The transverse section of the Court, looking towards the palace of Charles V. (see p. 356), forms a beautiful arcade: the slender columns which support the arches would appear unequal to their superincumbent weight were not the spandrils lightened by perforations. The construction of these arches is remarkable for its simplicity. Over the columns, which are of white marble, are built brick piers, and the spandrils of the arches are filled in with tiles placed diagonally. To these are attached perforated plaster ornaments, which give a singularly light and elegant appearance to the arches, and at the same time, by freely admitting currents of air, distribute a delicious coolness through the Courts. It will be observed that the ornaments in plaster, with which the walls of the Court of the Fish-pond are covered, are in a better state of preservation than similar decorations in other parts of the Palace. The windows over the entrance doorway are formed of ribs of plaster, and it is thought that these were once filled with stained glass. No traces of such glazing can now be discovered; the conjecture seems to have arisen from the fact that a wall here, next the Hall of Ambassadors, has similar blank windows in which small spaces are painted of various colours. Between the windows, and at the angles, are four escutcheons of the Kings of Granada with the oft-repeated motto: “There is no Conqueror but God;” the whole being enclosed within a cipher, formed by the word signifying “Grace” written twice in Cufic characters, and so interwoven that it may be read from right to left, and from left to right. On the ribs of the window is the word signifying “Blessing,” in Cufic characters, with this peculiarity, that the first two letters are enclosed within a cipher formed by the two last. This device also is so ingeniously written that the word may be read both ways. On six escutcheons, at the sides, the word signifying “Blessing” is treated in the same skilful manner. Immediately over the Mosaic under the gallery is an inscription of twelve verses in African characters, full of Oriental hyperbole, but perhaps inferior in composition to those already selected from the Hall of The Two Sisters. Under the galleries, at the north and south ends of the Court, are four recesses, profusely ornamented, elaborate, and [Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.] beautiful; well preserved, and retaining much of their original colour. From amongst the inscriptions of the Court of the Fish-pond it may be permitted to print two or three: “Go and tell true believers that Divine help and ready victory are reserved for them. (From the sixty-first chapter of the Koràn). “I am like the nuptial array of a bride, endowed with every beauty and perfection. “Truly, Ibn Nasr is the sun, shining in splendour; “May he continue in the noon-tide of his glory even unto the period of his decline.” [Illustration: GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES.]