The long series of inscriptions in the Hall of The Two Sisters were much mutilated, and in some cases utterly destroyed, in a barbarous attempt at decoration--_rien n’est sacré pour un sapeur_--made by the Ayuntamiento of Granada in 1832, when the Infante, Don Francisco de Paula visited the city. Fortunately, so far as the text goes, the sentences may be found in _Antigüedades Arabes de España_.[9] The greatest pains have been expended upon the inscriptions which address themselves to the eye of the connoisseur by the beautiful forms of the characters; exercise his intellect by the effort of deciphering their curious and [Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, FROM THE “LINDARAJA” BALCONY.] complex involutions, and reward his imagination by the beauty of the sentiments and the music of their composition. Many will be grateful to see some specimens of the verses from the Hall of The Two Sisters:-- “I am the garden, and every morn am I revealed in new beauty. Observe attentively how I am adorn’d, and thou wilt reap the benefit of a commentary on decoration; “For, by Allah! the elegant structures around me assuredly surpass all other edifices by the happy presage attending their foundation. “How many delightful prospects I enfold! Prospects, in the contemplation of which a mind enlightened finds the gratification of its desire. “Look upon this wonderful cupola, at sight of whose perfection all other domes must pale and disappear; “To which the Constellation of the Twins extends the hand of salutation; and, for communion, the Full Moon deserts her station in the heavens. “Nay, more; were they to take these aisles for their abiding place, those heavenly bodies would render constant homage to their beauty. “No wonder, then, if the stars grow pale in their high stations, and if a limit be put to the duration of their light. “Here also behold the portico, unfolding every beauty. Indeed, had this palace no other ornament, it would still surpass the firmament in splendour: “For manifold are the gorgeous habilaments in which thou, O Sultán! hast arrayed it, surpassing in brilliancy the lustrous robes of Yemen! “To look at them, one would imagine them to be planets revolving in their orbits, and throwing into shade the sunburst of morning. “Here are columns ornamented to absolute perfection; the beauty of which has become glorified: columns [Illustration: BALCONY OF THE FAVOURITE, “LINDARAJA.”] [Illustration: DETAILS OF THE GLAZED TILES IN THE DADO OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.] “Which, when struck by the earliest beam celestial, may be likened, notwithstanding their vastness, to many blocks of pearl. “Indeed, there is no palace more imposing in its elevation, nor so brilliantly decorated; nor having more extensive apartments; “They may be compared to markets where the richest comers are overpaid in beauty, and where the arbiter of elegance presides eternally to pronounce his award;