Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1860-12-07
CORRESPONDENCE.
No. z


journey, and in company with young Dos
tonian, we soon landed at the wharf, where
a Spanish officer examined our knapsacks
and to his establishment found no contraband
articles, not even a single cigar we made
our way through the dimly lighted streets
and in few minutes were at the Post Once
At 5 O'Clock we piled into a two wheeled sc
hiclc, drawn by four mules, aud We were
soon going at rapid rate on our way to one
Of the most beautiful spots on earth. Fer
six hours we continue to ascend, and such a
zig-zag road, such deep valleys, and ragged
hills and mountains Of Eastern Maine. We
meet mulctccrs on their way to Malaga with
wine and raisins all Of them 90 armed, and
one has peculiar feeling creeping over him,
but as we have a Spanish officer in our dbl
ligcncc Of course we feel safe We pass
vineyards where they are dressing raisins,
which some Of our readers may, at Christ
mas or New Years, cat just as the sun is
setting we drive into the city, over which
the Arabian poets imagined, d" Heaven rest
ed = and the words of Lockhart, the son-in-
law of Sir W alter Scott, haunted us
There was crying in Granada as the sun was
going down,
Farewell, Farewell, Granada, thou city without
peer
We 20 to the Foudcr de Alamader, and
taking Il bath and a good super, we look
from our chamber window, and admire the
fountain Of water playing 50 near to us and
by the moonlight We catch glimpse of the
first rma IN Europe, as the Alhambra has
been called,-an music from a band adds
charm to the whole. On the morrow We
hope to see the i" lions " of the city
One of the Spanish writer's invokcs blcs-
sings on him who invented sleep, and En-
glands son calls it :. Tired natures sweet re-
storcr. Many Of us realize not the incstima-
bic value Of sleep.
Making the acquaintance of two English
travellers, we proceed to the grounds OF the
pass by the " inc Tower, where
the Christians were permitted 10y the Moors to
sell the juice Of the grapc,-wc soon come to
the gate Of the Pomegranatcs, and enter the
enchanted ground l; is quite forest Of
trees. III coming to the gate, OF arch which
leads to the Place Of the Cisterns, We netice
the hand, which Irving in his " Tales Of the
Alhambra speaks Of. On the other side is the
key, and the Moorish saying was, that when
the hand clasped the key. Granada would he
taken. Standing on the Place Of the Cis
terms, the scenery is grand and beautiful
To the south We -cc the smiling plain Of the
Vega, extending twenty or forty miles, with
a width Of from ten to fifteen miles On it
are all Of those rich productions for which
this climate is Noted. Il II watered by aluo
ducts which come from the mountains of the
Sierra Nevada. To the west are sen several
among which II the weather
guagc Of the city, Mt. Paropanda. The say
ing If that when clouds rcst upon it, F." 1t
will rain whether the gods will it or not
To the north We notice slopins hill, cover
cd with large holes i'm the earth. aud learn
that 1000 or more giTsi5s dwell there, like
rabbits To the east and north we look up
on the " Last SIGH Of the Moor, because on
the ID day Of January, 1922, the Moor left
his lovely and last home on Spanish soil
Roman ruins are near the seat Of Boohdil,
and in another direction we are intensely in
tcrcstcd in looking at the Ncrmill1n towers,
to be built by the Phocnician- 5000
years ago. We have now given YOU an i'm
perfect sketch Of things in the distance, we
will now come 10 the Alhambra, n building
commenced about the year 1850. and capa-
bic of holding 1900 people. In it lived the
royalty Of the Moorish race. We passed 10y
the room where Irving lived while he wrote
that book which we have already referred TO-
hoping that those who have not read it will
We enter the Mosque, after passing through
a small horse shoe arch aver which rcposcd
the Koran. In the Mosque we see carved
work Of pine and cedar, several marble pill
lars, an altar on which we ventured to write
On each side Of the altar are some Of the
most hideous pictures | ever saw, represent
ing satyrs with their arms and noses cut of
On the ceiling we notice the Latin inscrip-
ton " Plus ulteu, placed there by order of
Charles 5th, who disgraced himself by bad
taste in thinking that he could make thing.
look better than the noble Moor, to whom
God gave peculiar talent for the beautiful
We 90 through the different bathing rooms
of the King, Queen and little ones We lin
ger in the ,cait,ng room, and look upon the
rich things which still remain, where the
Royalty came and listened to music from the
gallery above, and breathed the perfumes as
they floated through the room, listening also
to the playing Of the fountain, while they
were seated on their rich dyans. We visit
the Hall Of the Ambassadors, and admire its
walls OF rich stueco. (Which, by the way,
had its origin in Damascus,) decorated as it
is with arabesques, while its " yaulted cell
ing of cedar wood CLEANS with rich gliding
and the brilliant tints Of the Arabian PEN
ell" In the centre Of the Hall You see the
place where the throne was. Originally
there were Is windows-nine are now seen,
six bcing stopped up by Charles 9TH. In
this Hall the Moorish Z a.. ,rorL - Coz, =. -.