She gazed with enthusiasm upon its magnificent monuments, and
her memory was filled with the traditional tales and ballads of
Moorish chivalry. Indeed, the solitary life she had led, and the
visionary turn of her father's mind, had produced an effect upon her
character, and given it a tinge of what, in modern days, would be
termed romance. All this was called into full force by this new
passage; for, when a woman first begins to love, life is all romance
to her.
In one of their evening strolls, they had ascended to the mountain of
the Sun, where is situated the Generaliffe, the palace of pleasure, in
the days of Moorish dominion, but now a gloomy convent of Capuchins.
They had wandered about its garden, among groves of orange, citron,
and cypress, where the waters, leaping in torrents, or gushing in
fountains, or tossed aloft in sparkling jets, fill the air with music
and freshness.
There is a melancholy mingled with all the beauties of this garden,
that gradually stole over the feelings of the lovers. The place is
full of the sad story of past times. It was the favourite abode of the
lovely queen of Granada, where she was surrounded by the delights of a
gay and voluptuous court. It was here, too, amidst her own bowers of
roses, that her slanderers laid the base story of her dishonour, and
struck a fatal blow to the line of the gallant Abencerrages.
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