The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-08-13
AMERICANS QUIT. QUEST FOR SPANISH BEAUTY IN PRISON
Historic Spanish SWindIe Re- mains in Vogue, But Not in America-A Popu-
 lar Myth
By AssocIntnd brad.

SrAnada, August 12.AAmericans have quit coming to Spain in search or the beautiful and wealthy prin- cess imprisoned in a dark, damp tower by a greedy uncle who is anx- ious to annex her fortune
 me historic old Spanish swinaIe apparently has gone out of fashion Tn the United States, but 1t Is still In vogue in other parts Of the world Sermany has recently supplied onita crop of kind-hearted rentlemen who advanced money for the releasa or the dark-eyed Spanish beauty who was suffering in a rat-infested ca,J ana slowly dying on q diet of arv bread and water while the hat. ho, ereo about her head and added to ment. ooniihe-
 Popular Center
 orAnaoa has always been \ ponp. Tar center for the men who have contributed to the relief of imnris. onhent beauties. Washington Irv- ms ana scores of lesser writer. have .reaited Granada with having more seauuiui women than any other city .n ne world. The legend of the Rose sne Alhambra and the stories of .nsee beautiful prinoesses, zayda. xsd ua and Aorahayda, hover about rs, @ A,nainpra and make 1t the nat ural refuge for disappointed inyast- ors In distressed beauty.
 vaudeville stars alwav. h.
 round the names of Moorish nrin- cesses profitable on playbills, Thev eafry With them the atmosphere of .he harem. of the yelled face and .ns oriental dance. They suggest tbe Aihambra and millions of gold. and she priceless Moorish jewels which noaooii ana his court are reported III legend to have secreted in tbatr paiace before 1t was surrenderad ta Ferdinand and Isabella. Boabd,I ana ms queen are supposed to be h,dIrg Tn a cavern in the neighboripr ro,,,, tains waiting for magic call fror, Mohammed which will restore them 10 their old glory in the Alhamhra bvery tower, every turret every minaret and every dungeon in tle old Alhambra has It's legend.
 Mythical Castles
 30 It is not strange that searchers Tor princesses should come to Gra- naoa arter having sought vainly for Inytnical castles in mythical noun eains. Most Of the modern Spanish princesses are being held captiyes In castles by the sea Castles bv the sea are so much damper and then 1t is much more romantic for rescue parties to approach the rocky coast In ships and wave to the i'm prlsoned princess, who will prompt- ly tear her clothing to bits and make g rope with which she will lower herself from the gloomy tower.
 Mahy or the imposters who are marketing adventure to cradulous in- vestors give their princesses the names of famous women who have been dead for centuries. Moravmab and Aishah. queens of the Moorish regime who have been dead for over 400 years, and many other celebri- ties of history and legend have lent their names to princesses supposed to, be in distress.
 Hotel keepers in Granada have be- come skilled in detecting visitors, who are searching for imprisoned beauties. They usually make very guarded inquiries and seldom admit they have been duped. Frequently they inquire for gypsy fortune tell ers' or astrolosers, who probably cnaree well for their services. Let ters concerning the distressed prin- cesses are usually marked strictly confidential and instructions are given that nothing must be said to anyone lest the life of the princess be endangered Most of tho dupes are too much ashamed of their plight to confess openly that they have been gulled, but an occasional victim approaches some of the foreign con suls or seeks the aid of the Spanish police in trying to recover money advanced to the swindlers.