I should have been unwilling to admit this, even at the time he wrote; but the late discoveries at Pompeii have brought to light mosaic pavements far exceeding, as well in boldness of design as in beauty of execution and colouring, any thing of the kind that has ever been produced in modern times; and which, whilst causing us to estimate more highly than heretofore the proficiency of the ancients in the art of drawing, make us regard the mosaics of the Moors as mere pieces of mechanism.
The wood-work in the roofs of the various apartments of the Generalife is worthy of remark, not only from the beauty of the workmanship, but from its state of preservation. Murphy has fallen into error in translating Nogal (of which they are composed) chesnut—he should have said walnut.
The walls of one of the apartments are decorated with portraits of some of the most renowned warriors who figured in the siege of Granada; amongst others of Gonzalvo, “the great Captain;” Ponce de Leon, the captor of Alhama; El Rey Chico, Boabdil; and Ferdinand and Isabella. They are all said to have been “taken from life,” and the work of one individual.
The gardens of the Generalife are more pleasing from the luxuriant growth of their flowers and fruits, than for the manner in which they are laid out. One must taste the pomegranate of the Generalife to appreciate fully the value of that refreshing fruit; and he who has eaten of its muscatel grapes can have no doubt of the wine house, from whence Ganymede supplied the cups of the thirsty olympics.
At a certain cypress-tree that grows within the walled court of the palace, “Mateo” mysteriously wags his head; and should any curiosity be evinced at this intimation of a tale that he could unfold, will open a budget of Royal scandal, purloined from Florian, and other romancers, which furnishes him with the means of displaying his historic lore for the rest of the evening.
Descending from the Generalife, and crossing the “golden” Darro ere it enters the city, we will mount the rough streets of the Albayzin. The hill side is perforated with numerous caverns, many of which are tenanted by a singularly savage race of beings, who, differing in character from either Moors or Spaniards, appear to be descended from the aborigines of the country.
Several curious wells, arches, and other Moorish remains, are to be seen in the quarter of the Albayzin; and the view it commands is one of the finest in Granada, embracing the greater part of the city, and the richly wooded bank, whereon are perched the bright Generalife, and the sombre Alhambra, backed by the snow-clad ridge of Nevada.
Amongst the numerous Moorish reliques that the city contains, the most perfect, perhaps, are the baths. But, at every turn, a ruined bridge, a dilapidated gateway, or some other memento of the Saracens, presents itself, giving Granada peculiar interest in the eyes of the seeker after Moorish antiquities. Neither in modern sights does it fall short of other more populous and flourishing cities.
The Cathedral is not so large nor so handsome as that of Malaga. The interior is heavy, excessively gaudy, and fitted up in the worst possible taste. The architecture is Corinthian, but of a very spurious sort. Some good paintings are to be found distributed in the various chapels; the best are in that of the Santissima Trinidad, viz.—the Trinity, by Cano, and a Holy Family by Murillo—the latter a masterpiece.
The pillars round the Altar Mayor—above which rises the Dome—are richly gilt; and the light admitted by painted windows, above and behind, has a fine effect. Some paintings by Cano, under the Dome, are very good, and the Cathedral is ornamented with two busts of great merit, (Adam and Eve) by the same master, whose talented hand directed the chizel with the same success as the pencil.