The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-02-28
IN changing their wanderings for a set
tled life-ln striking the tent to plant

tied life in striking the tent to plant
IL IN more solid form-had transferred
the luxurious shawls and hangings of
cashmere which adorned their former
dwellings, to the new temple, changing
tne tent-poles to the marble columns
tne sllken tissue for gilded plaster. Be-
tween the flowers and designs, on every
lnch OF wall, appear sentences from the
Koran, intended to keep it in the hearts
OF beholders. Thousands of times this
motto occurs: "Wa-la glalibs-illa-Al-
lah-Ihere is no conquerer but AL
lah'-the words which Tbn-l-a Ahmar
answered to his subjects when they
came forth to meet him as he returned
victorious to Grenada. Over and over
again we read: THAT is if we understand
the Cutie characters) "Allah is our
refuge in every trouble" ''The glory,
the empire, belong to Allah" Praise
be to Allah for the blessings of Islam
ism. There are no gifts among you
but those of Allah" "Glory to our
Lord the Sultan Abul Hachah, Ousuf L.
prince OF the Moslems, or Abu Abdilla
Mohammed VII" There is no doubt
that the Moors were intensely religious,
IN their own way; and yet in these very
rooms, whose walls were inscribed with
sacred sentiments, what tragedies have
been enacted-what scenes of cruelty.
lust and barbarity! The Hall of Ambas
sailors, the largest in the Alhambra
occupies the whole of the tower of
| Comares and is IS feet high This was
the throne-room of the Caliph. Its walls
are OF immense thickness, so that the
window recesses are like small rooms.
The ceiling was originally wonderful
stucco, inlaid with mother of pearl
porphyry and jasper; but most of this
has been destroyed, and like King Solo
mans palace, it is ''oiled in cedar and
painted with vermilion.' We stand in
the central allowed windows, which for
merly held the divan of the Sultan, and
look out over the balcony railing on
which Irving loved to lean and enjoy
the beauty of the landscape. 1t was in
this room that the last but one of the
Moorish sovereigns took to wife the
captive Christian maiden, Isabel de Sol
is, and had her renamed ''The Morning
Star His discarded Sultana, Aveshah,
imprisoned in the tower above and fear
ing for the safety of her son, Boabdil,
tore her garments into ropes and let
him down by night into the Darro
ravine. He escaped, and a few years
later dethroned his father. Aveshah,
the wise mother, at once urged upon
him the Importance of conciliating the
powerful clans who had upheld King
Abu-lhasan; but the spirit of venge-
ance was too strong within the young
man, and instead, he invited all the
powerful chiefs to banquet and had
them beheaded, one after another, in the
marble-paved hall beyond, where GER
tain dark stains are shown, said to be
the blood of the thirty-three warriors
so treacherously murdered: and the
story goes that their ghosts yet haunt
the palace. At any rate, the deed led
to the overthrow of the kingdom, for
the other disaffected chiefs at once went
over to the army of Ferdinand and
Isabella, which was already encamped
against Grenada. In this Hall of Am
| bassadors, Aveshah girded her son with
a sacred sword, with which he was to
repell the invaders. But going forth,
he accidentally struck his lance against
the gateway and broke tan evil omen
which convinced his dispirited followers
that Allah had turned away his face.
The siege was long, and threatened
famine finished the conquest. So it was
that Boabdil delivered up the keys of the
fortress to Ferdinand, saying: 'They
are thine, oh king, since Allah so de-
crees it." Who was it wrote the poem
of which | can now recall but this?:
''Down from the Alhambra's minarets,
Were all the crescents flung;
The arms thereon of AragOn and
CASTLE they display.
| One king comes in in triumph, one weeping
| goes away
FANNIE B. WARD.