undred years back; but without adding any particulars
relative to this miraculous visit paid to Toledo, by the ghost of the
patriarch.

As is the case with all other ecclesiastical edifices closed pursuant to
the recent decrees, this building may become the property of any one,
who would offer a sufficient price, not according to the real value, but
to that to which such objects are reduced by the great number in the
market. Several other churches are simply closed and left unguarded; but
the antiquarian sacristan above mentioned, is placed here on account of
the existence of a room in which are contained the archives of the
knights of Calatrava and Alcantara, until recently its proprietors. No
reparations, however, are ordered; and there is many an enthusiast in
archaeological research who, should such an edifice fall under his
notice, would, no doubt, rescue it from its now imminent fate. It is not
only a monument admirable for the details of the ornaments, the best of
its sort to be met with north of Andalucia, but it forms a valuable link
in the chain of architectural history. It is the first ecclesiastical
edifice of its style recorded as having set the example of an open area,
destitute of columns and arcades.

At the distance of a few hundred yards from this building, a portion of
the precipice is pointed out, to which was given in former times the
name of the Tarpeian rock. It was the spot selected by the Jewish
authorities, (who enjoyed in Toledo, under the Kings of Castile, the
right of separate jurisdiction in their tribe,) for the execution of
their criminals. It is a perpendicular rock, but with an intermediate
sloping space between its base and the Tagus.

One of the most curious of the Arab monuments of Toledo, is the church
called the Christo de la Luz, formerly a mosque. It is extremely small;
a square of about twenty feet; and is divided by four pillars into three
naves, connected with each other, and with the surrounding walls, by
twelve arches. This disposition produces in the ceiling nine square
compartments, which rise each to a considerable height, enclosed by
walls from the tops of the arches upwards. Each small square ceiling is
coved and ornamented with high angular ribs, rising from the cornice and
intersecting each other, so as to form a different combination in each
of the nine.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF CHRISTO DE LA LUZ. TOLEDO.]

The principal remaining Arab buildings are, the beau