regions, the soil being of that peculiar red which gives
its name to the Blad Hamra ("Red Country") near Marrakesh. This is
especially observable in the vicinity of Jerez, and again at Granada,
where one feels almost in Morocco again. Even the colour of the rugged
hills and rocks is the same, but more of the soil is cultivated than
in any save the grain districts of Morocco.

The vegetation is strikingly similar, the aloe and the prickly pear,
the olive and the myrtle abounding, while from the slight glimpses
I was able to obtain of the flora, the identity seems also to be
continued there. Yet all this, though interesting to the observer, is
not to be wondered at. It is our habit of considering the two lands as
if far apart, because belonging to separate continents, which leads us
to expect a difference between countries divided only by a narrow gap
of fourteen miles or less, but one from whose formation have resulted
most important factors in the world's history.

The first striking reminders of the Moorish dominion are the names of
Arabic origin. Some of the most noteworthy are Granada (Gharnatah),
Alcazar (El Kasar), Arjona (R'honah), Gibraltar (Gibel Tarik),
Trafalgar (Tarf el Gharb, "West Point"), Medinah (Madinah, "Town"),
Algeciras (El Jazirah, "The Island"), Guadalquivir (Wad el Kebeer--so
pronounced in Spain--"The Great River"), Mulahacen (Mulai el Hasan),
Alhama (El Hama, "The Hot Springs"), and numberless others which might
be mentioned, including almost every name beginning with "Al."

The rendering of these old Arabic words into Spanish presents a
curious proof of the changes which the pronunciation of the Spanish
alphabet has undergone during the last four centuries. To obtain
anything like the Arabic sound it is necessary to give the letters
precisely the same value as in English, with the exception of
pronouncing "x" as "sh." Thus the word "alhaja," in everyday
use--though unrecognizable as heard from the lips of the modern
Castilian, "alaha,"--is nothing but the Arabic "el hajah," with
practically the same meaning in the plural, "things" or "goods." To
cite more is unnecessary. The genuine pronunciation is still often
met with among Jews of Morocco who have come little in contact with
Spaniards, and retain the language of their ancestors when expelled
from the Peninsula, as also in Spanish America.

The Spanish language is saturated with corrupted Arabic, at all
events so far as nouns are concerned.