"The palm is, indeed, among the first objects which the traveller discovers as he approaches Cordova, and for a moment he fancies that he is about to enter some African or Asiatic city. It is said, that all the palm-trees in Spain—and they are very numerous in Andalusia, Murcia, and Valencia-proceeded from the one planted by the first Abderahman in his favorite garden upon the bank of the Guadalquivir."-A Year in Spain, by a Young American, Vol. III. p. 26. NOTE 3, Sect. II. p. 53. “Along the spicy-scented vale Sings low and sweet the nightingale." "The foliage of the trees was still tender and transparent; the pomegranate had not yet shed its brilliant crimson blossoms; the orchards of the Xenil and the Darro were in full bloom; the rocks were hung with wild flowers, and Granada seemed completely surrounded by a wilderness of roses, among which innumerable nightingales sang, not merely in the night, but all day long."Washington Irving's Alhambra. "About a mile from the sea, we came to a small river, skirted by silver poplars. These were merry with the music of the nightingale. This bird is always found in Andalusia upon the tops of mountains, and along the banks of rivers.”—A Year in Spain, by a Young American, Vol. III. p. 26. NOTE 4, Sect. II. p. 53. "And on the Vega's moonlit green." The Vega, the plain surrounding Granada, the scene of many actions between the Moors and Christians. NOTE 5, Sect. II. p. 54. "Trip small feet to the light guitar And the low tinkling castanet." "Sometimes I would hear the faint sounds of castanets from some party of dancers lingering in the Alameda ;* at other times I have heard the dubious tones of a guitar and the notes of a single voice rising from some solitary street, and pictured to myself some youthful cavalier serenading his lady's window. * * "As the sun declines, begins the bustle of enjoyment, when the citizens pour forth to breathe the evening air, and revel away the brief twilight in the walks and gardens of the Darro and the Xenil. "Now break forth, from court and garden, and street and lane, the tinkling of innumerable guitars, and the clinking of castanets; blending, at this lofty height, in a faint but general concert."— Washington Irving's Alhambra. NOTE 6, Sect. II. p. 54. "The bright Xenil." The Xenil, the principal stream that waters the Vega. NOTE 7, Sect. II. p. 54. "The golden Darro's gentle tide." "The Darro is a small stream running through Granada, and is the De Auro or Darra of the Romans, who procured gold from it by washing its sands. Particles of gold are still found in it; and when * A public walk on the Vega. Philip the Second came to Granada, the city presented him with a crown made from the gold of the Darro.-Bourgoanne's Travels in Spain. NOTE 8, Sect. II. p. 54. "Nor blood from noble Zegri's vein.” The Zegris, one of the tribes of the Moors of Granada. ' Upon his lofty brow yet age "On his bold visage middle age Had slightly pressed its signet sage." Scott. |