I have said a great deal about Cordova and its titles to remembrance; but it must be confessed that there is little enough to see in it. The churches present no features of interest, except the Colegiata de San Hipolito, modernized in 1729, which contains the tombs of Ferdinand IV. and Alfonso XI. Nor is walking through the city an exercise altogether pleasing, as the streets which were the first paved in Europe, in 850, might also claim to be the worst paved in the world. The stones are so sharp and pointed that in parts you have to skip from one to the other, like a bear dancing on hot iron--an original but ungraceful method of locomotion. A drive in the surrounding country is productive of more pleasure. The neighbourhood is a Paradise of fertility, and sets one wondering what becomes of all the money that this must bring in and represent. Spain and Greece are very poor countries, but I do not think that Spaniards and Greeks are, for the most part, very poor. [Illustration: CORDOVA--OLD HOUSES NEAR THE RIVER] CHAPTER IV GRANADA Over two thousand feet above the sea stands the ancient city of Granada, once the teeming centre of the kingdom of the Moors and now a town of memories eloquent of the grandeur of older days. The province bearing its name is bounded on the north by sterile ranges, while close to the southern seaboard stretch the huge shoulders and serrated peaks of the noble Sierra Nevada, rivalling in height the chief summits of the Pyrenees. Between these ranges spread fertile vegas, or plains, rising here and there to over a thousand feet, a district of vineyards and olive groves, and semi-tropical plants find a favourable habitat. Granada, though on the verge of an arid territory, is in a strip of great fertility, watered by the Genil and the Darro, the latter--the Hadarro of the Moors--a stream that is heavily taxed by the farmers for purposes of irrigation. Théophile Gautier praised the river of Granada for its beauty, but since his day the stream has shrunk, and nowadays the volume of water is insignificant, especially during a dry summer. The waters of the Darro have a reputation for their healing qualities, and cattle that drink from it are said to recover quickly from diseases. Hence, in the ancient speech, the river had the title of "The Salutary Bath of Sheep." Under the Moors the environs of Granada were in the highest state of cultivation, and they are still very productive. The land yields plenteous wine and oil. The chief crops are grains of various sorts. Hemp and flax flourish, and oranges, lemons, and figs are a source of income to the agriculturists. Granada is also famed for its mulberry trees, whose leaves provide food for the silk caterpillar, though the silk trade is in a state of sad decay.