 | The works of Washington Irving |  |
THE TOWER OF LAS INFANTAS.
In an evening's stroll up a narrow
glen, overshadowed by fig trees, pomegranates,
lands of the fortress from those of the
Generalife, I was struck with the romantic
appearance of a Moorish tower in
the outer wall of the Alhambra, that rose
high above the tree-tops, and caught the
ruddy rays of the setting sun. A solitary
window at a great height commanded
a view of the glen; and as I was
regarding it, a young female looked out,
with her head adorned with flowers.
She was evidently superior to the usual
class of people that inhabit the old towers
of the fortress; and this sudden and picturesque
glimpse of her reminded me of
the descriptions of captive beauties in
fairy tales. These fanciful associations
of my mind were increased on being informed
by my attendant Mateo, that this
was the tower of the Princesses (La
Torre de las Infantas); so called, from
having been, according to tradition, the
residence of the daughters of the Moorish
kings. I have since visited the tower. It
is not generally shown to strangers,
though well worthy attention, for the interior
is equal, for beauty of architecture
and delicacy of ornament, to any part of
the palace. The elegance of the central
hall, with its marble fountain, its lofty
arches, and richly fretted dome; arabesques
and stucco work of the small but
well-proportioned chamber, though injured
by time and neglect, all accord with
the story of its being anciently the abode
of royal beauty.
The little old fairy queen who lives
under the staircase of the Alhambra and
frequents the evening tertulias of Dame
Antonia, tells some fanciful traditions
about three Moorish princesses, who were
once shut up in this tower by their father,
a tyrant king of Granada, and were only
permitted to ride out at night about the
hills, when no one was permitted to come
in their way, under pain of death. They
still, according to her account, may be
seen occasionally when the moon is in
the full, riding in lonely places along the
mountain side, on palfreys richly caparisoned
and sparkling with jewels, but they
vanish on being spoken to.
But before I relate any thing further
respecting these princesses, the reader
may be anxious to know something about
the fair inhabitant of the tower, with her
head dressed with flowers, who looked
out from the lofty window. She proved
to be the newly married spouse of the
worthy adjutant of invalids; who, though
well stricken in years, had had the
courage to take to his bosom a young
and buxom Andalusian damsel. May
the good old cavalier be happy in his
choice, and find the Tower of the Princesses
a more secure residence for female
beauty, than it seems to have proved in
the time of the Moslems, if we may believe
the following legend!
| The works of Washington Irving | |