lors. Above an inner porch is a
balcony which communicated with the women's apartment. The latticed
balconies still remain, from whence the dark-eyed beauties of the harem
might gaze unseen upon the entertainments of the hall below.

It is impossible to contemplate this once favorite abode of Oriental
manners without feeling the early associations of Arabian romance, and
almost expecting to see the white arm of some mysterious princess
beckoning from the balcony, or some dark eye sparkling through the
lattice. The abode of beauty is here, as if it had been inhabited but
yesterday--but where are the Zoraydas and Linderaxas!

On the opposite side of the Court of Lions is the hall of the
Abencerrages, so called from the gallant cavaliers of that illustrious
line, who were here perfidiously massacred. There are some who doubt the
whole truth of this story, but our humble attendant, Mateo, pointed out
the very wicket of the portal through which they are said to have been
introduced, one by one, and the white marble fountain in the center of
the hall, where they were beheaded. He showed us also certain broad,
ruddy stains in the pavement, traces of their blood, which, according to
popular belief, can never be effaced. Finding we listened to him with
easy faith, he added that there was often heard at night, in the Court
of the Lions, a low, confused sound, resembling the murmurings of a
multitude; with now and then a faint tinkling, like the distant clank of
chains. These noises are probably produced by the bubbling currents and
tinkling falls of water, conducted under the pavement through the pipes
and channels to supply the fountains; but according to the legend of the
son of the Alhambra, they are made by the spirits of the murdered
Abencerrages, who nightly haunt the scene of their suffering, and invoke
the vengeance of Heaven on their destroyer.

[Illustration: THE HALL OF ABENCERRAGES]

From the Court of Lions we retraced our steps through the court of the
Alberca, or great fish-pool, crossing which, we proceeded to the tower
of Comares, so called from the name of the Arabian architect. It is of
massive strength and lofty height, domineering over the rest of the
edifice and overhanging the steep hillside, which descends abruptly to
the banks of the Darro. A Moorish archway admitted us into a vast and
lofty hall, which occupies the interior of the tower and was the grand
audience chamber of the Moslem monarchs, thence