THE ALHAMBRA PALACE. 47 round us. Their singing reminded me of Sir Walter Scott's lines: "At morn the black-cock trims his jetty wing, 'Tis morning prompts the linnet's blithest lay- The hotel is very near the Alhambra, which is approached under a shady plantation of elm trees, some of which were given by the late Duke of Wellington; they are now large fine trees. After breakfast we walked under them to the terrace on the south side of the castle. We had engaged the services of the principal guide, who showed us his testimonial from Augustus Sala, of which he seemed to be proud; it was to the effect that he found him a good guide, who took care that no one cheated him except himself. We now ascend the castle tower, but it is impossible to do full justice to the splendid prospect. There was heavy rain here yesterday, which is succeeded to-day with the brightest sunshine; the clear atmosphere enables us to see the great mountain chain of the Sierra Nevada as far as the eye can reach, until lost to view in the blue outline of the distant horizon. We see them all before and around us, rising in grand panoramic view from the large fertile valley or "vega" beneath. We feast our eyes, and look again and again as the summer clouds move slowly along, and throw changing shadows over the unrivalled scene, while the loftiest mountains of the range, 13,000 feet in height, covered with perpetual snow, glitter in the sunlight. The valley is one of the most fertile and wellwatered in Spain, and is studded with numerous neat little homesteads. The Moors could not have chosen a finer site for the Alhambra. We now proceed to inspect the palace, and find that it would be scarcely possible for the hand of man to surpass the exquisite taste and skill displayed by the Moorish architects. The buildings were not all erected at one time, but they were designed and constructed to further the will 48 KINGDOM OF GRANADA. fall of the Gothic monarchy, and pleasure of the successive possessors of power, until the Alhambra became one of the finest and most exquisitely finished palaces in the world. The Moors acquired supreme power in Spain in 712, on the and were finally expelled in 1492, after having been in uninterrupted possession of the Kingdom of Granada for 780 years. They little thought when Ferdinand came to the throne in 1479, that in thirteen years they would be expelled. He could not have accomplished it if it had not been for the dissensions amongst the Moors themselves. Boabdil, son of the reigning monarch, conspired against his father, when the nobles rejected both, and made his uncle king. The latter was willing to divide the rule with Boabdil, but he refused, and called in the assistance of Ferdinand, who, under pretext of assisting him, became master of a number of important places in Granada; and when at length the alarmed people compelled Boabdil to unite with his uncle against the invader, it was too late. Boabdil was expelled from Granada and Spain, and retired into Africa. The Moors at Tangiers still hold the keys of the Alhambra and other buildings, and hand them down from father to son. After visiting the principal courts and apartments, and admiring especially the Court of Lions, which is surrounded by slender pillars of white marble, supporting beautiful sculptured filigree work, our attention was called to the bathing arrangements, which were very complete. Special care was taken of the ladies, and they had the privilege of finishing their bath with scented water, and in one of the rooms used for their afternoon toilets was a grating in the floor through which a perfume arose to scent the dresses for the wearers. We also visited the Generaliffe, the summer palace of the Moorish Kings, which stands on the crest of a hill, higher than the Alhambra, and is built in the same style of architecture. On our way we again heard the nightingales, and were told that they only sang at two seasons of the year; first, when they were building their nests, and again when they were teaching their EFFECT OF IRRIGATION. 49 young to sing. Both here and at the Alhambra is an abundant supply of water. The latter is 3,000 feet above the sea, and the Sierra Nevada being several thousand feet higher still, the melting of the snow during the summer months produces a continuous flow of water, which gives constant freshness and verdure to the country around. The effect of irrigation is most remarkable in this hot climate; wherever the water is applied there is abundant vegetation, while all is comparatively barren and dry beyond its range. We thought there was great scope for more extended use of the bountiful supply. Spain has had its golden and silver age, when the wealth of the Indies, and of the new world, poured into its coffers. These golden times are past, but the country still has before it the utilitarian or iron age. Our visit convinced us, that Andalusia might well support four or five times its present population, and that there is not any necessity for the sad importunate beggars, that meet one at every turn in the streets of Granada, especially at the doors of the cathedral. Some of these were nice children, and seemed happy, and evidently were only begging because it was the custom. We saw the funeral procession of one of these little ones passing through the streets to the place of burial. The coffin was very slight, and without any lid; the little thing lying peacefully in its last sleep with flowers upon its breast. As we were about to start for the Alhambra, we were asked whether any of our party would like to "go botanizing." This is a good place for the pursuit, as within a short distance, there are all climes from the region of perpetual snow to almost tropical heat. In the evening we were invited to pay a visit to the gipsies, and hear their king perform upon the guitar. He had a fine Moorish appearance, and played with great skill. We could have dispensed with the dancing of the gipsies; it was very noisy with exclamations, clapping of hands, and various incongruous sounds. The dances were, no doubt, imitations 50 DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S ESTATE. of very old ones. Though the gipsies profess to be Roman Catholics, it is said they practise Moslem rites in secret, and pray turning towards Mecca. Wednesday, April 28th. We were called at 2 a.m., and breakfasted at 2.30., in order to leave for Malaga by the early train. In the grey of the morning we passed the estate conferred upon the Duke of Wellington by the Spanish Cortes after the battle of Salamanca. It is near the village of Roma, and about 7,000 acres in extent. We were told at Granada that the present heir expectant of the estate is the only representative of the family that has visited the property since the Duke was here in 1814. For many years it did not yield any income as it was badly managed. Some years while receiving nothing, the Duke had to remit money to pay for improvements; the gross rental is now £10,000 per annum, and the net rental £6,000. After travelling for about five hours we arrived again at Bobadilla junction, where we had a second breakfast, and in about half an hour were again on our way to Malaga. The course of the railway, from here to the sea, is intercepted by the grand chain of mountains called the Sierra Marina, which the engineers pierced through by tunnelling, but encountered greater difficulties than had been expected, as there were deep fissures, some of them unknown until the work was in progress, and it was too late to divert the line. We passed through 18 tunnels, and over these deep fissures, spanned by wrought iron bridges, the mountains above being almost vertical for hundreds of feet, and the chasm below a fearful depth. Part of the mountains where the railway passes has a tendency to crumble away, which has made the line not very safe of late, and we saw places where men had been at work repairing it. It is very wild and grand mountain scenery. In passing through it we are reminded of the Civil Guards (Guardias Civiles) of Spain, and of the great service they have been to the country, in making life and property safe. Some have SPANISH CIVIL GUARDS. 51 travelled with us, and we have seen two or more at several of the railway stations. They are an admirably organised body, well disciplined under an excellent code of rules, and number at the present time 21,000 infantry and 5,000 horse. Before they were organised, the civil power proved powerless to put the brigands down, as the alcades or mayors of towns were afraid to capture and pronounce and execute sentence against them, for fear of assassination in revenge. 15th of February last, a train containing specie was attacked by brigands in Andalusia, on its way north from Gibraltar. Twenty-six of them were afterwards captured, and have just been tried by court martial at Madrid. Thirteen of the prisoners are sentenced to death, and the remaining thirteen to twenty years' penal servitude. On the The powers of the Civil Guards are very summary if any brigands attempt to offer resistance, or escape when captured; their orders are to shoot them down, which we are told they do without hesitation. After we had passed through the Sierra Marina, we came into a very fertile very fertile valley, where everything has the appearance of tropical growth, arriving soon after noon. at Malaga. Here our Admiral found his luggage, which, notwithstanding all possible care, had been put into a Malaga train, on Monday, at the bad Bobadilla junction. He then went to look for the Red Rose, and found it just steaming into the bay. Our first view of the Mediterranean was not so inviting as we had anticipated; there was a strong west wind blowing, and the sea was rough, looking much like a stormy sea on an English coast. After our Admiral had called upon the consul for letters, and we had explored the town, the hotel people prepared us a breakfast, of which we partook for the third time to-day. Malaga is a thriving town of upwards of 100,000 inhabitants. It shipped last year 9,500 tons of raisins to America, and 7,000 tons to England. We asked whether the best went to America. "No," they said, "the best go to England; the |