I STANDARD 
 tjTERATUR[ 5ERIES 
 
 ifta«^C^^«fi^C^S:5Saf^3Ss?'^ari^:SOU^t3i?^'«©i^^ 
 
 Number 4 
 
 February 15, 1896 
 
 THE ALHAMBRA 
 
 BY 
 
 WASHINGTON IRVING 
 
 CONDENSED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS 
 WITH INTRODUCTORY AND EXPLANATORY NOTES 
 
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 WASHINGTON IRVING 
 
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SA2^ 
 
 HISTORY OF SPAIN TO THE FALL OF 
 GRANADA. 
 
 O 
 
 Almost nothing is known of the early history of the great peninsula 
 which forms the southwestern extremity of Europe. The Greeks called it 
 Iberia, but they had little real knowledge of the country. To them it 
 was the end of the world, the land of the setting sun, and many wonder- 
 ful stories and myths were connected with it. One of these myths was 
 that Hercules had hollowed out the strait that connects the Mediterranean 
 with the Atlantic, and hence the bold, rocky cliflEs that rise on either 
 side of the narrow strait were called the Pillars of Hercules. 
 
 Phoenician merchants and traders certainly visited the peninsula in 
 early times, and made settlements along the coasts. As the years passed, 
 it gradually came more and more under Carthaginian influence, and 
 
o^*" 
 
 ^';> 
 
 COPTBIGHT, 1896, BY 
 
 UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 Press of J. J. Little & Co. 
 Astor Place, New York 
 
s;^ 
 
 HISTOEY OF SPAIN TO THE FALL OF 
 GRANADA. 
 
 strait oiNi^crGibraltar 
 
 SPAIN f^ " 
 
 Almost nothing is known of the early history of the great peninsula 
 which forms the southwestern extremity of Europe. The Greeks called it 
 Iberia, but they had little real knowledge of the country. To them it 
 was the end of the world, the land of the setting sun, and many wonder- 
 ful stories and myths were connected with it. One of these myths was 
 that Hercules had hollowed out the strait that connects the Mediterranean 
 with the Atlantic, and hence the bold, rocky cliffs that rise on either 
 side of the narrow strait were called the Pillars of Hercules. 
 
 Phoenician merchants and traders certainly visited the peninsula in 
 early times, and made settlements along the coasts. As the years passed, 
 it gradually came more and more under Carthaginian influence, and 
 
4 THE ROMANS RULE HISPi^NIA. 
 
 about two hundred and thirty-seven years before Christ, a Carthaginian 
 army under Hamilcar Barca occupied the southern part of the country, 
 some of the tribes submitting quietly, others being conquered. His son 
 Hannibal, who had married a Spanish woman, extended the Carthaginian 
 power to the Pyrenees Mountains in the north, and, in 218 B.C., led his 
 army from this peninsula over the mountains to Italy. 
 
 Their wars with Carthage had first brought the attention of the Eo- 
 mansto the peninsula, which they called Hispania, a name since contracted 
 by the Spaniards into Espana, and by the English into Spain. While 
 Hannibal was still in Italy, the Romans invaded Hispania, defeated the 
 Carthaginians, and conquered the southern portion of the peninsula, thus 
 cutting off Hannibal's supplies and re6nforcements. After the power of 
 Carthage was crushed, the Romans retained their conquests in Hispania, 
 and our first accurate knowledge of the country comes from them. They 
 found it occupied by many different tribes more civilized than the Gauls, 
 and so brave that more than two hundred years passed before the entire 
 peninsula was finally subjugated by the Emperor Augustus Caesar. The 
 country then became entirely Roman. The natives acquired the Latin 
 language and the Latin civilization. For more than four hundred years 
 the country remained a part of the Roman Empire, and became famous in 
 literature, arts, and science. Trajan the emperor, and Quintilian, Sen- 
 eca, and Martial, the most distinguished Latin authors of the silver age, 
 were Spaniards. The Castilian Spanish of to-day very closely resembles 
 the old Latin language. As a part of the Roman Empire, Spain embraced 
 Christianity, and the Spanish bishops were leaders in the Roman Church. 
 
 With the decline of the Western Roman Empire (a.d. 409), Spain 
 was overrun by the Vandals and other German tribes, the Spaniards 
 offering very little resistance to the invaders. Four or five years later 
 the Visigoths (Western Goths) occupied the country, and in time expelled 
 the Vandals, and in a.d. 573 established a Visigothic Empire. The 
 Visigoths ruled Spain until the death of Roderick, the last Visigothic 
 king, A.D. 711. 
 
 Across the Mediterranean, in Northern Africa, lay the Roman province 
 of Mauritania, inhabited by a dark-skinned people whom the Romans 
 called Mauri, from which our word Moor is derived. The Mauri were 
 converted to Christianity with the rest of the Roman Empire. They 
 called themselves Berbers. After the rise of Mohammedanism, Mauri- 
 tania was overrun and conquered by the Arabs, or Saracens, and the 
 Moors all embraced the Mohammedan faith. In a.d. 711, a mixed 
 army, made up of Arabs, Moors, Egyptians, and Syrians, under the com- 
 mand of Tarik, an Arab, crossed the narrow strait to the Spanish side. 
 
THE ARABS CONQUER SPAIN. 6 
 
 They called the rock on which they landed Gebel el Tarik (meaning 
 Rock of Tarik), which has been shortened into Gibralter, the name it 
 bears to-day. The strait has taken its name from the rock. 
 
 The country fell an easy prey. By the year 714 the Arabs had con- 
 quered the whole of Spain, which now became a part of the Moslem 
 Empire, governed by the Caliphs of Damascus. The ruling Caliph of 
 Damascus was overthrown, and all the members of his family poisoned 
 except Abdurrahman, who in 767 escaped to Spain on the invitation of 
 the Arab governors, and established the Caliphate of Cordova. This 
 embraced all of Spain, except Asturias, and was independent of the 
 Caliphs of Bagdad. It was governed by Abdurrahman's successor for 
 two hundred and fifty years. The Moors during all this time were sub- 
 ordinate. The reigning family and all the officers were Arabs. 
 
 The conquest of ^ Spain by the Arabs was at first simply a change of 
 rulers, not of population. The masses of the people were not disturbed 
 in their property or in their business. They paid taxes which supported 
 the Arab rulers and the army of Arabs and Moors. All religions were 
 tolerated. The Arabs were an intellectual race, and by association 
 acquired the culture and civilization of the people whom they had con- 
 quered and with whom they lived. For two hundred and fifty years 
 Spain under Arab rulers surpassed every other European nation in 
 architecture, literature, science, manufactures, and agriculture. 
 
 The Christian princes had been driven into the mountains of Northern 
 Spain. One of these princes established the petty kingdom of Asturias 
 in the mountains of the north, seven years after the landing of the Arabs. 
 His successors drove the Arabs from Galicia and from Leon, and in the 
 tenth century became kings of Leon. Later on, Navarre, Aragon, Castile, 
 and Portugal, successively threw off the Arab control. Each became an 
 independent kingdom, at first very small, but gradually pushing its 
 boundaries southward. In 997, Almansor, the chief minister of the 
 Arab ruler, regained most of the lost ground, but it was lost again in a 
 great battle in 1002, after which Arab rule never extended north of the 
 river Tagus. A few years later the Arab empire in Spain was broken up 
 into a number of independent principalities, under Emirs (commanders). 
 
 In 1085 Alfonso VI. of Leon and Castile captured the city of Toledo, 
 and was pushing still farther south. The Emir of Seville sought the 
 help of the Moors of Northern Africa. Yusuf of Morocco, although then 
 eighty years of age, promptly responded, and in 1086 came with his 
 Moors to the assistance of the Emir. In October of the same year he 
 defeated the combined forces of Castile, Aragon, and Barcelona, but was 
 recalled to Africa. He returned four years later. Instead of fighting 
 
6 THE MOORS IN SPAIN. 
 
 the Christians, however, he tui-ned against the Arab Emirs, and united 
 all their possessions in an empire which covered practically the southern 
 half of the peninsula. For the first time, the Moorish element in the 
 population became dominant. In 1118, Alfonso VII. of Castile captured 
 Saragossa, and Alfonso VIII. extended the borders of Castile to the Sierra 
 Morena Mountains. In 1146, Abd al mu'min, leader of a new religious 
 sect, united the Slavs (or slaves) and the Moors in an insurrection against 
 the grandson of Yusuf, and established himself as sovereign. His suc- 
 cessor defeated the Christian kings, who were quarrelling among them- 
 selves, and recovered some of the lost territory. Under the rule of this 
 family, the Arab element disappeared, and from this time the Mohamme- 
 dans of Spain were distinctly Moors. 
 
 In 1236 Cordova, the capital, was captured by Castile, and the next 
 year the Moorish Empire was again broken up into independent districts 
 under Emirs. The most powerful of these, Alhamar, the builder of the 
 Alhambra, Emir of Granada, in 1246 put himself under the protection 
 of Castile, and paid tribute to that kingdom. All the other Moorish 
 districts were, within the next twenty years, conquered by the Christian 
 kings of the peninsula. Granada became a place of refuge for those 
 Moors who were driven out of the other parts of Spain by the persecution 
 of the Christians ; and the Moors in Granada, following the example of 
 the Christians, expelled all, except Mohammedans, from their territory. 
 As a consequence, the population of Granada became almost entirely 
 Moorish. This added greatly to their strength. The mountainous 
 character of Granada made it easy to defend, and in this country, with a 
 united population, the Moors were enabled to hold their ground for two 
 hundred years longer. 
 
 The marriage of Ferdinand, King of Aragon and Navarre, with 
 Isabella, Queen of Leon and Castile, united the Christian armies of 
 Spain, and in 1481 these monarchs began the conquest of Granada, which 
 ended successfully in 1492. 
 
 The Moors rebelled in 1500, and after that time only those who em- 
 braced Christianity were permitted to remain in Spain. Though out- 
 wardly Christians, the "Moriseos" were secretly Mohammedans. Fi- 
 nally, in 1609, they were all expelled from Spain, and that country has 
 never recovered from the loss of this large industrial element. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 
 
 In the annals of American literature no name is brighter or more 
 warmly cherished than that of Washington Irving. He was one of the 
 earliest and most distinguished of American writers. He was born in 
 New York City in 1783, just at the close of the Revolutionary War, and 
 was given the name at that time dearest to American hearts. He was 
 educated for the legal profession ; but his tastes were in the direction of 
 literature, and as early as 1802 his "Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle " 
 appeared in the 3Io7ming Chronicle. 
 
 Irving's first publications of note were his contributions to Salma- 
 gundi, a semi-monthly publication in imitation of the Spectator, con- 
 ducted by himself, his brother William, and James K. Paulding. His 
 sketches of Dutch character in his "Knickerbocker's History of New 
 York," which made its appearance in 1809, proved him possessed of 
 quaint and genial humor to a high degree. It was everywhere read and 
 admired. Walter Scott, "his sides sore from laughing," praised it 
 warmly. The " Sketch-Book " was completed in 1830. It was received 
 in the United States with universal delight, and with most cordial favor 
 in England. It has a peculiar charm for its delicate touch and purity of 
 style. It was the first production in the United States of a work of the 
 highest literary excellence, and won for Irving a name as one of the chief 
 founders of American literature. The "short story," now so popular, 
 recognizes him as its first great master. The Royal Society of Literature 
 bestowed on him one of the two fifty-guinea gold medals awarded an- 
 nually, and the University of Oxford conferred on him the degree of LL.D. 
 
 " Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.," " Bracebridge Hall " (1822), and " Tales of 
 a Traveller " (1824) followed. In 1826 he went to Spain and began the 
 long and arduous studies which were the foundation of his more impor- 
 tant serious works: "The Life and Voyages of Columbus" (1828), 
 " Conquest of Granada " (1829), "Voyages of the Companions of Colum- 
 bus" (1831), "The Alhambra" (1832), "Legends of the Conquest of 
 Spain" (1835), " Mahomet and His Successors " (1850). For nearly three 
 months he lived at Granada, in the old Moorish palace, the Alhambra, 
 while gathering material for the work which bears that name. 
 
 In 1842 he was appointed United States Minister to Spain. He re- 
 turned to New York in 1846, and spent the remainder of his life at his 
 residence, Sunnyside, near Tarrytown, on the Hudson, where he died 
 
8 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 
 
 November 28, 1859. His last work was the " Life of George Washing- 
 ton "(5 vols., 1855-1859). 
 
 America has produced no writer of higher literary fame than Irving. 
 *' Diedrich Knickerbocker," "Sleepy Hollow," " Rip Van Winkle," "Ich- 
 abod Crane," have become most familiar names. Sentiment and abun- 
 dant humor characterize his writings, and he had the power to seize the 
 attention of cultivated readers by his keen observation, his graphic 
 touches of description, and his clear and musical style. 
 
 As a man, Irving was — to quote from Thackeray's graceful tribute to 
 his character — " in his family gentle, generous, good-humored, affection- 
 ate, self-denying ; in society a delightful example of complete gentle- 
 manhood ; quite unspoiled by prosperity ; never obsequious to the great, 
 or, worse still, to the base and mean, as some public men are forced to 
 be ; eager to acknowledge every contemporary's merit ; always kind and 
 affable with the young members of his calling ; in his professional bar- 
 gains and mercantile dealings delicately honest and grateful. He was, at 
 the same time, doubly dear to men of letters, not for his wit and genius 
 merely, but as an exemplar of goodness, probity, and a pure life." 
 
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 devo- 
 tion as is the Caaba '^ to all true Moslems. ^ How many legends 
 and traditions, true and fabulous; how many songs and bal- 
 lads, 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; exter- 
 nally 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 con- 
 taining within its outward precincts an army of forty thousand 
 men, and served occasionally as a stronghold of the sover- 
 eigns against their rebellious subjects. After the kingdom had 
 passed into the hands of the Christians, the Alhambra con- 
 
 » (ahl-hahm'brah.) Note these leading as niwo (nee'-nyo) ; e final forms a separate 
 
 peculiarities of pronunciation of Spanish syllable, as Calle (kahl-lay). 
 names : a, long like a in /ar, short like a ^ filled. 3 histories. 
 
 in fast ; e, long like a in ale, short like e in * (kah-ah'bah), the temple at Mecca. 
 met ; i long like e in me, short like i in pin ; ^ followers of Mohammed. 
 as in English; ztVikeoo ; g before e and i, 'deeds of knights who fought for the 
 
 and j and x before every vowel, like a gut- weak and the oppressed. "> boasted, 
 tural h ; n combines the sounds of n and y, ^ earthly. * art or science of building. 
 
10 PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 tinned to be a royal demesne/ and was occasionally inhabited 
 by the Oastilian monarchs. The emperor Charles V. com- 
 menced a sumptuous palace within its walls, but was deterred ^ 
 from completing it by repeated shocks of earthquakes. The 
 last royal residents were Philip V. and his beautiful queen, 
 Elizabetta of Parma, early in the eighteenth century. Great 
 preparations were made for their reception. The palace and 
 gardens were placed in a state of repair, and a new suite ^ of 
 apartments erected, and decorated by artists brought from 
 Italy. The sojourn of the sovereigns was transient,* and after 
 their departure the palace once more became desolate. Still 
 the place was maintained with some military state. The gov- 
 ernor held it immediately from the crown; its jurisdiction 
 extended down into the suburbs of the city, and was inde- 
 pendent of the captain-general of Granada. 
 
 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 foun- 
 tains 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 legiti- 
 mate 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 
 
 1 possession. * brief ; lasting only a short time. '' prey. 
 
 3 hindered. s smugglers. s destroyed. 
 
 ' connected set or series. ® legal authority. » parish. 
 
PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 11 
 
 palace was occasionally inhabited by the French commander. 
 AVith 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 gar- 
 dens 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 despatch of his 
 official duties. 
 
 Our first object, of course, on the morning after our arrival, 
 was a visit to this time-honored edifice. 
 
 Leaving our posada,* and traversing the renowned square of 
 the Vivarrambla, once the scene of Moorish jousts ^ and tour- 
 naments, ■* 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 con- 
 fined 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, 
 
 * capable of 'being held. 2 jnn. ^ mock fight or military sport. 
 
 3 mock encouuters 011 horseback as a ^ record, history, 
 trial of skill. 
 
12 PALACE OF THE ALHAMBEA. 
 
 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 sol- 
 diers, dozing on a stone bench, 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 sun- 
 shine 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 ? " 
 
 " 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 appel- 
 lation * caught me at once ; the very tattered garb of my new 
 acquaintance assumed a dignity in my eyes. It was emblem- 
 atic ^ of the fortunes of the place, and befitted the progeny ° 
 of a ruin. 
 
 I put some further questions to him, and found that his 
 title was legitimate. '' His family had lived in the fortress 
 from generation to generation ever since the time of the con- 
 quest. His name was Mateo Ximenes. "Then, perhaps," 
 said I, "you may be a descendant from the great Cardinal 
 Ximenes?" "God knows, senor! It maybe so. AYe are 
 the oldest family in the Alhambra." There is not any Span- 
 iard, 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 
 
 J thin, lean. 2 low fellow. ^ offspring ; descendants. 
 
 3 (chee-cha-ro'nee) guides (Italian). ' in accordance with law. 
 
 * name. ^ line of ancestors ; descent. 
 
 6 suggestive by similarity. * pleased ; charmed. 
 
PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 13 
 
 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. 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 domina- 
 tion, for the immediate trial of petty causes — a custom com- 
 mon to the Oriental nations, and occasionally alluded to in the 
 sacred Scriptures. " Judges 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 key- 
 stone 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 Is^am — 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 
 
 * jutting out. 2 seemingly controlled or threatened. < washing. 
 
 3 gateway. * handed down. 
 
14 PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 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" (Eev. 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 de- 
 vices 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. 
 
 After passing through the barbican, we asce:Q.ded 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 rocks by the Moors to receive the water brought by 
 conduits from the Darro,^for the supply of the fortress. Here, 
 
 1 depicted ; represented. ^ harmony ; agreement. * level place. 
 
 2 given to ; put upon. * threatening. * a small tributary of the Xenil. 
 
PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 15 
 
 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 the exertions to obtain 
 that element in its 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 trans- 
 ported,^ as if by magic wand, into other times and an Oriental 
 realm, and were treading the scenes of Arabian story. Noth- 
 ing could be in greater contrast than the unpromising ex- 
 terior of the pile with the scene now before us. We found 
 ourselves in a vast patio, or court, one hundred and fifty feet in 
 
 ' tireless. ' destroyed. ■• meaning sorrowful. 
 
 3 assuming ; haughty. * carried. 
 
16 PALACE OF THE ALHAMBEA. 
 
 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, 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, 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 arch- 
 way, 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 and marble; the alteration, an 
 instance of bad taste, was made by the French when in posses- 
 sion of Granada. Kound 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 
 
 1 ranges of columns. * pertaining to the older characters of the 
 
 a moulded projections finishing the part Arabic language. 
 
 to which they are attached. ' bounty ; liberality. « wastes ; inroads. 
 
 3 shields on which are coats of arms. ^ a fine white variety of gypsum. 
 
 8 last Moorish king of Granada. » ornamental network. 
 
PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 17 
 
 gilded. The arcliitecture, 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 dis- 
 position to indolent ' enjoyment. When one looks upon the 
 fairy traces of the peristyles, and the apparently fragile fret- 
 work of the walls, it is difficult to believe that so much has 
 survived the wear and tear of centuries, the shocks of earth- 
 quakes, the violence of war, and the quiet, though no less 
 baneful,'' pilferings of the tasteful traveller; it is almost suffi- 
 cient to excuse the popular tradition that the whole is pro- 
 tected 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 ourliumble 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. 
 
 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 
 
 1 lazy ; idle. ' injurious ; destructive. * portion of the house allotted to females 
 ' treacherously. in large dwellings of the East. 
 
 2 
 
18 ^ PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 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," said 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 refresh- 
 ing sound of waters from the Fountain of the Lions, and on 
 the other side the soft plash from the basin in the Garden of 
 Lindaraxa. 
 
 It is impossible to comtemplate 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 fish -pools, sparkling in jets within its 
 halls, or murmuring in channels along the marble pavements. 
 AYhen it has paid its tribute to the royal pile, and visited its 
 gardens and parterres,^ it flows down the long avenue leading 
 to the city, tinkling in rills, gushing in fountains, and main- 
 taining a perpetual verdure in those groves that embower and 
 beautify the whole hill of the Alhambra. 
 
 1 slatted window blinds. ^ ornamental arrangement of flower-beds 
 
 2 given to Gcnsnal pleasure. with walks between. 
 
PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 19 
 
 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 south- 
 ern 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. 
 
 * (vay'gati), valley. 
 
ALHAMAR, THE FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 The Moors of Granada regarded the Alliambra 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 pro- 
 cured 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-1-Ahmar; 
 but his name in general is written simply Alhamar, and was 
 given to him, we are told, on account of his ruddy complexion. 
 
 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 Penin- 
 sula. Alhamar became engaged in these wars; he was the gen- 
 eral 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 w^arlike mountains of the Alpuxaras,® and 
 
 1 an ancient science which aimed to change at the time of one's birth to foretell the 
 base metals into gold. events of his life. 
 
 2 wealthy. * a Turkish saint. ^ foretold. 
 
 3 the flight of Mohammed from Mecca, ' right to exercise supreme power. 
 
 July 16, 622, from which date time is « (ahl-poo-hah'rahs), mountain range par- 
 reckoned by his followers. allel to the Sierra Nevada from Motril to the 
 * observation of the aspect of the heavens river Almeria. 
 
ALHAMAR, THE FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 21 
 
 been proclaimed king of Mnrcia ' and Granada. Many con- 
 flicts took place between these warring chieftains; Alhamar 
 dispossessed his rival of several important places, and was pro- 
 claimed king of Jaen^ by his soldiery; but he aspired to the 
 sovereignty of the whole of Andalusia, for he was of a san- 
 guine ' 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 Gra- 
 nada in the same year, amid the enthusiastic shouts of the mul- 
 titude, 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 post- 
 ure 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 pro- 
 visions of the Moslem law, by which every man is made a 
 soldier, he raised a regular army to garrison his strongholds, 
 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 Avise precautions were justified by events. 
 The Christians, profiting by the dismemberment of the Mos- 
 lem power, were rapidly regaining their ancient territories. 
 James the Conqueror had subjected all Valencia, and Ferdi- 
 nand ' the Saint sat down in person before Jaen, the bul- 
 wark of Granada. Alhamar ventured to oppose him in open 
 field, but met with a signal defeat, and retired discomfited to 
 
 1 province in souttieast of Spain, sur- 3 bloody, with desire for war and blood- 
 round'id by Granada, Andalusia, La Mancha, shed. 
 
 and Valencia. * noted. 
 
 2 province fifty miles north of Granada. * He founded the University of Salamanca. 
 
22 ALHAMAE, THE FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 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 pres- 
 ence 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, refus- 
 ing 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 wdeld 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 
 
 1 surrounding. ^ city on left bank of Guadalquiver, eighty 
 
 2 subject ; slave. miles from its mouth. 
 
 * humbling. 
 
ALHAMAR, THE FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 23 
 
 whicli he prevailed upon Ferdinand to introduce into the 
 usages of war. When in 1248 the famous city of Seville sur- 
 rendered to the Oastilian 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 
 straightened and wretched would be our life, if our hope were 
 not so spacious and extensive." 
 
 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 " The Conqueror." 
 Alhamar gave a melancholy shake of the head on hearing the 
 appellation. ''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 dis- 
 tressed always found ready admission to his presence, and he 
 attended personally to their assistance and redress. He erected 
 
 ' kind ; mild. ' freedom from disturbing influences. 
 
 2 inharmonious ; contradictory. ■* storeliouses for weapons of war. 
 
24 ALHAMAR, THE FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 hospitals for the blind, the aged, and infirm, and all those in- 
 capable 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 un- 
 expectedly, informing himself, by actual observation and close 
 inquiry, of the treatment of tlie 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 luxu- 
 ries and merchandise of every clime and country. 
 
 He, moreover, gave premiums and privileges to the best arti- 
 sans ;''^ improved the breed of horses and other domestic ani- 
 mals; 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 com- 
 
 1 distribute water over. * making. 
 
 8 skilled workmen. ^ territorj' of Asiatic Turkey, bordering on 
 
 ' farming. Mediterranean Sea. 
 
ALHAMAR, THE FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 25 
 
 menced 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 enter- 
 prises, he was simple in his person and moderate in his enjoy- 
 ments. 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 
 Avives 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 leis- 
 ure, 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 tribu- 
 tary vassal to Ferdinand, so he always remained loyal to his 
 word, giving him repeated proofs of fidelity and attachment. 
 When tliat renowned monarch died in Seville in 1254, Alha- 
 mar 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 sumptu- 
 ous cathedral, round the cenotaph ^ of the illustrious deceased. 
 
 Alhamar retained his faculties and vigor to an advanced age. 
 
 » fragrant. ^ empty tomb erected in honor of some one buried elsewhere. 
 
26 ALHAMAR, THE FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 In liis 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 advance, accidentally broke his lance against the arch of the 
 gate. The councillors of the king, alarmed by this circum- 
 stance, 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 sub- 
 jects, who bewailed him as a parent. 
 
 I have said that he was the first of the illustrious line of 
 INasar 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 undertak- 
 ings 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. 
 
 1 sudden alarm confusing the mind. 
 
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 N"asar. 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 coun- 
 tenance increased, say they, by suffering his beard to grow to 
 a dignified length and dyeing 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 com- 
 mon to generous spirits, the bent of his genius was more for 
 peace than war; and though repeatedly obliged by circum- 
 stances 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 
 
 1 ornamented * unrestrained ; reckless. 
 
 » polite. ^ small river in province of Cadiz. 
 
 s kindness. 
 
28 YUSEF ABUL HAGIG. 
 
 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 mos'que,'^ and 
 purified the ceremonies of religion, and the festivals and pop- 
 ular 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 for- 
 tress, 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. 
 Pie 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 magnifi- 
 cent 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, 
 
 1 very great learning. s improprieties of behavior. 
 
 2 Mohammedan place of worship. * nightly. 
 
YUSEP ABUL HAGIG. 29 
 
 wliich 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 archi- 
 tecture that prevailed among this elegant people; insomuch 
 that, to use the beautiful simile of an Arabian writer, " Gra- 
 nada, in the days of Yusef,.was as a silver vase filled with em- 
 eralds 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 Cas- 
 tile, 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 cava- 
 liers 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 
 
 > greatness of mind. ' showy spectacle or procession. 
 
. so YUSEF ABUL HAGIG, 
 
 pass in safety, bearing the corpse of the Christian sovereign 
 from Gibraltar to Seville. 
 
 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 ^old 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," etc. 
 
 The mosque still exists which once resounded with the dying 
 cries of Yusef, but the monliment 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. 
 
 1 mildnees. ' made lasting. 
 
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 Oomares, 
 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. W^e will not enter the hall, how- 
 ever, 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 fish-pool 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 em- 
 erald green. 
 
 That belt of battlements, studded with square towers, strag- 
 
 complete view. 2 a series of arches supported by columns. 
 
32 PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COMARES. 
 
 gling 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 hillside. And see ! 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 Gra- 
 nada into consternation, and which, sooner or later, must 
 reduce this crumbling pile to a mere mass of ruin. The deep, 
 narrow glen below us, which gradually widens as it opens from 
 the mountains, is the valley of the Darro; you see the little 
 river winding its way under embowered terraces, and among 
 orchards and flower gardens. It is a stream famous in old 
 times for yielding gold, and its sands are still sifted occasion- 
 ally, in search of the precious ore. Some of those white pavil- 
 ions,'^ 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 emer- 
 alds. 
 
 The airy palace, with its tall white towers and long arcades, 
 which breasts yon mountain, among pompous groves and hang- 
 ing 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 
 
 1 opening ; cleft. ^ on the side of the mountain, high above 
 
 8 summer-houses. the Alhambra. 
 
PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COMARES. 33 
 
 valley. It is from the aqueduct of yon Moorish mill, nearly at 
 the foot of the hill. The avenue of trees beyond is the Ala- 
 meda, along the bank of the Darro, a favorite resort in even- 
 ings, 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 moun- 
 tain path leads to the fountain, a favorite resort of Moslems, as 
 well as Christians; for this is said to be the Adinamar (Aynu- 
 1-adamar), the "Fountain of Tears," mentioned by Ibn Bat- 
 uta 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 sail- 
 ing 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 Gransida 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. 
 
 » a kind of swallow. 3 through the year ; unfailing. 
 
 2 foreshowing or threatening ill. < animating ; enduing with life. 
 
84 PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COMARES. 
 
 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 Alpuxaras, dif- 
 fusing 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." 
 
 Farther this way these arid hills slope down into the luxu- 
 rious Vega, from which he had just emerged — a blooming wil- 
 derness of grove and garden and teeming orchard, with the 
 Xenil winding through it in silver links, and feeding innu- 
 merable 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 deco- 
 ration, that they were elegant residences in the days of the 
 Moslems. Behold, in the very centre of this eventful plain, 
 
 * secluded ; hidden. ■* peasants ; rustics. 
 
 2 parched with beat ^decorations after the manner of the 
 
 8 farm-hoases. Arabians. 
 
PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COMARES. 35 
 
 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 Catho- 
 lic sovereigns during the siege of Granada, after a conflagra- 
 tion 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 West- 
 ern 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 Co- 
 lumbus when, despairing of success with the Spanish sover- 
 eigns, 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 Chris- 
 tian 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 watch-tower, 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 ! It was 
 down a cragged defile of these mountains, called the Pass of 
 Lope, that the Christian armies descended into the Vega. 
 Eound the base of yon gray and naked mountaih (the Moun- 
 tain of Elvira), stretching its bold, rocky promontory into the 
 bosom of the plain, the invading squadron would come burst- 
 ing into view, with flaunting banners and clangor of drum and 
 trumpet. 
 
 Five hundred years have elapsed since Ismael ben Ferrag, 
 a Moorish king in 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 mag- 
 nanimity, often witnessed in the Moslem princes, *' whose 
 
 i Isabella. 
 
86 PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COMARES. 
 
 history," says an Arabian writer, ^''abounds in generous 
 actions and noble deeds that will last through all succeeding 
 ages, and live forever in the memory of man." — But let us 
 sit down on this parapet, and I will relate the anecdote. 
 
 It was in the year of Grace 1319 that Ismael ben Ferrag 
 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 Alfonzo 
 XI., had already laid waste the country from Alcaudete' to 
 Alcala la Eeal,"^ 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 neigh- 
 boring 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 irreg- 
 ular, the army being greatly encumbered by the spoils and 
 captives they had taken. 
 
 By this time King Ismael had received his expected re- 
 sources, and putting them under the command of Osmyn, one 
 of the bravest of his generals, sent them forth in hot pur- 
 suit 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 
 
 1 town in Andalusia, twenty-four miles " town in Andalusia, thirty miles south- 
 southwest of Jaen. west of Jaen. 
 
PANORAMA FROM THE TOWER OF COMARES. 37 
 
 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 Gi-ranada. 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 Christian captives were assembled to pray 
 around it. 
 
 In the mean time Ismael wrote to the son of Prince Juan 
 to send a convoy for the body, assuring him it should be 
 safely delivered up. In due time a band of Christian cava- 
 liers arrived for the purpose. They were honorably received 
 and entertained by Ismael, and, on their departure with the 
 body, the guard of honor of Moslem cavaliers escorted the 
 funeral train to the frontier. 
 
 But enough; the sun is high above the mountains, and 
 pours his full fervor on our heads. Already the terraced roof 
 is hot beneath our feet; let us abandon it, and refresh our- 
 selves under the arcades by the Fountain of the Lions. 
 
 1 slope of steep bank. 
 
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 superan- 
 nuated,^ '^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 watch towers 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 
 
 * a sudden incursion in a border war. * mild, peaceful. 
 
 8 act of despoiling or making inroads. « a long, narrow pass in whicli troops can 
 
 5 impaired by old age. marcb only in a file. 
 
LEGEKD OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 89 
 
 nose, and then make off with prisoners and booty to the moun- 
 tains. 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; 4ie was said to have 
 lived ever since the days of Mohammed, and to be son of 
 Abu Ayub, the last of the companions of the Prophet. Pie 
 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 dis- 
 cover 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 midday. The walls of this hall were covered with 
 Egyptian hieroglyphics, with cabalistic ^ symbols, and with 
 
 1 trying position. * one of Mohammed's early proselytes, 
 
 9 disturbances ; annoyances. and a great warrior. Died a.d. 663, 
 
 » figures supposed to have a hidden sig- ' containing an occult or hidden vaem- 
 
 nificance. ing. 
 
40 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 
 
 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 counsel- 
 lor of the king, who applied to him for advice in every emer- 
 gency. Aben Habuz was once inveighing^ against the injus- 
 tice 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, 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 approach- 
 ing, 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 idola- 
 trous faith, and seeking to make myself master of the hidden 
 knowledge for which they are renowned. I Avas one day seated 
 on the banks of the Nile, conversing with an ancient priest, 
 when he pointed to the mighty pyramids which rose like 
 
 » skilled workmen. « uttering censure. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 41 
 
 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 com- 
 mand 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 laby- 
 rinth,^ 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 sepul- 
 chre, there to await the final day of resurrection and judg- 
 ment." 
 
 "Son of Abu Ayub," exclaimed Aben Habuz, 'Hhou hast 
 been a great traveller, and hast 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, king! By the study of that book I am in- 
 Btructed in all magic arts, and can command the assistance of 
 
 1 place with winding passages. 
 
42 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 
 
 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 yirtues. " 
 
 "0 wise son of Abu Ayub," cried Aben Habuz, "better 
 were such a talisman than all the watch towers on the hills, 
 and sentinels upon the borders. Give me such 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 win- 
 dows 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" charac- 
 ters. 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 impa- 
 tient to try its virtues, and longed as ardently for an invasion 
 as he had ever sighed after repose. His desire was soon grati- 
 fied. Tidings were brought, early one morning, by the sen- 
 tinel appointed to watch the tower, that the face of the bronze 
 
 1 good or evil spirits supposed to preside 2 sovereign. » a large blunt needle, 
 
 over a man's destiny. * pertaljaing to Gh^ldea. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 43 
 
 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 Gra- 
 nada he put on the alert," said Ahen Habuz. 
 
 *'0 king," said the astrologer, "let not your city be dis- 
 quieted, nor your warriors called to arms; we need no aid of 
 force to deliver you from your enemies. Dismiss your attend- 
 ants, 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, 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 curvetted,^ 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, 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 butt- 
 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 ! " 
 
 I in southern Granada. * leaped. ' great joy or triumph. 
 
44 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 
 
 So saying, he thrust the magic lance into some of the 
 pigmy ^ efi&gies/ and belabored others with the butt-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. 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, 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 recom- 
 pense. 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 
 
 1 very sm^L ' power ; abili^. 
 
 2 figures ; images. * low, cushioned Bofas. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 45 
 
 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 gairish ^ 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 com- 
 plaints 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 the cavern." 
 
 The king was right; the hermitage was at length complete, 
 and formed a sumptuous subterranean ^ palace. The astrolo- 
 ger 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." 
 
 " wise Ibrahim, I am bound to furnish everything neces- 
 sary 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 
 
 1 dazzling. ' adapted ; suited. 3 underground. 
 
46 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN; ASTROLOGER. 
 
 them be young and fair to look iipon^ for the sight of youth 
 and beauty is refreshing. A few will suffice, for I am a phil- 
 osopher 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 car- 
 ried 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 he 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 accus- 
 tomed sport, and to grow peevish at his monotonous^ tran- 
 quillity. 
 
 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 rec- 
 onnoitre. 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." 
 
 1 unvarying ; wearisome. 
 
LEGEND OF THE AKABIAN ASTROLOGER. 47 
 
 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 
 foreliead, 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, king! " whispered Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub, 
 'Hhis maybe 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 sor- 
 cery 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 conjurer, 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, notwith- 
 standing 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, 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 
 
 i bright. 2 easily talving fire ; excitable. 
 
48 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 
 
 a sorceress, I have counter spells that set her charms at defi- 
 ance." 
 
 "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, impa- 
 tiently. "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 
 Shunamite." 
 
 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 counsel ? 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 mer- 
 chandise 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 excit- 
 
 1 see Bible, 1 Kings i. 3. " entreaties. 3 "csitive. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 49 
 
 ing 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 agree- 
 able dreams, which completely enthralled ^ the senses of the 
 drowsy lover; so he continued to dream on, while all G-ranada 
 scoffed at his infatuation,^ and groaned at the treasures lav- 
 ished 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 Chris- 
 tian paramour. A spark of his ancient warlike spirit w^as 
 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. 
 
 W^hen 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. 
 " 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 should I do to avert 
 it?" 
 
 " Put from thee the infidel damsel who is the cause." 
 
 » devoted attention. ^ folly. * threatened. 
 
 2 held captive. ' tending to gain favor. 
 
 4 
 
50 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 
 
 "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, 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 whataver it 
 might be, if within the scope of my power, as my soul liveth, 
 it should be thine. ' ' 
 
 "Thou hast heard, 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 have been to Mecca; ^ but I considered them wild fables, 
 such as travellers are wont to tell who have visited remote 
 countries." 
 
 "Discredit not, 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 
 
 * Mohammedan scriptures. 
 
 3 most celebrated city of Arabia, the seat of the Mohammedan religion. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 51 
 
 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 fish-ponds, and groves 
 and flowers, and orchards laden with delicious fruit; but still 
 no one was to be seen. Upon which, appalled ^ at this loneli- 
 ness, 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 ancient 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 noth- 
 ing 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 splen- 
 did city and palace and gardens were laid under a perpetual 
 
 1 terrified ; frightened. * blind, headstxong confidence or self- 
 
 2 Turkish or Persian monk. assertion, 
 * proud contempt of others ; conceit. 
 
52 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 
 
 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, 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 Solo- 
 mon 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 invisi- 
 ble. Such a palace and garden, 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 ? ' ' 
 
 '^ wise son of Abu Ayub! " exclaimed Aben Habuz, trem- 
 bling with eagerness, " thou art a traveller indeed, and hast 
 seen and learned marvellous things ! Contrive me such a para- 
 dise, 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 keystone of the outer 
 
 1 price agreed upon. 
 
LEGEND OF THE AKABIAN ASTROLOGER. 53 
 
 arch of the vestibule, which was loftier than that of the 
 portal, he carved a gigantic hand. These were potent talis- 
 mans, 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, 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 con- 
 tains 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 posses- 
 sion." The happy monarch slept but little that night. 
 Scarcely had the rays of the sun began 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 stafi, for he never 
 mounted steed of any kind. 
 
 Aben Habuz looked to see the towers of the palace brighten- 
 ing above him, and the embowered 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 
 
 1 acts of enchantment. ^ highly pleasing. 3 a small horse suitable for ladies. 
 
54 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 
 
 the place/' said the astrologer; "nothing can be discerned 
 until yon have passed the spellbound 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 
 
 1 the use of words with a double meaning with intent to mislead. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTEOLOGEB. 56 
 
 wratli of the monarch got the better of his discretion/ '' Base 
 son of the desert/' said 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 mole-hill 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. 
 Eecovering himself, he ordered a thousand workm^ 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 eartli filled in again as fast as 
 they threw it out. Aben Habuz sought the mouth of the cav- 
 ern at the foot of the hill, leading to the subterranean palace 
 of the astrologer, but it was nowhere to be found. AVhere 
 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 
 
 I judgment. 
 
56 LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 
 
 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 tafismanic 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 monarch s 
 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 event- 
 ful mountain, and in some measure realizes the fabled delights 
 of the garden of Irem. The spellbound 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 
 
 1 happy dwelling place. ^ vexation. =• sleep producing. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. 57 
 
 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. 
 
LEGEND OF PEINCE AHMED AL KAMEL; 
 
 OB, THE PILGRIM OF LOYE. 
 
 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 deter- 
 mined 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 
 
 1 too plain to admit of doubt. * loving. 
 
 2 merit beyond the ordinary. •• happiness. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 59 
 
 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 eyery precaution for the 
 purpose you may think proper," naid the king; "but remem- 
 ber, Eben Bonabben, if my son learns aught of that for- 
 bidden 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 suj)pressed his yawns, and listened patiently 
 to the long and learned discourses of Eben Bonabben, from 
 which he imbibed ^ a smattering of various kinds of knowl- 
 edge, 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 sides of the 
 fountains. He had been taught a little music among his vari- 
 ous accomplishments; it now engrossed a great part of his time, 
 and a turn for poetry became apparent. The sage Eben Bonab- 
 ben 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; 
 
 i easily led. . * drank in. 
 
60 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 *4t 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 wan- 
 dered 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 inani- 
 mate 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. Trem- 
 bling 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 Gener- 
 alife. 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 
 
 1 irregular train of thought ; musing. " impressible ; easily influenced. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 61 
 
 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 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 the 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 twi- 
 light. 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 
 
 * descending in a direct line from an an- 3 one fully skilled in any art. 
 cestor. * scientific knowledge of the mind and its 
 
 2 eagerness. workings. 
 
62 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 end to be a mere smatterer^ who did but skim over the sur- 
 face 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 fre- 
 quent 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 soli- 
 tude of his tower. From every side he heard the same uni- 
 versal theme — love — love — love — chanted forth, and responded 
 to it 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 atone of scorn: "You 
 must apply," said he, "to the vulgar peaceable birds of the 
 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 oif ended 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 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 63 
 
 cannot sing! I am a philosopher, and know nothing of this 
 thing called love." 
 
 The prince now repaired to the vanlt, where his friend the 
 bat was hanging by the heels/ and propounded the same ques- 
 tion. The bat wrinkled np 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 asleej), and never trouble myself 
 with their concerns. I am neither bird nor beast, and I thank 
 heaven for it. I have found out the villainy of the whole lot of 
 them, and hate them one and all. In a word, I am a misan- 
 thrope,^ 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 sa3dng, 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. " 0, Eben Bonab- 
 ben," cried he, "thou hast revealed to me much of the wis- 
 dom 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." 
 
 1 hater of mankind. 2 marvellous ; very unusual. » offended ; displeased. 
 
6-i LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 *' Tell me, then, 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, 
 Eben Bonabben," said he. The sage listened. The night- 
 ingale sat in a thicket below the tower, singing to his para- 
 mour ^ 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! Grod is great! " exclaimed the wise Bonab- 
 ben. " 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, " 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 pro- 
 duces bitterness and strife between brethren and friends ; which 
 causes treacherous murder and desolating war. Care and sor- 
 row, 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 upper- 
 most 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 
 
 1 loved one. ^ coming before the proper time. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 65 
 
 such wretchedness and strife, why are not these birds drooping 
 in solitude, or tearing each other in pieces, instead of flutter- 
 ing cheerfully about the groves, or sporting with each other 
 among flowers ? 
 
 He lay one morning on his couch, meditating on this inex- 
 plicable ' 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 
 
 ' that cannot be explained or made clear. ^ usual. s disappointed ; frastrated. 
 
 5 
 
bb LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEK 
 
 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 wooes 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 pre- 
 cious 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 
 
LEGEND OF PKINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 67 
 
 delighted liim, 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 kei^t me in this abject ignorance ? " cried he. 
 *' Wiiy has the great mystery and principle of life been with- 
 held from me, in which I find the meanest insect is so learned ? 
 Behold all nature is 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 enjoy- 
 ment ? 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 ^ ac- 
 quainted 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 fur- 
 ther proofs. A few mornings aferwards, 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 fear- 
 lessly upon his shoulder. 
 
 The prince fondled it to his heart. " Happy bird," said he. 
 
 1 turn aside, s Hjy theory ; not practically. 
 
 2 objections. * thinking over again and again. 
 
68 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 *^ who can fly, as it were with tlie 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 Avild 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 sur- 
 rounded 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 j^rincess. 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 tender and 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, 
 
 1 crowns. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 69 
 
 nor set foot on earth, until thou hast given this letter to the 
 mfstress 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 gradu- 
 ally 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 for- 
 getfulness, w^hen, 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 gar- 
 den ; 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 round her, while I sit here a 
 prisoner in a tower, wasting my time in adoration of a painted 
 shadow." 
 
 The resolution ©f Prince Ahmed was taken. ''I will fly 
 
'70 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL EAMEL. 
 
 from this palace/' said he, "which has become an odious * 
 prison; and, a pilgrim of love, will seek this unknown prin- 
 cess 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 appre- 
 hended 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 touch- 
 ing his knowledge of the land. Upon this the owl put on a 
 mighty self-important look. "You must know, prince," 
 said he, "that we owls are of a very ancient and extensive 
 family, though rather fallen to decay, and possess ruinous cas- 
 tles 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 pried 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 aliair? 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 suffi- 
 cient for my frugal table, and this hole in the wall is spacious 
 
 1 hateful. 2 description of a place or region. 
 
LEGEND OF PKINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 71 
 
 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 pre- 
 vailed 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 burniug 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, prince, to seek that raven, for he is a soothsayer 
 
 ^ wise and faithful counsellor. Mentor tal of province of same name, and the Ro- 
 
 was the instructor of Telemachus, son of man Hispalis. 
 Ulysses, a hero of the Trojan war. 8 an old Moorish palace, inferior only- to 
 
 • city on left bank of Guadalquivir, capi- the Alhambra. - - ., . ■ : 
 
72 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 aud 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 toward Seville. He travelled 
 only in the night, to accommodate his companion, and lay by 
 during the day in some dark cavern or mouldering watch- 
 tower, 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 within 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 nat- 
 urally 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 
 
 ^ pertaining to an antiquary, i. «., one ^ the art of telling fortunes from the 
 given to the study of ancient times. marks or lines in the palm of the hand. 
 
 9 on« bound by a vow. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 73 
 
 your hand, and let me decipher tlie mysterious lines of for- 
 tune." 
 
 " 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 clew 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 un- 
 known beauty." 
 
 " And where can I seek it 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. 
 
 ' suggest ; hint. 2 withoat spot or blemish. ^ forenxnner. 
 
74 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 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 hig fellow-trav- 
 eller 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 trav- 
 eller who is to give me tidings of the unknown princess." He 
 
 > a city of Andalusia. ^ search. 
 
 ■•2 river rising in eastern part of Granada, * Moliammedan devotees or monks, 
 and flowing west into the Atlantic. ^ fluency of speech. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 75 
 
 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 gar- 
 rulity ^ 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 admi- 
 ration 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 ]Darrot 
 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 prin- 
 ciple 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 pro- 
 
 1 officious ; business-like. s any person reputed uncommonly wise. 
 
 2 talkativeness. * I pray thee. ^ custom. 
 
76 LEGEND OF PBINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 vol<e 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 everywhere 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 birthday, 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 pres- 
 ence to entertain her, and I assure you, on the word of a par- 
 rot 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 sine- 
 cure ^ if possible, for we wits have a great dislike to labor. ' ' 
 
 Arrangements were promptly made. The prince sallied forth 
 
 ' city on the Tagus, forty -one miles south- 2 position requiring no active service, 
 southwest of Madrid, 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 77 
 
 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 morn- 
 ing. The owl, on the other hand, was for sleeping at mid-day, 
 and lost a great deal of time by his long siestas. His antiqua- 
 rian 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 erudi- 
 tion; the owl treated all such knowledge as trifling, and rel- 
 ished 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 Cas- 
 tile," and along the banks of the "Golden Tagus," ^ which 
 winds its wizard mazes over one-half of Spain and Portugal. 
 
 1 (bong mos), witty sayings. ■* occupying great central tableland of the 
 
 2 mountain range separating basin of the peninsula. 
 
 Guadiana from that of the Guadalquivir. ^ principal river of Spain, flowingthrough 
 
 3 an old province in the Bouthern part of central part into the Atlantic. 
 New Castile, 
 
78 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 At length they came iu 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 antiqua- 
 rian rapture, " what have w^e 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, 
 prince, the abode of your long-sought princess." 
 
 The prince looked in the direction indicated by the parrot, 
 and beheld, in a delightful green 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. " most accomplished 
 of birds," said he, '* thou hast the gift of human speech. Hie 
 thee to yon garden; seek thee 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 
 
LEGEND OF PEINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. iV 
 
 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. ' ' 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 engraved 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 birthday, 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 impend- 
 
80 LEGEND OF PKINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 ing 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 birthday 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 
 aifairs 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 secret things — he alone governs the destiny of 
 princes! Know, 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 moun- 
 tains 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 spellbound 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 
 
 * decision. " unpleasant situation. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 81 
 
 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 
 w^as 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 oppo- 
 nent." 
 
 " 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 condi- 
 tion 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 tour- 
 
 1 covered with a decorated cloth. 
 6 
 
82 LEGEND OF PEINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 ney. 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 admir- 
 ing world. A murmur of wonder ran through the crowd at 
 her transcendent loveliness; and the princes who were candi- 
 dates 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 rest- 
 less and unsatisfied expression over the plumed throng of 
 knights. The trumpets were about sounding for the encoun- 
 ter, 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 em- 
 broidered and swept the ground, and the proud animal pranced 
 and snulfed the air, and neighed with joy at once more behold- 
 ing 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 I — 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 menac- 
 ing aspects; and one of insolent demeanor and herculean* 
 frame sneered at his light and youthful form, and scoffed at 
 
 1 short curved sword. * very strocg ; Hercules, a hero of the 
 
 3 short straight sword. Greek mythology, was celebrated for his 
 
 8 proud and overbearing. feats of strength. 
 
LEGEND OF PRIXCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 83 
 
 his amorous apellation. 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, strew- 
 ing 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 Avith 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 the demoniac steed and armor had reduced him. 
 Never should he dare to show his face at Toledo after inflict- 
 ing such disgrace upon its chivalry, and such an outrage on its 
 king. What too would the princess think of so rude and riot- 
 ous an achievement ? Full of anxiety, he sent forth his winged 
 messengers to gather tidings. The parrot resorted to all the 
 
 1 position of the eun at noon. 
 
84; LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 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 dis- 
 appearance 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 
 eruption 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 sum- 
 mit of Toledo, and went prowling about its terraces and battle- 
 ments, 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 let- 
 ter 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, sage Eben Bonabben," cried 
 he; " care and sorrow and sleepless nights are the lot of lovers. 
 
 1 sudden appearance. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 85 
 
 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 of 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, 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 anti- 
 quarian owls, who hold their meetings in a great vaulted tower 
 where the royal treasury is deposited. Here they were discuss- 
 ing 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 w^ere 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 
 
 » confirmed ; strengthened. 
 
86 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMEU AL KAMEL. 
 
 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 colfer contained the 
 silken carpet of the throne of Solomon the wise, which doubt- 
 less 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 won- 
 derful 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 recog- 
 nized 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 pastoraP 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. ' ' W^hat 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, over- 
 heard 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, 
 
 1 speech. s pipe (musical instrument). 
 
 2 si>ch as a sliepherd might use. * (bed'oo-een), a tribe of wandering Arabs. 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 87 
 
 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 genera- 
 tion, 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 
 learned from his attendants in the Greneralife 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 coy- 
 ness 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 
 
 1 indisposition to believe. 
 
88 LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. 
 
 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 astonish- 
 ment. The king regarded the Arab minstrel with admiration 
 mixed with aw5. ^' Wonderful youth 1 " exclaimed he, ^' thou 
 shalt henceforth be the first physician of my court, and no 
 other prescription will I take but thy melody. For the pres- 
 ent receive thy reward, the most precious jewel in my treasury. ' ' 
 
 " 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, king, that your daughter and I have long 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 
 
LEGEND OF PRINCE AHMED AL KAMEL. . 89 
 
 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 pos- 
 session 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 restitu- 
 tion ' of his daughter. The king himself came forth with all 
 his court to meet him. In the king he beheld the real min- 
 strel, 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 Avas 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 ren- 
 dered 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.^ 
 
 • restoration, giving back. s preciseuess of propriety in conduct or 
 
 8 (et-i-kef), good breeding, procedure. 
 
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, 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 the}^ 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 curi- 
 ous 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, 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. 91 
 
 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 G-allego, or native of Gralicia/ of course. 
 Xature seems to have formed races of men, as she has of ani- 
 mals, for different kinds of drudgery. In France the shoe- 
 blacks 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-trot- 
 ting 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 car- 
 ried 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 aid-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: " 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 cus- 
 tomer 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 
 
 1 province in northwest of Spain. * (aid-de-kong), assistant. (Tn the army, a 
 
 2 natives of Savoy, a department of France general's confidential subordinate officer.) 
 adjoining Switzerland. 6 wicker basket used for carrying bread, 
 
 ' wandering from the subject. fruit, etc., upon a horse. 
 
92 LEGEND OF THE MOOE'S LEGACY. 
 
 heart. Under all this air of merriment, honest Peregil had 
 his cares and troubles. He had a large family of ragged chil- 
 dren 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 anything 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 requisi- 
 tion 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 mara- 
 vedis '' to spare, to take the whole litter forth with him, some 
 in his arms, some tugging at his skirts, and some trudging at 
 
 1 noisy. beaten together with the middle finger, as 
 
 2 (from bola, ball), a favorite dance in an accompaniment to dancing. 
 Spain, * inclinations. 
 
 3 two small, concave shells of ivory or * merry excursion. 
 
 hard wood, fastened to the thumb, and ® woman negligent of dress or house. 
 ' small copper coins, each worth three mills American money. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOK S LEGACY. 
 
 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 moon- 
 lights, 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 sweet- 
 ness until after midnight. Customers for water were there- 
 fore 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, sing- 
 ing 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 aj^peal of the stranger. "God forbid," 
 said he, 'Hhat I should ask fee or reward for doing a com- 
 mon act of humanity." He accordingly helped the Moor on 
 his donkey, and set off slowly for Granada, the poor Moslem 
 
 ' frolic. * regular daily dinner. 
 
 2 narrow valleys. * regular modulation of sound. 
 
 3 compensate for harm or loss. ^ pity. 
 
94 LEGEND OF THE MOORS LEGACY. 
 
 being so weak that it was necessary to hold him on the ani- 
 mal 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 convul- 
 sions, which defied all the ministering skill of the simple water- 
 carrier. The eye of the poor patient acknowledged his kind- 
 ness. During an interval of his fits he called him to his side, 
 and addressing him in alow voice, "My end," said he, "I 
 
 1 court established for punishment of heretics. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 95 
 
 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 sandal-wood 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 con- 
 cerning it, but his convulsions returned with increasing vio- 
 lence, 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 run- 
 ning 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 dwel- 
 ling, and no one will know anything 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 pry- 
 ing, tattling, and mischief-making of his gossip tribe. Ho 
 was a weasel-faced, spider-legged varlet, supple and insinuat- 
 ing; 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, 
 
 1 crazed. s a southern branch of the Guadalquivir, 
 
 a those authorized to make arrests. * keeping or holding. 
 
96 LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. 
 
 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 apiece of soap over 
 the nose and mouth of the dignitary, for a Spanish barber dis- 
 
 1 busybodies ; gossips. ' inquiring ; curious. 
 
 2 brotherhood. * judge. * rub so as to soften. ' 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. 97 
 
 daius to employ a brush — '' I say that Peregil the Gallego has 
 robbed and murdered a Moorish Mussulman, and buried him, 
 this blessed night. Accursed be the night for the same ! ' ' 
 
 ^' But how do you know all this ? " demanded the alcalde. 
 
 " Be patient, sefior, 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, how- 
 ever, 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 o2 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 cer- 
 tainty 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. 
 
 1 (corruption of corn merchant), misers, . ' lawful. ' offender ; transgressor. 
 
 7 
 
98 LEGEND OF THE MOORS LEGACY. 
 
 "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 uj)on 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 sandal- wood which 
 he bequeathed to me in reward for m}^ services." 
 
 "A box of sandal- wood! a box of sandal-wood! " 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 ser- 
 vice 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 sandal-wood. 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. 
 
 1 eager desire. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. 99 
 
 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 dispas- 
 sionately 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 sandal-wood 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 the 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 sub- 
 sistence, 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, don- 
 key 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 whimperii^gs 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 
 
 » remarkable ; extraordinary. The word 2 wisdom ; shrewdness, 
 is generally used in an ironical sense. 
 
100 LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 
 
 Chico of the Alhambra; ask him to help you out of the Moor's 
 strong box." 
 
 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 sandal-wood, 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 Tangier,^ 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 sai^ 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 
 
 1 seaport town of Morocco, in Northern 3 hard as adamant, an extremely hard 
 Africa, near the west entrance of Strait of mineral. 
 Gibraltar. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. lOl 
 
 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 treas- 
 ures 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 
 wdnkof 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 sucli 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 
 
 • elements entering into a compound. 
 
102 LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. 
 
 he hastened home, and soon returned with the end of a yellow 
 wax taper that he had found in the box of sandal-wood. 
 
 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 extin- 
 guished. 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 Alham- 
 bra, 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 pene- 
 trate 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 watch-tower 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 
 
 1 transparent gum resin, from Arabia, 2 a fragrant, aromatic resin, often burned 
 valued for its odor and medicinal proper- as an incense in religious services. 
 ties. 8 fragrant resin of reddisb-larown color. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 103 
 
 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 handf uls 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 unwink- 
 ing 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 extin- 
 guished 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 G-ranada. 
 
 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 con- 
 
104 LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 
 
 veyed 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 area 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 lov- 
 ing 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 house-mate." 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! 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. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 105 
 
 " Holy Virgin, protect ns ! " 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 
 pendent' 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 sheep-skin 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 pro vi- 
 
 1 suspended. 
 
106 LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 
 
 sions for a hearty meal, and returning to his dwelling, set all 
 his children dancing aroand 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 chil- 
 dren 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 for- 
 wards in her slattern rags about the room, now and then stop- 
 ping 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 meddle- 
 some barber, was at this moment sitting idly in his shop on 
 the opposite side of the street, when his ever-watchful eye 
 
 • 
 
 1 part of lady's dress, resembling a jacket ^ lady's cloak or cape of silk, velvet, etc. 
 with a short skirt. * plume for the head, of feathers or pre- 
 
 2 long glass beads. cious stones, in the form of a heron's crest. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. 107 
 
 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 despatched 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 bab- 
 bling 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 ^ investiga- 
 tion. 
 
 "Softly, good Seflor Alcalde," said the Mussulman, who 
 by this time had recovered his usual shrewdness and self-pos- 
 session. " Let us not mar fortune's favors in the scramble 
 
 > list of articles. 2 plunderers ; robbers. ^ strict ; severe. 
 
108 LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY. 
 
 for them. Nobody knows anything of this matter but our- 
 selves; let us keep the secret. There is wealth enough in 
 the cave to enrich ns all. Promise a fair division, and all 
 shall be produced ; refuse, and the cave shall remain forever 
 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 waxen taper lighted, 
 and the Moor read the form of incantation. The earth 
 trembled as before, and the pavement opened with a thunder- 
 ing sound, disclosing the narrow flight of steps. The alcalde, 
 the alguazil, and the barber were struck aghast, and could not 
 
 1 received by actual sight. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. 109 
 
 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 np 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 ns have up the coffer by all means," cried the grasp- 
 ing alcalde. 
 
 "I will descend for no more," said the Moor, doggedly; 
 "enough is enough for a reasonable man — more is super- 
 fluous."^ 
 
 " 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 trem- 
 bling 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 the 
 tomb. 
 
 He then hastened up the different flights of steps, nor 
 
 1 more than enough. 
 
110 * LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. 
 
 stopped until in the open air. The little water-carrier fol- 
 lowed 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 acci- 
 dents, but made off to enjoy their wealth undisturbed in other 
 countries. The Moor returned to Africa, to his native city of 
 Tangier, 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 person- 
 age of some consequence; for she made the worthy little man 
 array his long body and short legs in doublet and hose, with a 
 
 1 warning ; advice. 
 
LEGEND OF THE MOOR's LEGACY. Ill 
 
 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 spellbound 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. 
 
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 everything 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 
 lisherman. Still he was as brave as he was blundering; and, 
 though left-handed, wielded his cimeter to such purpose that 
 he each time reestablished 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. 
 
 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 string of mules laden with 
 spoil, and many captives of both sexes, among whom the mon- 
 arch 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 
 
 * left. 2 right. 3 an elderly female attendant. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THEEE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 113 
 
 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 dis- 
 creet in truth she was, as her whole history makes evident. 
 No sooner had the Moorish king held a little private conversa- 
 tion Avith her, than she saw at once the cogency'^ of his reason- 
 ing, 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 beauti- 
 ful 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 your- 
 self; 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 Span- 
 ish 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 immedi- 
 ately became a zealous convert to the Moslem doctrines. It was 
 
 I dilisrent attentions. 3 force. 
 
114 LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 
 
 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, bnt 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, 
 king! " said they, " are always precarious ^ property; but these 
 will most need your watchfulness when they arrive at a mar- 
 riageable 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 him- 
 self. 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 mon- 
 arch ; so he determined to have them reared in the royal castle 
 of Salobrena. This was the 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 luxu- 
 
 1 doubtful ; uncertain. sented, one as holding the distaff, a second 
 
 2 the three goddesses sometimes called the as spinning, and the third as cutting off 
 Destinies, who were supposed to determine the thread of life. 
 
 the course of human life, and are repre- 
 
LEGE.VD OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 115 
 
 ries 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 wth 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 Alpuxaras 
 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 rea- 
 son, no doubt, of her delighting to regard her own image in 
 the 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> 
 
 > laziness. 2 imprisoned ; ehut up. ^ favorable. ♦ bold ; fearless. 
 
116 LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 
 
 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 thun- 
 der 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 sea-coast. One of the exterior walls straggled down 
 the profile of the hill, until it reached a jutting rock over- 
 hanging the sea, with a narrow sandy beach at its foot, laved 
 by the rippling billows. A small watch-tower 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, con- 
 ducting 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 fisher- 
 men of the sea-coast, it is not to be wondered at that the 
 appearance of three gallant cavaliers, in the pride of youth 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 117 
 
 and manly beauty, should produce some commotion ' in their 
 bosoms. 
 
 *' 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. 
 
 Tlie 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 chil- 
 dren, 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 ani- 
 mated ^ 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 same 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 
 
 » agitation ; tumult- * persistent ; could not be satisfied. ' lively. 
 
118 LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 
 
 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 daugh- 
 ters' birthday. The slave at the same time presented a deli- 
 cate little basket decorated with flowers, within Avhich, on a 
 couch of vine and fig-leaves, lay a peach, an apricot, and a 
 nectarine, with their bloom and down and dewy sweetness 
 uj)on 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 emblem- 
 atical 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 won- 
 derful 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. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 119 
 
 bleak, uninteresting plains of the 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 j)i*ofound 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. Zora- 
 hayda was shy and timid, smaller than her sisters, and with a 
 beauty of that tender, beseeching kind which looks for fond- 
 ness 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. 
 
 * this is an allusion to the fabulous garden ing golden fruit which was carried away bj' 
 of the Heeperides, daughters of Hesperus, Hercules, after he had slain the watchful 
 in the western border of the earth, produc- dragon which guarded it. 
 
120 LEGEND OP THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 
 
 The princesses rode beside the king, closely veiled, on beau- 
 tiful 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 over- 
 took, 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 ran- 
 soms." '' 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." 
 
 1 boldness ; daring. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 121 
 
 Mohamed was making one of his usual lef t-lianded 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 their 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 steal- 
 ing a glance behind in search of the Christian captives, and 
 the latter were conducted to their allotted prison in the Ver- 
 milion Towers. 
 
 The residence provided for the princesses was one of the 
 most dainty that fancy could devise. It was in a tower some- 
 what apart from the main palace of the Alhambra, though 
 connected with it by the wall which encircled the whole sum- 
 mit 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 pencil- 
 ling. In the centre of the marble pavement was an alabaster 
 
122 LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 
 
 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. Kound 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, how- 
 ever, 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 foun- 
 tain, with its eternal drop-drop and splash-splash from morn- 
 ing till night, and from night till morning. 
 
 The king, who was somewhat of a testy, tyrannical disposi- 
 tion, 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 chil- 
 dren," said he to himself; "they are women grown, and 
 require suitable objects to interest them.," He put in requisi- 
 tion, 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 rosebuds, drooping from one stalk. The king was 
 at his wit's 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 suffi- 
 cient," said he, "to puzzle the shrewdest head." So for once 
 in his life he called in the aid of counsel. 
 
 1 anger ; resentment. s praiseworthy. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREK BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 123 
 
 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, Avould 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 
 
 « country in northwest of Africa, bordering on Mediterranean. 
 
124 LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 
 
 woman, slyly, *'had you heard the music I heard last evening, 
 from the three Spanish cavaliers whom we met on our jour- 
 ney. 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 even- 
 ing, 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 f enlale will, par- 
 ticularly 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 
 
 i courage ; resolntenees. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 125 
 
 servants to the king; but was she to see these beautiful prin- 
 cesses 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 anything 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 renegade, 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 noon- 
 
 » renegade ; one faithlees to principle or party. 2 j. ^.^ itched for money. 
 
126 LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PEINCESSES. 
 
 tide lieat, 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 prin- 
 cesses 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 night- 
 ingale. ' ' 
 
 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 
 
 • soundly beaten on the soles of the feet. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRIKCESSES. 127 
 
 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 prin- 
 cesses by this secret intercourse surprised and gratified the 
 Left-handed king; but no one was more elated than the dis- 
 creet Kadiga, who considered it all owing to her able manage- 
 ment. 
 
 At length there was an interruption in this telegraphic cor- 
 respondence ; 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 Span- 
 ish 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 sor- 
 
128 LEGEKD OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 
 
 row. " 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 Kadigaonly redoubled 
 the distress of the three princesses, and for two days they con- 
 tinued 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 her- 
 self; "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 chil- 
 dren, 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 indigna- 
 tion. 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 ser- 
 vants 1" 
 
 » wiaked at ; failed willingly to see a fault. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 129 
 
 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 rene- 
 gado 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 again 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 unrea- 
 sonably, 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 ? " 
 9 
 
130 LEGEND OF THE THEEE BEAUTIFUL PKINCESSES. 
 
 " 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." 
 
 ^' Eight 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 hand- 
 somely. " In a word, it appeared that this extremely discreet 
 and provident old woman had consulted with the cavaliers and 
 the renegade, 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 
 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 
 
 » cut through ; pierced. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 131 
 
 with rubbish, and partly walled up; monuments of the jeal- 
 ous precautions and warlike stratagems of the Moorish govern- 
 ment. By one of these passages, Hussein Baba had under- 
 taken 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 the ladder 
 of ropes to the balcony, lowered it into the garden, and 
 descended. The two eldest princesses followed her with beat- 
 ing hearts ; but when it came to the turn of the youngest prin- 
 cess, 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 her gallant Christian 
 lover, and her little foot was instantly upon the ladder; and 
 anon she thought of her father, and shrank back. But fruit- 
 less 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," 
 
132 LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PEINCESSES. 
 
 cried the renegade; "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 cav- 
 aliers 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 Cor- 
 dova. 
 
 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 dis- 
 tance 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 
 watch-tower of the Alhambra. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 183 
 
 " 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 watch-towers, 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 prin- 
 cesses 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 restora- 
 tion to their country and friends was celebrated with great 
 rejoicings, for they were of the noblest families. The beauti- 
 ful princesses were forthwith received into the bosom of the 
 Church, and, after being in all due form made regular Chris- 
 tians, were rendered happy wives. 
 
 » alarm or signal. 
 
184 LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 
 
 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 dis- 
 cretion 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 ser- 
 vants. 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 
 
 » unusually shrewd or wise. 
 
LEGEND OF THE THREE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESSES. 135 
 
 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 
 j)opular rumor, was buried in a vault beneath the tower, and 
 her untimely fate has given rise to more than one traditionary 
 fable. 
 
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 resi- 
 dence 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 nobil- 
 ity remained silent and shut up; and the Alhambra, like a 
 slighted beauty, sat in mournful desolation among her neg- 
 lected gardens. The Tower of the Infantas, once the residence 
 of the three beautiful Moorish princesses, partook of the gen- 
 eral 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 way- 
 farers 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 contin- 
 
 1 eidewise ; obliquely ; across. * province in Italy between the Apennines 
 
 2 1683-1746. 3 marriage ceremonies, and the Po river. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 187 
 
 gencies ' 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 trum- 
 pet, 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 for- 
 tress. 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 ante- 
 chambers; 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 Euyz 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 accomplish- 
 ments. 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 
 
 * unforeseen events. emperor Hadrian ; drowned in the Nile ; 
 2 praise. deified. 
 
 • (an-tin'o-us), page and favorite of the * uncertain ; changeable. 
 
138 LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE" ALHAMBRA. 
 
 of the Alhambra, builfc 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 entrartce 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 cir- 
 cuit to that side of the tower facing within the walls. 
 
 A small garden, inclosed by a trellis-work of reeds over- 
 hung 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 Moor- 
 ish 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. 
 
 Euyz 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 spellbound 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. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 189 
 
 ** 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 mined 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 thought- 
 less damsels; he was gentle and modest, and stood so entreat- 
 ingly 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 
 
 ' carried away with delight. 8 very careful. 
 
 2 due proportion of the several parts of a body to each other. 
 
140 LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 bloom of her cheek, and to heighten the lustre of her melting 
 eyes. 
 
 Euyz de Alarcon beheld all this with a single glance, for it 
 became him not to tarry ; he merely murmured his acknowledg- 
 ments, 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, pre- 
 sented 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 hom- 
 age 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 gal- 
 lantry were awkward and ineffectual; and to his surprise, the 
 adroit ^ page, who had figured with such grace and effrontery * 
 among the most knowing and experienced ladies of the court, 
 found himself awed and abashed in the presence of a simple 
 damsel of fifteen. 
 
 In fact, the artless maiden, in her own modesty and inno- 
 
 1 excitement ; emotion. ^ skilful ; expert. 
 
 .2 (ah'va mah'ree-ah sa'nyor) Hail Mary, sir. * boldness ; impudence. 
 
LEGEND OF THE EOSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 141 
 
 cence, had guardians more effectual than the bolts and bars 
 prescribed by her ^'igilant aunt. Still, where is the female 
 bosom proof against the first whisperings of love ? The little 
 damsel, with all her artlessness, instinctively compreliended 
 all that the faltering tongue of the page failed to express, and 
 her heart was fluttered at beholding, for the first time, a lover 
 at her feet — and such a lover ! 
 
 The diffidence^ of the page, though genuine, was short- 
 lived, and he was recovering his usual ease and confidence, 
 when a shrill voice was heard at a distance. 
 
 "My aunt is returning from mass!" cried the damsel in 
 affright. '' I pray you, senor, depart." 
 
 "Not until you grant me that rose from your hair as a 
 remembrance." 
 
 She hastily untwisted the rose from her raven locks. ' ' Take 
 it," cried she, agitated and blushing, "but pray begone." 
 
 The page took the rose, and at the same time covered with 
 kisses the fair hand that gave it. Then, placing the flower in 
 his bonnet, and taking the falcon upon his fist, he bounded off 
 through the garden, bearing away with him the heart of the 
 gentle Jacinta. 
 
 When the vigilant aunt arrived at the tower, she remarked the 
 agitation of her neice, and an air of confusion in the hall ; but 
 a word of explanation sufficed. "A gerfalcon had pursued 
 his prey into the hall. ' ' 
 
 " Mercy on us ! to think of a falcon flying into the tower. 
 Did ever one hear of so saucy a hawk ? Why, the very bird in 
 the cage is not safe ! " 
 
 The vigilant Fredegonda was one of the most wary of 
 ancient spinsters. She had a becoming terror and distrust of 
 what she denominated "the opposite sex," which had gradu- 
 ally increased through a long life of celibacy.^ Not that the 
 good lady had ever suffered from their wiles,' nature having 
 set up a safeguard in her face that forbade all trespass upon 
 
 » timidity ; want of confidence. 2 unmarried condition. s tricks for ensnaring. 
 
ltl:2 LEGEND OP THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 her premises ; but ladies who have least cause to fear for them- 
 selves are most ready to keep a watch over their more tempt- 
 ing neighbors. 
 
 Th^ niece was the orphan of an officer who had fallen in the 
 wars. She had been educated in a convent, and had recently 
 been transferred from her sacred asylum to the immediate 
 guardianship of her aunt, under whose overshadowing care 
 she vegetated in obscurity/ like an opening rose blooming 
 beneath a brier. Nor indeed is this comparison entirely acci- 
 dental; for, to tell the truth, her fresh and dawning beauty 
 had caught the public eye, even in her seclusion, and, with 
 that poetical turn common to the people of Andalusia, the 
 peasantry of the neighborhood had given her the appellation 
 of 'Hhe Rose of the Alhambra. " 
 
 The wary aunt continued to keep a faithful watch over her 
 tempting little niece as long as the court continued at Granada, 
 and flattered herself that her vigilance had been successful. 
 It is true the good lady was now and then discomposed by the 
 tinkling of guitars and chanting of love ditties from the 
 moonlit groves beneath the tower; but she would exhort her 
 niece to shut her ears against such idle minstrelsy, assuring 
 her that it was one of the arts of the opposite sex, by which 
 simple maids were often lured to their undoing. Alas ! what 
 chance with a simple maid has a dry lecture against a moon- 
 light serenade ? 
 
 At length King Philip cut short his sojourn at Granada, and 
 suddenly departed with all his train. The vigilant Frede- 
 gonda watched the royal pageant as it issued forth from the 
 Gate of Justice, and descended the great avenue leading to the 
 city. When the last banner disappeared from her sight, she 
 returned exulting to her tower, for all her cares were over. 
 To her surprise, a light Arabian steed pawed the ground at the 
 wicket-gate of the garden; to her horror, she saw through 
 the thickets of roses a youth, in gayly-embroidered dress, at 
 
 J seclusion from Bociety, 
 
LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 143 
 
 the feet of her niece. At the sound of her footsteps he gave a 
 tender adieu, bounded lightly over the barrier of reeds and 
 myrtles, sprang upon his horse, and was out of sight in an 
 instant. 
 
 The tender Jacinta, in the agony of her grief, lost all 
 thought of her aunt's displeasure. Throwing herself into her 
 arms, she broke forth into sobs and tears. 
 
 "Ay de mi!"' cried she; "he's gone! — he's gone! — he's 
 gone! and I shall never see him more ! " 
 
 " Gone! — who is gone? — what youth is that I saw at your 
 feet?" 
 
 " A queen's page, aunt, who came to bid me farewell." 
 
 " A queen's page, child! " echoed the vigilant Fredegonda, 
 faintly; "and when did you become acquainted with the 
 queen's page ? " 
 
 " The morning that the gerfalcon came into the tower. It 
 was the queen's gerfalcon, and he came in pursuit of it." 
 
 " Ah, silly, silly girl ! know that there are no gerfalcons half 
 so dangerous as these young prankling pages, and it is precisely 
 such simple birds as thee that they pounce upon." 
 
 The aunt was at first indignant at learning that in despite 
 of her boasted vigilance, a tender intercourse had been carried 
 on by the youthful lovers, almost beneath her eye; but when 
 she found that her simple-hearted niece, though thus exposed, 
 without the protection of bolt or bar, to all the machinations'* 
 of the opposite sex, had come forth unsinged from the fiery 
 ordeal, she consoled herself with the persuasion that it was 
 owing to the chaste and cautious maxims in which she had, as 
 it were, steeped her to the very lips. 
 
 While the aunt laid this soothing unction to her pride, the 
 niece treasured up the oft-repeated vows of fidelity of the page. 
 But what is the love of restless, roving man? A vagrant 
 stream that dallies for a time with each flower upon its bank, 
 then passes on, and leaves them all in tears. 
 
 1 woe is me. ' artful designs or plots. 
 
144 LEGEND OF THE KOSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 Days^ weeks, months elapsed, and nothing more was heard 
 of the page. The pomegranate ' ripened, the vine yielded up 
 its fruit, the autumnal rains, descended in torrents from the 
 mountains; the Sierra Nevada became covered with a snowy 
 mantle, and wintry blasts howled through the halls of the 
 Alhambra; still he came not. The winter passed away. 
 Again the genial spring burst forth with song and blossom and 
 balmy zephyr; the snows melted from the mountains, until 
 none remained but on the lofty summit of Nevada, glistening 
 through the sultry summer air. Still nothing was heard of 
 the forgetful page. 
 
 In the mean time, the poor little Jacinta grew pale and 
 thoughtful. Her former occupations and amusements were 
 abandoned, her silk lay entangled, her guitar unstrung, her 
 flowers were neglected, the notes of her bird unheeded, and 
 her eyes, once so bright, were dimmed with secret weeping. 
 If any solitude could be devised to foster the passion of a 
 love-lorn damsel, it would be such a place as the Alhambra, 
 where every thing seems disposed to produce tender and ro- 
 mantic reveries. It is a very paradise for lovers. How hard 
 then to be alone in such a paradise — and not merely alone, 
 but forsaken ! 
 
 ''Alas, silly child! " would the staid and immaculate Frede- 
 gonda say, when she found her niece in one of her desponding 
 moods, " did I not warn thee against the wiles and deceptions "^ 
 of these men ? What couldst thou expect, too, from one of a 
 haughty and aspiring family — thou an orphan, the descendant 
 of a fallen and impoverished line ? Be assured, if the youth 
 were true, his father, who is one of the proudest nobles about 
 the court, would prohibit his union with one so humble and 
 portionless as thou. Pluck up thy resolution, therefore, and 
 drive these idle notions from thy mind." 
 
 The words of the immaculate Fredegonda only served to 
 
 1 fruit as large as an orange, with hard ^ acts which deceive, 
 rind, soft pulp, and numerous seeds. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 145 
 
 increase the melancholy of her niece, but she sought to indulge 
 it in private. At a late hour one midsummer night, after her 
 aunt had retired to rest, she remained alone in the hall of the 
 tower, seated beside the alabaster fountain. It was here that 
 the faithless page had first knelt and kissed her hand; it was 
 here that he had often vowed eternal fidelity. The poor little 
 damsel's heart was overladen with sad and tender recollections, 
 her tears began to flow, and slowly fell drop by drop into the 
 fountain. By degrees the crystal water became agitated, and 
 — bubble — bubble — bubble — boiled up and was tossed about, 
 until a female figure, richly clad in Moorish robes, slowly rose 
 to view. 
 
 Jacinta was so frightened that she fled from the hall, and 
 did not venture to return. The next morning she related what 
 she had seen to her aunt, but the good lady treated it as a 
 phantasy ' of her troubled mind, or supposed she had fallen 
 asleep and dreamt beside the fountain. "Thou hast been 
 thinking of the story of the three Moorish princesses that once 
 inhabited this tower," continued she, "and it has entered 
 into thy dreams." 
 
 " What story, aunt ? I know nothing of it. " 
 
 " Thou hast certainly heard of the three princesses, Zayda, 
 Zorayda, and Zorahayda, who were confined in this tower by 
 the king their father, and agreed to fly with three Christian 
 cavaliers. The first two accomplished their escape, but the 
 third failed in her resolution, and, it is said, died in this 
 tower." 
 
 "I now recollect to have heard of it," said Jacinta, "and 
 to have wept over the fate of the gentle Zorahayda." 
 
 "Thou mayest well weep over her fate," continued the 
 aunt, "for the lover of Zorahayda was thy ancestor. He 
 long bemoaned his Moorsh love; but time cured him of his 
 grief, and he married a Spanish lady, from whom thou art 
 descended." 
 
 1 fancy ; illusion. 
 10 
 
146 LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 Jacinta ruminated upon these words. " That what I have 
 seen is no phantasy of the brain," said she to herself, " I am 
 confident. If indeed it be the spirit of the gentle Zorahayda, 
 which I have heard lingers about this tower, of what should I 
 be afraid? I'll watch by the fountain to-night; perhaps the 
 visit will be repeated." 
 
 Towards midnight, when every thing was quiet, she again 
 took her seat in the hall. As the bell in the distant watch- 
 tower of the Alhambra struck the midnight hour, the fountain 
 was again agitated; and bubble — bubble — bubble — it tossed 
 about the waters until the Moorish female again rose to view. 
 She was young and beautiful; her dress was rich with jewels, 
 and in her hand she held a silver lute. Jacinta trembled and 
 was faint, but was reassured by the soft and plaintive voice of 
 the apparition, and the sweet expression of her pale, melan- 
 choly countenance. 
 
 ^^ Daughter of mortality," said she, ^'what aileth thee? 
 Why do thy tears trouble my fountain, and thy sighs and 
 plaints disturb the quiet watches of the night ? ' ' 
 
 *' I weep because of the faithlessness of man, and I bemoan 
 my solitary and forsaken state." 
 
 " Take comfort; thy sorrows may yet have an end. Thou 
 beholdest a Moorish princess, who, like thee, was unhappy in 
 her love. A Christian knight, thy ancestor, won my heart, and 
 would have borne me to his native land and to the bosom of 
 his church. I was a convert in my heart, but I lacked courage 
 equal to my faith, and lingered till too late. For this the evil, 
 genii are permitted to have power over me, and I will remain 
 enchanted in this tower until some pure Christian deign to 
 break the magic spell. Wilt thou undertake the task ? " 
 
 ^' I will," replied the damsel, trembling. 
 
 "Come hither, then, and fear not; dip thy hand in the 
 fountain, sprinkle the water over me, and baptize me after the 
 manner of thy faith; so shall the enchantment be dispelled, 
 and my troubled spirit have repose." 
 
LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 147 
 
 The damsel advanced with faltering steps, dipped her hand 
 in the fountain, collected water in the palm, and sprinkled it 
 over the pale face of the phantom. 
 
 The latter smiled with ineffable' benignity/ She dropped 
 her silver lute at the feet of Jacinta, crossed her white arms 
 upon her bosom, and melted from sight, so that it seemed 
 merely as if a shower of dew-drops had fallen into the fountain. 
 
 Jacinta retired from the hall, filled with awe and wonder. 
 She scarcely closed her eyes that night; but when she awoke 
 at daybreak out of a troubled slumber, the whole appeared to 
 her like a distempered dream. On descending into the hall, 
 however, the truth of the vision was established, for beside 
 the fountain she beheld the silver lute glittering in the morn- 
 ing sunshine. 
 
 She hastened to her aunt, to relate all that had befallen her, 
 and called her to behold the lute as a testimonial of the reality 
 of her story. If the good lady had any lingering doubts, they 
 were removed when Jacinta touched the instrument, for she 
 drew forth such ravishing tones as to thaw even the frigid 
 bosom of the immaculate Fredegonda, that region of eternal 
 winter, into a genial flow. IS^othing but supernatural melody 
 could have produced such an effect. 
 
 The extraordinary power of the lute became every day more 
 and more apparent. The wayfarer passing by the tower was 
 detained, and, as it were, spellbound, in breathless ecstasy. 
 The very birds gathered in the neighboring trees, and, hushing 
 their own strains, listened in charmed silence. 
 
 Rumor soon spread the news abroad. The inhabitants of 
 Granada thronged to the Alhambra to catch a few notes of 
 the transcendant music that flowed about the tower of Las 
 Infantas. 
 
 The lovely little minstrel was at length drawn forth from 
 her retreat. The rich and powerful of the land contended 
 who should entertain and do honor to her; or, rather, who 
 
 1 very great ; unspeakably great. 2 kindness. 
 
148 LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 should secure the charms of her lute to draw fashionable 
 throngs to their saloons. AYherever she went, her vigilant aunt 
 kept a dragon watch at her elbow, awing the throngs of impas- 
 sioned admirers, who hung in raptures on her strains. The 
 report of her wonderful powers spread from city to city. 
 Malaga, Seville, Cordova, all became successively mad on the 
 theme ; nothing was talked of throughout Andalusia but the 
 beautiful minstrel of the Alhambra. How could it be other- 
 wise among a people so musical and gallant as the Anda- 
 lusians, when the lute was magical in its powers, and the 
 minstrel inspired by love ! 
 
 While all Andalusia was thus music mad, a different mood 
 prevailed at the court of Spain. Philip V., as is well known, 
 was a miserable hypochondriac,' and subject to all kinds of 
 fancies. Sometimes he would keep to his bed for weeks 
 together, groaning under imaginary complaints. At other 
 times he would insist upon abdicating his throne, to the great 
 annoyance of his royal spouse, who had a strong relish for the 
 splendors of a court and the glories of a crown, and guided 
 the sceptre of her imbecile^ lord with an expert and steady 
 hand. 
 
 Nothing was found to be so efficacious ^- in dispelling the 
 royal megrims * as the power of music ; the queen took care, 
 therefore, to have the best performers, both vocal and instru- 
 mental, at hand, and retained the famous Italian singer Fari- 
 nelli about the court as a kind of royal physician. 
 
 At the moment we treat of, however, a freak had come over 
 the mind of this sapient and illustrious Bourbon that surpassed 
 all former vagaries.^ After a long spell of imaginary illness, 
 which set all the strains of Farinelli and the consolations of 
 a w^hole orchestra of court fiddlers at defiance, the monarch 
 fairly, in idea, gave up the ghost, and considered himself 
 absolutely dead. 
 
 1 one affected with low spirits. ^ effectual ; powerful. * fancies ; freaks. 
 
 3 weak ; feeble minded. ^ (vay-gay'riz), wild freaks ; whims. 
 
LEGEND OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 149 
 
 This would have been harmless enough, and even convenient 
 both to his queen and courtiers, had he been content to remain 
 in the quietude befitting a dead man; but to their annoyance 
 he insisted upon having the funeral ceremonies performed over 
 him, and, to their inexpressible perplexity, began to grow 
 impatient, and to revile bitterly at them for negligence and 
 disrespect in leaving him unburied. What was to be done ? 
 To disobey the king's positive commands was monstrous in the 
 eyes of the obsequious courtiers of a punctilious court — but to 
 obey him, and bury him alive, would be downright regicide. ^ 
 
 In the midst of this fearful dilemma "^ a rumor reached the 
 court, of the female minstrel who was turning the brains of 
 all Andalusia. The queen despatched missions in all haste to 
 summon her to St. Ildefonso, where the court at that time 
 resided. 
 
 Within a few days, as the queen with her maids of honor 
 was walking in those stately gardens, intended, with their 
 avenues and terraces and fountains, to eclipse the glories of 
 Versailles,^ the far-famed minstrel was conducted into her 
 presence. The imperial Elizabetta gazed with surprise at the 
 youthful and unpretending appearance of the little being that 
 had set the world madding. She was in her picturesque An- 
 dalusian dress, her silver lute in hand, and stood with modest 
 and downcast eyes, but with a simplicity and freshness of 
 beauty that still bespoke her " the Eose of the Alhambra." 
 
 As usual, she was accompanied by her ever-vigilant Frede- 
 gonda, who gave the whole history of her parentage and descent 
 to the inquiring queen. If the stately Elizabetta had been 
 interested by the appearance of Jacinta, she was still more 
 pleased when she learnt that she was of a meritorious though 
 impoverished " line, and that her father had bravely fallen in 
 the service of the crown. " If thy powers equal their renown, " 
 
 * murder of a king. containing the famous royal palace built by 
 
 2 perplexity how to decide. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. 
 
 3 eleven miles west southwest of Paris, *poor. 
 
160 LEGEND OF THE KOSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 said she, "and thou canst cast forth this evil spirit that pos- 
 sesses thy sovereign, thy fortunes shall henceforth be my care, 
 and honors and wealth attend thee." 
 
 Impatient to make trial of her skill, she led the way at once 
 to the apartment of the moody monarch. 
 
 Jacinta followed, with downcast eyes, through files of guards 
 and crowds of courtiers. They arrived at length at a great 
 chamber hung with black. The windows were closed to 
 exclude the light of day; a number of yellow wax tapers in 
 silver sconces^ diffused a lugubrious^ light, and dimly revealed 
 the figures of mutes in mourning dresses, and courtiers who 
 glided about with noiseless step and woebegone visage. In the 
 midst of a funeral bed or bier, his hands folded on his breast, 
 and the tip of his nose just visible, lay extended this would-be 
 buried monarch. 
 
 The queen entered the chamber in silence, and pointing to a 
 footstool in an obscure corner, beckoned to Jacinta to sit down 
 and commence. 
 
 At first she touched her lute with a faltering hand, but 
 gathering confidence and animation as she proceeded, drew 
 forth such soft aerial ^ harmony that all present could scarce 
 believe it mortal. As to the monarch, who had already con- 
 sidered himself in the world of spirits, he set it down for 
 some angelic melody or the music of the spheres.* By degrees 
 the theme was varied, and the voice of the minstrel accom- 
 panied the instrument. She poured forth one of the legendary 
 ballads treating of the ancient glories of the Alhambra and 
 the achievements of the Moors. Her whole soul entered into 
 the theme, for with the recollections of the Alhambra was 
 associated the story of her love. The funeral chamber 
 resounded with the animating strain. It entered into the 
 gloomy heart of the monarch. He raised his head and gazed 
 
 * lanterns. * the harmony supposed by the ancients 
 
 2 mournful. to be produced by the accordant movements 
 
 3 high ; lofty. of the celestial bodies. 
 
LEGEND OF THE EOSE OF THE ALHAMBEA. 151 
 
 around; he sat up on his couch; his eye began to kindle; at 
 length, leaping upon the floor, he called for sword and buckler. 
 
 The triumph of music, or, rather, of the enchanted lute, was 
 complete; the demon of melancholy was cast forth; and, as it 
 were, a dead man brought to life. The windows of the apart- 
 ment were thrown open ; the glorious effulgence ^ of Spanish 
 sunshine burst into the late lugubrious chamber; all eyes 
 sought the lovely enchantress, but the lute had fallen from her 
 hand; she had sunk upon the earth, and the next moment 
 was clasped to the bosom of Ruyz de Alarcon. 
 
 The nuptials of the happy couple were celebrated soon after- 
 ward with great splendor, and the Eose of the Alhambra 
 became the ornament and delight of the court. " But hold — 
 not so fast," I hear the reader exclaim; ^^this is jumping to 
 the end of a story at a furious rate ! First let us know how 
 the Ruyz de Alarcon managed to account to Jacinta for his 
 long neglect." Nothing more easy; the venerable, time- 
 honored excuse, the opposition to his wishes by a proud, prag- 
 matical * old father ; besides, young people who really like one 
 another soon come to the amicable understanding, and bury 
 all past grievances when once they meet. 
 
 But how was the proud, pragmatical old father reconciled to 
 the match ? 
 
 Oh ! as to that, his scruples were easily overcome by a word 
 or two from the queen; especially as dignities and rewards 
 were showered upon the blooming favorite of royalty. Besides, 
 the lute of Jacinta, you know, possessed a magic power, and 
 could control the most stubborn head and hardest breast. 
 
 And what came of the enchanted lute ? 
 
 Oh, that is the most curious matter of all, and plainly proves 
 the truth of the whole story. That lute remained for some 
 time in the family, but was purloined ^ and carried off, as was 
 supposed, by the great singer Farinelli, in pure jealousy. At 
 his death it passed into other hands in Italy, who were ignorant 
 
 * brightness. ' meddlesome (so regarded). ' stolen. 
 
152 LEGEND OF THE EOSE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 
 
 of its mystic powers, and, melting down the silver, transferred 
 the strings to an old Cremona ^ fiddle. The strings still retain 
 something of their magic virtues. A word in the reader's 
 ear, but let it go no further — that fiddle is now bewitching the 
 whole world ; it is the fiddle of Paganini ! ^ 
 
 1 fortified city of Italy, forty-eight miles 2 (pah-gah-nee'nee), celebrated Italian vi- 
 
 southeast of Milan. olinist, 1784-1840. 
 
THE GOVERNOE AND THE NOTARY. 
 
 Ik former times there ruled, as governor of the Alhambra, 
 a doughty ' old cavalier, who, from having lost one arm in the 
 wars, was commonly known by the name of el Gobernador 
 Manco, or ''the one-armed governor." He, in fact, prided 
 himself upon being an old soldier, wore his mustaches curled up 
 to his eyes, a pair of campaigning boots, and a Toledo ^ as long 
 as a spit,^ with his pocket-handkerchief in the basket hilt." 
 
 He was, moreover, exceedingly proud and punctilious, and 
 tenacious ^ of all his privileges and dignities. Under his sway 
 the immunities^ of the Alhambra as a royal residence and 
 domain were rigidly exacted. No one was permitted to enter 
 the fortress with firearms, or even with a sword or staff, unless 
 he were of a certain rank ; and every horseman was obliged to 
 dismount at the gate, and lead his horse by the bridle. Now 
 as the hill of the Alhambra rises from th% very midst of the 
 city of Granada, being, as it were, an excrescence ' of the capital, 
 it must at all times be somewhat irksome ^ to the captain-gen- 
 eral, who commands the province, to have thus an imperium 
 in imperio,^ a petty, independent post, in the very centre of his 
 domains. It was rendered the more galling, in the present 
 instance, from the irritable jealousy of the old governor, that 
 took fire on the least question of authority and jurisdiction; 
 and from the loose, vagrant character of the people who had 
 gradually nestled themselves within the fortress, as in a sanc- 
 tuary, and thence carried on a system of roguery and depreda- 
 tion at the expense of the honest inhabitants of the city. 
 
 ' strong ; valiant. * keeping firm hold. 
 
 2 sword made at Toledo. * special privileges or exemptions. 
 
 3 long, pointed iron rod for roasting meat. ' an irregular growth. 
 * cover for hand around the handle or hilt ^ tiresome ; annoying. 
 
 of a sword. ^ empire within an empire. 
 
154 THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY. 
 
 Thus there was a perpetual feud and heart-burning between 
 the captain-general and the governor, the more virulent on 
 the part of the latter, inasmuch as the smaller of two neigh- 
 boring potentates is always the most captious about his dignity. 
 The stately palace of the captain-general stood in the Plaza 
 Nueva, immediately at the foot of the hill of the Alhambra, 
 and here was always a bustle and parade of guards and do- 
 mestics and city functionaries.^ A beetling bastion^ of the 
 fortress overlooked the palace and public square in front of it; 
 and on this bastion the old governor would occasionally strut 
 backwards and forwards, with his Toledo girded by his side, 
 keeping a wary eye down upon his rival, like a hawk recon- 
 noitering his quarry ^ from his nest in a dry tree. 
 
 Whenever he descended into the city it was in grand parade, 
 on horseback, surrounded by his guards, or in his state coach, 
 an ancient and unwieldy Spanish edifice of carved timber and 
 gilt leather, drawn by eight mules, with running footmen, 
 outriders, and lackey ; on which occasions he flattered himself 
 he impressed every beholder with awe and admiration as vice- 
 gerent of the king; though the wits of Granada, particularly 
 those who loitered about the palace of the captain-general, 
 were apt to sneer at his petty parade, and, in allusion to the 
 vagrant character of his subjects, to greet him with the appel- 
 lation "the king of the beggars." One of the most fruitful 
 sources of dispute between these two doughty rivals was the 
 right claimed by the governor to have all things passed free of 
 duty through the city, that were intended for the use of him- 
 self or his garrison. By degrees the privilege had given rise to 
 extensive smuggling. A nest of contrabandistas took up their 
 abode in the hovels of the fortress and the numerous caves in 
 its vicinity, and drove a thriving business under the conni- 
 vance of the soldiers of the garrison. 
 
 The vigilance of the captain -general was aroused. He con- 
 
 1 persons holding office ; officers. 3 animal hunted for. 
 
 2 projecting portion of fort. 
 
THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY. 155 
 
 suited his legal adviser and factotum, a shrewd, meddlesome 
 escribano, or notary, who rejoiced in an opportunity of per- 
 plexing the old potentate of the Alhambra, and involving him 
 in a maze of legal subtilties.' He advised the captain-general 
 to insist upon the right of examining every convoy ^ passing 
 through the gates of his city, and penned a long letter for him 
 in vindication of the right. Governor Manco was a straight- 
 forward, cut-and-thrust old soldier, who hated an escribano 
 worse than the devil, and this one in particular worse than all 
 other escribanos. 
 
 " What! " said he, curling up his mustaches fiercely, *' does 
 the captain-general set his man of the pen to practise confu- 
 sions upon me ? I'll let him see an old soldier is not to be 
 baffled by Schoolcraft." 
 
 He seized his pen and scrawled a short letter in a crabbed 
 hand, in which, without deigning ^ to enter into argument, he 
 Insisted on the right of transit free of search, and denounced 
 vengeance on any custom-house officer who should lay his 
 unhallowed hand on any convoy protected by the flag of the 
 Alhambra. While this question was agitated between the 
 two pragmatical potentates, it so happened that a mule laden 
 with supplies for the fortress arrived one day at the gate of 
 Xenil, by which it was to traverse a suburb of the city, on 
 its way to the Alhambra. The convoy was headed by a testy 
 old corporal, who had long served under the governor, and 
 was a man after his own heart; as rusty and stanch as an old 
 Toledo blade. 
 
 As they approached the gate of the city, the corporal placed 
 the banner of the Alhambra on the pack-saddle of the mule, 
 and, drawing himself up to a perfect perpendicular, advanced 
 with his head dressed to the front, but with the wary side- 
 glance of a cur passing through hostile ground, and ready for 
 a snap and a snarl. 
 
 1 tricks ; artifices. ' stooping ; condescending. 
 
 " train of wagons engaged in transportation, having an armed escort. 
 
156 THE GOVEENOR AND THE NOTARY. 
 
 a 
 
 Who goes there ? " said the sentinel at the gate. 
 Soldier of the Alhambra ! " said the corporal, without 
 turning his head. 
 
 " What have you in charge ? " 
 
 *' Provisions for the garrison." 
 
 ^'Proceed." 
 
 The corporal marched straight forward, followed by the con- 
 voy, but had not advanced many paces before a posse ^ of 
 custom-house officers rushed out of a small toll-house. 
 
 " Hallo there ! " cried the leader. " Muleteer, halt, and open 
 those packages." 
 
 The corporal wheeled round, and drew himself up in battle 
 array. " Eespect the flag of the Alhambra," said he; " these 
 things are for the governor." 
 
 ^' A fig for the governor, and a fig for his flag. Muleteer, 
 halt, I say." 
 
 '' Stop the convoy at your peril ! " cried the corporal, cocking 
 his musket. " Muleteer, proceed." 
 
 The muleteer gave his beast a hearty thwack; the custom- 
 house officer sprang forward and seized the halter ; whereupon 
 the corporal levelled his piece, and shot him dead. 
 
 The street was immediately in an uproar. 
 
 The old corporal was seized, and after undergoing sundry 
 kicks and cuffs and cudgellings, which are generally given 
 impromptu ^ by the mob in Spain, as a foretaste of the after 
 penalties of the law, he was loaded with irons, and conducted 
 to the city prison; while his comrades were permitted to pro- 
 ceed with the convoy, after it had been well rummaged, to the 
 Alhambra. 
 
 The old governor was in a towering passion when he heard 
 of this insult to his flag and capture of his corporal. Por 
 a time he stormed about the Moorish halls, and vapored 
 about the bastions, and looked down fire and sword upon the 
 palace of the captain-general. Having vented the first ebulli- 
 
 1 number ; group ; squad. 2 off-haud ; without previous arrangement. 
 
THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY. 167 
 
 tion * of his wrath, he despatched a message demanding the sur- 
 render of the corporal, as to him alone belonged the right of 
 Bitting in judgment on the offences of those under his com- 
 mand. The captain-general, aided by the pen of the delighted 
 escribano, replied at great length, arguing that as the offence 
 had been committed within the walls of his city, and against one 
 of his civil officers, it was clearly within his proper jurisdic- 
 tion. The governor rejoined by a repetition of his demand; 
 the captain-general gave a sur-rejoinder '^ of still greater length 
 and legal acumen ; ^ the governor became hotter and more 
 peremptory in his demands, and the captain-general cooler and 
 more copious in his replies; until the old lion-hearted soldier 
 absolutely roared with fury at being thus entangled in the 
 meshes of legal controversy. 
 
 While the subtle escribano was thus amusing himself at the 
 expense of the governor, he was conducting the trial of the 
 corporal, who, mewed up in a narrow dungeon of the prison, 
 had merely a small grated window at which to show his iron- 
 bound visage, and receive the consolations of his friends. 
 
 A mountain of written testimony was diligently heaped up, 
 according to Spanish form, by the indefatigable* escribano; 
 the corporal was completely overwhelmed by it. He was con- 
 victed of murder, and sentenced to be hanged. 
 
 It was in vain the governor sent down remonstrance and 
 menace from the Alhambra. The fatal day was at hand, and 
 the corporal was put in capilla, that is to say, in the chapel of 
 the prison, as is always done with culprits the day before 
 execution, that they may meditate on their approaching end 
 and repent them of their sins. 
 
 Seeing things drawing to extremity, the old governor deter- 
 mined to attend to the affair in person. For this purpose he 
 ordered out his carriage of state, and, surrounded by his 
 guards, rumbled down the avenue of the Alhambra into the 
 
 1 violent display ; sudden outburst. ^ shrewdness ; keenness. 
 
 2 answer to a rejoinder. * tireless. 
 
158 THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY. 
 
 city. Driving to the house of the escribano, he summoned 
 him to the portal. 
 
 The eye of the old governor gleamed like a coal at beholding 
 the smirking man of the law advancing with an air of exulta- 
 tion. ' 
 
 ^' What is this I hear," cried he, '' that you are about to put 
 to death one of my soldiers ? ' ' 
 
 "All according to law; all in strict form of justice," said 
 the self-sufficient escribano, chuckling and rubbing his hands. 
 " I can show your excellency the written testimony in the 
 case." 
 
 ' ' Fetch it hither, ' ' said the governor. The escribano bustled 
 into his office, delighted with having another opportunity of 
 displaying his ingenuity*"' at the expense of the hard-headed 
 veteran. 
 
 He returned with a satchel full of papers, and began to read 
 a long deposition with professional volubility. By this time a 
 crowd had collected, listening vi^ith outstretched necks and 
 gaping mouths. 
 
 " Prithee, man, get into the carriage, out of this pestilent 
 throng, that I may the better hear thee," said the governor. 
 
 The escribano entered the carriage, when, in a twinkling, 
 the door was closed; the coachman smacked his whip; mules, 
 carriage, guards and all dashed off at a thundering rate, leav- 
 ing the crowd in gaping wonderment; nor did the governor 
 pause until he had lodged his prey in one of the strongest 
 dungeons of the Alhambra. 
 
 He then sent down a flag of truce in military style, proposing 
 a cartel or exchange of prisoners — the corporal for the notary. 
 The pride of the captain-general was piqued; he returned a 
 contemptuous ^ refusal, and forthwith caused a gallows, tall and 
 strong, to be erected in the centre of the Plaza Nueva, for the 
 execution of the corporal. 
 
 " Oho! Is that the game ? " said Governor Manco. He gave 
 
 » triumph. 2 power of ready invention. s scornful. 
 
THE GOVEKNOR AND THE NOTARY. 159 
 
 orders, and immediately a gibbet was reared on the verge of 
 the great beetling bastion that overlooked the Plaza. " Now, " 
 said he in a message to the captain-general, " hang my soldier 
 when you please; but at the same time that he is swung off in the 
 square, look up to see your escribano dangling against the sky. " 
 
 The captain-general was inflexible ; ^ troops were paraded in 
 the square; the drums beat; the bell tolled. An immense mul- 
 titude of amateurs gathered together to behold the execution. 
 On the other hand, the governor paraded his garrison on the 
 bastion, and tolled the funeral dirge of the notary from the 
 Torre de la Campana, or Tower of the Bell. 
 
 The notary's wife pressed through the crowd with a whole 
 progeny of little embryo escribanos at her heels, and throwing 
 herself at the feet of the captain-general, implored him not to 
 sacrifice the life of her husband, and the welfare of herself 
 and her numerous little ones, to a point of pride. " For you 
 know the old governor too Avell," said she, " to doubt that he 
 will put his threat in execution, if you hang the soldier." 
 
 The captain-general was overpowered by her tears and 
 lamentations, and the clamors of her callow brood. The cor- 
 poral was sent up to the Alhambra, under a guard, in his 
 gallows garb, like hooded friar, but with head erect and a face 
 of iron. The escribano was demanded in exchange, according 
 to the cartel. The once bustling and self-sufficient man of the 
 law was drawn forth from his dungeon more dead than alive. 
 All his flippancy and conceit had evaporated;'^ his hair, it is 
 said, had nearly turned gray with affright, and he had a down- 
 cast, dogged look, as if he still felt the halter round his neck. 
 
 The old governor stuck his one arm akimbo, and for a 
 moment surveyed him with an iron smile. " Henceforth, my 
 friend," said he, '' moderate your zeal in hurrying others to 
 the gallows; be not too certain of your safety, even though you 
 should have the law on your side; and above all, take care how 
 yoii play off your schoolcraft another time upon an old soldier." 
 
 1 unbending ; determined. a disappeared (literally in vapor). 
 
GOVERNOE MANGO AND THE SOLDIEE. 
 
 While Governor Manco, or "the one-armed," kept up a 
 show of military state in the Alhambra, he became nettled at 
 the reproaches continually cast upon his fortress, of being a 
 nestling place of rogues and contrabandistas. On a sudden, 
 the old potentate determined on reform, and, setting vigor- 
 ously to work, ejected whole nests of vagabonds out of the 
 fortress and the gypsy caves with which the surrounding hills 
 are honeycombed. He sent out soldiers, also, to patrol the 
 avenues and footpaths, with orders to take up all suspicious 
 persons. 
 
 One bright summer morning, a patrol, consisting of the testy 
 old corporal who had distinguished himself in the affair of the 
 notary, a trumpeter and two privates, was seated under the 
 garden wall of the Generalife, beside the road which leads 
 down, from the mountain of the sun, when they heard the 
 tramp of a horse, and a male voice singing in rough, though 
 not unmusical tones, an old Castilian campaigning song. 
 
 Presently they beheld a sturdy, sunburnt fellow, clad in the 
 ragged garb of a foot-soldier, leading a powerful Arabian horse, 
 caparisoned 'in the ancient Moresco fashion. 
 
 Astonished at the sight of a strange soldier descending, steed 
 in hand, from that solitary mountain, the corporal stepped 
 forth and challenged him. 
 
 " AVho goes there ? " 
 
 "A friend." 
 
 *' Who and what are you ? " 
 
 ' ' A poor soldier just from the wars, with a cracked crown 
 and empty purse for a reward." 
 
 By this time they were enabled to view him more narrowly. 
 He had a black patch across his forehead, which, with a grizzled 
 
GOVERNOR MANGO AND THE SOLDIER. 161 
 
 beard, added to a certain dare-devil cast of countenance, wliile 
 a slight squint threw into the whole an occasional gleam of 
 roguish good humor. 
 
 Having answered the questions of the patrol, the soldier 
 seemed to consider himself entitled to make others in return. 
 ** May I ask," said he, '^ what city is that which I see at the 
 foot of the hill?" 
 
 ^'AVhat city?" cried the trumpeter. "Come, that's too 
 bad. Here's a fellow lurking about the mountain of the sun, 
 and demands the name of the great city of Granada! " 
 
 ^* G-ranada! can it be possible ? " 
 
 ** Perhaps not!" rejoined the trumpeter; *^and perhaps 
 you have no idea that yonder are the towers of the Alham- 
 bra." 
 
 '*Son of a trumpet," replied the stranger, *'do not trifle 
 with me; if this be indeed the Alhambra, I have some strange 
 matters to reveal to the governor." 
 
 " You will have an opportunity," said the corporal, " for we 
 mean to take you before him." By this time the trumpeter 
 had seized the bridle of the steed, the two privates had each 
 secured an arm of the soldier, the corporal put himself in 
 front, gave the word, ^'Forward — march!" and away they 
 marched for the Alhambiia. 
 
 The sight of a ragged foot-soldier and a fine Arabian horse, 
 brought in captive by the patrol, attracted the attention of 
 all the idlers of the fortress, and of those gossip groups that 
 generally assemble about wells and fountains at early dawn. 
 The wheel of the cistern paused in its rotations, and the slip- 
 shod servant-maid stood gaping, with pitcher in hand, as the 
 corporal passed by with his prize. A motley train gradually 
 gathered in the rear of the escort. 
 
 Knowing nods and winks and conjectures passed from one 
 to another. ^'It is a deserter," said one; "a contraband- 
 ista," said another; "a bandalero,"* said the third; until 
 
 1 highway robber. 
 11 
 
162 GOVERNOR MANGO AND THE SOLDIER. 
 
 it was affirmed that the captain of a desperate band of robbers 
 had been captured by the prowess ^ of the corporal and his 
 patrol. "Well, well," said the old crones, one to another, 
 " captain or not, let him get out of the grasp of old Governor 
 Man CO if he can, though he is but one-handed." 
 
 Governor Manco was seated in one of the inner halls of the 
 Alhambra, taking his morning's cup of chocolate in company 
 with his confessor, a fat Franciscan friar from the neighbor- 
 ing convent. A demure, dark-eyed damsel of Malaga,^ the 
 daughter of his housekeeper, was attending upon him. The 
 world hinted that the damsel, who, with all her demureness, 
 was a sly, buxom baggage, had found out a soft spot in the 
 iron heart of the old governor, and held complete control over 
 him. But let that pass ; the domestic affairs of these mighty 
 potentates of the earth should not be too narrowly scrutinized.^ 
 
 When word was brought that a suspicious stranger had been 
 taken lurking about the fortress, and was actually in the outer 
 court, in durance * of the corporal, waiting the pleasure of his 
 excellency, the pride and stateliness of office swelled the bosom 
 of the governor. Giving back his chocolate cup into the hands 
 of the demure damsel, he called for his basket-hilted sword, 
 girded it to his side, twirled up his mustaches, took his seat 
 in a large high-backed chair, assumed a bitter and forbidding 
 aspect, and ordered the prisoner into his presence. The soldier 
 was brought in, still closely pinioned by his captors, and guarded 
 by the corporal. He maintained, however, a resolute self-con- 
 fident air, and returned the sharp, scrutinizing look of the 
 governor with an easy squint, which by no means pleased the 
 punctilious old potentate. 
 
 '^Well, culprit," said the governor, after he had regarded 
 him for a moment in silence, " what have you to say for your- 
 self — who are you?" 
 
 1 gallantry ; fearlessness of danger. 3 examined very carefully. 
 
 2 seaport city on a bay of the Mediterranean, ^ custody ; guarding, 
 sixty-five miles east northeast of Gibraltar, 
 
GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 163 
 
 '^A soldier, just from the wars, who has brought away 
 nothing but scars and bruises. " 
 
 " A soldier ? Humph ! A foot-soldier by your garb. I under- 
 stand you have a fine Arabian horse. I presume you brought 
 him too from the wars, besides your scars and bruises." 
 
 ^' May it please your excellency, I have something strange 
 to tell about that horse. Indeed I have one of the most won- 
 derful things to relate. Something, too, that concerns the 
 security of this fortress, indeed of all Granada. But it is a 
 matter to be imparted only to your private ear, or in the pres- 
 ence of such only as are in your confidence." 
 
 The governor considered for a moment, and then directed 
 the corporal and his men to withdraw, but to post themselves 
 outside of the door, and be ready at a call. " This holy 
 friar," said he, '^is my confessor; you may say anything in 
 his presence; and this damsel," nodding towards the hand- 
 maid, who had loitered with an air of great curiosity — "this 
 damsel is of great secrecy and discretion, and to be trusted 
 with anything." 
 
 The soldier gave a glance between a squint and a leer at the 
 demure handmaid. "I am perfectly willing," said he, "that 
 the damsel should remain." 
 
 AVhen all the rest had withdrawn, the soldier commenced 
 his story. He was a fluent, smooth-tongued varlet, and had 
 a command of language above his apparent rank. 
 
 "May it please your excellency," said he, "I am, as I 
 before observed, a soldier, and have seen some hard service; 
 but my term of enlistment being expired, I was discharged, 
 not long since, from the army at Yalladolid,^ and set out on 
 foot for my native village in Andalusia. Yesterday evening 
 the sun went down as I was traversing a great dry plain of Old 
 Castile." 
 
 "Hold! " cried the governor. " What is this you say? Old 
 Castile is some two or three hundred miles from this." 
 
 ' city of Spain, one hundred miles northwest of Madrid. CoUimbus died here in 1506. 
 
164 GOVERNOR MANGO AND THE SOLDIER. 
 
 *'Eyen so," replied the soldier, coolly; ^'I told your excel- 
 lency I had strange things to relate; but not more strange 
 than true ; as your excellency will find, if you will deign me a 
 patient hearing." 
 
 " Proceed, culprit," said the governor, twirling up his mus- 
 taches. 
 
 "As the sun went down," continued the soldier, "least 
 my eyes about in search of quarters for the night, but as far 
 as my sight could reach, there were no signs of habitation. I 
 saw that I should have to make my bed on the naked plain, 
 with my knapsack for a pillow; but your excellency is an old 
 soldier, and knows that, to one who has been in the wars, such 
 a night's lodging is no great hardship." 
 
 The governor nodded assent, as he drew his pocket-handker- 
 chief out of the basket hilt, to drive away a fly that buzzed 
 about his nose. 
 
 " Well, to make a long story short," continued the soldier, 
 " I trudged forward for several miles until I came to a bridge 
 over a deep ravine, through which ran a little thread of water, 
 almost dried up by the summer heat. At one end of the 
 bridge was a Moorish tower, the upper end all in ruins, but 
 a vault in the foundation quite entire. Here, thinks I, is a 
 good place to make a halt; so I went down to the stream, 
 took a hearty drink, for the water was pure and sweet, and I 
 was parched with thirst ; then, opening my wallet, I took out 
 an onion and a few crusts, which were all my provisions, and 
 seating myself on a stone on the margin of the stream, began 
 to make my supper, intending afterwards to quarter myself 
 for the night in the vault of the tower; and capital quarters 
 they would have been for a campaigner just from, the wars, as 
 your excellency, who ia an old soldier, may suppose." 
 
 "I have put up gladly with worse in my time," said the 
 governor, returning his pocket-handkerchief into the hilt of 
 his sword. 
 
 "While I was quietly crunching my crust," pursued the 
 
GOVEENOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 165 
 
 soldier, " I heard something stir within the yanlt. I listened; 
 it was the tramp of a horse. By and by a man came forth 
 from a door in the foundation of the tower, close by the 
 water's edge, leading a powerful horse by the bridle. I could 
 not well make out what he was by the starlight. It had a 
 suspicious look to be lurking among the ruins of a tower, in 
 that wild, solitary place. He might be a mere wayfarer, like 
 myself; he might be a contrabandista ; he might be a banda- 
 lero ! What of that ? Thank heaven and my poverty, I had 
 nothing to lose ; so I sat still and crunched my crust. 
 
 '' He led his horse to the water, close by where I was sitting, 
 BO that I had a fair opportunity of reconnoitering him. To 
 my surprise he was dressed in a Moorish garb, with a cuirass of 
 steel, and a polished skull-cap that I distinguished by the 
 reflection of the stars upon it. His horse, too, was harnessed 
 in the Moresco fashion, with great shovel stirrups. He led 
 him, as I said, to the side of the stream, into which the ani- 
 mal plunged his head almost to the eyes, and drank until I 
 thought he would have burst. 
 
 *'' Comrade,' said I, ^your steed drinks well; it's a good 
 sign when a horse plunges his muzzle bravely into the water. ' 
 
 " ' He may well drink,' said the stranger, speaking with a 
 Moorish accent ; ' it is a good year since he had his last 
 draught. ' 
 
 " ' By Santiago,' ' said I, ' that beats even the camels I have 
 seen in Africa. But come, you seem to be something of a 
 soldier; will you sit down and take part of a soldier's fare?' 
 In fact, I felt the want of a companion in this lonely place, 
 and was willing to put up with an infidel. Besides, as your 
 excellency well knows, a soldier is never very particular about 
 the faith of his company, and soldiers of all countries are 
 comrades on peaceable ground." 
 
 The governor again nodded assent. 
 
 "Well, as I was saying, I invited him to share my supper, 
 
 ' Saint Jago (Saint James). 
 
166 GOVERNOR MANGO AND THE SOLDIER. 
 
 such as it was, for I could not do less in common hospitality. 
 ' I have no time to pause for meat or drink/ said he; ' I have 
 a long journey to make before morning.' 
 
 " * In which direction ? ' said I. 
 
 " ' Andalusia,' said he. 
 
 " ^ Exactly my route,' said I; * so, as you won't stop and eat 
 with me, perhaps you will let me mount and ride with you. I 
 see your horse is of a powerful frame, I'll warrant he'll carry 
 double. ' 
 
 ^''Agreed,' said the trooper; and it would not have been 
 civil and soldierlike to refuse, especially as I had offered to 
 share my supper with him. So up he mounted, and up I 
 mounted behind him. 
 
 " ' Hold fast,' said he; ' my steed goes like the wind.' 
 
 " ' Never fear me,' said I, and so off we set. 
 
 " From a walk the horse soon passed to a trot, from a trot 
 to a gallop, and from a gallop to a harum-scarum scamper. It 
 seemed as if rocks, trees, houses, every thing, flew hurry- 
 scurry behind us. 
 
 '' ' What town is this ? ' said I. 
 
 ** * Segovia,' ^ said he; and before the word was out of his 
 mouth, the towers of Segovia were out of sight. We swept 
 up the Guadarama "^ Mountains, and down by the Escurial; ^ 
 and we skirted the walls of Madrid,* and we scoured away 
 across the plains of La Mancha. In this way we went up hill 
 and down dale, by towers and cities, all buried in deep sleep, 
 and across mountains and plains and rivers just glimmering 
 in the starlight. 
 
 " To make a long story short, and not to fatigue your excel- 
 lency, the trooper suddenly pulled up on the side of a moun- 
 
 ' in Old Castile, forty-five miles northwest a magnificent mausoleum for the members 
 
 of Madrid. of the royal family, and an extensive coUec- 
 
 2nameof mountains northwest of Madrid, tionof rare paintings, books, etc. It was 
 
 Sname of town and province northwest set on fire by lightning and partially de- 
 
 of Madrid. Remarkable for the celebrated stroyed in 1872. 
 
 monastery and palace of the Escurial in its * capital of Spain, in central part, on Man- 
 vicinity, built by Philip 11., which contains zanares River. 
 
GOVERNOE MANGO AND THE SOLDIER. 167 
 
 tain. ' Here we are/ said he, ' at the end of our journey.' I 
 looked about, but could see no signs of habitation; nothing 
 but the mouth of a cavern. While I looked, I saw multitudes 
 of people in Moorish dresses, some on horseback, some on 
 foot, arriving, as if borne by the wind, from all points of the 
 compass, and hurrying into the mouth of the cavern like bees 
 into a hive. Before I could ask a question, the trooper struck 
 his long Moorish spurs into the horse's flanks, and dashed in 
 with the throng. We passed along a steep winding way that 
 descended into the very bowels of the mountain. As we 
 pushed on, a light began to glimmer up, by little and little, 
 like the first glimmerings of day; but what caused it I could 
 not discern. It grew stronger and stronger, and enabled me 
 to see every thing around. I now noticed, as we passed along, 
 great caverns, opening to the right and left, like halls in an 
 arsenal. In some there were shields and helmets and cui- 
 rasses and lances and cimeters, hanging against the walls; in 
 others were great heaps of warlike munitions and camp 
 equipage lying upon the ground. 
 
 ^' It would have done your excellency's heart good, being an 
 old soldier, to have seen such grand provision for war. Then, 
 in other caverns, there were long rows of horsemen armed to 
 the teeth, with lances raised and banners unfurled, all ready 
 for the field; but they all sat motionless in their saddles, like 
 so many statues. In other halls were warriors sleeping on the 
 ground beside their horses, and foot-soldiers in groups ready 
 to fall into the ranks. All were in old-fashioned Moorish 
 dresses and armor. 
 
 "Well, your excellency, to cut a long story short, we at 
 length entered an immense cavern, or I may say palace, of 
 grotto work, the walls of which seemed to be veined with 
 gold and silver, and to sparkle with diamonds and sapphires 
 and all kinds of precious stones. At the upper end sat a 
 Moorish king on a golden throne, with his nobles on each side, 
 and a guard of African blacks with drawn cimeters. All the 
 
168 GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 
 
 crowd that continued to flock in, and amounted to thousands 
 and thousands, passed one by one before his throne, each pay- 
 ing homage as he passed. Some of the multitude were dressed 
 in magnificent robes, without stain or blemish, and sparkling 
 with jewels; others in burnished and enamelled armor; while 
 others were in mouldered and mildewed garments, and in 
 armor all battered and dented, and covered with rust. 
 
 "I had hitherto held my tongue, for your excellency well 
 knows it is not for a soldier to ask many questions when on 
 duty, but I could keep silent no longer. 
 
 *'' Prithee, comrade,' said I, 'what is the meaning of all 
 this ? ' 
 
 " ' This,' said the trooper, ' is a great and fearful mystery. 
 Know, Christian, that you see before you the court and 
 army of Boabdil, the last king of Granada. ' 
 
 " ' What is this you tell me ? ' cried I. ' Boabdil and his 
 court were exiled from the land hundreds of years agone, and 
 all died in Africa. ' 
 
 "'So it is recorded in your lying chronicles,' replied the 
 Moor; 'but know that Boabdil and the warriors who made 
 the last struggle for Grranada were all shut up in the mountain 
 by powerful enchantment. As for the king and army that 
 marched forth from Granada at the time of the surrender, 
 they were a mere phantom train of spirits and demons, per- 
 mitted to assume those shapes to deceive the Christian sover- 
 eigns. And, furthermore, let me tell you, friend, that all Spain 
 is a country under the power of enchantment. There is not 
 a mountain cave, not a lonely watch-tower in the plains, nor 
 ruined castle on the hills, but has some spellbound warriors 
 sleeping from age to age within its vaults, until the sins are 
 expiated for which Allah permitted the dominion to pass for a 
 time out of the hands of the faithful. Once every year, on the 
 eve of St. John, they are released from enchantment, from sun- 
 set to sunrise, and permitted to repair here to pay homage to 
 their sovereign ; and the crowds which you beheld swarming 
 
GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 169 
 
 into the cavern are Moslem warriors from their haunts in all 
 parts of Spain. For my part, you saw the ruined tower of the 
 bridge in Old Castile, where I have now wintered and sum- 
 mered for many hundred years, and where I must be back 
 again by daybreak. As to the battalions of horse and foot 
 which you beheld drawn up in array in the neighboring cav- 
 erns, they are the spellbound warriors of Granada. It is 
 written in the book of fate, that, when the enchantment is 
 broken, Boabdil will descend from the mountain, at the head 
 of this army, resume his throne in the Alhambra, and his sway 
 of Granada, and, gathering together the enchanted warriors, 
 from all parts of Spain, will reconquer the Peninsula ^ and 
 restore it to Moslem rule.' 
 
 " ^ And when shall this happen ? ' said I. 
 
 *' ^ Allah alone knows. We had hoped that the day of deliv- 
 erance was at hand; but there reigns at present a vigilant 
 governor in the Alhambra, a stanch old soldier, well known as 
 Governor Manco. While such a warrior holds command of 
 the very outpost, and stands ready to check the first irruption 
 from the mountain, I fear Boabdil and his soldiery must be 
 content to rest upon their arms.' " 
 
 Here the governor raised himself somewhat perpendicularly, 
 adjusted his sword, and twirled up his mustaches. 
 
 " To make a long story short, and not to fatigue your excel- 
 lency, the trooper, having given me this account, dismounted 
 from his steed. 
 
 "' Tarry here, ' said he, 'and guard my steed while I go 
 and bow the knee to Boabdil.' So saying, he strode away 
 among the throng that pressed forward to the throne. 
 
 "'What's to be done?' thought I, when thus left to 
 myself; 'shall I wait here until this infidel returns to whisk 
 me off on his goblin steed, the Lord knows where; or shall I 
 make the most of my time and beat a retreat from this hob- 
 goblin community ? ' A soldier's mind is soon made up, as 
 
 » Spain and Portugal. 
 
170 GOVEKNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 
 
 your excellency well knows. As to the horse, he belonged to 
 an avowed enemy of the faith and the realm, and was a fair 
 prize according to the rules of war. So hoisting myself from 
 the crupper ^ into the saddle, I turned the reins, struck the 
 Moorish stirrups into the sides of the steed, and put him to 
 make the best of his way out of the passage by which he had 
 entered. As we scoured by the halls where the Moslem horse- 
 men sat in motionless battalions, I thought I heard the clang 
 of armor and a hollow murmur of voices. I gave the steed 
 another taste of the stirrups and doubled my speed. There 
 was now a sound behind me like a rushing blast; I heard the 
 clatter of a thousand hoofs; a countless throng overtook me. 
 I was borne along in the press, and hurled forth from the 
 mouth of the cavern, while thousands of shadowy forms were 
 swept off in every direction by the four winds of heaven. 
 
 " In the whirl and confusion of the scene I was thrown 
 senseless to the earth. When I came to myself I was lying 
 on the brow of a hill, with the Arabian steed standing beside 
 me; for in falling, my arm had slipped within the bridle, 
 which, I presume, prevented his whisking off to Old Castile. 
 
 " Your excellency may easily judge of my surprise, on look- 
 ing round, to behold hedges of aloes and Indian figs and other 
 proofs of a southern climate, and to see a great city below me, 
 with towers and palaces and a grand cathedral. 
 
 "I descended the hill cautiously, leading my steed, for I 
 was afraid to mount him again, lest he should play me some 
 slippery trick. As I descended, I met with your patrol, who 
 let me into the secret that it was Granada that lay before me, 
 and that I was actually under the walls of the Alhambra, the 
 fortress of the redoubted Governor Manco, the terror of all 
 enchanted Moslems. When I heard this, I determined at 
 once to seek your excellency, to inform you of all that I had 
 seen, and to warn you of the perils that surround and under- 
 mine you, that you may take measures in time to guard your 
 
 » strap of leather passing under a horse's tail, to prevent the saddle from slipping. 
 
GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 171 
 
 fortress, and the kingdom itself, from this intestine army that 
 lurks in the very bowels of the land. ' ' 
 
 *' And prithee, friend, you who are a veteran campaigner, 
 and have seen so much service," said the governor, "how 
 would you advise me to proceed, in order to prevent this 
 evil?" 
 
 "It is not for a humble private of the ranks," said the 
 soldier, modestly, "to pretend to instruct a commander of 
 your excellency's sagacity, but it appears to me that your 
 excellency might cause all the caves and entrances into the 
 mountains to be walled up with solid mason work, so that 
 Boabdil and his army might be completely corked up in their 
 subterranean habitation. If the good father, too, ' ' added the 
 soldier, reverently bowing to the friar, and devoutly crossing 
 himself, "would consecrate the barricadoes with his blessing, 
 and put up a few crosses, and relics and images of saints, I 
 think they might withstand all the power of infidel enchant- 
 ments. " 
 
 " They doubtless would be of great avail," said the friar. 
 
 The governor now placed his arm akimbo, with his hand 
 resting on the hilt of his Toledo, fixed his eye upon the sol- 
 dier, and gently wagging his head from one side to the other, 
 "So, friend," said he, "then you really suppose I am to be 
 gulled with this cock-and-bull story about enchanted moun- 
 tains and enchanted Moors ? Hark ye, culprit ! Not another 
 word. An old soldier you may be, but you'll find you have 
 an older soldier to deal with, and one not easily outgeneralled. 
 IIo! guards there! Put this fellow in irons. " 
 
 The demure handmaid would have put in a word in favor 
 of the prisoner, but the governor silenced her with a look. 
 
 As they were pinioning the soldier, one of the guards felt 
 something of bulk in his pocket, and drawing it forth, found 
 a long leathern purse that appeared to be well filled. Holding 
 it by one corner, he turned oat the contents upon the table 
 before the governor, and never did freebooter's bag make more 
 
172 GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 
 
 gorgeous delivery. Out tumbled rings and jewels, and rosaries 
 of pearls, and sparkling diamond crosses, and a profusion of 
 ancient golden coin, some of which fell jingling to the floor, 
 and rolled away to the uttermost parts of the chamber. 
 
 For a time the functions of justice were suspended ; there 
 was a universal scramble after the glittering fugitives. The 
 governor alone, who was imbued with true Spanish pride, 
 maintained his stately decorum,^ though his eye betrayed a 
 little anxiety until the last coin and jewel was restored to the 
 sack. 
 
 The friar was not so calm ; his whole face glowed like a fur- 
 nace, and his eyes twinkled and flashed at sight of the rosaries 
 and crosses. 
 
 " Sacrilegious ^ wretch that thou art! " exclaimed he; ** what 
 church or sanctuary hast thou been plundering of these sacred 
 relics?" 
 
 " Neither one nor the other, holy father. If they be sacri- 
 legious spoils, they must have been taken, in times long past, 
 by the infidel trooper I have mentioned. I was just going to 
 tell his excellency, when he interrupted me, that on taking pos- 
 session of the trooper's horse, I unhooked a leathern sack which 
 hung at the saddle-bow, and which I presume contained the 
 plunder of his campaignings in days of old, when the Moors 
 overran the country." 
 
 " Mighty well! At present you will make up your mind to 
 take uj) your quarters in a chamber of the Vermilion Towers, 
 which, though not under a magic spell, will hold you as safe 
 as any cave of your enchanted Moors." 
 
 " Your excellency will do as you think proper," said the pris- 
 oner, coolly. " I shall be thankful to your excellency for any 
 accommodation in the fortress. A soldier who has been in 
 the wars, as your excellency well knows, is not particular 
 about his lodgings. Provided I have a snug dungeon, and 
 regular rations, I shall manage to make myself comfortable. I 
 
 1 propriety of manner or conduct. 2 pj-of ane ; impious. 
 
GOVERNOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 178 
 
 would only entreat that while your excellency is so careful 
 about me, you would have an eye to your fortress, and think 
 on the hint I dropped about stopping up the entrances to the 
 mountain." 
 
 Here ended the scene. The prisoner was conducted to a 
 strong dungeon in the Vermilion Towers, the Arabian steed 
 was led to his excellency's stable, and the trooper's sack was 
 deposited in his excellency's strong box. To the latter, it is 
 true, the friar made some demur, questioning whether the 
 sacred relics, which were evidently sacrilegious spoils, should 
 not be placed in custody of the Church; but as the governor 
 was peremptory on the subject, and was absolute lord in the 
 Alhambra, the friar discreetly dropped the discussion, but 
 determined to convey intelligence of the fact to the church 
 dignitaries in Granada. 
 
 To explain these prompt and rigid measures on the part of 
 old Governor Manco, it is proper to observe, that about this 
 time the Alpuxaras Mountains in the neighborhood of Gra- 
 nada were terribly infested by a gang of robbers under the 
 command of a daring chief named Manuel Borasco, who were 
 accustomed to prowl about the country, and even to enter the 
 city in various disguises, to gain intelligence of the depart- 
 ure of convoys of merchandise, or travellers with well-lined 
 purses, whom they took care to waylay in distant and solitary 
 passes of the road. These repeated and daring outrages had 
 awakened the attention of government, and the commanders 
 of the various posts had received instructions to be on the alert, 
 and to take up all suspicious stragglers. Governor Manco 
 was particularly zealous in consequence of the various stigmas 
 that had been cast upon his fortress, and he now doubted not 
 he had entrapped some formidable desperado of this gang. 
 
 In the mean time the story took wind, and became the talk, 
 not merely of the fortress, but of the whole city of Granada. 
 It was said that the noted robber Manuel Borasco, the terror 
 of the Alpuxaras, had fallen into the clutches of old Gov- 
 
174 GOVEENOR MANCO AND THE SOLDIER. 
 
 ernor Manco, and been cooped up by him in a dungeon of the 
 Vermilion Towers ; and every one who had been robbed by him 
 flocked to recognize the marauder. The Vermilion Towers, as 
 is well known, stand apart from the Alhambra, on a sister 
 hill, separated from the main fortress by the ravine down 
 which passes the main avenue. There were no outer walls, 
 but a sentinel patrolled before the tower. The window of the 
 chamber in which the soldier was confined was strongly grated, 
 and looked upon a small esplanade. Here the good folks of 
 Granada repaired to gaze at him, as they would at a laughing 
 hyena, grinning through the cage of a menagerie. Nobody, 
 however, recognized him for Manuel Borasco, for that terrible 
 robber was noted for a ferocious physiognomy,' and had by 
 no means the good-humored squint of the prisoner. Visitors 
 came not merely from the city, but from all parts of the 
 country; but nobody knew him, and there began to be doubts 
 in the minds of the common peojole whether there might not 
 be some truth in his story. That Boabdil and his army were 
 shut up in the mountain, was an old tradition which many 
 of the ancient inhabitants had heard from their fathers. 
 Numbers went up to the mountain of the sun in search of the 
 cave mentioned by the soldier; and saw and peeped into the 
 deep dark pit, descending, no one knows how far, into the 
 mountain, and which remains there to this day, the fabled 
 entrance to the subterranean abode of Boabdil. 
 
 By degrees the soldier became popular with the common 
 people. A freebooter of the mountains is by no means the 
 opprobrious character in Spain that a robber is in any other 
 country; on the contrary, he is a kind of chivalrous personage 
 in the eyes of the lower classes. There is always a disposi- 
 tion, also, to cavil ^ at the conduct of those in command, and 
 many began to murmur at the high-handed measures of old 
 Governor Manco, and to look upon the prisoner in the light 
 of a martyr. 
 
 1 face, or countenance. 2 offer frivolous objections. 
 
GOVERNOR MANGO AND THE SOLDIER. 175 
 
 The soldier, moreover, was a merry, waggish fellow, that had 
 a joke for every one who came near his window, and a soft 
 speech for every female. He had procured an old guitar also, 
 and would sit by his window and sing ballads and love-ditties, 
 to the delight of the women of the neighborhood, who would 
 assemble on the esplanade in the evening, and dance boleros to 
 his music. Having trimmed off his rough beard, his sun- 
 burnt face found favor in the eyes of the fair, and the demure 
 handmaid of the governor declared that his squint was per- 
 fectly irresistible. This kind-hearted damsel had from the first 
 evinced a deep sympathy in his fortunes, and having in vain 
 tried to mollify the governor, had set to work privately to 
 mitigate the rigor of his dispensations. Every day she brought 
 the prisoner some crumbs of comfort which had fallen from the 
 governor's table, or been abstracted from his larder, together 
 with, now and then, a consoling bottle of choice, rich Malaga. 
 
 While this petty treason was going on in the very centre of 
 the old governor's citadel, a storm of open war was brewing 
 up among his external foes. The circumstance of a bag of 
 gold and jewels having been found upon the person of the 
 supposed robber, had been reported, with many exaggera- 
 tions, in Granada. A question of territorial jurisdiction was 
 immediately started by the governor's inveterate rival, the 
 captain-general. He insisted that the prisoner had been cap- 
 tured without the precincts of the Alhambra, and within the 
 rules of his authority. He demanded his body, therefore, and 
 the spolia opima ^ taken with him. Due information having 
 been carried, likewise, by the friar to the grand inquisitor, of 
 the crosses and rosaries and other relics contained in the bag, 
 he claimed the culprit as having been guilty of sacrilege, and 
 insisted that his plunder was due to the Church, and his body 
 to the next auto da fe.^ The feuds ran high; the governor 
 
 1 rich spoils. who had been tried before the courts of the 
 
 3 (aw'to dah-fa'), the public declaration Spanish Inquisition, 
 of the judgment passed on accused persons 
 
176 GOVERNOR MANGO AND THE SOLDIER. 
 
 was furious, and swore, rather tlian surrender his captive, he 
 would hang him up within the Alhambra, as a spy caught 
 within the purlieus * of the fortress. 
 
 The captain-general threatened to send a body of soldiers 
 to transfer the prisoner from the Vermilion Towers to the city. 
 The grand inquisitor was equally bent upon despatching a 
 number of the familiars of the Holy Office. Word was 
 brought, late at night, to the governor, of these machinations. 
 " Let them come," said he; " they'll find me beforehand with 
 them. He must rise bright and early who would take in an old 
 soldier." He accordingly issued orders to have the prisoner 
 removed, at daybreak, to the donjon keep within the walls of 
 the Alhambra. *^And d'ye hear, child?" said he to his 
 demure handmaid, ''tap at my door, and wake me before 
 cock-crowing, that I may see to the matter myself. ' ' 
 
 The day dawned, the cock crowed, but nobody tapped at 
 the door of the governor. The sun rose high above the 
 mountain tops, and glittered in at his casement, ere the gov- 
 ernor was awakened from his morning dreams by his veteran 
 corporal, who stood before "him with terror stamped upon his 
 iron visage. 
 
 " He's off ! he's gone ! " cried the corporal, gasping for breath. 
 
 " Who's off— who's gone ? " 
 
 "The soldier — the robber — the devil, for aught I know. 
 His dungeon is empty, but the door locked. No one knows 
 how he has escaped out of it." 
 
 " Who saw him last ? " 
 
 " Your handmaid; she brought him his supper." 
 
 " Let her be called instantly, " 
 
 Here was new matter of confusion. The chamber of the 
 demure damsel was likewise empty, her bed had not been slept 
 in: she had doubtless gone off with the culprit, as she had 
 appeared, for some days past, to have frequent conversations 
 with him. 
 
 1 the outer portion ; environs. 
 
GOVERNOR MANGO AND THE SOLDIER. 177 
 
 This was wounding the old governor in a tender part, but 
 he had scarce time to wince at it, when new misfortunes broke 
 upon his view. On going into his cabinet he found his strong 
 box open, the leather purse of the trooper abstracted, and with 
 it, a couple of corpulent^ bags of doubloons.' 
 
 But how, and which way had the fugitives escaped ? An 
 old peasant who lived in a cottage by the roadside, leading up 
 into the Sierra, declared that he had heard the tramp of a power- 
 ful steed just before daybreak, passing up into the mountains. 
 He had looked out at his casement, and could just distinguish 
 a horseman, with a female seated before him. 
 
 " Search the stables! " cried Governor Manco. The stables 
 were searched ; all the horses were in their stalls, excepting the 
 Arabian steed. In his place was a stout cudgel tied to the 
 manger, and on it a label bearing these words, ^'A gift to 
 Governor Manco, from an Old Soldier." 
 
 1 large ; full. ^ Former Spanish gold coin. 
 
 13 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCEEET STATUES. 
 
 There lived once, in a waste apartment of the Alhambra, a 
 merry little fellow named Lope Sanchez, who worked in the 
 gardens, and was as brisk and blithe as a grasshopper, singing 
 all day long. He was the life and sonl of the fortress; when 
 his work was over, he would sit on one of the stone benches of 
 the esplanade, strum his guitar and sing long ditties for the 
 amusement of the old soldiers of the fortress, or would strike 
 up a merrier tune, and set the girls dancing. 
 
 Like most little men. Lope Sanchez had a strapping buxom 
 dame for a wife, who could almost have put him in her pocket; 
 but he lacked the usual poor man's lot — instead of ten chil- 
 dren, he had but one. This was a little black-eyed girl about 
 twelve years of age, named Sanchica, who w^as as merry as 
 himself, and the delight of his heart. She played about him 
 as he worked in the gardens, danced to his guitar as he sat in 
 the shade, and ran as wild as a young fawn about the groves 
 and alleys and ruined halls of the Alhambra. 
 
 It was now the eve of the blessed St. John, and the holiday- 
 loving gossips of the Alhambra, men, women, and children, 
 went up at night to the mountain of the sun, which rises 
 above the Generalife, to keep their midsummer vigil on its 
 level summit. It was a bright moonlight night, and all the 
 mountains were gray and silvery, and the city, with its domes 
 and spires, lay in shadows below, and the Vega was like a 
 fairy land, with haunted streams gleaming among its dusky 
 groves. On the highest part of the mountain they lit up a 
 bonfire, according to an old custom of the country, handed 
 down from the Moors. The inhabitants of the surrounding 
 country were keeping a similar vigil, and bonfires, here and 
 there in the Vega, and along the folds of the mountains, 
 blazed up palely in the moonlight. 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 179 
 
 The evening was gayly passed in dancing to the guitar of 
 Lope Sanchez, who was never so joyous as when on a holiday 
 revel of the kind. While the dance was going on, the little 
 Sanchica, with some of her playmates, sported among the ruins 
 of an old Moorish fort that crowns the mountain, when, in 
 gathering pebbles in the fosse, she found a small hand curi- 
 ously carved of jet, the fingers closed, and the thumb firmly 
 clasped upon them. Overjoyed with her good fortune, she 
 ran to her mother with her prize. It immediately became a 
 sul)ject of sage speculation, ^ and was eyed by some with super- 
 stitious distrust. " Throw it away," said one; ^' it's Moorish; 
 depend upon it, there's mischief and witchcraft in it." " py 
 no means," said another; "you may sell it for something to 
 the jewellers of the Zacatin." In the midst of this discussion 
 an old tawny soldier drew near, who had served in Africa, and 
 was as swarthy as a Moor. He examined the hand with a 
 knowing look. "I have seen things of this kind," said he, 
 "' among the Moors of Barbary. It is a great virtue to guard 
 against the evil eye, and all kinds of spells and enchantments. 
 I give you joy, friend Lope; this bodes good luck to your child. " 
 
 Upon hearing this, the wife of Lope Sanchez tied the little 
 hand of jet to a ribbon, and hung it round the neck of her 
 daughter. 
 
 The sight of this talisman called up all the favorite super- 
 stitions about the Moors. The dance was neglected, and they 
 sat in groups on the ground, telling old legendary tales 
 handed down from their ancestors. Some of their stories 
 turned upon the wonders of the very mountain upon which 
 they were seated, which is a famous hobgoblin region. One 
 ancient crone gave a long account of the subterranean palace 
 in the bowels of that mountain where Boabdil and all his Moslem 
 court are said to remain enchanted. " Among yonder ruins," 
 said she, pointing to some crumbling walls and mounds of earth 
 on a distant part of the mountain, " there is a deep black pit 
 
 1 conjecture ; mere theory. 
 
180 LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 
 
 that goes down, down, into the very heart of the mountain. 
 For all the money in Granada I would not look down into it. 
 Once upon a time a poor man of the Alhambra, who tended 
 goats upon this mountain, scrambled down into that pit after 
 a kid that had fallen in. He came out again all wild and 
 staring, and told such things of what he had seen that every 
 one thought his brain was turned. He raved for a day or two 
 about the hobgoblin Moors that had pursued him in the cav- 
 ern, and could hardly be persuaded to drive his goats up again 
 to the mountain. He did so at last, but, poor man, he never 
 came down again. The neighbors found his goats browsing 
 about the Moorish ruins, and his hat and mantle lying near 
 the mouth of the pit, but he was never more heard of." 
 
 The little Sanchica listened with breathless attention to this 
 story. She was of a curious nature, and felt immediately a 
 great hankering to peep into this dangerous pit. Stealing 
 away from her companions, she sought the distant ruins, and 
 after groping for some time among them, came to a small 
 hollow, or basin, near the brow of the mountain, where it 
 swept steeply down into the valley of the Darro. In the 
 centre of this basin yawned the mouth of the pit. Sanchica 
 ventured to the verge, and peeped in. All was as black as 
 pitch, and gave an idea of immeasurable depth. Her blood 
 ran cold; she drew back, then peeped in again, then would 
 have run away, then took another peep — the very horror of 
 the thing was delightful to her. At length she rolled a large 
 stone, and pushed it over the brink. For some time it fell in 
 silence; then struck some rocky projection with a violent 
 crash; then rebounded from side to side, rumbling and tum- 
 bling, with a noise like thunder; then made a final splash into 
 water, far, far below ; and all was again silent. 
 
 The silence, however, did not long continue. It seemed as 
 if something had been awakened within this dreary abyss. ^ 
 A murmuring sound gradually rose out of the pit, like the 
 
 1 a very deep place (liter£:lly, bottomless). 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 181 
 
 hum and buzz of a beehive. It grew louder and louder; there 
 was the confusion of voices as of a distant multitude, together 
 with the faint din of arms, clash of cymbals, and clangor of 
 trumpets, as if some army were marshalling for battle in the 
 very bowels of the mountain. 
 
 The child drew off with silent awe, and hastened back to 
 the place where she had left her parents and their compan- 
 ions. All were gone. The bonfire was expiring, and its last 
 wreath of smoke curling up in the moonshine. The distant 
 fires that had blazed along the mountains and in the Vega 
 were all extinguished, and every thing seemed to have sunk to 
 repose. Sanchica called her parents and some of her com- 
 panions by name, but received no reply. She ran down the 
 side of the mountain, and by the gardens of the Generalife, 
 until she arrived in the alley of trees leading to the Alham- 
 bra, when she seated herself on a bench of a woody recess to 
 recover breath. The bell from the watch-tower of the Alham- 
 bra tolled midnight. There was a deep tranquillity, as if all 
 nature slept, excepting the low tinkling sound of an unseen 
 stream that ran under the covert of the bushes. The breath- 
 ing sweetness of the atmosphere was lulling her to sleep, 
 when her eye was caught by something glittering at a distance, 
 and to her surprise she beheld a long cavalcade of Moorish 
 warriors pouring down the mountain side and along the leafy 
 avenues. Some were armed with lances and shields; others 
 with cimeters and battle-axes, and with polished cuirasses that 
 flashed in the moonbeams. Their horses pranced proudly and 
 champed upon their bits, but their tramp caused no more sound 
 than if they had been shod with felt, and the riders were all 
 as pale as death. Among them rode a beautiful lady, with a 
 crowned head and long golden locks entwined with pearls. 
 The housings of her palfrey were of crimson velvet embroid- 
 ered with gold, and swept the earth ; but she rode all discon- 
 solate,' with eyes ever fixed upon the ground. 
 
 ^ sad. 
 
182 LEGEND OF TWO DISCEEET STATUES. 
 
 Then succeeded a train of courtiers magnificently arrayed in 
 robes and turbans of divers colors, and amidst them, on a 
 cream-colored charger, rode King Boabdil el Ohico, in a royal 
 mantle covered with jewels, and a crown sparkling with dia- 
 monds. The little Sanchica knew him by his yellow beard, 
 and his resemblance to his portrait, which she had often seen 
 in the picture gallery of the Generalife. She gazed in wonder 
 and admiration at this royal pageant, as it passed glistening 
 among the trees; bnt though she knew these monarchs and 
 courtiers and warriors, so pale and silent, were out of the 
 common course of nature, and things of magic and enchant- 
 ment, yet she looked on with a bold heart, such courage did 
 she derive from the mystic talisman of the hand which was 
 suspended about her neck. 
 
 The cavalcade having passed by, she rose and followed. It 
 continued- on to the great Gate of Justice, which stood wide 
 open ; the old invalid sentinels on duty lay on the stone benches 
 of the barbican, buried in profound and apparently charmed 
 sleep, and the phantom pageant swept noiselessly by them, 
 with flaunting banner and triumphant state. Sanchica would 
 have followed, but to her surprise she beheld an opening in 
 the earth, within the barbican, leading down beneath the 
 foundations of the tower. She entered for a little distance, 
 and was encouraged to proceed, by finding steps rudely hewn in 
 the rock, and a vaulted passage here and there lit up by a 
 silver lamp, which, w^hile it gave light, diffused likewise a 
 grateful fragrance. Venturing on, she came at last to a great 
 hall, wrought out of the heart of the mountain, magnificently 
 furnished in the Moorish style, and lighted up by silver and 
 crystal lamps. Here, on an ottoman, sat an old man in Moor- 
 ish dress, Avith a long white beard, nodding and dozing, with 
 a staff in his hand, which seemed ever to be slipping from his 
 grasp; Avhile at a little distance sat a beautiful lady, in ancient 
 Spanish dress, with a coronet all sparkling with diamonds, 
 and her hair entwined with pearls, who was softly playing on 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 183 
 
 a silver lyre. The little Sanchica now recollected a story slie 
 had heard among the old people of the Alhambra, concerning 
 a Gothic princess confined in the centre of the monntain by 
 an old Arabian magician, whom she kept bound up in magic 
 sleep by the power of music. 
 
 The lady paused with surprise at seeing a mortal in that 
 enchanted hall. ^' Is it the eve of the blessed St. John?" 
 said she. 
 
 "It is," replied Sanchica. 
 
 " Then for one night the magic charm is suspended. Come 
 hither, child, and fear not. I am a Christian like thyself, 
 though bound here by enchantment. Touch my fetters with 
 the talisman that hangs about thy neck, and for this night I 
 shall be free." * 
 
 So saying, she opened her robes, and displayed a broad 
 golden band round her waist, and a golden chain that fas- 
 tened her to the ground. The child hesitated not to apply 
 the little hand of jet to the golden band, and immediately the 
 chain fell to the earth. At the sound the old man woke, 
 and began to rub his eyes; but the lady ran her fingers over 
 the chords of the lyre, and again he fell into a slumber, and 
 began to nod, and his staff to falter in his hand. ''.Now," 
 said the lady, "touch his staff with the talismanic hand of 
 jet." The child did so, and it fell from his grasp, and he 
 sank in a deep sleep on the ottoman. The lady gently laid 
 the silver lyre on the ottoman, leaning it against the head of 
 the sleeping magician; then touching the chords until they 
 vibrated in his ear — " potent spirit of harmony," said she, 
 "continue thus to hold his senses in thraldom till the return 
 of day. Now follow me, my child," continued she, "and 
 thou shalt behold the Alhambra as it was in the days of its 
 glory, for thou hast a magic talisman th'at reveals all enchant- 
 ments." Sanchica followed the lady in silence. They passed 
 up through the entrance of the cavern into the barbican of the 
 Gate of Justice, and thence to the esplanade within the fortress. 
 
184 LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 
 
 This was all filled with Moorish soldiery, horse and foot, 
 marshalled in squadrons, with banners displayed. There were 
 royal guards also at the portal, and rows of African blacks 
 with drawn cimeters. No one spoke a word, and Sanchica 
 passed on fearlessly after her conductor. Her astonishment 
 increased on entering the royal palace, in which she had been 
 reared. The broad moonshine lit up all the halls and courts 
 and gardens almost as brightly as if it were day, but revealed 
 a far different scene from that to which she was accustomed. 
 The walls of the apartments were no longer stained and rent 
 by time. Instead of cobwebs, they were now hung with rich 
 silks of Damascus,' and the gildings and arabesque paintings 
 were restored to their original brilliancy and freshness. The 
 halls, no longer naked and unfurnished, were set out with 
 divans and ottomans of the rarest stuffs, embroidered with 
 pearls and studded with precious gems, and all the fountains 
 in the courts and gardens were playing. 
 
 The kitchens were again in full operation ; cooks were busy 
 preparing shadowy dishes, and roasting and boiling the phan- 
 toms of pullets and partridges; servants were hurrying to 
 and fro with silver dishes heaped up with dainties, and 
 arranging a delicious banquet. The Court of Lions was 
 thronged with guards and courtiers and alfaquis, as in the 
 old times of the Moors; and at the upper end, in the Saloon 
 of Judgment, sat Boabdil on his throne, surrounded by his 
 court, and swaying a shadowy sceptre for the night. Not- 
 withstanding all this throng and seeming bustle, not a voice nor 
 a footstep was to be heard; nothing interrupted the midnight 
 silence but the splashing of the fountains. The little San- 
 chica followed her conductress in mute amazement about the 
 palace, until they came to a portal opening to the vaulted 
 passages beneath the great Tower of Comares. On each side 
 of the portal sat the figure of a nymph, wrought out of ala- 
 baster. Their heads were turned aside, and their regards fixed 
 
 1 celebrated city of Asiatic Turkey. 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 185 
 
 upon the same spot within the vault. The enchanted lady 
 paused, and beckoned the child to her. '' Here," said she, " is 
 a great secret, which I will reveal to thee in reward for thy 
 faith and courage. These discreet statues watch over a treas- 
 ure hidden in old times by a Moorish king. Tell thy father to 
 search the spot on which their eyes are fixed, and he will find 
 what will make him richer than any man in Granada. Thy 
 innocent hands, alone, however, gifted as thou art also with 
 the talisman, can remove the treasure. Bid thy father use 
 it discreetly, and devote a part of it to the performance of 
 daily masses for my deliverance from this unholy enchant- 
 ment." 
 
 When the lady had spoken these words, she led the child 
 onward to the little Garden of Lindaraxa, which is hard by 
 the vault of the statues. The moon trembled upon the 
 waters of the solitary fountain in the centre of the garden, 
 and shed a tender light upon the orange and citron trees. 
 The beautiful lady plucked a branch of myrtle and wreathed 
 it round the head of the child. " Let this be a memento," ' 
 said she, ^'of what I have revealed to thee, and a testimonial 
 of its truth. My hour is come; I must return to the 
 enchanted hall; follow me not, lest evil befall thee. Farewell. 
 Eemember what I have said, and have masses performed for 
 my deliverance." So saying, the lady entered a dark passage 
 leading beneath the Tower of Comares, and was no longer seen. 
 
 The faint croAving of a cock was now heard from the cot- 
 tages below the Alhambra, in the valley of the Darro, and a 
 pale streak of light began to appear above the eastern moun- 
 tains. A slight wind arose; there was the sound like the rus- 
 tling of dry leaves through the courts and corridors, and door 
 after door shut to with a jarring sound. 
 
 Sanchica returned to the scenes she had so lately beheld 
 thronged with the shadowy multitude, but Boabdil and his 
 phantom court were gone. The moon shone into empty halls 
 
 ' reminder. 
 
186 LEGEND OF TWO DISCKEET STATUES. 
 
 and galleries, stripped of their transient splendor, stained 
 and dilapidated by time, and hung with cobwebs. The bat 
 flitted about in the uncertain light, and the frog croaked from 
 the fish-pond. 
 
 Sanchica now made the best of her way to a remote stair- 
 case that led up to the humble apartment occupied by her 
 family. The door, as usual, Avas open, for Lope Sanchez was 
 too poor to need bolt or bar; she crept quietly to her pallet, 
 and, putting the myrtle wreath beneath her pillow, soon fell 
 asleep. 
 
 In the morning she related all that had befallen her to her 
 father. Lope Sanchez, however, treated the whole as a mere 
 dream, and laughed at the child for her credulity. He went 
 forth to his customary labors in the garden, but had not been 
 there long when his little daughter came running to him 
 almost breathless. "Father! father!" cried she, "behold 
 the myrtle wreath which the Moorish lady bound round my 
 head." 
 
 Lope Sanchez gazed with astonishment, for the stalk of the 
 myrtle was of pure gold, and every leaf was a sparkling emer- 
 ald! Being not much accustomed to precious stones, he was 
 ignorant of the real value of the wreath, but he saw enough to 
 convince him that it was something more substantial than the 
 stulf of which dreams are generally made, and that at any rate 
 the child had dreamt to some purpose. His first care was to 
 enjoin the most absolute secrecy upon his daughter; in this 
 respect, however, he was secure, for she had discretion far 
 beyond her years or sex. He then repaired to the vault, where 
 stood the statues of the two alabaster nymphs. He remarked 
 that their heads were turned from the portal, and that the 
 regards of each were fixed upon the same point in the interior 
 of the building. Lope Sanchez could not but admire this most 
 discreet contrivance for guarding a secret. He drew a line 
 from the eyes of the statues to the point of regard, made a 
 private mark on the wall, and then retired. 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 187 
 
 All day, however, the mind of Lope Sanchez was distracted 
 with a thousand cares. He conld not help hovering within 
 distant view of the two statues, and became nervous from the 
 dread that the golden secret might be discovered. Every 
 footstep that approached the place made him tremble. He 
 would have given any thing could he but have turned the 
 heads of the statues, forgetting that they looked precisely in 
 the same direction for some hundreds of years, without any 
 person being the wiser. 
 
 " A plague upon them !" he would say to himself. " They'll 
 betray all ; did ever mortal hear of such a mode of guarding 
 a secret ? " Then, on hearing any one advance, he would steal 
 off, as though his very lurking near the place would awaken 
 suspicion. Then he would return cautiousl}^, and peep from 
 a distance to see if every thing was secure; but the sight of the 
 statues would again call forth his indignation. ^* Ay, there 
 they stand," would he say, "always looking, and looking, 
 and looking, just where they should not. Confound them! 
 They are just like all their sex. If they have not tongues to 
 tattle with, they'll be sure to do it with their eyes." 
 
 At length, to his relief, the long anxious day drew to a 
 close. The sound of footsteps was no longer heard in the 
 echoing halls of the Alhambra. The last stranger passed the 
 threshold, the great portal was barred and bolted, and the bat 
 and the frog and the hooting owl gradually resumed their 
 nightly vocations in the deserted palace. 
 
 Lope Sanchez waited, however, until the night was far 
 advanced before he ventured with his little daughter to the 
 hall of the two nymphs. He found them looking as know- 
 ingly and mysteriously as ever at the secret place of deposit. 
 " By your leaves, gentle ladies," thought Lope Sanchez, as he 
 passed between them, " I will relieve you from this charge that 
 must have set so heavy in your minds for the last two or three 
 centuries." lie accordingly went to work at the part of the 
 wall which he had marked, and in a little while laid open a con- 
 
188 LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 
 
 cealed recess, in which stood two great jars of porcelain. He 
 attempted to draw them forth, but they were immovable, until 
 touched by the innocent hand of his little daughter. With 
 her aid he dislodged them from their niche, and found, to his 
 great joy, that they were filled with pieces of Moorish gold, 
 mingled with jewels and precious stones. Before daylight he 
 managed to convey them to his chamber, and left the two 
 guardian statues with their eyes still fixed on the vacant wall. 
 
 Lope Sanchez had thus on a sudden become a rich man; but 
 riches, as usual, brought a world of cares to which he had 
 hitherto been a stranger. How was he to convey away his 
 wealth with safety ? How was he even to enter upon the en- 
 joyment of it without awakening suspicion ? Now, too, for the 
 first time in his life the dread of robbers entered into his mind. 
 He looked with terror at the insecurity of his habitation, and 
 went to work to barricade the doors and windows ; yet after all 
 his precautions he could not sleep soundly. His usual gayety 
 was at an end; he had no longer a joke or a song for his 
 neighbors; and, in short, became the most miserable animal in 
 the Alhambra. His old comrades remarked this alteration, 
 pitied him heartily, and began to desert him, thinking he 
 must be falling into want, and in danger of looking to them 
 for assistance. Little did they suspect that his only calamity 
 was riches. 
 
 The wife of Lope Sanchez shared his anxiety, but then she 
 had ghostly comfort. We ought, before this, to have mentioned 
 that Lope, being rather a light, inconsiderate little man, his 
 wife was accustomed, in all grave matters, to seek the counsel 
 and ministry of her confessor. Fray Simon, a sturdy, broad- 
 shouldered, blue-bearded, bullet-headed friar of the neighbor- 
 mg convent of San Francisco, who was, in fact, the spiritual 
 comforter of half the good wives of the neighborhood. He 
 was, moreover, in great esteem among divers sisterhoods of 
 nuns, who requited him for his ghostly services by frequent 
 presents of those little dainties and knick-knacks manufac- 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 189 
 
 tured in convents, such as delicate confections, sweet biscuits, 
 and bottles of spiced cordials, found to be marvellous restora- 
 tives after fasts and vigils. 
 
 Fray Simon thrived in the exercise of his functions. His 
 oil}^ skin glistened in the sunshine as he toiled up the hill of 
 the Alhambra on a sultry day. Yet notwithstanding his sleek 
 condition, the knotted rope round his waist showed the auster- 
 ity of his self-discipline; the multitude doffed their caps to 
 him as a mirror of piety, and even the dogs scented the odor 
 of sanctity that exhaled from his garments, and howled from 
 their kennels as he passed. 
 
 Such was Fray Simon, the spiritual counsellor of the 
 comely wife of Lope Sanchez; and as the father confessor is 
 the domestic confidant of women in humble life in Spain, he 
 was soon acquainted, in great secrecy, with the story of the 
 hidden treasure. 
 
 The friar opened his eyes and mouth, and crossed himself a 
 dozen times at the news. After a moment's pause, ^^ Daugh- 
 ter of my soul! " said he, " know that thy husband has com- 
 mitted a double sin — a sin against both state and church! 
 The treasure he has thus seized upon for himself, being found 
 in the royal domains, belongs, of course, to the crown; but 
 being infidel wealth, rescued as it were from the very fangs of 
 Satan, should be devoted to the Church. Still, however, the 
 matter may be accommodated. Bring hither thy myrtle 
 wreath." 
 
 When the good father beheld it, his eyes twinkled more 
 than ever with admiration of the size and beauty of the emer- 
 alds. ^'This," said he, ''being the first fruits of this dis- 
 covery, should be dedicated to pious purposes. I will hang it 
 up as a votive offering before the image of San Francisco in 
 our chapel, and will earnestly pray to him, this very night, 
 that your husband be permitted to remain in quiet possession 
 of your wealth." 
 
 The good dame was delighted to make her peace with 
 
190 LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 
 
 heaven at so cheap a rate, and the friar putting the wreath 
 under his mantle, departed with saintly steps toward his con- 
 vent. 
 
 When Lope Sanchez came home, his wife told him what 
 had passed. He was excessively provoked, for he lacked his 
 wife's devotion, and had for some time groaned in secret at 
 the domestic visitations of the friar. ''Woman," said he, 
 " what hast thou done ? Thou hast put every thing at hazard 
 hy thy tattling." 
 
 '^What!" cried the good woman, ''would you forhid my 
 disburdening my conscience to my confessor? " 
 
 " No, wife ! Confess as many of your own sins as you please ; 
 but as to this money-digging, it is a sin of my own, and my 
 conscience is very easy under the weight of it." 
 
 There was no use, however, in complaining; the secret was. 
 told, and, like water spilled on tlie sand, was not again to be 
 gathered. Their only chance was, that the friar would be 
 discreet. 
 
 The next day, while Lope Sanchez was abroad, there was a 
 humble knocking at the door, and Fray Simon entered with 
 meek and demure countenance. 
 
 "Daughter," said he, "I have earnestly prayed to San 
 Francisco, and he has heard my prayer. In the dead of the 
 night the saint appeared to me in a dream, but with a frown- 
 ing aspect. 'Why,' said he, 'dost thou pray to me to dis- 
 pense with this treasure of the Gentiles, when thou seest the 
 poverty of my chapel ? Go to the house of Lope Sanchez, 
 crave in my name a portion of the Moorish gold, to furnish 
 two candlesticks for the main altar, and let him possess the 
 residue ^ in peace.' " 
 
 When the good woman heard of this vision, she crossed 
 herself with awe, and going to the secret place where Lope 
 had hid the treasure, she filled a great leathern purse with 
 pieces of Moorish gold, and gave it to the friar. The pious 
 
 1 remainder. 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 191 
 
 monk bestowed upon her, in return, benedictions enough, if 
 paid by heaven, to enrich her race to the latest posterity; then 
 slipping the purse into the sleeve of his habit, he folded his 
 hands upon his breast, and departed with an air of humble 
 thankfulness. 
 
 When Lope Sanchez heard of this second donation to the 
 Church, he had well nigh lost his senses. "Unfortunate 
 man ! " cried he. ''' What will become of me ? I shall be robbed 
 by piecemeal; I shall be ruined and brought to beggary! " 
 
 It was with the utmost difficulty that his wife could pacify 
 him, by reminding him of the countless wealth that yet 
 remained, and how considerate it was for San Francisco to 
 rest contented with so small a portion. 
 
 Unluckily, Eray Simon had a number of poor relations to 
 be provided for, not to mention some half-dozen sturdy bullet- 
 headed orphan children and destitute foundlings that he had 
 taken under his care. He repeated his visits, therefore, from 
 day to day, with solicitations ^ on behalf of Saint Dominick, 
 Saint Andrew, Saint James, until poor Lope was driven to 
 despair, and found that unless he got out of the reach of this 
 holy friar, he should have to make peace-offerings to every 
 saint in the calendar. He determined, therefore, to pack up 
 his remaining Avealth, beat a secret retreat in the night, and 
 make off to another part of the kingdom. 
 
 Full of his project, he bought a stout mule for the purpose, 
 and tethered Mt in a gloomy vault underneath the tower of 
 the seven floors, the very place whence the Belludo, or goblin 
 horse, is said to issue forth at midnight, and scour the streets 
 of Granada, pursued by a pack of hell-hounds. Lope San- 
 chez had little faith in the story, but availed himself of the 
 dread occasioned by it, knowing that no one would be likely 
 to pry into the subterranean stable of the phantom steed. He 
 sent off his family in the course of the day, with orders to wait 
 for him at a distant village of the Vega. As the night ad- 
 
 1 earnest requests. ^ confined with a rope or chain for feeding within certain limits. 
 
192 LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 
 
 vanced, lie conveyed his treasure to the vault under the tower, 
 and having loaded his mule, he led it forth, and cautiously 
 descended the dusky avenue. 
 
 Honest Lope had taken his measures with the utmost 
 secrecy, imparting them to no one but the faithful wife of his 
 bosom. By some miraculous revelation, however, they became 
 known to Fray Simon. The zealous friar beheld these infidel 
 treasures on the point of slipping forever out of his grasp, 
 and determined to have one more dash at them for the benefit 
 of the Church and San Francisco. Accordingly, when the 
 bells had rung for animas,^ and all the Alhambra was quiet, 
 he stole out of his convent, and descending through the Gate 
 of Justice, concealed himself among the thickets of roses and 
 laurels that border the great avenue. Here he remained, 
 counting the quarters of hours as they were sounded on the 
 bell of the watch-tower, and listening to the dreary hootings 
 of owls, and the distant barking of dogs from the gypsy 
 caverns. 
 
 At length he heard the tramp of hoofs, and, through the 
 gloom of the overshadowing trees, imperfectly beheld a steed 
 descending the avenue. The sturdy friar chuckled at the idea 
 of the knowing turn he was about to serve honest Lope. 
 
 Tucking up the skirts of his habit, and wriggling like a cat 
 watching a mouse, he waited until his prey was directly 
 before him, when, darting forth from his leafy covert, and 
 putting one hand on the shoulder and the other on the 
 crupper, he made a vault that would not have disgraced the 
 most experienced master of equitation,^ and alighted well- 
 forked astride the steed. "Ah ha!" said the sturdy friar, 
 " we shall now see who best understands the game." He had 
 scarce uttered the words when the mule began to kick and 
 rear and plunge, and then set off full speed down the hill. 
 The friar attempted to check him, but in vain. He bounded 
 from rock to rock, and bush to bush; the friar's habit was 
 
 1 (ah'ni-mahz), prayers for departed souls. ^ horsemanship. 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 193 
 
 torn to ribbons, and fluttered in the wind ; his shaven poll ' 
 received many a hard knock from the branches of the trees, 
 and many a scratch from the brambles. To add to his terror 
 and distress, he found a pack of seven hounds in full cry at 
 his heels, and perceived^, too late, that he was actually mounted 
 upon the terrible Belludo. 
 
 Away then they w^ent, according to the ancient phrase, 
 *^pull devil, pull friar," down the great avenue, across the 
 Plaza Nueva, along the Zacatin, around the Yivarrambla — never 
 did huntsman and hound make a more furious run, or more 
 infernal uproar. In vain did the friar invoke every saint in 
 the calendar, and the holy Virgin into the bargain; every time 
 he mentioned a name of the kind it was like a fresh applica- 
 tion of the spur, and made the Belludo bound as high as a 
 house. Through the remainder of the night was the unlucky 
 Fray Simon carried hither and thither, and whither he w^ould 
 not, until every bone in his body ached, and he suffered a loss 
 of leather too grievous to be mentioned. At length the crow- 
 ing of a cock gave the signal of returning day. At the sound 
 the goblin steed -svheeled about, and galloped back for his 
 tower. Again he scoured the Vivarrambla, the Zacatin, the 
 Plaza Xueva, and the avenue of fountains, the seven dogs yell- 
 ing and barking and leaping up, and snapping at the heels 
 of the terrified friar. The first streak of day had just 
 appeared as they reached the tower; here the goblin steed 
 kicked up his heels, sent the friar a somerset through the air, 
 plunged into the dark vault, followed by the infernal pack, 
 and a profound silence succeeded to the late deafening clamor. 
 
 Was ever so diabolical a trick played off upon a holy friar ? 
 A peasant going to his labors at early dawm found the unfor- 
 tunate Fray Simon lying under a fig-tree at the foot of the 
 tower, but so bruised and bedevilled that he could neither 
 speak nor move. He Avas conveyed with all care and ten- 
 derness to his cell, and the story went that he had been waylaid 
 
 1 head. 
 13 
 
194 LEGEND OF TWO DISCREET STATUES. 
 
 and maltreated by robbers. A day or two elapsed before he 
 recovered the use of his limbs; he consoled himself, in the 
 meantime, with the thoughts that though the mule with the 
 treasure had escaped him, he had previously had some rare 
 pickings at the infidel spoils. His first care, on being able to 
 use his limbs, was to search beneath his pallet, where he had 
 secreted the myrtle wreath and the leathern pouches of gold 
 extracted from the piety of dame Sanchez. What was his 
 dismay at finding the wreath, in effect, but a withered branch 
 of myrtle, and the leathern pouches filled with sand and 
 gravel ! 
 
 Fray Simon, with all his chagrin, had the discretion to hold 
 his tongue; for to betray the secret might draw on him the 
 ridicule of the public, and the punishment of his superior. It 
 was not until many years afterwards, on his death-bed, that he 
 revealed to his confessor his nocturnal ride on the Belludo. 
 
 Nothing was heard of Lope Sanchez for a long time after 
 his disappearance from the Alhambra. His memory was 
 always cherished as that of a merry companion, though it was 
 feared, from the care and melancholy observed in his conduct 
 shortly before his mysterious departure, that poverty and dis- 
 tress had driven him to some extremity. Some years after- 
 wards, one of his old companions, an invalid soldier, being 
 at Malaga, was knocked down and nearly run over by a coach 
 and six. The carriage stopped; an old gentleman magnifi- 
 cently dressed, with a bag-wig and sword, stepped out to assist 
 the poor invalid. AVhat was the astonishment of the latter to 
 behold in this grand cavalier his old friend Lope Sanchez, who 
 was actually celebrating the marriage of his daughter Sanchica 
 with one of the first grandees ^ in the land. 
 
 The carriage contained the bridal party. There was dame 
 Sanchez, now grown as round as a barrel, and dressed out with 
 feathers and jewels, and necklaces of pearls, and necklaces of 
 diamonds, and rings on every finger — altogether a finery of 
 
 1 noblemen of high rank. 
 
LEGEND OF TWO DISCKEET STATUES. 195 
 
 apparel that had not been seen since the days of Queen Sheba. 
 The little Sanchica had now grown to be a woman, and for 
 grace and beauty might have been mistaken for a duchess, if 
 not a princess outright. The bridegroom sat beside her — ■ 
 rather a withered, spindle-shanked little man, but this only 
 proved him to be of the true-blue blood ; a legitimate Spanish 
 grandee being rarely above three cubits ^ in stature. The 
 match had been of the mother's making. 
 
 Riches had not spoiled the heart of honest Lope. He kept 
 his old comrade with him for several days, feasted him like a 
 king, took him to plays and bull-fights, and at length sent 
 him away rejoicing, with a big bag of money for himself, and 
 another to be distributed among his ancient messmates of the 
 Alhambra. 
 
 Lope always gave out that a rich brother had died in Amer- 
 ica and left him heir to a copper mine; but the shrewd gossips 
 of the Alhambra insist that his wealth was all derived from 
 his having discovered the secret guarded by the two marble 
 nymphs of the Alhambra. It is remarked that these very 
 discreet statues continue, even unto the present day, with their 
 eyes fixed most significantly on the same part of the wall; 
 which leads many to suppose there is still some hidden treas- 
 ure remaining there, well worthy the attention of the enter- 
 prising traveller; though others, and particularly all female 
 visitors, regard them with great complacency ^ as lasting 
 monuments of the fact that women can keep a secret. 
 
 i four and a half feet. 3 satisfaction. 
 
THE CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF 
 ALCANTARA. 
 
 In the course of a morning's research among the old chroni- 
 cles in the Library of the University, I came upon a little 
 episode in the history of Granada, so strongly characteristic of 
 the bigot zeal which sometimes inflamed the Christian enter- 
 prises against this splendid but devoted city, that I was 
 tempted to draw it forth from the j^archment-bound volume 
 in which it lay entombed, and submit it to the reader. 
 
 In the year of redemption, 1394, there was a valiant and 
 devout grand master of Alcantara,^ named Martin Yanez de 
 Barbudo, who was inflamed with a vehement desire to serve 
 God and fight the Moors. Unfortunately for this brave and 
 pious cavalier, a profound peace existed between the Christian 
 and Moslem powers. Henry III.^ had just ascended the 
 throne of Castile, and Yusef ben Mohammed had succeeded to 
 the throne of Granada, and both were disposed to continue 
 the peace which had prevailed between their fathers. The 
 grand master looked with repining at Moorish banners and 
 weapons which decorated his castle hall, trophies of the 
 exploits of his predecessors, and repined at his fate to exist in 
 a period of such inglorious tranquillity. 
 
 At length his impatience broke through all bounds, and 
 seeing that he could find no public war in which to engage, he 
 resolved to carve out a little war for himself. Such, at least, is 
 the account given by some ancient chronicles, though others 
 give the following as the motive for this sudden resolution to 
 go campaigning. 
 
 As the grand master was one day seated at table with several 
 of his cavaliers, a man suddenly entered the hall — tall, mea- 
 
 1 to^^^l on the Tagus, near the border of Portugal. 2 surnamed " the sickly," 1390-1406. 
 
CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF ALCANTARA. 197 
 
 gre, and bony, with haggard countenance and fiery eye. All 
 recognized him for a hermit, who had been a soldier in his 
 youth, but now led a life of penitence in a cave. He 
 advanced to the table, and struck upon it with a fist that 
 seemed of iron. "Cavaliers," said he, ''why sit ye here 
 idly, with your weapons resting against the wall, while the 
 enemies of the faith lord it over the fairest portion of the 
 land?" 
 
 "Holy father, what wouldst thou have us do," asked the 
 grand master, " seeing the wars are over, and our swords bound 
 up by treaties of peace ? ' ' 
 
 "Listen to my words," replied the hermit. "As I was 
 seated late at night at the entrance of my cave, contemplating 
 the heavens, I fell into a reverie, and a wonderful . vision was 
 presented to me. I beheld the moon, a mere crescent, yet 
 luminous as the brightest silver, and it hung in the heavens 
 over the kingdom of Granada. While I was looking at it, 
 behold, there shot forth from the firmament a blazing star, 
 which, as it w^ent, drew after it all the stars of heaven; and 
 they assailed the moon and drove it from the skies; and the 
 whole firmament was filled Avith the glory of that blazing star. 
 While mine eyes were yet dazzled by this wondrous sight, some 
 one stood by me, with snowy wings and a shining countenance. 
 * man of prayer,' said he, ' get thee to the grand master of 
 Alcantara, and tell him of the vision thou hast beheld. He is 
 the blazing star, destined to drive the crescent, the Moslem 
 emblem, from the land. Let him boldly draw the sword and 
 continue the good work begun by Pelazo of old, and victory 
 will assuredly attend his banner." 
 
 The grand master listened to the hermit as to a messenger 
 from heaven, and followed his counsel in all things. By his 
 advice he despatched two of his stoutest warriors, armed cap-a- 
 pie,' on an embassy to the Moorish king. They entered the 
 gates of Granada without molestation, as the nations were 
 
 1 (kap-ah-pee'), from head to foot. 
 
198 CEUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF ALCANTARA; 
 
 at peace, and made their way to the Alhambra, where they 
 were promptly admitted to the king, who received them in 
 the Hall of Ambassadors. They delivered their message 
 roundly and hardily. "We come, king, from. Don Mar- 
 tin Yanez de Barbudo, grand master of Alcantara, who 
 affirms the faith of Jesus Christ to be true and holy, and that 
 of Mohammed false and detestable; and he challenges thee 
 to maintain the contrary, hand to hand, in single combat. 
 Shouldst thou refuse, he offers to combat with one hundred 
 cavaliers against two hundred; or, in like proportion, to the 
 number of one thousand, always allowing thy faith a double 
 number of champions. Remember, king, that thou canst 
 not refuse this challenge; since thy prophet, knowing the 
 impossibility of maintaining his doctrines by argument, has 
 commanded his followers to enforce them with the sword." 
 
 The beard of King Yusef trembled with indignation. '* The 
 master of Alcantara," said he, " is a madman to send such a 
 message, and ye are saucy knaves to bring it." 
 
 So saying, he ordered the ambassadors to be thrown into a 
 dungeon, by way of giving them a lesson in diplomacy; ^ and 
 they were roughly treated on their way thither by the popu- 
 lace, who were exasperated^ at this insult to their sovereign 
 and their faith. 
 
 The grand master of Alcantara could scarcely credit the 
 tidings of the maltreatment of his messengers; but the hermit 
 rejoiced when they were repeated to him. "God," said he, 
 "has blinded this infidel king for his downfall. Since he has 
 sent no reply to thy defiance, consider it accepted. Marshal 
 thy forces, therefore; march forward to Granada; pause not 
 till thou seest the Gate of Elvira. A miracle will be wrought 
 in thy favor. There will be a great battle; the enemy will be 
 overthrown; but not one of thy soldiers will be slain." 
 
 The grand master called upon every warrior zealous in the 
 Christian cause to aid him in this crusade. In a little Avhile 
 
 1 manner of conducting negotiations. 2 enraged. 
 
CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF ALCANTARA. 199 
 
 three hundred horsemen and a thousand foot-soldiers rallied 
 under his standard. The horsemen were veterans, seasoned 
 to battle, and well armed; but the infantry were raw and 
 undisciplined. The victory, however, was to be miraculous. 
 The grand master was a man of surpassing faith, and knew 
 that the weaker tlie means the greater the miracle. He sallied 
 forth confidently, therefore, with his little army, and the her- 
 mit strode ahead, bearing a cross on the end of a long pole, 
 and beneath it the pennon of the Order of Alcantara. 
 
 As they approached the city of Cordova they were overtaken 
 by messengers, spurring in all haste, bearing missives from the 
 Castilian monarch, forbidding the enterprise. The grand 
 master was a man of single mind and a single will; in other 
 words, a man of one idea. ^' Were I on any other errand," 
 said he, " I should obey these letters as coming from my lord 
 the king; but I am sent by a higher power than the king. In 
 compliance with its commands I have advanced the cross thus 
 far against the infidels, and it would be treason to the stand- 
 ard of Christ to turn back without achieving my errand." 
 
 So the trumpets were sounded, the cross was again reared 
 aloft, and the band of zealots resumed their march. As they 
 passed through the streets of Cordova the people were amazed 
 at beholding a hermit bearing a cross at the head of a warlike 
 multitude; but when they learnt that a miraculous victory was 
 to be effected, and Granada destroyed, laborers and artisans 
 threw by the implements of their handicrafts, and joined in the 
 crusade, while a mercenary rabble followed on with a view of 
 plunder. 
 
 A number of cavaliers of rank, who lacked faith in the 
 promised miracle, and dreaded the consequences of this 
 unprovoked irruption into the country of the Moor, assembled 
 at the bridge of the G-uadalquivir, and endeavored to dissuade 
 the grand master from crossing. He was deaf to prayers, 
 expostulations,' or menaces; "^ his followers were enraged at 
 
 1 earnest protests. a threats. 
 
200 CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF ALCANTARA. 
 
 tliis opposition to the cause of the faith ; they put an end to 
 the parley by their clamors; the cross was again reared^ and 
 borne triumphantly across the bridge. 
 
 The multitude increased as it proceeded. By the time the 
 grand master had reached Alcala la Real, which stands on a 
 mountain overlooking the Vega of Grranada, u]3wards of five 
 thousand men on foot had joined his standard. 
 
 x\t Alcala came forth Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, Lord 
 of Aguilar, his brother Diego Fernandez, Marshal of Castile, 
 and other cavaliers of valor and experience. Placing themselves 
 in the way of the grand master, " What madness is this, Don 
 Martin?" said they. "The Moorish king has two hundred 
 thousand foot-soldiers and five thousand horse within his wall. 
 What can you and your handful of cavaliers and your noisy 
 rabble do against such force ? Bethink you of the disasters 
 which have befallen other Christian commanders who have 
 crossed these rocky borders with ten times your force. Think, 
 too, of the mischief that will be brought upon this kingdom 
 by an outrage of the kind committed by a man of your rank 
 and importance, a grand master of Alcantara. Pause, we 
 entreat you, while the truce is yet unbroken. Await within 
 the borders the reply of the king of Granada to your chal- 
 lenge. If he agree to meet you singly, or Avith champions two 
 or three, it will be your individual contest, and fight it out in 
 God's name; if he refuse, you may return home with, great 
 honor, and the disgrace will fall upon the Moors." 
 
 Several cavaliers, who had hitherto followed the grand 
 master with devoted zeal, were moved by these expostulations, 
 and suggested to him the policy of listening to this advice. 
 
 "Cavaliers," said he, addressing himself to Alonzo Fer- 
 nandez de Cordova and his companions, " I thank you for the 
 counsel you have so kindly bestowed upon me, and if I were 
 merely in pursuit of individual glory I might be swayed by it. 
 But I am engaged to achieve a great triumph of the faith, 
 which God is to effect by miracle through my means. As to 
 
CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF ALCANTARA. 201 
 
 3^011, cavaliers," turning to those of his followers who had 
 wavered, ''if your hearts fail you, or you repent of having 
 put your hands to this good work, return, in God's name, and 
 my blessing go with you. For myself, tliough I have none to 
 stand by me but this holy hermit, yet will I assuredly proceed 
 until I have planted this sacred standard on the walls of Gra- 
 nada, or perished in the attempt." 
 
 "Don Martin Yafiez de Barbudo," replied the cavaliers, 
 " we are not men to turn our backs upon our commander, 
 however rash his enterprise. We spoke but in caution. Lead 
 on, therefore, and if it be to the death, be assured to the 
 death we will follow thee." 
 
 By this time the common soldiers became impatient. " For- 
 ward! forward!" shouted they. ''Forward in the cause of 
 faith." So the grand master gave signal, the hermit again 
 reared the cross aloft, and they poured down a defile of the 
 mountain, with solemn chants of triumph. 
 
 That night they encamped at the river of Azores, and the 
 next morning, which was Sunda}^, crossed the borders. Their 
 first pause was at an atalaya, or solitary tower, built upon a 
 rock; a frontier post to keep a watch upon the border, and 
 give notice of invasion. It was thence called el Torre del 
 Exea (the Tower of the Spy). The grand master halted before 
 it and summoned its petty garrison to surrender. He was 
 answered by a shower of stones and arrows, which wounded 
 him in the hand and killed three of his men. 
 
 "How is this, father ? " said he to the hermit. " You assured 
 me that not one of my followers would be slain." 
 
 "True, my son; but I meant in the great battle of the 
 infidel king. What need is there of miracle to aid in the cap- 
 ture of a petty tower ? " 
 
 The grand master was satisfied. He ordered wood to be 
 piled against the door of the tower to burn it down. In the 
 meantime provisions were unloaded from the sumpter-mules,' 
 
 ' mules used for can-ying burdens. 
 
202 CEUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF ALCANTARA. 
 
 and the crusaders, withdrawing beyond bow-shot, sat down 
 on the grass to a repast to strengthen them for the arduous 
 day's work before them. While thus engaged, they were 
 startled by sudden appearance of a great Moorish host. The 
 atalayas had the given the alarm, by fire and smoke, from 
 the mountain tops, of "an enemy across the border," and the 
 king of Granada had sallied forth with a great force to the 
 encounter. 
 
 The crusaders, nearly taken by surprise, flew to arms, and 
 prepared for battle. The grand master ordered his three hun- 
 dred horsemen to dismount, and fight on foot in support of the 
 infantry. The Moors, however, charged so suddenly that 
 they separated the cavaliers from the foot-soldiers, and pre- 
 vented their uniting. The grand master gave the old war cry : 
 ' ' Santiago ! Santiago ! and close Spain ! ' ' He and his knights 
 breasted the fury of the battle, but were surrounded by a 
 countless host, and assailed with arrows, stones, darts, and 
 arquebuses.^ Still they fought fearlessly, and made prodi- 
 gious slaughter. The hermit mingled in the hottest of the 
 fight. In one hand he bore the cross, in the other he bran- 
 dished a sword, with which he dealt about him like a maniac, 
 slaying several of the enemy, until he sank to the ground 
 covered with wounds. The grand master saw him fall, and 
 saw too late the fallacy of his prophecies. Despair, however, 
 only made him fight the more fiercely, until he also fell, over- 
 powered by numbers. His devoted cavaliers emulated ^ his 
 holy zeal. Not one turned his back nor asked for mercy; all 
 fought until they fell. As to the foot-soldiers, many were 
 killed, many taken prisoners; the residue escaped to Alcala la 
 Eeal. When the Moors came to strip the slain, the wounds 
 of the cavaliers w^ere all found to be in front. 
 
 Such was the catastrophe ^ of this fanatic enterprise. The 
 Moors vaunted it as a decisive proof of the superior sanctity of 
 
 ' sort of hand-guns, like a musket. 3 a disastroue event. 
 
 2 strove to equal or excel. 
 
CRUSADE OF THE GRAND MASTER OF ALCANTARA. 203 
 
 their faith, and extolled their king to the skies when he 
 returned in triumph to Granada. 
 
 As it was satisfactorily shown that this crusade was the enter- 
 prise of an individual, and contrary to the express orders of 
 the king of Castile, the peace of the two kingdoms was not 
 interrupted. Nay, the Moors evinced a feeling of respect for 
 the valor of the unfortunate grand master, and readily gave 
 up his body to Don Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, who came 
 from Alcala to seek it. The Christians of the frontier united 
 in paying the last sad honors to his memory. His body was 
 placed upon a bier, covered with the pennon of the order of 
 Alcantara; and the broken cross, the emblem of his confident 
 hopes and fatal disappointment, was borne before it. In this 
 way his remains were carried back in funeral procession, 
 through the mountain track which he had traversed so reso- 
 lutely. Wherever it passed, through a town or village, the 
 populace followed, with tears and lamentations, bewailing him 
 as a valiant knight and a martyr to the faith. His body was 
 interred in the chapel of the convent of Santa Maria de Almo- 
 covara, and on his sepulchre may still be seen engraven in 
 quaint and antique Spanish the following testimonial to his 
 bravery : 
 
LEGEND OF DON MUKIO SANOHO DE HINOJOSA. 
 
 Ii^ the cloisters of the ancient Benedictine convent of San 
 Domingo, at Silos, in Castile, are the mouldering yet mag- 
 nificent monuments of the once powerful and chivalrous fam- 
 ily of Hinojosa. Among these reclines the marble figure of a 
 knight, in complete armor, with the hands pressed together, 
 as if in prayer. On one side of his tomb is sculptured in 
 relief a band of Christian cavaliers, capturing a cavalcade of 
 male and female Moors ; on the other side, the same cavaliers 
 are represented kneeling before an altar. The tomb, like 
 most of the neighboring monuments, is almost in ruins, and the 
 sculpture is nearly unintelligible, excepting to the keen eye of 
 the antiquary.^ The story connected with the sepulchre, how- 
 ever, is still preserved in the old Spanish chronicles, and is to 
 the following purport: 
 
 In old times, several hundred years ago, there was a noble 
 Castilian cavalier, named Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa, 
 lord of a border castle, which had stood the brunt of many a 
 Moorish foray. He had seventy horsemen as his household 
 troops, all of the ancient Castilian proof — stark ^ warriors, 
 hard riders, and men of iron; with these he scoured the Moor- 
 ish lands, and made his name terrible throughout the borders. 
 His castle hall was covered with banners, cimeters, and Mos- 
 lem helms, the trophies of his prowess. Don Munio was, 
 moreover, a keen huntsman, and rejoiced in hounds of all 
 kinds, steeds for the chase, and hawks for the towering sport 
 of falconry. When not engaged in warfare, his delight was to 
 beat up the neighboring forests; and scarcely ever did he ride 
 
 1 lover and student of ancient things. i strong ; rugged. 
 
LEGEND OF DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HINOJOSA. 205 
 
 forth without hound and horn, a boar-spear in his hand, or 
 a hawk upon his fist, and an attendant train of huntsmen. 
 
 His wife, Dona Maria Palacin, was of a gentle and timid 
 nature, little fitted to be the spouse of so hardy and adventur- 
 ous a knight; and many a tear did the poor lady shed when 
 he sallied forth upon his daring enterprises, and many a 
 prayer did she offer up for his safety. 
 
 As this doughty cavalier was one day hunting, he stationed 
 himself in a thicket, on the borders of a green glade of the 
 forest, and dispersed his followers to rouse the game and 
 drive it toAvard his stand. He had not been here long, when 
 a cavalcade of Moors, of both sexes, came prankling ' over 
 the forest lawn. They were unarmed, and magnificently 
 dressed in robes of tissue and embroidery, rich shawls of 
 India, bracelets and anklets of gold, and jewels that sparkled 
 in the sun. 
 
 At the head of this gay cavalcade rode a youthful cavalier, 
 superior to the rest in dignity and loftiness of demeanor, and 
 in splendor of attire; beside him was a damsel whose veil, 
 blown aside by the breeze, displayed a face of surpassing 
 beauty, and eyes cast down in maiden modesty, yet beaming 
 with tenderness and joy. 
 
 Don Munio thanked his stars for sending him such a prize, 
 and exulted at the thought of bearing home to his wife the 
 glittering spoils of these infidels. Putting his hunting horn 
 to his lips, he gave a blast that rung through the forest. His 
 huntsmen came running from all quarters, and the astonished 
 Moors were surrounded and made captives. 
 
 The beautiful Moor wrung her hands in despair, and her 
 female attendants uttered the most piercing cries. The young 
 Moorish cavalier alone retained self-possession. He inquired 
 the name of the Christian knight who commanded this troop 
 of horsemen. When told that it was Don Munio Sancho de 
 Hinojosa, his countenance lighted up. Approaching that 
 
 ' pnincing. 
 
206 LEGEND OF DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HINOJOSA. 
 
 cavalier, and kissing his hand, " Don Munio Sancho," said he, 
 "I have heard of your fame as a true and valiant knight, 
 terrible in arms, but schooled in the noble virtues of chivalry. 
 Such do I trust to find you. In me you behold Abadil, son of 
 a Moorish alcayde. I am on tiie Avay to celebrate my nuptials 
 with this lady. Chance has thrown us in your power, but I 
 confide in your magnanimity. Take all our treasure and 
 jewels ; demand what ransom you think proper for our persons, 
 but suffer us not to be insulted nor dishonored." 
 
 When the good knight heard this appeal, and beheld the 
 beauty of the youthful pair, his heart was touched with ten- 
 derness and courtesy. " God forbid," said he, " that I should 
 disturb such happy nuptials. My prisoners, in troth, shall ye 
 be for fifteen days, and immured within my castle, where I 
 claim, as conqueror, the right of celebrating your espousals." 
 
 So saying, he despatched one of his fleetest horsemen in 
 advance, to notify Dona Maria Palacin of the coming of this 
 bridal party; while he and his huntsmen escorted the caval- 
 cade, not as captors, but as a guard of honor. As they drew 
 near to the castle, the banners were hung out, and the trum- 
 pets sounded from the battlements; and on their nearer 
 approach, the drawbridge Avas lowered, and Dona Maria came 
 forth to meet them, attended by her ladies and knights, her 
 pages and her minstrels. She took the young bride, Allifra, 
 in her arms, kissed her with the tenderness of a sister, and 
 conducted her into the castle. In the mean time, Don Munio 
 sent forth missives in every direction, and had viands and 
 dainties of all kinds collected from the country round; and 
 the wedding of the Moorish lovers was celebrated with all 
 possible state and festivity. For fifteen days the castle was 
 given up to joy and revelry. There were tiltings and jousts 
 at the ring, and bull-fights and banquets and dances to the 
 sound of minstrelsy. When the fifteen days were at an end, 
 he made the bride and bridegroom magnificent presents, and 
 conducted them and their attendants safely beyond the bor- 
 
LEGEND OF DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HINOJOSA. 207 
 
 ders. Such, in old times, were the courtesy aud generosity of 
 a Spanish cavalier. 
 
 Several years after this event, the king of Castile summoned 
 his nobles to assist him in a campaign against the Moors. Don 
 Munio Sancho was among the first to answer to tlie call, with 
 seventy horsemen, all stanch and well-tried warriors. His 
 wife. Dona Maria, hung about his neck. ''Alas! my lord!" 
 exclaimed she, "how often wilt thou tempt thy fate, and 
 when will thy thirst for glory be appeased ? " 
 
 '•' One battle more," replied Don Munio, "one battle more 
 for the honor of Castile; and I here make a vow, that when 
 this is over, I will lay by my sword, and repair with my cavaliers 
 in pilgrimage to the sepulchre of our Lord at Jerusalem." 
 The cavaliers all joined with him in the vow, and Dona 
 Maria felt in some degree soothed in spirit; still, she saw with 
 a heavy heart the departure of her husband, and watched his 
 banner with wistful eyes, until it disappeared among the trees 
 in the forest. 
 
 The king of Castile led his army to the Plain of Alma- 
 nara, where they encountered the Moorish host, near to Ucles. ' 
 The battle was long and bloody; the Christians repeatedly 
 wavered, and were as often rallied by the energy of their com- 
 manders. Don Munio was covered with wounds, but refused 
 to leave the field. The Christians at length gave way, and 
 the king was hardly pressed, and in danger of being captured. 
 
 Don Munio called upon his cavaliers to follow him to the 
 rescue. " JS'ow is the time," cried he, " to prove your loyalty. 
 Fall to, like brave men! We fight for the true faith, and if 
 we lose our lives here, we gain a better life hereafter." 
 
 Eushing with his men between the king and his pursuers, 
 they checked the latter in their career, and gave time for their 
 monarch to escape; but they fell victims to their loyalty. 
 They all fought to the last gasp. Don Munio was singled out 
 by a powerful Moorish knight, but having been wounded in 
 
 » town about fifty miles southeast of Madrid. 
 
208 LEGEND OF DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HINOJOSA. 
 
 the right arm, he fought to disadvantage, and was slain. The 
 battle being over, the Moor paused to possess himself of the 
 spoils of this redoubtable Christian warrior. When he unlaced 
 the helmet, however, and beheld the countenance of Don 
 Munio, he gave a great cry, and smote his breast. "Woe is 
 me! " cried he, " I have slain my benefactor! The flower of 
 knightly virtue! The most magnanimous^ of cavaliers! " 
 
 While the battle had been raging on the Plain of Almanara, 
 Dona Maria Palacin remained in her castle, a prey to the keenest 
 anxiety. Her eyes were ever fixed on the road that led from 
 the country of the Moors, and often she asked the watchman 
 of the tower, " What seest thou ? " 
 
 One evening, at the shadowy hour of twilight, the warden 
 sounded his horn. "I see," cried he, "a numerous train 
 winding up the valley. There are mingled Moors and Chris- 
 tians. The banner of my lord is in the advance. Joyful tid- 
 ings!" exclaimed the old seneschal.'^ "My lord returns in 
 triumph, and brings captives! " Then the castle courts rang 
 with shouts of joy, and the standard was displayed, and the 
 trumpets were sounded, and the drawbridge was lowered, and 
 Dona Maria went forth with her ladies and her knights and 
 her pages and her minstrels, to welcome her lord from the 
 wars. But as the train drew nigh, she beheld a sumptuous 
 bier, covered with black velvet, and on it lay a warrior, as if 
 taking his repose. He lay in his armor, with his helmet on his 
 head, and his sword in his hand, as one who had never been 
 conquered ; and around the bier were the escutcheons of the 
 house of Hinojosa. 
 
 A number of Moorish cavaliers attended the bier, with 
 emblems of mourning, and with dejected countenances; and 
 their leader cast himself at the feet of Dona Maria, and hid 
 his face in his hands. She beheld in him the gallant Abadil, 
 whom she had once welcomed with his bride to her castle; but 
 
 1 great or high minded. 2 steward who had charge of the house. 
 
LEGEND OF DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HINOJOSA. 209 
 
 who DOW came with the body of her lord, whom he had 
 unknowingly slain in battle. 
 
 The sepulchre erected in the cloisters of the convent of San 
 Domingo was achieved at the expense of the Moor Abadil, 
 as a feeble testimony of his grief for the death of the good 
 knight Don Munio, and his reverence for his memory. The 
 tender and faithful Doiia Maria soon followed her lord to the 
 tomb. On one of the stones of a small arch, beside his sep- 
 ulchre, is the following simple inscription: "Here lies Maria 
 Palacin, wife of Munio Sancho de Hinojosa." 
 
 The legend of Don Munio Sancho does not conclude with his 
 death. On the same day on which the battle took place on the 
 Plain of Almanara, a chaplain of the Holy Temple at Jerusa- 
 lem, while standing at the outer gate, beheld a train of Chris- 
 tian cavaliers advancing, as if in pilgrimage. The chaplain 
 was a native of Spain, and, as the pilgrims approached, he 
 knew the foremost to be Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa, with 
 whom he had been well acquainted in former times. Hasten- 
 ing to the patriarch,^ he told him of the honorable rank of 
 the pilgrims at the gate. The patriarch, therefore, went forth 
 with a grand procession of priests and monks, and received 
 the pilgrims with all due honor. There were seventy cava- 
 liers, beside their leader, all stark and lofty warriors. They 
 carried their helmets in their hands, and their faces were 
 deadly pale. They greeted no one, nor looked either to the 
 right or to the left, but entered the chapel, and, kneeling 
 before the sepulchre of our Saviour, performed their orisons 
 in silence. When they had concluded, they rose as if to 
 depart, and the patriarch and his attendants advanced to speak 
 to them, but they Avere no more to be seen. Every one marvelled 
 what could be the meaning of this prodigy.^ The patriarch 
 carefully noted down the day, and sent to Castile to learn tid- 
 ings of Don Munio Sancho de Hinojosa. He received for 
 reply, that on the very day specified, that worthy knight, with 
 
 1 high ecclesiastical diguitary. 2 marvel ; extraordinary occurrence. 
 
 14 
 
210 LEGEND OF DON MUNIO SANCHO DE HINOJOSA. 
 
 seventy of his followers, had been slain in battle. These, 
 therefore, must have been the blessed spirits of those Chris- 
 tian warriors, come to fulfil their vow of pilgrimage to the 
 Holy Sepulchre ' at Jerusalem. Such was Oastilian faith in 
 the olden time, which kept its word, even beyond the grave. 
 
 1 the burial place of the Saviour. 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 
 
 Everybody has heard of the Cave of St. Cyprian at Sala- 
 manca/ where in old times judicial astronomy, necromancy/ 
 chiromancy/ and other dark and damnable arts were secretly 
 taught by an ancient sacristan; ^ or, as some will have it, by 
 the devil himself, in that disguise. The cave has long been 
 shut up and the very site of it forgotten; though, according 
 to tradition, the entrance was somewhere about where the 
 stone cross stands in the small square of the seminary of Car- 
 vajal ; and this tradition appears in some degree corroborated ^ 
 by the circumstances of the following story. 
 
 There was at one time a student of Salamanca, Don Vicente 
 by name, of that merry but mendicant ^ class who set out on 
 the road to learning without a penny in pouch for the journey, 
 and who, during college vacations, beg from town to town, and 
 village to village, to raise funds to enable them to pursue 
 their studies through the ensuing term. He was now about 
 to set forth on his wanderings, and, being somewhat musical, 
 slung on his back a guitar with which to amuse the villagers, 
 and pay for a meal or a night's lodgings. 
 
 As he passed by the stone cross in the seminary square, he 
 pulled off his hat, and made a short invocation ' to St. 
 Cyprian, for good luck; when, casting his eyes upon the earth, 
 he perceived something glitter at the foot of the cross. On 
 picking it up, it proved to be a seal ring of mixed metal, in 
 which gold and silver appeared to be blended. The seal bore 
 
 * a seat of learning, the Oxford of Spain ; * sexton, 
 
 northwest from Madrid, in province of Leon. ^ confirmed ; strengthened. 
 
 a art of magic. ^ begging. 
 
 3 palmistry ; art of telling fortunes by in- '' prayer, 
 gpecting the lines of the hand. 
 
212 THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 
 
 as a device two triangles crossing each other, so as to form a 
 star. This device is said to be a cabalistic sign, invented by 
 King Solomon the wise, and of mighty power in all cases of 
 enchantment; but the honest student, being neither sage nor 
 conjurer, knew nothing of the matter. He took the ring as a 
 present from St. Cyprian in reward of his prayer, slipped it 
 on his finger, made a bow to the cross, and strumming his 
 guitar, set off merrily on his wandering. 
 
 The life of a mendicant student in Spain is not the most 
 miserable in the world, especially if he has any talent at mak- 
 ing himself agreeable. He rambles at large from village to 
 village, and city to city, wherever curiosity or caprice may con- 
 duct him. The country curates, who, for the most part, have 
 been mendicant students in their time, give him shelter for 
 the night, and a comfortable meal, and often enrich him with 
 several quartos or half -pence in the morning. As he presents 
 himself from door to door in the streets of the cities, he meets 
 with no harsh rebuff, no chilling contempt, for there is no 
 disgrace attending his mendicity. ^ Many of the most learned 
 men in Spain having commenced their career in this manner; 
 but if, like the student in question, he is a good-looking varlet 
 and a merry companion, and, above all, if he can play the 
 guitar, he is sure of a hearty welcome among the peasants, and 
 smiles and favors from their wives and daughters. 
 
 In this way, then, did our ragged and musical son of learn- 
 ing make his way over half the kingdom, with the fixed deter- 
 mination to visit the famous city of Granada before his return. 
 Sometimes he was gathered for the night into the fold of some 
 village pastor; sometimes he was sheltered -under the humble 
 but hospitable roof of the peasant. Seated at the cottage door 
 with his guitar, he delighted the simple folk with his ditties; 
 or striking up a fandango'^ or bolero, set the brown country 
 lads and lasses dancing in the mellow twilight. In the morn- 
 ing he departed with kind words from host and hostess, and 
 
 » life as a beggar. * kind of dance. 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 213 
 
 kind looks and, peradventure, a squeeze of the hand from the 
 daughter. 
 
 At length he arrived at the great object of his musical vaga- 
 bondizing, the far-famed city of Granada, and hailed with 
 wonder and delight its Moorish towers, its lovely Vega, and its 
 snowy mountains glistering through a summer atmosphere. 
 It is needless to say with what eager curiosity he entered its 
 gates and wandered through its streets, and gazed upon its 
 Oriental monuments. Every female face peering through a 
 window or beaming from a balcony was to him a Zorayda or a 
 Zelinda, nor could he meet a stately dame on the Alameda,^ 
 but he was ready to fancy her a Moorish princess, and to 
 spread his student's robe beneath her feet. 
 
 His musical talent, his happy humor, his youth, and his 
 good looks, won him a universal welcome in spite of his ragged 
 robes, and for several days he led a gay life in the old Moorish 
 capital and its environs. One of his occasional haunts was the 
 fountain of Avellanos, in the valley of the Darro. It is one 
 of the popular resorts of Oranada, and has been so since the 
 days of the Moors; and here the student had an opportunity 
 of pursuing his studies of female beauty, a branch of study 
 to which he was a little prone. 
 
 Here he would take his seat with his guitar, improvise love- 
 ditties to admiring groups, or prompt with his music the ever 
 ready dance. He was thus engaged one evening, when he 
 beheld a padre ' of the Church advancing, at whose approach 
 every one touched the hat. He was evidently a man of con- 
 sequence; he certainly was a mirror of good, if not of holy, 
 living; robust and rosy-faced, and breathing at every pore, 
 with the warmth of the weather and the exercise of the walk. 
 As he passed along he would every now and then draw a mar- 
 avedi out of his pocket, and bestow it on a beggar, with an air 
 of signal beneficence. "Ah, the blessed father!" would be 
 the cry. " Long life to him, and may he soon be a bishop! " 
 
 1 a shaded public walk. 2 father ; priest. 
 
214 THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 
 
 To aid his steps in ascending the hill, he leaned gently now 
 and then on the arm of a handmaid, evidently the pet lamb 
 of this kindest of pastors. Ah, such a damsel ! Andalus from 
 head to foot — from the rose in her hair, to the fairy shoe and 
 lace-work stocking; Andalus in every movement; in every 
 undulation ^ of the body — ripe, melting Andalus! But then 
 so modest ! — so shy ! — ever, with downcast eyes, listening to 
 the words of the padre ; or if by chance she let flash a side- 
 glance, it was suddenly checked and her eyes once more cast to 
 the ground. 
 
 The good padre looked benignantly on the company about 
 the fountain, and took his seat with some emphasis on a stone 
 bench, while the handmaid hastened to bring him a glass of 
 sparkling water. He sipped it deliberately, and with relish, 
 tempering it with one of those spongy pieces of frosted eggs 
 and sugar so dear to Spanish epicures,^ and on returning the 
 glass to the hand of the damsel pinched her cheek with infi- 
 nite loving-kindness. 
 
 "Ah, the good pastor! " whispered the student to himself. 
 " What a happiness would it be to be gathered into his fold 
 with such a pet lamb for a companion ! ' ' 
 
 But no such good fare was likely to befall him. In vain he 
 essayed those powers of pleasing which he had found so irre- 
 sistible with country curates and country lasses. . Never had 
 he touched his guitar with such skill; never had he poured 
 forth more soul-moving ditties; but he had no longer a coun- 
 try curate or country lass to deal with. The worthy priest 
 evidently did not relish music, and the modest damsel never 
 raised her eyes from the ground. They remained but a short 
 time at the fountain. The good padre hastened their return to 
 G-ranada. The damsel gave the student one shy glance in 
 retiring, but it plucked the heart out of his bosom ! 
 
 He inquired about them after they had gone. Padre Tomds 
 was one of the saints of Granada, a model of regularity — 
 
 1 wave-like motion. 2 dainty eaters. 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 215 
 
 punctual in his hour of rising ; his hour of taking a paseo ' 
 for an appetite; his hours of eating; his hour of taking his 
 siesta; ^ his hour of playing his game of tresillo/ of an even- 
 ing, with some of the dames of the cathedral circle; his hour 
 of supping; and his hour of retiring to rest, to gather fresh 
 strength for another day's round of similar duties. He had 
 an easy, sleek mule for his riding; a matronly housekeeper, 
 skilled in preparing tit-bits for his table; and the pet lamb, 
 to smooth his pillow at night, and bring him his chocolate in 
 the morning. 
 
 Adieu now to the gay, thoughtless life of the student; the 
 side-glance of a bright eye had been the undoing of him. 
 Day and night he could not get the image of this most mod- 
 est damsel out of his mind. He sought the mansion of the 
 padre. Alas ! it was above the class of houses accessible to a 
 strolling student like himself. The worthy padre had no 
 sympathy with him; he had never been Estudiante sopista,'^ 
 obliged to sing for his supper. He blockaded the house 
 by day, catching a glance of the damsel now and then as she 
 appeared at a casement ; but these glances only fed his flame 
 without encouraging his hope. He serenaded her balcony at 
 night, and at one time was flattered by the appearance of 
 something white at a window. Alas, it was only the nightcap 
 of the padre. 
 
 ^^ever was lover more devoted ; never damsel more shy ; the 
 poor student was reduced to despair. At length arrived the eve 
 of St. John, when the lower classes of G-ranada swarm into the 
 country, dance away the afternoon, and pass midsummer's 
 night on the banks of the Darro and the Xenil. Happy are 
 they who, on this eventful night, can wash their faces in those 
 waters just as the cathedral bell tells midnight; for at that 
 precise moment they have a beautifying power. The student, 
 having nothing to do, suffered himself to be carried away by 
 the holiday-seeking throng until he found himself in the 
 
 1 walk. 3 nap. ^ game of cards. ■* a singing student. 
 
216 THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 
 
 narrow valley of the Darro, beloAV the lofty hill and ruddy 
 towers of the Alhambra. The dry bed of the river, the rocks 
 which border it, the terraced gardens which overhang it, were 
 alive with variegated ^ groups, dancing under the vines and 
 fig-trees to the sound of the guitar and castanets. 
 
 The student remained for some time in doleful dumps, lean- 
 ing against one of the huge missha]3en stone pomegranates 
 which adorn the ends of the little bridge over the Darro. He 
 cast a wistful glance upon the merry scene, where every cava- 
 lier had his dame; or, to speak more appropriately, every Jack 
 his Jill; sighed at his own solitary state, a victim to the black 
 eye of the most unapproachable of damsels, and repined at his 
 ragged garb, which seemed to shut the gate of hope against him. 
 
 By degrees his attention was attracted to a neighbor equally 
 solitary with himself. This was a tall soldier, of a stern 
 aspect and grizzled beard, who seemed posted as a sentry at the 
 opposite pomegranate. His face was bronzed- by time; he was 
 arrayed in ancient Spanish armor, with buckler and lance, and 
 stood immovable as a statue. What surprised the student 
 was, that though thus strangely equipped, he was totally 
 unnoticed by the passing throng, albeit that many almost 
 brushed against him. 
 
 "This is a city of old-time peculiarities," thought the 
 student, "and doubtless this is one of them with which the 
 inhabitants are too familiar to be surprised." His own curi- 
 osity, however, was awakened; and, being of a social disposi- 
 tion, he accosted the soldier. 
 
 "A rare old suit of armor that which you wear, comrade. 
 May I ask what corps you belong to ? " 
 
 The soldier gasped out a reply from a pair of jaws which 
 seemed to have rusted on their hinges. 
 
 "The royal guard of Ferdinand ^ and Isabella." 
 
 " Santa Maria! Why, it is three centuries since that corps 
 was in service." 
 
 1 of diflferent colors. 2 Ferdinand V. of Aragon, 1452-1516 ; married Isabella, 1469. 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 217 
 
 "And for three centuries have I been mounting guard. 
 Now I trust my tour of duty draws to a close. Dost thou 
 desire fortune? " 
 
 The student held up his tattered cloak in reply. 
 
 '' I understand thee. If thou hast faith and courage, fol- 
 low me, and thy fortune is made." 
 
 *^ Softly, comrade. To follow thee would require small cour- 
 age in one who has nothing to lose but life and an old guitar, 
 neither of much value; but my faith is of a different matter, 
 and not to be put in temptation. If it be any criminal act 
 by which I am to mend my fortune, think not my ragged 
 cloak will make me undertake it." 
 
 The soldier turned on him a look of high displeasure. " My 
 sword," said he, "has never been drawn but in the cause of 
 the faith and the throne. I am a Cristiano viejo; ^ trust in 
 me and fear no evil." 
 
 The student followed him, wondering. He observed that no 
 one heeded their conversation, and that the soldier made his 
 way through the various groups of idlers unnoticed, as if 
 invisible. 
 
 Crossing the bridge, the soldier led the way by a narrow and 
 steep path past a Moorish mill and aqueduct, and up the 
 ravine which separates the domains of the Generalife from 
 those of the Alhambra. The last ray of the sun shone upon 
 the red battlements of the latter, which beetled far above; and 
 the convent bells were proclaiming the festival of the ensuing 
 day. The ravine was overshadowed by fig-trees, vines, and 
 myrtles, and the outer towers and walls of the fortress. It 
 was dark and lonely, and the twilight-loving bats began to flit 
 about. At length the soldier halted at a remote and ruined 
 tower, apparently intended to guard a Moorish aqueduct. He 
 struck the foundation with the butt-end of his spear. A 
 rumbling sound was heard, and the solid stones yawned apart, 
 leaving an opening as wide as a door. 
 
 ' old Christian. 
 
218 THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 
 
 " Enter iu the name of the Holy Trinity/' said the soldier, 
 "and fear nothing." The student's heart quaked, but he 
 made the sign of the cross, muttered his Ave Maria, and fol- 
 lowed his mysterious guide into a deep vault cut out of the 
 solid rock under the tower, and covered with Arabic inscrip- 
 tions. The soldier pointed to a stone seat hewn along one 
 side of the vault. "Behold," said he, "my couch for three 
 hundred years." The bewildered student tried to force 
 a joke. " By the blessed St. Anthony," said he, "but you 
 must have slept soundly, considering the hardness of your 
 couch." 
 
 "On the contrary, sleep has been a stranger to these eyes; 
 incessant watchfulness has been my doom. Listen to my lot. 
 I was one of the royal guards of Ferdinand and Isabella, but 
 was taken prisoner by the Moors in one of their sorties, and 
 confined a captive in this tower. AYhen preparations were 
 made to surrender the fortress to the Christian sovereigns, I 
 was prevailed upon by an alfaqui, a Moorish priest, to aid him 
 in secreting some of the treasures of Boabdil in this vault. I 
 was justly punished for my fault. The alfaqui was an Afri- 
 can necromancer,^ and by his infernal arts cast a spell upon 
 me, to guard his treasures. Something must have happened 
 to him, for he never returned, and here I have remained ever 
 since, buried alive. Years and years have rolled away; earth- 
 quakes have shaken this hill; I have heard stone by stone of 
 the tower above tumbling to the ground, in the natural opera- 
 tion of time; but the spellbound walls of this vault set both 
 time and earthquakes at defiance. 
 
 " Once every hundred years, on the festival of St. John, the 
 enchantment ceases to have thorough sway. I am permitted to 
 go forth and post myself upon the bridge of the Darro, where 
 you met me, waiting until some one shall arrive who may 
 have power to break this magic spell. I have hitherto 
 mounted guard there in vain. I walk as in a cloud, concealed 
 
 » sorcerer ; wizard. 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 219 
 
 from mortal sight. You are the first to accost me for now 
 three hundred years. I behold the reason. I see on your 
 finger the seal ring of Solomon the wise, which is proof 
 against all enchantment. With you it remains to deliver me 
 from this awful dungeon, or to leave me to keep guard here for 
 another hundred years." 
 
 The student listened to this tale in mute wonderment. He 
 had heard many tales of treasure shut up under strong enchant- 
 ment in the vaults of the Alhambra, but had treated them 
 as fables. He now felt the value of the seal ring, which had, 
 in a manner, been given to him by St. Cyprian. Still, though 
 armed by so potent a talisman, it was an awful thing to find 
 himself tete-a-tete ^ in such a place with an enchanted soldier, 
 who, according to the laws of nature, ought to have been 
 quietly in his grave for nearly three centuries. 
 
 A personage of this kind, however, was quite out of the 
 ordinary run, and not to be trifled with, and he assured him 
 he might rely upon his friendship and good will to do every- 
 thing in his power for his deliverance. 
 
 *'I trust to a motive more powerful than friendship," said 
 the soldier. 
 
 He pointed to a ponderous'^ iron coffer, secured by locks 
 inscribed with Arabic characters. "That coffer," said he, 
 "contains countless treasure in gold and jewels and precious 
 stones. Break the magic spell by which I am enthralled, and 
 one half of this treasure shall be thine." 
 
 " But how am I to do it ? " 
 
 "The aid of a Christian priest and a Christian maid is 
 necessary; the priest to exorcise ^ the powers of darkness, 
 the damsel to touch this chest with the seal of Solomon. 
 This must be done at night. But have a care. This is 
 solemn work, and not to be effected by the carnal-minded. 
 The priest must be a Cristiano viejo, a model of sanctity; and 
 must mortify the flesh, before lie comes here, by a rigorous 
 
 » (tayt-ah-tayt), face to face. ^ heavy. s to drive out. 
 
220 THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER. 
 
 fast of foLir-and-twenty hours; and as to tlie maiden^ she must 
 be above reproach, and proof against temptation. Linger not 
 in finding such aid. In three days my furlough is at an end ; 
 if not delivered before midnight of the third, I shall have to 
 mount guard for another century. ' ' 
 
 " Fear not/' said the student; " I have in my eye the very 
 priest and damsel you describe ; but how am I to regain admis- 
 sion to this tower? " 
 
 " The seal of Solomon will open the way for thee." 
 
 The student issued forth from the tower much more gayly 
 than he had entered. The wall closed behind him, and 
 remained solid as before. 
 
 The next morning he repaired boldly to the mansion of the 
 priest, no longer a poor, strolling student, thrumming his way 
 with a guitar; but an ambassador from the shadowy world, 
 with enchanted treasures to bestow. No particulars are told 
 of his negotiation,^ excepting that the zeal of the worthy 
 priest was easily kindled at the idea of rescuing an old soldier 
 of the faith, and a strong-box of King Chico, from the very 
 clutches of Satan; and then what alms might be dispensed, 
 what churches built, and how many poor relatives enriched 
 with the Moorish treasure! 
 
 As to the immaculate handmaid, she was ready to lend her 
 hand, which was all that was required, to the pious work; and 
 if a shy glance now and then might be believed, the ambassa- 
 dor began to find favor in her modest eyes. 
 
 The greatest difficulty, however, was the fast to which the 
 good padre had to subject himself. Twice he attempted it, and 
 twice the flesh was too strong for the spirit. It was only on 
 the third day that he was enabled to withstand the temptations 
 of the cupboard ; but it was still a question whether he 
 would hold out until the spell was broken. 
 
 At a late hour of the night the party groped their way up 
 the ravine, by the light of a Ismtern, and bearing a basket with 
 
 » bargaining what conditions should be agreed on. 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDTEK. 221 
 
 provisions for exorcising the demon of hunger so soon as the 
 other demons should be laid in the Red Sea.' 
 
 The seal of Solomon opened their way into the tower. They 
 found the soldier seated on the enchanted strong-box, awaiting 
 their arrival. The exorcism was performed in due style. The 
 damsel advanced, and touched the locks of the coffer with the 
 seal of Solomon. The lid flew open, and such treasures of 
 gold and jewels and precious stones as flashed upon the eye ! 
 
 "Here's cut, and come again!" cried the student, exult- 
 ingly, as he proceeded to cram his pockets. 
 
 "Fairly and softly," exclaimed the soldier. "Let us get 
 the coffer out entire, and then divide." 
 
 They accordingly went to work with might and main, but 
 it was a difficult task; the chest was enormously heavy, and 
 had been embedded there for centuries. While they were thus 
 employed, the good dominie drew on one side, and made a vig- 
 orous onslaught on the basket, by way of exorcising the demon 
 of hunger which was raging in his entrails. In a little 
 while a fat capon ^ was devoured, and washed down by a deep 
 potation; ^ and, by way of grace after meat, he gave a kind- 
 hearted kiss to the pet lamb who waited on him. It was 
 quietly done in a corner, but the tell-tale walls babbled it forth 
 as if in triumph. Never was chaste salute more awful in its 
 effects. At the sound the soldier gave a great cry of despair; 
 the coffer, which was half raised, fell back in its place and 
 was locked once more. Priest, student, and damsel found 
 themselves outside of the tower, tne wall of which closed 
 with a thundering jar. Alas! the good padre had broken 
 his fast too soon. 
 
 When recovered from his surprise, the student would have 
 reentered the tower, but learnt to his dismay that the damsel, 
 in her fright, had let fall the seal of Solomon; it remained 
 within the vault. 
 
 In a word, the cathedral bell tolled midnight; the spell 
 
 1 between Egypt and Arabia. 2 chicken. 3 drink. 
 
222 THE LEGEND OF THE ENCHANTED SOLDIER, 
 
 was renewed; the soldier was doomed to mount guard for 
 another hundred years ; and there he and the treasure remain 
 to this day, and all because the kind-hearted padre kissed his 
 handmaid. "Ah, father! father! " said the student, shaking 
 his head ruefully, as they returned down the ravine, " I fear 
 there was less of the saint than the sinner in that kiss! " 
 
 Thus ends the legend as far as it has been authenticated/ 
 There is a tradition, however, that the student had brought 
 off treasure enough in his pocket to set him up in the world; 
 that he prospered in his affairs, that the worthy padre gave 
 him the pet lamb in marriage, by way of amends for the blun- 
 der in the vault ; that the immaculate damsel proved a pattern 
 for wives as she had been for handmaids, and bore her husband 
 a numerous progeny. 
 
 The story of the enchanted soldier remains one of the pop- 
 ular traditions of Granada, though told in a variety of ways; 
 the common people affirm that he still mounts guard on mid- 
 summer-eve, beside the gigantic stone pomegranate on the 
 bridge of the Darro, but remains invisible excepting to such 
 lucky mortal as may possess the seal of Solomon. 
 
 » established by proof. 
 
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 2{Double). THE PILOT, - - - By J. Fenimore Cooper. 
 
 3 (Single). ROB ROY, - - _ _ By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 4 (Double). THE ALH AM BRA, - By Washington Irving. 
 o(Sin8le). CHRISTMAS STORIES, By Charles Dickens. 
 6 (Single). ENOCH ARDEN and Other Poems, 
 
 By Lord Alfred Tennyson. 
 7(Double). KENILWORTH, - - By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 8 (Single.) THE DEERSLAYER, By J. Fenimore Cooper. 
 
 9 (Double). LADY OF THE LAKE, By Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 10 (Single). SKETCHBOOK, - By Washington Irving. 
 
 11 (Single). HORSE-SHOE ROBINSON, By John P. Kenre "y. 
 13 HAROLD, - - ^ BySirE.LyttonBuiwer. 
 
 Etc., Etc., Etc. 
 
 The Golden-Rod Books 
 
 Contain choice children's literature, selected and adapted from a wide 
 range of well-known writers, and graded to supplement First, Second, 
 Third, or Fourth Readers with reading of an interesting character. They 
 are pictorially illustrated. The binding in boards is substantial and 
 pleasing in style. The price is low. These are the titles : 
 
 I. RHYMES AND FABLES, - - 64 pages, 1 2 cents. 
 II. SONGS AND STORIES, - - 96 pages, 1 5 cents. 
 
 III. FAIRY LIFE, --.__- 1 28 pages, 20 cents. 
 
 IV. BALLADS AND TALES, - - 1 60 pages, 25 cents. 
 On these and the Standard Literature Series special 
 
 discounts to schools and dealers. 
 
 Correspondence is invited. Address 
 
 UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 43-47 E. lOth St., New York.