Page:Sixteen years of an artist's life in Morocco, Spain and the Canary Islands.djvu/36

Rh in a manner similar to that of which I had obtained a hasty glimpse in the Mosque. The patterns in which the tiles were disposed were beautiful, varied, and richly coloured, and their peculiar glaze gave an air of agreeable freshness and cleanliness to this central court. The stairs and walls were all of the same Mosaic; and any one who has once visited Pompeii would be struck with the similarity of the Moorish buildings to those of that ancient city. All round the Patio was a light and graceful colonnade, supported by slender pillars and exquisitely proportioned arches of a horse-shoe form. The whole had a very fairy-like appearance, and bore a most striking resemblance to some small and isolated portion of the Alhambra of the Caliphat in Granada.

Preparations were now in the course of being made for an entertainment in honour of the approaching marriage; and these appeared to be on a pretty extensive scale; for as the bride was a relation of the family, they were naturally anxious to celebrate the occasion in a becoming style. An ample feast, consisting of tea, sweetmeats, wine, Rosolio, chicken, fish, and porter, was accordingly laid out for the visitors, and, on their arrival at the proper time, had all due honours done to it. Some professional musicians had also been engaged for the