The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-16
THE GLoRlES OF GRENADA
4 FAR PJLGRIMAGE INTO THE
 PAST.
Tho AIham bru-The Gate of the Law
 The Last Sigh of the Moor.


 Especial Correspondence of the Journa
 and Courier)
 Jan. 29.-Grenada at last--the goal su
 preme of journey in Spain, appropri
 ately reserved for fitting finale! Un imaginative tourists approach this Ho
 ly of Holies in parlor car, traversins the one hundred and twenty-five mile: from Malaga in about eight hours But how can one with any regard fol "the eternal fitness consent to such ar incongruity? Even the numbering dili- gencia, drawn by mules, seemed mucI too modern for such a far pilgrimage Into the past; we would have preferred the more primitive transit of Quixote's time on the backs of the mules."i
 Yet Spanish engineering has accom- plished wonderful things in those al most inaccessible Sierras, where goats might fear to tread. The whole dis tance is wild tumble of precipitous slopes, dark caverns, perilous defiles roaring torrents and mad upheava1s, at one point necessitating fourteen tunnels within thirty miles. The cars are lux uriously appointed, to meet the de- mans of model travel. They are con- structed on the English plan, in small square compartments, eight passengers being the full quota of each division.
 The most phlematic American must feel his pulses thrill as he hears this superb relic of a glorious but tragic past-the last stronghold of the Moors, in which history and tradition, skill, genius and nature have combined to produce an effect whose like does not exl-t on earth. Owing to a slight acci- dent on the road, which delayed the 6il- igencia a few hours for repairs, it was nearing midnight when we reached Grenada A very silent party, rendered dumb by excitement, rode through the sleeping city and up the Alhambra heights on its farther edge, under over arching foliage. A gorgeous southern moon ilumined the fragrant gardens where nightingales were singing, sil- vered all the domes and steeples, and transformed every tile-covered roof into an Aladdan's palace set with gems.
 Nowadays no well-informed tourist remains in the lower town, when there are two famous hotels on the hilltop, within the hallowed precincts of the Alhambra walls. One of them-"Los Siete Suelos' close under the Vermilion Towers; and the other, called "The Washington Irving" has peculiar ly honey suggestions amid such sur- roundings. Of course we chose the lat ter, as loyal Americans should, and were soon comfortably establisher--for at this time of the year travel is com paratively light in Grenada. But one must be strangely devoid of sentiment to sleep much the first night under the shadow of the Alhambra! Is it some ghostly Scheherezade whispering in your ear? Stories cherished from childhood fit through the mind ir be- succession-a regular Arabian Nights entertainment-of the glories of the Caliphs, in the most remarkable en- the world has ever seen. The entertainment of beauty, of symme- try, color and costume; the power, the the struggle, the downfall; the carnage of Moslem and Christian forces --ended just four hundred and nine years ago this month of January, on this very spot, when Cardinal Mendo- ga unfurled the banner of the cross above the Alhambra towers, after near- y eight centuries of Moslem occupation. Queen Isabella, accoutred in complete armor, gallops through your dreams on 1er richly caparisoned steed, as she of- ten appeared for the inspiration of her soldiers. You see the doughty knights of Antiquera, handicapped by their leavy coats of mail, creeping like liz zards along those dizzy heights and 'athomless gtrges, to engage in deadly conflict the Moorish warriors of Ell Za- gal, who were as familiar with every rail and crag as our American Indians with their own Rockies. You witness Ferdinand's triumphant entry into the allen city, surrounded by courtiers, cavaliers and generals-the flower of Spain in her palmiest days; while ban lers, .emblazoned in letters of gold with he names of Castle and Aragon and San Jago, were more numerous than caves on the trees. And most pathet- ! . wraith of all is that of the learned md gentle Boaddil, last king of the I0ors, who wept as he was leaving the palace where he and his ancestors had lved in such unparalleled luxury and vas consoled by his shrewish mother, vho turned to him and said: You do yell to weep like woman over what ou could not defend as man.
 Awakening for the first time in a lace so long desired, gives one fore aste of the first morning in Paradise. The first impulse is to spring to the vindow. Ear below, you see deep, I reen gorpe descending toward the town lied with tall elms and carpeted with iolets; and everywhere in the sweet, 5arm sunshine birds are pouring forth | heir souls in melody. Through this | eautiful wood, broad, well-kept paths | ur in all directions, each bordered by | rushing stream of crystal water. In E very opening of the green glades are ,fty stone basins, in which fountains plash and play--not the stingy jets of | lodern fountains, as if water were at high premium, but foaming and abun- ant masses. Nowhere else in spain re you so refreshed by the perpetual sound of many waters" With the lighty Darro on one hand and the Ge- il on the other, and thousand tor ents tumbling down the adjacent Sier- az, Grenada is eminently a city of treams." You hear the flow of the riv- rs over their rocks, the merry splash Of fountains, the murmur or