reigning sovereign when visiting
Seville. A marble tablet in one of these rooms tells of a queen having
been born there during the last century.

Much of the ornamentation on the walls is of course original, as well
as some of the ceilings and doors, but the "restorations" effected at
various epochs have greatly altered the face of things. Gaudy colours
show up both walls and ceilings, but at the same time greatly detract
from their value, besides which there are coarse imitations of the
genuine tile-work, made in squares, with lines in relief to represent
the joints, as well as patterns painted on the plaster to fill up
gaps in the designs. Then, too, the most prominent parts of the
ornamentation have been disfigured by the interposition of Spanish
shields and coats-of-arms on tiles. The border round the top of the
dado is alternated with these all the way round some of the rooms.
To crown all, certain of the fine old doors, resembling a wooden
patchwork, have been "restored" with plaster-of-Paris. Some of the
arabesques which now figure on these walls were actually pillaged from
the Alhambra.

Many of the Arabic inscriptions have been pieced so as to render them
illegible, and some have been replaced upside down, while others
tell their own tale, for they ascribe glory and might to a Spanish
sovereign, Don Pedro the Cruel, instead of to a "Leader of the
Faithful." A reference to the history of the country tells us that
this ruler "reconstructed" the palace of the Moors, while later it was
repaired by Don Juan II., before Ferdinand and Isabella built their
oratories within its precincts, or Charles V., with his mania for
"improving" these monuments of a foreign dominion, doubled it in
size. For six centuries this work, literally of spoliation, has been
proceeding in the hands of successive owners; what other result than
that arrived at, could be hoped for?

When this is realized, the greater portion of the historic value of
this palace vanishes, and its original character as a Moorish palace
is seen to have almost disappeared. There still, however, remains the
indisputable fact, apparent from what does remain of the work of its
builders, that it was always a work of art and a trophy of the skill
of its designers, those who have interfered with it subsequently
having far from improved it.

According to Arab historians, the foundations of this palace were laid
in 1171 A.D. and it was reconstructed between 1353 and