in Lord de la Poer's face, and asked why nobody converted the
Abencerrages instead of fighting with them!

It was a pity that Kate always grew loud when she was earnest; and
Lord de la Poer's interest in the conversation was considerably
lessened by the discomfort of seeing some strangers looking surprised
at the five syllables in the squeaky voice coming out of the mouth of
so small a lady.

"Gently, my dear," he softly said; and Kate for a moment felt it hard
that the torment about her voice should pursue her even in such
moments, and spoil the Alhambra itself.

However, her good humour recovered the next minute, at the Fountain
of Lions. She wanted to know how the Moors came to have lions; she
thought she had heard that no Mahometans were allowed to represent
any living creature, for fear it should be an idol. Lord de la Poer
said she was quite right, and that the Mahometans think these forms
will come round their makers at the last day, demanding to have souls
given to them; but that her friends, the Moors of Spain, were much
less strict than any others of their faith. She could see, however,
that the carving of such figures was a new art with them, since these
lions were very rude and clumsy performances for people who could
make such delicate tracery as they had seen within. And then, while
Kate was happily looking with Adelaide at the orange trees that
completed the Spanish air of the court, and hoping to see the
fountain play in the evening, he told Grace that it was worth while
taking people to see sights if they had as much intelligence and
observation as Kate had, and did not go gazing idly about, thinking
of nothing.