ble, and never inflicted any severity of punishment | the French, when they abandoned the fortress. upon those who occasionally rebelled against him. Great masses of the wall lie scattered about, buried He was personally brave, but he wanted moral in the luxuriant herbage, or overshadowed by vines courage, and in times of difficulty and perplexity, and fig-trees. The arch of the gateway, though rent was wavering and irresolute. This feebleness of by the shock, still remains; but the last wish of poor spirit hastene his downfall, while it deprived him Boabdil has been again, though unintentionally, fulof that heroic grace which would have given a filled, for the portal has been closed up by loose grandeur and dignity to his fate, and rendered him stones gathered from the ruins, and remains imworthy of closing the splendid drama of the Moslem | passable. domination in Spain. MEMENTOS OF BOABDIL. WHILE my mind was still warm with the subject of the unfortunate Boabdil, I set forth to trace the mementos connected with his story, which yet exist in this scene of his sovereignty and his misfortunes. In the picture gallery of the Palace of the Generaliffe, hangs his portrait. The face is mild, handsome and somewhat melancholy, with a fair complexion and yellow hair; if it be a true representation of the man, he may have been wavering and uncertain, but there is nothing of cruelty or unkindness in his aspect. I next visited the dungeon wherein he was confined in his youthful days, when his cruel father meditated his destruction. It is a vaulted room in the tower of Comares, under the Hall of Ambassadors. A similar room, separated by a narrow passage, was the prison of his mother, the virtuous Ayxa la Horra. The walls are of prodigious thickness, and the small windows secured by iron bars. A narrow stone gallery, with a low parapet, extends round three sides of the tower just below the windows, but at a considerable height from the ground. From this gallery, it is presumed, the queen lowered her son with the scarfs of herself and her female attendants, during the darkness of night, to the hill-side, at the foot of which waited a domestic with a fleet steed to bear the prince to the mountains. As I paced this gallery, my imagination pictured the anxious queen leaning over the parapet, and listening, with the throbbings of a mother's heart, to the last echo of the horses' hoofs, as her son scoured along the narrow valley of the Darro. My next search was for the gate by which Boabdil departed from the Alhambra, when about to surrender his capital. With the melancholy caprice of a broken spirit, he requested of the Catholic monarchs that no one afterwards might be permitted to pass through this gate. His prayer, according to ancient chronicles, was complied with, through the sympathy of Isabella, and the gate walled up. For some time I inquired in vain for such a portal; at length my humble attendant, Mateo, learned among the old residents of the fortress, that a ruinous gateway still existed, by which, according to tradition, the Moorish king had left the fortress, but which had never been open within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. Following up the route of the Moslem .nonarch as it remains on record, I crossed on horseback the hi of Les Martyrs, keeping along the garden of the convent of the same name, and thence down a rugged ravine, beset by thickets of aloes and Indian figs, and lined by caves and hovels swarming with gipsies. It was the road taken by Boabdil to avoid passing through the city. The descent was so steep and broken that I was obliged to dismount and lead my horse. Emerging from the ravine, and passing by the Puerta de los Molinos, (the Gate of the Mills,) I is sued forth upon the public promenade, called the Prado, and pursuing the course of the Xenil, arrived at a small Moorish mosque, now converted into the chapel, or hermitage of San Sebastian. A tablet on the wall relates that on this spot Boabdil surrendered the keys of Granada to the Castilian sovereigns From thence I rode slowly across the Vega 10 a village where the family and household of the unhappy king had awaited him: for he had sent them forward on the preceding night from the Alhambra, that his mother and wife might not participate in his personal humiliation, or be exposed to the gaze of the conquerors. Following on in the route of the melancholy band of royal exiles, I arrived at the foot of a chain of barren and dreary heights, forming the skirt of the Alpuxarra mountains. From the summit of one of these, the unfortunate Boabdil took his last look at Granada. It bears a name expressive of his sorrows La Cuesta de las Lagrimas, (the Hill of Tears.) Beyond it a sandy road winds across a rugged cheerless waste, doubly dismal to the unhappy monarch, as it led to exile; behind, in the distance, lies the "enamelled Vega," with the Xenil shining among its bowers, and Granada beyond. I spurred my horse to the summit of a rock, where Boabdil uttered his last sorrowful exclamation, as he turned his eyes from taking their farewell gaze. It is still denominated el ultimo suspiro del Moro, (the last sigh of the Moor.) Who can wonder at his anguish at being expelled from such a kingdom and such an abode? With the Alhambra he seemed to be yielding up all the honours of his line, and all the glories and delights of life. It was here, too, that his affliction was imbittered by the reproach of his mother Ayxa, who had so often assisted him in times of peril, and had vainly sought to instil into him her own resolute spirit. " You do well," said she, "to weep as a woman over what you could not defend as a man!"—A speech that savours more of the pride of the princess, than the tenderness of the mother. When this anecdote was related to Charles V., by Bishop Guevara, the emperor joined in the expression of scorn at the weakness of the wavering Boab. dil. "Had I been he, or he been I," said the haughty potentate, "I would rather have made this Alhambra my sepulchre, than have lived without a He conducted me to the spot. The gateway is in the centre of what was once an immense tower, called la Torre de los Siete Suelos, or, the Tower of the Seven Moors. It is a place famous in the super-kingdom in the Alpuxarras." stitious stories of the neighbourhood, for being the scene of strange apparitions and Moorish enchant ments. This once redoubtable tower is now a niere wreck, having been blown up with gunpowder, by How easy it is for them in power and prosperity to preach heroism to the vanquished! How little can they understand that life itself may rise in value with the unfortunate, when naught but life remains. THE TOWER OF LAS INFANTAS. IN an evening's stroll up a narrow glen, overshadowed by fig-trees, pomegranates and myrtles, that divides the land of the fortress from those of the Generaliffe, I was struck with the romantic appearance of a Moorish tower in the outer wall of the Alnambra, that rose high above the tree-tops, and caught the ruddy rays of the setting sun. A solitary window, at a great height, commanded a view of the glen, and as I was regarding it a young female looked out, with her head adorned with flowers. She was evidently superior to the usual class of people that inhabit the old towers of the fortress; and this sudden and picturesque glimpse of her, reminded me of the descriptions of captive beauties in fairy tales. The fanciful associations of my mind were increased on being informed by my attendant, Mateo, that this was the tower of the Princesses, (la Torre de las Infantas) so called from having been, according to tradition, the residence of the daughters of the Moorish kings. I have since visited the tower. It is not generally shown to strangers, though well worthy attention, for the interior is equal for beauty of architecture and delicacy of ornament, to any part of the palace. The elegance of its central hall with its marble fountain, its lofty arches and richly fretted dome; the arabesques and stucco work of the small, edifice still bears the name by which it has been known for centuries, namely, la Casa del Gallo de Viento; that is, the House of the Weathercock. It was so called from a bronze figure of a warrior on horseback, armed with shield and spear, erected on one of its turrets, and turning with every wind; bearing an Arabic motto, which, translated into Spanish, was as follows: Dici el Sabio Aben Habuz Que asi se defiende el Anduluz, In this way, says Aben Habuz the w.se, The Andalusian his foe defies. This Aben Habuz was a captain who served in the invading army of Taric, and was left as alcayde of Granada. He is supposed to have intended this warlike effigy as a perpetual memorial to the Moorish inhabitants, that surrounded as they were by foes, and subject to sudden invasion, their safety depended upon being always ready for the field. Other traditions, however, give a different account of this Aben Habuz and his palace, and affirm that his bronze horseman was originally a talisman of great virtue, though in after ages it lost its magic properties and degenerated into a weathercock. The following are the traditions alluded to. but well proportioned chambers, though injured by THE LEGEND OF THE ARABIAN ASTROLOGER. time and neglect, all accord with the story of its being anciently the abode of royal beauty. The little old fairy queen who lives under the staircase of the Alhambra, and frequents the evening tertulias of Dame Antoria, tells some fanciful traditions about three Moorish princesses who were once shut up in this tower by their father, a tyrant king of Granada, and were only permitted to ride out at night about the hills, when no one was permitted to come in their way, under pain of death. They still, according to her account, may be seen Occasionally when the moon is in the full, riding in lonely places along the mountain side, on palfrey's chly caparisoned, and sparkling with jewels, but they vanish on being spoken to. -But before I relate any thing farther respecting these princesses, the reader may be anxious to know something about the fair inhabitant of the tower with her head drest with flowers, who looked out from the lofty window. She proved to be the newly married spouse of the worthy adjutant of invalids; who, though well stricken in years, had had the courage to take to his bosom a young and buxom Andalusian damsel. May the good old cavalier be happy in his choice, and find the tower of the Princesses a more secure residence for female beauty than it seems to have proved in the time of the Moslems, if we may believe the following legend. THE HOUSE OF THE WEATHERCOCK, ON the brow of the lofty hill of the Albaycin, the highest part of the city of Granada, stand the remains of what was once a royal palace, founded shortly after the conquest of Spain by the Arabs. It is now converted into a manufactory, and has fallen into such obscurity that it cost me much trouble to find it, notwithstanding that I had the assistance of the sagacious and all knowing Mateo Ximenes. This IN old times, many hundred years ago, there was a Moorish king named Aben Habuz, who reigned over the kingdom of Granada. He was a retired conqueror, that is to say, one who, having in his more youthful days led a life of constant foray and depredation, now that he was grown old and superannuated, "languished for repose," and desired nothing more than to live at peace with all the world, to husband his laurels, and to enjoy in quiet the possessions he had wrested from his neighbours. It so happened, however, that this most reasonable and pacific old monarch had young rivals to deal with-princes full of his early passion for fame and fighting, and who had some scores to settle which he had run up with their fathers; he had also some turbulent and discontented districts of his own territories among the Alpuxarra mountains, which, during the days of his vigour, he had treated with a high hand; and which, now that he languished for repose, were prone to rise in rebellion and to threaten to march to Granada and drive him from his throne. To make the matter worse, as Granada is surrounded by wild and craggy mountains which hide the approach of an enemy, the unfortunate Aben Habuz was kept in a constant state of vigilance and alarm, not knowing in what quarter hostilities might break out. It was in vain that he built watch-towers on the mountains and stationed guards at every pass, with orders to make fires by night, and smoke by day, on the approach of an enemy. His alert foes would baffle every precaution, and come breaking out of some unthought-of defile,-ravage his lands beneath his very nose, and then make off with prisoners and booty to the mountains. Was ever peaceable and retired conqueror in a more uncomfortable predica · ment! While the pacific Aben Habuz was harassed by these perplexities and molestations, an ancient Arabian physician arrived at his court. His gray beard descended to his girdle, aud he had every The astrologer opened the outer cases of the mummy, and unfolded its many wrappers. On the breast of the corpse was a book written in Chaldaic characters. He seized it with trembling hand, then returning the mummy to its case, ordered the demons to transport it again to its dark and silent sepulchre in the Pyramid, there to await the final day of resurrection and judgment. This book, say the traditions, was the book c knowledge given by God to Adam after his fall. had been handed down from generation to genera tion, to king Solomon the Wise, and by the aid of the wonderful secrets in magic and art revealed in it, he had built the temple of Jerusalem. How it had come into the possession of the builder of the Pyramids, He only knows who knows all things. mark of extreme age, yet he had travelled almost command they transported to his presence a mummy the whole way from Egypt on foot, with no other from a sepulchral chamber in the centre of one of aid than a staff marked with hieroglyphics. His the Pyramids. It was the mummy of the priest fame had preceded him. His name was Ibrahim Eon who had aided by magic art in rearing that stupend Abu Ayub; he was said to have lived ever since the ous pile. days of Mahomet, and to be the son of Abu Ayub, the last of the companions of the prophet. He had, when a child, followed the conquering army of Amru nto Egypt, where he had remained many years studying the dark sciences, and particularly magic, among the Egyptian priests. It was moreover said that he had found out the secret of prolonging life, by means of which he had arrived to the great age of upwards of two centuries; though, as he did not discover the secret until well stricken in years, he could only perpetuate his gray hairs and wrinkles. This wonderful old man was very honourably entertained by the king; who, like most superannuated monarchs, began to take physicians into great favour. He would have assigned him an apartment in his palace, but the astrologer preferred a cave in the side of the hill, which rises above the city of Granada, being the same on which the Alhambra has since been built. He caused the cave to be enlarged so as to form a spacious and lofty hall with a circular hole at the top, through which, as through a well, he could see the heavens and behold the stars even at mid-day. The walls of this hall were covered with Egyptian hieroglyphics, with cabalistic symbols, and with the figures of the stars in their signs. This hall he furnished with many implements, fabricated under his direction by cunning artificers of Granada, but the occult properties of which were only known to himself. In a little while te sage Ibrahim became the bosom counsellor of the king, to whom he applied for advice in every emergency. Aben Habuz was once inveighing against the injustice of his neighbours, and bewailing the restless vigilance he had to observe to guard himself against their invasions;-when he had finished, the astrologer remained silent for a moment, and then replied, “Know, O king, that when I was in Egypt I beheld a great marvel devised by a pagan priestess of old. On a mountain above the city of Borsa, and overlooking the great valley of the Nile, was a figure of a ram, and above it a figure of a cock, both of molten brass and turning upon a pivot. Whenever the country was threatened with invasion, the ram would turn in the direction of the enemy and the cock would crow; upon this the inhabitants of the city knew of the danger, and of the quarter from which it was approaching, and could take timely notice to guard against it." 'God is great!" exclaimed the pacific Aben Habuz; "what a treasure would be such a ram to keep an eye upon these mountains around me, and then such a cock to crow in time of danger! Allah Achbar! how securely I might sleep in my palace with such sentinels on the top!" “Listen, O king," continued the astrologer gravely. "When the victorious Amru (God's peace be upon him!) conquered the city of Borsa, this talisman was destroyed; but I was present, and examined it, and studied its secret and mystery, and can make one of lil:e, and even of greater virtues." "Owise son of Abu Ayub," cried Aben Habuz, "better were such a talisman than all the watch towers on the hills, and sentinels upon the borders. Give me such a safeguard, and the riches of my treasury are at thy command." The astrologer immediately set to work to gratify the wishes of the monarch, shutting himself up in his astrological hall, and exerting the necromantic arts he had learnt in Egypt, he summoned to his as sistance the spirits and demons of the Nile. By his Instructed by this mystic volume, and aided by the genii which it subjected to his command, the astrologer soon erected a great tower upon the top of the palace of Aben Habuz, which stood on the brow of the hill of the Albaycin. The tower was built of stones brought from Egypt, and taken, it is said, from one of the Pyramids. In the upper part of the tower was a circular hall, with windows looking toward every point of the compass, and before each window was a table, on which was arranged, as on a chess-board, a mimic army of horse and foot, with the effigy of the potentate that ruled in that direction; all carved of wood. To each of these tables there was a small lance, no bigger than a bodkin, on which were engraved certain mysterious Chaldaic characters. This hall was kept constantly closed by a gate of brass with a great lock of steel, the key of which was in possession of the king. On the top of the tower was a bronze figure of a Moorish horseman, fixed on a pivot, with a shield on one arm, and his lance elevated perpendicularly. The face of this horseman was towards the city, as if keeping guard over it; but if any foe were at hand, the figure would turn in that direction and would level the lance as if for action. When this talisman was finished, Aben Habuz was all impatient to try its virtues; and longed as ardently for an invasion as he had ever sighed after repose. His desire was soon gratified. Tidings were brought early one morning, by the sentinel ap pointed to watch the tower, that the face of the brazen horseman was turned towards the mountains of Elvira, and that his lance pointed directly against the pass of Lope. Let the drums and trumpets sound to arms, and all Granada be put on the alert," said Aben Habuz. "O king," said the astrologer, "let not your city be disquieted, nor your warriors called to arms; we need no aid of force to deliver you from your enemies. Dismiss your attendants and let us proceed alone to the secret hall of the tower." The ancient Aben Habuz mounted the staircase of the tower, leaning on the arm of the still inore ancient Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub. They unlocked the brazen door and entered. The window that looked towards the pass of Lope was open. "In this direction" said the astrologer, "lies the danger —approach, & king, and behold the mystery of the table." King Aben Habuz approached the seeming chessboard, on which were arranged the small wooden effigies; when lo! they were all in motion. The horses pranced and curveted. the warriors bran dished their weapons, and there was a faint sound of drums and trumpets, and a clang of arms and neighing of steeds, but all no louder, nor more distinct, than the hum of the bee or summer-fly in the drowsy car of him who lies at noon-tide in the shade. "Behold, O king," said the astrologer, a proof that thy enemies are even now in the field. They must be advancing through yonder mountains by the pass of Lope. Would you produce a panic and confusion amongst them, and cause them to abandon their enterprise and retreat without loss of life, strike these effigies with the butt end of this magic lance; but would you cause bloody feud and carnage among them, strike with the point." A livid streak passed across the countenance of the pacific Aben Habuz; he seized the mimic lance with trembling eagerness, and tottered towards the table; his gray beard wagged with chuckling exultation. "Son of Abu Ayub," exciaimed he, "I think we will have a little blood!" So saying he thrust the magic lance into some of the pigmy effigies, and belaboured others with the butt end; upon which the former fell, as dead, upon the board, and the rest turning upon each other, began, pell-mell, a chance medley fight. It was with difficulty the astrologer could stay the hand of the most pacific of monarchs, and prevent him from absolutely exterminating his foes. At length he prevailed upon him to leave the tower, and to send out scouts to the mountains by the pass of Lope. eyes of an old man; and the light of the lamp is The king was in the right, the hermitage was at length complete and formed a sumptuous subterranean palace. "I am now content," said Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub, to the treasurer; "I will shut myself up in my cell and devote my time to study. I desire nothing more,-nothing, except a trifling solace to amuse me at the intervals of mental labour." "Oh! wise Ibrahim, ask what thou wilt; I am bound to furnish all that is necessary for thy solitude." "I would fain have then a few dancing women,' said the philosopher. "Dancing women!" echoed the treasurer with. surprise. Dancing women," replied the sage, gravely: "a few will suffice; for I am an old man and a philosopher, of simple habits and easily satisfied. Let them, however, be young and fair to look upon -for the sight of youth and beauty is refreshing to old age. While the philosophic Ibrahim Ebn Ayub passed They returned with the intelligence that a Chris- his time thus sagely in his hermitage, the pacific tian army had advanced through the heart of the Aben Habuz carried on furious campaigns in effigy Sierra, almost within sight of Granada, when a dis-in his tower. It was a glorious thing for an old man sension having broken out among them, they had turned their weapons against each other, and after much slaughter, had retreated over the border. Aben Habuz was transported with joy on thus proving the efficacy of the talisman. "At length, "At length," said he, "I shall lead a life of tranquillity, and have all my enemies in my power. Oh! wise son of Abu Ayub, what can I bestow on thee in reward for such a blessing? The wants of an old man and a philosopher, O king, are few and simple-grant me but the means of fitting up my cave as a suitable hermitage, and I am content." "How noble is the moderation of the truly wise!" exclaimed Aben Habuz, secretly pleased at the cheapness of the recompense. He summoned his treasurer, and bade him dispense whatever sums might be required by Ibrahim to complete and furnish his hermitage. The astrologer now gave orders to have various chambers hewn out of the solid rock, so as to form ranges of apartments connected with his astrologiCa hall. These he caused to be furnished with luxurious ottomans and divans; and the walls to be hang with the richest silks of Damascus. "I am an old man," said he, "and can no longer rest my bones on stone couches; and these damp walls require covering." He also had baths constructed and provided with all kinds of perfumery and aromatic oils; for a bath," said he, "is necessary to counteract the rigidity of age, and to restore freshness and suppleness to the frame withered by study." He caused the apartments to be hung with innumerable silver and crystal lamps, which he filled with a fragrant oil prepared according to a receipt discovered by him in the tombs of Egypt. This oil was perpetual in its nature, and diffused a soft radiance like the tempered light of day. The light of the sun," said he, "is too garish and violent for the like himself, of quiet habits, to have war made easy, At length, one day, the talismanic horseman veered suddenly round, and, lowering his lance, made a dead point towards the mountains of Guadix. Aben Habuz hastened to his tower, but the magic table in that direction remained quiet-not a single warrior was in motion. Perplexed at the circumstance, he sent forth a troop of horse to scour the mountains and reconnoitre. They returned after three days' absence. Rodovan, the captain of the troop, addressed the king: "We have searched every mountain pass," said he, "but not a helm or spear was stirring. All that we have found in the course of our foray was a Christian damsel of surpassing beauty, sleeping at noon-tide beside a fountain, whom we have brought away captive." "A damsel of surpassing beauty!" exclaimed Aben Habuz, his eyes gleaming with animation: "let her be conducted into my presence." "Pardon me, O king!" replied Rodovan, "but our warfare at present is scanty; and yields but little harvest. I had hoped this chance gleaning would have been allowed for my services." "Chance gleaning!" cried Aben Habuz. "What! -a damsel of surpassing beauty! By the head of my father! it is the choice fruits of warfare, only to be garnered up into the royal keeping-Let the damsel be brought hither instantly The beautiful damsel was accordingly conducted | ite perfumes, all that Asia and Africa yielded of into his presence. She was arrayed in the Gothic rich and rare, were lavished upon the princess. She style with all the luxury of ornament that had pre- received all as her due, and regarded them with the vailed among the Gothic Spaniards at the time of indifference of one accustomed to magnificence. the Arabian conquest. Pearls of dazzling whiteness All kinds of spectacles and festivities were devised were entwined with her raven tresses; and jewels for her entertainment; minstrelsy, dancing, tourna sparkled on her forehead, rivalling the lustre of her ments, bull-fights.—Granada, for a time, was a scene eyes. Around her neck was a golden chain, to of perpetual pageant. The Gothic princess seemed which was suspended a silver lyre which hung by to take a delight in causing expense, as if she sought her side. to drain the treasures of the monarch. There were no bounds to her caprice, or to the extravagance of her ideas. Yet, notwithstanding all this munficence, the venerable Aben Habuz could not flatter himself that he had made any impression on her heart. She never frowned on him, it is true, but she had a singular way of baffling his tender advances. Whenever he began to plead his passion, she struck her silver lyre. There was a mystic charm in the sound: on hearing of it, an irresistible drowsiness seized upon the superannuated lover, he fell asleep, and only woke when the temporary fumes of passion had evaporated. Still the dream of love had a bewitching power over his senses; so he continued to dream on; while all Granada scoffed at his infatuation, and groaned at the treasures lavished for a song. The flashes of her dark refulgent eye were like sparks of fire on the withered, yet combustible breast of Aben Habuz, and set it in a flame. The swimming voluptuousness of her gait made his senses reel. "Fairest of women," cried he, with rapture, "who and what art thou?". "The daughter of one of the Gothic princes who lately ruled over this land. The armies of my father have been destroyed as if by magic among these mountains, he has been driven into exile, and his daughter is a slave." "Be comforted, beautiful princess-thou art no longer a slave, but a sovereign; turn thine eyes graciously upon Aben Habuz, and reign over him and his dominions." Habuz was, for a time, besieged in his palace, and it was not without the greatest difficulty that he repelled his assailants and quelled the insurrection. "Beware, O king," whispered Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ayub; "this may be some spirit conjured up by the At length a danger burst over the head of Aber. magicians of the Goths, and sent for thy undoing. Habuz, against which, his talisman yielded him no Or it may be one of those northern sorceresses, who warning. A rebellion broke out in the very heart assume the most seducing forms to beguile the un-of his capital; headed by the bold Rodovan. Aben wary. Methinks I read witchcraft in her eye, and sorcery in every movement. Let my sovereign beware-this must be the enemy pointed out by the talisman." "Son of Abu Ayub,” replied the king, “you are a wise man and a conjuror, I grant-but you are little versed in the ways of woman. In the knowledge of the sex, I will yield to no man; no, not to the wise Solomon himself, notwithstanding the number of his wives and his concubines. As to this damsel, I see much comfort in her for my old days, even such comfort as David, the father of Solomon, found in the society of Abishag the Shunamite." Hearken, O king," rejoined the astrologer, suddenly changing his tone-"I have given thee many triumphs over thy enemies, and by means of my talisman, yet thou hast never given me share of the spoils; grant me this one stray captive to solace me in my retirement, and I am content." "What!" cried Aben Habuz, "more women! hast thou not already dancing women to solace thee -what more wouldst thou desire." "Dancing women, have I, it is true; but I have none that sing; and music is a balm to old age.— This captive, I perceive, beareth a silver lyre, and must be skilled in minstrelsy. Give her to me, I pray thee, to sooth my senses after the toil of study." The ire of the pacific monarch was kindled, and he loaded the philosopher with reproaches. The latter retired indignantly to his hermitage; but ere he departed, he again warned the monarch to beware of his beautiful captive. Where, in fact, is the old man in love that will listen to counsel? Aben Habuz had felt the full power of the witchery of the eye, and the sorcery of movement, and the more he gazed, the more he was enamoured. He now felt himself compelled once more to resort to the assistance of the astrologer. He found him still shut up in his hermitage, chewing the cud of resentment. 'O wise son of Abu Ayub," said he, "what thou hast foretold, has, in some sort, come to pass. This Gothic princess has brought trouble and danger upon me." " "Is the king then disposed to put her away from him?" said the astrologer with animation. "Sooner would I part with my kingdom!" replied Aben Habuz. "What then is the need of disturbing me in my philosophical retirement?" said the astrologer, peg vishly. "Be not angry, O sagest of philosophers. would fain have one more exertion of thy magic art. Devise some means by which I may be secure from internal treason, as well as cutward war-some safe retreat, where I may take refuge and be at peace." The astrologer ruminated for a moment, and a subtle gleam shone from his eye under his bushy eyebrows. "Thou hast heard, no doubt, O king," said he, "of the palace and garden of Irem, whereof mention is made in that chapter of the Koran entitled the dawn of day.'' "I have heard of that garden,-marvellous things are related of it by the pilgrims who visit Mecca, but I have thought them wild fables, such as those are prone to tell who visit remote regions." Listen, O king, and thou shalt know the mystery of that garden. In my younger days I was in Arabia the Happy, tending my father's camels. One of them strayed away from the rest, and was lost. I searched for it for several days about the deserts of Aden, until wearied and faint, I laid myself down and slept under a palm tree by the side of a scanty well. When I awoke, I found myself at the gate of The Zacatin of Granada a city. I entered and beheld noble streets and was ransacked for the most precious merchandise of squares and market places, but all were silent and the East. Silks, jewels, precious gems and exquis- without an inhabitant. I wandered on until I came He resigned himself to the full sway of his passions. His only study, was how to render himself amiable in the eyes of the Gothic beauty. He had not youth, it is true, to recommend him, but then he had riches; and when a lover is no longer young, he becomes generous. |