Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-07-14
TIE SPANISH ALEXANDRIA IN 1870
An American Tourist In Granada.

81 threatened myself with certain disap-
pointment, when, after climbing the high
est tower, the fortress of the palace,
could discover naueht but low, irregular
assemblage Of tiled roofs, under which the
wonder must be hidden. Advance as l
did, If you will, to the discovery of the
truth, and start from the banks of the
Darro, that rolled down golden sand in the
days OF fable and ascend the narrow streets
OF Granada, where You may hear water
dripping in fountains of front halls,
and blind men drumming guitars,
cat turn in one Of the streets we are
carried, as if by magic, to the borders OF
forest An old triumphal arch serves as
gateway. 1t is not what Europeans call a
grove that we have entered, for, though
three well-kept paths find their way
through it, the trees are untrimmed, trail
ing with vines and beded in un6erbrush.
Their foliage is OF the richest green, their
height prodigious, so that, springing far
down the hillside, they stand back to back
with the massive fertilization on the height
above. We demand an explanation of
this vigorous verdure at height where
most places are sterile in Spain, and hear
the answer murmured at our feet on every
side. The Moors caught the Darro half
way down its course from the neighboring
mountains of snow, and led it around the
hill to pay in their lofty palace and water
their hanging gardens and this forest yesti
bule About the base Of the first tower
gateway it tumbles out Of upturned vases
held by cherubs, and spouts out OF comic
pouting mouths of bearded river gods,
wreathed with vine branches, sheaves
and garlands of flowers, on the
facade of q great fountain, emilia
zoned with the escutcheon of Charles Y,
In another moment we have reached the
Gate OF Judgment A square tower, as all
Moorish towers are, rises in solid mass
above horseshoe arch IN which the
Caliphs held public tribunal. The idea Of
| Judgment in the gate is essentially Oriental,
and not confined to Bible history. The
| gateway is deserted now; the hated symbol
of the conqueror, the cross is embedded in
the wall, though the upright hand on the
/ keystone of the inner brick arch has not
reached down and grasped the great key on
/ the keystone of the inner stone arch, as the
proverD predicted, before the fortress could
| be taken. Passing up paved way between
! high walls, we enter great yard the court
, NJ the wells Here water sellers of the
town are filling cork cased tin cans to carry
down on their backs. The fact that
| they come thus far to draw, wien
| the city is green with water, shows
the estimation in which this purest
of cisterns is held. One side of the
square is commanded by mouldering walls
and towers on the height and extremity Of
the hill, the otter by the heavy but ele.
CANT facade OF the unfinished palace of
| Charles v, which was built with u vsndsl
contempt of the winter wing Of the Al
hambra by the conquerer. We have been
! doomed, therefore, to lose the grand en-
| trance of the Moors, and seek low, mar
row door to their enchanted palace The
more the exterior has deceived and disap-
pointed, the more the interior surprised
and delighted us. First comes long,
b, DAD court, open to the sky, except at two
ends, which were covered by light Arabian
arcades of extremely delicate finish. 1t Is
paved with large blocks OF marble about
the sides and holds q basin OF flowing
water perhaps hundred long and third
as broad, gold fish bathing where Sui
tanas used to battle If we believe
one of the many names Of the place,
Mezonar, the Arabic for wonen's bath. 49,
The Spaniards call it "Palio de los Array
snnes." on account of evergreen myrtle
bushes that run along the length of the
marble pond. Fountains tosS cooling
streams into the heated air of the arcad-s,
which are lost in the sentrsl basin. Ano-
Their narrow door and hall passed, and VIC
lhave before our eyes the wonder of VOL
ders, the Court of Lions. or of columns, as
| should prefer to call it, the best preserv-
ed and most fascinating hall Of the Alham-
bra. It's common name is derived from
twelve lions standing in the centre Of the
court. back to back, in a circle, supporting
the double marble basin of fountain. -
Though saw a poodle luXuriously bark
ing at them, they might as well be taken
for sny other Cuadrupeds as for hons. --
| Arabian scu ptors were not over gkilful in
making the fat angular paws, sacrificed to
tonr straight claws square legs and faces
wrinEIed with inConceivable grim lines The
exact though shaBeless ears give start OF
life to these chimerical creations In com.
pairing these ridiculous monsters with the
other works of the chisel, on the basins
above, intricate designs in relief Of inter
lacing angels and curves, puzzhng yet
pleasing, Won have striking illustration of
the influence of religion upon art The
Koran included both painting and scalp
tsre, in the .iae sense, and lett nothing
but the pursuit of architecture TO the faith
ful. II maintained with undue severity
our second commandment and forbade
men from making the likeness Of sny Iiv-
ing thing. These lions, then, are I'M
successful products of license, whereas
| the infuity of archit, tural designs,
in the delieacy of which the Ara
bian sur ,rarsed all ether artists, is natur-
al profuseness of confined genius. At the
lions feet fovu marble channels, conducted
scross the court, used to empty sparkling
water, ever springing inside halls and
chambers to unite with that spirited by the
1rotesoue figures, and falling from the dou-
Bile basin of the fountain. Mince columns
of white marble, solitary or grouped, two,
three or four together, surrounded the
Green square to the number of one hundred
and tventy.eight, holding up vari-sized
arches worked in fllsgee, to be worthy OF
Il f-1