[Illustration: BAS-RELIEF, NOW IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ALHAMBRA.] [Illustration: THE SAME SUBJECT FROM AN ENGRAVING IN MURPHY’S ARABIAN ANTIQUITIES.] sculpture is antique or Moorish. An Arabic inscription is carried round the border, but this may be later than the carving; at all events, stags are animals connected by the Orientals with the fountain--“As the hart panteth for the water-brooks”--and the Spanish Moors, among other departures from strict Moslem rules, did not reject either paintings or carvings of living objects. The splendid vase, _el jarro_, has been brought hither from the Hall of the Two Sisters, and is described at page 76, with a plate at page 95. PALACE OF CHARLES V. On one side of the _Plaza de los Algibes_--Place of the [Illustration: PALACE OF CHARLES V.] Cisterns--is an isolated Moorish tower called _La Torre del Vino_, built in 1345, by Yúsuf I., and remarkable for its exquisite arch, called the “Wine Gate” (see page 133). Opposite is the large Palace begun by Charles V., great in conception and impotent in conclusion, unfurnished and roofless. To make way for this edifice, Charles destroyed large portions of what the Moors had raised, tearing down whole ranges of the Alhambra. [Illustration: ELEVATION AND SECTION OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V.] [Illustration: INTERIOR, PALACE OF CHARLES V.] [Illustration: PART OF EXTERIOR, PALACE OF CHARLES V.] This pile of buildings, commenced for Charles V., was never finished, in consequence of his frequent absence, occasioned by the almost perpetual wars in which he was engaged, particularly in his efforts to suppress the insurrections of the Moors in the Alpujarras, and elsewhere.[12] The spot chosen for [Illustration: ROMAN COURT, PALACE OF CHARLES V.] the site of the Palace commands a most beautiful view of the city of Granada, as well as its surrounding _Vega_. As a specimen of Spanish architecture, it reflects the highest credit on Pedro Machuca, who began it in 1526. It is, in every way, adapted to the climate; and its interior, which, in its chief feature, takes a circular form, is spacious and splendid. In any other situation the Palace of Charles V. would justly excite admiration: but here it is misplaced. With all its grandeur and architectural excellence, Washington Irving could only look upon the structure as “an arrogant intrusion.” It is falling rapidly to decay. The walls are crumbling, the wood-work is rotten, and the splendid apartments--all that resulted from an intention to eclipse the palace of the Moslem kings--are given up to bats and owls. This projected Palace, begun in 1526, progressed slowly until 1633, and was then abandoned. Whatever beauty there is in the Spanish Palace at Granada, is external. On the other hand, the Moors were content with the beauty of the interior of the Alhambra. [Illustration: Plan of the Alhambra Palace at Granada.