AFTER the copious description given to the preceding plate, little
remains to be added here. We have in this engraving a nearer view
of the windows, together with the ceiling, and some of the ornaments.
The walls are of pebbles and red-clay intermixed. The height from
the floor to the centre of the ceiling is sixty feet four inches,
English, and the cieling itself is of a very curious construction:
it is composed of strong pieces of wood in admirable preservation,
which are keyed and fastened together in such a manner, that, on pressing
the feet on the centre of the summit, the whole vibrates like a tight
rope. Above the ceiling is the roof, which could not be exhibited
in our plate: it is formed of strong scantling of tell illches square
deal, and laid close together, with cross braces at the angles. Upon
these rafters the bricks are laid, and upon them is a coating of lime,
over which the bricks and tiles are placed, that form the exterior
of the roof. The windows command a most delightful and extensive prospect.
At the foot of the palace, the Darro winds its fertilizing streams:
and from this place the view takes in the greater part of the city,
together with the verdant mountains which rise above it, and of the
charming hill which forms its base. Well might Charles V. exclaim,
as he is reported to have done, on his first entering the Tower of
Comares, when he visited this sumptuous Hall, and beheld the magnificent
prospect from its windows :-" I would rather," said he,
" have this " place for a sepulchre, than the Alpujarras
for an inheritance!". Alluding to the last Moorish King of Granada;
who, on the surrender of this fortress, stipulated for a residence
in the Alpujarras mountain, which lies on the east side of the Sierra
Nevada.
Having
thus conducted the reader through the numerous apartments of this
palace of enchantment, it remains that we present to his notice
a more detailed account of its various ornaments than could be offered
in the preceding descriptions. We shall, therefore, invite his attention
first to the paintings and vases, which formerly decorated its walls;
and, having next given such of its various mosaics, inscriptions,
and ornaments, as continue in the best state of preservation, we
shall proceed to describe the royal villa of Al Generalife, and
the other reliques of Moorish magnificence at Granada. |
