rarely glazed; having a shutter, or a piece of oiled paper, sometimes fixed to it, to keep out the cold winds of winter. The walls outside retain the natural color of the clayey soil of which they are formed, excepting a space of a few feet on each side of the door, which is ornamented or disfigured by rude representations of flowers, or men painted in red on a whitewashed ground-a remnant of an ancient Moorish custom. The walls are formed of huge bricks, or masses of unbaked clay, of nearly three feet in length by about twelve to eighteen inches in breadth, and of equal depth. They are usually supported within a few feet from the ground by two or three layers of large, square stones. At the door, which is usually divided into two parts, and thickly studded with large, round-headed nails, are two or three large blocks of stone, on which the good women sit down and spin during the greater part of the fine days. The narrow streets which divide the rows of houses resemble the dry beds of mountain torrents, and in the rainy season the simile might be carried much further. The churches form a surprising contrast to their lowly neighbors, being strongly-built edifices, with towers of proportionate size; having always one or more bells slung across the windows or apertures near the top, which are pealed by being spun around their pivots. The interiors are very neatly finished-often highly ornamented; the altars particularly shine forth in no little splendor, and the favorite Virgin, or "Senora," is dressed up at an expense which would probably clothe all the inhabitants of the village.

Villa Vellid contains between four and five hundred inhabitants, and about ninety houses; yet this small and poor population contrives to support two large churches and their three attendant clergymen, or "curas;" and so far are they from thinking this expense and establishment exorbitant, that I have very little doubt one half of them would think their very salvation compromised by any attempt to remove either one of their churches or its priest. The "curas" are generally frank and urbane in their manners; mixing freely in the sports of their parishioners, and joining familiarly in their conversation. Strange as it may sound to an American ear, I have seen "curas" regularly join the villagers in a game or two at "calvo" (a sort of duckstone) for an hour or so after service on Sunday, and in the evening adjourn to the house of one of the favored, with six or eight companions, to pass the rest of the sabbath at cards.

There are no gay shops exhibiting their wares in the windows or outside the doors; there are only two houses of sale, the tavern and the tobacco-shop, this last being a government monopoly. The surgeon officiates also as barber; he is paid at the rate of about a bushel of wheat per annum per family in his first capacity (on the condition that he pay a weekly visit, at least, to each), and about half as much in the latter, if the folks are shaved at his own house; should any luxurious inhabitant wish to be shaved at home, he must double his quota of corn. The apothecary, a distinct functionary, is remunerated in the same manner, but less munificently, as holding an inferior occupation to that of the barber-surgeon. A tailor makes a journey regularly, once or twice a year, like a wandering fiddler, through a certain district, and is paid partly by his maintenance, and partly by means of coin; this arti cle is, however, somewhat scarce, and not often used among these primitive people, their transactions being usually conducted on the principle of barter. Many of the families are sufficiently affluent to consume chocolate and sugar, which are procured at a dépôt, perhaps eight or ten miles distant. In summer one butcher supplies meat for the "puchero" of a dozen neighboring villages; in winter, they seldom consume other animal food than the dried flesh of kids, called "cecina," which is excellent, and might be eaten as a dainty where less common.

Corn and wine are so abundant as to exceed the wants of the inhabitants, but the markets for their sale are so distant, and so expensive of access, that it scarcely pays to transport to them the superfluous produce; the natural consequence of which is, that the people are in a great measure deprived of other articles of comfort which they might receive in exchange for their corn, and exhibit a strange mélange of poverty and affluence; for instance, groups of men are often met with, basking in the sunshine during half the day, in the villages, strong and well-fed, and perhaps even then quaffing at intervals their good "vino tinto;" and at the same time clothed, or rather half-clothed, by a cloak transmitted to them from their grandfather, at least, and which is so patched up, ragged, and mended again, that no one piece can be found in it larger than one's hand.

The "curas" of the villages possess great influence over their parishioners, and

are generally much respected; often, as is vouched from experience, men of good moral principle, and conducting themselves in a most praiseworthy manner toward the people of their cure. There are some, no doubt, who make an evil use of their unlimited power over the minds of the people, and extort from them, under pretence of religious motives, their little wealth, and otherwise abuse the confidence of the ignorant and unsuspecting; but this betrayal of trust is not carried commonly to any extent, as too often represented. The monks and friars, who are continually visiting these little communities, are by no means so much liked as the secular clergy, and bear a reputation much more unfavorable, and more deservedly so.

The castle represented in the engraving is an old Moorish fortress, perfectly simple, and extremely massive in its construction, having only one entrance, a low Moorish archway, and a few narrow slits on two sides, for the defenders. It is built of a hard kind of stone, cemented and knit together in a very firm and enduring manner. It is one of the hundreds that are scattered about this part of Spain, every fifth or sixth village being thus now adorned, as it was once protected.

The cross in the foreground is a speaking witness of the state, or rather the nonexistence, of efficient police regulations in this misgoverned country. Such are often met with on the sides of the roads, in desert or sequestered places; they are the only memorials of men found there, at some time or other, dying, or slain by the hand of the assassin; the murderer, perhaps, before the deed be discovered, already in some distant province, defies the feeble inquiry and pursuit, which is sometimes not even attempted. The charitable inhabitants of the nearest village erect this simple monument over his unconsecrated grave; and what could be devised more beautiful and pathetic than its simple epitaph, "Adios, pobre !" which translated, is, "Farewell, poor fellow!"

ALCANTARA is a small frontier city of great strength in Spanish Estremadura, upon the banks of the Tagus. The town was originally built by the Moors, on account of the convenience of a fine stone bridge which, as recorded in an inscription over one of the arches, was built in the reign of the emperor Trajan by the people of Lusitania, who were assessed to pay the expenses. It was thus that the Moors gave to the town the name of Al-Cantara, which in their language signifies the bridge. This bridge is thrown across the river at a place where it flows in a deep channel between two high and steep rocks. It is elevated 211 feet 10 inches above the level of the water, although it consists but of six arches, is 568 feet in length, and 27 feet 6 inches in breadth. Of the six arches, the two in the centre are 94 feet wide. A triumphal arch in honor of Trajan rises in the centre, and a mausoleum constructed by the Roman architect (Lacer) stands at the extremity toward the town. This mausoleum, which owes its preservation to the enormous stones with which it is constructed, has been changed into a chapel dedicated to St. Julian, and is now an object of veneration to both the townspeople and peasantry. There is nothing else remarkable about the town, except the strong walls, bastions, and other works, with which its situation on the borders of Portugal has caused it to be fortified. There are about 3,000 inhabitants, who carry on some trade in wool and cloth.

When the town was taken from the Moors by Alphonso IX., king of Castile, in the year 1212, it was in the first instance committed to the charge of the knights of Calatrava; but, two years afterward, it was transferred to the knights of St. Julian del Parero, or St. Julian of the Pear-tree, an order instituted in 1170, and which soon relinquished this odd denomination for that of Alcantara, at the same time assuming a green color for the cross fleur-de-lys which they bore over their large white cloaks. This was apparently intended for the purpose of a distinction between their order and that of Calatrava. When the town of Alcantara was surrendered to the knights of the Pear-tree, it was stipulated that there should be a confraternity between the two orders, with the same practices and observances in both, and that the Alcantara order should be subject to be visited by the grandmaster of Calatrava. The Alcantara knights soon, however, became dissatisfied with this engagement, and released themselves from it, on the pretence that their grandmaster had not been called, according to one of the stipulations, to the election of the grandmaster of the Calatrava order. The knights make a considerable figure in the history of the expedition against the Moors, war against them being one of the grounds on which the order was instituted. They were, in fact, military monks, under the same vows as the Benedictines. After the expulsion of the Moors and the taking of Granada, the sovereignty of both the orders of Alcantara and Calatrava was settled upon the crown of Castile, in the reign

of Ferdinand and Isabella, when the order transferred the town to the general government. The order of Alcantara was very wealthy. After it had become comparatively poor, it still possessed thirty-three commanderies, four alcaydies, and four priories, producing an annual revenue of eighty thousand ducats. It has probably since undergone further diminution, but to what extent we are not informed.

CHAPTER X.-SPAIN.

GRANADA, is an extensive maritime province in the south of Spain, nearly two hundred miles in length, and varying from forty to seventy in breadth. Its length is nearly from east to west, having on the south the Mediterranean, on the north a part of Andalusia; its southwest extremity approaches Gibraltar. Among the mountains, a calcareous soil, in many places unproductive, is prevalent; but the valleys contain a rich and fertile mould. The Vega (orchard) de Granada, where the capital is situated, is one of the richest and most delightful spots in the world. This fertility is principally owing to the copious streams that flow from the mountains in summer, on the melting of the snow. The present population of Granada amounts to nearly 100,000 persons; and, being situated so far south, it admits of many tropical plants and fruits being cultivated, large quantities of which are annually exported. Along the coast are raised indigo, coffee, and sugar. The last article is most abundant in the neighborhood of Malaga: the expenses attendant on its cultivation and preparation are said to be moderate. The other productions of Granada are fruit, particularly pomegranates, lemons, oranges, olives, figs, almonds, capers, honey, and wax. Raisins form an article of export of considerable importance. In this province there are also salt springs, and in the mountains marble, with a rich store of minerals and ores.

The province of Granada was the last stronghold of the Moors in Spain, when every other part of their fruitful kingdom had been subdued by the victorious arms of Ferdinand and Isabella; and so highly did they esteem this portion of Andalusia, that they considered the Mahometan paradise to be situated immediately above it. The features of this people, who flourished like a brilliant exotic for so many centuries in the south of Spain, may still be traced among its inhabitants to the present day.

The capital city of this province has the same name, it is situated in a romantic valley, near the extremity of the Vega de Granada, an extensive plan, which is surrounded by high mountains. Granada presents a very imposing appearance at a distance; its form nearly resembling that of a half-moon. The streets are built in terraces one above the other; the whole being crowned by the ancient Moorish palace of the Alhambra, which is brought out into very strong relief by the lofty chain of the Sierra de Nevada in the background. The buildings of the Alhambra are very extensive; we subjoin a description of a visit to it made by "a young American." The tower of the Tribunal, under which is the principal entrance to the Alhambra, has an arched gateway, making right angles to mask the opening on the interior. The gate is placed at the second angle, so that it can not be assailed by missiles or battering-rams from without, and could only be attacked from the middle of the tower, where the assailant would be exposed to the spears and missiles of the garrison, wielded in perfect security through the perpendicular opening overhead. The arches that surmount the entrance, and the angles of the passages, are of horseshoe form, a distinctive character of Saracenic architecture, being so constructed that the parts of the arch corresponding to the ends of the horseshoe project a little beyond the wall which sustains them, which, while it gives them an air of lightness, conveys also the idea of insecurity. Nor is this insecurity only apparent; for we frequently saw brick arches of this form in Andalusia, which had lost the end bricks, forming the projections of the horseshoe, by which those that were above should have been sustained; though stone arches of this form are less liable to destruction, from the greater size of the component parts. There are several Arabic inscriptions which surmount these different arches and follow their curves, and which, like those within the palace, are mostly in praise of the Deity, of the prophet, or of the king who erected the tower. One of them is thus translated: "The praise of God.

There is no god but God, and Mahomet is his prophet. There is no strength but in God." There are two objects, however, which antiquaries have been more puzzled to explain; these are representations of the arm and closed hand of a man, and of a key, sculptured above the arches. It is said that the Arabs borrowed the emblem of the human arm from the ancient Egyptians, among whom it was the symbol of strength, and therefore an appropriate ornament for so formidable a tower. It had, moreover. a religious signification among the followers of Mahomet; it represented the hand of God displayed in his superintending providence, and was besides emblematic of the principal dogmas of their creed; for, as the hand has five fingers, in like manner the Mahometan religion establishes five fundamental precepts: to believe in God and in his prophet; to call upon God in prayer; to succor the poor; to fast during the month of Ramadan: and to visit the temples of Mecca and Medina. In consequence of their faith being represented by the hand, the Saracens believed that it formed a powerful defence against the arms and wiles of infidels, and therefore used it as a charm, though it would have been idolatry thus to copy the whole body; in the form of a clenched fist it was believed to weaken the power of an enemy; and with the thumb passed between the fingers, it had the virtue of breaking a charm, and averting the blighting effects of the evil eye, or of being looked on with desire by the possessor of the fatal, though involuntary power of fascination. Ivory representations of the hand in this last form were hung round the neck of an infant, and the throat-latch of a favorite horse, or on the cage of a nightingale. It was this charm, as we have already seen, that the Moriscoes were accused of making under their cloaks, when compelled to attend mass by the priests who counselled their expulsion, and it is still used among the lower classes in Spain to convey insults. The keys sculptured over the inner arch of the portal was likewise a mysterious symbol among the Saracens; for it indicated the power claimed by the prophet, and which is also successfully used by the preachers of other faiths, of opening and shutting the gates of heaven. The key is, however, said to have been especially a favorite emblem with the Andalusians who first invaded Spain, and opened the door of conquest to their young countrymen. These and their descendants wore it vauntingly in their standards. The entrance of the Tower of Tribunal remains unchanged since the days of Boabdil, with the single exception that we found a small chapel, under the invocation of the Virgin, constructed against the wall of the passage, and fronting the interior of the Alhambra. The principal ornament over the rude altar of this little oratory, where the devout may make a flying invocation as they pass, is a small oil painting of the Virgin, with the infant Jesus in her arms. It appears from the adjoining table of indulgences granted to those who worship at this shrine, that this is the second portrait which St. Luke took in person of our blessed lady. Time, which would have left no traces of a heathen production, though Apelles had been the painter, has breathed kindly upon this precious relic. It is a singular religious coincidence thus to find a chapel, where more than divine adoration is offered to the Virgin, existing in the presence of such contradictory inscriptions, and, in fact, sur. mounted by the motto " There is no god but God!"

Having reached the interior of the citadel, our first care was to seek out the commander of the invalids who had so kindly offered to be our guide to the antiquities of the Alhambra. We readily found him, snugly domesticated in the superior story of that Tower of Tribunal through which we had entered, and though the place looked forbidding and cheerless without, there was no want of comforts within; and when the old soldier, in showing us through his antique and characteristic habitation, had led us to the flat terrace that surmounts it, once the noisy arena of the lombard and the arquebuse, now the most peaceful as well as most beautiful of belvideres, we were again delighted with the display of the surrounding scenery; the mountain of Alhambra, the ravine of the Daro, and the snowclad Sierra, are rich enough in mere picturesque attractions; but the Vega is, after all, the object of which the eye never tires.

The little sitting-room of the invalid had one window toward the south, and a second, which, instead of looking to the open air, is so covered by the front of the tower, that it only commands the portion of the gateway lying immediately below. We had noticed this in entering, and thought it so arranged merely as a station whence archers might defend the entrance without the risk of annoyance; but we were now told that it was also connected with an oriental custom, and that in this secure situation, like the Turkish sultans in their Sublime Porte, the kings of Granada