University of Virginia Library

THE
HOUSE OF THE WEATHERCOCK.

On the brow of the lofty hill of the Albaycin,
the highest part of the city of Granada, stand
the remains of what was once a royal palace,
founded shortly after the conquest of Spain by the
Arabs. It is now converted into a manufactory,
and has fallen into such obscurity that it cost me
much trouble to find it, notwithstanding that I had
the assistance of the sagacious and all-knowing
Mateo Ximenes. This edifice still bears the name
by which it has been known for centuries, namely,
la Casa del Gallo de Viento; that is, the House of
the Weathercock.

It was so called from a bronze figure of a warrior
on horseback, armed with shield and spear,
erected on one of its turrets, and turning with every

wind; bearing an Arabic motto, which, translated
into Spanish, was as follows:

This Aben Habuz was a captain who served in
the invading army of Taric, and was left as alcayde
of Granada. He is supposed to have intended
this warlike effigy as a perpetual memorial to the
Moorish inhabitants, that surrounded as they were
by foes, and subject to sudden invasion, their safety
depended upon being always ready for the
field.

Other traditions, however, give a different account
of this Aben Habuz and his palace, and affirm
that his bronze horseman was originally a
talisman of great virtue, though in after ages it
lost its magic properties and degenerated into a
weathercock. The following are the traditions
alluded to.