He had directed his steps one evening to the sacred mount, which
overlooks the beautiful valley watered by the Darro, the fertile plain
of the Vega, and all that rich diversity of vale and mountain that
surrounds Granada with an earthly paradise. It was twilight when he
found himself at the place, where, at the present day, are situated
the chapels, known by the name of the Sacred Furnaces. They are so
called from grottoes, in which some of the primitive saints are said
to have been burnt. At the time of Antonio's visit, the place was an
object of much curiosity. In an excavation of these grottoes, several
manuscripts had recently been discovered, engraved on plates of lead.
They were written in the Arabian language, excepting one, which was in
unknown characters. The Pope had issued a bull, forbidding any one,
under pain of excommunication, to speak of these manuscripts. The
prohibition had only excited the greater curiosity; and many reports
were whispered about, that these manuscripts contained treasures of
dark and forbidden knowledge.
As Antonio was examining the place from whence these mysterious
manuscripts had been drawn, he again observed the old man of the
library wandering among the ruins.
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