University of Virginia Library

DEDICATION.

You may remember that, in the
course of the rambles we once took together
about some of the old cities of Spain, particularly
Toledo and Seville, we frequently
remarked the mixture of the Saracenic with
the Gothic, remaining from the time of the
Moors, and were more than once struck
with incidents and scenes in the streets, that
brought to mind passages in the “Arabian
Nights.” You then urged me to write
something illustrative of these peculiarities;
“something in the Haroun Alraschid style,”
that should have a dash of that Arabian spice
which pervades every thing in Spain. I

call this to mind to show you that you are,
in some degree, responsible for the present
work; in which I have given a few “Arabesque”
sketches and tales, taken from the
life, or founded on local traditions, and
mostly struck off during a residence in one
of the most legendary and Morisco-Spanish
places of the Peninsula.

I inscribe this work to you, as a memorial
of the pleasant scenes we have witnessed together,
in that land of adventure, and as a
testimony of an esteem for your worth, which
can only be exceeded by admiration of your
talents.