ROUGH draughts of some of the following tales and essays were
actually written during a residence in the Alhambra; others were
subsequently added, founded on notes and observations made there.
Care was taken to maintain local coloring and verisimilitude; so
that the whole might present a faithful and living picture of that
microcosm, that singular little world into which I had been
fortuitously thrown; and about which the external world had a very
imperfect idea. It was my endeavor scrupulously to depict its half
Spanish, half Oriental character; its mixture of the heroic, the
poetic, and the grotesque; to revive the traces of grace and beauty
fast fading from its walls; to record the regal and chivalrous
traditions concerning those who once trod its courts; and the
whimsical and superstitious legends of the motley race now
burrowing among its ruins.
The papers thus roughly sketched out lay for three or four
years in my portfolio, until I found myself in London, in 1832, on
the eve of returning to the United States. I then endeavored to
arrange them for the press, but the preparations for departure did
not allow sufficient leisure. Several were thrown aside as
incomplete; the rest were put together somewhat hastily and in
rather a crude and chaotic manner.
In the present edition I have revised and rearranged the
whole work, enlarged some parts, and added others, including the
papers originally omitted; and have thus endeavored to render it
more complete and more worthy of the indulgent reception with which
it has been favored.
W. I.