The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1851-01-22

OuluOne ny inc y nIlStldIs III uclS vi pcncT-
osiiy and honor Instance the anecdoie of
the Moorish chief, who, in scouting expe-
diton, encountered several beautiful child
rem of Christian mobiles playing with their
nurses in the fields g Get ye home to your
molhers, ye prattlins vagabonds," said he to
the frightened group, and. turning to his
bannerman, he said, " How can we harm
such nnoccnts p Such is one Of hundred
examples related.
a walk through the Alhambra is like
very intense perusal Of such chapters; the
picturesque history is matched throughout
with appropriate scenes.
We descended by a stairway, one Of a
great many spiral, twisting, state, and &C.
crct We found an endless range OF rooms
the most important being the royal chamber
conforming in all respects with the general
elegance. There arc two alcoves for the
beds, raised from the floor, an exquisite
fountain in tic centre Of the apartment, aud
their mnjesties could be lulled to sleep
by the iuneInl birds in the prison gardens
For summer luxury, and in adaptation to
The climate, nothing could be more admira
ble have seen all the comfortable splen-
dors OF the royal private apartments in
Windsor Castle, and remembering the date
and the present difference OF race, certainly
the Moor of 400 A. d. could match the
British princes in all luxury; and when we
recall the rich cquipagc and furniture OF
the Alhambra as it was four hundred years
aloes and olive wood ivory, and Mosaic OF
pearl the gold and enamel work the rich
divans, the costly hangings, the curiou.
works of art, and the ingenious toys which
aboundrd the baths and plentiful luxuries
and the inhabitants Of this sumptuous abode
arraycd in fine linens and embroidered ma
tive silks, plumcs, velvcts, glittering will
gems and wrought gold, and compare then
with the British monarchs of that day, W,
shall have a striking contrast. At a stil
earlier period, when the palace floors O
Windsor were strcwn with rushes and straw
the richest carpets and ottomans were lait
upon the superb marbles of the Ahambra.
But there were other and tar more mpor
tant snperioriics of the Moor; learning ,lit'
eraturc, art, science, and accomplishment
Of every sort. Their national greatness at
taine9 itsdlighcst Importance in the tent
century, when one Of their kings accumula
ted library of six hundred thousand vol
umcs. Eighty free schools were established
in Cordova, and the best scholars OF Chris
tian Europe ilockcd 20 the Moorish Colleges
Nothing in all antiquity surpassed their mean
Of accomplishments ana learning; and phi
losophcrs, poets, historians Of the Arabs
grew great in numbers and in fame. \
this period the last Saxon king was on til,
throne Of England, and ruled over peopl,
described by Hume as " uncultyatcd, igno
rant of letters, unskicd in the mechanica
arts, untamed to submission, TO law and tt
government" &c.
While such was the state Of England ant
the Europe, the single city Of Cordoya pos
sessed six hundred public temples, and tn,
palace Of the king was a great academy It
which the students of all nations nocked
and the king himself partook Of the Learned
conference.
AT a later age, when Edward the Firs
was on the throne of England, there wcr,
fifty colleges on the Plain of Granada; ant
in Moorish Spain no less than seventy pub
lie libraries. The state of learning and lit
eraturc at the same period in Christian Eu
rope was YET in its dark period.
The revenue of the Arab sovereign il
the tenth century, derived from commerce
husbandry, mines and herds, &c, amounted
10 nearly S30,000,0O0; and hundred year
later, William the Conqueror was unable 4
! obtain S2,O00,000 from his new kingdom, b,
every means Of oppression. In short, al
Christian Europe was III its dark age, an,
from the Spanish Moors came one principa
impulse for their enlightenment and regen
. Grafton. IN agriculture, nautical science an,
# the arts of war, most important lessons wer
derived from them. The Arabs were deyot
J ed to natural and mathematical sciences
: Algebra was their git 20 all other Europe
they Were the first to manufacture paper
and the application OF gun-powder to tn
T. military science was due to this cxtraordna
0 ry people.
/ So great was the thirst for knowledge q
5 mong all classes Of Noors, that VIC are toll
a that blind men were eminent scholars amon
a them five hundred years ago, when at th
r enlightened period Of this prescnt day, W
;. lcok with astonishment at ingenious method
4. by which the blind can obtain the most com
: nion-place information. Astronomy mad
: vast strides in improvement, and their ir
a struments and observatorics were brought l.
+ great perfection Their historians numbe
g thirteen hundred writers, and their treatise
= upon logic and metaphysics, as we are tol'
e by Mr.. Prescott, amount 10 one ninth OF lh
| treasures of Inc Spanish royal library Tn
/ writings Of their philosophers, historians, poets
5 were translated and dlluscd throughout Eu
: rope. In every thing thoy appear to hav
| quiekencd the dormant energies of Chris
r. tiahs. They even taught them lessons in gal
5 laniry and cLivalry,and it is not the lcas, in
r teresting item Of their great examples, ,ha
= the famed krish,ly orders of the Templars
r IIospilalors, Knights of St. John, were imi
- tatons of Moorish Crusaders against Chris
y tian lnf1els Tho eyisience Of such an or