New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-01-13
GRANADA. sraiu. wcdnesd ~, Nov. II. lsa

CANADA. Strain wednesday, Nov I. isV
Immediately on reaching here, I was SGT
upop by an old gentlemen who wanted ~ act as
guide. bnt the moro of the hotel put into my
bands a card inscribed - Don MateO Nimenos.
Guide 10 the celebrated Washington Irving"
snd dismissed the other applicant The next
morning as the mozc brought me my chocolate,
he said: "Senor, q chico il waiting for you"
| The little one turned out 20 be the son OF old
Mateo, honest Mateo,' who still lives up in
the Nhambrs bet is now rather too old % con
tnue his business except on great occssions-
l accepted the young Msteo, who spoke with
| the greatest enthusiasm of Mr.. Irving. ayowing
/ that the whole family was devoted 70 him, in
life snd death. IL was still raining furioaiy.
| snd the golden Darro which roars in front OF
/ the hotel, was = swollen brown food. don't
wonder that he sometimes threatens, as the old
! couplet SAWS, to burst up the Zacatin, and bear
it down 10 his bride, the Nenil.
Toward noou the clouds broke away little
! and we sailed out. Passing through the gate
and square of Viyarrambla, (may not this name
core from the Arabic ba5 sr raml, the gate II
! the sand ~ we soon reached the Cathedral.
| This MASSIVE structure, which makes good
feature in the distant view of Granada, is not at
| all imposing, near at hand The interior is q
whtewash, and broken, like that Of Seville, BY
wooden choir and two grand organs blocking
| up the nave Some OF the side chapeis, never
tbeless, are splendid masses Of carving and gid
ing In one of them there are two iulllength
portraits of Ferdinand and Isabella, supposed
! to be by Alonzo Canos. The Cathedral contains
some other good pictures by the same master,
but all it's former treasures were carried OF BIZ
| the French
We next went to the Picture Gallery, which
| is in the Franciscan Convent. There are Two
small Murllos, much damaged, some tolerabls
| Alonzo Canos, few common place pictures by
Juan de Sevlla and hundred or more by au-
thors whose names did not inquire, for a more
hideous collection Of trash never met my eye.
| One of them represents q miracle performed
| by two saints, who cut of the diseased leg ola
sick white man and replace il by the sound leg
of dead negro, whose body is seen lying be-
side the bed. Judging from the CHASTITY face
| of the patient, the operation is rather painful.
! though the story goes that the black log grow
fast, and the man recovered The picture at
least illustrates the absence of prejudice OF
colo" among the Saints.
We went into the adjoining Church of Ssnto
! Domingo, which has seyeralyery rich shrines Of
marble and gold. A sort of priestly sacristan
| opened the Church Of the Madonna del Rosario
IA gttering mixture of marble, gold and look
! ingglasses, which has rather rich effect Tho
beautiful yellow aud red yeincd marbles arc
from the Sierra Nevada. The sacred Madonna
"a big doll, with staring eyes and pink checks
has address, of silver shaped like an extiDgusher,
and encrusted with rubes and other precious
stones The utter absence OF taste in most
Catholic shrnes is an extraordinary thing. Il
seems remarkable that Church which has pro
duced so many glorious artists should so con
stantly and grossly violate the simplest rules Of
art The only shrine | have seen, which was in
keeping with the object adored, is that Of tho
| Virgin at Nazareth, where there is neither pic
ture nor image, but only vases of fragrant
flowers, and perfumed oil in golden lamps, buru
ing before tablet Of spotless marble.
! Among the decorations of the chapel, there
are host of chcuibs frescOed ON the ceiling, and
ore of them is represented in the act Of firing
| off blunderbuss. "Is it true that the angels
carry blunderbusscs :" l asked che priest. He
shrugged his shoulders with a sort OF halfsmile,
and said nothing. In the Cathedral, ON the
| plinths OF tho columns 0n the outer aislcs, ara
several notices to the effect that whoever
speaks 10 women, either in tho nave or tho
aisles, thereby puts himself in danger Of excom-
! mnicaton.' | could not help laughing, ~ I
read this monkish and yet most unmonk-liko
statute. "Oh," said MatcO, "alI that Was in tho
| despOtic times; it tx not no now"
A deuge Of rain put stOptO my sight seeing
| until the next morning. when | set ont with
Mateo to visit the Royal Chapel A murder
| had been committed in the night, near the en-
trance OF the Zacatin, and the paying.st0ne
were still red with the blood OF the victim A
function OF some sort was going on in tho
Chapel, and We went into the sacristy 10 wait.
| The priests and chOristers we're there, chang
ing their robes they saluted me good humor-
edly thou5h there was an expression in their
faces that. plainly said: "a hereticw When
the service was concluded, l went into tho
chapel and examined the high altar, with it's
rude wOOdcarvings representing the surrender
OF Granada. The portraits of Ferdinand and
Isabella, Cardinal Xlmenez, GOnzalyO Of Cor
doya and King B0abdii, are very curious.
Another tablet represents the baptism Ut tho
conquered M0Ors
In the center Of the chapel stand the MONT
ments erected to Ferdinand and Isabella, and
their successors, Philip and Maria, byCharIesv.
They are tall catafalques ofwhite marble, superb
w scuptured, with the full length effigies OF the
monarchs upon them. The figures are admirable:
that of Isabella, especially, though the features
are settled in the repose OF death, expresses all
the grand and noble traits which belonged to
her character The sacristan removed this
mating from a part Of the floor, disclosing an
iron grating underneath. A damp, mouIdy
smell significant OF death and decay, came up
| through the opening lie lighted two long
vaxen tapers, fitted the grating, and followed
him down the narrow steps INTO the vault where
he the collins OF the Catholic Kings. They
were brought here from the Alhambra, m lJ2J.
The leaden sarc0phsg containing the bodies Of
Y IN. L.. Ii. - L..