capitals, walls, and balconies, which look as if
worked in Mechlin lace ; charmingly cool 'patios,'
with marble floors and fountains; doors whose
geometrical patterns defy the patience of the
painter ; horse-shoe arches, with edges fringed like
guipm'e ; fretted ceilings, the arabesques of which
are painted in the most harmonious colours, and
tipped with gold; lattices every one of which
seems to tell of a romance of beauty and of love :
such are these moresque creations, unrivalled in
modern art, and before which our most beautiful
nineteenth century palaces sink into coarse and
commonplace buildings. They are the realisa-
tion of the descriptions in the * Arabian Nights,'
and the exquisite delicacy of the work is not its
sole charm. The proportions of every room, of
every staircase, of every door and window, are per-
fect : nothing offends the eye by being too short or
too wide. In point of sound also, they, as well as
the Romans, knew the secret which our modern
builders have lost ; and in harmony of colour, no
'azulejos' of the present day can approach the
beauty and brilliancy of the Moorish tints. Nor
are historical romances wanting to enhance the
interest of this wonderful place. In the bed-
chamber of the king, Pedro the Cruel, are painted
three dead heads, and thereon hangs a tale of
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