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Entire

The floor of the colonnade is laid with white

higj 1) ^ le dado of the walls is formed of a lining 5 feet

c °ntair>* bri * an . t yellow and blue mosaic tiling, with a borderin , 1 ‘^he inscription, “ There is no conqueror but God, ”of p ort - an< * S°1<1. At each end of this court projects a kindC °l u tnns C0 ’ su l > P ortei l ) like the colonnade, with light marblethe Cent an< ^ arc hes, and having a fine stuccoed ceiling. Inti° ns of the court stands the celebrated Fountain of8Upp 0 ’ , nc k consists of an alabaster basin, richly decorated,stn u ]l ei , p °. n t ^ le backs of twelve lions, and carrying anotherOne, an( j a f' n above, from which the water fell into the largerv °ir of ui hence through the lions’ mouths into a large reser-

Wmtn - marble -

s age ( 0 t , he r ight-hand side of the Court of Lions, is a pas-bea utif u j °f the Two Sisters, so named, from the two

on eac p ," a bs of white marble forming part of the pavement'I feet t] 6 °^. t l' e fountain, and which measure 15 feet bys tain, Jp en tire surface being perfectly free from crack orf* s o of (], A le Wa Hs are decorated from the pavement, to theootwee n tl arc * les > with the usual elegant mosaics; the panels? little d’ 116111 aie flH e< d with a delicate ornament, which, atln g i s c ance, has the appearance of a plain face ; the ceil-of gr e£lt P° se d of stalactites, in stucco, and finished in a stylea P<irtrQ en j S an ce. The four balconies of this sumptuouslar otn Were appropriated to musicians ; the women of thea below, and a jet d’eau in the middle diffused aa bttlo « eoolness through the hall. The windows look into

On turtle g^den.” °

th e T\ V 0t Q er s '^ e l be Court of Lions, and opposite that, e So c ,u°j ster s, is the Hall of the Abencerrages, said toJ' av 'n» u lled > fr om the circumstance of some noble Arabs aa <h

e • « P ut t0 death there by one of the kings of Gra-PjattUm; a PPears to have been a central saloon, opening ap* . v arie^ ' 0I p t0 tbe ot ' ler parts of the palace. Every pos-P^’ty at)( j y . combination which can be devised by inge-^es regyjf^ence, are formed on the walls and ceiling ; thei p| a >'n ag a ar ^ cross each other in a variety of directions, andv ‘e extr ao V° ^ lu P c ' n t from which they were first projected,an PetU'iniy <l,nar y designs are thought to have been producedPpliefi to J re P ai ‘ed gypsum into moulds, and, after it was<?! e> ' e walls, painting them with gold, azure, and

ho r °yal C ° f nCe, : t - roona °P t l* e baths is a lofty saloon, in whichlistened to the concerts of musicians, sta-ta 0 J '?b carp f ® vate d tribune, while the audience sat belowlvlj- 8 ’ 08 betw S ' ^ be c °l umns are °P white marble, and thea t>d t6> Set in 66n tbe c °l umns are black, green, yellow, and

Wtr Woofl ^ reen border ; the roof is covered with tiles,..‘ ae s 0r . work richly ornamented, especially the three

c f ^n a r ad r-”

Cf,. w bich p, the Ambassadors is a square court, the sidesthrop 8 ? 1 " 6 fr e f> and the height 64 feet. It isee que s : ®b an arched door, decorated profusely with

tvit) 1 <: ? v ei'e(J U J i . t V CC0 > coloured in blue and gold. The walls’••oni V^crint;,, 11 ” ^acaaics of various patterns, interspersed

th a “ 1 ' fr rme d in porcelain, and made to form a

"**U10ni --***vu iu uiiu rnuuc it/ ivim m

ai ? US combination with the stucco arabesques ;^8. enr mbcd with the same inscription as in thefcoifl v of ie c eiling is arched and decorated with great*<?!»<*. Jf on mosaics, knots, and other ornaments ; and

Of

facg*^ a , zur ® purple, are the colours covering the

« ls ball n J! ’ fl° or is inlaid with mosaics. The wallsks ;Vc..:. are Of ■

-cn -Meg ,f n ’mmense thickness, no less than 15 feet°f a rpj ’ aQ d 9 feet thick on the fourth ; they are com-of s « Ure Pebbles and red clay. “ The ceiling isbich are r ? n 8 pieces of larch, in admirable preserva-• b. keyed and fastened together in such a man-3 i

ner, that, on pressing the feet on the centre of the ceiling,the whole vibrates like a tight-rope. The roof is formed ofa scantling of 10 inches square deal, and laid close together,with cross-braces at the angles. Bricks are laid on these raf-ters, and upon them is a coating of lime ; on these are placedthe bricks and tiles forming the exterior covering of theroof.

“ The walls of this splendid building are formed throughoutof a sort of rubble-work mixed with clay, and were, on anaverage, 7 feet in thickness, flanked by solid towers 18 feetthick ; bond-timbers of pine were inserted in the walls, and,at other times, strands or twists made of rush were insertedfor the same purpose ; nails were driven into the walls toreceive the plaster, being first coated with gypsum to preventcorrosion, but when timbers were to be plastered, they twistedEsparta cords round them to bind the plaster. The brickswith which the open courts are paved, are 14 inches long by7-J- wide, and 3 inches deep ; the underside had a groove sunkin it about 2^ inches wide and 1 inch deep, and extending thelength of the brick, for the purpose of forming a good bondwith the cement. When these bricks were laid over boarding,a layer of potters’ clay, or of bricks laid dry, was placedbetween the timber and the paving.

“ The durability of the woodwork throughout this build-ing is surprising, it is mostly of pine, and has withstood theattacks of dry-rot, worm, and every other insect, withoutinjury ; it seems now perfectly sound, and free from everysign of decay, and it is even stated, that, in the Court ofLions, the ancient woodwork is perfect, whilst that of laterdate is rapidly decaying.” The Spaniards attribute this dura-bility to the timber being coated with a composition consist-ing of Safne glue and garlic well pounded in a mortar; thesebeing mixed together, with the addition of vermilion, areboiled over a gentle fire, until the glue becomes as thin aswater ; too much or too little boiling deprives it of its viscousproperty. Planks cemented with this composition are said toadhere so firmly, as to break at any other part except at thejoint. Garlic being noxious to worms, the Moors evidentlymixed it with their cement, in order to prevent their depre-dations ; it is not improbable that it was mixed with the gyp-sum used in the Alhambra , which may account for the stuccowork remaining uninjured either by spiders or insects. Somesuppose that this durability arises from the trees having beenlanced or deprived of their sap when felled.

The durability of the Arabian buildings of Spain willappear more marvellous when contrasted with other build-ings. The wooden gate of Cyprus , belonging to the cele-brated temple of Diana, is said to have existed for four cen-turies, and that of the old church of S. Peter at Rome , whichwas composed of the same material lined with sheets of silver,continued undecayed for 550 years, but the beams employedin the construction of the roof of the mosque of Cordovamanifest no symptoms of decay after a lapse of 1,000 years.

The arabesques, paintings, and mosaics, which give so greata charm to this building, are very highly and carefully pre-served. The former appear to have been cast in moulds, andfixed to the walls in pieces so accurately connected, that nosign of juncture is visible. The ornaments which recede fromthe eye are coloured in gold, pink, light blue, and dusky pur-ple, the first colour being nearest to the eye, and the last far-thest from it, the general surface being white, which isremarkably pure and splendid. All the colours are fresh andbright, and, if the dust be removed, appear in all their pris-tine beauty.

The domes and arcades are formed of artificial casts, whichare almost as light as wood, and as hard as marble, havingendured the test of ten centuries.

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