‘ 
G10 
ing to the year 1181 of the Christian era ; 
and the name ef the architect who built 
it, and of the king under whom it was 
erected, are in the same place. The 
latter is called Nazar, of whom I could 
learn nothing in any history I have met 
with; indeed the Spanish historians, 
Mariana, Ocampo, Ortiz, and others, 
_ have, in their writings, either omitted 
the series of the Moorish kings, or passed 
them over very slightly, so that their 
works, from the year 750 to about 1250, 
instead of meriting ‘the title of histories 
of Spain, ought to be denominated his- 
tories of the Goths who retired from the 
Moorish conquerors to the extremities of 
Spain. Se 
The outside of the Alcazar is miserable 
in its appearance; but the first court 
after entering the gate has a very grand 
effect: the front, looking into that court, 
is purely Arabic in its style, and the in- 
scriptions favour the idea of its being 
built by that people; it is, nevertheless, 
ascertained to have been constructed 
since the conquest, by the Christians ; 
and, indeed, the arms of Castile and 
Leon are mingled with the Arabic cha- 
racters. The flight of stairs leading to 
the royal apartments, now occupied by 
Garay, is of marble; and some galleries, 
of the same material, lead to other parts 
of the building. The courts ‘are orna- 
mented with marble fountains, and are 
well shaded with corridors, supported by 
marble pillars. The hall, now occupied 
by the Junta, formerly called the Hall 
of Ambassadors, is a beautiful apart- 
ment, adorned with elegant designs in 
stucco, and with a floor of the most 
transparent marble, of various colours. 
The rooms adjoining are occupied by the 
different committees, or, as they are 
called, sections, into which the Junta 
is divided, and the whole palace, which 
is very extensive, is filled by the different 
branches of the government, whose clerks 
have offices very well adapted for the 
dispatch of business from their proximity 
to each other. Oye 
The garden of the Alcazar is said to 
have been laid out by the Moors, and is 
preserved in its original state; it contains 
walks paved with marble, parterres laid 
out with ever-greens, and well shaded 
with orange trees. In many parts of it 
there~ are baths, supplied by marble 
fountains from the aqueduct I described 
in a former leiter, and they have a con- 
trivance for rendering tae walks one con- 
tinued fountain, by forcing up small 
streame of water from minute pipes in 
Mr. Facob’s Letters from Spain. 
the joining of the slabs, which in this 
climate produces a most grateful effect. 
As a specimen of an Arabian garden, im 
its original state, this is an interesting 
object, and we naturally associate with 
it recollections gathered from the eastern 
writers, especially from the Song of So- 
lomon, in the Scriptures, in which the 
descriptions very well agree with this 
garden; for, in addition to the other cir- 
cumstances, it is completely walled round, 
and is secluded from every one except 
the inhabitants of one part of the palace. 
The saloon, which was occupied by 
the Junta of Seville when its energy di- 
rected the public mind of this city, con- 
tains a collection of Roman antiquities 
brought from Italica, an ancient city, 
about four miles hence, and celebrated 
as the birth-place of the Emperor Trajan. 
I observed some fine statues which, 
though partly mutilated, show the su- 
periority of the ancients over the moderns 
in the art of sculpture: a colossal figure, 
supposed to be Apollo, is remarkably 
well executed; and the statue ofa vestal, 
in good preservation, discovers great 
skill in the figure and disposition of the 
drapery. The Roman inscriptions col- 
lected in this place are very numerous, 
and worthy the attention of those who 
are fond of studying them. I hope my 
taste will not bé too severely condemned 
if remark, that the Moorish antiquities 
afford me greater pleasure than the Ro- 
mati; tome they possess more of novelty, 
have been much less described, and are 
in every respect better adapted to the 
climate. 
As I am writing to you onthe subject 
of the Moorish antiquities, [ must say 
that I have been more highly gratified 
by seeing the private house of Don Josse 
Maria Perez, a merchant of this city, 
than by any other remains of that people, 
This house was built) by the Moors, and 
was the residence of one of their chiefs, 
The whole is most voluptuously contrived 
for a warm climate, but one of the apart- 
ments exceeds every thing I have seen. 
It is in the most perfect preservation, 
though certainly not Jess than five hun= 
dred years old: the form resembles a 
double cube, the one placed above the 
other, its height about sixty, and its 
length and breadth about thirty feet; 
the ornaments begin at about ten feet 
from the floor, and are continued to the 
top of the room; they consist- of a kind 
of variegated net-work of stucco, designed 
with such regularity and exquisite beauty, 
that, without the aid of a drawing, I 
: should 
on 
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