Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-06-01
TIE HOOPS GAVE.

which flow the waters of the Albania,
the traveller can still find the torsaken
ruins of an Arabian castle.
The castle, in the palmy days Of the
rAconouest, was famous as having
been the scene of great and memorable
exploits, as much on the part of
those who defended it as on the part
Of those who valiantly planted upon
its turrets the standard of the cross.
OF it's walls few fragments alone
remain. The stones which had once
shaped the watch tower have fallen
into the moat, one heaped on the
other, forming, as it were a complete
ford.
In the court of arms grow briars
and m atted vines; on all sides naught
can be seen but broken arches, grim
and moldering stone benches, here a
sheet o. wall, between the crevices Of
which the ivy struggles in its growth;
there a dilapidated tower standing as
If by miracle, and further on pillars of
cement, still encircled by the iron
hoops which once upheld the draw
bridge.
During my stay at the baths much
exercise was recommended me as being
conducive to my physical improve
ment. Impelled by this motive, or
perhaps by one of curiosity, I often
followed the rugged path which led to
the ruins of the Abraham fortress,
and there spent hours carefully ex-
amining the soil, in hopes Of finding
some old armor, sounding the walls
to ascertain whether they were hollow
or to discover the hiding place Of
some forgotten treasure; searching in
every corner with the anticipation of
seeing the entrance of some of those
famous subterraneand dungeons which,
as tradition has it, are to be found
in Moorish castles.
My diligent perquisitions were
fruitless. At last, one evening, feeling
dlsheartened at not discovering some
thing curious or new on the rocky
heights upon which rests the castle,
forsook my plans and limited my
walk to the banks of the river which
flows near by. Following the drift of
theriver. I saw a gap IN the rock, half
hidden by q luXuriant growth Of
briars. 1t was not without some
emotion that I parted the tangled
shrubbery that covered the opening
of what seemed to me a cave dug by
the hand of nature, and which l later
found to be a subterranean vault cut
through the rock.
I dared not penetrate into its depth,
which was lost to sight In shadOWy
darkness. 1t suited me to observe
the peculiarities of the dome and of
its arches, which rose seemingly as
gigantic stairway, stretching towards
the castle, In among the ruins of which
I remembered having encountered a
blind postern. Without a doubt
had at last found one of those secret
paths which are by no means uncOm-
mon in the military constructions of
that day, and which must have serv-
ed either as an exit or as q means to
facilitate the carrying OF water from
the river which flows near by.
In order to verify my suppositiOns I
left the vault, and addressing a work
man who was busy trimming one of
the vines growing on the roadside,
approached him under the plea Of ask
ing light for my cigarette
At first we spoke of Indifferent sub
iects-of the medicinal properties of
the waters, of the past harvest and of
the one to come, OF the women OF Ma
varre, Of wine culture in that province,
etc, and, in short. discussed all the
topics which occurred to the good
man, including the cave, the object of
my curiosity.
When at last the conversation fell
upon this point asked if anyone had
ever descended into the cave.
Penetrate into the MOOr's cave!"
exclaimed he, terrified at my question.
''Who would dare venture within it?
Do you not know that from this
cavern there comes q soul every
night?"
"A SOUL" said I smiling, ''whose
sOul?"
The soul OF the daughter of a Moor
ish chief, who even to this day wan
ders about In the still hours of the
night, rObed in white, generally going
in the direction of the river to fill q
Jar with water"
Through the information given by
this good man came to the knOwl-
edge that concerning the Arabian cas-
tie and the cave communicating with
1t there was a history, and as 1 am
partial to traditions, especially when
coming from the lips of the natives, I
begged that he relate the story OF the
MOOr's cave, which he did In words
very similar to those which will use
In telling it to my readers.
When the castle, of which now only
remains a mass of shapeless ruins,
was yet held by the Moorish kings,
aud its towers, which overhung the
valley made fertile by the waters of
the Albania, there occurred in the Vi
cinity of the city of Fitero a bloody
battle. in which fell wounded and pris-
Oner of the Arabs a famous Christian
cavalier. equally as worthy of renOwn