45} already alluded to; but always near a
fountain, the unceasing murmur of whose dreamy voice might sooth the
occupants to repose.

In the music saloon of this once luxurious royal abode are four
elevated galleries, which, ere the glory of the Alhambra had passed
away, were often filled by Moorish musicians, the delightful strains of
whose varied instruments enchanted the court of Grenada. Then the fair
and the brave reclined in graceful groups in the centre of the
apartment, upon rich Oriental carpets, surrounding the alabaster
fountain, whose balmy breath diffused refreshing coolness, and whose
softly gurgling sounds mingled with the gentle music which was ever the
accompaniment of repose and enjoyment.

In an apartment which was at the same time the oratory and
dressing-room of the queen of this magnificent residence, there still
exists a slab of marble, pierced with an infinite number of small
apertures, to admit the exhalations of the perfumes that were
incessantly burning beneath the lofty ceiling. From this part of the
palace, too, the views are exquisitely beautiful. The windows and
doors opening from it are so arranged, that the most agreeable
prospects, the {146} mellowest and most pleasing effects of light,
perpetually fall upon the delighted eyes of those within, while balmy
breezes constantly renew the delicious coolness of the air that
breathes through this enchanting retreat.

Upon leaving the marble halls and lofty towers of the Alhambra, one
discerns, on the side of a neighbouring mountain, the famous garden of
the _Generalif_, which signifies, in the Moorish tongue, the _Home of
Love_. In this garden was the palace to which the kings of Grenada
repaired to pass the season of spring. It was built in a style similar
to that of the Alhambra: the same gorgeous splendour, the same costly
magnificence reigned there. The edifice is now destroyed; but the
picturesque situation, the ever-varied and ever-charming landscape, the
limpid fountains, the sparkling _jets d'eau_, and tumbling waterfalls
of the _Generalif_, are still left to excite admiration.

The terraces of this garden are in the form of an amphitheatre, and the
lingering remains of their once beautiful Mosaic pavements are still to
be seen. The walks are now darkly umbrageous, from the interwoven
branches of gigantic cypresses and aged myrtles, beneath whose {147}
grateful shades the kings and queens of Grenada have so often wandered.
T