The doorways are grand and beautiful, and resemble the portals of cathedrals, rather than the entrances to dwelling-houses. In the larger houses the doors are made of slabs of shining mahogany, studded with knobs of brass. The lintels and architraves are ornamented and carved with an elaboration and a variety that afford constant occupation to the stranger in his walks. The Gate belongs, of course, to the land of the Caravan. It is the place of welcome, and its grandeur is the sign of hospitality. The threshold passed, you are in the midst of the dwelling; for the patio is the hall--the hall, as of ancient days--not the mere passage to the dining-room, and the receptacle of hats and walking-canes. We cannot imagine comfort in a court open to the heavens, or elegance in a room with no windows in the walls. New experience awaits us here: when marble is exchanged for brick, and the sun takes the place of fog, shade is comfort, and damp luxury. The Spanish portal acquired a dignity rather Chinese than Moorish, from the escutcheon. At Valez Malaga I was shown the built-up door in the mansion of a noble, who, being ordered to take down his arms from his door, built up the entrance, leaving the arms, and struck out a hole in the wall beside it. The cathedral is a graceful and original modern building. There is a great falling off in the parts recently completed. From its top there is a splendid view of the sea-girt city, the bay, and the surrounding lands. It is all marble, and the roof shelves off from the cupola to the edge without parapet, so that you look out on the sea. In winter the spray passes over the building, so that it well merits its arms,--a cross standing on the water. In the sacristy there were five large marble reservoirs, with the syphon of a fountain over them, for the priests to wash at. My gratification in recognising this relic will be intelligible only to those among Eastern travellers, who have conformed to the manners of the country, and known the secret of washing with running water; and the disgust and aversion that are inspired by our dabbling in a basin full of dirty water. Yet the practice can only have disappeared within two generations.[73] The Russians still wash in this way. This usage, however interesting as a relic, is not fruitful as a practice. The Spaniards are not a cleanly people: in their struggle of seven centuries with their washing and bathing foes, they placed their patriotism on the side of filth.