Page:Impressions of Spain in 1866.djvu/120

96 SEVILLE. vineyards, till the train brought them by mid-day to the wonderfiil and beautifiil city which had been the main object of their Spanish tour.

The saying is strictly true :

Quien no ha visto Sevilla, No ha visto maravilla.

Scarcely had they set foot in their comfortable hotel, the 'Fonda de Londres,' when an obliging aide-de-camp of the Spanish general came to tell them that if they wanted to see the Alcazar they must go with him at once, as the infanta, who had married the sister of the king's consort, ^as expected with his wife to occupy the palace that evening, when it would naturally be closed to visitors. Dusty, dirty, and hot as they were, therefore, they at once sallied forth with their kind cicerone and the English consul for this fairy palace of the Moors. Entering by the Plaza del Triunfo, under an arched gateway, where hangs, day and night, a lamp throwing its soft light on the beautiftJ little picture of the Vir- gin and Child, they came into a long court, in the midst of which are orange-trees and fountains, and this again led them by a side door into the inner court or ' patio ' of the palace.

Like the Alhambra, it is an exquisite succes- sion of delicate columns, with beautifully carved