New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-01-01

battlements. Here superb view opened TO
the south and east over the vide Vega NJ Car
mons. as far as the mountain chain which sepa-
rates it from the plain of GranSia. The city
has for coat of arms silver star in an azure
field. with the pompous motto: :" As Lncifer
shines in the morning so shines Carmona IN An
dausia." fit shines at all. il is because IL is
CITY set upon HILL for that is the only splendor
could find about the place The Vega OF Car
mona is partially cultivated and nov wears
sOmbre brown hue, from its tracts oil plowed
land
Cultivation soon ceased, however, and We en-
tered on deaesa, boundleSs plain of waste
land coveredsith thickets OF palmettos, tlocks
of goats and sheep, guarded by shepherds IN
brown cloaks. wandered here and there, ara
except their huts and an isolated house, WITH
its group of palm-trees, there was no sign OF
habitation. The road was a deep red sand, aud
our mules toied along slowly and painfully,
urged BY the incessant cries ut the @ayoraf. or
conductor. and his mo:o. As the mayoraFs
whip could only reach the second span, the busi-
ness of the latter was to Jump down every ten
minutes. run ahead and belabor the TANKS OF the
foremost mules, uttering at the same time
series of sharp bowls, which seemed TO strike
the poor beasts with quite as much severity as
his whip. defy even Spanish ear 10 distln.
guish the import of these cries, and the great
wonder was, how they could all come ont OF one
| small throat. When it came 10 hard pull,
| they cracked and exploded like volleys of mus
| kerry, and flew like hail-stones about the ears
| of the machos (he-mules) The postilion, hsv-
| ing only the care Of the foremost span, is q
silent man, but he has contracted habit of
sleeping in the saddle, which mention for the
benefit of tim;d travellers, as it adds to the in
terest OF journey by night.
| The clouds which had been gathering al day,
now settled down upon the plain. and night
came on with dull rain. At o'clock we
reached the City of Ecija. where we had two
hours halt, and supper. Ii was so dark aud
rainy that saw nothing, not even the classic
| Xenil. the river of Grenada, which flows through
the city on its way 10 the Guadalquiver The
nipbt wore SLOWLY away, and while the mo:o
drowsed on his post, | caught snatches OF sleep
between his cries As the landscape began To
grow distant in the gray, cloudy dawn, we saw
before us Cordoya, with the dark range ct the
| Sierra Morena rising behind it, This city, once
the glory of Moorish Spain, the capital OF the
great Add er-Rahman, containing, when IN It's
! prime, million inhabitants, is now melan-
cboly wreck II has not shadow of the art,
science and taste which then distinguished lt,
| and the only interest il now possesses Is nom
! these associations aud the despoiled remnant Of
| its renowned Mosque.
Wecrossed the Guadalluiver on fine bridge,
| built On Roman foundations, and drove slowly
| down the one long, rough crooked street The
diligence stops for an hour, to allow passengers
! to breakfast, but my first thought was for the
| Cathedral.mosque, IL Me,qaiia, as 1t is still
! called. 1T is closed said the ragged crowd
that congregated about u.s. you cannot get IN
! ill 3 o'clock" But remembered that silver
| KEY will open anything in Spain, and taxing
mozo MS a guide. We hurried off rs fast as tho
J rough pavemcnts would permit. We hal to
I retrace the whole length OF the city, but on
reaching the Cathedral, found it open. The ex-
! terror is low, and quite plain, though OF great
extent A Moorish gateway admitted me into
the original courtyard, or hdrdm, oil the mosque
which is planted with orange trees and contains
the fountain for the additions of Moslem wor-
sinners, in the center The area OF the Mosque
nroper. exclusive of the courtyard. is about
| 400 by $50 feet IL was built on the plan OF the
great Mosque of Damascus about the end OF
! tbe eighth century The materials -lnclud-
| inc 200 columns of marble, jasper and por-
| pbyry. from the ruins of Carthage. and the
| temples of Asia Minor-bclonged to Christian
basiiica. Of tho Gothic domination, which was
built upon the foundations of Roman temple
Of Janus; so that the three great creeds OF the
world have here at different times had ther
! .eat. The Mahomedans considered this mosque
as second in holiness 10 the kbaba oil Mecca,
and made pilgrimages to II from all parts OF
Moslem Spain and Barbary. Even now, Ill
though shoIn of much Of its glory, It surpasses
! any Oriental mosque into which have pone-
trsted, except ST. Sophia, which Is a CHRISTIAN
! ediice. -.
/ An the nineteen original entrances-beaati-
f,l horsp-sboe arehes--are closed, except the
} central one. I entered by low door, IN one
| corner of tho corridor. A wilderness OF col
umns. connected by double arches, Zone spring-
ING above the other, with on opening bctween)
spread their dusky aisles before me, IN the NOR
( ming twilight The $50 shafts OF TINS marble
forest formed labyrinths and mazes, Which, at
that early hour, appeared boundiess, Tor ther
long yistas disappeared III the shadows. Lamps
were burning before distant shrlnes, ana lew
worshipers were kneeling silently here ana
there The sound of my own footsteps, as
wandered through tie ranks OF pillars, was al
thar | hear. In the centre OF the wood (for
sucb IL seemed) rises the choir, gaudy and
tasteless eyt rescence added by the Christians
Even Charles V. who lada merclless hand on
The Albambrs, reproyed the Bishop VI Cordova
for this barbaruus and unnecessary dlshgure-
ment. -
The sacristan lighted lamps in order to sho"
me the Moorisl, chapels. Nothing but the pre-
cious materials OF which These exquisite struc-
lures are composed could have saved them rom
the holy hands of the lnqulsllOn, WHICH lhsci.
tionally destroyed oil the Roman antiquities OF
Cordoya. Here the iringcd arches, the lace-lls ~
filigrees, the wreathed inscriptions ana Tue
doines of pendent stalaetiies which encaans you
in the Alcazar OF Seville, are repeated NOT ~
s,rcco but In unrest marble, while the entrance
~ tbe {" bol, Of holies is probably the most 90
y, 80, niece of mosaic in the world Tia pave
,rcnt dftbe interior is deeply worn by the knees
Of the Moslem pilgrims, who com asseg u 19'e .,
t;mes kneelipg. as they now do in the Kaaoa, al
NJ ~, The sides are embroidered with sen,
-i''' = -. Vnr.n In Cuic characters, AM