THE ALHAMBRA 33 



in the dwelling-houses of the people, in which 

 case the entrance is by a small, square opening, 

 a portal useless among us, though seen with 

 frequency in the ancient houses of Andalusia. 

 A long, narrow hall cuts the axis perpendicularly, 

 thus determining the distribution into two wings 

 of the edifice. By the meeting of the two axes is 

 found the entrance, before which we find those 

 effects of perspective which are so fantastic in 

 these buildings. Following the ingress we find 

 a court with tanks and fountains, with light and 

 graceful arcades. Behind the second gallery, 

 following the same central axis, are oblong naves 

 which cross each other at right angles to the 

 extreme end of the building, where the cupolas 

 or turrets of the innermost dwelling apartments 

 rise majestically above the level of the edifice and 

 are reflected in the waters of the basins. The 

 halls of a house of this kind, according to its 

 rank or grandeur, were arranged in little pavilions 

 on the long sides of the courts, as various in their 

 style of decoration as the tents of a Turkish 

 camp, where the quarters of an Amir may be found 

 beside those of the common soldiers. And if 

 these rows of chambers are now found disposed 

 according to the strict alignment of Mudejar 

 eaves, it is an indication that the severe genius 

 of the Christian conquerors has transformed 

 them, not permitting those crests, cupolas, or 



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