sparkling showers; and
Spain may thank her invaders for having preserved to her the most
beautiful and interesting of her historical monuments.

"On the departure of the French they blew up several towers of the
outer wall, and left the fortifications scarcely tenable. Since that
time the military importance of the post is at an end. The garrison is
a handful of invalid soldiers, whose principal duty is to guard some
of the outer towers, which serve occasionally as a prison of state;
and the governor, abandoning the lofty hill of the Alhambra, resides
in the centre of Granada, for the more convenient dispatch of his
official duties.

Interior of the Alhambra

"The Alhambra has been so often and so minutely described by
travellers, that a mere sketch will, probably, be sufficient for the
reader to refresh his recollection; I will give, therefore, a brief
account of our visit to it the morning after our arrival in Granada.

"Leaving our posada of La Espada, we traversed the renowned square of
the Vivarrambla, once the scene of Moorish jousts and tournaments, now
a crowded market-place. From thence we proceeded along the Zacatin,
the main street of what, in the time of the Moors, was the Great
Bazaar, where the small shops and narrow allies still retain the
Oriental character. Crossing an open place in front of the palace of
the captain-general, we ascended a confined and winding street, the
name of which reminded us of the chivalric days of Granada. It is
called the Calle, or street of the Gomeres, from a Moorish family
famous in chronicle and song. This street led up to a massive gateway
of Grecian architecture, built by Charles V. forming the entrance to
the domains of the Alhambra.

"At the gate were two or three ragged and superannuated soldiers,
dozing on a stone bench, the successors of the Zegris and the
Abencerrages; while a tall meagre varlet, whose rusty-brown cloak was
evidently intended to conceal the ragged state of his nether garments,
was lounging in the sunshine and gossiping with an ancient sentinel on
duty. He joined us as we entered the gate, and offered his services to
show us the fortress.

"I have a traveller's dislike to officious ciceroni, and did
not-altogether like the garb of the applicant.

"'You are well acquainted with the place, I presume?'

"'Ninguno mas; pues Senor, soy hijo de la Alhambra.'--(Nobody better;
in fact, Sir, I am a son of the Alhambra!)

"The common Spaniards