THE correctness of this sketch, as to dimension at least, has been ensured by the mode in which it was obtained, viz., by gently pressing a piece of paper against the surface of the piece of ornament (so as to obtain a slight impression of its outline,) then marking it faintly with pencil, pressing it out again quite flat, and finishing it in ink on the spot. It may be looked upon, therefore, as giving, as nearly as is possible on a plane surface, an accurate transcript of the elegant ornament from the Sala del Tribunal selected for illustration. My reason for this selection was, chiefly because I desired to show the minute scale and extreme delicacy of much of the decoration in relief with which the walls of the principal apartments of the Alhambra are covered. It was partly also because this particular specimen retained faint tracing lines drawn, most likely with a silver or lead point, and a free hand, upon the flat surfaces of certain parts of the ornament in relief. These served as guide lines for the yet more delicate labour of the painter, who carried the subdivision of parts, by means of the application of contrasting colours and gilding, into yet more microscopic superficial enrichment. As this is the last illustration I have to offer of the Alhambra, it may be well to direct the reader's attention briefly to the general system upon which such Art as the Moors practised, and most dearly loved, was based. Those who would know "all about it," must give themselves diligently to a study of all Owen Jones' works; from the ponderous "Alhambra," with its magnificent illustrations, to the little guide to the "Alhambra Courts of the Crystal Palace," not forgetting to test his theory by his practice in the beautiful reproductions of Moorish Art he has created for their edification at Sydenham. In the pages of the smaller volume they will find the system epitomised simply and delightfully in nine propositions under the following heads. First, to decorate construction, never to construct decoration. Second, to let all lines grow out of each other in gradual undulations--always so as to conduce to repose. Third, to care first for general forms and then for harmonious subdivisions and fillings. Fourth, to balance straight, inclined, and curved forms so as to produce harmony and repose by contrast. Fifth, to let all lines flow out of a parent stem, traceable throughout its course. Sixth, either radially (as in nature with the human hand or in a chestnut leaf.). Seventh, or tangentially,--as stems from branches. Eighth, to avoid the simpler curves and use only those of a higher order. Ninth, to treat all ornament conventionally, _i.e._, not in direct imitation of Nature, but in a mode of imitation subordinated to the architectural conditions of the surface or form to be ornamented. [Illustration: PLATE 75 GRANADA MDW 1869 CATHEDRAL FROM THE BACK OF THE HIGH ALTAR] PLATE LXXV. _GRANADA._