The Republican journal., 1901-02-21

THE SWIFT SPECIFIC CO., ATLANTA, GA.
The splendid trees that surround the
Alhambra planted by the Duke of
Wellington the only elms in Spain;
indeed they are almost the only trees of
any size, except fruit-bearing varieties,
to be found in the Peninsula They have
never been trimmed, and while none of
them can ever attain individual perfec-
ton in this uncongenial soil, the pictur-
esque effect of hundreds of immensely
tall, slender trunks, with branches in
terlaced in mid-air over the roadways,
and garlands of ivy swinging in the
breeze, leave nothing to be desired And
then the violets, and the incessant
chorus of singing birds, and especially
the nightingales, which seem as much a
part Of the Alhambra as it's old red
walls. PensanJentos (memories), is the
Spanish name for those fragrant blue
flowers, spread in a thick, soft carpet,
acres wide, at all seasons of the year.
The name Grenada is supposed to
have come from the Latin, granatum,
meaning pomegranate, because the
hills upon which the city is built are
shaped and divided exactly like that
fruit. You remember that King Ferdi-
nand, at the time of the conquest, de-
clared "Out of that grenade Spanish for
pomegranate) | will pick the seeds one
by one 1t is not likely, however that
the Moors meant pomegranate when
! they named their town karnattah,
which word has somehow been corrupt
ed to that IN present use But all the
same, the pomegranate, stalked and
! proper, has been adopted as the :'cant
ing arms of the city. The Grenada of
! to-day has about eighty thousand in
. habitants, though many centuries ago,
under It's former masters, the popula-
ton exceeded four hundred thousand.
| Ii time is not pressing you are inclin-
ed to linger long on the outside of the
Alhambra, dallying with the soft de-
lights of imagination 1t is said that
Washington Irving spent three weeks
wandering about the grounds and get
ting himself spiritually attuned before
ever seeing the inside of the holy of
holes. Later and less impressionable
travellers have confessed that they paus-
ed again and again at the portals, and
turned away, to first exhaust the COM
moner sights before venturing upon this.
The most matter-o Of fact individual must
feel positive shock at the marvellous
transition. You pass swinging door Of
cold gray stone-and presto! you have
stepped from poor, shabby old Spain
into the glories of Damascus of Agra,
or Delhi; from the prosaic twentieth
century into a romantic and gorgeous
era, long, long gone by. Americans of
the brass band type, who whistle in
cathedrals and rush with needless feet
where angels fear to tread, are capable
of deing' the Alhambra between
trains. And the quicker they do it and
go the better for those they leave be.
hind. -
1t is hardly five minutes walk from
the hotel door through the violet-car-
peted wood to the Gate of Justice. be-
meath which the Moslem kings dis
pensed judgment. 1t is an enormous
tower, forming the entrance to the for
tress-the only gate at present existing
OF the four that once led into the AL
hambra enclosure. 1t is wonderfully
well preserved, the cement covering the
masonry as smooth as when first laid
on; and the ponderous bronze doors,
which opened TO admit the Christian
army on that memorable I'd of Janu-
airy, 1902, are still in their places, beside
the racks that sustained the lances
of the Moorish guard. Innumerable
legends are connected with this spot,
where sat the venerated Kahi, or civil
magistrate, who settled, off-hand, all
disputes not considered of sufficient
consequence to engage the attention of
the Sultan. Such was the fashion in
Solomon's day, according to Deuterono-
my and other portions of the Old Tes-
lament. The guide-book states that
this gate, which the Moors called Baba-
sh-shari' ah,-or "Gate of the Law"
was built by Yusufuel in the year 134s.
1t is sixty-two feet high by forty-seven
feet wide, but is so massive that it has
the appearance of being perfectly
square. Halfway up the tower rises
horseshoe arch, and above the arch is
sculptured an open hand, the fingers
pointing upwards. Some authorities
assert that this colossal hand is SYM
bolic of hospitality and generosity, the
redeeming qualities of the Oriental.
Others say with equal certainty that