Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-07-14

may have listened TO the music OF the tam
BOURNE and the song of the singers prai3-
ing their deeds and the deeds OF their faith
ers in adding Hispania to the happy realms
of the prophet, or followed the vOluptuous
dance OF Alinah girls, Tradition makes
this court once scene of blood, and re.
lates how the S,gris lured the A5eucenges
into this palace and slaughtered them,
One of the chambers, opening into the
Lions Court has retained the name of the
fancied victims, and the credulous are
shown blotched stain Of blood on the
bottom of the marble basin, in which the
heads of the thirty-six fell, which the flow
| ing water of centuries has not been able to
remove. Unfortunately for the tale, the
reddish hue came with the stone from the
quarry. A curious indication of Oriental
! usage is observed al the entrance of this
and every other chamber of the Alhambra
in little temple-lke inches, exqulsitely
carved shrines for the sandals or slippers
of the guests. Just as we are wont to bare
the head upon entering our homes and
churches, the Orientals uncover the feet in
stead, as both New and Old Testaments
| illustrate.
! "Upon the walls of this elegant room is
spread chaos of pretty forms like various
! faces, or paper valentines. But with all the
complication there is mathematical pre-
cision, and each fancy is kept within
! bounds. The roof rests on an elaborate
| Arabian vault, whose shape the Spanish
name, Media Naranga (half orange) des-
cribes correctly enough. In looking up in
to it the eye is arrested in thousand little
vaults before reaching the last little one
that crowned the whole, and seems the
more elevated the longer you have been in
arriving at it. These minute half and quar-
ter domes, climbing on each other, partly
resting on the air, ever approaching each
other at the apex, are still brilliant with
traces of their former colorlng. Tints,
controlled by the red, and blue and gold
en-, still elung to the recesses in the vault
ing, and let us form a partial conception
of vanished beauty.
"At the further end of the Court of
Lions behind one of the pavllions andthe
arcades, extends the Hall of Justice SO
called, no doubt from the central of three
pictures above it, that represent the chase,
a bench of Moorish judges, and q tourna-
ment These paintings on parchment are
still supposed by some, rs form rly by NIL
to be remains o, the Arabs, and, if So the
only pictorial essays of that race, AT al
events, they are several centuries old, anG
important as conveying to rs vivid idea,
of the dress and customs of the conqueror;
of Spain. The Alhambra becomes museum
as we'll as palace, with these paintings ant
the famous W nged vase of figures porce
lained equally priced for its age ant
supposed origin. There are many 9th
err halls Of the summer palace w
might enter. That of the Two Sisters
so-called from two magnificent marble
slabs, of equal size, lying in the pavement
on either side of the fountain, is curious
for the latticed windows of the gallery
through which the ladies of the cour
/ could see, unseen, the festivities below
The ladies' apartments surround a deli
{ cious garden, whose oranges hang within
lazy reach, and whose fragrance continually
enters marble arched openings never CLOSED
by glass. The floor of the Tocador o.
Queens toilet chamber, is pierced will
numerous holes, through which perfumes
bBrnt below slowly arose. The Mirador
another of the royal apartments, hang
coolly over the cliffs and walls of the fort
ress, In this section Of the building Iryinl
flung his mattress, and used to awake a
the mysterious whispering OF the trees
, and suspect the shadows OF pillars in tn
Lions Court to be the ayenglng spirits 0
! tba A hauoaraCas