New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-12-29

brilapcy any of the rich houses of Damascus.
| A doorway, entirely too low and mean for the
splendor Of the walls above it, admitted US into
| the first court On each side of the passage
are the rooms for the guard and the Moorish
| MOBILES Within, all is pure Saracenlc, and alb
I solutey perfect in its grace aud richness. lie
/ is the realization of an Oriental dream; it is
the poetry and luxury Of the East in tangible
forms. Where so much depends on the pro-
/ fusion. the intricate and exquisite details of the
ornamental designs which cover the walls, and
address themselves TO the eye alone, il is i'm
possible to give description which shall in any
degree reproduce the original to the magma
ton of the reader. From first to last-the
chambers of state: the fringed arches, the open
tracery light and frail as the froStstars crystal
lied in a windOw-pane; the courts, fit 70 be
vestibules to Paradise; the audience hall, with
its wOndrOus sculptures, its columns and pave
ment of marble. and its gilded dome the gar
den gorgeous with its palm banana and orange
trees-all are in perfect keeping, ali jewels OF
equal uster, and the whole form diadem
which still lends royal dignity to the phantom
of Moorish Power.
We then passed into the gardens laid out by
the Spanish monarchs-trim, mathematical de-
SIGNS in box and myrtle, with concealed Sum
tains springing up everywhere Unawares in the
midst of the pavcn walks; yet still made beauti
full BY the roses and jessamines that hung in rank
clusters over the marble balustrades, and by the
dumps of tail orange trees, bending 10 earth
under the weight Of their fruitage We after
ward visited Plates House, as il is called-a
fire Spanish Morocco palace row belonging to
the Duke of Medina Cell. It is very rich aud
elegant. but stands in the same relations to the
Acazar as a good copy does 10 the original pic
nj rtrala- - n
marvel Of te-work, unlike anything else in Sc
ville and exhibits a genius in the invention OF
elaborate ornamental patterns, which is truly
wonderful 4 number of workmen were busy
in restoring the palace to fit it for the residence
of the Young Duke. The Moorish sculptures
are reproduced in plaster which, at least, has
better effect than the fatal Whitewash under
which the original tints OF the Alcazar are hid
den In the courts stand number of Roman
busts-Spanish antiquities and therefore not of
great merit sngularly out Of place in inches
surrounded BY Arabic devices and sentences
from the Koran.
This morning l climbed the Giralda The
sun had just risen, and the day was fresh and
crystalcl A little door in the Cathedral,
near the foot Of the tower, stood open and / en-
tered A rather slOyenly Seyillana had just
completed her toilet, but Two childrenw we're still
in undress. However, she opened door in the
tower, and went up without hindrance. The
ascent is by easy ramps, and walked 400 yards
or nearly quarter Of q mile, before reaching
the top of the Moorish part. The panoramic
view was superb To the east and west, the
Great Valley made level line on q far-dstant
horizon. There were ranges of hills in the nOrCh
and south. and those rising near the city clothed
in a gray mantle Of olive trees, were pictu-
resquely crowned with villages The Guada
culver, winding in the NEST sinuOus maZes, had
no longer turbid hue; he reflected the blue
morning sky, and cleaned brightly between his
borders of birch and willow Seville sparkled
white and fair under my feet, her painted tow
ers and tiled domes rising thickly out Of the
mass of buildings The level sun threw shad-
Ows into the numbeTless courts, permitting the
mixture of Spanish and Moorish architecture TO
be plainly discerned even at that hight A thin
golden vapor sOftened the features of the land
scape, toward the sun, while on the opposite
side every object stood out in the sharpest and
clcarest outlines.
On our wav to the Museo, Baili took us to the
house 0fa friend OF his, in order that We might
taste real Manzonila wine. This is a pae,
straw.colored vintage, produced in the valley of
the Guadalquiver. 1t is Favored with camOmie
blossoms and is said TO be a fine tonic for weak
stomachs. The master then produced dark
red wine, which he declared TO be thirty years
old. 1t was almost syrup in consistence, and
tasted more OF sarsaparilla than grapes. None
Of us Telished it except Baiili, who was so in
spired by the draught that he sang us two Moor
ish songs and an Andausian catch full of fun
and drolleIy.
The Mus6O contains q great amount of bad
pictures, but it also contains twentythree OF
MurillOs works many of them of his best pc
riod. To those who have only seen his tender
and spiritual Conceptions" and "Assump-
tiOns,' his Vision Of ST. Francis" in this gale
~ reveals mastery of the higher walks of his
art which they would not have anticipated. But
it is in bis Cherubs and his InfaAt Christs that
he excels No one ever painted intantile grace
and beauty with so true pencil. There is but
one Velasquez in the collection, and the only
thing that interested me in two halls filed
with rubbish, was a a." Conception by Murillo's
mulattO pupil. said by some to have been his
slave. Although an imitation OF the great mas
ter, it is picture of much sweetness and beau
~. There is no other work of the artist in ex-
istence, ard this. as the only production of the
kind by painter OF mixed African blood, ought
TO belong to the Republic of Liberia
Among the other guests at the Fonda de
Madrid is Mr.. Thomas Hobhouse, brother OF
Byrons friend. We had pleasant party in the
Court this evening, listening to blind Pope. who
sang to his guitar medley OF merry Andalu-
sian relians. Singing made the old man cour-
agcous, and az the close he gave us the radical
song Of Spain which is now strictly prohibited.
The air is charming, bur too gay; one would
sooner dance than fight to its measures. Ii
does not bring the hard TO the sword like the
glorious Marseillaise
AdoS, beautiful Seville BIT