Page:Impressions of Spain in 1866.djvu/123

Rh 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