CHAPTER XXIII.
GRANADA AND THE ALHAMBRA.
When the academy fleet arrived at Malaga, theprincipal decided to follow the plan he hadadopted at Barcelona, though on a smaller scale, andsend the Josephines and Tritonias to Cadiz, while thePrinces proceeded by rail to the same place, seeingGranada, Cordova, and Seville on the way. As soon asthe transfer could be made, the steamer sailed with itscompany of tourists; and her regular crew were domiciledat the Hotel de la Alameda, in Malaga.
“Here we are again,” said Sheridan, as the party ofthe doctor came together again at the hotel.
“I feel more like looking at a cathedral than Idid when we were sight–seeing in December,” addedMurray.
“You have not many more cathedrals to see,”replied the doctor. “There is one here; but, as this isSaturday, we will visit it to–morrow. Suppose we takea walk on the Alameda, as this handsome square iscalled.”
It is a beautiful bit of a park, with a fountain at eachend; but it was so haunted with beggars that the touristscould not enjoy it. It was fresh and green, andbright with the flowers of early spring.
“What an abomination these beggars are!” exclaimedSheridan, as a pair of them, one with his eyesapparently eaten out with sores, leaning on the shoulderof another seemingly well enough, saluted themwith the usual petition. “It makes me sick to look atthem.”
Murray gave the speaker two _reales_; but they wouldnot go till the others had contributed. A little fartheralong they came to a blind man, who had stationedhimself by a bridge, and held out his hand in silence.
“That man deserves to be encouraged for holdinghis tongue,” said the captain, as he dropped a _peseta_into the extended hand. “Most of them yell andtease so that one don’t feel like giving.”
The blind beggar called down the blessing of theVirgin upon the donor, in a gentle and devout tone.But he seemed to be an exception to all the other mendicantsin Malaga. As the captain said, many of themwere most disgusting sights; and they pointed outtheir ailments as though they were proud of them.
“This is a commercial city, and there is not much tosee in it,” said the doctor, as they returned to thehotel. “Its history is but a repetition of that of nearlyall the cities of Spain. It was a place of great tradein the time of the Moors: it is the fifth city of Spain,ranking next to Valencia. You saw the United Statesflag on quite a number of vessels in the port; and ithas a large trade with our country. Wine, raisins,oranges, lemons, and grapes are the principal exports.”
The next day most of the students visited the cathedral,where they heard mass, which was attended by abattalion of soldiers, with a band which took part inthe service. Early on Monday morning the touristsstarted for Granada, taking the train at quarter pastsix o’clock. The ride was exceedingly interesting; forthe country between Malaga and Cordova is very fertile,though a small portion of it is a region aboundingin the wildest scenery. The first part of the journeywas in the midst of orange–orchards and vineyards.
“What is that sort of an inclined plane?” askedSheridan, pointing to a stone structure like one side ofthe roof of a small house. “I have noticed a greatmany of them here and near Alicante.”
“You observe that they all slope to the south,”replied the doctor. “They are used in drying raisins.This is a grape as well as an orange country. Raisinsare dried grapes; and, when you eat your plum–puddingin the future, you will be likely to think of the countryaround Malaga, for the nicest of them come fromhere.”
“This is a wild country,” said Murray, after theyhad been nearly two hours on the train.
“We pass through the western end of the SierraNevada range. Notice this steep rock,” added thedoctor, as they passed a lofty precipice. “It is ‘Lovers’Rock.’”
“Of course it is,” laughed Murray; “and theyjumped down that cliff; and there is not a precipicein the world that isn’t a lovers’ leap.”
“I think you are right. In this case it was a Spanishknight, and a Moorish maiden whose father didn’t likethe match.”
The travellers left the train at Bobadilla, and proceededby rail to Archidona. Between this place andLoxa the railroad was not then built; and the distance—aboutsixteen miles—had to be accomplished bydiligence. Half a dozen of these lumbering vehicleswere in readiness, with their miscellaneous teams ofhorses and mules all hitched on in long strings. Thispart of the journey was likely to be a lark to thestudents; and they piled into and upon the carriageswith great good–nature. The doctor and his pupilssecured seats on the outside.
“This is the _coupé_ in Spain, but it is the _banquette_ inSwitzerland,” said he, when they were seated. “It iscalled the dickey in England.”
“But the box for three passengers, with windows inthe front of the diligence, is always the _coupé_,” addedSheridan.
“Not in Spain: that is called the _berlina_ here. Themiddle compartment, holding four or six, is _el interior_;and _la rotundo_, in the rear, like an omnibus, holds six.The last is used by the common people because it isthe cheapest.”
“But this seat is not long enough for four,” protestedMurray, when the conductor directed another officer tomount the _coupé_”.
“Come up, commodore: I think we can make roomfor you,” added Sheridan.
“This is a long team,” said Commodore Cantwell,when they were seated,—“ten mules and horses.”
“I have travelled with sixteen,” added the doctor.
On a seat wide enough for two, under the windowsof the _berlina_, the driver took his place. His reinswere a couple of ropes reaching to the outside ends ofthe bits of the wheel–horses. He was more properlythe brakeman, since he had little to do with the team,except to yell at the animals. On the nigh horse ormule, as he happened to be, rode a young man whoconducted the procession. He is called the _delantero_.The _zagal_ is a fellow who runs at the side of theanimals, and whips them up with a long stick. The_mayoral_ is the conductor, who is sometimes the driver;but in this case he seemed to have the charge of allthe diligences.
“Oja! oja!” (o–ha) yelled the driver. The _zagal_began to hammer the brutes most unmercifully, and theteam started at a lively pace.
“That’s too bad!” exclaimed Sheridan, when he sawthe _zagal_ pounding the mules over the backbone withhis club, which was big enough to serve for a bean–pole.
“I agree with you, captain, but we can’t help ourselves,”added the doctor. “That villain will keep itup till we get to the end of our journey.”
The _dilijencia_ passed out of the town, and wentthrough a wild country with no signs of any inhabitants.The road was as bad as a road could be, andwas nothing but a track beaten over the fields, passingover rocks and through gullies and pools of water.Carts, drawn by long strings of mules or donkeys,driven by a peasant with a gun over his shoulder, wereoccasionally met; but the road was very lonely. Halfway to Loxa they came to a river, over which was anarrow bridge for pedestrians; but the _dilijencia_ hadto ford the stream.
At this point the horses and mules were changed;and some of the students went over the bridge, andwalked till they were overtaken by the coaches. Atthree o’clock they drove into Loxa. The streets ofthe town are very steep and very narrow; and the _zagal_had to crowd the team over to the opposite side, inorder to get the vehicle around the corners. Thestudents on the outside could have jumped into thewindows of the houses on either side, and people onthe ground often had to dodge into the doorways, tokeep from being run over. From this place the partyproceeded to Granada by railroad. Crossing a part ofthis city, which is a filthy hole, the party went to theHotel Washington Irving, and the Hotel Siete Suelos,both of which are at the very gate of the Alhambra.
The doctor and his friends were quartered at theformer hotel, which is a very good one, but more expensivethan the _Siete Suelos_ on the other side of thestreet. They are both in the gardens of the Alhambra,the avenues of which are studded with noble elms, thegift of the Duke of Wellington.
“And this is the Alhambra,” said Ca
pt. Sheridan, asthe trio came out for a walk, after dinner.
“What is the meaning of the name of that hotel?”
“_Hotel de los Siete Suelos_,—the hotel of the sevenstories, or floors.”
“But it hasn’t more than four or five.”
“Haven’t you read Irving’s Alhambra? He mentionsa tower with this name, in which was the gatewhere Boabdil left the Alhambra for the last time. Itwas walled up at the request of the Moor.”
The party walked about the gardens till it was dark.The next morning, before the ship’s company wereready, the doctor and the three highest officers enteredthe walled enclosure.
“This is the Tower of Justice,” said the doctor, asthey paused at the entrance. “It is so called becausethe Moorish kings administered the law to the peoplehere. You see the hand and the key carved over thedoor. If you ask the grandson of Mateo Ximenes,who is a guide here, what it means, he will tell youthe Moors believed that, when this hand reacheddown and took the key, the Alhambra might be captured;but not till then. Then he will tell you thatthey were mistaken; and give glory to the Spaniards.The key was the Moslem symbol for wisdom andknowledge; and the hand, of the five great commandmentsof their religion.”
The party entered the tower, in which is an altar,and passed into the square of the cisterns. Charles V.began to build a huge palace on one side of it; butthe fear of earthquakes induced him to desist. Hedestroyed a portion of the Moorish palace to makeroom for it. The visitors entered an office where theyregistered their names, paid a couple of _pesetas_, andreceived a plan of the palace. The first names in thebook are those of Washington Irving and his Russiancompanion.
“This is the Court of the Myrtles,” said the doctor,as they entered the first and largest court of thepalace. “It is also called ‘the Court of Blessing,’because the Moors believed water was a blessing; andthis pond contains a good deal of it.”
“My guide–book does not call it by either of thesenames,” said Commodore Cantwell, who had Harper’sGuide in his hand. “It says here it is ‘the _Patio de laAlberca_,’ or fish–pond.”
“And so says Mr. Ford, who is the best authority onSpain. We must not try to reconcile the differences inguide–books. We had better call it after the myrtlesthat surround the tank, and let it go at that. Thiscourt is the largest of the palace, though it is only onehundred and forty by seventy–five feet. But the Alhambrais noted for its beauty, and not for its size. Wewill now pass into the Court of the Lions,” continuedthe doctor, leading the way. “This is the most celebrated,as it is the most beautiful, part of the palace.”
“I have seen many pictures of it, but I supposed itwas ten times as large as it is,” said Sheridan.
“It is about one hundred and twenty by seventy feet.There are one hundred and twenty–four columns aroundthe court. Now we must stop and look at the wonderfularchitecture and exquisite workmanship. Look atthese graceful arches, and examine that sort of lace–workin the ceilings and walls.”
While they were thus occupied, the ship’s companycame into the court, and the principal called themtogether to hear Professor Mapps on the history ofthe Alhambra.
“In 1238 Ibnu–I–Ahamar founded the kingdom of Granada, and he built the Alhambra for his palace and fortress. In Arabic it was _Kasr–Alhamra_, or Red Castle; and from this comes the present name. The Vermilion Tower was a part of the original fortress. Under this monarch, whose title was Mohammed I., Granada became very prosperous and powerful. When the Christians captured Valencia, the Moors fled to Granada, and fifty thousand were added to the population of the kingdom; and it is estimated that a million more came when Seville and Cordova were conquered by the Castilians. The work of this king was continued by his successors; and the Alhambra was finished in 1333 by Yosuf I. He built the Gate of Judgment, Justice, or Law, as it is variously called, and the principal parts of the palace around you. The city was in its glory then, and is said to have had half a million inhabitants. But family quarrels came into the house of the monarch, here in the Alhambra; and this was the beginning of the decline of the Moorish power.
“Abul–Hassan had two wives. One of them was Ayesha; and the other was a very beautiful Christian lady called Zoraya, or the Morning Star. Ayesha was exceedingly jealous of the other; and fearing that the son of the Morning Star, instead of her own, might succeed to the crown, she organized a powerful faction. On Zoraya’s side were the Beni–Serraj, whom the Spaniards called the Abencerrages. They were the descendants of a vizier of the King of Cordova,—Abou–Serraj. Abou–Abdallah was the eldest son of Ayesha; and in 1482 he dethroned his father. The name of this prince became Boabdil with the Spaniards; and so he is called in Mr. Irving’s works. As soon as he came into power, his mother, and the Zegris who had assisted her, persuaded him to retaliate upon the Abencerrages for the support they had given to Zoraya. Under a deceitful plea, he gathered them together in this palace, where the Zegris were waiting for them. One by one they were called into one of these courts, and treacherously murdered. Thus was Granada deprived of its bravest defenders; and the Moors were filled with indignation and contempt for their king. While they were quarrelling among themselves, Ferdinand and Isabella advanced upon Granada. They had captured all the towns and strong fortresses; and there was nothing more to stay their progress. For nine months the sovereigns besieged the city before it fell. It was a sad day for the Moors when the victors marched into the town. There is a great deal of poetry and romance connected with this palace and the Moslems who were driven out of it. You should read Mr. Lockhart’s translation of the poems on these subjects, and the works of Prescott and Irving.”
When the professor had completed his account, thedoctor’s party passed in to the right, entering one ofthe apartments which surround the court on three of itssides.
“That’s as mean a lot of lions as I ever saw,” saidMurray, who had lingered at the fountain which givesits name to the court.
“The sculpture of the lions is certainly very poor;but we can’t have every thing,” replied the doctor.“This is the Hall of the Abencerrages; and it gets itsname from the story Mr. Mapps has just told you.Some say these nobles were slain in this room; andothers, that they were beheaded near the fountain inthe court, where the guides point out a dark spot as thestain of blood. You must closely examine the work inthis little room if you wish to appreciate it.”
They returned to the Court of the Lions, and, crossingit, entered the Hall of the Two Sisters. The studentsexpected to hear some romance told of thesetwo ladies; but they proved to be two vast slabs inthe floor. This room and that of the Abencerrageswere probably the sleeping apartments of the monarch’sfamily; and several small chambers, used for baths andother purposes, are connected with them. On eachside of them are raised platforms for the couches. Atthe farther end of the court is the council–hall of justice.It is long and narrow, seventy–five by sixteen feet; andis very elaborately ornamented.
At the northern end of the Court of Myrtles, is theHall of Ambassadors, which occupies the ground floorof the Tower of Comares. It is the largest apartmentof the palace, seventy–five by thirty–seven feet. Thiswas the throne–room, or hall of audience, of the monarchs.The doctor again insisted that his pupils shouldscrutinize the work; and he called their attention to thehorseshoe arches and various other forms and shapes,to the curious niches and alcoves, to the delicate coloringin the ceilings and on the walls, and to the interlacingdesigns, in the portions of the palace they visited.
They had now seen the principal apartments on theground floor; and they ascended to the towers, the opengalleries of which are a peculiarity in the constructionof the edifice. They were shown the rooms occupiedby Washington Irving when he “succeeded to Boabdil,”and became an inhabitant of the Alhambra; but theAlhambra is a thing to be seen, and not described.They visited the Royal Chapel, the fortress, and fortwo days they were busy as bees, though one day wasenough to satisfy most of the students.
On the third day of their sojourn at the A
lhambra,the doctor’s party visited the Generalife. The namemeans “The Garden of the Architect,” who was probablyan employee of the king; but the palace was purchasedand used as a pleasure–house by one of thekings. The sword of Boabdil is shown here. Thegardens, which are about all the visitor sees, are morequaint than beautiful. The walks are hedged in withbox, and the cypress–trees are trimmed in squareblocks, as in the gardens of Versailles. Passingthrough these, the visitor ascends a tower on a hill,which commands a magnificent view of Granada andthe surrounding country.
The abundance of water in and around the Alhambraattracts the attention of the tourist. The walkshave a stream trickling down the hill on each side. Itcomes from the snow–crowned Sierra Nevadas; and, thewarmer the weather, the faster do the ice and snowmelt, and the greater is the flow of the water. In theAlhambra and in the Generalife these streams of waterare to be met at almost every point.
One day was given to the city of Granada, thoughthe visitor cares but little for any thing but the Alhambra.Without mentioning what may be seen in thecathedral in detail, there is one sight there which isalmost worth the pilgrimage to the city; and that is thetomb of Ferdinand and Isabella. Dr. Winstock ordereda carriage for the purpose of taking his chargeto the church.
When the team appeared at the door of the hotel,the students were very much amused at its singularcharacter; for it was a very handsome carriage, but itwas drawn by mules. The harness was quite elaborateand elegant; yet to be drawn by these miserable mulesseemed to some of the party to be almost a disgrace.But the doctor said that they had been highly honored,since they had been supplied with what was doubtlessthe finest turnout to be had. These mules were verylarge and handsome for their kind, and cost moremoney than the finest horses. After this explanation,they were satisfied to ride behind a pair of mules.
There are plenty of pictures and sculptures in thecathedral; but the party hastened to the royal chapelbuilt by order of the sovereigns, which became theirburial–place. The mausoleum is magnificent beyonddescription. It consists of two alabaster sepulchres inthe centre of the chapel, on one of which are the formsof Ferdinand and Isabella, and on the other those ofCrazy Jane and Philip, the parents of Charles V. Butthe lion of the place, to the students, was the vaultbelow the chapel, to which they were conducted, downa narrow staircase of stone, by the attendant. On alow dais in the middle of the tomb were two very ordinarycoffins, not differing from those in use in NewEngland, except that they were strapped with ironbands.
“This one, marked ‘F,’ contains the remains of Ferdinand,”said the doctor, in a low tone. “The otherhas an ‘I’ upon it, and holds all that time has left ofthe mortal part of Isabella, whose patronage enabledColumbus to discover the New World.”
“Is it possible that the remains of Ferdinand andIsabella are in those coffins?” exclaimed Sheridan.
“There is not a doubt of the fact. Eight years agothe late queen of Spain visited Granada, and causedmass to be said for the souls of these sovereigns at thesame altar used by them at the taking of the city.Some of the guides will tell you that these coffinswere opened at this time, and the remains of the kingand queen were found to be in an excellent state ofpreservation. I don’t know whether the statement istrue or not.”
“Here are two other coffins just like them,” saidMurray, as he turned to a sort of shelf that extendedacross the sides of the vault.
“They contain the remains of Crazy Jane and Philipher husband, both of whose effigies are introduced inthe sculpture on the monuments in the chapel above,”replied the doctor. “The coffin of Philip is the veryone that she carried about everywhere she went, andso often embraced in the transports of her grief. Sheis at rest now.”
Deeply impressed by what they had seen in thevault, which made the distant past more real to theyoung men, they returned to the chapel above. Inthe sacristy they saw the sword of Ferdinand, a veryplain weapon, and his sceptre; but more interestingwere the crown of silver gilt worn by Isabella, herprayer–book, and the chasuble, or priest’s vestment,embroidered by her.
The party next visited the Carthusian Monastery,just out of the city, which contains some exquisitemarble–work and curious old frescos. On their returnto the Alhambra, they gave some attention to the gypsies,who are a prominent feature of Granada, wherethey are colonized in greater numbers than at any otherplace in Spain, though they also abound in the vicinityof Seville. They live by themselves, on the side ofa hill, outside of the city. The tourists crossed theDarro, which flows at the foot of the hill on which theAlhambra and Generalife stand. They found the gypsieslolling about in the sun, hardly disturbed by theadvent of the visitors. They seem to lead a vagabondlife at home as well as abroad. They were of an olivecomplexion, very dirty, and very indolent. Some of theyoung girls were pretty, but most of the women wereas disagreeable as possible. The men work at varioustrades; but the reputation of all of them for honestyis bad. They do not live in houses, but in caverns inthe rocks of which the hill is composed. They are notnatural caverns, but are excavated for dwellings.
The doctor led the party into one of them. It waslighted only by the door; but there was a hole in thetop for the escape of the smoke. There was a bed ina corner, under which reposed three pigs, while a lotof hens were picking up crumbs thrown to them bya couple of half–naked children. It was the properhabitation of the pigs, rather than the human beings.The onslaughts of the beggars were so savage that thevisitors were compelled to beat a hasty retreat. Thewomen teased the surgeon to enter their grottos inorder to get the fee.
In the evening some British officers from “Gib,” asthey always call the great fortress, had a gypsy danceat the _Siete Suelos_. The doctor and his pupils wereinvited to attend. There were two men dressed in fullSpanish costume, and three girls, also in costume, oneof whom was quite pretty. One of the men was thecaptain of the gypsies, and played the guitar with marvellousskill, an exhibition of which he gave the party.There was nothing graceful about the dancing: it wassimply peculiar, with a curious jerking of the hips. Attimes the dancers indulged in a wild song. When theshow was finished, the gypsy girls made an energeticdemonstration on the audience for money, and musthave collected a considerable sum from the officers, forthey used all the arts of the coquette.
Just at dark a small funeral procession passed thehotel. It was preceded by half a dozen men bearinggreat candles lighted. The coffin was borne on theshoulders of four more, and was highly ornamented.The funeral party were singing or chanting, but soirreverently that the whole affair seemed more like afrolic than a funeral.
“That is a gay–looking coffin,” said Murray toMariano Ramos, the best guide and courier in Spain,who had been in the employ of the principal since thesquadron arrived at Malaga.
“That is all for show,” laughed Mariano. “Themen will bring it back with them.”
“Don’t they bury the dead man in it?”
“No: that would make it too expensive for poorfolks. They tumble the dead into a rough box, orbury him without any thing.”
The next morning the excursionists started for Cordova,and arrived late at night, going by the same routethey had taken to Granada as far as Bobadilla.