HE ALHAMBRA.]

Granada is situated about seventy miles north of Malaga, where set the
sun of Moorish glory, but where still exists that embodiment of romance,
the Alhambra. This palace-fortress is the one attraction of the
district. It is difficult to realize that the Moors possessed such
architectural skill, and that they produced such splendid palaces
centuries ago. It is also quite as remarkable that Time, the great
destroyer, should have spared for our admiration such minute, lace-like
carvings, and such brilliant mosaics. The marvel of the architecture is
its perfect harmony; there are no jarring elements in this superb
structure, no false notes in the grand anthem which it articulates. In
visiting the Alhambra one must be assisted by both history and the
imagination; he must know something of the people who built and
beautified it; he must be able to summon back the brave warriors and
beautiful ladies from the dim past to people again these glorious halls.
He must call to life the orange, the myrtle, and the myriads of fragrant
flowers that bloomed of old in these now silent marble courts. As we
pass from one section to another, from hall to hall, chamber to chamber,
lingering with busy thoughts amid the faded glory, the very atmosphere
teems with historical reminiscences of that most romantic period, the
mediaeval days, when the Moors held regal court in Andalusia. A lurking
sympathy steals over us for that exiled people who could create and give
life to such a terrestrial paradise.

[Illustration: A RECEPTION HALL IN THE ALHAMBRA.]

Alhambra signifies "Red Castle," and the vermilion-tinted structure,
with its outlying towers, was thus appropriately named. In the days of
its glory it was half palace, half fortress; indeed, a city in itself,
capable of accommodating quite an army, and containing within its walls
an immense cistern as a water supply, besides armories, storehouses,
foundry, and every appliance of a large citadel. A considerable portion
of the far-reaching walls is still extant. Under good generalship, and
properly manned, the place must have been nearly impregnable to attack
with such arms as were in use at the period. For a long time after the
expulsion of the Moors, the Castilian monarchs made it their royal
residence, and revelled within its splendid walls; but they finally
deserted it. The place was next infested by a lawless community of
smugglers and banditti, who made it their headquarters,