torre de los Siete Suelos). It is famous in the neighborhood as the
scene of strange apparitions and Moorish enchantments. According to
Swinburne the traveller, it was originally the great gate of entrance.
The antiquaries of Granada pronounce it the entrance to that quarter
of the royal residence where the king's bodyguards were stationed.
It therefore might well form an immediate entrance and exit to the
palace; while the grand Gate of Justice served as the entrance of
state to the fortress. When Boabdil sallied by this gate to descend to
the Vega, where he was to surrender the keys of the city to the
Spanish sovereigns, he left his vizier Aben Comixa to receive, at
the Gate of Justice, the detachment from the Christian army and the
officers to whom the fortress was to be given up.*
-
                                         
  * The minor details of the surrender of Granada have been stated
in different ways even by eye-witnesses. The author, in his revised
edition of the Conquest, has endeavored to adjust them according to
the latest and apparently best authorities.
-
  The once redoubtable Tower of the Seven Floors is now a mere
wreck, having been blown up with gunpowder by the French, when they
abandoned the fortress. Great masses of the wall lie scattered
about, buried in luxuriant herbage, or overshadowed by vines and
fig-trees. The arch of the gateway, though rent by the shock, still
remains; but the last wish of poor Boabdil has again, though
unintentionally, been fulfilled, for the portal has been closed up
by loose stones gathered from the ruins, and remains impassable.
  Mounting my horse, I followed up the route of the Moslem monarch
from this place of his exit. Crossing the hill of Los Martyros, and
keeping along the garden wall of a convent bearing the same name, I
descended a rugged ravine beset by thickets of aloes and Indian
figs, and lined with caves and hovels swarming with gipsies. The
descent was so steep and broken that I was fain to alight and lead
my horse. By this via dolorosa poor Boabdil took his sad departure
to avoid passing through the city; partly, perhaps, through
unwillingness that its inhabitants should behold his humiliation;
but chiefly, in all probability, lest it might cause some popular
agitation. For the last reason, undoubtedly, the detachment sent to
take possession of the fortress ascended by the same route.
  Emerging from this rough ravine, so full of melancholy associations,
and passing by the puerta de los molinos (the gate of the mills), I
issued forth upon the public promenade called the Prado, and
pursuing the course of the Xenil, arrived at a small chapel, once a
mosque, now the Hermitage of San Sebastian. Here, according to
tradition, Boabdil surrendered the keys of Granada to King
Ferdinand. I rode slowly thence across the Vega to a village where the
family and household of the unhappy king awaited him, for he had
sent them forward on the preceding night from the Alhambra, that his
mother and wife might not participate in his personal humiliation,
or be exposed to the gaze of the conquerors. Following on in the route
of the melancholy band of royal exiles, I arrived at the foot of a
chain of barren and dreary heights, forming the skirt of the Alpuxarra
mountains. From the summit of one of these the unfortunate Boabdil
took his last look at Granada; it bears a name expressive of his
sorrows, la Cuesta de las Lagrimas (the Hill of Tears). Beyond it, a
sandy road winds across a rugged cheerless waste, doubly dismal to the
unhappy monarch, as it led to exile.
                                         
  I spurred my horse to the summit of a rock, where Boabdil uttered
his last sorrowful exclamation, as he turned his eyes from taking
their farewell gaze; it is still denominated el ultimo suspiro del
Moro (the last sigh of the Moor). Who can wonder at his anguish at
being expelled from such a kingdom and such an abode? With the
Alhambra he seemed to be yielding up all the honors of his line, and
all the glories and delights of life.
  It was here, too, that his affliction was embittered by the reproach
of his mother, Ayxa, who had so often assisted him in times of
peril, and had vainly sought to instil into him her own resolute
spirit. "You do well," said she, "to weep as a woman over what you
could not defend as a man"; a speech savoring more of the pride of the
princess than the tenderness of the mother.
  When this anecdote was related to Charles V by Bishop Guevara, the
emperor joined in the expression of scorn at the weakness of the
wavering Boabdil. "Had I been he, or he been I," said the haughty
potentate, "I would rather have made this Alhambra my sepulchre than
have lived without a kingdom in the Alpuxarra." How easy it is for
those in power and prosperity to preach heroism to the vanquished! how
little can they understand that life itself may rise in value with the
unfortunate, when nought but life remains I
  Slowly descending the "Hill of Tears," I let my horse take his own
loitering gait back to Granada, while I turned the story of the
unfortunate Boabdil over in my mind. In summing up the particulars I
found the balance inclining in his favor. Throughout the whole of
his brief, turbulent, and disastrous reign, he gives evidence of a
mild and amiable character. He, in the first instance, won the
hearts of his people by his affable and gracious manners; he was
always placable, and never inflicted any severity of punishment upon
those who occasionally rebelled against him. He was personally
brave; but wanted moral courage; and, in times of difficulty and
perplexity, was wavering and irresolute. This feebleness of spirit
hastened his downfall, while it deprived him of that heroic grace
which would have given grandeur and dignity to his fate, and
rendered him worthy of closing the splendid drama of the Moslem
domination in Spain.


                   Public Fetes of Granada.
-
  MY DEVOTED squire and whilom ragged cicerone Mateo Ximenes, had a
poor-devil passion for fates and holidays, and was never so eloquent
as when detailing the civil and religious festivals of Granada. During
the preparations for the annual Catholic fete of Corpus Christi, he
was in a state of incessant transition between the Alhambra and the
subjacent city, bringing me daily accounts of the magnificent
arrangements that were in progress, and endeavoring, but in vain, to
lure me down from my cool and airy retreat to witness them. At length,
on the eve of the eventful day I yielded to his solicitations and
descended from the regal halls of the Alhambra under his escort, as
did of yore the adventure-seeking Haroun Alraschid, under that of
his Grand Vizier Giaffar. Though it was yet scarce sunset, the city
gates were already thronged with the picturesque villagers of the
mountains, and the brown peasantry of the Vega. Granada has ever
been the rallying place of a great mountainous region, studded with
towns and villages. Hither, during the Moorish domination, the
chivalry of this region repaired, to join in the splendid and
semi-warlike fetes of the Vivarrambla, and hither the elite of its
population still resort to join in the pompous ceremonials of the
church. Indeed, many of the mountaineers from the Alpuxarras and the
Sierra de Ronda, who now bow to the cross as zealous Catholics, bear
the stamp of their Moorish origin, and are indubitable descendants
of the fickle subjects of Boabdil.
  Under the guidance of Mateo, I made my way through streets already
teeming with a holiday population, to the square of the Vivarrambla,
that great place for tilts and tourneys, so often sung in the
Moorish ballads of love and chivalry. A gallery or arcade of wood
had been erected along the sides of the square, for the grand
religious procession of the following day. This was brilliantly
illuminated for the evening as a promenade; and bands of music were
stationed on balconies on each of the four facades of the square.
All the fashion and beauty of Granada, all of its population of either
sex that had good looks or fine clothes to display, thronged this
arcade, promenading round and round the Vivarrambla. Here, too, were
the majos and majas, the rural beaux and belles, with fine forms,
flashing eyes, and gay Andalusian costumes; some of them from Ronda
itself, that strong-hold of the mountains, famous for contrabandistas,
bull-fighters, and beautiful women.
  While this gay but motley throng kept up a constant circulation in
the gallery, the centre of the square was occupied by the peasantry
from the surrounding country; who made no pretensions to display,
but came for simple, hearty enjoyment. The whole square was covered
with them; forming separate groups of families and neighborhoods, like
gipsy encampments, some were listening to the traditional ballad
drawled out to the tinkling of the guitar, some were engaged in gay
conversation, some were dancing to the click of the castanet. As I
threaded my way through this teeming region with Mateo at my heels,
I passed occasionally some rustic party, seated on the ground,
making a merry though frugal repast. If they caught my eye as I
loitered by, they almost invariably invited me to partake of their
simple fare. This hospitable usage, inherited from their Moslem
invaders, and originating in the tent of the Arab, is universal
throughout the land, and observed by the poorest Spaniard.
  As the night advanced, the gayety gradually died away in the
arcades; the bands of music ceased to play, and the brilliant crowd
dispersed to their homes. The centre of the square still remained well
peopled, and Mateo assured me that the greater part of the
peasantry, men, women, and children, would pass the night there,
sleeping on the bare earth beneath the open canopy of heaven.
Indeed, a summer night requires no shelter in this favored climate;
and a bed is a superfluity, which many of the hardy peasantry of Spain
never enjoy, and which some of them affect to despise. The common
Spaniard wraps himself in his brown cloak, stretches himself on his
manta or mule-cloth, and sleeps soundly, luxuriously accommodated if
he can have a saddle for a pillow. In a little while the words of
Mateo were made good; the peasant multitude nestled down on the ground
to their night's repose, and by midnight, the scene on the Vivarrambla
resembled the bivouac of an army.
  The next morning, accompanied by Mateo, I revisited the square at
sunrise. It was still strewed with groups of sleepers: some were
reposing from the dance and revel of the evening; others, who had left
their villages after work on the preceding day, having trudged on foot
the greater part of the night, were taking a sound sleep to freshen
themselves for the festivities of the day. Numbers from the mountains,
and the remote villages of the plain, who had set out in the night,
continued to arrive with their wives and children. All were in high
spirits; greeting each other and exchanging jokes and pleasantries.
The gay tumult thickened as the day advanced. Now came pouring in at
the city gates, and parading through the streets, the deputations from
the various villages, destined to swell the grand procession. These
village deputations were headed by their priests, bearing their
respective crosses and banners, and images of the blessed Virgin and
of patron saints; all which were matters of great rivalship and
jealousy among the peasantry. It was like the chivalrous gatherings of
ancient days, when each town and village sent its chiefs, and
warriors, and standards, to defend the capital, or grace its
festivities.
                                      
  At length all these various detachments congregated into one grand
pageant, which slowly paraded round the Vivarrambla, and through the
principal streets, where every window and balcony was hung with
tapestry. In this procession were all the religious orders, the
civil and military authorities, and the chief people of the parishes
and villages: every church and convent had contributed its banners,
its images, its relics, and poured forth its wealth for the
occasion. In the centre of the procession walked the archbishop, under
a damask canopy, and surrounded by inferior dignitaries and their
dependants. The whole moved to the swell and cadence of numerous bands
of music, and, passing through the midst of a countless yet silent
multitude, proceeded onward to the cathedral.
  I could not but be struck with the changes of times and customs,
as I saw this monkish pageant passing through the Vivarrambla, the
ancient seat of Moslem pomp and chivalry. The contrast was indeed
forced upon the mind by the decorations of the square. The whole front
of the wooden gallery erected for the procession, extending several
hundred feet, was faced with canvas, on which some humble though
patriotic artist had painted, by contract, a series of the principal
scenes and exploits of the Conquest, as recorded in chronicle and
romance. It is thus the romantic legends of Granada mingle
themselves with every thing, and are kept fresh in the public mind.
  As we wended our way back to the Alhambra, Mateo was in high glee
and garrulous vein. "Ah, senor," exclaimed he, "there is no place in
all the world like Granada for grand ceremonies (funciones grandes); a
man need spend nothing on pleasure here, it is all furnished him
gratis. Pero, el dia de la Toma! ah, senor! el dia de la Toma!" "But
the day of the Taking! ah, senor, the day of the Taking"- that was the
great day which crowned Mateo's notions of perfect felicity. The Dia
de la Toma, I found, was the anniversary of the capture or taking
possession of Granada, by the army of Ferdinand and Isabella.
  On that day, according to Mateo, the whole city is abandoned to
revelry. The great alarm bell on the watchtower of the Alhambra (la
Torre de la vela), sends forth its clanging peals from morn till
night; the sound pervades the whole Vega, and echoes along the
mountains, summoning the peasantry from far and near to the
festivities of the metropolis. "Happy the damsel," says Mateo, "who
can get a chance to ring that bell; it is a charm to insure a
husband within the year."
  Throughout the day the Alhambra is thrown open to the public. Its
halls and courts, where the Moorish monarchs once held sway, resound
with the guitar and castanet, and gay groups, in the fanciful
dresses of Andalusia, perform their traditional dances inherited
from the Moors.
                                     
  A grand procession, emblematic of the taking possession of the city,
moves through the principal streets. The banner of Ferdinand and
Isabella, that previous relic of the Conquest, is brought forth from
its depository, and borne in triumph by the Alferez mayor, or grand
standard-bearer. The portable camp-altar, carried about with the
sovereigns in all their campaigns, is transported into the chapel
royal of the cathedral, and placed before their sepulchre, where their
effigies lie in monumental marble. High mass is then performed in
memory of the Conquest; and at a certain part of the ceremony the
Alferez mayor puts on his hat, and waves the standard above the tomb
of the conquerors.
  A more whimsical memorial of the Conquest is exhibited in the
evening at the theatre. A popular drama is performed, entitled AVE
MARIA, turning on a famous achievement of Hernando del Pulgar,
surnamed "el de las Hazanas" (he of the exploits), a madcap warrior,
the favorite hero of the populace of Granada. During the time of the
siege, the young Moorish and Spanish cavaliers vied with each other in
extravagant bravadoes. On one occasion this Hernando del Pulgar, at
the head of a handful of followers, made a dash into Granada in the
dead of the night, nailed the inscription of AVE MARIA with his dagger
to the gate of the principal mosque, a token of having consecrated
it to the Virgin, and effected his retreat in safety.
  While the Moorish cavaliers admired this daring exploit, they felt
bound to resent it. On the following day, therefore, Tarfe, one of the
stoutest among them, paraded in front of the Christian army,
dragging the tablet bearing the sacred inscription AVE MARIA, at his
horse's tail. The cause of the Virgin was eagerly vindicated by
Garcilaso de la Vega, who slew the Moor in single combat, and elevated
the tablet in devotion and triumph at the end of his lance.
  The drama founded on this exploit is prodigiously popular with the
common people. Although it has been acted time out of mind, it never
fails to draw crowds, who become completely lost in the delusions of
the scene. When their favorite Pulgar strides about with many a mouthy
speech, in the very midst of the Moorish capital, he is cheered with
enthusiastic bravos; and when he nails the tablet to the door of the
mosque, the theatre absolutely shakes with the thunders of applause.
On the other hand, the unlucky actors who figure in the part of the
Moors, have to bear the brunt of popular indignation, which at times
equals that of the Hero of La Mancha, at the puppet-show of Gines de
Passamonte; for, when the infidel Tarfe plucks down the tablet to
tie it to his horse's tail, some of the audience rise in fury, and are
ready to jump upon the stage to revenge this insult to the Virgin.
  By the way, the actual lineal descendant of Hernando del Pulgar
was the Marquis de Salar. As the legitimate representative of that
madcap hero, and in commemoration and reward of this hero's exploit,
above mentioned, he inherited the right to enter the cathedral on
certain occasions, on horseback; to sit within the choir, and to put
on his hat at the elevation of the host, though these privileges
were often and obstinately contested by the clergy. I met him
occasionally in society; he was young, of agreeable appearance and
manners, with bright black eyes, in which appeared to lurk some of the
fire of his ancestors. Among the paintings in the Vivarrambla, on
the fete of Corpus Christi, were some depicting, in vivid style, the
exploits of the family hero. An old gray-headed servant of the Pulgars
shed tears on beholding them, and hurried home to inform the
marquis. The eager zeal and enthusiasm of the old domestic only
provoked a light laugh from his young master; whereupon, turning to
the brother of the marquis, with that freedom allowed in Spain to
old family servants, "Come, senor," cried he, "you are more
considerate than your brother; come and see your ancestor in all his
glory!"
                                     
  In emulation of this great Dia de la Toma of Granada, almost every
village and petty town of the mountains has its own anniversary,
commemorating, with rustic pomp and uncouth ceremonial, its
deliverance from the Moorish yoke. On these occasions, according to
Mateo, a kind of resurrection takes place of ancient armor and
weapons; great two-handed swords, ponderous arquebuses with
matchlocks, and other warlike relics, treasured up from generation
to generation, since the time of the Conquest; and happy the community
that possesses some old piece of ordnance, peradventure one of the
identical lombards used by the conquerors; it is kept thundering along
the mountains all day long, provided the community can afford
sufficient expenditure of powder.
  In the course of the day, a kind of warlike drama is enacted. Some
of the populace parade the streets, fitted out with the old armor,
as champions of the faith. Others appear dressed up as Moorish
warriors. A tent is pitched in the public square, inclosing an altar
with an image of the Virgin. The Christian warriors approach to
perform their devotions; the infidels surround the tent to prevent
their entrance; a mock fight ensues; the combatants sometimes forget
that they are merely playing a part, and dry blows of grievous
weight are apt to be exchanged. The contest, however, invariably
terminates in favor of the good cause. The Moors are defeated and
taken prisoners. The image of the Virgin, rescued from thraldom, is
elevated in triumph; a grand procession succeeds, in which the
conquerors figure with great applause and vainglory; while their
captives are led in chains, to the evident delight and edification
of the spectators.
  These celebrations are heavy drains on the treasuries of these petty
communities, and have sometimes to be suspended for want of funds;
but, when times grow better, or sufficient money has been hoarded
for the purpose, they are resumed with new zeal and prodigality.
  Mateo informed me that he had occasionally assisted at these fetes
and taken a part in the combats, but always on the side of the true
faith; "Porque senor," added the ragged descendant of the cardinal
Ximenes, tapping his breast with something of an air, "porque senor,
soy Cristiano viejo."


                     Local Traditions.
-
  THE COMMON people of Spain have an Oriental passion for
story-telling, and are fond of the marvellous. They will gather
round the doors of their cottages in summer evenings, or in the
great cavernous chimney-corners of the ventas in the winter, and
listen with insatiable delight to miraculous legends of saints,
perilous adventures of travellers, and daring exploits of robbers
and contrabandistas. The wild and solitary character of the country,
the imperfect diffusion of knowledge, the scarceness of general topics
of conversation, and the romantic adventurous life that every one
leads in a land where travelling is yet in its primitive state, all
contribute to cherish this love of oral narration, and to produce a
strong infusion of the extravagant and incredible. There is no
theme, however, more prevalent and popular than that of treasures
buried by the Moors; it pervades the whole country. In traversing
the wild sierras, the scenes of ancient foray and exploit, you
cannot see a Moorish atalaya, or watchtower, perched among the cliffs,
or beetling above its rock-built village, but your muleteer, on
being closely questioned, will suspend the smoking of his cigarillo to
tell some tale of Moslem gold buried beneath its foundations; nor is
there a ruined alcazar in a city but has its golden tradition,
handed down from generation to generation among the poor people of the
neighborhood.
  These, like most popular fictions, have sprung from some scanty
groundwork of fact. During the wars between Moor and Christian which
distracted this country for centuries, towns and castles were liable
frequently and suddenly to change owners, and the inhabitants,
during sieges and assaults, were fain to bury their money and jewels
in the earth, or hide them in vaults and wells, as is often done at
the present day in the despotic and belligerent countries of the East.
At the time of the expulsion of the Moors also, many of them concealed
their most precious effects, hoping that their exile would be but
temporary, and that they would be enabled to return and retrieve their
treasures at some future day. It is certain that from time to time
hoards of gold and silver coin have been accidentally digged up, after
a lapse of centuries, from among the ruins of Moorish fortresses and
habitations; and it requires but a few facts of the kind to give birth
to a thousand fictions.
  The stories thus originating have generally something of an Oriental
tinge, and are marked with that mixture of the Arabic and the Gothic
which seems to me to characterize every thing in Spain, and especially
in its southern provinces. The hidden wealth is always laid under
magic spell, and secured by charm and talisman. Sometimes it is
guarded by uncouth monsters or fiery dragons, sometimes by enchanted
Moors, who sit by it in armor, with drawn swords, but motionless as
statues, maintaining a sleepless watch for ages.
  The Alhambra of course, from the peculiar circumstances of its
history, is a strong-hold for popular fictions of the kind; and
various relics, digged up from time to time, have contributed to
strengthen them. At one time an earthen vessel was found containing
Moorish coins and the skeleton of a cock, which, according to the
opinion of certain shrewd inspectors, must have been buried alive.
At another time a vessel was dug up containing a great scarabaeus or
beetle of baked clay, covered with Arabic inscriptions, which was
pronounced a prodigious amulet of occult virtues. In this way the wits
of the ragged brood who inhabit the Alhambra have been set
wool-gathering, until there is not a hall, nor tower, nor vault, of
the old fortress, that has not been made the scene of some
marvellous tradition. Having, I trust, in the preceding papers made
the reader in some degree familiar with the localities of the
Alhambra, I shall now launch out more largely into the wonderful
legends connected with it, and which I have diligently wrought into
shape and form, from various legendary scraps and hints picked up in
the course of my perambulations; in the same manner, that an antiquary
works out a regular historical document from a few scattered letters
of an almost defaced inscription.
  If any thing in these legends should shock the faith of the
over-scrupulous reader, he must remember the nature of the place,
and make due allowances. He must not expect here the same laws of
probability that govern commonplace scenes and everyday life; he
must remember that he treads the halls of an enchanted palace, and
that all is "haunted ground."


                 The House of the Weathercock.
-
  ON THE brow of the lofty hill of the Albaycin, the highest part of
Granada, and which rises from the narrow valley of the Darro, directly
opposite to the Alhambra, stands all that is left of what was once a
royal palace of the Moors. it has, in fact, fallen into such
obscurity, that it cost me much trouble to find it; though aided in my
researches, by the sagacious and all-knowing Mateo Ximenes. This
edifice has borne for centuries the name of "The House of the
Weathercock" (La Casa del Gallo de Viento), from a bronze figure on
one of its turrets, in ancient times, of a warrior on horseback, and
turning with every breeze. This weathercock was considered by the
Moslems of Granada a portentous talisman. According to some
traditions, it bore the following Arabic inscription:
-
                 Calet et Bedici Aben Habuz,
                 Quidat ehahet Lindabuz.
-
Which has been rendered into Spanish:
-
                                 
               Dice el sabio Aben Habuz,
               Que asi se defiende el Andaluz.
-
And into English:
-
               In this way, says, Aben Habuz the wise,
               Andaluz guards against surprise.
                                
-
  This Aben Habuz, according to some of the old Moorish chronicles,
was a captain in the invading army of Taric, one of the conquerors
of Spain, who left him as Alcayde of Granada. He is supposed to have
intended this effigy as a perpetual warning to the Moslems of Andaluz,
that, surrounded by foes, their safety depended upon their being
always on their guard and ready for the field.
  Others, among whom is the Christian historian Marmol, affirms "Badis
Aben Habus" to have been a Moorish sultan of Granada, and that the
weathercock was intended as a perpetual admonition of the
instability of Moslem power, bearing the following words in Arabic:
  "Thus Ibn Habus al Badise predicts Andalus shall one day vanish
and pass away."
  Another version of this portentous inscription is given by a
Moslem historian, on the authority of Sidi Hasan, a faquir who
flourished about the time of Ferdinand and Isabella, and who was
present at the taking down of the weathercock, when the old Kassaba
was undergoing repairs.
                                
  "I saw it," says the venerable faquir, "with my own eyes; it was
of a heptagonal shape, and had the following inscription in verse:
-
       The palace at fair Granada presents a talisman.
       The horseman, though a solid body, turns with every wind.
-
This to a wise man reveals a mystery: In a little while comes a
calamity to ruin both the palace and its owner."
                                
  In effect it was not long after this meddling with the portentous
weathercock that the following event occurred. As old Muley Abul
Hassan, the king of Granada, was seated under a sumptuous pavilion,
reviewing his troops who paraded before him in armor of polished
steel, and gorgeous silken robes, mounted on fleet steeds, and
equipped with swords, spears and shields, embossed with gold and
silver; suddenly a tempest was seen hurrying from the south-west. In a
little while, black clouds overshadowed the heavens and burst forth
with a deluge of rain. Torrents came roaring down from the
mountains, bringing with them rocks and trees; the Darro overflowed
its banks; mills were swept away; bridges destroyed, gardens laid
waste; the inundation rushed into the city, undermining houses,
drowning their inhabitants, and overflowing even the square of the
Great Mosque. The people rushed in affright to the mosques to
implore the mercy of Allah, regarding this uproar of the elements as
the harbinger of dreadful calamities; and, indeed, according to the
Arabian historian, Al Makkari, it was but a type and prelude of the
direful war which ended in the downfall of the Moslem kingdom of
Granada.
  I have thus given historic authorities, sufficient to show the
portentous mysteries connected with the House of the Weathercock,
and its talismanic horseman.
  I now proceed to relate still more surprising things about Aben
Habuz and his palace; for the truth of which, should any doubt be
entertained, I refer the dubious reader to Mateo Ximenes and his
fellow-historiographers of the Alhambra.


             Legend of the Arabian Astrologer.
-
  IN OLD times, many hundred years ago, there was a Moorish king named
Aben Habuz, who reigned over the kingdom of Granada. He was a
retired conqueror, that is to say, one who having in his more youthful
days led a life of constant foray and depredation, now that he was
grown feeble and superannuated, "languished for repose," and desired
nothing more than to live at peace with all the world, to husband
his laurels, and to enjoy in quiet the possessions he had wrested from
his neighbors.
  It so happened, however, that this most reasonable and pacific old
monarch had young rivals to deal with; princes full of his early
passion for fame and fighting, and who were disposed to call him to
account for the scores he had run up with their fathers. Certain
distant districts of his own territories, also, which during the
days of his vigor he had treated with a high hand, were prone, now
that he languished for repose, to rise in rebellion and threaten to
invest him in his capital. Thus he had foes on every side; and as
Granada is surrounded by wild and craggy mountains, which hide the
approach of an enemy, the unfortunate Aben Habuz was kept in a
constant state of vigilance and alarm, not knowing in what quarter
hostilities might break out.
  It was in vain that he built watchtowers on the mountains, and
stationed guards at every pass with orders to make fires by night
and smoke by day, on the approach of an enemy. His alert foes,
baffling every precaution, would break out of some unthought-of
defile, ravage his lands beneath his very nose, and then make off with
prisoners and booty to the mountains. Was ever peaceable and retired
conqueror in a more uncomfortable predicament?
  While Aben Habuz was harassed by these perplexities and
molestations, an ancient Arabian physician arrived at his court. His
gray beard descended to his girdle, and he had every mark of extreme
age, yet he had travelled almost the whole way from Egypt on foot,
with no other aid than a staff, marked with hieroglyphics. His fame
had preceded him. His name was Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub, he was said to
have lived ever since the days of Mahomet, and to be son of Abu
Ayub, the last of the companions of the Prophet. He had, when a child,
followed the conquering army of Amru into Egypt, where he had remained
many years studying the dark sciences, and particularly magic, among
the Egyptian priests.
  It was, moreover, said that he had found out the secret of
prolonging life, by means of which he had arrived to the great age
of upwards of two centuries, though, as he did not discover the secret
until well stricken in years, he could only perpetuate his gray
hairs and wrinkles.
                             
  This wonderful old man was honorably entertained by the king, who,
like most superannuated monarchs, began to take physicians into
great favor. He would have assigned him an apartment in his palace,
but the astrologer preferred a cave in the side of the hill which
rises above the city of Granada, being the same on which the
Alhambra has since been built. He caused the cave to be enlarged so as
to form a spacious and lofty hall, with a circular hole at the top,
through which, as through a well, he could see the heavens and
behold the stars even at mid-day. The walls of this hall were
covered with Egyptian hieroglyphics, with cabalistic symbols, and with
the figures of the stars in their signs. This hall he furnished with
many implements, fabricated under his directions by cunning artificers
of Granada, but the occult properties of which were known only to
himself.
  In a little while the sage Ibrahim became the bosom counsellor of
the king, who applied to him for advice in every emergency. Aben Habuz
was once inveighing against the injustice of his neighbors, and
bewailing the restless vigilance he had to observe to guard himself
against their invasions; when he had finished, the astrologer remained
silent for a moment, and then replied, "Know, O King, that when I
was in Egypt I beheld a great marvel devised by a pagan priestess of
old. On a mountain, above the city of Borsa, and overlooking the great
valley of the Nile, was a figure of a ram, and above it a figure of
a cock, both of molten brass, and turning upon a pivot. Whenever the
country was threatened with invasion, the ram would turn in the
direction of the enemy, and the cock would crow; upon this the
inhabitants of the city knew of the danger, and of the quarter from
which it was approaching, and could take timely means to guard against
it."
  "God is great!" exclaimed the pacific Aben Habuz, "what a treasure
would be such a ram to keep an eye upon these mountains around me; and
then such a cock, to crow in time of danger! Allah Akbar! how securely
I might sleep in my palace with such sentinels on the top!"
  The astrologer waited until the ecstasies of the king had
subsided, and then proceeded:
  "After the victorious Amru (may he rest in peace!) had finished
his conquest of Egypt, I remained among the priests of the land,
studying the rites and ceremonies of their idolatrous faith, and
seeking to make myself master of the hidden knowledge for which they
are renowned. I was one day seated on the banks of the Nile,
conversing with an ancient priest, when he pointed to the mighty
pyramids which rose like mountains out of the neighboring desert. 'All
that we can teach thee,' said he, 'is nothing to the knowledge
locked up in those mighty piles. In the centre of the central
pyramid is a sepulchral chamber, in which is inclosed the mummy of the
high-priest, who aided in rearing that stupendous pile; and with him
is buried a wondrous book of knowledge containing all the secrets of
magic and art. This book was given to Adam after his fall, and was
handed down from generation to generation to King Solomon the wise,
and by its aid he built the temple of Jerusalem. How it came into
the possession of the builder of the pyramids, is known to him alone
who knows all things.'
                            
  "When I heard these words of the Egyptian priest, my heart burned to
get possession of that book. I could command the services of many of
the soldiers of our conquering army, and of a number of the native
Egyptians: with these I set to work, and pierced the solid mass of the
pyramid, until, after great toil, I came upon one of its interior
and hidden passages. Following this up, and threading a fearful
labyrinth, I penetrated into the very heart of the pyramid, even to
the sepulchral chamber, where the mummy of the high-priest had lain
for ages. I broke through the outer cases of the mummy, unfolded its
many wrappers and bandages, and at length found the precious volume on
its bosom. I seized it with a trembling hand, and groped my way out of
the pyramid, leaving the mummy in its dark and silent sepulchre, there
to await the final day of resurrection and judgment."
  "Son of Abu Ayub," exclaimed Aben Habuz, "thou hast been a great
traveller, and seen marvellous things; but of what avail to me is
the secret of the pyramid, and the volume of knowledge of the wise
Solomon?"
  "This it is, O king! By the study of that book I am instructed in
all magic arts, and can command the assistance of genii to
accomplish my plans. The mystery of the Talisman of Borsa is therefore
familiar to me, and such a talisman can I make; nay, one of greater
virtues."
  "O wise son of Abu Ayub," cried Aben Habuz, "better were such a
talisman, than all the watchtowers on the hills, and sentinels upon
the borders. Give me a safeguard, and the riches of my treasury are at
thy command."
  The astrologer immediately set to work to gratify the wishes of
the monarch. He caused a great tower to be erected upon the top of the
royal palace, which stood on the brow of the hill of the Albaycin. The
tower was built of stones brought from Egypt, and taken, it is said,
from one of the pyramids. In the upper part of the tower was a
circular hall, with windows looking towards every point of the
compass, and before each window was a table, on which was arranged, as
on a chess-board, a mimic army of horse and foot, with the effigy of
the potentate that ruled in that direction, all carved of wood. To
each of these tables there was a small lance, no bigger than a bodkin,
on which were engraved certain Chaldaic characters. This hall was kept
constantly closed, by a gate of brass, with a great lock of steel, the
key of which was in possession of the king.
                            
  On the top of the tower was a bronze figure of a Moorish horseman,
fixed on a pivot, with a shield on one arm, and his lance elevated
perpendicularly. The face of this horseman was towards the city, as if
keeping guard over it; but if any foe were at hand, the figure would
turn in that direction, and would level the lance as if for action.
  When this talisman was finished, Aben Habuz was all impatient to try
its virtues; and longed as ardently for an invasion as he had ever
sighed after repose. His desire was soon gratified. Tidings were
brought, early one morning, by the sentinel appointed to watch the
tower, that the face of the bronze horseman was turned towards the
mountains of Elvira, and that his lance pointed directly against the
Pass of Lope.
  "Let the drums and trumpets sound to arms, and all Granada be put on
the alert," said Aben Habuz.
  "O king," said the astrologer, "Let not your city be disquieted, nor
your warriors called to arms; we need no aid of force to deliver you
from your enemies. Dismiss your attendants, and let us proceed alone
to the secret hall of the tower."
  The ancient Aben Habuz mounted the staircase of the tower, leaning
on the arm of the still more ancient Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub. They
unlocked the brazen door and entered. The window that looked towards
the Pass of Lope was open. "In this direction," said the astrologer,
"lies the danger; approach, O king, and behold the mystery of the
table."
                            
  King Aben Habuz approached the seeming chess-board, on which were
arranged the small wooden effigies, when, to his surprise, he
perceived that they were all in motion. The horses pranced and
curveted, the warriors brandished their weapons, and there was a faint
sound of drums and trumpets, and the clang of arms, and neighing of
steeds; but all no louder, nor more distinct, than the hum of the bee,
or the summer-fly, in the drowsy ear of him who lies at noontide in
the shade.
  "Behold, O king," said the astrologer, "a proof that thy enemies are
even now in the field. They must be advancing through yonder
mountains, by the Pass of Lope. Would you produce a panic and
confusion amongst them, and cause them to retreat without loss of
life, strike these effigies with the but-end of this magic lance;
would you cause bloody feud and carnage, strike with the point."
  A livid streak passed across the countenance of Aben Habuz; he
seized the lance with trembling eagerness; his gray beard wagged
with exultation as he tottered toward the table: "Son of Abu Ayub,"
exclaimed he, in chuckling tone, "I think we will have a little
blood!"
  So saying, he thrust the magic lance into some of the pigmy
effigies, and belabored others with the but-end, upon which the former
fell as dead upon the board, and the rest turning upon each other
began, pell-mell, a chance-medley fight.
  It was with difficulty the astrologer could stay the hand of the
most pacific of monarchs, and prevent him from absolutely
exterminating his foes; at length he prevailed upon him to leave the
tower, and to send out scouts to the mountains by the Pass of Lope.
                            
  They returned with the intelligence, that a Christian army had
advanced through the heart of the Sierra, almost within sight of
Granada, where a dissension had broken out among them; they had turned
their weapons against each other, and after much slaughter had
retreated over the border.
  Aben Habuz was transported with joy on thus proving the efficacy
of the talisman. "At length," said he, "I shall lead a life of
tranquillity, and have all my enemies in my power. O wise son of Abu
Ayub, what can I bestow on thee in reward for such a blessing?"
  "The wants of an old man and a philosopher, O king, are few and
simple; grant me but the means of fitting up my cave as a suitable
hermitage, and I am content."
  "How noble is the moderation of the truly wise!" exclaimed Aben
Habuz, secretly pleased at the cheapness of the recompense. He
summoned his treasurer, and bade him dispense whatever sums might be
required by Ibrahim to complete and furnish his hermitage.
  The astrologer now gave orders to have various chambers hewn out
of the solid rock, so as to form ranges of apartments connected with
his astrological hall; these he caused to be furnished with
luxurious ottomans and divans, and the walls to be hung with the
richest silks of Damascus. "I am an old man," said he, "and can no
longer rest my bones on stone couches, and these damp walls require
covering."
                            
  He had baths too constructed, and provided with all kinds of
perfumes and aromatic oils: "For a bath," said he, "is necessary to
counteract the rigidity of age, and to restore freshness and
suppleness to the frame withered by study."
  He caused the apartments to be hung with innumerable silver and
crystal lamps, which he filled with a fragrant oil, prepared according
to a receipt discovered by him in the tombs of Egypt. This oil was
perpetual in its nature, and diffused a soft radiance like the
tempered light of day. "The light of the sun," said he, "is too garish
and violent for the eyes of an old man, and the light of the lamp is
more congenial to the studies of a philosopher."
  The treasurer of King Aben Habuz groaned at the sums daily
demanded to fit up this hermitage, and he carried his complaints to
the king. The royal word, however, had been given; Aben Habuz shrugged
his shoulders: "We must have patience," said he, "this old man has
taken his idea of a philosophic retreat from the interior of the
pyramids, and of the vast ruins of Egypt; but all things have an
end, and so will the furnishing of his cavern."
  The king was in the right; the hermitage was at length complete, and
formed a sumptuous subterranean palace. The astrologer expressed
himself perfectly content, and, shutting himself up, remained for
three whole days buried in study. At the end of that time he
appeared again before the treasurer. "One thing more is necessary,"
said he, "one trifling solace for the intervals of mental labor."
  "O wise Ibrahim, I am bound to furnish every thing necessary for thy
solitude; what more dost thou require?"
                            
  "I would fain have a few dancing women."
  "Dancing women!" echoed the treasurer, with surprise.
  "Dancing women," replied the sage, gravely; "and let them be young
and fair to look upon; for the sight of youth and beauty is
refreshing. A few will suffice, for I am a philosopher of simple
habits and easily satisfied."
  While the philosophic Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub passed his time thus
sagely in his hermitage, the pacific Aben Habuz carried on furious
campaigns in effigy in his tower. It was a glorious thing for an old
man, like himself, of quiet habits, to have war made easy, and to be
enabled to amuse himself in his chamber by brushing away whole
armies like so many swarms of flies.
  For a time he rioted in the indulgence of his humors, and even
taunted and insulted his neighbors, to induce them to make incursions;
but by degrees they grew wary from repeated disasters, until no one
ventured to invade his territories. For many months the bronze
horseman remained on the peace establishment with his lance elevated
in the air, and the worthy old monarch began to repine at the want
of his accustomed sport, and to grow peevish at his monotonous
tranquillity.
                            
  At length, one day, the talismanic horseman veered suddenly round,
and lowering his lance, made a dead point towards the mountains of
Guadix. Aben Habuz hastened to his tower, but the magic table in
that direction remained quiet; not a single warrior was in motion.
Perplexed at the circumstance, he sent forth a troop of horse to scour
the mountains and reconnoitre. They returned after three days'
absence.
  "We have searched every mountain pass," said they, "but not a helm
nor spear was stirring. All that we have found in the course of our
foray, was a Christian damsel of surpassing beauty, sleeping at
noontide beside a fountain, whom we have brought away captive."
  "A damsel of surpassing beauty!" exclaimed Aben Habuz, his eyes
gleaming with animation; "let her be conducted into my presence."
  The beautiful damsel was accordingly conducted into his presence.
She was arrayed with all the luxury of ornament that had prevailed
among the Gothic Spaniards at the time of the Arabian conquest. Pearls
of dazzling whiteness were entwined with her raven tresses; and jewels
sparkled on her forehead, rivalling the lustre of her eyes. Around her
neck was a golden chain, to which was suspended a silver lyre, which
hung by her side.
  The flashes of her dark refulgent eye were like sparks of fire on
the withered, yet combustible, heart of Aben Habuz; the swimming
voluptuousness of her gait made his senses reel. "Fairest of women,"
cried he, with rapture, "who and what art thou?"
                            
  "The daughter of one of the Gothic princes, who but lately ruled
over this land. The armies of my father have been destroyed, as if
by magic, among these mountains; he has been driven into exile, and
his daughter is a captive."
  "Beware, O king!" whispered Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub, "this may be one
of these northern sorceresses of whom we have heard, who assume the
most seductive forms to beguile the unwary. Methinks I read witchcraft
in her eye, and sorcery in every movement. Doubtless this is the enemy
pointed out by the talisman."
  "Son of Abu Ayub," replied the king, "thou art a wise man, I
grant, a conjuror for aught I know; but thou art little versed in
the ways of woman. In that knowledge will I yield to no man; no, not
to the wise Solomon himself, notwithstanding the number of his wives
and concubines. As to this damsel, I see no harm in her; she is fair
to look upon, and finds favor in my eyes."
  "Hearken, O king!" replied the astrologer. "I have given thee many
victories by means of my talisman, but have never shared any of the
spoil. Give me then this stray captive, to solace me in my solitude
with her silver lyre. If she be indeed a sorceress, I have counter
spells that set her charms at defiance."
  "What! more women!" cried Aben Habuz. "Hast thou not already dancing
women enough to solace thee?"
                            
  "Dancing women have I, it is true, but no singing women. I would
fain have a little minstrelsy to refresh my mind when weary with the
toils of study."
  "A truce with thy hermit cravings," said the king, impatiently.
"This damsel have I marked for my own. I see much comfort in her; even
such comfort as David, the father of Solomon the wise, found in the
society of Abishag the Shunammite."
  Further solicitations and remonstrances of the astrologer only
provoked a more peremptory reply from the monarch, and they parted
in high displeasure. The sage shut himself up in his hermitage to
brood over his disappointment; ere he departed, however, he gave the
king one more warning to beware of his dangerous captive. But where is
the old man in love that will listen to council? Aben Habuz resigned
himself to the full sway of his passion. His only study was how to
render himself amiable in the eyes of the Gothic beauty. He had not
youth to recommend him, it is true, but then he had riches; and when a
lover is old, he is generally generous. The Zacatin of Granada was
ransacked for the most precious merchandise of the East; silks,
jewels, precious gems, exquisite perfumes, all that Asia and Africa
yielded of rich and rare, were lavished upon the princess. All kinds
of spectacles and festivities were devised for her entertainment;
minstrelsy, dancing, tournaments, bull-fights- Granada for a time
was a scene of perpetual pageant.
  The Gothic princess regarded all this splendor with the air of one
accustomed to magnificence. She received every thing as a homage due
to her rank, or rather to her beauty; for beauty is more lofty in
its exactions even than rank. Nay, she seemed to take a secret
pleasure in exciting the monarch to expenses that made his treasury
shrink; and then treating his extravagant generosity as a mere
matter of course. With all his assiduity and munificence, also, the
venerable lover could not flatter himself that he had made any
impression on her heart. She never frowned on him, it is true, but
then she never smiled. Whenever he began to plead his passion, she
struck her silver lyre. There was a mystic charm in the sound. In an
instant the monarch began to nod; a drowsiness stole over him, and
he gradually sank into a sleep, from which he awoke wonderfully
refreshed, but perfectly cooled for the time of his passion. This
was very baffling to his suit; but then these slumbers were
accompanied by agreeable dreams, which completely inthralled the
senses of the drowsy lover, so he continued to dream on, while all
Granada scoffed at his infatuation, and groaned at the treasures
lavished for a song.
  At length a danger burst on the head of Aben Habuz, against which
his talisman yielded him no warning. An insurrection broke out in
his very capital: his palace was surrounded by an armed rabble, who
menaced his life and the life of his Christian paramour. A spark of
his ancient warlike spirit was awakened in the breast of the
monarch. At the head of a handful of his guards he sallied forth,
put the rebels to flight, and crushed the insurrection in the bud.
                            
  When quiet was again restored, he sought the astrologer, who still
remained shut up in his hermitage, chewing the bitter cud of
resentment.
  Aben Habuz approached him with a conciliatory tone. "O wise son of
Abu Ayub," said he, "well didst thou predict dangers to me from this
captive beauty: tell me then, thou who art so quick at foreseeing
peril, what I should do to avert it."
  "Put from thee the infidel damsel who is the cause."
  "Sooner would I part with my kingdom," cried Aben Habuz.
  "Thou art in danger of losing both," replied the astrologer.
                            
  "Be not harsh and angry, O most profound of philosophers; consider
the double distress of a monarch and a lover, and devise some means of
protecting me from the evils by which I am menaced. I care not for
grandeur, I care not for power, I languish only for repose; would that
I had some quiet retreat where I might take refuge from the world, and
all its cares, and pomps, and troubles, and devote the remainder of my
days to tranquillity and love."
  The astrologer regarded him for a moment, from under his bushy
eyebrows.
  "And what wouldst thou give, if I could provide thee such a
retreat?"
  "Thou shouldst name thy own reward, and whatever it might be, if
within the scope of my power, as my soul liveth, it should be thine."
  "Thou hast heard, O king, of the garden of Irem, one of the
prodigies of Arabia the happy."
                            
  "I have heard of that garden; it is recorded in the Koran, even in
the chapter entitled 'The Dawn of Day.' I have, moreover, heard
marvellous things related of it by pilgrims who had been to Mecca; but
I considered them wild fables, such as travellers are wont to tell who
have visited remote countries."
  "Discredit not, O king, the tales of travellers," rejoined the
astrologer, gravely, "for they contain precious rarities of
knowledge brought from the ends of the earth. As to the palace and
garden of Irem, what is generally told of them is true; I have seen
them with mine own eyes- listen to my adventure; for it has a
bearing upon the object of your request.
  "In my younger days, when a mere Arab of the desert, I tended my
father's camels. In traversing the desert of Aden, one of them strayed
from the rest, and was lost. I searched after it for several days, but
in vain, until, wearied and faint, I laid myself down at noontide, and
slept under a palm-tree by the side of a scanty well. When I awoke,
I found myself at the gate of a city. I entered, and beheld noble
streets, and squares, and market-places; but all were silent and
without an inhabitant. I wandered on until I came to a sumptuous
palace with a garden adorned with fountains and fishponds, and
groves and flowers, and orchards laden with delicious fruit; but still
no one was to be seen. Upon which, appalled at this loneliness, I
hastened to depart; and, after issuing forth at the gate of the
city, I turned to look upon the place, but it was no longer to be
seen; nothing but the silent desert extended before my eyes.
  "In the neighborhood I met with an aged dervise, learned in the
traditions and secrets of the land, and related to him what had
befallen me. 'This,' said he, 'is the far-famed garden of Irem, one of
the wonders of the desert. It only appears at times to some wanderer
like thyself, gladdening him with the sight of towers and palaces
and garden walls overhung with richly-laden fruit-trees, and then
vanishes, leaving nothing but a lonely desert. And this is the story
of it. In old times, when this country was inhabited by the Addites,
King Sheddad, the son of Ad, the great grandson of Noah, founded
here a splendid city. When it was finished, and he saw its grandeur,
his heart was puffed up with pride and arrogance, and he determined to
build a royal palace, with gardens which should rival all related in
the Koran of the celestial paradise. But the curse of heaven fell upon
him for his presumption. He and his subjects were swept from the
earth, and his splendid city, and palace, and gardens, were laid under
a perpetual spell, which hides them from human sight, excepting that
they are seen at intervals, by way of keeping his sin in perpetual
remembrance.'
  "This story, O king, and the wonders I had seen, ever dwelt in my
mind; and in after years, when I had been in Egypt, and was
possessed of the book of knowledge of Solomon the wise, I determined
to return and revisit the garden of Irem. I did so, and found it
revealed to my instructed sight. I took possession of the palace of
Sheddad, and passed several days in his mock paradise. The genii who
watch over the place, were obedient to my magic power, and revealed to
me the spells by which the whole garden had been, as it were, conjured
into existence, and by which it was rendered invisible. Such a
palace and garden, O king, can I make for thee, even here, on the
mountain above thy city. Do I not know all the secret spells? and am I
not in possession of the book of knowledge of Solomon the wise?"
                            
  "O wise son of Abu Ayub!" exclaimed Aben Habuz, trembling with
eagerness, "thou art a traveller indeed, and hast seen and learned
marvellous things! Contrive me such a paradise, and ask any reward,
even to the half of my kingdom."
  "Alas!" replied the other, "thou knowest I am an old man, and a
philosopher, and easily satisfied; all the reward I ask is the first
beast of burden, with its load, which shall enter the magic portal
of the palace."
  The monarch gladly agreed to so moderate a stipulation, and the
astrologer began his work. On the summit of the hill, immediately
above his subterranean hermitage, he caused a great gateway or
barbican to be erected, opening through the centre of a strong tower.
  There was an outer vestibule or porch, with a lofty arch, and within
it a portal secured by massive gates. On the key-stone of the portal
the astrologer, with his own hand, wrought the figure of a huge key;
and on the key-stone of the outer arch of the vestibule, which was
loftier than that of the portal, he carved a gigantic hand. These were
potent talismans, over which he repeated many sentences in an
unknown tongue.
  When this gateway was finished he shut himself up for two days in
his astrological hall, engaged in secret incantations; on the third he
ascended the hill, and passed the whole day on its summit. At a late
hour of the night he came down, and presented himself before Aben
Habuz.
                            
  "At length, O king," said he, "my labor is accomplished. On the
summit of the hill stands one of the most delectable palaces that ever
the head of man devised, or the heart of man desired. It contains
sumptuous halls and galleries, delicious gardens, cool fountains,
and fragrant baths; in a word, the whole mountain is converted into
a paradise. Like the garden of Irem, it is protected by a mighty
charm, which hides it from the view and search of mortals, excepting
such as possess the secret of its talismans."
  "Enough!" cried Aben Habuz, joyfully, "to-morrow morning with the
first light we will ascend and take possession."
  The happy monarch slept but little that night. Scarcely had the rays
of the sun begun to play about the snowy summit of the Sierra
Nevada, when he mounted his steed, and, accompanied only by a few
chosen attendants, ascended a steep and narrow road leading up the
hill. Beside him, on a white palfrey, rode the Gothic princess, her
whole dress sparkling with jewels, while round her neck was
suspended her silver lyre. The astrologer walked on the other side
of the king, assisting his steps with his hieroglyphic staff, for he
never mounted steed of any kind.
  Aben Habuz looked to see the towers of the palace brightening
above him, and the imbowered terraces of its gardens stretching
along the heights; but as yet nothing of the kind was to be
descried. "That is the mystery and safeguard of the place," said the
astrologer, "nothing can be discerned until you have passed the
spell-bound gateway, and been put in possession of the place."
  As they approached the gateway, the astrologer paused, and pointed
out to the king the mystic hand and key carved upon the portal of
the arch. "These," said he, "are the talismans which guard the
entrance to this paradise. Until yonder hand shall reach down and
seize that key, neither mortal power nor magic artifice can prevail
against the lord of this mountain."
                            
  While Aben Habuz was gazing, with open mouth and silent wonder, at
these mystic talismans, the palfrey of the princess proceeded, and
bore her in at the portal, to the very centre of the barbican.
  "Behold," cried the astrologer, "my promised reward; the first
animal with its burden which should enter the magic gateway."
  Aben Habuz smiled at what he considered a pleasantry of the
ancient man; but when he found him to be in earnest, his gray beard
trembled with indignation.
  "Son of Abu Ayub," said he, sternly, "what equivocation is this?
Thou knowest the meaning of my promise: the first beast of burden,
with its load, that should enter this portal. Take the strongest
mule in my stables, load it with the most precious things of my
treasury, and it is thine; but dare not raise thy thoughts to her
who is the delight of my heart."
  "What need I of wealth," cried the astrologer, scornfully; "have I
not the book of knowledge of Solomon the wise, and through it the
command of the secret treasures of the earth? The princess is mine
by right; thy royal word is pledged: I claim her as my own."
                            
  The princess looked down haughtily from her palfrey, and a light
smile of scorn curled her rosy lip at this dispute between two
gray-beards, for the possession of youth and beauty. The wrath of
the monarch got the better of his discretion. "Base son of the
desert," cried he, "thou may'st be master of many arts, but know me
for thy master, and presume not to juggle with thy king."
  "My master! my king!" echoed the astrologer. "The monarch of a
molehill to claim sway over him who possesses the talismans of
Solomon! Farewell, Aben Habuz; reign over thy petty kingdom, and revel
in thy paradise of fools; for me, I will laugh at thee in my
philosophic retirement."
  So saying he seized the bridle of the palfrey, smote the earth
with his staff, and sank with the Gothic princess through the centre
of the barbican. The earth closed over them, and no trace remained
of the opening by which they had descended.
  Aben Habuz was struck dumb for a time with astonishment.
Recovering himself, he ordered a thousand workmen to dig, with pickaxe
and spade, into the ground where the astrologer had disappeared.
They digged and digged, but in vain; the flinty bosom of the hill
resisted their implements; or if they did penetrate a little way,
the earth filled in again as fast as they threw it out. Aben Habuz
sought the mouth of the cavern at the foot of the hill, leading to the
subterranean palace of the astrologer; but it was nowhere to be found.
Where once had been an entrance, was now a solid surface of primeval
rock. With the disappearance of Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub ceased the
benefit of his talismans. The bronze horseman remained fixed, with his
face turned toward the hill, and his spear pointed to the spot where
the astrologer had descended, as if there still lurked the deadliest
foe of Aben Habuz.
  From time to time the sound of music, and the tones of a female
voice, could be faintly heard from the bosom of the hill; and a
peasant one day brought word to the king, that in the preceding
night he had found a fissure in the rock, by which he had crept in,
until he looked down into a subterranean hall, in which sat the
astrologer, on a magnificent divan, slumbering and nodding to the
silver lyre of the princess, which seemed to hold a magic sway over
his senses.
                            
  Aben Habuz sought the fissure in the rock, but it was again
closed. He renewed the attempt to unearth his rival, but all in
vain. The spell of the hand and key was too potent to be
counteracted by human power. As to the summit of the mountain, the
site of the promised palace and garden, it remained a naked waste;
either the boasted elysium was hidden from sight by enchantment, or
was a mere fable of the astrologer. The world charitably supposed
the latter, and some used to call the place "The King's Folly,"
while others named it "The Fool's Paradise."
  To add to the chagrin of Aben Habuz, the neighbors whom he had
defied and taunted, and cut up at his leisure while master of the
talismanic horseman, finding him no longer protected by magic spell,
made inroads into his territories from all sides, and the remainder of
the life of the most pacific of monarchs was a tissue of turmoils.
  At length Aben Habuz died, and was buried. Ages have since rolled
away. The Alhambra has been built on the eventful mountain, and in
some measure realizes the fabled delights of the garden of Irem. The
spell-bound gateway still exists entire, protected no doubt by the
mystic hand and key, and now forms the Gate of Justice, the grand
entrance to the fortress. Under that gateway, it is said, the old
astrologer remains in his subterranean hall, nodding on his divan,
lulled by the silver lyre of the princess.
  The old invalid sentinels who mount guard at the gate hear the
strains occasionally in the summer nights; and, yielding to their
soporific power, doze quietly at their posts. Nay, so drowsy an
influence pervades the place, that even those who watch by day may
generally be seen nodding on the stone benches of the barbican, or
sleeping under the neighboring trees, so that in fact it is the
drowsiest military post in all Christendom. All this, say the
ancient legends, will endure from age to age. The princess will remain
captive to the astrologer; and the astrologer, bound up in magic
slumber by the princess, until the last day, unless the mystic hand
shall grasp the fated key, and dispel the whole charm of this
enchanted mountain.
-
                            
             Note to "The Arabian Astrologer"
-
  Al Makkari, in his history of the Mahommedan dynasties in Spain,
cites from another Arabian writer an account of a talismanic effigy
somewhat similar to the one in the foregoing legend.
  In Cadiz, says he, there formerly stood a square tower upwards of
one hundred cubits high, built of huge blocks of stone, fastened
together with clamps of brass. On the top was the figure of a man,
holding a staff in his right hand, his face turned to the Atlantic,
and pointing with the forefinger of his left hand to the Straits of
Gibraltar. It was said to have been set up in ancient times by the
Gothic kings of Andalus, as a beacon or guide to navigators. The
Moslems of Barbary and Andalus considered it a talisman which
exercised a spell over the seas. Under its guidance, swarms of
piratical people of a nation, called Majus, appeared on the coast in
large vessels with a square sail in the bow, and another in the stern.
They came every six or seven years; captured every thing they met with
on the sea; guided by the statue, they passed through the Straits into
the Mediterranean, landed on the coasts of Andalus, laid every thing
waste with fire and sword; and sometimes carried their depredations on
the opposite coasts even as far as Syria.
  At length, it came to pass in the time of the civil wars, a Moslem
Admiral who had taken possession of Cadiz, hearing that the statue
on top of the tower was of pure gold, had it lowered to the ground and
broken to pieces; when it proved to be of gilded brass. With the
destruction of the idol, the spell over the sea was at an end. From
that time forward, nothing more was seen of the piratical people of
the ocean, excepting that two of their barks were wrecked on the
coast, one at Marsu-l-Majus (the port of the Majus), the other close
to the promontory of Al-Aghan.
                           
  The maritime invaders mentioned by Al Makkari must have been the
Northmen.


                 Visitors to the Alhambra.
-
  FOR NEARLY three months had I enjoyed undisturbed my dream of
sovereignty in the Alhambra: a longer term of quiet than had been
the lot of many of my predecessors. During this lapse of time the
progress of the season had wrought the usual change. On my arrival I
had found every thing in the freshness of May; the foliage of the
trees was still tender and transparent; the pomegranate had not yet
shed its brilliant crimson blossoms; the orchards of the Xenil and the
Darro were in full bloom; the rocks were hung with wild flowers, and
Granada seemed completely surrounded by a wilderness of roses; among
which innumerable nightingales sang, not merely in the night, but
all day long.
  Now the advance of summer had withered the rose and silenced the
nightingale, and the distant country began to look parched and
sunburnt; though a perennial verdure reigned immediately round the
city and in the deep narrow valleys at the foot of the snow-capped
mountains.
  The Alhambra possesses retreats graduated to the heat of the
weather, among which the most peculiar is the almost subterranean
apartment of the baths. This still retains its ancient Oriental
character, though stamped with the touching traces of decline. At
the entrance, opening into a small court formerly adorned with
flowers, is a hall, moderate in size, but light and graceful in
architecture. It is overlooked by a small gallery supported by
marble pillars and Morisco arches. An alabaster fountain in the centre
of the pavement still throws up a jet of water to cool the place. On
each side are deep alcoves with raised platforms, where the bathers,
after their ablutions, reclined on cushions, soothed to voluptuous
repose by the fragrance of the perfumed air and the notes of soft
music from the gallery. Beyond this hall are the interior chambers,
still more retired; the sanctum sanctorum of female privacy; for
here the beauties of the Harem indulged in the luxury of the baths.
A soft mysterious light reigns through the place, admitted through
small apertures (lumbreras) in the vaulted ceiling. The traces of
ancient elegance are still to be seen; and the alabaster baths in
which the sultanas once reclined. The prevailing obscurity and silence
have made these vaults a favorite resort of bats, who nestle during
the day in the dark nooks and corners, and on being disturbed, flit
mysteriously about the twilight chambers, heightening, in an
indescribable degree, their air of desertion and decay.
  In this cool and elegant, though dilapidated retreat, which had
the freshness and seclusion of a grotto, I passed the sultry hours
of the day as summer advanced, emerging towards sunset, and bathing,
or rather swimming, at night in the great reservoir of the main court.
In this way I was enabled in a measure to counteract the relaxing
and enervating influence of the climate.
  My dream of absolute sovereignty, however, came at length to an end.
I was roused one morning by the report of fire-arms, which
reverberated among the towers as if the castle had been taken by
surprise. On sallying forth, I found an old cavalier with a number
of domestics, in possession of the Hall of Ambassadors. He was an
ancient count who had come up from his palace in Granada to pass a
short time in the Alhambra for the benefit of purer air, and who,
being a veteran and inveterate sportsman, was endeavoring to get an
appetite for his breakfast by shooting at swallows from the balconies.
It was a harmless amusement; for though, by the alertness of his
attendants in loading his pieces, he was enabled to keep up a brisk
fire, I could not accuse him of the death of a single swallow. Nay,
the birds themselves seemed to enjoy the sport, and to deride his want
of skill, skimming in circles close to the balconies, and twittering
as they darted by.
                                     
  The arrival of this old gentleman changed essentially the aspect
of affairs, but caused no jealousy nor collision. We tacitly shared
the empire between us, like the last kings of Granada, excepting
that we maintained a most amicable alliance. He reigned absolute
over the Court of the Lions and its adjacent halls, while I maintained
peaceful possession of the regions of the baths and the little
garden of Lindaraxa. We took our meals together under the arcades of
the court, where the fountains cooled the air, and bubbling rills
ran along the channels of the marble pavement.
  In the evenings a domestic circle would gather about the worthy
old cavalier. The countess, his wife by a second marriage, would
come up from the city accompanied by her step-daughter Carmen, an only
child, a charming little being, still in her girlish years. Then there
were always some of his official dependents, his chaplain, his lawyer,
his secretary, his steward, and other officers and agents of his
extensive possessions, who brought him up the news or gossip of the
city, and formed his evening party of tresillo or ombre. Thus he
held a kind of domestic court, where each one paid him deference,
and sought to contribute to his amusement, without, however, any
appearance of servility, or any sacrifice of self-respect. In fact,
nothing of the kind was exacted by the demeanor of the count; for
whatever may be said of Spanish pride, it rarely chills or
constrains the intercourse of social or domestic life. Among no people
are the relations between kindred more unreserved and cordial, or
between superior and dependent more free from haughtiness on the one
side, and obsequiousness on the other. In these respects there still
remains in Spanish life, especially in the provinces, much of the
vaunted simplicity of the olden time.
  The most interesting member of this family group, in my eyes, was
the daughter of the count, the lovely little Carmen; she was but about
sixteen years of age, and appeared to be considered a mere child,
though the idol of the family, going generally by the child-like,
but endearing appellation of la Nina. Her form had not yet attained
full maturity and development, but possessed already the exquisite
symmetry and pliant grace so prevalent in this country. Her blue eyes,
fair complexion, and light hair, were unusual in Andalusia, and gave a
mildness and gentleness to her demeanor in contrast to the usual
fire of Spanish beauty, but in unison with the guileless and confiding
innocence of her manners. She had at the same time the innate
aptness and versatility of her fascinating countrywomen. Whatever
she undertook to do she did well and apparently without effort. She
sang, played the guitar and other instruments, and danced the
picturesque dances of her country to admiration, but never seemed to
seek admiration. Every thing was spontaneous, prompted by her own
gay spirits and happy temper.
  The presence of this fascinating little being spread a new charm
about the Alhambra, and seemed to be in unison with the place. While
the count and countess, with the chaplain or secretary, were playing
their game of tresillo under the vestibule of the Court of Lions, she,
attended by Dolores, who acted as her maid of honor, would sit by
one of the fountains, and accompanying herself on the guitar, would
sing some of those popular romances which abound in Spain, or, what
was still more to my taste, some traditional ballad about the Moors.
  Never shall I think of the Alhambra without remembering this
lovely little being, sporting in happy and innocent girlhood in its
marble halls, dancing to the sound of the Moorish castanets, or
mingling the silver warbling of her voice with the music of its
fountains.


                   Relics and Genealogies.
-
  IF I HAD been pleased and interested by the count and his family, as
furnishing a picture of a Spanish domestic life, I was still more so
when apprised of historical circumstances which linked them with the
heroic times of Granada. In fact, in this worthy old cavalier, so
totally unwarlike, or whose deeds in arms extended, at most, to a
war on swallows and martlets, I discovered a lineal descendant and
actual representative of Gonsalvo of Cordova, "the Grand Captain," who
won some of his brightest laurels before the walls of Granada, and was
one of the cavaliers commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella to
negotiate the terms of surrender; nay, more, the count was entitled,
did he choose it, to claim remote affinity with some of the ancient
Moorish princes, through a scion of his house, Don Pedro Venegas,
surnamed the Tornadizo; and by the same token, his daughter, the
fascinating little Carmen, might claim to be rightful representative
of the princess Cetimerien or the beautiful Lindaraxa.*
-
  * Lest this should be deemed a mere stretch of fancy, the reader
is referred to the following genealogy, derived by the historian
Alcantara, from an Arabian manuscript, on parchment, in the archives
of the marquis of Corvera. It is a specimen of the curious
affinities between Christians and Moslems, produced by capture and
intermarriages, during the Moorish wars. From Aben Hud, the Moorish
king, the conqueror of the Almohades, was descended in right line
Cid Yahia Abraham Alnagar, prince of Almeria, who married a daughter
of King Bermejo. They had three children, commonly called the
Cetimerian Princes. 1st. Yusef ben Alhamar, who for a time usurped the
throne of Granada. 2d. The Prince Nasar, who married the celebrated
Lindaraxa. 3d. The Princess Cetimerien, who married Don Pedro Venegas,
captured by the Moors in his boyhood, a younger son of the House of
Luque, of which house the old count was the present head.
-
  Understanding from the count that he had some curious relics of
the Conquest, preserved in his family archives, I accompanied him
early one morning down to his palace in Granada to examine them. The
most important of these relics was the sword of the Grand Captain; a
weapon destitute of all ostentatious ornament, as the weapons of great
generals are apt to be, with a plain hilt of ivory and a broad thin
blade. It might furnish a comment on hereditary honors, to see the
sword of the grand captain legitimately declined into such feeble
hands.
                                       
  The other relics of the Conquest were a number of espingardas or
muskets of unwieldy size and ponderous weight, worthy to rank with
those enormous two-edged swords preserved in old armories, which
look like relics from the days of the giants.
  Besides other hereditary honors, I found the old count was Alferez
mayor, or grand standard-bearer, in which capacity he was entitled
to bear the ancient standard of Ferdinand and Isabella, on certain
high and solemn occasions, and to wave it over their tombs. I was
shown also the caparisons of velvet, sumptuously embroidered with gold
and silver, for six horses, with which he appeared in state when a new
sovereign was to be proclaimed in Granada and Seville; the count
mounting one of the horses, and the other five being led by lackeys in
rich liveries.
  I had hoped to find among the relics and antiquities of the
count's palace, some specimens of the armor and weapons of the Moors
of Granada, such as I had heard were preserved as trophies by the
descendants of the Conquerors; but in this I was disappointed. I was
the more curious in this particular, because an erroneous idea has
been entertained by many, as to the costumes of the Moors of Spain;
supposing them to be of the usual oriental type. On the contrary, we
have it on the authority of their own writers, that they adopted in
many respects the fashions of the Christians. The turban,
especially, so identified in idea with the Moslem, was generally
abandoned, except in the western provinces, where it continued in
use among people of rank and wealth, and those holding places under
government. A woollen cap, red or green, was commonly worn as a
substitute; probably the same kind originating in Barbary, and known
by the name of Tunis or Fez, which at the present day is worn
throughout the east; though generally under the turban. The Jews
were obliged to wear them of a yellow color.
  In Murcia, Valencia, and other eastern provinces, men of the highest
rank might be seen in public bareheaded. The warrior king, Aben Hud,
never wore a turban, neither did his rival and competitor Al Hamar,
the founder of the Alhambra. A short cloak called Taylasan similar
to that seen in Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
was worn by all ranks. It had a hood or cape which people of condition
sometimes drew over the head; but the lower class never.
  A Moslem cavalier in the thirteenth century, as described by Ibnu
Said, was equipped for war very much in the Christian style. Over a
complete suit of mail he wore a short scarlet tunic. His helmet was of
polished steel; a shield was slung at his back; he wielded a huge
spear with a broad point, sometimes a double point. His saddle was
cumbrous, projecting very much in front and in rear, and he rode
with a banner fluttering behind him.
                                      
  In the time of Al Khattib of Granada, who wrote in the fourteenth
century, the Moslems of Andalus had resumed the Oriental costumes, and
were again clad and armed in Arabic fashion: with light helmet, thin
but well tempered cuirass, long slender lance, commonly of reed,
Arabian saddle and leathern buckler, made of double folds of the
skin of the antelope. A wonderful luxury prevailed at that time in the
arms and equipments of the Granadian cavaliers. Their armor was inlaid
with gold and silver. Their cimeters were of the keenest Damascus
blades, with sheaths richly wrought and enamelled, and belts of golden
filagree studded with gems. Their daggers of Fez had jewelled hilts,
and their lances were set off with gay banderoles. Their horses were
caparisoned in correspondent style, with velvet and embroidery.
  All this minute description, given by a contemporary, and an
author of distinction, verifies those gallant pictures in the old
Morisco Spanish ballads which have sometimes been deemed apocryphal,
and gives a vivid idea of the brilliant appearance of the chivalry
of Granada, when marshalled forth in warlike array, or when
celebrating the chivalrous fetes of the Vivarrambla.


                     The Generalife.
-
  HIGH ABOVE the Alhambra, on the breast of the mountain, amidst
embowered gardens and stately terraces, rise the lofty towers and
white walls of the Generalife; a fairy palace, full of storied
recollections. Here is still to be seen the famous cypresses of
enormous size which flourished in the time of the Moors, and which
tradition has connected with the fabulous story of Boabdil and his
sultana.
  Here are preserved the portraits of many who figured in the romantic
drama of the Conquest. Ferdinand and Isabella, Ponce de Leon, the
gallant marquis of Cadiz, and Garcilaso de la Vega, who slew in
desperate fight Tarfe the Moor, a champion of Herculean strength. Here
too hangs a portrait which has long passed for that of the unfortunate
Boabdil, but which is said to be that of Aben Hud, the Moorish king
from whom descended the princes of Almeria. From one of these princes,
who joined the standard of Ferdinand and Isabella towards the close of
the Conquest, and was christianized by the name of Don Pedro de
Granada Venegas, was descended the present proprietor of the palace,
the marquis of Campotejar. The proprietor, however, dwells in a
foreign land, and the palace has no longer a princely inhabitant.
  Yet here is every thing to delight a southern voluptuary: fruits,
flowers, fragrance, green arbors and myrtle hedges, delicate air and
gushing waters. Here I had an opportunity of witnessing those scenes
which painters are fond of depicting about southern palaces and
gardens. It was the saint's day of the count's daughter, and she had
brought up several of her youthful companions from Granada, to sport
away a long summer's day among the breezy halls and bowers of the
Moorish palaces. A visit to the Generalife was the morning's
entertainment. Here some of the gay company dispersed itself in groups
about the green walks, the bright fountains, the flights of Italian
steps, the noble terraces and marble balustrades. Others, among whom I
was one, took their seats in an open gallery or colonnade commanding a
vast prospect, with the Alhambra, the city, and the Vega, far below,
and the distant horizon of mountains- a dreamy world, all glimmering
to the eye in summer sunshine. While thus seated, the all-pervading
tinkling of the guitar and click of the castanets came stealing up
from the valley of the Darro, and half way down the mountain we
descried a festive party under the trees enjoying themselves in true
Andalusian style, some lying on the grass, others dancing to the
music.
  All these sights and sounds, together with the princely seclusion of
the place, the sweet quiet which prevailed around, and the delicious
serenity of the weather had a witching effect upon the mind, and
drew from some of the company, versed in local story, several of the
popular fancies and traditions connected with this old Moorish palace;
they were "such stuff as dreams are made of," but out of them I have
shaped the following legend, which I hope may have the good fortune to
prove acceptable to the reader.


             Legend of Prince Ahmed al Kamel
                or, The Pilgrim of Love.
-
  THERE was once a Moorish king of Granada who had but one son, whom
he named Ahmed, to which his courtiers added the surname of al
Kamel, or the perfect, from the indubitable signs of superexcellence
which they perceived in him in his very infancy. The astrologers
countenanced them in their foresight, predicting every thing in his
favor that could make a perfect prince and a prosperous sovereign. One
cloud only rested upon his destiny, and even that was of a roseate
hue: he would be of an amorous temperament, and run great perils
from the tender passion. If, however, he could be kept from the
allurements of love until of mature age, these dangers would be
averted, and his life thereafter be one uninterrupted course of
felicity.
  To prevent all danger of the kind, the king wisely determined to
rear the prince in a seclusion where he should never see a female
face, nor hear even the name of love. For this purpose he built a
beautiful palace on the brow of the hill above the Alhambra, in the
midst of delightful gardens, but surrounded by lofty walls, being,
in fact, the same palace known at the present day by the name of the
Generalife. In this palace the youthful prince was shut up, and
intrusted to the guardianship and instruction of Eben Bonabben, one of
the wisest and dryest of Arabian sages, who had passed the greatest
part of his life in Egypt, studying hieroglyphics, and making
researches among the tombs and pyramids, and who saw more charms in an
Egyptian mummy than in the most tempting of living beauties. The
sage was ordered to instruct the prince in all kinds of knowledge
but one- he was to be kept utterly ignorant of love.
  "Use every precaution for the purpose you may think proper," said
the king; "but remember, O Eben Bonabben, if my son learns aught of
that forbidden knowledge while under your care, your head shall answer
for it."
  A withered smile came over the dry visage of the wise Bonabben at
the menace. "Let your majesty's heart be as easy about your son, as
mine is about my head: am I a man likely to give lessons in the idle
passion?"
                              
  Under the vigilant care of the philosopher, the prince grew up, in
the seclusion of the palace and its gardens. He had black slaves to
attend upon him- hideous mutes who knew nothing of love, or if they
did, had not words to communicate it. His mental endowments were the
peculiar care of Eben Bonabben, who sought to initiate him into the
abstruse lore of Egypt; but in this the prince made little progress,
and it was soon evident that he had no turn for philosophy.
  He was, however, amazingly ductile for a youthful prince, ready to
follow any advice, and always guided by the last counsellor. He
suppressed his yawns, and listened patiently to the long and learned
discourses of Eben Bonabben, from which he imbibed a smattering of
various kinds of knowledge, and thus happily attained his twentieth
year, a miracle of princely wisdom- but totally ignorant of love.
  About this time, however, a change came over the conduct of the
prince. He completely abandoned his studies, and took to strolling
about the gardens, and musing by the side of the fountains. He had
been taught a little music among his various accomplishments; it now
engrossed a great part of his time, and a turn for poetry became
apparent. The sage Eben Bonabben took the alarm, and endeavored to
work these idle humors out of him by a severe course of algebra; but
the prince turned from it with distaste. "I cannot endure algebra,"
said he; "it is an abomination to me. I want something that speaks
more to the heart."
  The sage Eben Bonabben shook his dry head at the words. "Here is
an end to philosophy," thought he. "The prince has discovered he has a
heart!" He now kept anxious watch upon his pupil, and saw that the
latent tenderness of his nature was in activity, and only wanted an
object. He wandered about the gardens of the Generalife in an
intoxication of feelings of which he knew not the cause. Sometimes
he would sit plunged in a delicious reverie; then he would seize his
lute, and draw from it the most touching notes, and then throw it
aside, and break forth into sighs and ejaculations.
  By degrees this loving disposition began to extend to inanimate
objects; he had his favorite flowers, which he cherished with tender
assiduity; then he became attached to various trees, and there was one
in particular, of a graceful form and drooping foliage, on which he
lavished his amorous devotion, carving his name on its bark, hanging
garlands on its branches, and singing couplets in its praise, to the
accompaniment of his lute.
                             
  Eben Bonabben was alarmed at this excited state of his pupil. He saw
him on the very brink of forbidden knowledge- the least hint might
reveal to him the fatal secret. Trembling for the safety of the prince
and the security of his own head, he hastened to draw him from the
seductions of the garden, and shut him up in the highest tower of
the Generalife. It contained beautiful apartments, and commanded an
almost boundless prospect, but was elevated far above that
atmosphere of sweets and those witching bowers so dangerous to the
feelings of the too susceptible Ahmed.
  What was to be done, however, to reconcile him to this restraint and
to beguile the tedious hours? He had exhausted almost all kinds of
agreeable knowledge; and algebra was not to be mentioned.
Fortunately Eben Bonabben had been instructed, when in Egypt, in the
language of birds, by a Jewish Rabbin, who had received it in lineal
transmission from Solomon the wise, who had been taught it by the
queen of Sheba. At the very mention of such a study, the eyes of the
prince sparkled with animation, and he applied himself to it with such
avidity, that he soon became as great an adept as his master.
  The tower of the Generalife was no longer a solitude; he had
companions at hand with whom he could converse. The first acquaintance
he formed was with a hawk, who built his nest in a crevice of the
lofty battlements, whence he soared far and wide in quest of prey. The
prince, however, found little to like or esteem in him. He was a
mere pirate of the air, swaggering and boastful, whose talk was all
about rapine and carnage, and desperate exploits.
  His next acquaintance was an owl, a mighty wise looking bird, with a
huge head and staring eyes, who sat blinking and goggling all day in a
hole in the wall, but roamed forth at night. He had great
pretensions to wisdom, talked something of astrology and the moon, and
hinted at the dark sciences; he was grievously given to metaphysics,
and the prince found his prosings even more ponderous than those of
the sage Eben Bonabben.
  Then there was a bat, that hung all day by his heels in the dark
corner of a vault, but sallied out in slipshod style at twilight.
He, however, had but twilight ideas on all subjects, derided things of
which he had taken but an imperfect view, and seemed to take delight
in nothing.
                             
  Besides these there was a swallow, with whom the prince was at first
much taken. He was a smart talker, but restless, bustling, and for
ever on the wing; seldom remaining long enough for any continued
conversation. He turned out in the end to be a mere smatterer, who did
but skim over the surface of things, pretending to know every thing,
but knowing nothing thoroughly.
  These were the only feathered associates with whom the prince had
any opportunity of exercising his newly acquired language; the tower
was too high for any other birds to frequent it. He soon grew weary of
his new acquaintances, whose conversation spoke so little to the head,
and nothing to the heart; and gradually relapsed into his
loneliness. A winter passed away, spring opened with all its bloom and
verdure and breathing sweetness, and the happy time arrived for
birds to pair and build their nests. Suddenly, as it were, a universal
burst of song and melody broke forth from the groves and gardens of
the Generalife, and reached the prince in the solitude of his tower.
From every side he heard the same universal theme- love- love- love
chanted forth, and responded to in every variety of note and tone. The
prince listened in silence and perplexity. "What can be this love,"
thought he, "of which the world seems so full, and of which I know
nothing?" He applied for information to his friend the hawk. The
ruffian bird answered in a tone of scorn: "You must apply," said he,
"to the vulgar peaceable birds of earth, who are made for the prey
of us princes of the air. My trade is war, and fighting my delight.
I am a warrior, and know nothing of this thing called love."
  The prince turned from him with disgust, and sought the owl in his
retreat. "This is a bird," said he, "of peaceful habits, and may be
able to solve my question." So he asked the owl to tell him what was
this love about which all the birds in the groves below were singing.
  Upon this, the owl put on a look of offended dignity. "My nights,"
said he, "are taken up in study and research, and my days in
ruminating in my cell upon all that I have learnt. As to these singing
birds of whom you talk, I never listen to them- I despise them and
their themes. Allah be praised, I cannot sing; I am a philosopher, and
know nothing of this thing called love."
  The prince now repaired to the vault, where his friend the bat was
hanging by the heels, and propounded the same question. The bat
wrinkled up his nose into a most snappish expression. "Why do you
disturb me in my morning's nap with such an idle question?" said he,
peevishly. "I only fly by twilight, when all birds are asleep, and
never trouble myself with their concerns. I am neither bird nor beast,
and I thank heaven for it. I have found out the villany of the whole
of them, and hate them one and all. In a word, I am a misanthrope- and
know nothing of this thing called love."
                             
  As a last resort, the prince now sought the swallow, and stopped him
just as he was circling about the summit of the tower. The swallow, as
usual, was in a prodigious hurry, and had scarce time to make a reply.
"Upon my word," said he, "I have so much public business to attend to,
and so many pursuits to follow, that I have had no time to think on
the subject. I have every day a thousand visits to pay; a thousand
affairs of importance to examine into, that leave me not a moment of
leisure for these little sing-song matters. In a word, I am a
citizen of the world- I know nothing of this thing called love." So
saying, the swallow dived into the valley, and was out of sight in a
moment.
  The prince remained disappointed and perplexed, but with his
curiosity still more piqued by the difficulty of gratifying it.
While in this mood, his ancient guardian entered the tower. The prince
advanced eagerly to meet him. "O Eben Bonabben," cried he, "thou
hast revealed to me much of the wisdom of the earth; but there is
one thing of which I remain in utter ignorance, and would fain be
informed."
  "My prince has but to make the inquiry, and every thing within the
limited range of his servant's intellect is at his command."
  "Tell me then, O most profound of sages, what is the nature of
this thing called love?"
  Eben Bonabben was struck as with a thunderbolt. He trembled and
turned pale, and felt as if his head sat but loosely on his shoulders.
                             
  "What could suggest such a question to my prince- where could he
have learnt so idle a word?"
  The prince led him to the window of the tower. "Listen, O Eben
Bonabben," said he. The sage listened. The nightingale sat in a
thicket below the tower, singing to his paramour the rose; from
every blossomed spray and tufted grove rose a strain of melody; and
love- love- love- was still the unvarying strain.
  "Allah Akbar! God is great!" exclaimed the wise Bonabben. "Who shall
pretend to keep this secret from the heart of man, when even the birds
of the air conspire to betray it?"
  Then turning to Ahmed- "O my prince," cried he, "shut thine ears
to these seductive strains. Close thy mind against this dangerous
knowledge. Know that this love is the cause of half the ills of
wretched mortality. It is this which produces bitterness and strife
between brethren and friends; which causes treacherous murder and
desolating war. Care and sorrow, weary days and sleepless nights,
are its attendants. It withers the bloom and blights the joys of
youth, and brings on the ills and griefs of premature old age. Allah
preserve thee, my prince, in total ignorance of this thing called
love!"
  The sage Eben Bonabben hastily retired, leaving the prince plunged
in still deeper perplexity. It was in vain he attempted to dismiss the
subject from his mind; it still continued uppermost in his thoughts,
and teased and exhausted him with vain conjectures. Surely, said he to
himself, as he listened to the tuneful strains of the birds, there
is no sorrow in those notes; every thing seems tenderness and joy.
If love be a cause of such wretchedness and strife, why are not
these birds drooping in solitude, or tearing each other in pieces,
instead of fluttering cheerfully about the groves, or sporting with
each other among flowers?
                             
  He lay one morning on his couch meditating on this inexplicable
matter. The window of his chamber was open to admit the soft morning
breeze, which came laden with the perfume of orange blossoms from
the valley of the Darro. The voice of the nightingale was faintly
heard, still chanting the wonted theme. As the prince was listening
and sighing, there was a sudden rushing noise in the air; a
beautiful dove, pursued by a hawk, darted in at the window, and fell
panting on the floor; while the pursuer, balked of his prey, soared
off to the mountains.
  The prince took up the gasping bird, smoothed its feathers, and
nestled it in his bosom. When he had soothed it by his caresses, he
put it in a golden cage, and offered it, with his own hands, the
whitest and finest of wheat and the purest of water. The bird,
however, refused food, and sat drooping and pining, and uttering
piteous moans.
  "What aileth thee?" said Ahmed. "Hast thou not every thing thy heart
can wish?"
  "Alas, no!" replied the dove; "am I not separated from the partner
of my heart, and that too in the happy spring-time, the very season of
love!"
  "Of love!" echoed Ahmed; "I pray thee, my pretty bird, canst thou
tell me what is love?"
                             
  "Too well can I, my prince. It is the torment of one, the felicity
of two, the strife and enmity of three. It is a charm which draws
two beings together, and unites them by delicious sympathies, making
it happiness to be with each other, but misery to be apart. Is there
no being to whom you are drawn by these ties of tender affection?"
  "I like my old teacher Eben Bonabben better than any other being;
but he is often tedious, and I occasionally feel myself happier
without his society."
  "That is not the sympathy I mean. I speak of love, the great mystery
and principle of life: the intoxicating revel of youth; the sober
delight of age. Look forth, my prince, and behold how at this blest
season all nature is full of love. Every created being has its mate;
the most insignificant bird sings to its paramour; the very beetle
woos its lady-beetle in the dust, and yon butterflies which you see
fluttering high above the tower, and toying in the air, are happy in
each other's loves. Alas, my prince hast thou spent so many of the
precious days of youth without knowing any thing of love? Is there
no gentle being of another sex- no beautiful princess nor lovely
damsel who has ensnared your heart, and filled your bosom with a
soft tumult of pleasing pains and tender wishes?"
  "I begin to understand," said the prince, sighing; "such a tumult
I have more than once experienced, without knowing the cause; and
where should I seek for an object such as you describe, in this dismal
solitude?"
  A little further conversation ensued, and the first amatory lesson
of the prince was complete.
                             
  "Alas!" said he, "if love be indeed such a delight, and its
interruption such a misery, Allah forbid that I should mar the joy
of any of its votaries." He opened the cage, took out the dove, and
having fondly kissed it, carried it to the window. "Go, happy bird,"
said he, "rejoice with the partner of thy heart in the days of youth
and spring-time. Why should I make thee a fellow-prisoner in this
dreary tower, where love can never enter?"
  The dove flapped its wings in rapture, gave one vault into the
air, and then swooped downward on whistling wings to the blooming
bowers of the Darro.
  The prince followed him with his eyes, and then gave way to bitter
repining. The singing of the birds which once delighted him, now added
to his bitterness. Love! love! love! Alas, poor youth! he now
understood the strain.
  His eyes flashed fire when next he beheld the sage Bonabben. "Why
hast thou kept me in this abject ignorance?" cried he. "Why has the
great mystery and principle of life been withheld from me, in which
I find the meanest insect is so learned? Behold all nature is in a
revel of delight. Every created being rejoices with its mate. This-
this is the love about which I have sought instruction. Why am I alone
debarred its enjoyment? Why has so much of my youth been wasted
without a knowledge of its raptures?"
  The sage Bonabben saw that all further reserve was useless; for
the prince had acquired the dangerous and forbidden knowledge. He
revealed to him, therefore, the predictions of the astrologers, and
the precautions that had been taken in his education to avert the
threatened evils. "And now, my prince," added he, "my life is in
your hands. Let the king your father discover that you have learned
the passion of love while under my guardianship, and my head must
answer for it."
                             
  The prince was as reasonable as most young men of his age, and
easily listened to the remonstrances of his tutor, since nothing
pleaded against them. Besides, he really was attached to Eben
Bonabben, and being as yet but theoretically acquainted with the
passion of love, he consented to confine the knowledge of it to his
own bosom, rather than endanger the head of the philosopher.
  His discretion was doomed, however, to be put to still further
proofs. A few mornings afterwards, as he was ruminating on the
battlements of the tower, the dove which had been released by him came
hovering in the air, and alighted fearlessly upon his shoulder.
  The prince fondled it to his heart. "Happy bird," said he, "who
can fly, as it were, with the wings of the morning to the uttermost
parts of the earth. Where hast thou been since we parted?"
  "In a far country, my prince, whence I bring you tidings in reward
for my liberty. In the wild compass of my flight, which extends over
plain and mountain, as I was soaring in the air, I beheld below me a
delightful garden with all kinds of fruits and flowers. It was in a
green meadow, on the banks of a wandering stream; and in the centre of
the garden was a stately palace. I alighted in one of the bowers to
repose after my weary flight. On the green bank below me was a
youthful princess, in the very sweetness and bloom of her years. She
was surrounded by female attendants, young like herself, who decked
her with garlands and coronets of flowers; but no flower of field or
garden could compare with her for loveliness. Here, however, she
bloomed in secret, for the garden was surrounded by high walls, and no
mortal man was permitted to enter. When I beheld this beauteous
maid, thus young and innocent and unspotted by the world, I thought,
here is the being formed by heaven to inspire my prince with love."
  The description was a spark of fire to the combustible heart of
Ahmed; all the latent amorousness of his temperament had at once found
an object, and he conceived an immeasurable passion for the
princess. He wrote a letter, couched in the most impassioned language,
breathing his fervent devotion, but bewailing the unhappy thraldom
of his person, which prevented him from seeking her out and throwing
himself at her feet. He added couplets of the most moving eloquence,
for he was a poet by nature, and inspired by love. He addressed his
letter- "To the unknown beauty, from the captive Prince Ahmed";
then, perfuming it with musk and roses, he gave it to the dove.
                             
  "Away, trustiest of messengers!" said he. "Fly over mountain and
valley, and river, and plain; rest not in bower, nor set foot on
earth, until thou hast given this letter to the mistress of my heart."
  The dove soared high in air, and taking his course darted away in
one undeviating direction. The prince followed him with his eye
until he was a mere speck on a cloud, and gradually disappeared behind
a mountain.
  Day after day he watched for the return of the messenger of love,
but he watched in vain. He began to accuse him of forgetfulness,
when towards sunset one evening the faithful bird fluttered into his
apartment, and falling at his feet expired. The arrow of some wanton
archer had pierced his breast, yet he had struggled with the
lingerings of life to execute his mission. As the prince bent with
grief over this gentle martyr to fidelity, he beheld a chain of pearls
round his neck, attached to which, beneath his wing, was a small
enamelled picture. It represented a lovely princess in the very flower
of her years. It was doubtless the unknown beauty of the garden; but
who and where was she- how had she received his letter, and was this
picture sent as a token of her approval of his passion?
Unfortunately the death of the faithful dove left every thing in
mystery and doubt.
  The prince gazed on the picture till his eyes swam with tears. He
pressed it to his lips and to his heart; he sat for hours
contemplating it almost in an agony of tenderness. "Beautiful
image!" said he, "alas, thou art but an image! Yet thy dewy eyes
beam tenderly upon me; those rosy lips look as though they would speak
encouragement: vain fancies! Have they not looked the same on some
more happy rival? But where in this wide world shall I hope to find
the original? Who knows what mountains, what realms may separate us;
what adverse chances may intervene? Perhaps now, even now, lovers
may be crowding around her, while I sit here a prisoner in a tower,
wasting my time in adoration of a painted shadow."
  The resolution of Prince Ahmed was taken. "I will fly from this
palace," said he, "which has become an odious prison; and, a pilgrim
of love, will seek this unknown princess throughout the world." To
escape from the tower in the day, when every one was awake, might be a
difficult matter; but at night the palace was slightly guarded; for no
one apprehended any attempt of the kind from the prince, who had
always been so passive in his captivity. How was he to guide
himself, however, in his darkling flight, being ignorant of the
country?
                             
  He bethought him of the owl, who was accustomed to roam at night,
and must know every by-lane and secret pass. Seeking him in his
hermitage, he questioned him touching his knowledge of the land.
Upon this the owl put on a mighty self-important look. "You must know,
O prince," said he, "that we owls are of a very ancient and
extensive family, though rather fallen to decay, and possess ruinous
castles and palaces in all parts of Spain. There is scarcely a tower
of the mountains, or a fortress of the plains, or an old citadel of
a city, but has some brother or uncle, or cousin, quartered in it; and
in going the rounds to visit this my numerous kindred, I have pryed
into every nook and corner, and made myself acquainted with every
secret of the land."
  The prince was overjoyed to find the owl so deeply versed in
topography, and now informed him, in confidence, of his tender passion
and his intended elopement, urging him to be his companion and
counsellor.
  "Go to!" said the owl, with a look of displeasure; "am I a bird to
engage in a love affair? I whose whole time is devoted to meditation
and the moon?"
  "Be not offended, most solemn owl," replied the prince; "abstract
thyself for a time from meditation and the moon, and aid me in my
flight, and thou shalt have whatever heart can wish."
  "I have that already," said the owl: "a few mice are sufficient
for my frugal table, and this hole in the wall is spacious enough
for my studies; and what more does a philosopher like myself desire?"
                             
  "Bethink thee, most wise owl, that while moping in thy cell and
gazing at the moon, all thy talents are lost to the world. I shall one
day be a sovereign prince, and may advance thee to some post of
honor and dignity."
  The owl, though a philosopher and above the ordinary wants of
life, was not above ambition; so he was finally prevailed on to
elope with the prince, and be his guide and mentor in his pilgrimage.
  The plans of a lover are promptly executed. The prince collected all
his jewels, and concealed them about his person as travelling funds.
That very night he lowered himself by his scarf from a balcony of
the tower, clambered over the outer walls of the Generalife, and,
guided by the owl, made good his escape before morning to the
mountains.
  He now held a council with his mentor as to his future course.
  "Might I advise," said the owl, "I would recommend you to repair
to Seville. You must know that many years since I was on a visit to an
uncle, an owl of great dignity and power, who lived in a ruined wing
of the Alcazar of that place. In my hoverings at night over the city I
frequently remarked a light burning in a lonely tower. At length I
alighted on the battlements, and found it to proceed from the lamp
of an Arabian magician: he was surrounded by his magic books, and on
his shoulder was perched his familiar, an ancient raven who had come
with him from Egypt. I am acquainted with that raven, and owe to him a
great part of the knowledge I possess. The magician is since dead, but
the raven still inhabits the tower, for these birds are of wonderful
long life. I would advise you, O prince, to seek that raven, for he is
a soothsayer and a conjurer, and deals in the black art, for which all
ravens, and especially those of Egypt, are renowned."
                             
  The prince was struck with the wisdom of this advice, and
accordingly bent his course towards Seville. He travelled only in
the night, to accommodate his companion, and lay by during the day
in some dark cavern or mouldering watchtower, for the owl knew every
hiding hole of the kind, and had a most antiquarian taste for ruins.
  At length one morning at daybreak they reached the city of
Seville, where the owl, who hated the glare and bustle of crowded
streets, halted without the gate, and took up his quarters in a hollow
tree.
  The prince entered the gate, and readily found the magic tower,
which rose above the houses of the city, as a palm-tree rises above
the shrubs of the desert; it was in fact the same tower standing at
the present day, and known as the Giralda, the famous Moorish tower of
Seville.
  The prince ascended by a great winding staircase to the summit of
the tower, where he found the cabalistic raven, an old, mysterious,
gray-headed bird, ragged in feather, with a film over one eye that
gave him the glare of a spectre. He was perched on one leg, with his
head turned on one side, poring with his remaining eye on a diagram
described on the pavement.
  The prince approached him with the awe and reverence naturally
inspired by his venerable appearance and supernatural wisdom.
"Pardon me, most ancient and darkly wise raven," exclaimed he, "if for
a moment I interrupt those studies which are the wonder of the
world. You behold before you a votary of love, who would fain seek
your counsel how to obtain the object of his passion."
                             
  "In other words," said the raven, with a significant look, "you seek
to try my skill in palmistry. Come, show me your hand, and let me
decipher the mysterious lines of fortune."
  "Excuse me," said the prince, "I come not to pry into the decrees of
fate, which are hidden by Allah from the eyes of mortals; I am a
pilgrim of love, and seek but to find a clue to the object of my
pilgrimage."
  "And can you be at any loss for an object in amorous Andalusia?"
said the old raven, leering upon him with his single eye; "above
all, can you be at a loss in wanton Seville, where black-eyed
damsels dance the zambra under every orange grove?"
  The prince blushed, and was somewhat shocked at hearing an old
bird with one foot in the grave talk thus loosely. "Believe me,"
said he, gravely, "I am on none such light and vagrant errand as
thou dost insinuate. The black-eyed damsels of Andalusia who dance
among the orange groves of the Guadalquivir are as naught to me. I
seek one unknown but immaculate beauty, the original of this
picture; and I beseech thee, most potent raven, if it be within the
scope of thy knowledge or the reach of thy art, inform me where she
may be found."
  The gray-headed raven was rebuked by the gravity of the prince.
                             
  "What know I," replied he, dryly, "of youth and beauty? my visits
are to the old and withered, not the fresh and fair: the harbinger
of fate am I; who croak bodings of death from the chimney top, and
flap my wings at the sick man's window. You must seek elsewhere for
tidings of your unknown beauty."
  "And where can I seek if not among the sons of wisdom, versed in the
book of destiny? Know that I am a royal prince, fated by the stars,
and sent on a mysterious enterprise on which may hang the destiny of
empires."
  When the raven heard that it was a matter of vast moment, in which
the stars took interest, he changed his tone and manner, and
listened with profound attention to the story of the prince. When it
was concluded, he replied, "Touching this princess, I can give thee no
information of myself, for my flight is not among gardens, or around
ladies' bowers; but hie thee to Cordova, seek the palm-tree of the
great Abderahman, which stands in the court of the principal mosque:
at the foot of it thou wilt find a great traveller who has visited all
countries and courts, and been a favorite with queens and
princesses. He will give thee tidings of the object of thy search."
  "Many thanks for this precious information," said the prince.
"Farewell, most venerable conjurer."
  "Farewell, pilgrim of love," said the raven, dryly, and again fell
to pondering on the diagram.
                             
  The prince sallied forth from Seville, sought his fellow-traveller
the owl, who was still dozing in the hollow tree, and set off for
Cordova.
  He approached it along hanging gardens, and orange and citron
groves, overlooking the fair valley of the Guadalquivir. When
arrived at its gates the owl flew up to a dark hole in the wall, and
the prince proceeded in quest of the palm-tree planted in days of yore
by the great Abderahman. It stood in the midst of the great court of
the mosque, towering from amidst orange and cypress trees. Dervises
and Faquirs were seated in groups under the cloisters of the court,
and many of the faithful were performing their ablutions at the
fountains before entering the mosque.
  At the foot of the palm-tree was a crowd listening to the words of
one who appeared to be talking with great volubility. "This," said the
prince to himself, "must be the great traveller who is to give me
tidings of the unknown princess." He mingled in the crowd, but was
astonished to perceive that they were all listening to a parrot, who
with his bright green coat, pragmatical eye, and consequential
top-knot, had the air of a bird on excellent terms with himself.
  "How is this," said the prince to one of the bystanders, "that so
many grave persons can be delighted with the garrulity of a chattering
bird?"
  "You know not whom you speak of," said the other; "this parrot is
a descendant of the famous parrot of Persia, renowned for his
story-telling talent. He has all the learning of the East at the tip
of his tongue, and can quote poetry as fast as he can talk. He has
visited various foreign courts, where he has been considered an oracle
of erudition. He has been a universal favorite also with the fair sex,
who have a vast admiration for erudite parrots that can quote poetry."
                             
  "Enough," said the prince, "I will have some private talk with
this distinguished traveller."
  He sought a private interview, and expounded the nature of his
errand. He had scarcely mentioned it when the parrot burst into a
fit of dry rickety laughter that absolutely brought tears in his eyes.
"Excuse my merriment," said he, "but the mere mention of love always
sets me laughing."
  The prince was shocked at this ill-timed mirth. "Is not love,"
said he, "the great mystery of nature, the secret principle of life,
the universal bond of sympathy?"
  "A fig's end!" cried the parrot, interrupting him; "prithee where
hast thou learned this sentimental jargon? trust me, love is quite out
of vogue; one never hears of it in the company of wits and people of
refinement."
  The prince sighed as he recalled the different language of his
friend the dove. But this parrot, thought he, has lived about the
court, he affects the wit and the fine gentleman, he knows nothing
of the thing called love. Unwilling to provoke any more ridicule of
the sentiment which filled his heart, he now directed his inquiries to
the immediate purport of his visit.
                             
  "Tell me," said he, "Most accomplished parrot, thou who hast every
where been admitted to the most secret bowers of beauty, hast thou
in the course of thy travels met with the original of this portrait?"
  The parrot took the picture in his claw, turned his head from side
to side, and examined it curiously with either eye. "Upon my honor,"
said he, "a very pretty face; very pretty: but then one sees so many
pretty women in one's travels that one can hardly- but hold- bless me!
now I look at it again- sure enough this is the princess Aldegonda:
how could I forget one that is so prodigious a favorite with me!"
  "The princess Aldegonda!" echoed the prince; "and where is she to be
found?"
  "Softly, softly," said the parrot, "easier to be found than
gained. She is the only daughter of the Christian king who reigns at
Toledo, and is shut up from the world until her seventeenth birth-day,
on account of some prediction of those meddlesome fellows the
astrologers. You'll not get a sight of her; no mortal man can see her.
I was admitted to her presence to entertain her, and I assure you,
on the word of a parrot, who has seen the world, I have conversed with
much sillier princesses in my time."
  "A word in confidence, my dear parrot," said the prince; "I am
heir to a kingdom, and shall one day sit upon a throne. I see that you
are a bird of parts, and understand the world. Help me to gain
possession of this princess, and I will advance you to some
distinguished place about court."
                             
  "With all my heart," said the parrot; "but let it be a sinecure if
possible, for we wits have a great dislike to labor."
  Arrangements were promptly made; the prince sallied forth from
Cordova through the same gate by which he had entered; called the
owl down from the hole in the wall, introduced him to his new
travelling companion as a brother savant, and away they set off on
their journey.
  They travelled much more slowly than accorded with the impatience of
the prince, but the parrot was accustomed to high life, and did not
like to be disturbed early in the morning. The owl, on the other hand,
was for sleeping at mid-day, and lost a great deal of time by his long
siestas. His antiquarian taste also was in the way; for he insisted on
pausing and inspecting every ruin, and had long legendary tales to
tell about every old tower and castle in the country. The prince had
supposed that he and the parrot, being both birds of learning, would
delight in each other's society, but never had he been more
mistaken. They were eternally bickering. The one was a wit, the
other a philosopher. The parrot quoted poetry, was critical on new
readings and eloquent on small points of erudition; the owl treated
all such knowledge as trifling, and relished nothing but
metaphysics. Then the parrot would sing songs and repeat bon mots
and crack jokes upon his solemn neighbor, and laugh outrageously at
his own wit; all which proceedings the owl considered as a grievous
invasion of his dignity, and would scowl and sulk and swell, and be
silent for a whole day together.
  The prince heeded not the wranglings of his companions, being
wrapped up in the dreams of his own fancy and the contemplation of the
portrait of the beautiful princess. In this way they journeyed through
the stern passes of the Sierra Morena, across the sunburnt plains of
La Mancha and Castile, and along the banks of the "Golden Tagus,"
which winds its wizard mazes over one half of Spain and Portugal. At
length they came in sight of a strong city with walls and towers built
on a rocky promontory, round the foot of which the Tagus circled
with brawling violence.
  "Behold," exclaimed the owl, "the ancient and renowned city of
Toledo; a city famous for its antiquities. Behold those venerable
domes and towers, hoary with time and clothed with legendary grandeur,
in which so many of my ancestors have meditated."
                            
  "Pish!" cried the parrot, interrupting his solemn antiquarian
rapture, "what have we to do with antiquities, and legends, and your
ancestry? Behold what is more to the purpose- behold the abode of
youth and beauty- behold at length, O prince, the abode of your
long-sought princess."
  The prince looked in the direction indicated by the parrot, and
beheld, in a delightful meadow on the banks of the Tagus, a stately
palace rising from amidst the bowers of a delicious garden. It was
just such a place as had been described by the dove as the residence
of the original of the picture. He gazed at it with a throbbing heart.
"Perhaps at this moment," thought he, "the beautiful princess is
sporting beneath those shady bowers, or pacing with delicate step
those stately terraces, or reposing beneath those lofty roofs!" As
he looked more narrowly he perceived that the walls of the garden were
of great height, so as to defy access, while numbers of armed guards
patrolled around them.
  The prince turned to the parrot. "O most accomplished of birds,"
said he, "thou hast the gift of human speech. Hie thee to yon
garden; seek the idol of my soul, and tell her that Prince Ahmed, a
pilgrim of love, and guided by the stars, has arrived in quest of
her on the flowery banks of the Tagus."
  The parrot, proud of his embassy, flew away to the garden, mounted
above its lofty walls, and after soaring for a time over the lawns and
groves, alighted on the balcony of a pavilion that overhung the river.
Here, looking in at the casement, he beheld the princess reclining
on a couch, with her eyes fixed on a paper, while tears gently stole
after each other down her pallid cheek.
  Pluming his wings for a moment, adjusting his bright green coat, and
elevating his top-knot, the parrot perched himself beside her with a
gallant air: then assuming a tenderness of tone, "Dry thy tears,
most beautiful of princesses," said he, "I come to bring solace to thy
heart."
                            
  The princess was startled on hearing a voice, but turning and seeing
nothing but a little green-coated bird bobbing and bowing before
her; "Alas! what solace canst thou yield," said she, "seeing thou
art but a parrot?"
  The parrot was nettled at the question. "I have consoled many
beautiful ladies in my time," said he; "but let that pass. At
present I come ambassador from a royal prince. Know that Ahmed, the
prince of Granada, has arrived in quest of thee, and is encamped
even now on the flowery banks of the Tagus."
  The eyes of the beautiful princess sparkled at these words even
brighter than the diamonds in her coronet. "O sweetest of parrots,"
cried she, "joyful indeed are thy tidings, for I was faint and
weary, and sick almost unto death with doubt of the constancy of
Ahmed. Hie thee back, and tell him that the words of his letter are
engraven in my heart, and his poetry has been the food of my soul.
Tell him, however, that he must prepare to prove his love by force
of arms; to-morrow is my seventeenth birth-day, when the king my
father holds a great tournament; several princes are to enter the
lists, and my hand is to be the prize of the victor."
  The parrot again took wing, and rustling through the groves, flew
back to where the prince awaited his return. The rapture of Ahmed on
finding the original of his adored portrait, and finding her kind
and true, can only be conceived by those favored mortals who have
had the good fortune to realize day-dreams and turn a shadow into
substance: still there was one thing that alloyed his transport-
this impending tournament. In fact, the banks of the Tagus were
already glittering with arms, and resounding with trumpets of the
various knights, who, with proud retinues, were prancing on towards
Toledo to attend the ceremonial. The same star that had controlled the
destiny of the prince had governed that of the princess, and until her
seventeenth birth-day she had been shut up from the world, to guard
her from the tender passion. The fame of her charms, however, had been
enhanced rather than obscured by this seclusion. Several powerful
princes had contended for her hand; and her father, who was a king
of wondrous shrewdness, to avoid making enemies by showing partiality,
had referred them to the arbitrament of arms. Among the rival
candidates were several renowned for strength and prowess. What a
predicament for the unfortunate Ahmed, unprovided as he was with
weapons, and unskilled in the exercise of chivalry! "Luckless prince
that I am!" said he, "to have been brought up in seclusion under the
eye of a philosopher! Of what avail are algebra and philosophy in
affairs of love? Alas, Eben Bonabben! why hast thou neglected to
instruct me in the management of arms?" Upon this the owl broke
silence, preluding his harangue with a pious ejaculation, for he was a
devout Mussulman.
  "Allah Akbar! God is great!" exclaimed he; "in his hands are all
secret things- he alone governs the destiny of princes! Know, O
prince, that this land is full of mysteries, hidden from all but those
who, like myself, can grope after knowledge in the dark. Know that
in the neighboring mountains there is a cave, and in that cave there
is an iron table, and on that table there lies a suit of magic
armor, and beside that table there stands a spell-bound steed, which
have been shut up there for many generations."
                            
  The prince stared with wonder, while the owl, blinking his huge
round eyes, and erecting his horns, proceeded.
  "Many years since, I accompanied my father to these parts on a
tour of his estates, and we sojourned in that cave; and thus became
I acquainted with the mystery. It is a tradition in our family which I
have heard from my grandfather, when I was yet but a very little
owlet, that this armor belonged to a Moorish magician, who took refuge
in this cavern when Toledo was captured by the Christians, and died
here, leaving his steed and weapons under a mystic spell, never to
be used but by a Moslem, and by him only from sunrise to mid-day. In
that interval, whoever uses them will overthrow every opponent."
  "Enough, let us seek this cave!" exclaimed Ahmed.
  Guided by his legendary mentor, the prince found the cavern, which
was in one of the wildest recesses of those rocky cliffs which rise
around Toledo; none but the mousing eye of an owl or an antiquary
could have discovered the entrance to it. A sepulchral lamp of
everlasting oil shed a solemn light through the place. On an iron
table in the centre of the cavern lay the magic armor, against it
leaned the lance, and beside it stood an Arabian steed, caparisoned
for the field, but motionless as a statue. The armor was bright and
unsullied as it had gleamed in days of old; the steed in as good
condition as if just from the pasture; and when Ahmed laid his hand
upon his neck, he pawed the ground and gave a loud neigh of joy that
shook the walls of the cavern. Thus amply provided with "horse and
rider and weapon to wear," the prince determined to defy the field
in the impending tourney.
  The eventful morning arrived. The lists for the combat were prepared
in the vega, or plain, just below the cliff-built walls of Toledo,
where stages and galleries were erected for the spectators, covered
with rich tapestry, and sheltered from the sun by silken awnings.
All the beauties of the land were assembled in those galleries,
while below pranced plumed knights with their pages and esquires,
among whom figured conspicuously the princes who were to contend in
the tourney. All the beauties of the land, however, were eclipsed when
the princess Aldegonda appeared in the royal pavilion, and for the
first time broke forth upon the gaze of an admiring world. A murmur of
wonder ran through the crowd at her transcendent loveliness; and the
princes who were candidates for her hand, merely on the faith of her
reported charms, now felt tenfold ardor for the conflict.
                            
  The princess, however, had a troubled look. The color came and
went from her cheek, and her eye wandered with a restless and
unsatisfied expression over the plumed throng of knights. The trumpets
were about sounding for the encounter, when the herald announced the
arrival of a strange knight; and Ahmed rode into the field. A steel
helmet studded with gems rose above his turban; his cuirass was
embossed with gold; his cimeter and dagger were of the workmanship
of Fez, and flamed with precious stones. A round shield was at his
shoulder, and in his hand he bore the lance of charmed virtue. The
caparison of his Arabian steed was richly embroidered and swept the
ground, and the proud animal pranced and snuffed the air, and
neighed with joy at once more beholding the array of arms. The lofty
and graceful demeanor of the prince struck every eye, and when his
appellation was announced, "the Pilgrim of Love," a universal
flutter and agitation prevailed among the fair dames in the galleries.
  When Ahmed presented himself at the lists, however, they were closed
against him: none but princes, he was told, were admitted to the
contest. He declared his name and rank. Still worse!- he was a Moslem,
and could not engage in a tourney where the hand of a Christian
princess was the prize.
  The rival princes surrounded him with haughty and menacing
aspects; and one of insolent demeanor and herculean frame sneered at
his light and youthful form, and scoffed at his amorous appellation.
The ire of the prince was roused. He defied his rival to the
encounter. They took distance, wheeled, and charged; and at the
first touch of the magic lance, the brawny scoffer was tilted from his
saddle. Here the prince would have paused, but alas! he had to deal
with a demoniac horse and armor; once in action nothing could
control them. The Arabian steed charged into the thickest of the
throng; the lance overturned every thing that presented; the gentle
prince was carried pell-mell about the field, strewing it with high
and low, gentle and simple, and grieving at his own involuntary
exploits. The king stormed and raged at this outrage on his subjects
and his guests. He ordered out all his guards- they were unhorsed as
fast as they came up. The king threw off his robes, grasped buckler
and lance, and rode forth to awe the stranger with the presence of
majesty itself Alas! majesty fared no better than the vulgar; the
steed and lance were no respecters of persons; to the dismay of Ahmed,
he was borne full tilt against the king, and in a moment the royal
heels were in the air, and the crown was rolling in the dust.
  At this moment the sun reached the meridian; the magic spell resumed
its power; the Arabian steed scoured across the plain, leaped the
barrier, plunged into the Tagus, swam its raging current, bore the
prince breathless and amazed to the cavern, and resumed his station,
like a statue, beside the iron table. The prince dismounted right
gladly, and replaced the armor, to abide the further decrees of
fate. Then seating himself in the cavern, he ruminated on the
desperate state to which this demoniac steed and armor had reduced
him. Never should he dare to show his face at Toledo after
inflicting such disgrace upon its chivalry, and such an outrage on its
king. What, too, would the princess think of so rude and riotous an
achievement? Full of anxiety, he sent forth his winged messengers to
gather tidings. The parrot resorted to all the public places and
crowded resorts of the city, and soon returned with a world of gossip.
  All Toledo was in consternation. The princess had been borne off
senseless to the palace; the tournament had ended in confusion;
every one was talking of the sudden apparition, prodigious exploits,
and strange disappearance of the Moslem knight. Some pronounced him
a Moorish magician; others thought him a demon who had assumed a human
shape, while others related traditions of enchanted warriors hidden in
the caves of the mountains, and thought it might be one of these,
who had made a sudden irruption from his den. All agreed that no
mere ordinary mortal could have wrought such wonders, or unhorsed such
accomplished and stalwart Christian warriors.
                            
  The owl flew forth at night and hovered about the dusky city,
perching on the roofs and chimneys. He then wheeled his flight up to
the royal palace, which stood on a rocky summit of Toledo, and went
prowling about its terraces and battlements, eavesdropping at every
cranny, and glaring in with his big goggling eyes at every window
where there was a light, so as to throw two or three maids of honor
into fits. It was not until the gray dawn began to peer above the
mountains that he returned from his mousing expedition, and related to
the prince what he had seen.
  "As I was prying about one of the loftiest towers of the palace,"
said he, "I beheld through a casement a beautiful princess. She was
reclining on a couch with attendants and physicians around her, but
she would none of their ministry and relief When they retired I beheld
her draw forth a letter from her bosom, and read and kiss it, and give
way to loud lamentations; at which, philosopher as I am, I could but
be greatly moved."
  The tender heart of Ahmed was distressed at these tidings. "Too true
were thy words, O sage Eben Bonabben," cried he; "care and sorrow
and sleepless nights are the lot of lovers. Allah preserve the
princess from the blighting influence of this thing called love!"
  Further intelligence from Toledo corroborated the report of the owl.
The city was a prey to uneasiness and alarm. The princess was conveyed
to the highest tower of the palace, every avenue to which was strongly
guarded. In the mean time a devouring melancholy had seized upon
her, of which no one could divine the cause- she refused food and
turned a deaf ear to every consolation. The most skilful physicians
had essayed their art in vain; it was thought some magic spell had
been practised upon her, and the king made proclamation, declaring
that whoever should effect her cure should receive the richest jewel
in the royal treasury.
  When the owl, who was dozing in a corner, heard of this
proclamation, he rolled his large eyes and looked more mysterious than
ever.
                            
  "Allah Akbar!" exclaimed he, "happy the man that shall effect that
cure, should he but know what to choose from the royal treasury."
  "What mean you, most reverend owl?" said Ahmed.
  "Hearken, O prince, to what I shall relate. We owls, you must
know, are a learned body, and much given to dark and dusty research.
During my late prowling at night about the domes and turrets of
Toledo, I discovered a college of antiquarian owls, who hold their
meetings in a great vaulted tower where the royal treasury is
deposited. Here they were discussing the forms and inscriptions and
designs of ancient gems and jewels, and of golden and silver
vessels, heaped up in the treasury, the fashion of every country and
age; but mostly they were interested about certain relics and
talismans that have remained in the treasury since the time of
Roderick the Goth. Among these was a box of sandal-wood secured by
bands of steel of Oriental workmanship, and inscribed with mystic
characters known only to the learned few. This box and its inscription
had occupied the college for several sessions, and had caused much
long and grave dispute. At the time of my visit a very ancient owl,
who had recently arrived from Egypt, was seated on the lid of the
box lecturing upon the inscription, and he proved from it that the
coffer contained the silken carpet of the throne of Solomon the
wise; which doubtless had been brought to Toledo by the Jews who
took refuge there after the downfall of Jerusalem."
  When the owl had concluded his antiquarian harangue the prince
remained for a time absorbed in thought. "I have heard," said he,
"from the sage Eben Bonabben, of the wonderful properties of that
talisman, which disappeared at the fall of Jerusalem, and was supposed
to be lost to mankind. Doubtless it remains a sealed mystery to the
Christians of Toledo. If I can get possession of that carpet, my
fortune is secure."
  The next day the prince laid aside his rich attire, and arrayed
himself in the simple garb of an Arab of the desert. He dyed his
complexion to a tawny hue, and no one could have recognized in him the
splendid warrior who had caused such admiration and dismay at the
tournament. With staff in hand, and scrip by his side, and a small
pastoral reed, he repaired to Toledo, and presenting himself at the
gate of the royal palace, announced himself as a candidate for the
reward offered for the cure of the princess. The guards would have
driven him away with blows. "What can a vagrant Arab like thyself
pretend to do," said they, "in a case where the most learned of the
land have failed?" The king, however, overheard the tumult, and
ordered the Arab to be brought into his presence.
                            
  "Most potent king," said Ahmed, "You behold before you a Bedouin
Arab, the greater part of whose life has been passed in the
solitudes of the desert. These solitudes, it is well known, are the
haunts of demons and evil spirits, who beset us poor shepherds in
our lonely watchings, enter into and possess our flocks and herds, and
sometimes render even the patient camel furious; against these our
counter-charm is music; and we have legendary airs handed down from
generation to generation, that we chant and pipe, to cast forth
these evil spirits. I am of a gifted line, and possess this power in
its fullest force. If it be any evil influence of the kind that
holds a spell over thy daughter, I pledge my head to free her from its
sway."
  The king, who was a man of understanding and knew the wonderful
secrets possessed by the Arabs, was inspired with hope by the
confident language of the prince. He conducted him immediately to
the lofty tower, secured by several doors, in the summit of which
was the chamber of the princess. The windows opened upon a terrace
with balustrades, commanding a view over Toledo and all the
surrounding country. The windows were darkened, for the princess lay
within, a prey to a devouring grief that refused all alleviation.
  The prince seated himself on the terrace, and performed several wild
Arabian airs on his pastoral pipe, which he had learnt from his
attendants in the Generalife at Granada. The princess continued
insensible, and the doctors who were present shook their heads, and
smiled with incredulity and contempt: at length the prince laid
aside the reed, and, to a simple melody, chanted the amatory verses of
the letter which had declared his passion.
  The princess recognized the strain- a fluttering joy stole to her
heart; she raised her head and listened; tears rushed to her eyes
and streamed down her cheeks; her bosom rose and fell with a tumult of
emotions. She would have asked for the minstrel to be brought into her
presence, but maiden coyness held her silent. The king read her
wishes, and at his command Ahmed was conducted into the chamber. The
lovers were discreet: they but exchanged glances, yet those glances
spoke volumes. Never was triumph of music more complete. The rose
had returned to the soft cheek of the princess, the freshness to her
lip, and the dewy light to her languishing eyes.
  All the physicians present stared at each other with astonishment.
The king regarded the Arab minstrel with admiration mixed with awe.
"Wonderful youth!" exclaimed he, "thou shalt henceforth be the first
physician of my court, and no other prescription will I take but thy
melody. For the present receive thy reward, the most precious jewel in
my treasury."
                            
  "O king," replied Ahmed, "I care not for silver or gold or
precious stones. One relic hast thou in thy treasury, handed down from
the Moslems who once owned Toledo- a box of sandal-wood containing a
silken carpet: give me that box, and I am content."
  All present were surprised at the moderation of the Arab; and
still more when the box of sandal-wood was brought and the carpet
drawn forth. It was of fine green silk, covered with Hebrew and
Chaldaic characters. The court physicians looked at each other,
shrugged their shoulders, and smiled at the simplicity of this new
practitioner, who could be content with so paltry a fee.
  "This carpet," said the prince, "once covered the throne of
Solomon the wise; it is worthy of being placed beneath the feet of
beauty."
  So saying, he spread it on the terrace beneath an ottoman that had
been brought forth for the princess; then seating himself at her feet-
-
                            
  "Who," said he, "shall counteract what is written in the book of
fate? Behold the prediction of the astrologers verified. Know, O king,
that your daughter and I long have loved each other in secret.
Behold in me the Pilgrim of Love!"
  These words were scarcely from his lips, when the carpet rose in the
air, bearing off the prince and princess. The king and the
physicians gazed after it with open mouths and straining eyes until it
became a little speck on the white bosom of a cloud, and then
disappeared in the blue vault of heaven.
  The king in a rage summoned his treasurer. "How is this," said he,
"that thou hast suffered an infidel to get possession of such a
talisman?"
  "Alas, sir, we knew not its nature, nor could we decipher the
inscription of the box. If it be indeed the carpet of the throne of
the wise Solomon, it is possessed of magic power, and can transport
its owner from place to place through the air."
  The king assembled a mighty army, and set off for Granada in pursuit
of the fugitives. His march was long and toilsome. Encamping in the
Vega, he sent a herald to demand restitution of his daughter. The king
himself came forth with all his court to meet him. In the king he
beheld the real minstrel, for Ahmed had succeeded to the throne on the
death of his father, and the beautiful Aldegonda was his sultana.
                            
  The Christian king was easily pacified when he found that his
daughter was suffered to continue in her faith- not that he was
particularly pious, but religion is always a point of pride and
etiquette with princes. Instead of bloody battles, there was a
succession of feasts and rejoicings, after which the king returned
well pleased to Toledo, and the youthful couple continued to reign
as happily as wisely, in the Alhambra.
  It is proper to add, that the owl and the parrot had severally
followed the prince by easy stages to Granada, the former travelling
by night and stopping at the various hereditary possessions of his
family, the latter figuring in gay circles of every town and city on
his route.
  Ahmed gratefully requited the services which they had rendered on
his pilgrimage. He appointed the owl his prime minister, the parrot
his master of ceremonies. It is needless to say that never was a realm
more sagely administered, nor a court conducted with more exact
punctilio.


                 A Ramble Among the Hills.
-
  I USED frequently to amuse myself towards the close of the day, when
the heat had subsided, with taking long rambles about the
neighboring hills and the deep umbrageous valleys, accompanied by my
historiographic squire, Mateo, to whose passion for gossiping I on
such occasions gave the most unbounded license; and there was scarce a
rock, or ruin, or broken fountain, or lonely glen, about which he
had not some marvellous story; or, above all, some golden legend;
for never was poor devil so munificent in dispensing hidden treasures.
  In the course of one of these strolls Mateo was more than usually
communicative. It was toward sunset that we sallied forth from the
great Gate of Justice, and ascended an alley of trees until we came to
a clump of figs and pomegranates at the foot of the Tower of the Seven
Floors (de los Siete Suelos), the identical tower whence Boabdil is
said to have issued, when he surrendered his capital. Here, pointing
to a low archway in the foundation, Mateo informed me of a monstrous
sprite or hobgoblin, said to infest this tower, ever since the time of
the Moors, and to guard the treasures of a Moslem king. Sometimes it
issues forth in the dead of the night, and scours the avenues of the
Alhambra, and the streets of Granada, in the shape of a headless
horse, pursued by six dogs with terrible yells and howlings.
  "But have you ever met with it yourself, Mateo, in any of your
rambles?" demanded I.
  "No, senor, God be thanked! but my grandfather, the tailor, knew
several persons that had seen it, for it went about much oftener in
his time than at present; sometimes in one shape, sometimes in
another. Every body in Granada has heard of the Belludo, for the old
women and the nurses frighten the children with it when they cry. Some
say it is the spirit of a cruel Moorish king, who killed his six
sons and buried them in these vaults, and that they hunt him at nights
in revenge."
  I forbear to dwell upon the marvellous details given by the
simple-minded Mateo about this redoubtable phantom, which has, in
fact, been time out of mind a favorite theme of nursery tales and
popular tradition in Granada, and of which honorable mention is made
by an ancient and learned historian and topographer of the place.
                                     
  Leaving this eventful pile, we continued our course, skirting the
fruitful orchards of the Generalife, in which two or three
nightingales were pouring forth a rich strain of melody. Behind
these orchards we passed a number of Moorish tanks, with a door cut
into the rocky bosom of the hill, but closed up. These tanks, Mateo
informed me, were favorite bathing-places of himself and his
comrades in boyhood, until frightened away by a story of a hideous
Moor, who used to issue forth from the door in the rock to entrap
unwary bathers.
  Leaving these haunted tanks behind us, we pursued our ramble up a
solitary mule-path winding among the hills, and soon found ourselves
amidst wild and melancholy mountains, destitute of trees, and here and
there tinted with scanty verdure. Every thing within sight was
severe and sterile, and it was scarcely possible to realize the idea
that but a short distance behind us was the Generalife, with its
blooming orchards and terraced gardens, and that we were in the
vicinity of delicious Granada, that city of groves and fountains.
But such is the nature of Spain; wild and stern the moment it
escapes from cultivation; the desert and the garden are ever side by
side.
  The narrow defile up which we were passing is called, according to
Mateo, el Barranco de la tinaja, or the ravine of the jar, because a
jar full of Moorish gold was found here in old times. The brain of
poor Mateo was continually running upon these golden legends.
  "But what is the meaning of the cross I see yonder upon a heap of
stones, in that narrow part of the ravine?"
  "Oh, that's nothing- a muleteer was murdered there some years
since."
                                    
  "So then, Mateo, you have robbers and murderers even at the gates of
the Alhambra?"
  "Not at present, senor; that was formerly, when there used to be
many loose fellows about the fortress; but they've all been weeded
out. Not but that the gipsies who live in caves in the hillsides, just
out of the fortress, are many of them fit for any thing; but we have
had no murder about here for a long time past. The man who murdered
the muleteer was hanged in the fortress."
  Our path continued up the barranco, with a bold, rugged height to
our left, called the "Silla del Moro," or Chair of the Moor, from
the tradition already alluded to, that the unfortunate Boabdil fled
thither during a popular insurrection, and remained all day seated
on the rocky summit, looking mournfully down on his factious city.
  We at length arrived on the highest part of the promontory above
Granada, called the mountain of the sun. The evening was
approaching; the setting sun just gilded the loftiest heights. Here
and there a solitary shepherd might be descried driving his flock down
the declivities, to be folded for the night; or a muleteer and his
lagging animals, threading some mountain path, to arrive at the city
gates before nightfall.
  Presently the deep tones of the cathedral bell came swelling up
the defiles, proclaiming the hour of "oration" or prayer. The note was
responded to from the belfry of every church, and from the sweet bells
of the convents among the mountains. The shepherd paused on the fold
of the hill, the muleteer in the midst of the road, each took off
his hat and remained motionless for a time, murmuring his evening
prayer. There is always something pleasingly solemn in this custom, by
which, at a melodious signal, every human being throughout the land
unites at the same moment in a tribute of thanks to God for the
mercies of the day. It spreads a transient sanctity over the land, and
the sight of the sun sinking in all his glory, adds not a little to
the solemnity of the scene.
                                    
  In the present instance the effect was heightened by the wild and
lonely nature of the place. We were on the naked and broken summit
of the haunted mountain of the sun, where ruined tanks and cisterns,
and the mouldering foundations of extensive buildings, spoke of former
populousness, but where all was now silent and desolate.
  As we were wandering about among these traces of old times, we
came to a circular pit, penetrating deep into the bosom of the
mountain; which Mateo pointed out as one of the wonders and
mysteries of the place. I supposed it to be a well dug by the
indefatigable Moors, to obtain their favorite element in its
greatest purity. Mateo, however, had a different story, and one much
more to his humor. According to a tradition, in which his father and
grandfather firmly believed, this was an entrance to the
subterranean caverns of the mountain, in which Boabdil and his court
lay bound in magic spell; and whence they sallied forth at night, at
allotted times, to revisit their ancient abodes.
  "Ah, senor, this mountain is full of wonders of the kind. In another
place there was a hole somewhat like this, and just within it hung
an iron pot by a chain; nobody knew what was in that pot, for it was
always covered up; but every body supposed it full of Moorish gold.
Many tried to draw it forth, for it seemed just within reach; but
the moment it was touched it would sink far, far down, and not come up
again for some time. At last one who thought it must be enchanted
touched it with the cross, by way of breaking the charm; and faith
he did break it, for the pot sank out of sight and never was seen
any more.
  "All this is fact, senor; for my grandfather was an eye-witness."
  "What! Mateo; did he see the pot?"
                                    
  "No, senor, but he saw the hole where the pot had hung."
  "It's the same thing, Mateo."
  The deepening twilight, which, in this climate, is of short
duration, admonished us to leave this haunted ground. As we
descended the mountain defile, there was no longer herdsman nor
muleteer to be seen, nor any thing to be heard but our own footsteps
and the lonely chirping of the cricket. The shadows of the valley grew
deeper and deeper, until all was dark around us. The lofty summit of
the Sierra Nevada alone retained a lingering gleam of daylight; its
snowy peaks glaring against the dark blue firmament, and seeming close
to us, from the extreme purity of the atmosphere.
  "How near the Sierra looks this evening!" said Mateo; "it seems as
if you could touch it with your hand; and yet it is many long
leagues off." While he was speaking, a star appeared over the snowy
summit of the mountain, the only one yet visible in the heavens, and
so pure, so large, so bright and beautiful, as to call forth
ejaculations of delight from honest Mateo.
  "Que estrella hermosa! que clara y limpia es!- No pueda ser estrella
mas brillante!" ("What a beautiful star! how clear and lucid- a star
could not be more brilliant!")
                                    
  I have often remarked this sensibility of the common people of Spain
to the charms of natural objects. The lustre of a star, the beauty
or fragrance of a flower, the crystal purity of a fountain, will
inspire them with a kind of poetical delight; and then, what
euphonious words their magnificent language affords, with which to
give utterance to their transports!
  "But what lights are those, Mateo, which I see twinkling along the
Sierra Nevada, just below the snowy region, and which might be taken
for stars, only that they are ruddy, and against the dark side of
the mountain?"
  "Those, senor, are fires, made by the men who gather snow and ice
for the supply of Granada. They go up every afternoon with mules and
asses, and take turns, some to rest and warm themselves by the
fires, while others fill the panniers with ice. They then set off down
the mountains, so as to reach the gates of Granada before sunrise.
That Sierra Nevada, senor, is a lump of ice in the middle of
Andalusia, to keep it all cool in summer."
  It was now completely dark; we were passing through the barranco,
where stood the cross of the murdered muleteer; when I beheld a number
of lights moving at a distance, and apparently advancing up the
ravine. On nearer approach, they proved to be torches borne by a train
of uncouth figures arrayed in black: it would have been a procession
dreary enough at any time, but was peculiarly so in this wild and
solitary place.
  Mateo drew near, and told me, in a low voice, that it was a
funeral train bearing a corpse to the burying-ground among the hills.
                                    
  As the procession passed by, the lugubrious light of the torches,
falling on the rugged features and funeral-weeds of the attendants,
had the most fantastic effect, but was perfectly ghastly, as it
revealed the countenance of the corpse, which, according to the
Spanish custom, was borne uncovered on an open bier. I remained for
some time gazing after the dreary train as it wound up the dark defile
of the mountain. It put me in mind of the old story of a procession of
demons bearing the body of a sinner up the crater of Stromboli.
  "Ah! senor," cried Mateo, "I could tell you a story of a
procession once seen among these mountains, but then you'd laugh at
me, and say it was one of the legacies of my grandfather the tailor."
  "By no means, Mateo. There is nothing I relish more than a
marvellous tale."
  "Well, senor, it is about one of those very men we have been talking
of, who gather snow on the Sierra Nevada.
  "You must know, that a great many years since, in my grandfather's
time, there was an old fellow, Tio Nicolo (Uncle Nicholas) by name,
who had filled the panniers of his mule with snow and ice, and was
returning down the mountain. Being very drowsy, he mounted upon the
mule, and soon falling asleep, went with his head nodding and
bobbing about from side to side, while his surefooted old mule stepped
along the edge of precipices, and down steep and broken barrancos,
just as safe and steady as if it had been on plain ground. At
length, Tio Nicolo awoke, and gazed about him, and rubbed his eyes-
and, in good truth, he had reason. The moon shone almost as bright
as day, and he saw the city below him, as plain as your hand, and
shining with its white buildings, like a silver platter in the
moonshine; but, Lord! senor, it was nothing like the city he had
left a few hours before! Instead of the cathedral, with its great dome
and turrets, and the churches with their spires, and the convents with
their pinnacles, all surmounted with the blessed cross, he saw nothing
but Moorish mosques, and minarets, and cupolas, all topped off with
glittering crescents, such as you see on the Barbary flags.
                                    
  "Well, senor, as you may suppose, Tio Nicolo was mightily puzzled at
all this, but while he was gazing down upon the city, a great army
came marching up the mountains, winding along the ravines, sometimes
in the moonshine sometimes in the shade. As it drew nigh, he saw
that there were horse and foot all in Moorish armor. Tio Nicolo
tried to scramble out of their way, but his old mule stood stock
still, and refused to budge, trembling, at the same time, like a leaf-
for dumb beasts, senor, are just as much frightened at such things
as human beings. Well, senor, the hobgoblin army came marching by;
there were men that seemed to blow trumpets, and others to beat
drums and strike cymbals, yet never a sound did they make; they all
moved on without the least noise, just as I have seen painted armies
move across the stage in the theatre of Granada, and all looked as
pale as death. At last, in the rear of the army, between two black
Moorish horsemen, rode the Grand Inquisitor of Granada, on a mule as
white as snow. Tio Nicolo wondered to see him in such company, for the
Inquisitor was famous for his hatred of Moors, and indeed, of all
kinds of Infidels, Jews, and Heretics, and used to hunt them out
with fire and scourge.
  "However, Tio Nicolo felt himself safe, now that there was a
priest of such sanctity at hand. So making the sign of the cross, he
called out for his benediction, when hombre! he received a blow that
sent him and his old mule over the edge of a steep bank, down which
they rolled, head over heels, to the bottom! Tio Nicolo did not come
to his senses until long after sunrise, when he found himself at the
bottom of a deep ravine, his mule grazing beside him, and his panniers
of snow completely melted. He crawled back to Granada sorely bruised
and battered, but was glad to find the city looking as usual, with
Christian churches and crosses.
  "When he told the story of his night's adventure, every one
laughed at him; some said he had dreamed it all, as he dozed on his
mule; others thought it all a fabrication of his own- but what was
strange, senor, and made people afterwards think more seriously of the
matter, was, that the Grand Inquisitor died within the year. I have
often heard my grandfather, the tailor, say that there was more
meant by that hobgoblin army bearing off the resemblance of the
priest, than folks dared to surmise."
  "Then you would insinuate, friend Mateo, that there is a kind of
Moorish limbo, or purgatory, in the bowels of these mountains, to
which the padre Inquisitor was borne off."
  "God forbid, senor! I know nothing of the matter. I only relate what
I heard from my grandfather."
                                    
  By the time Mateo had finished the tale which I have more succinctly
related, and which was interlarded with many comments, and spun out
with minute details, we reached the gate of the Alhambra.
  The marvellous stories hinted at by Mateo, in the early part of
our ramble about the Tower of the Seven Floors, set me as usual upon
my goblin researches. I found that the redoubtable phantom, the
Belludo, had been time out of mind a favorite theme of nursery tales
and popular traditions in Granada, and that honorable mention had even
been made of it by an ancient historian and topographer of the
place. The scattered members of one of these popular traditions I have
gathered together, collated them with infinite pains, and digested
them into the following legend; which only wants a number of learned
notes and references at bottom to take its rank among those concrete
productions gravely passed upon the world for Historical Facts.


               Legend of the Moor's Legacy.
-
  JUST within the fortress of the Alhambra, in front of the royal
palace, is a broad open esplanade, called the Place or Square of the
Cisterns (la Plaza de los Algibes), so called from being undermined by
reservoirs of water, hidden from sight, and which have existed from
the time of the Moors. At one corner of this esplanade is a Moorish
well, cut through the living rock to a great depth, the water of which
is cold as ice and clear as crystal. The wells made by the Moors are
always in repute, for it is well known what pains they took to
penetrate to the purest and sweetest springs and fountains. The one of
which we now speak is famous throughout Granada, insomuch that
water-carriers, some bearing great water-jars on their shoulders,
others driving asses before them laden with earthen vessels, are
ascending and descending the steep woody avenues of the Alhambra, from
early dawn until a late hour of the night.
  Fountains and wells, ever since the scriptural days, have been noted
gossiping places in hot climates; and at the well in question there is
a kind of perpetual club kept up during the livelong day, by the
invalids, old women, and other curious do-nothing folk of the
fortress, who sit here on the stone benches, under an awning spread
over the well to shelter the toll-gatherer from the sun, and dawdle
over the gossip of the fortress, and question every water-carrier that
arrives about the news of the city, and make long comments on every
thing they hear and see. Not an hour of the day but loitering
housewives and idle maid-servants may be seen, lingering with
pitcher on head, or in hand, to hear the last of the endless tattle of
these worthies.
  Among the water-carriers who once resorted to this well, there was a
sturdy, strong-backed, bandy-legged little fellow, named Pedro Gil,
but called Peregil for shortness. Being a water-carrier, he was a
Gallego, or native of Galicia, of course. Nature seems to have
formed races of men, as she has of animals, for different kinds of
drudgery. In France the shoeblacks are all Savoyards, the porters of
hotels all Swiss, and in the days of hoops and hair-powder in England,
no man could give the regular swing to a sedan-chair but a
bog-trotting Irishman. So in Spain, the carriers of water and
bearers of burdens are all sturdy little natives of Galicia. No man
says, "Get me a porter," but, "Call a Gallego."
  To return from this digression, Peregil the Gallego had begun
business with merely a great earthen jar which he carried upon his
shoulder; by degrees he rose in the world, and was enabled to purchase
an assistant of a correspondent class of animals, being a stout
shaggy-haired donkey. On each side of this his long-eared
aide-de-camp, in a kind of pannier, were slung his water-jars, covered
with fig-leaves to protect them from the sun. There was not a more
industrious water-carrier in all Granada, nor one more merry withal.
The streets rang with his cheerful voice as he trudged after his
donkey, singing forth the usual summer note that resounds through
the Spanish towns: "Quien quiere agua- agua mas fria que la nieve?"-
"Who wants water- water colder than snow? Who wants water from the
well of the Alhambra, cold as ice and clear as crystal?" When he
served a customer with a sparkling glass, it was always with a
pleasant word that caused a smile; and if, perchance, it was a
comely dame or dimpling damsel, it was always with a sly leer and a
compliment to her beauty that was irresistible. Thus Peregil the
Gallego was noted throughout all Granada for being one of the
civilest, pleasantest, and happiest of mortals.
  Yet it is not he who sings loudest and jokes most that has the
lightest heart. Under all this air of merriment, honest Peregil had
his cares and troubles. He had a large family of ragged children to
support, who were hungry and clamorous as a nest of young swallows,
and beset him with their outcries for food whenever he came home of an
evening. He had a helpmate, too, who was any thing but a help to
him. She had been a village beauty before marriage, noted for her
skill at dancing the bolero and rattling the castanets; and she
still retained her early propensities, spending the hard earnings of
honest Peregil in frippery, and laying the very donkey under
requisition for junketing parties into the country on Sundays, and
saints' days, and those innumerable holidays which are rather more
numerous in Spain than the days of the week. With all this she was a
little of a slattern, something more of a lie-abed, and, above all,
a gossip of the first water; neglecting house, household, and every
thing else, to loiter slipshod in the houses of her gossip neighbors.
                                   
  He, however, who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, accommodates
the yoke of matrimony to the submissive neck. Peregil bore all the
heavy dispensations of wife and children with as meek a spirit as
his donkey bore the water-jars; and, however he might shake his ears
in private, never ventured to question the household virtues of his
slattern spouse.
  He loved his children too even as an owl loves its owlets, seeing in
them his own image multiplied and perpetuated; for they were a sturdy,
long-backed, bandy-legged little brood. The great pleasure of honest
Peregil was, whenever he could afford himself a scanty holiday, and
had a handful of marevedis to spare, to take the whole litter forth
with him, some in his arms, some tugging at his skirts, and some
trudging at his heels, and to treat them to a gambol among the
orchards of the Vega, while his wife was dancing with her holiday
friends in the Angosturas of the Darro.
  It was a late hour one summer night, and most of the
water-carriers had desisted from their toils. The day had been
uncommonly sultry; the night was one of those delicious moonlights,
which tempt the inhabitants of southern climes to indemnify themselves
for the heat and inaction of the day, by lingering in the open air,
and enjoying its tempered sweetness until after midnight. Customers
for water were therefore still abroad. Peregil, like a considerate,
painstaking father, thought of his hungry children. "One more
journey to the well," said he to himself, "to earn a Sunday's
puchero for the little ones." So saying, he trudged manfully up the
steep avenue of the Alhambra, singing as he went, and now and then
bestowing a hearty thwack with a cudgel on the flanks of his donkey,
either by way of cadence to the song, or refreshment to the animal;
for dry blows serve in lieu of provender in Spain for all beasts of
burden.
  When arrived at the well, he found it deserted by every one except a
solitary stranger in Moorish garb, seated on a stone bench in the
moonlight. Peregil paused at first and regarded him with surprise, not
unmixed with awe, but the Moor feebly beckoned him to approach. "I
am faint and ill," said he, "aid me to return to the city, and I
will pay thee double what thou couldst gain by thy jars of water."
  The honest heart of the little water-carrier was touched with
compassion at the appeal of the stranger. "God forbid," said he, "that
I should ask fee or reward for doing a common act of humanity." He
accordingly helped the Moor on his donkey, and set off slowly for
Granada, the poor Moslem being so weak that it was necessary to hold
him on the animal to keep him from falling to the earth.
                                  
  When they entered the city, the water-carrier demanded whither he
should conduct him. "Alas!" said the Moor, faintly, "I have neither
home nor habitation, I am a stranger in the land. Suffer me to lay
my head this night beneath thy roof, and thou shalt be amply repaid."
  Honest Peregil thus saw himself unexpectedly saddled with an infidel
guest, but he was too humane to refuse a night's shelter to a fellow
being in so forlorn a plight, so he conducted the Moor to his
dwelling. The children, who had sallied forth open-mouthed as usual on
hearing the tramp of the donkey, ran back with affright, when they
beheld the turbaned stranger, and hid themselves behind their
mother. The latter stepped forth intrepidly, like a ruffling hen
before her brood when a vagrant dog approaches.
  "What infidel companion," cried she, "is this you have brought
home at this late hour, to draw upon us the eyes of the Inquisition?"
  "Be quiet, wife," replied the Gallego, "here is a poor sick
stranger, without friend or home; wouldst thou turn him forth to
perish in the streets?"
  The wife would still have remonstrated, for although she lived in
a hovel she was a furious stickler for the credit of her house; the
little water-carrier, however, for once was stiff-necked, and
refused to bend beneath the yoke. He assisted the poor Moslem to
alight, and spread a mat and a sheep-skin for him, on the ground, in
the coolest part of the house; being the only kind of bed that his
poverty afforded.
                                  
  In a little while the Moor was seized with violent convulsions,
which defied all the ministering skill of the simple water-carrier.
The eye of the poor patient acknowledged his kindness. During an
interval of his fits he called him to his side, and addressing him
in a low voice, "My end," said he, "I fear is at hand. If I die, I
bequeath you this box as a reward for your charity": so saying, he
opened his albornoz, or cloak, and showed a small box of sandalwood,
strapped round his body. "God grant, my friend," replied the worthy
little Gallego, "that you may live many years to enjoy your
treasure, whatever it may be." The Moor shook his head; he laid his
hand upon the box, and would have said something more concerning it,
but his convulsions returned with increasing violence, and in a little
while he expired.
  The water-carrier's wife was now as one distracted. "This comes,"
said she, "of your foolish good nature, always running into scrapes to
oblige others. What will become of us when this corpse is found in our
house? We shall be sent to prison as murderers; and if we escape
with our lives, shall be ruined by notaries and alguazils."
  Poor Peregil was in equal tribulation, and almost repented himself
of having done a good deed. At length a thought struck him. "It is not
yet day," said he; "I can convey the dead body out of the city, and
bury it in the sands on the banks of the Xenil. No one saw the Moor
enter our dwelling, and no one will know any thing of his death."
  So said, so done. The wife aided him; they rolled the body of the
unfortunate Moslem in the mat on which he had expired, laid it
across the ass, and Peregil set out with it for the banks of the
river.
  As ill luck would have it, there lived opposite to the water-carrier
a barber named Pedrillo Pedrugo, one of the most prying, tattling, and
mischief-making of his gossip tribe. He was a weasel-faced,
spider-legged varlet, supple and insinuating; the famous barber of
Seville could not surpass him for his universal knowledge of the
affairs of others, and he had no more power of retention than a sieve.
It was said that he slept but with one eye at a time, and kept one ear
uncovered, so that, even in his sleep, he might see and hear all
that was going on. Certain it is, he was a sort of scandalous
chronicle for the quid-nuncs of Granada, and had more customers than
all the rest of his fraternity.
                                  
  This meddlesome barber heard Peregil arrive at an unusual hour at
night, and the exclamations of his wife and children. His head was
instantly popped out of a little window which served him as a
look-out, and he saw his neighbor assist a man in Moorish garb into
his dwelling. This was so strange an occurrence, that Pedrillo Pedrugo
slept not a wink that night. Every five minutes he was at his
loophole, watching the lights that gleamed through the chinks of his
neighbor's door, and before daylight he beheld Peregil sally forth
with his donkey unusually laden.
  The inquisitive barber was in a fidget; he slipped on his clothes,
and, stealing forth silently, followed the water-carrier at a
distance, until he saw him dig a hole in the sandy bank of the
Xenil, and bury something that had the appearance of a dead body.
  The barber hied him home, and fidgeted about his shop, setting every
thing upside down, until sunrise. He then took a basin under his
arm, and sallied forth to the house of his daily customer the alcalde.
  The alcalde was just risen. Pedrillo Pedrugo seated him in a
chair, threw a napkin round his neck, put a basin of hot water under
his chin, and began to mollify his beard with his fingers.
  "Strange doings!" said Pedrugo, who played barber and newsmonger
at the same time- "Strange doings! Robbery, and murder, and burial all
in one night!"
                                  
  "Hey!- how!- what is that you say?" cried the alcalde.
  "I say," replied the barber, rubbing a piece of soap over the nose
and mouth of the dignitary, for a Spanish barber disdains to employ
a brush- "I say that Peregil the Gallego has robbed and murdered a
Moorish Mussulman, and buried him, this blessed night. Maldita sea
la noche- accursed be the night for the same!"
  "But how do you know all this?" demanded the alcalde.
  "Be patient, senor, and you shall hear all about it," replied
Pedrillo, taking him by the nose and sliding a razor over his cheek.
He then recounted all that he had seen, going through both
operations at the same time, shaving his beard, washing his chin,
and wiping him dry with a dirty napkin, while he was robbing,
murdering, and burying the Moslem.
  Now it so happened that this alcalde was one of the most
overbearing, and at the same time most griping and corrupt curmudgeons
in all Granada. It could not be denied, however, that he set a high
value upon justice, for he sold it at its weight in gold. He
presumed the case in point to be one of murder and robbery;
doubtless there must be a rich spoil; how was it to be secured into
the legitimate hands of the law? for as to merely entrapping the
delinquent- that would be feeding the gallows; but entrapping the
booty- that would be enriching the judge, and such, according to his
creed, was the great end of justice. So thinking, he summoned to his
presence his trustiest alguazil- a gaunt, hungry-looking varlet, clad,
according to the custom of his order, in the ancient Spanish garb: a
broad black beaver turned up at its sides, a quaint ruff, a small
black cloak dangling from his shoulders, rusty black under-clothes
that set off his spare wiry frame, while in his hand he bore a slender
white wand, the dreaded insignia of his office. Such was the legal
bloodhound of the ancient Spanish breed, that he put upon the traces
of the unlucky water-carrier, and such was his speed and certainty,
that he was upon the haunches of poor Peregil before he had returned
to his dwelling, and brought both him and his donkey before the
dispenser of justice.
                                  
  The alcalde bent upon him one of the most terrific frowns. "Hark ye,
culprit!" roared he, in a voice that made the knees of the little
Gallego smite together- "hark ye, culprit! there is no need of denying
thy guilt, every thing is known to me. A gallows is the proper
reward for the crime thou hast committed, but I am merciful, and
readily listen to reason. The man that has been murdered in thy
house was a Moor, an infidel, the enemy of our faith. It was doubtless
in a fit of religious zeal that thou hast slain him. I will be
indulgent, therefore; render up the property of which thou hast robbed
him, and we will hush the matter up."
  The poor water-carrier called upon all the saints to witness his
innocence; alas! not one of them appeared; and if they had, the
alcalde would have disbelieved the whole calendar. The water-carrier
related the whole story of the dying Moor with the straightforward
simplicity of truth, but it was all in vain. "Wilt thou persist in
saying," demanded the judge, "that this Moslem had neither gold nor
jewels, which were the object of thy cupidity?"
  "As I hope to be saved, your worship," replied the water-carrier,
"he had nothing but a small box of sandalwood which he bequeathed to
me in reward for my services."
  "A box of sandalwood! a box of sandalwood!" exclaimed the alcalde,
his eyes sparkling at the idea of precious jewels. "And where is
this box? where have you concealed it?"
  "An' it please your grace," replied the water-carrier, "it is in one
of the panniers of my mule, and heartily at the service of your
worship."
                                  
  He had hardly spoken the words, when the keen alguazil darted off,
and reappeared in an instant with the mysterious box of sandalwood.
The alcalde opened it with an eager and trembling hand; all pressed
forward to gaze upon the treasure it was expected to contain, when, to
their disappointment, nothing appeared within, but a parchment scroll,
covered with Arabic characters, and an end of a waxen taper.
  When there is nothing to be gained by the conviction of a
prisoner, justice, even in Spain, is apt to be impartial. The alcalde,
having recovered from his disappointment, and found that there was
really no booty in the case, now listened dispassionately to the
explanation of the water-carrier, which was corroborated by the
testimony of his wife. Being convinced, therefore, of his innocence,
he discharged him from arrest; nay more, he permitted him to carry off
the Moor's legacy, the box of sandalwood and its contents, as the
well-merited reward of his humanity; but he retained his donkey in
payment of costs and charges.
  Behold the unfortunate little Gallego reduced once more to the
necessity of being his own water-carrier, and trudging up to the
well of the Alhambra with a great earthen jar upon his shoulder.
  As he toiled up the hill in the heat of a summer noon, his usual
good humor forsook him. "Dog of an alcalde!" would he cry, "to rob a
poor man of the means of his subsistence, of the best friend he had in
the world!" And then at the remembrance of the beloved companion of
his labors, all the kindness of his nature would break forth. "Ah,
donkey of my heart!" would he exclaim, resting his burden on a
stone, and wiping the sweat from his brow- "Ah, donkey of my heart!
I warrant me thou thinkest of thy old master! I warrant me thou
missest the water-jars- poor beast."
  To add to his afflictions, his wife received him, on his return
home, with whimperings and repinings; she had clearly the
vantage-ground of him, having warned him not to commit the egregious
act of hospitality which had brought on him all these misfortunes;
and, like a knowing woman, she took every occasion to throw her
superior sagacity in his teeth. If her children lacked food, or needed
a new garment, she could answer with a sneer- "Go to your father- he
is heir to King Chico of the Alhambra: ask him to help you out of
the Moor's strongbox."
                                  
  Was ever poor mortal so soundly punished for having done a good
action? The unlucky Peregil was grieved in flesh and spirit, but still
he bore meekly with the railings of his spouse. At length, one
evening, when, after a hot day's toil, she taunted him in the usual
manner, he lost all patience. He did not venture to retort upon her,
but his eye rested upon the box of sandalwood, which lay on a shelf
with lid half open, as if laughing in mockery at his vexation. Seizing
it up, he dashed it with indignation to the floor: "Unlucky was the
day that I ever set eyes on thee," he cried, "or sheltered thy
master beneath my roof!"
  As the box struck the floor, the lid flew wide open, and the
parchment scroll rolled forth.
  Peregil sat regarding the scroll for some time in moody silence.
At length rallying his ideas: "Who knows," thought he, "but this
writing may be of some importance, as the Moor seems to have guarded
it with such care?" Picking it up therefore, he put it in his bosom,
and the next morning, as he was crying water through the streets, he
stopped at the shop of a Moor, a native of Tangiers, who sold trinkets
and perfumery in the Zacatin, and asked him to explain the contents.
  The Moor read the scroll attentively, then stroked his beard and
smiled. "This manuscript," said he, "is a form of incantation for
the recovery of hidden treasure, that is under the power of
enchantment. It is said to have such virtue, that the strongest
bolts and bars, nay the adamantine rock itself, will yield before it!"
  "Bah!" cried the little Gallego, "what is all that to me? I am no
enchanter, and know nothing of buried treasure." So saying, he
shouldered his water-jar, left the scroll in the hands of the Moor,
and trudged forward on his daily rounds.
                                  
  That evening, however, as he rested himself about twilight at the
well of the Alhambra, he found a number of gossips assembled at the
place, and their conversation, as is not unusual at that shadowy hour,
turned upon old tales and traditions of a supernatural nature. Being
all poor as rats, they dwelt with peculiar fondness upon the popular
theme of enchanted riches left by the Moors in various parts of the
Alhambra. Above all, they concurred in the belief that there were
great treasures buried deep in the earth under the Tower of the
Seven Floors.
  These stories made an unusual impression on the mind of the honest
Peregil, and they sank deeper and deeper into his thoughts as he
returned alone down the darkling avenues. "If, after all, there should
be treasure hid beneath that tower: and if the scroll I left with
the Moor should enable me to get at it!" In the sudden ecstasy of
the thought he had well nigh let fall his water-jar.
  That night he tumbled and tossed, and could scarcely get a wink of
sleep for the thoughts that were bewildering his brain. Bright and
early, he repaired to the shop of the Moor, and told him all that
was passing in his mind. "You can read Arabic," said he; "suppose we
go together to the tower, and try the effect of the charm; if it fails
we are no worse off than before; but if it succeeds, we will share
equally all the treasure we may discover."
  "Hold," replied the Moslem; "this writing is not sufficient of
itself; it must be read at midnight, by the light of a taper
singularly compounded and prepared, the ingredients of which are not
within my reach. Without such a taper the scroll is of no avail."
  "Say no more!" cried the little Gallego; "I have such a taper at
hand, and will bring it here in a moment." So saying he hastened home,
and soon returned with the end of yellow wax taper that he had found
in the box of sandalwood.
                                  
  The Moor felt it and smelt of it. "Here are rare and costly
perfumes," said he, "Combined with this yellow wax. This is the kind
of taper specified in the scroll. While this burns, the strongest
walls and most secret caverns will remain open. Woe to him, however,
who lingers within until it be extinguished. He will remain
enchanted with the treasure."
  It was now agreed between them to try the charm that very night.
At a late hour, therefore, when nothing was stirring but bats and
owls, they ascended the woody hill of the Alhambra, and approached
that awful tower, shrouded by trees and rendered formidable by so many
traditionary tales. By the light of a lantern, they groped their way
through bushes, and over fallen stones, to the door of a vault beneath
the tower. With fear and trembling they descended a flight of steps
cut into the rock. It led to an empty chamber damp and drear, from
which another flight of steps led to a deeper vault. In this way
they descended four several flights, leading into as many vaults one
below the other, but the floor of the fourth was solid; and though,
according to tradition, there remained three vaults still below, it
was said to be impossible to penetrate further, the residue being shut
up by strong enchantment. The air of this vault was damp and chilly,
and had an earthy smell, and the light scarce cast forth any rays.
They paused here for a time in breathless suspense until they
faintly heard the clock of the watchtower strike midnight; upon this
they lit the waxen taper, which diffused an odor of myrrh and
frankincense and storax.
  The Moor began to read in a hurried voice. He had scarce finished
when there was a noise as of subterraneous thunder. The earth shook,
and the floor, yawning open, disclosed a flight of steps. Trembling
with awe they descended, and by the light of the lantern found
themselves in another vault, covered with Arabic inscriptions. In
the centre stood a great chest, secured with seven bands of steel,
at each end of which sat an enchanted Moor in armor, but motionless as
a statue, being controlled by the power of the incantation. Before the
chest were several jars filled with gold and silver and precious
stones. In the largest of these they thrust their arms up to the
elbow, and at every dip hauled forth handfuls of broad yellow pieces
of Moorish gold, or bracelets and ornaments of the same precious
metal, while occasionally a necklace of oriental pearl would stick
to their fingers. Still they trembled and breathed short while
cramming their pockets with the spoils; and cast many a fearful glance
at the two enchanted Moors, who sat grim and motionless, glaring
upon them with unwinking eyes. At length, struck with a sudden panic
at some fancied noise, they both rushed up the staircase, tumbled over
one another into the upper apartment, overturned and extinguished
the waxen taper, and the pavement again closed with a thundering
sound.
  Filled with dismay, they did not pause until they had groped their
way out of the tower, and beheld the stars shining through the
trees. Then seating themselves upon the grass, they divided the spoil,
determining to content themselves for the present with this mere
skimming of the jars, but to return on some future night and drain
them to the bottom. To make sure of each other's good faith, also,
they divided the talismans between them, one retaining the scroll
and the other the taper; this done, they set off with light hearts and
well-lined pockets for Granada.
  As they wended their way down the hill, the shrewd Moor whispered
a word of counsel in the ear of the simple little water-carrier.
                                  
  "Friend Peregil," said he, "all this affair must be kept a
profound secret until we have secured the treasure, and conveyed it
out of harm's way. If a whisper of it gets to the ear of the
alcalde, we are undone!"
  "Certainly," replied the Gallego, "nothing can be more true."
  "Friend Peregil," said the Moor, "you are a discreet man, and I make
no doubt can keep a secret: but you have a wife."
  "She shall not know a word of it," replied the little water-carrier,
sturdily.
  "Enough," said the Moor, "I depend upon thy discretion and thy
promise."
                                  
  Never was promise more positive and sincere; but, alas! what man can
keep a secret from his wife? Certainly not such a one as Peregil the
water-carrier, who was one of the most loving and tractable of
husbands. On his return home, he found his wife moping in a corner.
"Mighty well," cried she as he entered, "you've come at last; after
rambling about until this hour of the night. I wonder you have not
brought home another Moor as a housemate." Then bursting into tears,
she began to wring her hands and smite her breast: "Unhappy woman that
I am!" exclaimed she, "what will become of me? My house stripped and
plundered by lawyers and alguazils; my husband a do-no-good, that no
longer brings home bread to his family, but goes rambling about day
and night, with infidel Moors! O my children! my children! what will
become of us? we shall all have to beg in the streets!"
  Honest Peregil was so moved by the distress of his spouse, that he
could not help whimpering also. His heart was as full as his pocket,
and not to be restrained. Thrusting his hand into the latter he hauled
forth three or four broad gold pieces, and slipped them into her
bosom. The poor woman stared with astonishment, and could not
understand the meaning of this golden shower. Before she could recover
her surprise, the little Gallego drew forth a chain of gold and
dangled it before her, capering with exultation, his mouth distended
from ear to ear.
  "Holy Virgin protect us!" exclaimed the wife. "What hast thou been
doing, Peregil? surely thou hast not been committing murder and
robbery!"
  The idea scarce entered the brain of the poor woman, than it
became a certainty with her. She saw a prison and a gallows in the
distance, and a little bandy-legged Gallego hanging pendant from it;
and, overcome by the horrors conjured up by her imagination, fell into
violent hysterics.
  What could the poor man do? He had no other means of pacifying his
wife, and dispelling the phantoms of her fancy, than by relating the
whole story of his good fortune. This, however, he did not do until he
had exacted from her the most solemn promise to keep it a profound
secret from every living being.
                                  
  To describe her joy would be impossible. She flung her arms round
the neck of her husband, and almost strangled him with her caresses.
"Now, wife," exclaimed the little man with honest exultation, "what
say you now to the Moor's legacy? Henceforth never abuse me for
helping a fellow-creature in distress."
  The honest Gallego retired to his sheepskin mat, and slept as
soundly as if on a bed of down. Not so his wife; she emptied the whole
contents of his pockets upon the mat, and sat counting gold pieces
of Arabic coin, trying on necklaces and earrings, and fancying the
figure she should one day make when permitted to enjoy her riches.
  On the following morning the honest Gallego took a broad golden
coin, and repaired with it to a jeweller's shop in the Zacatin to
offer it for sale, pretending to have found it among the ruins of
the Alhambra. The jeweller saw that it had an Arabic inscription,
and was of the purest gold; he offered, however, but a third of its
value, with which the water-carrier was perfectly content. Peregil now
bought new clothes for his little flock, and all kinds of toys,
together with ample provisions for a hearty meal, and returning to his
dwelling, sat all his children dancing around him, while he capered in
the midst, the happiest of fathers.
  The wife of the water-carrier kept her promise of secrecy with
surprising strictness. For a whole day and a half she went about
with a look of mystery and a heart swelling almost to bursting, yet
she held her peace, though surrounded by her gossips. It is true,
she could not help giving herself a few airs, apologized for her
ragged dress, and talked of ordering a new basquina all trimmed with
gold lace and bugles, and a new lace mantilla. She threw out hints
of her husband's intention of leaving off his trade of water-carrying,
as it did not altogether agree with his health. In fact she thought
they should all retire to the country for the summer, that the
children might have the benefit of the mountain air, for there was
no living in the city in this sultry season.
  The neighbors stared at each other, and thought the poor woman had
lost her wits; and her airs and graces and elegant pretensions were
the theme of universal scoffing and merriment among her friends, the
moment her back was turned.
                                  
  If she restrained herself abroad, however, she indemnified herself
at home, and putting a string of rich oriental pearls round her
neck, Moorish bracelets on her arms, and an aigrette of diamonds on
her head, sailed backwards and forwards in her slattern rags about the
room, now and then stopping to admire herself in a broken mirror. Nay,
in the impulse of her simple vanity, she could not resist, on one
occasion, showing herself at the window to enjoy the effect of her
finery on the passers by.
  As the fates would have it, Pedrillo Pedrugo, the meddlesome barber,
was at this moment sitting idly in his shop on the opposite side of
the street, when his ever-watchful eye caught the sparkle of a
diamond. In an instant he was at his loophole reconnoitering the
slattern spouse of the water-carrier, decorated with the splendor of
an eastern bride. No sooner had he taken an accurate inventory of
her ornaments, than he posted off with all speed to the alcalde. In
a little while the hungry alguazil was again on the scent, and
before the day was over the unfortunate Peregil was once more
dragged into the presence of the judge.
  "How is this, villain!" cried the alcalde, in a furious voice.
"You told me that the infidel who died in your house left nothing
behind but an empty coffer, and now I hear of your wife flaunting in
her rags decked out with pearls and diamonds. Wretch that thou art!
prepare to render up the spoils of thy miserable victim, and to
swing on the gallows that is already tired of waiting for thee."
  The terrified water-carrier fell on his knees, and made a full
relation of the marvellous manner in which he had gained his wealth.
The alcalde, the alguazil, and the inquisitive barber, listened with
greedy ears to this Arabian tale of enchanted treasure. The alguazil
was dispatched to bring the Moor who had assisted in the
incantation. The Moslem entered half frightened out of his wits at
finding himself in the hands of the harpies of the law. When he beheld
the water-carrier standing with sheepish looks and downcast
countenance, he comprehended the whole matter. "Miserable animal,"
said he, as he passed near him, "did I not warn thee against
babbling to thy wife?"
  The story of the Moor coincided exactly with that of his
colleague; but the alcalde affected to be slow of belief, and threw
out menaces of imprisonment and rigorous investigation.
                                  
  "Softly, good Senor Alcalde," said the Mussulman, who by this time
had recovered his usual shrewdness and self-possession. "Let us not
mar fortune's favors in the scramble for them. Nobody knows any
thing of this matter but ourselves; let us keep the secret. There is
wealth enough in the cave to enrich us all. Promise a fair division,
and all shall be produced; refuse, and the cave shall remain for
ever closed."
  The alcalde consulted apart with the alguazil. The latter was an old
fox in his profession. "Promise any thing," said he, "until you get
possession of the treasure. You may then seize upon the whole, and
if he and his accomplice dare to murmur, threaten them with the
fagot and the stake as infidels and sorcerers."
  The alcalde relished the advice. Smoothing his brow and turning to
the Moor, "This is a strange story," said he, "and may be true, but
I must have ocular proof of it. This very night you must repeat the
incantation in my presence, If there be really such treasure, we
will share it amicably between us, and say nothing further of the
matter; if ye have deceived me, expect no mercy at my hands. In the
mean time you must remain in custody."
  The Moor and the water-carrier cheerfully agreed to these
conditions, satisfied that the event would prove the truth of their
words.
  Towards midnight the alcalde sallied forth secretly, attended by the
alguazil and the meddlesome barber, all strongly armed. They conducted
the Moor and the water-carrier as prisoners, and were provided with
the stout donkey of the latter to bear off the expected treasure. They
arrived at the tower without being observed, and tying the donkey to a
fig-tree, descended into the fourth vault of the tower.
                                  
  The scroll was produced, the yellow taper lighted, and the Moor read
the form of incantation. The earth trembled as before, and the
pavement opened with a thundering sound, disclosing the narrow
flight of steps. The alcalde, the alguazil, and the barber were struck
aghast, and could not summon courage to descend. The Moor and the
water-carrier entered the lower vault, and found the two Moors
seated as before, silent and motionless. They removed two of the great
jars, filled with golden coin and precious stones. The water-carrier
bore them up one by one upon his shoulders, but though a strong-backed
little man, and accustomed to carry burdens, he staggered beneath
their weight, and found, when slung on each side of his donkey, they
were as much as the animal could bear.
  "Let us be content for the present," said the Moor; "here is as much
treasure as we can carry off without being perceived, and enough to
make us all wealthy to our heart's desire."
  "Is there more treasure remaining behind?" demanded the alcalde.
  "The greatest prize of all," said the Moor, "a huge coffer bound
with bands of steel, and filled with pearls and precious stones."
  "Let us have up the coffer by all means," cried the grasping
alcalde.
                                  
  "I will descend for no more," said the Moor, doggedly; "enough is
enough for a reasonable man- more is superfluous."
  "And I," said the water-carrier, "will bring up no further burden to
break the back of my poor donkey."
  Finding commands, threats and entreaties equally vain, the alcalde
turned to his two adherents. "Aid me" said he, "to bring up the
coffer, and its contents shall be divided between us." So saying he
descended the steps, followed with trembling reluctance by the
alguazil and the barber.
  No sooner did the Moor behold them fairly earthed than he
extinguished the yellow taper; the pavement closed with its usual
crash, and the three worthies remained buried in its womb.
  He then hastened up the different flights of steps, nor stopped
until in the open air. The little water-carrier followed him as fast
as his short legs would permit.
                                  
  "What hast thou done?" cried Peregil, as soon as he could recover
breath. "The alcalde and the other two are shut up in the vault."
  "It is the will of Allah!" said the Moor devoutly.
  "And will you not release them?" demanded the Gallego.
  "Allah forbid!" replied the Moor, smoothing his beard. "It is
written in the book of fate that they shall remain enchanted until
some future adventurer arrive to break the charm. The will of God be
done!" so saying, he hurled the end of the waxen taper far among the
gloomy thickets of the glen.
  There was now no remedy, so the Moor and the water-carrier proceeded
with the richly laden donkey toward the city, nor could honest Peregil
refrain from hugging and kissing his long-eared fellow-laborer, thus
restored to him from the clutches of the law; and in fact, it is
doubtful which gave the simple hearted little man most joy at the
moment, the gaining of the treasure, or the recovery of the donkey.
                                  
  The two partners in good luck divided their spoil amicably and
fairly, except that the Moor, who had a little taste for trinketry,
made out to get into his heap the most of the pearls and precious
stones and other baubles, but then he always gave the water-carrier in
lieu magnificent jewels of massy gold, of five times the size, with
which the latter was heartily content. They took care not to linger
within reach of accidents, but made off to enjoy their wealth
undisturbed in other countries. The Moor returned to Africa, to his
native city of Tangiers, and the Gallego, with his wife, his children,
and his donkey, made the best of his way to Portugal. Here, under
the admonition and tuition of his wife, he became a personage of
some consequence, for she made the worthy little man array his long
body and short legs in doublet and hose, with a feather in his hat and
a sword by his side, and laying aside his familiar appellation of
Peregil, assume the more sonorous title of Don Pedro Gil: his
progeny grew up a thriving and merry-hearted, though short and
bandy-legged generation, while Senora Gil, befringed, belaced, and
betasselled from her head to her heels, with glittering rings on every
finger, became a model of slattern fashion and finery.
  As to the alcalde and his adjuncts, they remained shut up under
the great Tower of the Seven Floors, and there they remain spell-bound
at the present day. Whenever there shall be a lack in Spain of pimping
barbers, sharking alguazils, and corrupt alcaldes, they may be
sought after; but if they have to wait until such time for their
deliverance, there is danger of their enchantment enduring until
doomsday.


               The Tower of Las Infantas.
-
  IN AN evening's stroll up a narrow glen, overshadowed by fig
trees, pomegranates, and myrtles, which divides the lands of the
fortress from those of the Generalife, I was struck with the
romantic appearance of a Moorish tower in the outer wall of the
Alhambra, rising high above the tree-tops, and catching the ruddy rays
of the setting sun. A solitary window at a great height commanded a
view of the glen; and as I was regarding it, a young female looked
out, with her head adorned with flowers. She was evidently superior to
the usual class of people inhabiting the old towers of the fortress;
and this sudden and picturesque glimpse of her reminded me of the
descriptions of captive beauties in fairy tales. These fanciful
associations were increased on being informed by my attendant Mateo,
that this was the Tower of the Princesses (la Torre de las
Infantas); so called, from having been, according to tradition, the
residence of the daughters of the Moorish kings. I have since
visited the tower. It is not generally shown to strangers, though well
worthy attention, for the interior is equal, for beauty of
architecture, and delicacy of ornament, to any part of the palace. The
elegance of the central hall, with its marble fountain, its lofty
arches, and richly fretted dome; the arabesques and stucco-work of the
small but well-proportioned chambers, though injured by time and
neglect, all accord with the story of its being anciently the abode of
royal beauty.
  The little old fairy queen who lives under the staircase of the
Alhambra, and frequents the evening tertulias of Dame Antonia, tells
some fanciful traditions about three Moorish princesses, who were once
shut up in this tower by their father, a tyrant king of Granada, and
were only permitted to ride out at night about the hills, when no
one was permitted to come in their way under pain of death. They
still, according to her account, may be seen occasionally when the
moon is in the full, riding in lonely places along the mountain
side, on palfreys richly caparisoned and sparkling with jewels, but
they vanish on being spoken to.
  But before I relate any thing further respecting these princesses,
the reader may be anxious to know something about the fair
inhabitant of the tower with her head dressed with flowers, who looked
out from the lofty window. She proved to be the newly-married spouse
of the worthy adjutant of invalids; who, though well stricken in
years, had had the courage to take to his bosom a young and buxom
Andalusian damsel. May the good old cavalier be happy in his choice,
and find the Tower of the Princesses a more secure residence for
female beauty than it seems to have proved in the time of the Moslems,
if we may believe the following legend!


            Legend of the Three Beautiful Princesses.
-
  IN OLD times there reigned a Moorish king in Granada, whose name was
Mohamed, to which his subjects added the appellation of El Hayzari, or
"The Left-handed." Some say he was so called on account of his being
really more expert with his sinister than his dexter hand; others,
because he was prone to take every thing by the wrong end; or in other
words, to mar wherever he meddled. Certain it is, either through
misfortune or mismanagement, he was continually in trouble: thrice was
he driven from his throne, and, on one occasion, barely escaped to
Africa with his life, in the disguise of a fisherman.* Still he was as
brave as he was blundering; and though left-handed, wielded his
cimeter to such purpose, that he each time re-established himself upon
his throne by dint of hard fighting. Instead, however, of learning
wisdom from adversity, he hardened his neck, and stiffened his left
arm in wilfulness. The evils of a public nature which he thus
brought upon himself and his kingdom may be learned by those who
will delve into the Arabian annals of Granada; the present legend
deals but with his domestic policy.
-
  * The reader will recognize the sovereign connected with the
fortunes of the Abencerrages. His story appears to be a little
fictionized in the legend.
-
  As this Mohamed was one day riding forth with a train of his
courtiers, by the foot of the mountain of Elvira, he met a band of
horsemen returning from a foray into the land of the Christians.
They were conducting a long string of mules laden with spoil, and many
captives of both sexes, among whom the monarch was struck with the
appearance of a beautiful damsel, richly attired, who sat weeping on a
low palfrey, and heeded not the consoling words of a duenna who rode
beside her.
                               
  The monarch was struck with her beauty, and, on inquiring of the
captain of the troop, found that she was the daughter of the alcayde
of a frontier fortress, that had been surprised and sacked in the
course of the foray. Mohamed claimed her as his royal share of the
booty, and had her conveyed to his harem in the Alhambra. There
every thing was devised to soothe her melancholy; and the monarch,
more and more enamored, sought to make her his queen. The Spanish maid
at first repulsed his addresses- he was an infidel- he was the open
foe of her country- what was worse, he was stricken in years!
  The monarch, finding his assiduities of no avail, determined to
enlist in his favor the duenna, who had been captured with the lady.
She was an Andalusian by birth, whose Christian name is forgotten,
being mentioned in Moorish legends by no other appellation than that
of the discreet Kadiga- and discreet in truth she was, as her whole
history makes evident. No sooner had the Moorish king held a little
private conversation with her, than she saw at once the cogency of his
reasoning, and undertook his cause with her young mistress.
  "Go to, now!" cried she; "what is there in all this to weep and wail
about? Is it not better to be mistress of this beautiful palace,
with all its gardens and fountains, than to be shut up within your
father's old frontier tower? As to this Mohamed being an infidel, what
is that to the purpose? You marry him, not his religion: and if he
is waxing a little old, the sooner will you be a widow, and mistress
of yourself; at any rate, you are in his power, and must either be a
queen or a slave. When in the hands of a robber, it is better to
sell one's merchandise for a fair price, than to have it taken by main
force."
  The arguments of the discreet Kadiga prevailed. The Spanish lady
dried her tears, and became the spouse of Mohamed the Left-handed; she
even conformed, in appearance, to the faith of her royal husband;
and her discreet duenna immediately became a zealous convert to the
Moslem doctrines: it was then the latter received the Arabian name
of Kadiga, and was permitted to remain in the confidential employ of
her mistress.
  In due process of time the Moorish king was made the proud and happy
father of three lovely daughters, all born at a birth: he could have
wished they had been sons, but consoled himself with the idea that
three daughters at a birth were pretty well for a man somewhat
stricken in years, and left-handed!
                              
  As usual with all Moslem monarchs, he summoned his astrologers on
this happy event. They cast the nativities of the three princesses,
and shook their heads. "Daughters, O king!" said they, "are always
precarious property; but these will most need your watchfulness when
they arrive at a marriageable age; at that time gather them under your
wings, and trust them to no other guardianship."
  Mohamed the Left-handed was acknowledged to be a wise king by his
courtiers, and was certainly so considered by himself. The
prediction of the astrologers caused him but little disquiet, trusting
to his ingenuity to guard his daughters and outwit the Fates.
  The three-fold birth was the last matrimonial trophy of the monarch;
his queen bore him no more children, and died within a few years,
bequeathing her infant daughters to his love, and to the fidelity of
the discreet Kadiga.
  Many years had yet to elapse before the princesses would arrive at
that period of danger- the marriageable age: "It is good, however,
to be cautious in time," said the shrewd monarch; so he determined
to have them reared in the royal castle of Salobrena. This was a
sumptuous palace, incrusted, as it were, in a powerful Moorish
fortress on the summit of a hill overlooking the Mediterranean sea. It
was a royal retreat, in which the Moslem monarchs shut up such of
their relatives, as might endanger their safety; allowing them all
kinds of luxuries and amusements, in the midst of which they passed
their lives in voluptuous indolence.
  Here the princesses remained, immured from the world, but surrounded
by enjoyment, and attended by female slaves who anticipated their
wishes. They had delightful gardens for their recreation, filled
with the rarest fruits and flowers, with aromatic groves and
perfumed baths. On three sides the castle looked down upon a rich
valley, enamelled with all kinds of culture, and bounded by the lofted
Alpuxarra mountains; on the other side it overlooked the broad sunny
sea.
                              
  In this delicious abode, in a propitious climate, and under a
cloudless sky, the three princesses grew up into wondrous beauty; but,
though all reared alike, they gave early tokens of diversity of
character. Their names were Zayda, Zorayda, and Zorahayda; and such
was their order of seniority, for there had been precisely three
minutes between their births.
  Zayda, the eldest, was of an intrepid spirit, and took the lead of
her sisters in every thing, as she had done in entering into the
world. She was curious and inquisitive, and fond of getting at the
bottom of things.
  Zorayda had a great feeling for beauty, which was the reason, no
doubt, of her delighting to regard her own image in a mirror or a
fountain, and of her fondness for flowers, and jewels, and other
tasteful ornaments.
  As to Zorahayda, the youngest, she was soft and timid, and extremely
sensitive, with a vast deal of disposable tenderness, as was evident
from her number of pet-flowers, and pet-birds, and pet-animals, all of
which she cherished with the fondest care. Her amusements, too, were
of a gentle nature, and mixed up with musing and reverie. She would
sit for hours in a balcony, gazing on the sparkling stars of a
summer's night, or on the sea when lit up by the moon; and at such
times, the song of a fisherman, faintly heard from the beach, or the
notes of a Moorish flute from some gliding bark, sufficed to elevate
her feelings into ecstasy. The least uproar of the elements,
however, filled her with dismay; and a clap of thunder was enough to
throw her into a swoon.
  Years rolled on smoothly and serenely; the discreet Kadiga, to
whom the princesses were confided, was faithful to her trust, and
attended them with unremitting care.
                              
  The castle of Salobrena, as has been said, was built upon a hill
on the seacoast. One of the exterior walls straggled down the
profile of the hill, until it reached a jutting rock overhanging the
sea, with a narrow sandy beach at its foot, laved by the rippling
billows. A small watchtower on this rock had been fitted up as a
pavilion, with latticed windows to admit the sea-breeze. Here the
princesses used to pass the sultry hours of mid-day.
  The curious Zayda was one day seated at a window of the pavilion, as
her sisters, reclining on ottomans, were taking the siesta or noontide
slumber. Her attention was attracted to a galley which came coasting
along, with measured strokes of the oar. As it drew near, she observed
that it was filled with armed men. The galley anchored at the foot
of the tower: a number of Moorish soldiers landed on the narrow beach,
conducting several Christian prisoners. The curious Zayda awakened her
sisters, and all three peeped cautiously through the close jalousies
of the lattice which screened them from sight. Among the prisoners
were three Spanish cavaliers, richly dressed. They were in the
flower of youth, and of noble presence; and the lofty manner in
which they carried themselves, though loaded with chains and
surrounded with enemies, bespoke the grandeur of their souls. The
princesses gazed with intense and breathless interest. Cooped up as
they had been in this castle among female attendants, seeing nothing
of the male sex but black slaves, or the rude fishermen of the
sea-coast, it is not to be wondered at that the appearance of three
gallant cavaliers, in the pride of youth and manly beauty, should
produce some commotion in their bosom.
  "Did ever nobler being tread the earth than that cavalier in
crimson?" cried Zayda, the eldest of the sisters. "See how proudly
he bears himself, as though all around him were his slaves!"
  "But notice that one in green!" exclaimed Zorayda. "What grace! what
elegance! what spirit!"
  The gentle Zorahayda said nothing, but she secretly gave
preference to the cavalier in blue.
                              
  The princesses remained gazing until the prisoners were out of
sight; then heaving long-drawn sighs, they turned round, looked at
each other for a moment, and sat down, musing and pensive, on their
ottomans.
  The discreet Kadiga found them in this situation; they related
what they had seen, and even the withered heart of the duenna was
warmed. "Poor youths!" exclaimed she, "I'll warrant their captivity
makes many a fair and high-born lady's heart ache in their native
land! Ah my children, you have little idea of the life these cavaliers
lead in their own country. Such prankling at tournaments! such
devotion to the ladies! such courting and serenading!"
  The curiosity of Zayda was fully aroused; she was insatiable in
her inquiries, and drew from the duenna the most animated pictures
of the scenes of her youthful days and native land. The beautiful
Zorayda bridled up, and slyly regarded herself in a mirror, when the
theme turned upon the charms of the Spanish ladies; while Zorahayda
suppressed a struggling sigh at the mention of moonlight serenades.
  Every day the curious Zayda renewed her inquiries, and every day the
sage duenna repeated her stories, which were listened to with profound
interest, though with frequent sighs, by her gentle auditors. The
discreet old woman awoke at length to the mischief she might be doing.
She had been accustomed to think of the princesses only as children;
but they had imperceptibly ripened beneath her eye, and now bloomed
before her three lovely damsels of the marriageable age. It is time,
thought the duenna, to give notice to the king.
  Mohamed the Left-handed was seated one morning on a divan in a
cool hall of the Alhambra, when a slave arrived from the fortress of
Salobrena, with a message from the sage Kadiga, congratulating him
on the anniversary of his daughters' birth-day. The slave at the
same time presented a delicate little basket decorated with flowers,
within which, on a couch of vine and fig-leaves, lay a peach, an
apricot, and a nectarine, with their bloom and down and dewy sweetness
upon them, and all in the early stage of tempting ripeness. The
monarch was versed in the Oriental language of fruits and flowers, and
rapidly divined the meaning of this emblematical offering.
                              
  "So," said he, "the critical period pointed out by the astrologers
is arrived: my daughters are at a marriageable age. What is to be
done? They are shut up from the eyes of men; they are under the eyes
of the discreet Kadiga- all very good- but still they are not under my
own eye, as was prescribed by the astrologers: I must gather them
under my wing, and trust to no other guardianship."
  So saying, he ordered that a tower of the Alhambra should be
prepared for their reception, and departed at the head of his guards
for the fortress of Salobrena, to conduct them home in person.
  About three years had elapsed since Mohamed had beheld his
daughters, and he could scarcely credit his eyes at the wonderful
change which that small space of time had made in their appearance.
During the interval, they had passed that wondrous boundary line in
female life which separates the crude, unformed, and thoughtless
girl from the blooming, blushing, meditative woman. It is like passing
from the flat, bleak, uninteresting plains of La Mancha to the
voluptuous valleys and swelling hills of Andalusia.
  Zayda was tall and finely formed, with a lofty demeanor and a
penetrating eye. She entered with a stately and decided step, and made
a profound reverence to Mohamed, treating him more as her sovereign
than her father. Zorayda was of the middle height, with an alluring
look and swimming gait, and a sparkling beauty, heightened by the
assistance of the toilette. She approached her father with a smile,
kissed his hand, and saluted him with several stanzas from a popular
Arabian poet, with which the monarch was delighted. Zorahayda was
shy and timid, smaller than her sisters, and with a beauty of that
tender beseeching kind which looks for fondness and protection. She
was little fitted to command, like her elder sister, or to dazzle like
the second, but was rather formed to creep to the bosom of manly
affection, to nestle within it, and be content. She drew near to her
father, with a timid and almost faltering step, and would have taken
his hand to kiss, but on looking up into his face, and seeing it
beaming with a paternal smile, the tenderness of her nature broke
forth, and she threw herself upon his neck.
  Mohamed the Left-handed surveyed his blooming daughters with mingled
pride and perplexity; for while he exulted in their charms, he
bethought himself of the prediction of the astrologers. "Three
daughters! three daughters!" muttered he repeatedly to himself, "and
all of a marriageable age! Here's tempting Hesperian fruit, that
requires a dragon watch!"
                              
  He prepared for his return to Granada, by sending heralds before
him, commanding every one to keep out of the road by which he was to
pass, and that all doors and windows should be closed at the
approach of the princesses. This done, he set forth, escorted by a
troop of black horsemen of hideous aspect, and clad in shining armor.
  The princesses rode beside the king, closely veiled, on beautiful
white palfreys, with velvet caparisons, embroidered with gold, and
sweeping the ground; the bits and stirrups were of gold, and the
silken bridles adorned with pearls and precious stones. The palfreys
were covered with little silver bells, which made the most musical
tinkling as they ambled gently along. Woe to the unlucky wight,
however, who lingered in the way when he heard the tinkling of these
bells!- the guards were ordered to cut him down without mercy.
  The cavalcade was drawing near to Granada, when it overtook on the
banks of the river Xenil, a small body of Moorish soldiers with a
convoy of prisoners. It was too late for the soldiers to get out of
the way, so they threw themselves on their faces on the earth,
ordering their captives to do the like. Among the prisoners were the
three identical cavaliers whom the princesses had seen from the
pavilion. They either did not understand, or were too haughty to
obey the order, and remained standing and gazing upon the cavalcade as
it approached.
  The ire of the monarch was kindled at this flagrant defiance of
his orders. Drawing his cimeter, and pressing forward, he was about to
deal a left-handed blow that might have been fatal to, at least, one
of the gazers, when the princesses crowded round him, and implored
mercy for the prisoners; even the timid Zorahayda forgot her
shyness, and became eloquent in their behalf. Mohamed paused, with
uplifted cimeter, when the captain of the guard threw himself at his
feet. "Let not your highness," said he, "do a deed that may cause
great scandal throughout the kingdom. These are three brave and
noble Spanish knights, who have been taken in battle, fighting like
lions; they are of high birth, and may bring great ransoms."
  "Enough!" said the king. "I will spare their lives, but punish their
audacity- let them be taken to the Vermilion Towers, and put to hard
labor."
                              
  Mohamed was making one of his usual left-handed blunders. In the
tumult and agitation of this blustering scene, the veils of the
three princesses had been thrown back, and the radiance of their
beauty revealed; and in prolonging the parley, the king had given that
beauty time to have its full effect. In those days people fell in love
much more suddenly than at present, as all ancient stories make
manifest: it is not a matter of wonder, therefore, that the hearts
of the three cavaliers were completely captured; especially as
gratitude was added to their admiration; it is a little singular,
however, though no less certain, that each of them was enraptured with
a several beauty. As to the princesses, they were more than ever
struck with the noble demeanor of the captives, and cherished in their
breasts all that they had heard of their valor and noble lineage.
  The cavalcade resumed its march; the three princesses rode pensively
along on their tinkling palfreys, now and then stealing a glance
behind in search of the Christian captives, and the latter were
conducted to their allotted prison in the Vermilion Towers.
  The residence provided for the princesses was one of the most dainty
that fancy could devise. It was in a tower somewhat apart from the
main palace of the Alhambra, though connected with it by the wall
which encircled the whole summit of the hill. On one side it looked
into the interior of the fortress, and had, at its foot, a small
garden filled with the rarest flowers. On the other side it overlooked
a deep embowered ravine separating the grounds of the Alhambra from
those of the Generalife. The interior of the tower was divided into
small fairy apartments, beautifully ornamented in the light Arabian
style, surrounding a lofty hall, the vaulted roof of which rose almost
to the summit of the tower. The walls and the ceilings of the hall
were adorned with arabesque and fretwork, sparkling with gold and with
brilliant pencilling. In the centre of the marble pavement was an
alabaster fountain, set round with aromatic shrubs and flowers, and
throwing up a jet of water that cooled the whole edifice and had a
lulling sound. Round the hall were suspended cages of gold and
silver wire, containing singing-birds of the finest plumage or
sweetest note.
  The princesses had been represented as always cheerful when in the
castle of the Salobrena; the king had expected to see them
enraptured with the Alhambra. To his surprise, however, they began
to pine, and grow melancholy, and dissatisfied with every thing around
them. The flowers yielded them no fragrance, the song of the
nightingale disturbed their night's rest, and they were out of all
patience with the alabaster fountain with its eternal drop-drop and
splash-splash, from morning till night, and from night till morning.
  The king, who was somewhat of a testy, tyrannical disposition,
took this at first in high dudgeon; but he reflected that his
daughters had arrived at an age when the female mind expands and its
desires augment. "They are no longer children," said he to himself,
"they are women grown, and require suitable objects to interest them."
He put in requisition, therefore, all the dressmakers, and the
jewellers, and the artificers in gold and silver throughout the
Zacatin of Granada, and the princesses were overwhelmed with robes
of silk, and tissue, and brocade, and cashmere shawls, and necklaces
of pearls and diamonds, and rings, and bracelets, and anklets, and all
manner of precious things.
                              
  All, however, was of no avail; the princesses continued pale and
languid in the midst of their finery, and looked like three blighted
rose-buds, drooping from one stalk. The king was at his wits' end.
He had in general a laudable confidence in his own judgment, and never
took advice. "The whims and caprices of three marriageable damsels,
however, are sufficient," said he, "to puzzle the shrewdest head."
So for once in his life he called in the aid of counsel.
  The person to whom he applied was the experienced duenna.
  "Kadiga," said the king, "I know you to be one of the most
discreet women in the whole world, as well as one of the most
trustworthy; for these reasons I have always continued you about the
persons of my daughters. Fathers cannot be too wary in whom they
repose such confidence; I now wish you to find out the secret malady
that is preying upon the princesses, and to devise some means of
restoring them to health and cheerfulness."
  Kadiga promised implicit obedience. In fact she knew more of the
malady of the princesses than they did themselves. Shutting herself up
with them, however, she endeavored to insinuate herself into their
confidence.
  "My dear children, what is the reason you are so dismal and downcast
in so beautiful a place, where you have every thing that heart can
wish?"
                              
  The princesses looked vacantly round the apartment, and sighed.
  "What more, then, would you have? Shall I get you the wonderful
parrot that talks all languages, and is the delight of Granada?"
  "Odious!" exclaimed the princess Zayda. "A horrid, screaming bird,
that chatters words without ideas: one must be without brains to
tolerate such a pest."
  "Shall I send for a monkey from the rock of Gibraltar, to divert you
with his antics?"
  "A monkey! faugh!" cried Zorayda; "the detestable mimic of man. I
hate the nauseous animal."
                              
  "What say you to the famous black singer Casem, from the royal
harem, in Morocco? They say he has a voice as fine as a woman's."
  "I am terrified at the sight of these black slaves," said the
delicate Zorahayda; "besides, I have lost all relish for music."
  "Ah! my child, you would not say so," replied the old woman,
slyly, "had you heard the music I heard last evening, from the three
Spanish cavaliers, whom we met on our journey. But, bless me,
children! what is the matter that you blush so, and are in such a
flutter?"
  "Nothing, nothing, good mother; pray proceed."
  "Well; as I was passing by the Vermilion Towers last evening, I
saw the three cavaliers resting after their day's labor. One was
playing on the guitar, so gracefully, and the others sang by turns;
and they did it in such style, that the very guards seemed like
statues, or men enchanted. Allah forgive me! I could not help being
moved at hearing the songs of my native country. And then to see three
such noble and handsome youths in chains and slavery!"
                              
  Here the kind-hearted old woman could not restrain her tears.
  "Perhaps, mother, you could manage to procure us a sight of these
cavaliers," said Zayda.
  "I think," said Zorayda, "a little music would be quite reviving."
  The timid Zorahayda said nothing, but threw her arms round the
neck of Kadiga.
  "Mercy on me!" exclaimed the discreet old woman; "what are you
talking of, my children? Your father would be the death of us all if
he heard of such a thing. To be sure, these cavaliers are evidently
well-bred, and high-minded youths; but what of that? they are the
enemies of our faith, and you must not even think of them but with
abhorrence."
                              
  There is an admirable intrepidity in the female will, particularly
when about the marriageable age, which is not to be deterred by
dangers and prohibitions. The princesses hung round their old
duenna, and coaxed, and entreated, and declared that a refusal would
break their hearts.
  What could she do? She was certainly the most discreet old woman
in the whole world, and one of the most faithful servants to the king;
but was she to see three beautiful princesses break their hearts for
the mere tinkling of a guitar? Besides, though she had been so long
among the Moors, and changed her faith in imitation of her mistress,
like a trusty follower, yet she was a Spaniard born, and had the
lingerings of Christianity in her heart. So she set about to
contrive how the wish of the princesses might be gratified.
  The Christian captives, confined in the Vermilion Towers, were under
the charge of a big-whiskered, broad-shouldered renegado, called
Hussein Baba, who was reputed to have a most itching palm. She went to
him privately, and slipping a broad piece of gold into his hand,
"Hussein Baba," said she; "My mistresses, the three princesses, who
are shut up in the tower, and in sad want of amusement, have heard
of the musical talents of the three Spanish cavaliers, and are
desirous of hearing a specimen of their skill. I am sure you are too
kind-hearted to refuse them so innocent a gratification."
  "What! and to have my head set grinning over the gate of my own
tower! for that would be the reward, if the king should discover it."
  "No danger of any thing of the kind; the affair may be managed so
that the whim of the princesses may be gratified, and their father
be never the wiser. You know the deep ravine outside of the walls
which passes immediately below the tower. Put the three Christians
to work there, and at the intervals of their labor, let them play
and sing, as if for their own recreation. In this way the princesses
will be able to hear them from the windows of the tower, and you may
be sure of their paying well for your compliance."
                              
  As the good old woman concluded her harangue, she kindly pressed the
rough hand of the renegado, and left within it another piece of gold.
  Her eloquence was irresistible. The very next day the three
cavaliers were put to work in the ravine. During the noontide heat,
when their fellow-laborers were sleeping in the shade, and the guard
nodding drowsily at his post, they seated themselves among the herbage
at the foot of the tower, and sang a Spanish roundelay to the
accompaniment of the guitar.
  The glen was deep, the tower was high, but their voices rose
distinctly in the stillness of the summer noon. The princesses
listened from their balcony, they had been taught the Spanish language
by their duenna, and were moved by the tenderness of the song. The
discreet Kadiga, on the contrary, was terribly shocked. "Allah
preserve us!" cried she, "they are singing a love-ditty, addressed
to yourselves. Did ever mortal hear of such audacity? I will run to
the slave-master, and have them soundly bastinadoed."
  "What! bastinado such gallant cavaliers, and for singing so
charmingly!" The three beautiful princesses were filled with horror at
the idea. With all her virtuous indignation, the good old woman was of
a placable nature, and easily appeased. Besides, the music seemed to
have a beneficial effect upon her young mistresses. A rosy bloom had
already come to their cheeks, and their eyes began to sparkle. She
made no further objection, therefore, to the amorous ditty of the
cavaliers.
  When it was finished, the princesses remained silent for a time;
at length Zorayda took up a lute, and with a sweet, though faint and
trembling voice, warbled a little Arabian air, the burden of which
was, "The rose is concealed among her leaves, but she listens with
delight to the song of the nightingale."
                              
  From this time forward the cavaliers worked almost daily in the
ravine. The considerate Hussein Baba became more and more indulgent,
and daily more prone to sleep at his post. For some time a vague
intercourse was kept up by popular songs and romances, which, in
some measure, responded to each other, and breathed the feelings of
the parties. By degrees the princesses showed themselves at the
balcony, when they could do so without being perceived by the
guards. They conversed with the cavaliers also, by means of flowers,
with the symbolical language of which they were mutually acquainted.
The difficulties of their intercourse added to its charms, and
strengthened the passion they had so singularly conceived; for love
delights to struggle with difficulties, and thrives the most hardily
on the scantiest soil.
  The change effected in the looks and spirits of the princesses by
this secret intercourse, surprised and gratified the left-handed king;
but no one was more elated than the discreet Kadiga, who considered it
all owing to her able management.
  At length there was an interruption in this telegraphic
correspondence; for several days the cavaliers ceased to make their
appearance in the glen. The princesses looked out from the tower in
vain. In vain they stretched their swan-like necks from the balcony;
in vain they sang like captive nightingales in their cage: nothing was
to be seen of their Christian lovers; not a note responded from the
groves. The discreet Kadiga sallied forth in quest of intelligence,
and soon returned with a face full of trouble. "Ah, my children!"
cried she, "I saw what all this would come to, but you would have your
way; you may now hang up your lutes on the willows. The Spanish
cavaliers are ransomed by their families; they are down in Granada,
and preparing to return to their native country."
  The three beautiful princesses were in despair at the tidings. Zayda
was indignant at the slight put upon them, in thus being deserted
without a parting word. Zorayda wrung her hands and cried, and
looked in the glass, and wiped away her tears, and cried afresh. The
gentle Zorahayda leaned over the balcony and wept in silence, and
her tears fell drop by drop among the flowers of the bank where the
faithless cavaliers had so often been seated.
  The discreet Kadiga did all in her power to soothe their sorrow.
"Take comfort, my children," said she, "this is nothing when you are
used to it. This is the way of the world. Ah! when you are as old as I
am, you will know how to value these men. I'll warrant these cavaliers
have their loves among the Spanish beauties of Cordova and Seville,
and will soon be serenading under their balconies, and thinking no
more of the Moorish beauties in the Alhambra. Take comfort, therefore,
my children, and drive them from your hearts."
                              
  The comforting words of the discreet Kadiga only redoubled the
distress of the three princesses, and for two days they continued
inconsolable. On the morning of the third, the good old woman
entered their apartment, all ruffling with indignation.
  "Who would have believed such insolence in mortal man!" exclaimed
she, as soon as she could find words to express herself; "but I am
rightly served for having connived at this deception of your worthy
father. Never talk more to me of your Spanish cavaliers."
  "Why, what has happened, good Kadiga?" exclaimed the princesses in
breathless anxiety.
  "What has happened?- treason has happened! or what is almost as bad,
treason has been proposed; and to me, the most faithful of subjects,
the trustiest of duennas! Yes, my children, the Spanish cavaliers have
dared to tamper with me, that I should persuade you to fly with them
to Cordova, and become their wives!"
  Here the excellent old woman covered her face with her hands, and
gave way to a violent burst of grief and indignation. The three
beautiful princesses turned pale and red, pale and red, and
trembled, and looked down, and cast shy looks at each other, but
said nothing. Meantime, the old woman sat rocking backward and forward
in violent agitation, and now and then breaking out into exclamations,
"That ever I should live to be so insulted!- I, the most faithful of
servants!"
                              
  At length, the eldest princess, who had most spirit and always
took the lead, approached her, and laying her hand upon her
shoulder, "Well, mother," said she, "supposing we were willing to
fly with these Christian cavaliers- is such a thing possible?"
  The good old woman paused suddenly in her grief, and looking up,
"Possible," echoed she; "to be sure, it is possible. Have not the
cavaliers already bribed Hussein Baba, the renegado captain of the
guard, and arranged the whole plan? But, then, to think of deceiving
your father! your father, who has placed such confidence in me!"
Here the worthy woman gave way to a fresh burst of grief, and began to
rock backward and forward, and to wring her hands.
  "But our father has never placed any confidence in us," said the
eldest princess, "but has trusted to bolts and bars, and treated us as
captives."
  "Why, that is true enough," replied the old woman, again pausing
in her grief; "he has indeed treated you most unreasonably, keeping
you shut up here, to waste your bloom in a moping old tower, like
roses left to wither in a flower-jar. But, then, to fly from your
native land!"
  "And is not the land we fly to, the native land of our mother, where
we shall live in freedom? And shall we not each have a youthful
husband in exchange for a severe old father?"
                              
  "Why, that again is all very true; and your father, I must
confess, is rather tyrannical: but what then," relapsing into her
grief, "would you leave me behind to bear the brunt of his vengeance?"
  "By no means, my good Kadiga; cannot you fly with us?"
  "Very true, my child; and, to tell the truth, when I talked the
matter over with Hussein Baba, he promised to take care of me, if I
would accompany you in your flight: but then, bethink you, my
children, are you willing to renounce the faith of your father?"
  "The Christian faith was the original faith of our mother," said the
eldest princess; "I am ready to embrace it, and so, I am sure, are
my sisters."
  "Right again," exclaimed the old woman, brightening up; "it was
the original faith of your mother, and bitterly did she lament, on her
death-bed, that she had renounced it. I promised her then to take care
of your souls, and I rejoice to see that they are now in a fair way to
be saved. Yes, my children, I, too, was born a Christian, and have
remained a Christian in my heart, and am resolved to return to the
faith. I have talked on the subject with Hussein Baba, who is a
Spaniard by birth, and comes from a place not far from my native town.
He is equally anxious to see his own country, and to be reconciled
to the church; and the cavaliers have promised, that, if we are
disposed to become man and wife, on returning to our native land, they
will provide for us handsomely."
                              
  In a word, it appeared that this extremely discreet and provident
old woman had consulted with the cavaliers and the renegado, and had
concerted the whole plan of escape. The eldest princess immediately
assented to it; and her example, as usual, determined the conduct of
her sisters. It is true, the youngest hesitated, for she was gentle
and timid of soul, and there was a struggle in her bosom between
filial feeling and youthful passion: the latter, however, as usual,
gained the victory, and with silent tears, and stifled sighs, she
prepared herself for flight.
  The rugged hill on which the Alhambra is built was, in old times,
perforated with subterranean passages, cut through the rock, and
leading from the fortress to various parts of the city, and to distant
sally-ports on the banks of the Darro and the Xenil. They had been
constructed at different times by the Moorish kings, as means of
escape from sudden insurrections, or of secretly issuing forth on
private enterprises. Many of them are now entirely lost, while
others remain, partly choked with rubbish, and partly walled up;
monuments of the jealous precautions and warlike stratagems of the
Moorish government. By one of these passages, Hussein Baba had
undertaken to conduct the princesses to a sally-port beyond the
walls of the city, where the cavaliers were to be ready with fleet
steeds, to bear the whole party over the borders.
  The appointed night arrived: the tower of the princesses had been
locked up as usual, and the Alhambra was buried in deep sleep. Towards
midnight, the discreet Kadiga listened from the balcony of a window
that looked into the garden. Hussein Baba, the renegado, was already
below, and gave the appointed signal. The duenna fastened the end of a
ladder of ropes to the balcony, lowered it into the garden and
descended. The two eldest princesses followed her with beating hearts;
but when it came to the turn of the youngest princess, Zorahayda,
she hesitated, and trembled. Several times she ventured a delicate
little foot upon the ladder, and as often drew it back, while her poor
little heart fluttered more and more the longer she delayed. She
cast a wistful look back into the silken chamber; she had lived in it,
to be sure, like a bird in a cage; but within it she was secure; who
could tell what dangers might beset her, should she flutter forth into
the wide world! Now she bethought her of the gallant Christian
lover, and her little foot was instantly upon the ladder; and anon she
thought of her father, and shrank back. But fruitless is the attempt
to describe the conflict in the bosom of one so young and tender and
loving, but so timid, and so ignorant of the world.
  In vain her sisters implored, the duenna scolded, and the renegado
blasphemed beneath the balcony; the gentle little Moorish maid stood
doubting and wavering on the verge of elopement, tempted by the
sweetness of the sin, but terrified at its perils.
  Every moment increased the danger of discovery. A distant tramp
was heard. "The patrols are walking their rounds," cried the renegado;
"if we linger, we perish. Princess, descend instantly, or we leave
you."
                             
  Zorahayda was for a moment in fearful agitation; then loosening
the ladder of ropes, with desperate resolution, she flung it from
the balcony.
  "It is decided!" cried she; "flight is now out of my power! Allah
guide and bless ye, my dear sisters!"
  The two eldest princesses were shocked at the thoughts of leaving
her behind, and would fain have lingered, but the patrol was
advancing; the renegado was furious, and they were hurried away to the
subterraneous passage. They groped their way through a fearful
labyrinth, cut through the heart of the mountain, and succeeded in
reaching, undiscovered, an iron gate that opened outside of the walls.
The Spanish cavaliers were waiting to receive them, disguised as
Moorish soldiers of the guard, commanded by the renegado.
  The lover of Zorahayda was frantic, when he learned that she had
refused to leave the tower; but there was no time to waste in
lamentations. The two princesses were placed behind their lovers,
the discreet Kadiga mounted behind the renegado, and they all set
off at a round pace in the direction of the Pass of Lope, which
leads through the mountains towards Cordova.
  They had not proceeded far when they heard the noise of drums and
trumpets from the battlements of the Alhambra.
                             
  "Our flight is discovered!" said the renegado.
  "We have fleet steeds, the night is dark, and we may distance all
pursuit," replied the cavaliers.
  They put spurs to their horses, and scoured across the Vega. They
attained the foot of the mountain of Elvira, which stretches like a
promontory into the plain. The renegado paused and listened. "As yet,"
said he, "there is no one on our traces, we shall make good our escape
to the mountains." While he spoke, a light blaze sprang up on the
top of the watchtower of the Alhambra.
  "Confusion!" cried the renegado, "that bale fire will put all the
guards of the passes on the alert. Away! away! Spur like mad- there is
no time to be lost."
  Away they dashed- the clattering of their horses' hoofs echoed
from rock to rock, as they swept along the road that skirts the
rocky mountain of Elvira. As they galloped on, the bale fire of the
Alhambra was answered in every direction; light after light blazed
on the atalayas, or watchtowers of the mountains.
                             
  "Forward! forward!" cried the renegado, with many an oath, "to the
bridge- to the bridge, before the alarm has reached there!"
  They doubled the promontory of the mountains, and arrived in sight
of the famous Bridge of Pinos, that crosses a rushing stream often
dyed with Christian and Moslem blood. To their confusion, the tower on
the bridge blazed with lights and glittered with armed men. The
renegado pulled up his steed, rose in his stirrups and looked about
him for a moment; then beckoning to the cavaliers, he struck off
from the road, skirted the river for some distance, and dashed into
its waters. The cavaliers called upon the princesses to cling to them,
and did the same. They were borne for some distance down the rapid
current, the surges roared round them, but the beautiful princesses
clung to their Christian knights, and never uttered a complaint. The
cavaliers attained the opposite bank in safety, and were conducted
by the renegado, by rude and unfrequented paths, and wild barrancos,
through the heart of the mountains, so as to avoid all the regular
passes. In a word, they succeeded in reaching the ancient city of
Cordova; where their restoration to their country and friends was
celebrated with great rejoicings, for they were of the noblest
families. The beautiful princesses were forthwith received into the
bosom of the Church, and, after being in all due form made regular
Christians, were rendered happy wives.
  In our hurry to make good the escape of the princesses across the
river, and up the mountains, we forgot to mention the fate of the
discreet Kadiga. She had clung like a cat to Hussein Baba in the
scamper across the Vega, screaming at every bound, and drawing many an
oath from the whiskered renegado; but when he prepared to plunge his
steed into the river, her terror knew no bounds. "Grasp me not so
tightly," cried Hussein Baba; "hold on by my belt and fear nothing."
She held firmly with both hands by the leathern belt that girded the
broad-backed renegado; but when he halted with the cavaliers to take
breath on the mountain summit, the duenna was no longer to be seen.
  "What has become of Kadiga?" cried the princesses in alarm.
  "Allah alone knows!" replied the renegado; "my belt came loose
when in the midst of the river, and Kadiga was swept with it down
the stream. The will of Allah be done! but it was an embroidered belt,
and of great price."
                             
  There was no time to waste in idle regrets; yet bitterly did the
princesses bewail the loss of their discreet counsellor. That
excellent old woman, however, did not lose more than half of her
nine lives in the water: a fisherman, who was drawing his nets some
distance down the stream, brought her to land, and was not a little
astonished at his miraculous draught. What further became of the
discreet Kadiga, the legend does not mention; certain it is that she
evinced her discretion in never venturing within the reach of
Mohamed the Left-handed.
  Almost as little is known of the conduct of that sagacious monarch
when he discovered the escape of his daughters, and the deceit
practised upon him by the most faithful of servants. It was the only
instance in which he had called in the aid of counsel, and he was
never afterwards known to be guilty of a similar weakness. He took
good care, however, to guard his remaining daughter, who had no
disposition to elope: it is thought, indeed, that she secretly
repented having remained behind: now and then she was seen leaning
on the battlements of the tower, and looking mournfully towards the
mountains in the direction of Cordova, and sometimes the notes of
her lute were heard accompanying plaintive ditties, in which she was
said to lament the loss of her sisters and her lover, and to bewail
her solitary life. She died young, and, according to popular rumor,
was buried in a vault beneath the tower, and her untimely fate has
given rise to more than one traditionary fable.
-
  The following legend, which seems in some measure to spring out of
the foregoing story, is too closely connected with high historic names
to be entirely doubted. The Count's daughter, and some of her young
companions, to whom it was read in one of the evening tertulias,
thought certain parts of it had much appearance of reality; and
Dolores, who was much more versed than they in the improbable truths
of the Alhambra, believed every word of it.


                Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra.
-
  FOR SOME time after the surrender of Granada by the Moors, that
delightful city was a frequent and favorite residence of the Spanish
sovereigns, until they were frightened away by successive shocks of
earthquakes, which toppled down various houses, and made the old
Moslem towers rock to their foundation.
  Many, many years then rolled away, during which Granada was rarely
honored by a royal guest. The palaces of the nobility remained
silent and shut up; and the Alhambra, like a slighted beauty, sat in
mournful desolation, among her neglected gardens. The tower of the
Infantas, once the residence of the three beautiful Moorish
princesses, partook of the general desolation; the spider spun her web
athwart the gilded vault, and bats and owls nestled in those
chambers that had been graced by the presence of Zayda, Zorayda, and
Zorahayda. The neglect of this tower may partly have been owing to
some superstitious notions of the neighbors. It was rumored that the
spirit of the youthful Zorahayda, who had perished in that tower,
was often seen by moonlight seated beside the fountain in the hall, or
moaning about the battlements, and that the notes of her silver lute
would be heard at midnight by wayfarers passing along the glen.
  At length the city of Granada was once more welcomed by the royal
presence. All the world knows that Philip V was the first Bourbon that
swayed the Spanish sceptre. All the world knows that he married, in
second nuptials, Elizabetta or Isabella (for they are the same), the
beautiful princess of Parma; and all the world knows that by this
chain of contingencies a French prince and an Italian princess were
seated together on the Spanish throne. For a visit of this illustrious
pair, the Alhambra was repaired and fitted up with all possible
expedition. The arrival of the court changed the whole aspect of the
lately deserted palace. The clangor of drum and trumpet, the tramp
of steed about the avenues and outer court, the glitter of arms and
display of banners about barbican and battlement, recalled the ancient
and warlike glories of the fortress. A softer spirit, however, reigned
within the royal palace. There was the rustling of robes and the
cautious tread and murmuring voice of reverential courtiers about
the antechambers; a loitering of pages and maids of honor about the
gardens, and the sound of music stealing from open casements.
  Among those who attended in the train of the monarchs was a favorite
page of the queen, named Ruyz de Alarcon. To say that he was a
favorite page of the queen was at once to speak his eulogium, for
every one in the suite of the stately Elizabetta was chosen for grace,
and beauty, and accomplishments. He was just turned of eighteen, light
and lithe of form, and graceful as a young Antinous. To the queen he
was all deference and respect, yet he was at heart a roguish
stripling, petted and spoiled by the ladies about the court, and
experienced in the ways of women far beyond his years.
  This loitering page was one morning rambling about the groves of the
Generalife, which overlook the grounds of the Alhambra. He had taken
with him for his amusement a favorite gerfalcon of the queen. In the
course of his rambles, seeing a bird rising from a thicket, he
unhooded the hawk and let him fly. The falcon towered high in the air,
made a swoop at his quarry, but missing it, soared away, regardless of
the calls of the page. The latter followed the truant bird with his
eye, in its capricious flight, until he saw it alight upon the
battlements of a remote and lonely tower, in the outer wall of the
Alhambra, built on the edge of a ravine that separated the royal
fortress from the grounds of the Generalife. It was in fact the "Tower
of the Princesses."
                           
  The page descended into the ravine and approached the tower, but
it had no entrance from the glen, and its lofty height rendered any
attempt to scale it fruitless. Seeking one of the gates of the
fortress, therefore, he made a wide circuit to that side of the
tower facing within the walls.
  A small garden, inclosed by a trellis-work of reeds overhung with
myrtle, lay before the tower. Opening a wicket, the page passed
between beds of flowers and thickets of roses to the door. It was
closed and bolted. A crevice in the door gave him a peep into the
interior. There was a small Moorish hall with fretted walls, light
marble columns, and an alabaster fountain surrounded with flowers.
In the centre hung a gilt cage containing a singing bird, beneath
it, on a chair, lay a tortoise-shell cat among reels of silk and other
articles of female labor, and a guitar decorated with ribbons leaned
against the fountain.
  Ruyz de Alarcon was struck with these traces of female taste and
elegance in a lonely, and, as he had supposed, deserted tower. They
reminded him of the tales of enchanted halls current in the
Alhambra; and the tortoise-shell cat might be some spell-bound
princess.
  He knocked gently at the door. A beautiful face peeped out from a
little window above, but was instantly withdrawn. He waited, expecting
that the door would be opened, but he waited in vain; no footstep
was to be heard within- all was silent. Had his senses deceived him,
or was this beautiful apparition the fairy of the tower? He knocked
again, and more loudly. After a little while the beaming face once
more peeped forth; it was that of a blooming damsel of fifteen.
  The page immediately doffed his plumed bonnet, and entreated in
the most courteous accents to be permitted to ascend the tower in
pursuit of his falcon.
                          
  "I dare not open the door, senor," replied the little damsel,
blushing, "my aunt has forbidden it."
  "I do beseech you, fair maid- it is the favorite falcon of the
queen. I dare not return to the palace without it."
  "Are you then one of the cavaliers of the court?"
  "I am, fair maid; but I shall lose the queen's favor and my place,
if I lose this hawk."
  "Santa Maria! It is against you cavaliers of the court my aunt has
charged me especially to bar the door."
                          
  "Against wicked cavaliers doubtless, but I am none of these, but a
simple harmless page, who will be ruined and undone if you deny me
this small request."
  The heart of the little damsel was touched by the distress of the
page. It was a thousand pities he should be ruined for the want of
so trifling a boon. Surely too he could not be one of those
dangerous beings whom her aunt had described as a species of cannibal,
ever on the prowl to make prey of thoughtless damsels; he was gentle
and modest, and stood so entreatingly with cap in hand, and looked
so charming.
  The sly page saw that the garrison began to waver, and redoubled his
entreaties in such moving terms that it was not in the nature of
mortal maiden to deny him; so the blushing little warden of the
tower descended, and opened the door with a trembling hand, and if the
page had been charmed by a mere glimpse of her countenance from the
window, he was ravished by the full length portrait now revealed to
him.
  Her Andalusian bodice and trim basquina set off the round but
delicate symmetry of her form, which was as yet scarce verging into
womanhood. Her glossy hair was parted on her forehead with
scrupulous exactness, and decorated with a fresh-plucked rose,
according to the universal custom of the country. It is true her
complexion was tinged by the ardor of a southern sun, but it served to
give richness to the mantling bloom of her cheek, and to heighten
the lustre of her melting eyes.
  Ruyz de Alarcon beheld all this with a single glance, for it
became him not to tarry; he merely murmured his acknowledgments, and
then bounded lightly up the spiral staircase in quest of his falcon.
                          
  He soon returned with the truant bird upon his fist. The damsel,
in the mean time, had seated herself by the fountain in the hall,
and was winding silk; but in her agitation she let fall the reel
upon the pavement. The page sprang and picked it up, then dropping
gracefully on one knee, presented it to her; but, seizing the hand
extended to receive it, imprinted on it a kiss more fervent and devout
than he had ever imprinted on the fair hand of his sovereign.
  "Ave Maria, senor!" exclaimed the damsel, blushing still deeper with
confusion and surprise, for never before had she received such a
salutation.
  The modest page made a thousand apologies, assuring her it was the
way, at court, of expressing the most profound homage and respect.
  Her anger, if anger she felt, was easily pacified, but her agitation
and embarrassment continued, and she sat blushing deeper and deeper,
with her eyes cast down upon her work, entangling the silk which she
attempted to wind.
  The cunning page saw the confusion in the opposite camp, and would
fain have profited by it, but the fine speeches he would have
uttered died upon his lips; his attempts at gallantry were awkward and
ineffectual; and to hi