{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_19457/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_19457","id":"gutenberg_19457","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19457","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - European","Category: History - Medieval/Middle Ages","Category: History - Royalty","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Spain -- History"],"text":"[Illustration: CHARLES V. AT YUSTE.]\n\n                           CHARLES V. AT YUSTE.\n\n\n\n\n\nHistorical Tales - The Romance of Reality\n\n\nBy Charles Morris\n\n_Author of \"Half-Hours with the Best American Authors,\" \"Tales from the\nDramatists,\" etc._\n\nin fifteen volumes\n\nVolume VII\n\nLondon\nGeorge Bell and Sons\n\n1898\n\n\n\n\n\nCopyright 1898, by J. B. Lippincott Company.\n\nCopyright 1904, by J. B. Lippincott Company.\n\nCopyright 1908, by J. B. Lippincott Company.\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nTHE GOOD KING WAMBA.\nTHE GREEK KING'S DAUGHTER.\nTHE ENCHANTED PALACE.\nTHE BATTLE OF THE GUADALETE.\nTHE TABLE OF SOLOMON.\nTHE STORY OF QUEEN EXILONA.\nPELISTES, THE DEFENDER OF CORDOVA.\nTHE STRATAGEM OF THEODOMIR.\nTHE CAVE OF COVADONGA.\nTHE ADVENTURES OF A FUGITIVE PRINCE.\nBERNARDO DEL CARPIO.\nRUY DIAZ, THE CID CAMPEADOR.\nLAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA.\nTHE KEY OF GRANADA.\nKING ABUL HASSAN AND THE ALCAIDE OF GIBRALTAR.\nTHE RIVAL KINGS OF GRANADA.\nTHE KNIGHT OF THE EXPLOITS.\nTHE LAST SIGH OF THE MOOR.\nTHE RETURN OF COLUMBUS.\nPETER THE CRUEL AND THE FREE COMPANIES.\nTHE GREAT CAPTAIN.\nA KING IN CAPTIVITY.\nTHE INVASION OF AFRICA.\nAN EMPEROR RETIRED FROM BUSINESS.\nTHE FATE OF A RECKLESS PRINCE.\nSPAIN'S GREATEST VICTORY AT SEA.\nTHE INVINCIBLE ARMADA.\nTHE CAUSES OF SPAIN'S DECADENCE.\nTHE LAST OF A ROYAL RACE.\nHENRY MORGAN AND THE BUCCANEERS.\nELIZABETH FARNESE AND ALBERONI.\nTHE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR.\nTHE FALL OF A FAVORITE.\nTHE SIEGE OF SARAGOSSA.\nTHE HERO OF THE CARLISTS.\nMANILA AND SANTIAGO.\n\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\nCHARLES V. AT YUSTE.\nTOLEDO, WITH THE ALCAZAR.\nA COUNCIL OF THE VISIGOTHS.\nBARONIAL CASTLE IN OLD CASTILE.\nVALENCIA DEL CID.\nALFONSO VIII. HARANGUING HIS TROOPS UPON THE EVE OF BATTLE.\nKING CHARLES'S WELL, ALHAMBRA.\nMOORISH KING PAYING HOMAGE TO THE KING OF CASTILE.\nRECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.\nGONSALVO DE CORDOVA FINDING THE CORPSE OF THE DUKE OF NEMOURS.\nFRANCIS I. REFUSING THE DEMANDS OF THE EMPEROR.\nLIBERATION OF THE CAPTIVES FROM THE DUNGEON OF ORAN.\nCHARLES V. APPROACHING YUSTE.\nTHE ROYAL PALACE. MADRID.\nTHE ALHAMBRA, OVERLOOKING GRANADA.\nSTREET IN OLD QUARTER OF PANAMA.\nTHE CITY OF SARAGOSSA.\nTHE ANNIHILATION OF THE SPANISH FLEET IN THE HARBOR OF MANILA.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOOD KING WAMBA.\n\n\nLong had the Goths been lords of Spain. Chief after chief had they chosen,\nking after king had they served; and, though it was young in time, Gothic\nSpain was growing old in years. It reached its golden age in the time of\n\"Good King Wamba,\" a king of fancy as much as of fact, under whom Spain\nbecame a land of Arcady, everybody was happy, all things prospered, and\nthe tide of evil events for a space ceased to flow.\n\nIn those days, when a king died and left no son, the Goths elected a new\none, seeking their best and worthiest, and holding the election in the\nplace where the old king had passed away. It was in the little village of\nGerticos, some eight miles from the city of Valladolid, that King\nRecesuinto had sought health and found death. Hither came the\nelectors,--the great nobles, the bishops, and the generals,--and here they\ndebated who should be king, finally settling on a venerable Goth named\nWamba, the one man of note in all the kingdom who throughout his life had\ndeclined to accept rank and station.\n\nThe story goes that their choice was aided by miracle. In those days\nmiracles were \"as plentiful as blackberries,\" but many of these seem to\nhave been what we may speak of as \"miracles made to order,\" designed by\nshrewd individuals to gain some personal or other advantage. St. Leo is\nsaid to have told the electors to seek a husbandman named Wamba, whose\nlands lay somewhere in the west, asserting that he did this under\ndirection of the heavenly powers. However that be, scouts were sent\nthrough the land in search of Wamba, whom they found at length in his\nfields, driving his plough through the soil and asking for no higher lot.\nHe was like Cincinnatus, the famous Roman, who was called from the plough\nto the sceptre.\n\n\"Leave your plough in the furrow,\" they said to him; \"nobler work awaits\nyou. You have been elected king of Spain.\"\n\n\"There is no nobler work,\" answered Wamba. \"Seek elsewhere your monarch. I\nprefer to rule over my fields.\"\n\nThe astonished heralds knew not what to make of this. To them the man who\nwould not be king must be a saint--or an idiot. They reasoned, begged,\nimplored, until Wamba, anxious to get rid of them, said,--\n\n\"I will accept the crown when the dry rod in my hand grows green\nagain,--and not till then.\"\n\nThe good old husbandman fancied that he had fairly settled the question,\nbut miracle defeated his purpose. To his utter surprise and their deep\nastonishment the dry stick which he thrust into the ground at once became\na green plant, fresh leaves breaking out on its upper end. What was the\nold man fond of his plough to do in such a case? He had appealed to\nHeaven, and here was Heaven's reply. He went with the heralds to the\nelectoral congress, but there, in spite of the green branch, he again\nrefused to be king. He knew what it meant to try and govern men like those\naround him, and preferred not to undertake the task. But one of the chiefs\nsprang up, drew his sword, and advanced to the old man.\n\n\"If you are still obstinate in refusing the position we offer you,\" he\nsternly said, \"you shall lose your head as well as your crown.\"\n\nHis fierce eyes and brandished sword gave weight to his words, and Wamba,\nconcluding that he would rather be a king than a corpse, accepted the\ntrust. He was then escorted by the council and the army to Toledo, feeling\nmore like a captive than a monarch. There he was anointed and crowned,\nand, from being lord of his fields, the wise old husbandman became king of\nSpain.\n\nSuch a king as Wamba proved to be the Goths had never known. Age had\nbrought him wisdom, but it had not robbed him of energy. He knew what he\nhad to expect and showed himself master of the situation. Revolts broke\nout, conspiracies threatened the throne, but one after another he put them\ndown. Yet he was as merciful as he was prompt. His enemies were set free\nand bidden to behave themselves better in the future. One ambitious noble\nnamed Paul, who thought it would be an easy thing to take the throne from\nan old man who had shown so plainly that he did not want it, rose in\nrebellion. He soon learned his mistake. Wamba met him in battle, routed\nhis army, and took him prisoner. Paul expected nothing less than to have\nhis head stricken off, but Wamba simply ordered that it should be shaved.\n\nTo shave the crown of the head in those days was no trifling matter. It\nformed what is known as the tonsure, then the mark of the monastic orders.\nA man condemned to the tonsure could not serve as king or chieftain, but\nmust spend the remainder of his days in seclusion as a monk. So Paul was\ndisposed of without losing his life.\n\nWamba, however, did not spend all his time in fighting with conspirators.\nHe was so just a king that all the historians praise him to the\nstars,--though none of them tell us what just deeds he did. He was one of\nthose famous monarchs around whom legend loves to grow, as the green\nleaves grew around his dry rod, and who become kings of fancy in the\nabsence of facts. About all we know is that he was \"Good King Wamba,\" a\njust and merciful man under whom Spain reached its age of gold.\n\nHe made a great and beautiful city of Toledo, his capital. It had a wall,\nbut he gave it another, stronger and loftier. And within the city he built\na noble palace and other splendid buildings, all of which time has swept\naway. But over the great gate of Toledo the inscription still remains:\n_Erexit fautore Deo Rex inclytus urbem Wamba_. \"To God and King Wamba the\ncity owes its walls.\"\n\nAlas! the end was what might be expected of such goodness in so evil an\nage. A traitor arose among those he most favored. There was a youth named\nErvigio, in whose veins ran the blood of former kings, and whom Wamba so\nloved and honored as to raise him to great authority in the kingdom.\nErvigio was one of those who must be king or slave. Ambition made him\nforget all favors, and he determined to cast his royal benefactor from the\nthrone. But he was not base enough to murder the good old man to whom he\nowed his greatness. It was enough if he could make him incapable of\nreigning,--as Wamba had done with Paul.\n\nTo accomplish this he gave the king a sleeping potion, and while he was\nunder its influence had him tonsured,--that is, had the crown of his head\nshaved. He then proclaimed that this had been done at the wish of the\nking, who was weary of the throne. But whether or not, the law was strict.\nNo matter how or why it was done, no man who had received the tonsure\ncould ever again sit upon the Gothic throne. Fortunately for Ervigio,\nWamba cared no more for the crown now than he had done at first, and when\nhe came back to his senses he made little question of the base trick of\nhis favorite, but cheerfully enough became a monk. The remaining seven\nyears of his life he passed happily in withdrawal from a world into which\nhe had been forced against his will.\n\nBut the people loved him, the good old man, and were not willing to accept\nthe scheming Ervigio as their king unless he could prove his right to the\nthrone. So, in the year 681, he called together a council of lords and\nbishops at Toledo, before whom he appeared with a great show of humility,\nbringing testimony to prove that Wamba had become monk at his own wish,\nwhen in peril of death. To this he added a document signed by Wamba, in\nwhich he abdicated the throne, and another in which he recommended Ervigio\nas his successor. For eight days the council considered the question. The\ndocuments might be false, but Wamba was a monk, and Ervigio was in power;\nso they chose him as king. The holy oil of consecration was poured upon\nhis unholy head.\n\nThus it was that Wamba the husbandman first became king and afterwards\nmonk. In all his stations--farmer, king, and monk--he acquitted himself well\nand worthily, and his name has come down to us from the mists of time as\none of those rare men of whom we know little, but all that little good.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE GREEK KING'S DAUGHTER.\n\n\nHistory wears a double face,--one face fancy, the other fact. The worst of\nit is that we cannot always tell which face is turned towards us, and we\nmistake one for the other far oftener than we know. In truth, fancy works\nin among the facts of the most sober history, while in that primitive form\nof history known as legend or tradition fancy has much the best of it,\nthough it may often be founded upon fact. In the present tale we have to\ndo with legend pure and simple, with hardly a thread of fact to give\nsubstance to its web.\n\nThere was a certain Grecian king of Cadiz whose daughter was of such\npeerless beauty that her hand was sought in marriage by many of the other\nkings of Andalusia. In those days \"that country was ruled by several\nkings, each having estates not extending over more than one or two\ncities.\" What to do with the crowd of suitors the father was puzzled to\ndecide. Had a single one asked for his daughter's hand he might have\nsettled it with a word, but among so many, equally brave, handsome, and\ndistinguished, answer was not so easy; and the worthy king of Cadiz was\nsorely troubled and perplexed.\n\nLuckily for him, the fair damsel was as wise as she was beautiful, and\ntook the matter into her own hands, making an announcement that quickly\ncut down the number of her admirers. She said that she would have no\nhusband but one who could prove himself \"a wise king.\" In our days, when\nevery king and nearly every man thinks himself wise, such a decision would\nnot have deterred suitors, and she would have been compelled, in the end,\nto choose among the few unwise. But wisdom, in those times of fable and\nnecromancy, had a wider meaning than we give it. A wise king was one who\nhad control of the powers of earth and air, who could call the genii to\nhis aid by incantations, and perform supernatural deeds. Hence it was that\nthe suitors fell off from the maiden like leaves from an autumn bough,\nleaving but two who deemed themselves fitting aspirants to her hand.\n\nTo test the wisdom of these two she gave them the following tasks: One was\nbidden to construct on the mainland an aqueduct and a water-wheel to bring\nwater from the mountains into Cadiz. The other was to produce a talisman\nwhich should save the island of Cadiz from invasion by Berbers or any\nother of the fierce tribes of Africa, by whom it was frequently\nthreatened.\n\n\"The one of you,\" said the princess, \"who first and best performs his\ntask, shall win my hand by his work.\"\n\nThe two suitors were warmly in love with the beautiful maiden, and both\nardently entered upon their duties. The first to get to work was the\naqueduct builder, whose task called for hard labor rather than magical\naid. Cadiz stands on a long, narrow peninsula, opposite which, on the\nmainland, the king built a hydraulic machine, to which the water was\nbrought by pipes or canals from springs in a nearby mountain. This stream\nof cool, refreshing water poured upon a wheel, by which it was driven into\nan aqueduct crossing the bay into Cadiz.\n\nHere comes the fact behind the legend. Such an aqueduct stood long in\nevidence, and as late as the eighteenth century traces of it could be\nseen. We have an account of it by the Arab writer, Al Makkari. \"It\nconsisted,\" he says, \"of a long line of arches, and the way it was done\nwas this: whenever they came to high ground or to a mountain they cut a\npassage through it; when the ground was lower, they built a bridge over\narches; if they met with a porous soil, they laid a bed of gravel for the\npassage of the water; when the building reached the sea-shore, the water\nwas made to pass underground, and in this way it reached Cadiz.\" So it was\nbuilt, and \"wise\" was the king who built it, even if he did not call upon\nthe genii for assistance.\n\nThe other king could not perform his labor so simply. He had a talisman to\nconstruct, so powerful that it would keep out of Spain those fierce\nAfrican tribes whose boats swept the seas. What talisman could he produce\nthat would be proof against ships and swords? The king thought much and\ndeeply, and then went diligently to work. On the border of the strait that\nlay between Spain and Africa he built a lofty marble column, a square,\nwhite shaft based on a solid foundation. On its summit he erected a\ncolossal statue of iron and copper, melted and cast into the human form.\nThe figure was that of a Berber, like whom it wore a full and flowing\nbeard, while a tuft of hair hung over its forehead in Berber fashion. The\ndress was that of the African tribes. The extended right arm of the figure\npointed across the strait towards the opposite shores. In its hand were a\npadlock and keys. Though it spoke not, it seemed to say, \"No one must pass\nthis way.\" It bore the aspect of a Berber captive, chained to the tower's\ntop, and warning his brethren to keep away from Spain.\n\nRapidly wrought the rival kings, each seeking to finish his work the\nfirst. In this the aqueduct builder succeeded. The water began to flow,\nthe wheel to revolve, and the refreshing liquid to pour into the public\nfountains of Cadiz. The multitude were overjoyed as the glad torrent\nflowed into their streets, and hailed with loud acclamations the\nsuccessful builder.\n\nThe sound of the people's shouts of joy reached the ears of the statue\nbuilder as he was putting the last touches to his great work of art and\nmagic. Despair filled his heart. Despite his labors, his rival had won the\nprize. In bitterness of spirit he threw himself from the top of the column\nand was dashed to pieces at its foot. \"By which means,\" says the\nchronicle, \"the other prince, freed from his rival, became the master of\nthe lady, of the wheel, and of the charm.\"\n\nThe talisman was really a watch-tower, from which the news of an African\ninvasion could be signalled through the land. In this cold age we can give\nits builder credit for no higher magic than that of wisdom and vigilance.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE ENCHANTED PALACE.\n\n\nNear the city of Toledo, the capital of Spain when that country was a\nkingdom of the Goths, was a great palace of the olden time, or, as some\nsay, a vast cave, which had been deepened and widened and made into many\nrooms. Still others say that it was a mighty tower, built by Hercules.\nWhatever it was,--palace, tower, or cavern,--a spell lay upon it from far\npast days, which none had dared to break. There was an ancient prophecy\nthat Spain would in time be invaded by barbarians from Africa, and to\nprevent this a wise king, who knew the arts of magic, had placed a secret\ntalisman in one of the rooms. While this remained undisturbed the country\nwas safe from invasion. If once the secret of the talisman should be\ndivulged, swift ruin would descend upon the kingdom of the Goths. It must\nbe guarded strongly and well, for in it lay the destinies of Spain.\n\nA huge iron gate closed the entrance to the enchanted palace, and upon\nthis each king of the Goths, on coming to the throne, placed a strong\nlock, so that in time huge padlocks covered much of its front and its\nsecrecy seemed amply assured. When Roderic, the last king of the Goths,\ncame to the throne, twenty-seven of such locks hung upon the gate. As for\nthe keys, some writers tell us that they remained in the locks, others say\nthat they had been hidden and lost; but it is certain that no one had\ndared to open a single one of the locks; prudence and fear guarded the\nsecret better than gates and locks.\n\nAt length the time came when the cherished secret was to be divulged. Don\nRoderic, who had seized the throne by violence, and bore in his heart the\nfatal bane of curiosity, determined to learn what had lain for centuries\nbehind those locks. The whole affair, he declared, was the jest of an\nancient king, which did very well when superstition ruled the world, but\nwhich was far behind the age in which he lived. Two things moved the\nepoch-breaking king,--curiosity, that vice which has led thousands to ruin,\nand avarice, which has brought destruction upon thousands more. \"It is a\ntreasure-house, not a talisman,\" he told himself. \"Gold, silver, and\njewels lie hidden in its mouldy depths. My treasury is empty, and I should\nbe a fool to let a cluster of rusty locks keep me from filling it from\nthis ancient store.\"\n\nWhen it became known what Roderic proposed a shudder of horror ran through\nthe land. Nobles and bishops hastened to the audience chamber and sought\nto hinder the fateful purpose of the rash monarch. Their hearts were\nfilled with dread of the perils that would follow any meddling with the\nmagic spell, and they earnestly implored him not to bring the foretold\ndisaster upon the land.\n\n\"The kings who reigned before you have religiously obeyed the injunction,\"\nthey said. \"Each of them has fixed his lock to the gate. It will be wise\nand prudent in you to follow their example. If it is gold and jewels you\nlook for, tell us how much you think the cavern holds, even all your fancy\nhopes to find, and so much we will give you. Even if it beggars us, we\nwill collect and bring you this sum without fail. We pray and implore you,\nthen, do not break a custom which our old kings have all held sacred. They\nknew well what they did when they commanded that none after them should\nseek to disclose the fatal secret of the hidden chamber.\"\n\nEarnest as was their appeal, it was wasted upon Roderic. Their offer of\ngold did not reach his deepest motive; curiosity with him was stronger\nthan greed, and he laughed in his beard at the fears and tremblings of his\nlords.\n\n\"It shall not be said that Don Roderic, the king of the Goths, fears the\ndevil or his agents,\" he loudly declared, and orders were given that the\nlocks should be forced.\n\nOne by one the rusty safeguards yielded to key or sledge, and the gates\nshrieked disapproval when at length they reluctantly turned on their stiff\nhinges, that had not moved for centuries. Into the cavern strode the king,\nfollowed by his fearful but curious train. The rooms, as tradition had\nsaid, were many, and from room to room he hurried with rapid feet. He\nsought in vain. No gold appeared, no jewels glittered on his sight. The\nrooms were drear and empty, their hollow floors mocking his footsteps with\nlong-silent echoes. One treasure only he found, the jewelled table of\nSolomon, a famous ancient work of art which had long remained hidden from\nhuman sight. Of this wonderful relic we shall say no more here, for it has\na history of its own, to be told in a future tale.\n\nOn and on went the disappointed king, with nothing to satisfy his avarice\nor his curiosity. At length he entered the chamber of the spell, the magic\nroom which had so long been locked from human vision, and looked with eyes\nof wonder on the secret which had been so carefully preserved.\n\nWhat he saw was simple but threatening. On the wall of the room was a rude\npainting, which represented a group of strangely dressed horsemen, some\nwearing turbans, some bareheaded, with locks of coarse black hair hanging\nover their foreheads. The skins of animals covered their limbs; they\ncarried scimitars and lances and bore fluttering pennons; their horses\nwere small, but of purest breed.\n\nTurning in doubt and dread from this enigmatical drawing, the daring\nintruder saw in the centre of the apartment a pedestal bearing a marble\nurn, in which lay a scroll of parchment. From this one of his scribes read\nthe following words:\n\n\"Whenever this asylum is violated and the spell contained in this urn\nbroken, the people shown in the picture shall invade the land and overturn\nthe throne of its kings. The rule of the Goths shall end and the whole\ncountry fall into the hands of heathen strangers.\"\n\nKing Roderic looked again with eyes of alarm on the pictured forms. Well\nhe knew their meaning. The turban-wearers were Arabians, their horses the\nfamous steeds of the desert; the bare-headed barbarians were Berbers or\nMoors. Already they threatened the land from Africa's shores; he had\nbroken the spell which held them back; the time for the fulfilment of the\nprophecy was at hand.\n\nFilled with sudden terror, the rash invader hurried from the chamber of\nthe talisman, his courtiers flying with wild haste to the open air. The\nbrazen gates were closed with a clang which rang dismally through the\nempty rooms, and the lock of the king was fixed upon them. But it was too\nlate. The voice of destiny had spoken and the fate of the kingdom been\nrevealed, and all the people looked upon Don Roderic as a doomed man.\n\nWe have given this legend in its mildest form. Some Arab writers surround\nit with magical incidents until it becomes a tale worthy of the \"Arabian\nNights' Entertainments.\" They speak of two ancient men with snowy beards\nwho kept the keys of the gate and opened the locks only at Roderic's stern\ncommand. When the locks were removed no one could stir the gates until the\nhand of the king touched them, when they sprang open of themselves. Inside\nstood a huge bronze giant with a club of steel, with which he dealt\nresounding blows on the floor to right and left. He desisted at the king's\ncommand, and the train entered unharmed. In the magic chamber they found a\ngolden casket containing a linen cloth between tablets of brass. On this\nwere painted figures of Arabs in armor. As they gazed these began to move,\nsounds of war were heard, and the vision of a battle between Arab and\nChristian warriors passed before the affrighted eyes of the intruders. The\nChristian army was defeated, and Roderic saw the image of himself in\nflight, and finally of his horse without a rider. As he rushed in terror\nfrom the fatal room the bronze giant was no longer to be seen and the\nancient guardians of the gate lay dead upon their posts. In the end the\ntower was burned by magic fire, and its very ashes were scattered by the\nwings of an innumerable flight of birds.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE BATTLE OF THE GUADALETE.\n\n\nThe legends just given are full of the pith of facts. Dread of Africa lay\ndeep in the Spanish heart and gave point to these and other magical and\nromantic tales. The story of how the great conqueror, Mohammed, had come\nout from the deserts of Arabia and sent his generals, sword and Koran in\nhand, to conquer the world, had spread far to the east and the west, and\nbrought terror wherever it came. From Arabia the Moslem hordes had swept\nthrough Egypt and along the African coast to the extremity of Morocco.\nThey now faced Spain and coveted that rich and populous land. Well might\nthe degenerate sons of the Goths fear their coming and strive to keep them\nout with talismans and spells.\n\nYears before, in the days of good King Wamba, a great Mohammedan fleet had\nravaged the Andalusian coast. Others came, not for conquest, but for\nspoil. But at length all North Africa lay under the Moslem yoke, and Musa\nIbn Nasseyr, the conqueror of the African tribes, cast eyes of greed upon\nSpain and laid plans for the subjugation to Arab rule of that\nfar-spreading Christian land.\n\nAfrica, he was told, was rich, but Spain was richer. Its soil was as\nfertile as that of Syria, its climate as mild and sweet as that of Araby\nthe Blest. The far-famed mines of distant Cathay did not equal it in\nwealth of minerals and gems; nowhere else were such harbors, nowhere such\nhighlands and plains. The mountain-ranges, beautiful to see, enclosed\nvalleys of inexhaustible fertility. It was a land \"plentiful in waters,\nrenowned for their sweetness and clearness,\"--Andalusia's noble streams.\nFamous monuments graced its towns: the statue of Hercules at Cadiz, the\nidol of Galicia, the stately ruins of Merida and Tarragona. It was a realm\nthe conquest of which would bring wealth and fame,--great glory to the sons\nof Allah and great treasure to the successors of the Prophet. Musa\ndetermined upon its invasion.\n\nA traitor came to his aid. Count Julian was governor of Ceuta, a Spanish\ncity on the African coast. His daughter Florinda was maid of honor to the\nqueen of Don Roderic. But word from the daughter came to the father that\nshe had suffered grievous injury at the hands of the king, and Count\nJulian, thirsting for revenge upon Roderic, offered to deliver Ceuta into\nthe hands of the Arabian warrior and aid him in the conquest of Spain. To\ntest the good faith of Julian, Musa demanded that he should first invade\nAndalusia himself. This he did, taking over a small force in two vessels,\noverrunning the coast country, killing many of its people, and returning\nwith a large booty in slaves and plunder.\n\nIn the summer of 710 a Berber named Tarif was sent over to spy out the\nland, and in the spring of 711 the army of invasion was led over by Tarik\nIbn Zeyad, a valiant chief, who had gained great glory in the wars with\nthe Berber tribes. Who Tarik was cannot be told. He was of humble origin,\nprobably of Persian birth, but possessed of a daring spirit that was to\nbring him the highest fame. He is described as a tall man, with red hair\nand a white complexion, blind of one eye, and with a mole on his hand. The\nSpanish historians call him Tarik el Tuerto, meaning either \"one-eyed\" or\n\"squint-eyed.\" Such was the man whom Musa sent to begin the conquest of\nSpain.\n\nThe army of invasion consisted of seven thousand men,--a handful to conquer\na kingdom. They were nearly all Moorish and Berber cavalry, there being\nonly three hundred Arabians of pure blood, most of whom were officers.\nLanding in Spain, for a time they found no one to meet them. Roderic was\nbusy with his army in the north and knew naught of this invasion of his\nkingdom, and for two months Tarik ravaged the land at his will. But at\nlength the Gothic king, warned of his danger, began a hasty march\nsouthward, sending orders in advance to levy troops in all parts of the\nkingdom, the rallying place being Cordova.\n\nIt was a large army which he thus got together, but they were ill-trained,\nill-disciplined, and ill-disposed to their king. Ninety thousand there\nwere, as Arab historians tell us, while Tarik had but twelve thousand,\nMusa having sent him five thousand more. But the large army was a mob,\nhalf-armed, and lacking courage and discipline; the small army was a\ncompact and valorous body, used to victory, fearless, and impetuous.\n\nIt was on Sunday, the 19th of July, 711, that the two armies came face to\nface on the banks of the Guadalete, a river whose waters traverse the\nplain of Sidonia, in which the battle was fought. It was one of the\ndecisive battles in the world's history, for it gave the peninsula of\nSpain for eight centuries to Arab dominion. The story of how this battle\nwas fought is, therefore, among the most important of the historical tales\nof Spain.\n\nRoderic's army consisted of two bodies of men,--a smaller force of\ncavaliers, clad in mail armor and armed with swords and battle-axes, and\nthe main body, which was a motley crew, without armor, and carrying bows,\nlances, axes, clubs, scythes, and slings. Of the Moslem army the greater\nnumber wore mail, some carrying lances and scimitars of Damascus steel,\nothers being armed with light long-bows. Their horses were Arabian or\nBarbary steeds, such as Roderic had seen on the walls of the secret\nchamber.\n\nIt was in the early morning of a bright spring day that the Spanish\nclarions sounded defiance to the enemy, and the Moorish horns and\nkettle-drums rang back the challenge to battle. Nearer and nearer together\ncame the hosts, the shouts of the Goths met by the shrill _lelies_ of the\nMoslems.\n\n\"By the faith of the Messiah,\" Roderic is reported to have said, \"these\nare the very men I saw painted on the walls of the chamber of the spell at\nToledo.\" From that moment, say the chroniclers, \"fear entered his heart.\"\nAnd yet the story goes that he fought long and well and showed no signs of\nfear.\n\nOn his journey to the south Roderic had travelled in a chariot of ivory,\nlined with cloth of gold, and drawn by three white mules harnessed\nabreast. On the silken awning of the chariot pearls, rubies, and other\nrich jewels were profusely sprinkled. He sat with a crown of gold on his\nhead, and was dressed in a robe made of strings of pearls interwoven with\nsilk. This splendor of display, however, was not empty ostentation, but\nthe state and dignity which was customary with the Gothic kings.\n\nIn his chariot of ivory Roderic passed through the ranks, exhorting the\nmen to valor, and telling them that the enemy was a low rabble of\nheathens, abhorred of God and men. \"Remember,\" he said, \"the valor of your\nancestors and the holy Christian faith, for whose defence we are\nfighting.\" Then he sprang from his chariot, put on his horned helmet,\nmounted his war-horse Orelia, and took his station in the field, prepared\nto fight like a soldier and a king.\n\nFor two days the battle consisted of a series of skirmishes. At the end of\nthat time the Christians had the advantage. Their numbers had told, and\nnew courage came to their hearts. Tarik saw that defeat would be his lot\nif this continued, and on the morning of the third day he made a fiery\nappeal to his men, rousing their fanaticism and picturing the treasures\nand delights which victory would bring them. He ended with his war-cry of\n\"Guala! Guala! Follow me, my warriors! I shall not stop until I reach the\ntyrant in the midst of his steel-clad warriors, and either kill him or he\nkill me!\"\n\nAt the head of his men the dusky one-eyed warrior rushed with fiery energy\nupon the Gothic lines, cleaving his way through the ranks towards a\ngeneral whose rich armor seemed to him that of the king. His impetuous\ncharge carried him deep into their midst. The seeming king was before him.\nOne blow and he fell dead; while the Moslems, crying that the king of the\nGoths was killed, followed their leader with resistless ardor into the\nhostile ranks. The Christians heard and believed the story, and lost heart\nas their enemy gained new energy.\n\nAt this critical moment, as we are told, Bishop Oppas, brother-in-law of\nthe traitor Julian, drew off and joined the Moslem ranks. Whether this was\nthe case or not, the charge of Tarik led the way to victory. He had\npierced the Christian centre. The wings gave way before the onset of his\nchiefs. Resistance was at an end. In utter panic the soldiers flung away\ntheir arms and took to flight, heedless of the stores and treasures of\ntheir camp, thinking of nothing but safety, flying in all directions\nthrough the country, while the Moslems, following on their flying steeds,\ncut them down without mercy.\n\nRoderic, the king, had disappeared. If slain in the battle, his body was\nnever found. Wounded and despairing, he may have been slain in flight or\nbeen drowned in the stream. It was afterwards said that his war-horse, its\ngolden saddle rich with rubies, was found riderless beside the stream, and\nthat near by lay a royal crown and mantle, and a sandal embroidered with\npearls and emeralds. But all we can safely say is that Roderic had\nvanished, his army was dispersed, and Spain was the prize of Tarik and the\nMoors, for resistance was quickly at an end, and they went on from victory\nto victory until the country was nearly all in their hands.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE TABLE OF SOLOMON.\n\n\nWe have told how King Roderic, when he invaded the enchanted palace of\nToledo, found in its empty chambers a single treasure,--the famous table of\nSolomon. But this was a treasure worth a king's ransom, a marvellous\ntalisman, so splendid, so beautiful, so brilliant that the chroniclers can\nscarce find words fitly to describe its richness and value. Some say that\nit was made of pure gold, richly inlaid with precious stones. Others say\nthat it was a mosaic of gold and silver, burnished yellow and gleaming\nwhite, ornamented with three rows of priceless jewels, one being of large\npearls, one of costly rubies, and a third of gleaming emeralds. Other\nwriters say that its top was made of a single emerald, a talisman\nrevealing the fates in its lucid depths. Most writers say that it stood\nupon three hundred and sixty-five feet, each made of a single emerald,\nthough still another writer declares that it had not a foot to stand upon.\n\nEvidently none of these worthy chroniclers had seen the jewelled table\nexcept in the eye of fancy, which gave it what shape and form best fitted\nits far-famed splendor. They varied equally in their history of the\ntalisman. A mildly drawn story says that it first came from Jerusalem to\nRome, that it fell into the hands of the Goths when they sacked the city\nof the C\u00e6sars, and that some of them brought it into Spain. But there was\na story more in accordance with the Arabian love of the marvellous which\nstated that the table was the work of the Djinn, or Genii, the mighty\nspirits of the air, whom the wise king Solomon had subdued and who obeyed\nhis commands. After Solomon's time it was kept among the holy treasures of\nthe temple, and became one of the richest spoils of the Romans when they\ncaptured and sacked Jerusalem. It afterwards became the prize of a king of\nSpain, perhaps in the way stated above.\n\nThus fancy has adorned the rich and beautiful work of art which Don\nRoderic is said to have found in the enchanted palace, and which he placed\nas the noblest of the treasures of Spain in the splendid church of Toledo,\nthe Gothic capital. This city fell into the hands of Tarik el Tuerto in\nhis conquering progress through the realm of Spain, and the emerald table,\nwhose fame had reached the shores of Africa, was sought by him far and\nnear.\n\nIt had disappeared from the church, perhaps carried off by the bishop in\nhis flight. But fast as the fugitives fled, faster rode the Arab horsemen\non their track, one swift troop riding to Medina Celi, on the high road to\nSaragossa. On this route they came to a city named by them\nMedinatu-l-Mayidah (city of the table), in which they found the famous\ntalisman. They brought it to Tarik as one of the choicest spoils of Spain.\n\nIts later history is as curious and much more authentic than its earlier.\nTarik, as we have told in the previous tale, had been sent to Andalusia by\nMusa, the caliph's viceroy in Africa, simply that he might gain a footing\nin the land, whose conquest Musa reserved for himself. But the impetuous\nTarik was not to be restrained. No sooner was Roderic slain and his army\ndispersed than the Arab cavaliers spread far and wide through Spain, city\nafter city falling into their hands, until it seemed as if nothing would\nbe left for Musa to conquer.\n\nThis state of affairs was far from agreeable to the jealous and ambitious\nviceroy. He sent messengers to the caliph at Damascus, in which he claimed\nthe conquest of Spain as his own, and barely mentioned the name of the\nreal conqueror. He severely blamed Tarik for presuming to conquer a\nkingdom without direct orders, and, gathering an army, he crossed to\nSpain, that he might rightfully claim a share in the glory of the\nconquest.\n\nTarik was not ignorant of what Musa had done. He expected to be called\nsharply to account by his jealous superior, and knew well that his\nbrilliant deeds had been overlooked in the viceroy's despatches to\nDamascus, then the capital of the Arab empire. The daring soldier was\ntherefore full of joy when the table of Solomon fell into his hands. He\nhoped to win favor from Al-Walid, the caliph, by presenting him this\nsplendid prize. Yet how was he to accomplish this? Would not Musa, who was\nwell aware of the existence and value of the table, claim it as his own\nand send it to Al-Walid with the false story that he had won it by the\npower of his arms?\n\nTo defeat this probable act Tarik devised a shrewd stratagem. The table,\nas has been stated, was abundantly provided with feet, but of these four\nwere larger than the rest. One of the latter Tarik took off and concealed,\nto be used in the future if what he feared should come to pass.\n\nAs it proved, he had not misjudged his jealous lord. In due time Musa came\nto Toledo and rode in state through the gate-way of that city, Tarik\nfollowing like a humble servitor in his train. As soon as he reached the\npalace he haughtily demanded a strict account of the spoils. These were at\nhand, and were at once delivered up. Their number and value should have\nsatisfied his avarice, but the wonderful table of Solomon, of which he had\nheard such marvellous accounts, was not among them, and he demanded that\nthis, too, should be brought forward. As Tarik had foreseen, he designed\nto send it to the caliph, as an acceptable present and an evidence of his\nvictorious career.\n\nThe table was produced, and Musa gazed upon it with eyes of delight. His\nquick glance, however, soon discovered that one of the emerald feet was\nmissing.\n\n\"It is imperfect,\" he said. \"Where is the missing foot?\"\n\n\"That I cannot tell you,\" replied Tarik; \"you have the table as it was\nbrought to me.\"\n\nMusa, accepting this answer without suspicion, gave orders that the lost\nfoot should be replaced with one of gold. Then, after thanking the other\nleading officers for their zeal and valor, he turned upon Tarik and\naccused him in severe tones of disobedience. He ended by depriving him of\nhis command and putting him under arrest, while he sent the caliph a\nreport in which Tarik was sharply blamed and the merit of his exploits\nmade light of. He would have gone farther and put him to death, but this\nhe dared not do without the caliph's orders.\n\nAs it proved, Al-Walid, the Commander of the Faithful, knew something of\nthe truth. Far distant as Damascus was from Toledo, a report of Tarik's\nexploits had reached his august ears, and Musa received orders to replace\nhim in his command, since it would not do \"to render useless one of the\nbest swords of Islam.\" Musa dared not disobey; and thus, for the time\nbeing, Tarik triumphed.\n\nAnd now, for the end of the trouble between Musa and Tarik, we must go\nforward in time. They were left in Spain until they had completed the\nconquest of that kingdom, then both were ordered to appear before the\ncaliph's judgment seat. This they did in different methods. Tarik, who had\nno thirst for spoil, made haste, with empty hands, to Damascus, where,\nthough he had no rich presents for the commander of the faithful, he\ndelighted him with the story of his brilliant deeds. Musa came more slowly\nand with more ostentation. Leaving his sons in command in Spain and\nAfrica, he journeyed slowly to Syria, with all the display of a triumphal\nmarch. With him were one hundred of his principal officers, as many sons\nof the highest Berber chiefs, and the kings of the Balearic Islands in all\ntheir barbaric state. In his train rode four hundred captive nobles, each\nwearing a crown and girdle of gold, and thirty thousand captives of lower\nrank. At intervals in the train were camels and wagons, richly laden with\ngold, jewels, and other spoils. He brought to the East the novelties of\nthe West, hawks, mules, and Barbary horses, and the curious fruits of\nAfrica and Spain, \"treasures,\" we are told, \"the like of which no hearer\never heard of before, and no beholder ever saw before his eyes.\"\n\nThus the proud conqueror came, by slow marches, with frequent halts. He\nleft Spain in August, 713. It was February, 715, when he reached the\nvicinity of Damascus, having spent a year and a half on the way.\n\nMeanwhile, changes had taken place in Syria. Al-Walid, the caliph, was\nsick unto death, suffering from a mortal disease, Soliman, his brother and\nheir, wrote to Musa when at Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, asking him to\nhalt there, as his brother could live but a few days. He, as the new\ncaliph, would receive him. Al-Walid in turn ordered him to hasten his\nmarch. Musa was in a quandary. If Al-Walid should live, delay might be\nfatal. If he should die, haste might be fatal. He took what seemed to him\nthe safest course, hastened to Damascus, and met with a brilliant\nreception. But a change soon came; in forty days Al-Walid died; Soliman,\nwhom he had disobeyed, was caliph of the empire. Musa's sun was near its\nsetting.\n\nIt was not long before the conqueror found himself treated as a criminal.\nHe was charged with rapacity, injustice to Tarik, and the purpose of\nthrowing all power into the hands of his sons. He was even accused of\n\"disobedience\" for making a triumphal entry into Damascus before the death\nof Al-Walid. These and other charges were brought, Soliman being bent on\nthe ruin of the man who had added Africa to the Arabian empire.\n\nWhen Musa was brought before the caliph for a final hearing Tarik and many\nother soldiers from Spain were present, and there stood before the\nmonarch's throne the splendid table of Solomon, one of the presents which\nMusa had made to Al-Walid, declaring it to be the most magnificent of all\nthe prizes of his valor.\n\n\"Tell me,\" said the caliph to Tarik, \"if you know whence this table came.\"\n\n\"It was found by me,\" answered Tarik. \"If you would have evidence of the\ntruth of my words, O caliph, have it examined and see if it be perfect.\"\n\nSoliman gave orders, the table was closely examined, and it was soon\ndiscovered that one of its emerald feet was gone and that a foot of gold\noccupied its place.\n\n\"Ask Musa,\" said Tarik, \"if this was the condition of the table when he\nfound it.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" answered Musa, \"it was as you see it now.\"\n\nTarik answered by taking from under his mantle the foot of emerald which\nhe had removed, and which just matched the others.\n\n\"You may learn now,\" he said to the caliph, \"which of us is the\ntruth-teller. Here is the lost leg of the table. I found the table and\nkept this for evidence. It is the same with most of the treasures Musa has\nshown you. It was I who won them and captured the cities in which they\nwere found. Ask any of these soldiers if I speak the truth or not.\"\n\nThese words were ruinous to Musa. The table had revenged its finder. If\nMusa had lied in this case, he had lied in all. So held the angry caliph,\nwho turned upon him with bitter abuse, calling him thief and liar, and\nswearing by Allah that he would crucify him. In the end he ordered the old\nman, fourscore years of age, corpulent and asthmatic, to be exposed to the\nfierce sun of Syria for a whole summer's day, and bade his brother Omar to\nsee that the cruel sentence was executed.\n\nUntil high noon had passed the old warrior stood under the scorching solar\nrays, his blood at length seeming to boil in his veins, while he sank\nsuffocated to the earth. Death would soon have ended his suffering had not\nOmar, declaring \"that he had never passed a worse day in his life,\"\nprevailed upon the caliph to abridge his punishment.\n\nBent upon his utter ruin, the vindictive Soliman laid upon him the\nenormous fine of four million and thirty thousand dinars, equal to about\nten million dollars. His sons were left in power in Spain that they might\naid him in paying the fine. Great as the sum was, Musa, by giving up his\nown fortune, by the aid of his sons in Africa and Spain, and by assistance\nfrom his friends, succeeded in obtaining it. But even this did not satisfy\nthe caliph, who now banished him to his birthplace, that his early friends\nmight see and despise him in his ruin. He even determined to destroy his\nsons, that the whole family might be rooted out and none be left in whose\nveins the blood of Musa ran.\n\nThe ablest of these sons, Abdul-Aziz, had been left in chief command over\nSpain. Thither the caliph sent orders for his death. Much as the young\nruler was esteemed, wisely as he had ruled, no one thought of questioning\nan order of the Commander of the Faithful, the mighty autocrat of the\ngreat Arabian empire, and the innocent Abdul was assassinated by some who\nhad been among his chief friends. His head was then cut off, embalmed, and\nsent to Soliman, before whom it was laid, enclosed in a casket of precious\nwood.\n\nSending for Musa, the vindictive caliph had the casket opened in his\npresence, saying, as the death-like features appeared, \"Do you know whose\nhead that is?\"\n\nThe answer of Musa was a pathetic one. Never was there a Moslem, he said,\nwho less deserved such a fate; never a man of milder heart, braver soul,\nor more pious and obedient disposition. In the end the poor old man broke\ndown, and he could only murmur,--\n\n\"Grant me his head, O Commander of the Faithful, that I may shut the lids\nof his eyes.\"\n\n\"Thou mayest take it,\" was Soliman's reply.\n\nAnd so Musa left the caliph's presence, heart-broken and disconsolate. It\nis said that before he died he was forced to beg his bread. Of Tarik we\nhear no more. He had fully repaid Musa for his injustice, but the caliph,\nwho perhaps feared to let any one become too great, failed to restore him\nto his command, and he disappeared from history. The cruel Soliman lived\nonly a year after the death of the victim of his rage. He died in 717, of\nremorse for his injustice to Musa, say some, but the record of history is\nthat he was defeated before Constantinople and died of grief.\n\nThus ends our story of the table of Solomon. It brought good to none who\nhad to do with it, and utter disaster to him who had made it an agent of\nfalsehood and avarice. Injustice cannot hope to hide itself behind a\ntalisman.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF QUEEN EXILONA.\n\n\nWhen Roderic overthrew the ancient dynasty of Spain and made himself king,\nhe had the defences of the cities thrown down that they might not give\nshelter to his enemies. Only the walls of the frontier cities were left,\nand among these was the ancient city of Denia, on the Mediterranean\nshores. Dread of the Moorish pirates was felt in this stronghold, and a\nstrong castle was built on a high rock that overlooked the sea. To the old\nalcaide who served as governor of Denia word was brought, at the end of a\nday of fierce tempest, that a Moorish ship was approaching the shore.\nInstantly the bells were rung to rouse the people, and signal fires were\nkindled on the tower that they might flash from peak to peak the news of\nan invasion by the Moors.\n\nBut as the ship came closer it was seen that alarm had been taken too\nsoon. The vessel was alone and had evidently been in the grip of the\ntempest. It was seen to be a bark rich in carving and gilding, adorned\nwith silken banderoles, and driven through the water by banks of crimson\noars; a vessel of state and ceremony, not a ship of war. As it came nearer\nit was perceived to have suffered severely in the ruthless grasp of the\nstorm. Broken were its masts and shattered its oars, while there fluttered\nin the wind the torn remnants of its banners and sails. When at length it\ngrounded on the sands below the castle the proud bark was little better\nthan a shattered wreck.\n\nIt was with deep curiosity that the Spaniards saw on the deck of the\nstranded bark a group of high-born Moors, men and maidens dressed in robes\nof silk rich with jewels, and their features bearing the stamp of lofty\nrank. In their midst stood a young lady of striking beauty, sumptuously\nattired, and evidently of the highest station, for all paid her reverence,\nand a guard of armed Moors stood around her, scimitar in hand.\n\nOn landing, a venerable Moor approached the alcaide, who had descended to\nmeet the strangers, and said, in such words of the Gothic language as he\ncould command,--\n\n\"Worthy sir, we beg your protection and compassion. The princess under our\ncare is the only daughter of the king of Algiers, on her way to the court\nof the king of Tunis, to whom she is betrothed. The tempest has driven us\nto your shores. Be not, we implore you, more cruel than the storm, which\nhas spared us and our precious charge.\"\n\nThe alcaide returned a courteous answer, offering the princess and her\ntrain the shelter of the castle, but saying that he had not the power to\nrelease them. They must hold themselves the captives of Roderic, the king\nof the Goths, to whom his duty required him to send them. The fate of a\nroyal captive, he said, could be decided only by the royal voice.\n\nSome days afterwards Elyata, the Moorish princess, entered Toledo in a\nprocession more like that of a triumphant heroine than of a captive. A\nband of Christian horsemen preceded the train. The Moorish guard, richly\nattired, followed. In the midst rode the princess, surrounded by her\nmaidens and dressed in her bridal robes, which were resplendent with\npearls, diamonds, and other gems. Roderic advanced in state from his\npalace to receive her, and was so struck with her beauty and dignity of\naspect that at first sight warm emotions filled his heart.\n\nElyata was sadly downcast at her captivity, but Roderic, though not\nreleasing her, did all he could to make her lot a pleasant one. A royal\npalace was set aside for her residence, in whose spacious apartments and\ncharming groves and gardens the grief of the princess gradually softened\nand passed away. Roderic, moved by a growing passion, frequently visited\nher, and in time soft sentiments woke in her heart for the handsome and\ncourteous king. When, in the end, he begged her to become his bride her\nblushes and soft looks spoke consent.\n\nOne thing was wanting. Roderic's bride should be a Christian. Taught the\ndoctrines of the new faith by learned bishops, Elyata's consent to the\nchange of faith was easily won, and the princess was baptized as a\nChristian maiden under the new name of Exilona. The marriage was\ncelebrated with the greatest magnificence, and was followed by tourneys\nand banquets and all the gayeties of the time. Some of the companions of\nthe princess accepted the new faith and remained with her. Those who clung\nto their old belief were sent back to Africa with rich presents from the\nking, an embassy going with them to inform the monarch of Algiers of his\ndaughter's marriage, and to offer him the alliance and friendship of\nRoderic the Gothic king.\n\n                [Illustration: TOLEDO, WITH THE ALCAZAR.]\n\n                        TOLEDO, WITH THE ALCAZAR.\n\n\nQueen Exilona passed a happy life as the bride of the Gothic monarch, but\nmany were the vicissitudes which lay before her, for the Arab conquest was\nnear at hand and its effects could not but bear heavily upon her destiny.\nAfter the defeat and death of Roderic a considerable number of noble Goths\nsought shelter in the city of Merida, among them the widowed queen.\nThither came Musa with a large army and besieged the city. It was strongly\nand bravely defended, and the gallant garrison only yielded when famine\ncame to the aid of their foes.\n\nA deputation from the city sought the Arab camp and was conducted to the\nsplendid pavilion of Musa, whom the deputies found to be an old man with\nlong white beard and streaming white hair. He received them kindly,\npraised them for their valor, and offered them favorable terms. They\nreturned the next day to complete the conditions. On this day the\nMohammedan fast of Ramadhan ended, and the Arabs, who had worn their\nmeanest garb, were now in their richest attire, and joy had everywhere\nsucceeded penitent gloom. As for Musa, he seemed transformed. The meanly\ndressed and hoary ancient of the previous visit now appeared a man in the\nprime of life, his beard dark-red in hue, and his robes rich with gold and\njewels. The Goths, to whom the art of dyeing the hair was unknown, looked\non the transformation as a miracle.\n\n\"We have seen,\" they said on their return, \"their king, who was an old\nman, become a young one. We have to do with a nation of prophets who can\nchange their appearance at will and transform themselves into any shape\nthey like. Our advice is that we should grant Musa his demands, for men\nlike these we cannot resist.\"\n\nThe stratagem of the Arab was successful, the gates were opened, and\nMerida became a captive city. The people were left their private wealth\nand were free to come and go as they would, with the exception of some of\ntheir noblest, who were to be held as hostages. Among these was the\nwidowed Queen Exilona.\n\nShe was still young and beautiful. By paying tribute she was allowed to\nlive unmolested, and in this way she passed to the second phase of her\nromantic career. Arab fancy has surrounded her history with many\nsurprising incidents, and Lope de Vega, the Spanish dramatist, has made\nher the heroine of a romantic play, but her actual history is so full of\ninterest that we need not draw contributions from fable or invention.\n\nWhen Musa went to Syria at the command of the caliph he left his son\nAbdul-Aziz as emir or governor of Spain. The new emir was a young,\nhandsome, and gallant man. He had won fame in Africa, and gained new\nrepute for wisdom and courage in Spain. The Moorish princess who had\nbecome a Gothic queen was now a hostage in his hands, and her charms moved\nhis susceptible heart. His persuasive tongue and attractive person were\nnot without their effect upon the fair captive, who a second time lost her\nheart to her captor, and agreed once more to become a bride. Her first\nhusband had been the king of Gothic Spain. Her second was the ruler of\nMoorish Spain. She declined to yield her Christian creed, but she became\nhis wife and the queen of his heart, called by him Ummi-Assam, a name of\nendearment common in Arab households.\n\nExilona was ambitious, and sought to induce her new husband to assume the\nstyle of a king. She made him a crown of gold and precious stones which\nher soft persuasion induced him to wear. She bowed in his presence as if\nto a royal potentate, and to oblige the nobles to do the same she induced\nhim to have the door-way of his audience chamber made so low that no one\ncould enter it without making an involuntary bow. She even tried to\nconvert him to Christianity, and built a low door to her oratory, so that\nany one entering would seem to bow to the cross.\n\nThese arts of the queen proved fatal to the prince whom she desired to\nexalt, for this and other stories were told to the caliph, who was seeking\nsome excuse to proceed against the sons of Musa, whose ruin he had sworn.\nIt was told him that Abdul-Aziz was seeking to make Spain independent and\nwas bowing before strange gods. Soliman asked no more, but sent the order\nfor his death.\n\nIt was to friends of the emir that the fatal mandate was sent. They loved\nthe mild Abdul, but they were true sons of Islam, and did not dare to\nquestion the order of the Commander of the Faithful. The emir was then at\na villa near Seville, whither he was accustomed to withdraw from the cares\nof state to the society of his beloved wife. Near by he had built a\nmosque, and here, on the morning of his death, he entered and began to\nread the Koran.\n\nA noise at the door disturbed him, and in a moment a throng burst into the\nbuilding. At their head was Habib, his trusted friend, who rushed upon him\nand struck him with a dagger. The emir was unhurt, and sought to escape,\nbut the others were quickly upon him, and in a moment his body was rent\nwith dagger strokes and he had fallen dead. His head was at once cut off,\nembalmed, and sent to the caliph. The cruel use made of it we have told.\n\nA wild commotion followed when the people learned of this murder, but it\nwas soon quelled. The power of the caliph was yet too strong to be\nquestioned, even in far-off Spain. What became of Exilona we do not know.\nSome say that she was slain with her husband; some that she survived him\nand died in privacy. However it be, her life was one of singular romance.\n\nAs for the kindly and unfortunate emir, his memory was long fondly\ncherished in Spain, and his name still exists in the title of a valley in\nthe suburbs of Antequera, which was named Abdelaxis in his honor.\n\n\n\n\n\nPELISTES, THE DEFENDER OF CORDOVA.\n\n\nNo sooner had Tarik defeated the Christian army on the fatal field of\nSidonia than he sent out detachments of horsemen in all directions, hoping\nto win the leading cities of Spain before the people should recover from\ntheir terror. One of these detachments, composed of seven hundred horse,\nwas sent against Cordova, an ancient city which was to become the capital\nof Moslem Spain. This force was led by a brave soldier named Magued, a\nRoman or Greek by birth, who had been taken prisoner when a child and\nreared in the Arab faith. He now ranked next to Tarik in the arts and\nstratagems of war, and as a horseman and warrior was the model and\nadmiration of his followers.\n\nAmong the Christian leaders who had fled from the field of the Guadalete\nwas an old and valiant Gothic noble, Pelistes by name, who had fought in\nthe battle front until his son sank in death and most of his followers had\nfallen around him. Then, with the small band left him, he rode in all\nhaste to Cordova, which he hoped to hold as a stronghold of the Goths. But\nhe found himself almost alone in the town, most of whose inhabitants had\nfled with their valuables, so that, including the invalids and old\nsoldiers found there, he had but four hundred men with whom to defend the\ncity.\n\nA river ran south of the city and formed one of its defences. To its banks\ncame Magued,--led, say some of the chronicles, by the traitor, Count\nJulian,--and encamped in a forest of pines. He sent heralds to the town,\ndemanding its surrender, and threatening its defenders with death if they\nresisted. But Pelistes defied him to do his worst.\n\nWhat Magued might have found difficult to do by force he accomplished by\nstratagem. A shepherd whom he had captured told him of the weakness of the\ngarrison, and acquainted him with a method by which the city might be\nentered. Forcing the rustic to act as guide, Magued crossed the river on a\nstormy night, swimming the stream with his horses, each cavalier having a\nfootman mounted behind him. By the time they reached the opposite shore\nthe rain had changed to hail, whose loud pattering drowned the noise of\nthe horses' hoofs as the assailants rode to a weak place in the wall of\nwhich the shepherd had told them. Here the battlements were broken and\npart of the wall had fallen, and near by grew a fig-tree whose branches\nstretched towards the breach. Up this climbed a nimble soldier, and by\nhard effort reached the broken wall. He had taken with him Magued's\nturban, whose long folds of linen were unfolded and let down as a rope, by\nwhose aid others soon climbed to the summit. The storm had caused the\nsentries to leave their posts, and this part of the wall was left\nunguarded.\n\nIn a short time a considerable number of the assailants had gained the top\nof the wall. Leaping from the parapet, they entered the city and ran to\nthe nearest gate, which they flung open to Magued and his force. The city\nwas theirs; the alarm was taken too late, and all who resisted were cut\ndown. By day-dawn Cordova was lost to Spain with the exception of the\nchurch of St. George, a large and strong edifice, in which Pelistes had\ntaken refuge with the remnant of his men. Here he found an ample supply of\nfood and obtained water from some secret source, so that he was enabled to\nhold out against the enemy.\n\nFor three long months the brave garrison defied its foes, though Magued\nmade every effort to take the church. How they obtained water was what\nmost puzzled him, but he finally discovered the secret through the aid of\na negro whom the Christians had captured and who escaped from their hands.\nThe prisoner had learned during his captivity that the church communicated\nby an underground channel with a spring somewhere without. This was sought\nfor with diligence and at length found, whereupon the water supply of the\ngarrison was cut off at its source, and a new summons to surrender was\nmade.\n\nThere are two stories of what afterwards took place. One is that the\ngarrison refused to surrender, and that Magued, deeply exasperated,\nordered the church to be set on fire, most of its defenders perishing in\nthe flames. The other story is a far more romantic one, and perhaps as\nlikely to be true. This tells us that Pelistes, weary of long waiting for\nassistance from without, determined to leave the church in search of aid,\npromising, in case of failure, to return and die with his friends.\n\nMounted on the good steed that he had kept alive in the church, and armed\nwith lance, sword, and shield, the valiant warrior set forth before the\ndawn, and rode through the silent streets, unseen by sentinel or early\nwayfarer. The vision of a Christian knight on horseback was not likely to\nattract much attention, as there were many renegade Christians with the\nMoors, brought thither in the train of Count Julian. Therefore, when the\narmed warrior presented himself at a gate of the city just as a foraging\nparty was entering, he rode forth unnoticed in the confusion and galloped\nbriskly away towards the neighboring mountains.\n\nHaving reached there he stopped to rest, but to his alarm he noticed a\nhorseman in hot pursuit upon his trail. Spurring his steed onward,\nPelistes now made his way into the rough intricacies of the mountain\npaths; but, unluckily, as he was passing along the edge of a declivity,\nhis horse stumbled and rolled down into the ravine below, so bruising and\ncutting him in the fall that, when he struggled to his feet, his face was\ncovered with blood.\n\nWhile he was in this condition the pursuer rode up. It proved to be Magued\nhimself, who had seen him leave the city and had followed in haste. To his\nsharp summons for surrender the good knight responded by drawing his\nsword, and, wounded and bleeding as he was, put himself in posture for\ndefence.\n\nThe fight that followed was as fierce as some of those told of King\nArthur's knights. Long and sturdily the two champions fought, foot to\nfoot, sword to scimitar, until their shields and armor were rent and\nhacked and the ground was red with their blood. Never had those hills seen\nso furious a fight by so well-matched champions, and during their\nbreathing spells the two knights gazed upon each other with wonder and\nadmiration. Magued had never met so able an antagonist before, nor\nPelistes encountered so skilfully wielded a blade.\n\nBut the Gothic warrior had been hurt by his fall. This gave Magued the\nadvantage, and he sought to take his noble adversary alive. Finally, weak\nfrom loss of blood, the gallant Goth gave a last blow and fell prostrate.\nIn a moment Magued's point was at his throat, and he was bidden to ask for\nhis life or die. No answer came. Unlacing the helmet of the fallen knight,\nMagued found him insensible. As he debated with himself how he would get\nthe captive of his sword to the city, a group of Moorish cavaliers rode up\nand gazed with astonishment on the marks of the terrible fight. The\nChristian knight was placed by them on a spare horse and carried to\nCordova's streets.\n\nAs the train passed the beleaguered church its garrison, seeing their late\nleader a captive in Moorish hands, sallied fiercely out to his rescue, and\nfor some minutes the street rang sharply with the sounds of war. But\nnumbers gathered to the defence, the assailants were driven back, and the\nchurch was entered by their foes, the clash of arms resounding within its\nsacred precincts. In the end most of the garrison were killed and the rest\nmade prisoners.\n\nThe wounded knight was tenderly cared for by his captor, soon regaining\nhis senses, and in time recovering his health. Magued, who had come to\nesteem him highly, celebrated his return to health by a magnificent\nbanquet, at which every honor was done the noble knight. The Arabs knew\nwell how to reward valor, even in a foe.\n\nIn the midst of the banquet Pelistes spoke of a noble Christian knight he\nonce had known, his brother in arms and the cherished friend of his heart,\none whom he had most admired and loved of all the Gothic host,--his old and\ndear comrade, Count Julian.\n\n\"He is here!\" cried some of the Arabs, enthusiastically, pointing to a\nknight who had recently entered. \"Here is your old friend and comrade,\nCount Julian.\"\n\n\"That Julian!\" cried Pelistes, in tones of scorn; \"that traitor and\nrenegade my friend and comrade! No, no; this is not Julian, but a fiend\nfrom hell who has entered his body to bring him dishonor and ruin.\"\n\nTurning scornfully away he strode proudly from the room, leaving the\ntraitor knight, overwhelmed with shame and confusion, the centre of a\ncircle of scornful looks, for the Arabs loved not the traitor, however\nthey might have profited by his treason.\n\nThe fate of Pelistes, as given in the Arab chronicles, was a tragic one.\nMagued, who had never before met his equal at sword play, proposed to send\nhim to Damascus, thinking that so brave a man would be a fitting present\nto the caliph and a living testimony to his own knightly prowess. But\nothers valued the prize of valor as well as Magued, Tarik demanding that\nthe valiant prisoner should be delivered to him, and Musa afterwards\nclaiming possession. The controversy ended in a manner suitable to the\ntemper of the times, Magued slaying the captive with his own hand rather\nthan deliver to others the prize of his sword and shield.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STRATAGEM OF THEODOMIR.\n\n\nThe defeat of the Guadalete seemed for the time to have robbed the Goths\nof all their ancient courage. East and west, north and south, rode the\nArab horsemen, and stronghold after stronghold fell almost without\nresistance into their hands, until nearly the whole of Spain had\nsurrendered to the scimitar. History has but a few stories to tell of\nvaliant defence by the Gothic warriors. One was that of Pelistes, at\nCordova, which we have just told. The other was that of the wise and\nvalorous Theodomir, which we have next to relate.\n\nAbdul-Aziz, Musa's noble son, whose sad fate we have chronicled, had been\ngiven the control of Southern Spain, with his head-quarters in Seville.\nHere, after subduing the Comarca, he decided on an invasion of far-off\nMurcia, the garden-land of the south, a realm of tropic heat, yet richly\nfertile and productive. There ruled a valiant Goth named Theodomir, who\nhad resisted Tarik on his landing, had fought in the fatal battle in which\nRoderic fell, and had afterwards, with a bare remnant of his followers,\nsought his own territory, which after him was called the land of Tadmir.\n\nHither marched Abdul-Aziz, eager to meet in battle a warrior of such\nrenown, and to add to his dominions a country so famed for beauty and\nfertility. He was to find Theodomir an adversary worthy of his utmost\npowers. So small was the force of the Gothic lord that he dared not meet\nthe formidable Arab horsemen in open contest, but he checked their advance\nby all the arts known in war, occupying the mountain defiles and gorges\nthrough which his country must be reached, cutting off detachments, and\nmaking the approach of the Arabs difficult and dangerous.\n\n               [Illustration: A COUNCIL OF THE VISIGOTHS.]\n\n                       A COUNCIL OF THE VISIGOTHS.\n\n\nHis defence was not confined to the hills. At times he would charge\nfiercely on detached parties of Arabs in the valleys or plains, and be off\nagain to cover before the main force could come up. Long he defeated every\neffort of the Arab leader to bring on an open battle, but at length found\nhimself cornered at Lorca, in a small valley at a mountain's foot. Here,\nthough the Goths fought bravely, they found themselves too greatly\noutnumbered, and in the end were put to panic-flight, numbers of them\nbeing left dead on the hotly contested field.\n\nThe handful of fugitives, sharply pursued by the Moorish cavalry, rode in\nall haste to the fortified town of Orihuela, a place of such strength that\nwith sufficient force they might have defied there the powerful enemy. But\nsuch had been their losses in battle and in flight that Theodomir found\nhimself far too weak to face the Moslem host, whose advance cavalry had\nfollowed so keenly on his track as to reach the outer walls by the time he\nhad fairly closed the gates.\n\nDefence was impossible. He had not half enough men to guard the walls and\nrepel assaults. It would have been folly to stand a siege, yet Theodomir\ndid not care to surrender except on favorable terms, and therefore adopted\na shrewd stratagem to deceive the enemy in regard to his strength.\n\nTo the surprise of the Arab leader the walls of the town, which he had\nthought half garrisoned, seemed to swarm with armed and bearded warriors,\nfar too great a force to be overcome by a sudden dash. In the face of so\nwarlike an array, caution awoke in the hearts of the assailants. They had\nlooked for an easy victory, but against such numbers as these assault\nmight lead to severe bloodshed and eventual defeat. They felt that it\nwould be necessary to proceed by the slow and deliberate methods of a\nregular siege.\n\nWhile Abdul-Aziz was disposing his forces and making heedful preparations\nfor the task he saw before him, he was surprised to see the principal gate\nof the city thrown open and a single Gothic horseman ride forth, bearing a\nflag of truce and making signals for a parley. A safe-conduct was given\nhim, and he was led to the tent of the Moslem chief.\n\n\"Theodomir has sent me to negotiate with you,\" he said, \"and I have full\npower to conclude terms of surrender. We are abundantly able to hold out,\nas you may see by the forces on our walls, but as we wish to avoid\nbloodshed we are willing to submit on honorable terms. Otherwise we will\ndefend ourselves to the bitter end.\"\n\nThe boldness and assurance with which he spoke deeply impressed the Arab\nchief. This was not a fearful foe seeking for mercy, but a daring\nantagonist as ready to fight as to yield.\n\n\"What terms do you demand?\" asked Abdul-Aziz.\n\n\"My lord,\" answered the herald, \"will only surrender on such conditions as\na generous enemy should grant and a valiant people receive. He demands\npeace and security for the province and its people and such authority for\nhimself as the strength of his walls and the numbers of his garrison\njustify him in demanding.\"\n\nThe wise and clement Arab saw the strength of the argument, and, glad to\nobtain so rich a province without further loss of life, he assented to the\nterms proposed, bidding the envoy to return and present them to his chief.\nThe Gothic knight replied that there was no need of this, he having full\npower to sign the treaty. The terms were therefore drawn up and signed by\nthe Arab general, after which the envoy took the pen and, to the\nastonishment of the victor, signed the name of Theodomir at the foot of\nthe document. It was the Gothic chief himself.\n\nPleased alike with his confidence and his cleverness, Abdul-Aziz treated\nthe Gothic knight with the highest honor and distinction. At the dawn of\nthe next day the gates of the city were thrown open for surrender, and\nAbdul-Aziz entered at the head of a suitable force. But when the garrison\nwas drawn up in the centre of the city for surrender, the surprise of the\nMoslem became deep amazement. What he saw before him was a mere handful of\nstalwart soldiers, eked out with feeble old men and boys. But the main\nbody before him was composed of women, whom the astute Goth had bidden to\ndress like men and to tie their long hair under their chins to represent\nbeards; when, with casques on their heads and spears in their hands, they\nhad been ranged along the walls, looking at a distance like a line of\nsturdy warriors.\n\nTheodomir waited with some anxiety, not knowing how the victor would\nregard this stratagem. Abdul might well have viewed with anger the\ncapitulation of an army of women and dotards, but he had a sense of humor\nand a generous heart, and the smile of amusement on his face told the\nGothic chief that he was fully forgiven for his shrewd stratagem.\nAdmiration was stronger than mortification in the Moslem's heart. He\npraised Theodomir for his witty and successful expedient, and for the\nthree days that he remained at Orihuela banquets and f\u00eates marked his\nstay, he occupying the position of a guest rather than an enemy. No injury\nwas done to people or town, and the Arabs soon left the province to\ncontinue their career of conquest, satisfied with the arrangements for\ntribute which they had made.\n\nBy a strange chance the treaty of surrender of the land of Tadmir still\nexists. It is drawn up in Latin and in Arabic, and is of much interest as\nshowing the mode in which such things were managed at that remote date. It\nstipulates that war shall not be waged against Theodomir, son of the\nGoths, and his people; that he shall not be deprived of his kingdom; that\nthe Christians shall not be separated from their wives and children, or\nhindered in the services of their religion; and that their temples shall\nnot be burned. Theodomir was left lord of seven cities,--Orihuela,\nValencia, Alicante, Mula, Biscaret, Aspis, and Lorca,--in which he was to\nharbor no enemies of the Arabs.\n\nThe tribute demanded of him and his nobles was a dinar (a gold coin)\nyearly from each, also four measures each of wheat, barley, must, vinegar,\nhoney, and oil. Vassals and taxable people were to pay half this amount.\n\nThese conditions were liberal in the extreme. The tribute demanded was by\nno means heavy for a country so fertile, in which light culture yields\nabundant harvests; the delightful valley between Orihuela and Murcia, in\nparticular, being the garden spot of Spain. The inhabitants for a long\nperiod escaped the evils of war felt in other parts of the conquered\nterritory, their province being occupied by only small garrisons of the\nenemy, while its distance from the chief seat of war removed it from\ndanger.\n\nAfter the murder of Abdul-Aziz, Theodomir sent an embassy to the Caliph\nSoliman, begging that the treaty should be respected. The caliph in reply\nsent orders that its stipulations should be faithfully observed. In this\nthe land of Tadmir almost stood alone in that day, when treaties were\nusually made only to be set at naught.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE CAVE OF COVADONGA.\n\n\nTarik landed in Spain in April, 711. So rapid were the Arabs in conquest\nthat in two years from that date nearly the whole peninsula was in their\nhands. Not quite all, or history might have another story to relate. In a\nremote province of the once proud kingdom--a rugged northwest corner--a few\nof its fugitive sons remained in freedom, left alone by the Arabs partly\nthrough scorn, partly on account of the rude and difficult character of\ntheir place of refuge. The conquerors despised them, yet this slender\ngroup was to form the basis of the Spain we know to-day, and to expand and\nspread until the conquerors would be driven from Spanish soil.\n\nThe Goths had fled in all directions from their conquerors, taking with\nthem such of their valuables as they could carry, some crossing the\nPyrenees to France, some hiding in the mountain valleys, some seeking a\nplace of refuge in the Asturias, a rough hill country cut up in all\ndirections by steep, scarped rocks, narrow defiles, deep ravines, and\ntangled thickets. Here the formidable Moslem cavalry could not pursue\nthem; here no army could deploy; here ten men might defy a hundred. The\nplace was far from inviting to the conquerors, but in it was sown the seed\nof modern Spain.\n\nA motley crew it was that gathered in this rugged region, a medley of\nfugitives of all ranks and stations,--soldiers, farmers, and artisans;\nnobles and vassals; bishops and monks; men, women, and children,--brought\ntogether by a terror that banished all distinctions of rank and avocation.\nFor a number of years this small band of fugitive Christians, gathered\nbetween the mountains and the sea in northwestern Spain, remained quiet,\ndesiring only to be overlooked or disregarded by the conquerors. But in\nthe year 717 a leader came to them, and Spain once more lifted her head in\ndefiance of her invaders.\n\nPelayo, the leader named, is a hero shrouded in mist. Fable surrounds him;\na circle of romantic stories have budded from his name. He is to us like\nhis modern namesake, the one battle-ship of Spain, which, during the\nrecent war, wandered up and down the Mediterranean with no object in view\nthat any foreigner could discover. Of the original Pelayo, some who\nprofess to know say that he was of the highest rank,--young, handsome, and\nheroic, one who had fought under Roderic at the Guadalete, had been held\nby the Arabs as a hostage at Cordova, and had escaped to his native hills,\nthere to infuse new life and hope into the hearts of the fugitive group.\n\nIbun Hayyan, an Arabian chronicler, gives the following fanciful account\nof Pelayo and his feeble band. \"The commencement of the rebellion happened\nthus: there remained no city, town, or village in Galicia but what was in\nthe hands of the Moslems with the exception of a steep mountain, on which\nthis Pelayo took refuge with a handful of men. There his followers went on\ndying through hunger until he saw their numbers reduced to about thirty\nmen and ten women, having no other food for support than the honey which\nthey gathered in the crevices of the rock, which they themselves inhabited\nlike so many bees. However, Pelayo and his men fortified themselves by\ndegrees in the passes of the mountain until the Moslems were made\nacquainted with their preparations; but, perceiving how few they were,\nthey heeded not the advice given to them, but allowed them to gather\nstrength, saying, 'What are thirty barbarians perched upon a rock? They\nmust inevitably die.'\"\n\nDie they did not, that feeble relic of Spain on the mountain-side, though\nlong their only care was for shelter and safety. Here Pelayo cheered them,\ndoing his utmost to implant new courage in their fearful hearts. At length\nthe day came when Spain could again assume a defiant attitude, and in the\nmountain valley of Caggas de Onis Pelayo raised the old Gothic standard\nand ordered the beating of the drums. Beyond the sound of the long roll\nwent his messengers seeking warriors in valley and glen, and soon his\nlittle band had grown to a thousand stalwart men, filled with his spirit\nand breathing defiance to the Moslem conquerors. That was an eventful day\nfor Spain, in which her crushed people again lifted their heads.\n\nIt was a varied throng that gathered around Pelayo's banner. Sons of the\nGoths and the Romans were mingled with descendants of the more ancient\nCelts and Iberians. Representatives of all the races that had overrun\nSpain were there gathered, speaking a dozen dialects, yet instinct with a\nsingle spirit. From them the modern Spaniard was to come, no longer Gothic\nor Roman, but a descendant of all the tribes and races that had peopled\nSpain. Some of them carried the swords and shields they had wielded in the\nbattle of the Guadalete, others brought the rude weapons of the\nmountaineers. But among them were strong hands and stout hearts, summoned\nby the drums of Pelayo to the reconquest of Spain.\n\nWord soon came to Al Horr, the new emir of Spain, that a handful of\nChristians were in arms in the mountains of the northwest, and he took\ninstant steps to crush this presumptuous gathering, sending his trusty\ngeneral Al Kamah with a force that seemed abundant to destroy Pelayo and\nhis rebel band.\n\nWarning of the approach of the Moslem foe was quickly brought to the\nSpanish leader, who at once left his place of assembly for the cave of\nCovadonga, a natural fortress in Eastern Asturia, some five miles from\nCaggas de Onis, which he had selected as a place strikingly adapted to a\ndefensive stand. Here rise three mountain-peaks to a height of nearly four\nthousand feet, enclosing a small circular valley, across which rushes the\nswift Diva, a stream issuing from Mount Orandi. At the base of Mount\nAuseva, the western peak, rises a detached rock, one hundred and seventy\nfeet high, projecting from the mountain in the form of an arch. At a short\ndistance above its foot is visible the celebrated cave or grotto of\nCovadonga, an opening forty feet wide, twelve feet high, and extending\ntwenty-five feet into the rock.\n\nThe river sweeps out through a narrow and rocky defile, at whose narrowest\npart the banks rise in precipitous walls. Down this ravine the stream\nrushes in rapids and cascades, at one point forming a picturesque\nwaterfall seventy-five feet in height. Only through this straitened path\ncan the cave be reached, and this narrow ravine and the valley within\nPelayo proposed to hold with his slender and ill-armed force.\n\nProudly onward came the Moslem captain, full of confidence in his powerful\nforce and despising his handful of opponents. Pelayo drew him on into the\nnarrow river passage by a clever stratagem. He had posted a small force at\nthe mouth of the pass, bidding them to take to flight after a discharge of\narrows. His plan worked well, the seeming retreat giving assurance to the\nMoslems, who rushed forward in pursuit along the narrow ledge that borders\nthe Diva, and soon emerged into the broader path that opens into the\nvalley of Covadonga.\n\nThey had incautiously entered a _cul-de-sac_, in which their numbers were\nof no avail, and where a handful of men could hold an army at bay. A small\nbody of the best armed of the Spaniards occupied the cave, the others\nbeing placed in ambush among the chestnut-trees that covered the heights\nabove the Diva. All kept silent until the Moslem advance had emerged into\nthe valley. Then the battle began, one of the most famous conflicts in the\nwhole history of Spain, famous not for the numbers engaged, but for the\nissue involved. The future of Spain dwelt in the hands of that group of\npatriots. The fight in the valley was sharp, but one-sided. The Moslem\narrows rebounded harmlessly from the rocky sides of the cave, whose\nentrance could be reached only by a ladder, while the Christians, hurling\ntheir missiles from their point of vantage into the crowded mass below,\npunished them so severely that the advance was forced back upon those that\ncrowded the defile in the rear. Al Kamah, finding his army recoiling in\ndismay and confusion, and discovering too late his error, ordered a\nretreat; but no sooner had a reverse movement been instituted than the\nambushed Christians on the heights began their deadly work, hurling huge\nstones and fallen trees into the defile, killing the Moslems by hundreds,\nand choking up the pass until flight became impossible.\n\nThe panic was complete. From every side the Christians rushed upon the\nfoe. Pelayo, bearing a cross of oak and crying that the Lord was fighting\nfor his people, leaped downward from the cave, followed by his men, who\nfell with irresistible fury on the foe, forcing them backward under the\nbrow of Mount Auseva, where Al Kamah strove to make a stand.\n\nThe elements now came to the aid of the Christians, a furious storm\narising whose thunders reverberated among the rocks, while lightnings\nflashed luridly in the eyes of the terrified troops. The rain poured in\nblinding torrents, and soon the Diva, swollen with the sudden fall, rose\ninto a flood, and swept away many of those who were crowded on its\nslippery banks. The heavens seemed leagued with the Christians against the\nMoslem host, whose destruction was so thorough that, if we can credit the\nchronicles, not a man of the proud army escaped.\n\nThis is doubtless an exaggeration, but the victory of Pelayo was complete\nand the first great step in the reconquest of Spain was taken. The year\nwas 717, six years after the landing of the Arabs and the defeat of the\nGoths.\n\nThus ended perhaps the most decisive battle in the history of Spain. With\nit new Spain began. The cave of Covadonga is still a place of pilgrimage\nfor the Spanish patriot, a stairway of marble replacing the ladder used by\nPelayo and his men. We may tell what followed in a few words. Their\nterrible defeat cleared the territory of the Austurias of Moslem soldiers.\nFrom every side fugitive Christians left their mountain retreats to seek\nthe standard of Pelayo. Soon the patriotic and daring leader had an army\nunder his command, by whom he was chosen king of Christian Spain.\n\nThe Moslems made no further attack. They were discouraged by their defeat\nand were engaged in a project for the invasion of Gaul that required their\nutmost force. Pelayo slowly and cautiously extended his dominions,\ndescending from the mountains into the plains and valleys, and organizing\nhis new kingdom in civil as well as in military affairs. All the men under\nhis control were taught to bear arms, fortifications were built, the\nground was planted, and industry revived. Territory which the Moslems had\nabandoned was occupied, and from a group of soldiers in a mountain cavern\na new nation began to emerge.\n\nPelayo died at Caggas de Onis in the year 737, twenty years after his\ngreat victory. After his death the work he had begun was carried forward,\nuntil by the year 800 the Spanish dominion had extended over much of Old\nCastile,--so called from its numerous castles. In a hundred years more it\nhad extended to the borders of New Castile. The work of reconquest was\nslowly but surely under way.\n\n\n\n\n\n             [Illustration: BARONIAL CASTLE IN OLD CASTILE.]\n\n                     BARONIAL CASTLE IN OLD CASTILE.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE ADVENTURES OF A FUGITIVE PRINCE.\n\n\nA new dynasty came to the throne of the caliphs of Damascus in 750. The\nline of the Ommeyades, who had held the throne since the days of the\nProphet Mohammed, was overthrown, and the line of the Abbassides began.\nAbdullah, the new caliph, bent on destroying every remnant of the old\ndynasty, invited ninety of its principal adherents to a banquet, where\nthey were set upon and brutally murdered. There followed a scene worthy of\na savage. The tables were removed, carpets were spread over the bleeding\ncorpses, and on these the viands were placed, the guests eating their\ndinner to the dismal music of the groans of the dying victims beneath.\n\nThe whole country was now scoured for all who were connected with the\nfallen dynasty, and wherever found they were brutally slain; yet despite\nthe vigilance of the murderers a scion of the family of the Ommeyades\nescaped. Abdurrahman, the princely youth in question, was fortunately\nabsent from Damascus when the order for his assassination was given.\nWarned of his proposed fate, he gathered what money and jewels he could\nand fled for his life, following little-used paths until he reached the\nbanks of the Euphrates. But spies were on his track and descriptions of\nhim had been sent to all provinces. He was just twenty years old, and,\nunlike the Arabians in general, had a fair complexion and blue eyes, so\nthat he could easily be recognized, and it seemed impossible that he could\nescape.\n\nHis retreat on the Euphrates was quickly discovered, and the agents of\nmurder were so hot upon his track that he was forced to spring into the\nriver and seek for safety by swimming. The pursuers reached the banks when\nthe fugitives were nearly half-way across, Abdurrahman supporting his son,\nfour years of age, and Bedr, a servant, aiding his thirteen-year-old\nbrother. The agents of the caliph called them back, saying that they would\nnot harm them, and the boy, whose strength was giving out, turned back in\nspite of his brother's warning. When Abdurrahman reached the opposite\nbank, it was with a shudder of horror that he saw the murder of the boy,\nwhose head was at once cut off. That gruesome spectacle decided the\nquestion of his trusting himself to the mercy of the caliph or his agents.\n\nThe life of the fugitive prince now became one of unceasing adventure. He\nmade his way by covert paths towards Egypt, wandering through the desert\nin company with bands of Bedouins, living on their scanty fare, and\nconstantly on the alert against surprise. Light sleep and hasty flittings\nwere the rule with him and his few attendants as they made their way\nslowly westward over the barren sands, finally reaching Egypt. Here he was\ntoo near the caliph for safety, and he kept on westward to Barca, where he\nhoped for protection from the governor, who owed his fortunes to the favor\nof the late caliph.\n\nHe was mistaken. Ibn Habib, the governor of Barca, put self-interest above\ngratitude, and made vigorous efforts to seize the fugitive, whom he hoped\nto send as a welcome gift to the cruel Abdullah. The life of the fugitive\nwas now one of hair-breadth escapes. For five years he remained in Barca,\ndisguised and under a false name, yet in almost daily peril of his life.\nOn one occasion a band of pursuers surrounded the tent in which he was and\nadvanced to search it. His life was saved by Tekfah, the wife of the\nchief, who hid him under her clothes. When, in later years, he came to\npower, he rewarded the chief and his wife richly for their kindly aid.\n\nOn another occasion a body of horse rode into the village of tents in\nwhich he dwelt as a guest and demanded that he should be given up. The\nhandsome aspect and gentle manner of the fugitive had made the tribesmen\nsuspect that they were the hosts of a disguised prince; he had gained a\nsure place in their hearts, and they set the pursuers on a false scent.\nSuch a person was with them, they said, but he had gone with a number of\nyoung men on a lion hunt in a neighboring mountain valley and would not\nreturn until the next evening. The pursuers at once set off for the place\nmentioned, and the fugitive, who had been hidden in one of the tents, rode\naway in the opposite direction with his slender train.\n\nLeaving Barca, he journeyed farther westward over the desert, which at\nthat point comes down to the Mediterranean. Finally Tahart was reached, a\ntown within the modern Algeria, the seat of the Beni Rustam, a tribe which\ngave him the kindliest welcome. To them, as to the Barcans, he seemed a\nprince in disguise. Near by was a tribe of Arabs named the Nefezah, to\nwhich his mother had belonged, and from which he hoped for protection and\nassistance. Reaching this, he told his rank and name, and was welcomed\nalmost as a king, the tribesmen, his mother's kindred, paying him homage,\nand offering their aid to the extent of their ability in the ambitious\nscheme which he disclosed.\n\nThis was an invasion of Spain, which at that time was a scene of confusion\nand turmoil, distracted by rival leaders, the people exhausted by wars and\nquarrels, many of their towns burned or ruined, and the country ravaged by\nfamine. What could be better than for the heir of the illustrious house of\nOmmeyades, flying from persecution by the Abbassides, and miraculously\npreserved, to seek the throne of Spain, bring peace to that distracted\nland, and found an independent kingdom in that western section of the vast\nArabian empire?\n\nHis servant, Bedr, who had kept with him through all his varied career and\nwas now his chief officer, was sent to Spain on a secret mission to the\nfriends of the late dynasty of caliphs, of whom there were many in that\nland. Bedr was highly successful in his mission. Yusuf, the Abbasside\nemir, was absent from Cordova and ignorant of his danger, and all promised\nwell. Not waiting for the assistance promised him in Africa, the prince\nput to sea almost alone. As he was about to step on board his boat a\nnumber of Berbers gathered round and showed an intention to prevent his\ndeparture. They were quieted by a handful of dinars and he hastened on\nboard,--none too soon, for another band, greedy for gold, rushed to the\nbeach, some of them wading out and seizing the boat and the camel's-hair\ncable that held it to the anchor. These fellows got blows instead of\ndinars, one, who would not let go, having his hand cut off by a sword\nstroke. The edge of a scimitar cut the cable, the sail was set, and the\nlonely exile set forth upon the sea to the conquest of a kingdom. It was\nevening of a spring day of the year 756 that the fugitive prince landed\nnear Malaga, in the land of Andalusia, where some prominent chiefs were in\nwaiting to receive him with the homage due to a king.\n\nHundreds soon flocked to the standard of the adventurer, whose manly and\nhandsome presence, his beaming blue eyes, sweet smile, and gracious manner\nwon him the friendship of all whom he met. With steadily growing forces he\nmarched to Seville. Here were many of his partisans, and the people flung\nopen the gates with wild shouts of welcome. It was in the month of May\nthat the fortunes of Abdurrahman were put to the test, Yusuf having\nhastily gathered a powerful force and advanced to the plain of Musarah,\nnear Cordova, on which field the fate of the kingdom was to be decided.\n\nIt was under a strange banner that Abdurrahman advanced to meet the army\nof the emir,--a turban attached to a lance-head. This standard afterwards\nbecame sacred, the turban, as it grew ragged, being covered by a new one.\nAt length the hallowed old rags were removed by an irreverent hand, \"and\nfrom that time the empire of the Beni Ummeyah began to decline.\"\n\nWe may briefly conclude our tale. The battle was fierce, but Abdurrahman's\nboldness and courage prevailed, and the army of Yusuf in the end gave way,\nCordova becoming the victor's prize. The generous conqueror gave liberty\nand distinction to the defeated emir, and was repaid in two years by a\nrebellion in which he had an army of twenty thousand men to meet. Yusuf\nwas again defeated, and now lost his life.\n\nThus it was that the fugitive prince, who had saved his life by swimming\nthe Euphrates under the eyes of an assassin band, became the Caliph of the\nWest, for under him Spain was cut loose from the dominion of the\nAbbassides and made an independent kingdom, its conqueror becoming its\nfirst monarch under the title of Abdurrahman I.\n\nAlmansur, then the Caliph of the East, sought to recover the lost domain,\nsending a large army from Africa; but this was defeated with terrible\nslaughter by the impetuous young prince, who revenged himself by sending\nthe heads of the general and many of his officers to the caliph in bags\nborne by merchants, which were deposited at the door of Almansur's tent\nduring the darkness of the night. The finder was cautioned to be careful,\nas the bags contained treasure. So they were brought in to the caliph, who\nopened them with his own hand. Great was his fury and chagrin when he saw\nwhat a ghastly treasure they contained. \"This man is the foul fiend in\nhuman form,\" he exclaimed. \"Praised be Allah that he has placed a sea\nbetween him and me.\"\n\n\n\n\n\nBERNARDO DEL CARPIO.\n\n\nSpain, like France, had its hero of legend. The great French hero was\nRoland, whose mighty deeds in the pass of Roncesvalles have been widely\ncommemorated in song and story. In Spanish legend the gallant opponent of\nthe champion of France was Bernardo del Carpio, a hero who perhaps never\nlived, except on paper, but about whose name a stirring cycle of story has\ngrown. The tale of his life is a tragedy, as that of heroes is apt to be.\nIt may be briefly told.\n\nWhen Charlemagne was on the throne of France Alfonso II. was king of\nChristian Spain. A hundred years had passed since all that was left to\nSpain was the cave of Covadonga, and in that time a small kingdom had\ngrown up with Oviedo for its capital city. This kingdom had spread from\nthe Asturias over Leon, which gave its name to the new realm, and the slow\nwork of driving back the Moslem conquerors had well begun.\n\nAlfonso never married and had no children. People called him Alfonso the\nChaste. He went so far as to forbid any of his family to marry, so that\nthe love affairs of his sister, the fair infanta Ximena, ran far from\nsmooth. The beautiful princess loved and was loved again by the noble\nSancho Diaz, Count of Salda\u00f1a, but the king would not listen to their\nunion. The natural result followed; as they dared not marry in public they\ndid so in private, and for a year or two lived happily together, none\nknowing of their marriage, and least of all the king.\n\nBut when a son was born to them the truth came out. It threw the\ntyrannical king into a violent rage. His sister was seized by his orders\nand shut up in a convent, and her husband was thrown into prison for life,\nsome accounts saying that his eyes were put out by order of the cruel\nking. As for their infant son, he was sent into the mountains of the\nAsturias, to be brought up among peasants and mountaineers.\n\nIt was known that he had been sent there by Alfonso, and the people\nbelieved him to be the king's son and treated him as a prince. In the\nhealthy out-door life of the hills he grew strong and handsome, while his\nnative courage was shown in hunting adventures and the perils of mountain\nlife. When old enough he learned the use of arms, and soon left his humble\nfriends for the army, in which his boldness and bravery were shown in many\nencounters with the French and the Arabs. Those about him still supposed\nhim to be the son of the king, though Alfonso, while furnishing him with\nall knightly arms and needs, neither acknowledged nor treated him as his\nson. But if not a king's son, he was a very valiant knight, and became the\nterror of all the foes of Spain.\n\nAll this time his unfortunate father languished in prison, where from time\nto time he was told by his keepers of the mighty deeds of the young prince\nBernardo del Carpio, by which name the youthful warrior was known. Count\nSancho knew well that this was his son, and complained bitterly of the\ningratitude of the youth who could leave his father perishing in a prison\ncell while he rode freely and joyously in the open air, engaged in battle\nand banquet, and was everywhere admired and praised. He knew not that the\nyoung warrior had been kept in ignorance of his birth.\n\nDuring this period came that great event in the early history of Spain in\nwhich Charlemagne crossed the Pyrenees with a great army and marched upon\nthe city of Saragossa. It was in the return from this expedition that the\ndreadful attack took place in which Roland and the rear guard of the army\nwere slain in the pass of Roncesvalles. In Spanish story it was Bernardo\ndel Carpio who led the victorious hosts, and to whose prowess was due the\nsignal success.\n\nThis fierce fight in a mountain-pass, in which a valiant band of\nmountaineers overwhelmed and destroyed the flower of the French army, has\nbeen exalted by poetic legend into one of the most stupendous and romantic\nof events. Ponderous epic poems have made Roland their theme, numbers of\nballads and romances tell of his exploits, and the far-off echoes of his\nivory horn still sound through the centuries. One account tells that he\nblew his horn so loud and long that the veins of his neck burst in the\nstrain. Others tell that he split a mountain in twain by a mighty stroke\nof his sword Durandal. The print of his horse's hoofs are shown on a\nmountain-peak where only a flying horse could ever have stood. In truth,\nRoland, whose name is barely mentioned in history, rose to be the greatest\nhero of romance, the choicest and best of the twelve paladins of\nCharlemagne.\n\nBernardo del Carpio was similarly celebrated in Spanish song, though he\nattained no such worldwide fame. History does not name him at all, but the\nballads of Spain say much of his warlike deeds. It must suffice here to\nsay that this doughty champion marched upon Roland and his men while they\nwere winding through the narrow mountain-pass, and as they advanced the\nmountaineers swelled their ranks.\n\n  \"As through the glen his spears did gleam, the soldiers from the hills,\n  They swelled his host, as mountain-stream receives the roaring rills;\n  They round his banner flocked in scorn of haughty Charlemagne,\n  And thus upon their swords are sworn the faithful sons of Spain.\"\n\nRoland and his force lay silent in death when the valiant prince led back\nhis army, flushed with victory, and hailed with the plaudits of all the\npeople of the land. At this moment of his highest triumph the tragedy of\nhis life began. His old nurse, who had feared before to tell the tale, now\nmade him acquainted with the true story of his birth, telling him that he\nwas the nephew, not the son, of the king; that his mother, whom he thought\nlong dead, still lived, shut up for life in a convent; and that his father\nlay languishing in a dungeon cell, blind and in chains.\n\nAs may well be imagined, this story filled the soul of the young hero with\nrighteous wrath. He strode into the presence of the king and asked, with\nlittle reverence, if the story were true. Alfonso surlily admitted it.\nBernardo then demanded his father's freedom. This the king refused.\nBurning with anger, the valiant youth shut himself up in his castle,\nrefusing to take part in the rejoicings that followed the victory, and\nstill sternly demanding the release of his father.\n\n\"Is it well that I should be abroad fighting thy battles,\" he asked the\nking, \"while my father lies fettered in thy dungeons? Set him free and I\nshall ask no further reward.\"\n\nAlfonso, who was obstinate in his cruelty, refused, and the indignant\nprince took arms against him, joining the Moors, whom he aided to harry\nthe king's dominions. Fortifying his castle, and gathering a bold and\ndaring band from his late followers, he made incursions deep into the\ncountry of the king, plundering hamlet and city and fighting in the ranks\nof the Moslems.\n\nThis method of argument was too forcible even for the obstinacy of\nAlfonso. His counsellors, finding the kingdom itself in danger, urged him\nto grant Bernardo's request, and to yield him his father in return for his\ncastle. The king at length consented, and Bernardo, as generous and\ntrusting as he was brave, immediately accepted the proposed exchange,\nsought the king, handed him the keys of his castle, and asked him to\nfulfil his share of the contract.\n\nAlfonso agreed to do so, and in a short time the king and his nephew rode\nforth, Bernardo's heart full of joy at the thought of meeting the parent\nwhom he had never yet seen. As they rode forward a train came from the\nopposite direction to meet them, in the midst a tall figure, clad in\nsplendid attire and mounted on horseback. But there was something in his\naspect that struck Bernardo's heart deep with dread.\n\n\"God help me!\" he exclaimed, \"is that sightless and corpse-like figure the\nnoble Count of Salda\u00f1a, my father?\"\n\n\"You wished to see him,\" coldly answered the king. \"He is before you. Go\nand greet him.\"\n\nBernardo did so, and reverently took the cold hand of his father to kiss\nit. As he did so the body fell forward on the neck of the horse. It was\nonly a corpse. Alfonso had killed the father before delivering him to his\nson.\n\nOnly his guards saved the ruthless tyrant at that moment from death. The\ninfuriated knight swore a fearful oath of vengeance upon the king, and\nrode away, taking the revered corpse with him. Unfortunately, the story of\nBernardo ends here. None of the ballads tell what he did for revenge. We\nmay imagine that he joined his power to the Moors and harried the land of\nLeon during his after life, at length reaching Alfonso's heart with his\nvengeful blade. But of this neither ballad nor legend tells, and with the\npathetic scene of the dead father's release our story ends.\n\n\n\n\n\nRUY DIAZ, THE CID CAMPEADOR.\n\n\nBernardo del Carpio is not the chief Spanish hero of romance. To find the\nmate of Roland the paladin we must seek the incomparable Cid, the\ncampeador or champion of Spain, the noblest figure in Spanish story or\nromance. _El Mio Cid_, \"My Cid,\" as he is called, with his matchless horse\nBavieca and his trenchant sword Tisona, towers in Spanish tale far above\nChristian king and Moslem caliph, as the pink of chivalry, the pearl of\nknighthood, the noblest and worthiest figure in all that stirring age.\n\nCid is an Arabic word, meaning \"lord\" or \"chief.\" The man to whom it was\napplied was a real personage, not a figment of fancy, though it is to\npoetry and romance that he owes his fame, his story having been expanded\nand embellished in chronicles, epic poems, and ballads until it bears\nlittle semblance to actual history. Yet the deeds of the man himself\nprobably lie at the basis of all the splendid fictions of romance.\n\nThe great poem in which his exploits were first celebrated, the famous\n\"Poema del Cid,\" is thought to be the oldest, as it is one of the noblest\nin the Spanish language. Written probably not later than the year 1200, it\nis of about three thousand lines in length, and of such merit that its\nunknown author has been designated the \"Homer of Spain.\" As it was written\nsoon after the death of the Cid, it could not have deviated far from\nhistoric truth. Chief among the prose works is the \"Chronicle of the\nCid,\"--_Chronica del famoso Cavallero Cid Ruy Diez_,--which, with additions\nfrom the poem, was charmingly rendered in English by the poet Southey,\nwhose production is a prose poem in itself. Such are the chief sources of\nour knowledge of the Cid, an active, stirring figure, full of the spirit\nof medi\u00e6valism, whose story seems to bring back to us the living features\nof the age in which he flourished. A brave and daring knight, rousing the\njealousy of nobles and kings by his valiant deeds, now banished and now\nrecalled, now fighting against the Moslems, now with them, now for his own\nhand, and in the end winning himself a realm and dying a king without the\nname,--such is the man whose story we propose to tell.\n\nThis hero of romance was born about the year 1040 at Bivar, a little\nvillage near Burgos, his father being Diego Lainez, a man of gentle birth,\nhis mother Teresa Rodriguez, daughter of the governor of the Asturias. He\nis often called Rodrigo de Bivar, from his birthplace, but usually Rodrigo\nDiaz, or Ruy Diez, as his name is given in the chronicle.\n\nWhile still a boy the future prowess of the Cid was indicated. He was keen\nof intellect, active of frame, and showed such wonderful dexterity in\nmanly exercises as to become unrivalled in the use of arms. Those were\ndays of almost constant war. The kingdom of the Moors was beginning to\nfall to pieces; that of the Christians was growing steadily stronger; not\nonly did war rage between the two races, but Moor fought with Moor,\nChristian with Christian, and there was abundant work ready for the strong\nhand and sharp sword. This state of affairs was to the taste of the\nyouthful Rodrigo, whose ambition was to become a hero of knighthood.\n\nWhile gentle in manner and magnanimous in disposition, the young soldier\nhad an exalted sense of honor and was sternly devoted to duty. While he\nwas still a boy his father was bitterly insulted by Count Gomez, who\nstruck him in the face. The old man brooded over his humiliation until he\nlost sleep and appetite, and withdrew from society into disconsolate\nseclusion.\n\nRodrigo, deeply moved by his father's grief, sought and killed the\ninsulter, and brought the old man the bleeding head of his foe. At this\nthe disconsolate Diego rose and embraced his son, and bade him sit above\nhim at table, saying that \"he who brought home that head should be the\nhead of the house of Layn Calvo.\"\n\nFrom that day on the fame of the young knight rapidly grew, until at\nlength he defeated and captured five Moorish kings who had invaded\nCastile. This exploit won him the love of Ximena, the fair daughter of\nCount Gomez, whom he had slain. Foreseeing that he would become the\ngreatest man in Spain, the damsel waited not to be wooed, but offered him\nher hand in marriage, an offer which he was glad to accept. And ever\nafter, says the chronicle, she was his loving wife.\n\nThe young champion is said to have gained the good-will of St. Lazarus and\nthe Holy Virgin by sleeping with a leper who had been shunned by his\nknights. No evil consequences came from this example of Christian\nphilanthropy, while it added to the knight's high repute.\n\nFernando I., who had gathered a large Christian kingdom under his crown,\ndied when Rodrigo was but fifteen years of age, and in his will foolishly\ncut up his kingdom between his three sons and two daughters, greatly\nweakening the Christian power, and quickly bringing his sons to sword's\npoint. By the will Sancho was placed over Castile, Alfonso became king of\nLeon, Garcia ruled in Galicia; Urraca, one of the daughters, received the\ncity of Toro, and Elvira was given that of Zamora.\n\nSancho was not satisfied with this division. Being the oldest, he thought\nhe should have all, and prepared to seize the shares of his brothers and\nsisters. Looking for aid in this design, he was attracted by the growing\nfame of young Rodrigo, and gained his aid in the restoration of Zamora,\nwhich the Moors had destroyed. While thus engaged there came to Rodrigo\nmessengers with tribute from the five Moorish kings whom he had captured\nand released. They hailed the young warrior as Sid, or Cid, and the king,\nstruck by the title, said that Ruy Diaz should thenceforth bear it; also\nthat he should be known as campeador or champion.\n\nKing Sancho now knighted the young warrior with his own hand, and soon\nafter made him _alferez_, or commander of his troops. As such he was\ndespatched against Alfonso, who was soon driven from his kingdom of Leon\nand sought shelter in the Moorish city of Toledo. Leon being occupied, the\nCid marched against Galicia, and drove out Garcia as he had done Alfonso.\nThen he deprived Urraca and Elvira of the cities left them by their\nfather, and the whole kingdom was once more placed under a single ruler.\n\nIt did not long remain so. Sancho died in 1072, and at once Alfonso and\nGarcia hurried back from exile to recover their lost realms. But Alfonso's\nambition equalled that of Sancho. All or none was his motto. Invading the\nkingdom of Galicia, he robbed Garcia of it and held him prisoner. Then he\nprepared to invade Castile, and offered the command of the army for this\nenterprise to the Cid.\n\nThe latter was ready for fighting in any form, so that he could fight with\nhonor. But there was doubt in his mind if service under Alfonso was\nconsistent with the honor of a knight. King Sancho had been assassinated\nwhile hunting, and it was whispered that Alfonso had some share in the\nmurder. The high-minded Cid would not draw sword for him unless he swore\nthat he had no lot or part in his brother's death. Twice the Cid gave him\nthe oath, whereupon, says the chronicle, \"My Cid repeated the oath to him\na third time, and the king and the knights said 'Amen.' But the wrath of\nthe king was exceeding great; and he said to the Cid, 'Ruy Diaz, why dost\nthou press me so, man?' From that day forward there was no love towards My\nCid in the heart of the king.\"\n\nBut the king had sworn, and the Cid entered his service and soon conquered\nCastile, so that Alfonso became monarch of Castile, Leon, Galicia, and\nPortugal, and took the title of Emperor of Spain. As adelantado, or lord\nof the marches, Ruy Diaz now occupied himself with the Moors,--fighting\nwhere hostility reigned, taking tribute for the king from Seville and\nother cities, and settling with the sword the disputes of the chiefs, or\naiding them in their quarrels. Thus he took part with Seville in a war\nwith Cordova, and was rewarded with so rich a present by the grateful king\nthat Alfonso, inspired by his secret hatred for the Cid, grew jealous and\nenvious.\n\nDuring these events years passed on, and the Cid's two fair daughters grew\nto womanhood and were married, at the command of the king, to the two\ncounts of Carrion. The Cid liked not his sons-in-law, and good reason he\nhad, for they were a pair of base hounds despite their lordly title. The\nbrides were shamefully treated by them, being stripped and beaten nearly\nto death on their wedding-journey.\n\nWhen word of this outrage came to the Cid his wrath overflowed. Stalking\nwith little reverence into the king's hall, he sternly demanded redress\nfor the brutal act. He could not appeal to the law. The husband in those\ndays was supreme lord and master of his wife. But there was an unwritten\nlaw, that of the sword, and the incensed father demanded that the brutal\nyouths should appear in the lists and prove their honor, if they could,\nagainst his champion.\n\nThey dared not refuse. In those days, when the sword was the measure of\nhonor and justice, to refuse would have been to be disgraced. They came\ninto the lists, where they were beaten like the hounds that they had shown\nthemselves, and the noble girls were set free from their bonds. Better\nhusbands soon sought the Cid's daughters, and they were happily married in\nthe end.\n\nThe exploits of the Cid were far too many for us to tell. Wherever he went\nvictory attended his sword. On one occasion the king marched to the aid of\none of his Moorish allies, leaving the Cid behind him too sick to ride.\nHere was an opportunity for the Moors, a party of whom broke into Castile\nand by a rapid march made themselves masters of the fortress of Gomez. Up\nfrom his bed of sickness rose the Cid, mounted his steed (though he could\nbarely sit in the saddle), charged and scattered the invaders, pursued\nthem into the kingdom of Toledo, and returned with seven thousand\nprisoners and all the Moorish spoil.\n\nThis brilliant defence of the kingdom was the turning point in his career.\nThe king of Toledo complained to Alfonso that his neutral territory had\nbeen invaded by the Cid and his troops, and King Alfonso, seeking revenge\nfor the three oaths he had been compelled to take, banished the Cid from\nhis dominions, on the charge of invading the territory of his allies.\n\nThus the champion went forth as a knight-errant, with few followers, but a\ngreat name. Tears came into his eyes as he looked back upon his home, its\ndoors open, its hall deserted, no hawks upon the perches, no horses in the\nstalls. \"My enemies have done this,\" he said. \"God be praised for all\nthings.\" He went to Burgos, but there the people would not receive him,\nhaving had strict orders from the king. Their houses were closed, the\ninn-keepers barred their doors, only a bold little maiden dared venture\nout to tell him of the decree. As there was no shelter for him there, he\nwas forced to seek lodging in the sands near the town.\n\nNeeding money, he obtained it by a trick that was not very honorable,\nthough in full accord with the ethics of those times. He pawned to the\nJews two chests which he said were treasure chests, filled with gold. Six\nhundred marks were received, and when the chests were afterwards opened\nthey proved to be filled with sand. This was merely a good joke to poet\nand chronicler. The Jews lay outside the pale of justice and fair-dealing.\n\nOnward went the Cid, his followers growing in number as he marched. First\nto Barcelona, then to Saragossa, he went, seeking knightly adventures\neverywhere. In Saragossa he entered the service of the Moorish king, and\nfor several years fought well and sturdily for his old enemies. But time\nbrought a change. In 1081 Alfonso captured Toledo and made that city his\ncapital, from which he prepared to push his way still deeper into the\nMoorish dominions. He now needed the Cid, whom he had banished five years\nbefore.\n\nBut it was easier to ask than to get. The Cid had grown too great to be at\nany king's beck and call. He would fight for Alfonso, but in his own way,\nholding himself free to attack whom he pleased and when he pleased, and to\ncapture the cities of the Moslems and rule them as their lord. He had\nbecome a free lance, fighting for his own hand, while armies sprang, as it\nwere, from the ground at his call to arms.\n\nIn those days of turmoil valor rarely had long to wait for opportunity.\nRamon Berenguer, lord of Barcelona, had laid siege to Valencia, an\nimportant city on the Mediterranean coast. Thither marched the Cid with\nall speed, seven thousand men in his train, and forced Ramon to raise the\nsiege. The Cid became governor of Valencia, under tribute to King Alfonso,\nand under honor to hold it against the Moors.\n\nThe famous champion was not done with his troubles with Alfonso. In the\nyears that followed he was once more banished by the faithless king, and\nhis wife and children were seized and imprisoned. At a later date he came\nto the king's aid in his wars, but found him again false to his word, and\nwas obliged to flee for safety from the camp.\n\nValencia had passed from his control and had more than once since changed\nhands. At length the Moorish power grew so strong that the city refused to\npay tribute to Spain and declared its independence. Here was work for the\nCid--not for the benefit of Alfonso, but for his own honor and profit. He\nwas weary of being made the foot-ball of a jealous and faithless monarch,\nand craved a kingdom of his own. Against Valencia he marched with an army\nof free swords at his back. He was fighting now for the Cid, not for\nMoorish emir or Spanish monarch. For twenty months he beseiged the fair\ncity, until starvation came to the aid of his sword. No relief reached the\nMoors; the elements fought against them, floods of rain destroying the\nroads and washing away the bridges; on June 15, 1094, the Cid Campeador\nmarched into the city thenceforth to be associated with his name.\n\nAscending its highest tower, he gazed with joy upon the fair possession\nwhich he had won with his own good sword without aid from Spanish king or\nMoorish ally, and which he proposed to hold for his own while life\nremained. His city it was, and today it bears his name, being known as\nValencia del Cid. But he had to hold it with the good sword by which he\nwon it, for the Moors, who had failed to aid the beleaguered city, sought\nwith all their strength to win it back.\n\nDuring the next year thirty thousand of them came and encamped about the\nwalls of the city. But fighting behind walls was not to the taste of the\nCid Campeador. Out from the gates he sallied and drove them like sheep\nfrom their camp, killing fifteen thousand of them in the fight.\n\n\"Be it known,\" the chronicle tells us, \"that this was a profitable day's\nwork. Every foot-soldier shared a hundred marks of silver that day, and\nthe Cid returned full honorably to Valencia. Great was the joy of the\nChristians in the Cid Ruy Diaz, who was born in a happy hour. His beard\nwas grown, and continued to grow, a great length. My Cid said of his chin,\n'For the love of King Don Alfonso, who hath banished me from his land, no\nscissors shall come upon it, nor shall a hair be cut away, and Moors and\nChristians shall talk of it.'\" And until he died his great beard grew on\nuntouched.\n\n                    [Illustration: VALENCIA DEL CID.]\n\n                            VALENCIA DEL CID.\n\n\nNot many were the men with whom he had done his work, but they were\nsoldiers of tried temper and daring hearts. \"There were one thousand\nknights of lineage and five hundred and fifty other horsemen. There were\nfour thousand foot-soldiers, besides boys and others. Thus many were the\npeople of My Cid, him of Bivar. And his heart rejoiced, and he smiled and\nsaid, 'Thanks be to God and to Holy Mother Mary! We had a smaller company\nwhen we left the house of Bivar.'\"\n\nThe next year King Yussef, leader of the Moors, came again to the siege of\nValencia, this time with fifty thousand men. Small as was the force of the\nCid as compared with this great army, he had no idea of fighting cooped up\nlike a rat in a cage. Out once more he sallied, with but four thousand men\nat his back. His bishop, Hieronymo, absolved them, saying, \"He who shall\ndie, fighting full forward, I will take as mine his sins, and God shall\nhave his soul.\"\n\nA learned and wise man was the good bishop, but a valorous one as well,\nmighty in arms alike on horseback and on foot. \"A boon, Cid don Rodrigo,\"\nhe cried. \"I have sung mass to you this morning. Let me have the giving of\nthe first wounds in this battle.\"\n\n\"In God's name, do as you will,\" answered the Cid.\n\nThat day the bishop had his will of the foe, fighting with both hands\nuntil no man knew how many of the infidels he slew. Indeed, they were all\ntoo busy to heed the bishop's blows, for, so the chronicle says, only\nfifteen thousand of the Moslems escaped. Yussef, sorely wounded, left to\nthe Cid his famous sword Tisona, and barely escaped from the field with\nhis life.\n\nBucar, the brother of Yussef, came to revenge him, but he knew not with\nwhom he had to deal. Bishop Hieronymo led the right wing, and made havoc\nin the ranks of the foe. \"The bishop pricked forward,\" we are told. \"Two\nMoors he slew with the first two thrusts of his lance; the haft broke and\nhe laid hold on his sword. God! how well the bishop fought. He slew two\nwith the lance and five with the sword. The Moors fled.\"\n\n\"Turn this way, Bucar,\" cried the Cid, who rode close on the heels of the\nMoorish chief; \"you who came from behind sea to see the Cid with the long\nbeard. We must greet each other and cut out a friendship.\"\n\n\"God confound such friendships,\" cried Bucar, following his flying troops\nwith nimble speed.\n\nHard behind him rode the Cid, but his horse Bavieca was weary with the\nday's hard work, and Bucar rode a fresh and swift steed. And thus they\nwent, fugitive and pursuer, until the ships of the Moors were at hand,\nwhen the Cid, finding that he could not reach the Moorish king with his\nsword, flung the weapon fiercely at him, striking him between the\nshoulders. Bucar, with the mark of battle thus upon him, rode into the sea\nand was taken into a boat, while the Cid picked up his sword from the\nground and sought his men again.\n\nThe Moorish host did not escape so well. Set upon fiercely by the\nSpaniards, they ran in a panic into the sea, where twice as many were\ndrowned as were slain in the battle; and of these, seventeen thousand and\nmore had fallen, while a vast host remained as prisoners. Of the\ntwenty-nine kings who came with Bucar, seventeen were left dead upon the\nfield.\n\nThe chronicler uses numbers with freedom. The Cid is his hero, and it is\nhis task to exalt him. But the efforts of the Moors to regain Valencia and\ntheir failure to do so may be accepted as history. In due time, however,\nage began to tell upon the Cid, and death came to him as it does to all.\nHe died in 1099, from grief, as the story goes, that his colleague, Alvar\nFa\u00f1ez, had suffered a defeat. Whether from grief or age, at any rate he\ndied, and his wife, Ximena, was left to hold the city, which for two years\nshe gallantly did, against all the power of the Moors. Then Alfonso\nentered it, and, finding that he could not hold it, burned the principal\nbuildings and left it to the Moors. A century and a quarter passed before\nthe Christians won it again.\n\nWhen Alfonso left the city of the Cid he brought with him the body of the\ncampeador, mounted upon his steed Bavieca, and solemnly and slowly the\ntrain wound on until the corpse of the mighty dead was brought to the\ncloister of the monastery of Carde\u00f1a. Here the dead hero was seated on a\nthrone, with his sword Tisona in his hand; and, the story goes, a caitiff\nJew, perhaps wishing to revenge his brethren who had been given sand for\ngold, plucked the flowing beard of the Cid. At this insult the hand of the\ncorpse struck out and the insulter was hurled to the floor.\n\nThe Cid Campeador is a true hero of romance, and well are the Spaniards\nproud of him. Honor was the moving spring of his career. As a devoted son,\nhe revenged the insult to his father; as a loving husband, he made Ximena\nthe partner of his fame; as a tender father, he redressed his daughters'\nwrongs; as a loyal subject, he would not serve a king on whom doubt of\ntreachery rested. In spite of the injustice of the king, he was true to\nhis country, and came again and again to its aid. Though forced into the\nfield as a free lance, he was throughout a Christian cavalier. And, though\nhe cheated the Jews, the story goes that he repaid them their gold.\nCourage, courtesy, and honor were the jewels of his fame, and romance\nholds no nobler hero.\n\nIt will not be amiss to close our tale of the Cid with a quotation from\nthe famous poem in which it is shown how even a lion quailed before his\nmajesty:\n\n  \"Peter Bermuez arose; somewhat he had to say;\n  The words were strangled in his throat, they could not find their way;\n  Till forth they came at once, without a stop or stay:\n  'Cid, I'll tell you what, this always is your way;\n  You have always served me thus, whenever you have come\n  To meet here in the Cortes, you call me Peter the Dumb.\n  I cannot help my nature; I never talk nor rail;\n  But when a thing is to be done, you know I never fail.\n  Fernando, you have lied, you have lied in every word;\n  You have been honored by the Cid and favored and preferred.\n  I know of all your tricks, and can tell them to your face:\n  Do you remember in Valencia the skirmish and the chase?\n  You asked leave of the Cid to make the first attack,\n  You went to meet a Moor, but you soon came running back.\n  I met the Moor and killed him, or he would have killed you;\n  I gave you up his arms, and all that was my due.\n  Up to this very hour, I never said a word;\n  You praised yourself before the Cid and I stood by and heard\n  How you had killed the Moor, and done a valiant act;\n  And they believed you all, but they never knew the fact.\n  You are tall enough and handsome, but cowardly and weak,\n  Thou tongue without a hand, how can you dare to speak?\n  There's the story of the lions should never be forgot;\n  Now let us hear, Fernando, what answer you have got?\n  The Cid was sleeping in his chair, with all his knights around;\n  The cry went forth along the hall that the lion was unbound.\n  What did you do, Fernando? Like a coward as you were,\n  You shrunk behind the Cid, and crouched beneath his chair.\n  We pressed around the throne to shield our loved from harm.\n  Till the good Cid awoke. He rose without alarm.\n  He went to meet the lion with his mantle on his arm.\n  The lion was abashed the noble Cid to meet;\n  He bowed his mane to the earth, his muzzle at his feet.\n  The Cid by the neck and the mane drew him to his den,\n  He thrust him in at the hatch, and came to the hall again.\n  He found his knights, his vassals, and all his valiant men.\n  He asked for his sons-in-law, they were neither of them there\n  I defy you for a coward and a traitor as you are.'\"\n\n\n\n\n\nLAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA.\n\n\nOn the 16th of July, 1212, was fought the great battle which broke the\nMoorish power in Spain. During the two centuries before fresh streams of\ninvasion had flowed in from Africa to yield new life to the Moslem power.\nFrom time to time in the Mohammedan world reforms have sprung up, and been\ncarried far and wide by fanaticism and the sword. One such body of\nreformers, the Almoravides, invaded Spain in the eleventh century and\ncarried all before it. It was with these that the Cid Campeador had to\ndeal. A century later a new reformer, calling himself El Mahdi, appeared\nin Africa, and set going a movement which overflowed the African states\nand made its way into Spain, where it subdued the Moslem kingdoms and\nthreatened the Christian states. These invaders were known as the\nAlmohades. They were pure Moors. The Arab movement had lost its strength,\nand from that time forward the Moslem dominions in Spain were peopled\nchiefly by Moors.\n\nSpain was threatened now as France had been threatened centuries before\nwhen Charles Martel crushed the Arab hordes on the plains of Tours. All\nChristendom felt the danger and Pope Innocent III. preached a crusade for\nthe defence of Spain against the infidel. In response, thousands of armed\ncrusaders flocked into Spain, coming in corps, in bands, and as\nindividuals, and gathered about Toledo, the capital of Alfonso VIII., King\nof Castile. From all the surrounding nations they came, and camped in the\nrich country about the capital, a host which Alfonso had much ado to feed.\n\nMohammed An-Nassir, the emperor of the Almohades, responded to the effort\nof the Pope by organizing a crusade in Moslem Africa. He proclaimed an\n_Algihed_, or Holy War, ordered a massacre of all the Christians in his\ndominions, and then led the fanatical murderers to Spain to join the\nforces there in arms. Christian Europe was pitted against Moslem Africa in\na holy war, Spain the prize of victory, and the plains of Andalusia the\narena of the coming desperate strife.\n\nThe decisive moment was at hand. Mohammed left Morocco and reached Seville\nin June. His new levies were pouring into Spain in hosts. On the 21st of\nJune Alfonso began his advance, leading southward a splendid array.\nArchbishops and bishops headed the army. In the van marched a mighty force\nof fifty thousand men under Don Diego Lopez de Haro, ten thousand of them\nbeing cavalry. After them came the troops of the kings of Aragon and\nCastile, each a distinct army. Next came the knights of St. John of\nCalatrava and the knights of Santiago, their grand-masters leading, and\nafter them many other bodies, including troops from Italy and Germany.\nSuch a gallant host Spain had rarely seen. It was needed, for the peril\nwas great. While one hundred thousand marched under the Christian banners,\nthe green standard of the prophet, if we may credit the historians, rose\nbefore an army nearly four times as large.\n\n    [Illustration: ALFONSO VIII. HARANGUING HIS TROOPS UPON THE EVE OF\n                                 BATTLE.]\n\n       ALFONSO VIII. HARANGUING HIS TROOPS UPON THE EVE OF BATTLE.\n\n\nWithout dwelling on the events of the march, we may hasten forward to the\n12th of July, when the host of Alfonso reached the vicinity of the Moorish\narmy, and the Navas de Tolosa, the destined field of battle, lay near at\nhand. The word _navas_ means \"plains.\" Here, on a sloping spur of the\nSierra Morena, in the upper valley of the Guadalquiver, about seventy\nmiles east of Cordova, lies an extended table-land, a grand plateau whose\nsomewhat sloping surface gave ample space for the vast hosts which met\nthere on that far-off July day.\n\nTo reach the plateau was the problem before Alfonso. The Moslems held the\nground, and occupied in force the pass of Losa, Nature's highway to the\nplain. What was to be done? The pass could be won, if at all, only at\ngreat cost in life. No other pass was known. To retire would be to\ninspirit the enemy and dispirit the Christian host. No easy way out of the\nquandary at first appeared, but a way was found,--by miracle, the writers\nof that time say; but it hardly seems a miracle that a shepherd of the\nregion knew of another mountain-pass. This man, Martin Halaja, had grazed\nhis flocks in that vicinity for years. He told the king of a pass unknown\nto the enemy, by which the army might reach the table-land, and to prove\nhis words led Lopez de Haro and another through this little-known mountain\nby-way. It was difficult but passable, the army was put in motion and\ntraversed it all night long, and on the morning of the 14th of July the\nastonished eyes of the Mohammedans gazed on the Christian host, holding in\nforce the borders of the plateau, and momentarily increasing in numbers\nand strength. Ten miles before the eyes of Alfonso and his men stretched\nthe plain, level in the centre, in the distance rising in gentle slopes to\nits border of hills, like a vast natural amphitheatre. The soldiers,\nfilled with hope and enthusiasm, spread through their ranks the story that\nthe shepherd who had led them was an angel, sent by the Almighty to lead\nhis people to victory over the infidel.\n\nMohammed and his men had been told on the previous day by their scouts\nthat the camp of the Christians was breaking up, and rejoiced in what\nseemed a victory without a blow. But when they saw these same Christians\ndefiling in thousands before them on the plain, ranged in battle array\nunder their various standards, their joy was changed to rage and\nconsternation. Against the embattled front their wild riders rode,\nthreatening the steady troops with brandished lances and taunting them\nwith cowardice. But Alfonso held his mail-clad battalions firm, and the\nlight-armed Moorish horsemen hesitated to attack. Word was brought to\nMohammed that the Christians would not fight, and in hasty gratulation he\nsent off letters to cities in the rear to that effect. He little dreamed\nthat he was soon to follow his messengers in swifter speed.\n\nIt was a splendid array upon which the Christians gazed,--one well\ncalculated to make them tremble for the result,--for the hosts of Mohammed\ncovered the hill-sides and plain like \"countless swarms of locusts.\" On an\neminence which gave an outlook over the whole broad space stood the\nemperor's tent, of three-ply crimson velvet flecked with gold, strings of\npearls depending from its purple fringes. To guard it from assault rows of\niron chains were stretched, before which stood three thousand camels in\nline. In front of these ten thousand negroes formed a living wall, their\nfront bristling with the steel of their lances, whose butts were planted\nfirmly in the sand. In the centre of this powerful guard stood the\nemperor, wearing the green dress and turban of his ancestral line.\nGrasping in one hand his scimitar, in the other he held a Koran, from\nwhich he read those passages of inspiration to the Moslems which promised\nthe delights of Paradise to those who should fall in a holy war and the\ntorments of hell to the coward who should desert his ranks.\n\nThe next day was Sunday. The Moslems, eager for battle, stood all day in\nline, but the Christians declined to fight, occupying themselves in\narranging their different corps. Night descended without a skirmish. But\nthis could not continue with the two armies so closely face to face. One\nside or the other must surely attack on the following day. At midnight\nheralds called the Christians to mass and prayer. Everywhere priests were\nbusy confessing and shriving the soldiers. The sound of the furbishing of\narms mingled with the strains of religious service. At the dawn of the\nnext day both hosts were drawn up in battle array. The great struggle was\nabout to begin.\n\nThe army of the Moors, said to contain three hundred thousand regular\ntroops and seventy-five thousand irregulars, was drawn up in crescent\nshape in front of the imperial tent,--in the centre the vast host of the\nAlmohades, the tribes of the desert on the wings, in advance the\nlight-armed troops. The Christian host was formed in four legions, King\nAlfonso occupying the centre, his banner bearing an effigy of the Virgin.\nWith him were Rodrigo Ximenes, the archbishop of Toledo, and many other\nprelates. The force was less than one hundred thousand strong, some of the\ncrusaders having left it in the march.\n\nThe sun was not high when the loud sound of the Christian trumpets and the\nMoorish _atabals_ gave signal for the fray, and the two hosts surged\nforward to meet in fierce assault. Sternly and fiercely the battle went\non, the struggling multitudes swaying in the ardor of the fight,--now the\nChristians, now the Moslems surging forward or driven back. With\ndifficulty the thin ranks of the Christians bore the onsets of their\ndensely grouped foes, and at length King Alfonso, in fear for the result,\nturned to the prelate Rodrigo and exclaimed,--\n\n\"Archbishop, you and I must die here.\"\n\n\"Not so,\" cried the bold churchman. \"Here we must triumph over our\nenemies.\"\n\n\"Then let us to the van, where we are sorely needed, for, indeed, our\nlines are being bitterly pressed.\"\n\nNothing backward, the archbishop followed the king. Fernan Garcia, one of\nthe king's cavaliers, urged him to wait for aid, but Alfonso, commending\nhimself to God and the Virgin, spurred forward and plunged into the thick\nof the fight. And ever as he rode, by his side rode the archbishop,\nwearing his chasuble and bearing aloft the cross. The Moorish troops, who\nhad been jeering at the king and the cross-bearing prelate, drew back\nbefore this impetuous assault, which was given force by the troops who\ncrowded in to the rescue of the king. The Moors soon yielded to the\ndesperate onset, and were driven back in wild disarray.\n\nThis was the beginning of the end. Treason in the Moorish ranks came to\nthe Christian aid. Some of Mohammed's force, who hated him for having\ncruelly slain their chief, turned and fled. The breaking of their centre\nopened a way for the Spaniards to the living fortress which guarded the\nimperial tent, and on this dense line of sable lancers the Christian\ncavalry madly charged.\n\nIn vain they sought to break that serried line of steel. Some even turned\ntheir horses and tried to back them in, but without avail. Many fell in\nthe attempt. The Moslem ranks seemed impervious. In the end one man did\nwhat a host had failed to perform. A single cavalier, Alvar Nu\u00f1ez de Lara,\nstole in between the negroes and the camels, in some way passed the\nchains, and with a cheer of triumph raised his banner in the interior of\nthe line. A second and a third followed in his track. The gap between the\ncamels and the guard widened. Dozens, hundreds rushed to join their daring\nleader. The camels were loosened and dispersed; the negroes, attacked\nfront and rear, perished or fled; the living wall that guarded the emperor\nwas gone, and his sacred person was in peril.\n\nMohammed was dazed. His lips still repeated from the Koran, \"God alone is\ntrue, and Satan is a betrayer,\" but terror was beginning to stir the roots\nof his hair. An Arab rode up on a swift mare, and, springing to the\nground, cried,--\n\n\"Mount and flee, O king. Not thy steed but my mare. She comes of the\nnoblest breed, and knows not how to fail her rider in his need. All is\nlost! Mount and flee!\"\n\nAll was lost, indeed. Mohammed scrambled up and set off at the best speed\nof the Arabian steed, followed by his troops in a panic of terror. The\nrout was complete. While day continued the Christian horsemen followed and\nstruck, until the bodies of slain Moors lay so thick upon the plain that\nthere was scarce room for man or horse to pass. Then Archbishop Rodrigo,\nwho had done so much towards the victory, stood before Mohammed's tent and\nin a loud voice intoned the _Te Deum laudamus_, the soldiers uniting in\nthe sacred chant of victory.\n\nThe archbishop, who became the historian of this decisive battle, speaks\nof two hundred thousand Moslem slain. We cannot believe it so many,\ndespite the historian's statement. Twenty-five Christians alone fell. This\nis as much too small as the other estimate is too large. But, whatever the\nlosses, it was a great and glorious victory, and the spoils of war that\nfell to the victors were immense. Gold and silver were there in abundance;\nhorses, camels, and wagons in profusion; arms of all kinds, commissary\nstores in quantities. So vast was the number of lances strewn on the\nground that the conquering army used only these for firewood in their\ncamp, and did not burn the half of them.\n\nKing Alfonso, with a wise and prudent liberality, divided the spoil among\nhis troops and allies, keeping only the glory of the victory for himself.\nMohammed's splendid tent was taken to Rome to adorn St. Peter's, and the\ncaptured banners were sent to the cities of Spain as evidences of the\ngreat victory. For himself, the king reserved a fine emerald, which he\nplaced in the centre of his shield. Ever since that brilliant day in\nSpanish annals, the sixteenth of July has been kept as a holy festival, in\nwhich the captured banners are carried in grand procession, to celebrate\nthe \"Triumph of the Cross.\"\n\nThe supposed miracle of the shepherd was not the only one which the\nmonastic writers saw in the victorious event. It was said that a red\ncross, like that of Calatrava, appeared in the sky, inspiriting the\nChristians and dismaying their foes; and that the sight of the Virgin\nbanner borne by the king's standard-bearer struck the Moslems with terror.\nIt was a credulous age, one in which reputed miracles could be woven out\nof the most homely and every-day material.\n\nDeath soon came to the leaders in the war. Mohammed, sullen with defeat,\nhurried to Morocco, where he shut himself up in gloomy seclusion, and\ndied--or was poisoned--before the year's end. Alfonso died two years later.\nThe Christians did not follow up their victory with much energy, and the\nMoslems still held a large section of Spain, but their power had\nculminated and with this signal defeat began its decline. Step by step\nthey yielded before the Christian advance, though nearly three centuries\nmore passed before they lost their final hold on Spain.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE KEY OF GRANADA.\n\n\nNearly eight hundred years had passed away after the landing of Tarik, the\nArab, in Spain and the defeat and death of Don Roderic, the last king of\nthe Goths. During those centuries the handful of warriors which in the\nmountains of the north had made a final stand against the invading hordes\nhad grown and spread, pushing back the Arabs and Moors, until now the\nChristians held again nearly all the land, the sole remnant of Moslem\ndominion being the kingdom of Granada in the south. The map of Spain shows\nthe present province of Granada as a narrow district bordering on the\nMediterranean Sea, but the Moorish kingdom covered a wider space,\nspreading over the present provinces of Malaga and Almeria, and occupying\none of the richest sections of Spain. It was a rock-bound region. In every\ndirection ran sierras, or rugged mountain-chains, so rocky and steep as to\nmake the kingdom almost impregnable. Yet within their sterile confines lay\nnumbers of deep and rich valleys, prodigal in their fertility.\n\nIn the centre of the kingdom arose its famous capital, the populous and\nbeautiful city of Granada, standing in the midst of a great vega or plain,\none hundred miles and more in circumference and encompassed by the snowy\nmountains of the Sierra Nevada. The seventy thousand houses of the city\nspread over two lofty hills and occupied the valley between them, through\nwhich ran the waters of the Douro. On one of these hills stood the\nAlcazaba, a strong fortress; on the other rose the famous Alhambra, a\nroyal palace and castle, with space within its confines for forty thousand\nmen, and so rare and charming in its halls and courts, its gardens and\nfountains, that it remains to-day a place of pilgrimage to the world for\nlovers of the beautiful in architecture. And from these hills the city\nbetween showed no less attractive, with its groves of citron, orange, and\npomegranate trees, its leaping fountains, its airy minarets, its mingled\naspect of crowded dwellings and verdant gardens.\n\nHigh walls, three leagues in circuit, with twelve gates and a thousand and\nthirty towers, girded it round, beyond which extended the vega, a vast\ngarden of delight, to be compared only with the famous plain of Damascus.\nThrough it the Xenil wound in silvery curves, its waters spread over the\nplain in thousands of irrigating streams and rills. Blooming gardens and\nfields of waving grain lent beauty to the plain; orchards and vineyards\nclothed the slopes of the hills; in the orange and citron groves the voice\nof the nightingale made the nights musical. In short, all was so beautiful\nbelow and so soft and serene above that the Moors seemed not without\nwarrant for their fond belief that Paradise lay in the skies overhanging\nthis happy plain.\n\nBut, alas for Granada! war hung round its borders, and the blare of the\ntrumpet and clash of the sword were ever familiar sounds within its\nconfines. Christian kingdoms surrounded it, whose people envied the\nMoslems this final abiding-place on the soil of Spain. Hostilities were\nceaseless on the borders; plundering forays were the delight of the\nCastilian cavaliers and the Moorish horsemen. Every town was a fortress,\nand on every peak stood a watch-tower, ready to give warning with a signal\nfire by night or a cloud of smoke by day of any movement of invasion. For\nmany years such a state of affairs continued between Granada and its\nprincipal antagonist, the united kingdoms of Castile and Leon. Even when,\nin 1457, a Moorish king, disheartened by a foray into the vega itself,\nmade a truce with Henry IV., king of Castile and Leon, and agreed to pay\nhim an annual tribute, the right of warlike raids was kept open. It was\nonly required that they must be conducted secretly, without sound of\ntrumpet or show of banners, and must not continue more than three days.\nSuch a state of affairs was desired alike by the Castilian and Moorish\nchivalry, who loved these displays of daring and gallantry, and enjoyed\nnothing more than a crossing of swords with their foes. In 1465 a Moorish\nprince, Muley Abul Hassan, a man who enjoyed war and hated the Christians,\ncame to the throne, and at once the tribute ceased to be paid. For some\nyears still the truce continued, for Ferdinand and Isabella, the new\nmonarchs of Spain, had troubles at home to keep them engaged. But in 1481\nthe war reopened with more than its old fury, and was continued until\nGranada fell in 1492, the year in which the wise Isabella gave aid to\nColumbus for the discovery of an unknown world beyond the seas.\n\nThe war for the conquest of Granada was one full of stirring adventure and\nhair-breadth escapes, of forays and sieges, of the clash of swords and the\nbrandishing of spears. It was no longer fought by Spain on the principle\nof the raid,--to dash in, kill, plunder, and speed away with clatter of\nhoofs and rattle of spurs. It was Ferdinand's policy to take and hold,\ncapturing stronghold after stronghold until all Granada was his. In a\nmemorable pun on the name of Granada, which signifies a pomegranate, he\nsaid, \"I will pick out the seeds of this pomegranate one by one.\"\n\nMuley Abul Hassan, the new Moorish king, began the work, foolishly\nbreaking the truce which Ferdinand wished a pretext to bring to an end. On\na dark night in 1481 he fell suddenly on Zahara, a mountain town on the\nChristian frontier, so strong in itself that it was carelessly guarded. It\nwas taken by surprise, its inhabitants were carried off as slaves, and a\nstrong Moorish garrison was left to hold it.\n\nThe Moors paid dearly for their daring assault. The Christians retaliated\nby an attack on the strong and rich city of Alhama, a stronghold within\nthe centre of the kingdom, only a few leagues distant from the capital\nitself. Strongly situated on a rocky height, with a river nearly\nsurrounding it and a fortress seated on a steep crag above it, and far\nwithin the border, no dream of danger to Alhama came to the mind of the\nMoors, who contented themselves with a small garrison and a negligent\nguard.\n\nBut the loss of Zahara had exasperated Ferdinand. His wars at home were\nover and he had time to attend to the Moors, and scouts had brought word\nof the careless security of the guard of Alhama. It could be reached by a\ndifficult and little-travelled route through the defiles of the mountains,\nand there were possibilities that a secret and rapid march might lead to\nits surprise.\n\nAt the head of the enterprise was Don Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, Marquis of\nCadiz, the most distinguished champion in the war that followed. With a\nselect force of three thousand light cavalry and four thousand infantry,\nadherents of several nobles who attended the expedition, the mountains\nwere traversed with the greatest secrecy and celerity, the marches being\nmade mainly by night and the troops remaining quiet and concealed during\nthe day. No fires were made and no noise was permitted, and midnight of\nthe third day found the invaders in a small, deep valley not far from the\nfated town. Only now were the troops told what was in view. They had\nsupposed that they were on an ordinary foray. The inspiring tidings filled\nthem with ardor, and they demanded to be led at once to the assault.\n\nTwo hours before daybreak the army was placed in ambush close to Alhama,\nand a body of three hundred picked men set out on the difficult task of\nscaling the walls of the castle and surprising its garrison. The ascent\nwas steep and very difficult, but they were guided by one who had\ncarefully studied the situation on a previous secret visit and knew what\npaths to take. Following him they reached the foot of the castle walls\nwithout discovery.\n\nHere, under the dark shadow of the towers, they halted and listened. There\nwas not a sound to be heard, not a light to be seen; sleep seemed to brood\nover castle and town. The ladders were placed and the men noiselessly\nascended, Ortega, the guide, going first. The parapet reached, they moved\nstealthily along its summit until they came upon a sleepy sentinel.\nSeizing him by the throat, Ortega flourished a dagger before his eyes and\nbade him point the way to the guard-room. The frightened Moor obeyed, and\na dagger thrust ended all danger of his giving an alarm. In a minute more\nthe small scaling party was in the guard-room, massacring the sleeping\ngarrison, while the remainder of the three hundred were rapidly ascending\nto the battlements.\n\nSome of the awakened Moors fought desperately for their lives, the clash\nof arms and cries of the combatants came loudly from the castle, and the\nambushed army, finding that the surprise had been effective, rushed from\ntheir lurking-place with shouts and the sound of trumpets and drums,\nhoping thereby to increase the dismay of the garrison. Ortega at length\nfought his way to a postern, which he threw open, admitting the Marquis of\nCadiz and a strong following, who quickly overcame all opposition, the\ncitadel being soon in full possession of the Christians.\n\nWhile this went on the town took the alarm. The garrison had been\ndestroyed in the citadel, but all the Moors, citizens and soldiers alike,\nwere accustomed to weapons and warlike in spirit, and, looking for speedy\naid from Granada, eight leagues away, the tradesmen manned the battlements\nand discharged showers of stones and arrows upon the Christians wherever\nvisible. The streets leading to the citadel were barricaded, and a steady\nfire was maintained upon its gate, all who attempted to sally into the\ncity being shot down.\n\nIt began to appear as if the Spaniards had taken too great a risk. Their\nperil was great. Unless they gained the town they must soon be starved out\nof the castle. Some of them declared that they could not hope to hold the\ntown even if they took it, and proposed to sack and burn the castle and\nmake good their retreat before the king of Granada could reach them with\nhis forces.\n\nThis weak-hearted counsel was not to the taste of the valiant Ponce de\nLeon. \"God has given us the castle,\" he said, \"and He will aid us in\nholding it. We won it with bloodshed; it would be a stain upon our honor\nto abandon it through fear. We knew our peril before we came; let us face\nit boldly.\"\n\nHis words prevailed, and the army was led to the assault, planting their\nscaling-ladders against the walls and swarming up to attack the Moors upon\nthe ramparts. The Marquis of Cadiz, finding that the gate of the castle\nwas commanded by the artillery of the town, ordered a breach to be made in\nthe wall; and through this, sword in hand, he led a body of troops into\nthe town. At the same time an assault was made from every point, and the\nbattle raged with the greatest fury at the ramparts and in the streets.\n\nThe Moors, who fought for life, liberty, and property, defended themselves\nwith desperation, fighting in the streets and from the windows and roofs\nof their houses. From morning until night the contest continued; then,\noverpowered, the townsmen sought shelter in a large mosque near the walls,\nwhence they kept up so hot a flight of arrows and lances that the\nassailants dared not approach. Finally, protected by bucklers and wooden\nshields, some of the soldiers succeeded in setting fire to the door of the\nmosque. As the flames rolled upward the Moors, deeming that all was lost,\nrushed desperately out. Many of them were killed in this final fight; the\nrest surrendered as prisoners.\n\nThe struggle was at an end; the town lay at the mercy of the Spaniards; it\nwas given up to plunder, and immense was the booty taken. Gold and silver,\nrare jewels, rich silks, and costly goods were found in abundance; horses\nand cattle, grain, oil, and honey, all the productions of the kingdom, in\nfact, were there in quantities; for Alhama was the richest town in the\nMoorish territory, and from its strength and situation was called the Key\nof Granada. The soldiers were not content with plunder. Thinking that they\ncould not hold the place, they destroyed all they could not carry away.\nHuge jars of oil were shattered, costly furniture was demolished, much\nmaterial of the greatest value was destroyed. In the dungeons were found\nmany of the Christian captives who had been taken at Zahara, and who\ngladly gained their freedom again.\n\nThe loss of Alhama was a terrible blow to the kingdom of Granada. Terror\nfilled the citizens of the capital when the news reached that city. Sighs\nand lamentations came from all sides, the mournful ejaculation, \"Woe is\nme, Alhama!\" was in every mouth, and this afterwards became the burden of\na plaintive ballad, \"_Ay de mi, Alhama_,\" which remains among the gems of\nSpanish poetry.\n\nAbul Hassan, full of wrath at the daring presumption of his foes, hastened\nat the head of more than fifty thousand men against the city, driving back\na force that was marching to the aid of the Christians, attacking the\nwalls with the fiercest fury, and cutting off the stream upon which the\ncity depended for water, thus threatening the defenders with death by\nthirst. Yet, though in torments, they fought with unyielding desperation,\nand held their own until the duke of Medina Sidonia, a bitter enemy of the\nMarquis of Cadiz in peace, but his comrade in war, came with a large army\nto his aid. King Ferdinand was hastening thither with all speed, and the\nMoorish monarch, after a last fierce assault upon the city, broke up his\ncamp and retreated in despair. From that time to the end of the contest\nthe Christians held the \"Key of Granada,\" a threatening stronghold in the\nheart of the land, from which they raided the vega at will, and exhausted\nthe resources of the kingdom. \"_Ay de mi, Alhama!_\"\n\n\n\n\n\nKING ABUL HASSAN AND THE ALCAIDE OF GIBRALTAR.\n\n\nMuley Abul Hassan, the warlike king of Granada, weary of having his lands\nraided and his towns taken, resolved to repay the Christians in kind. The\nDuke of Medina Sidonia had driven him from captured Alhama. He owed this\nmighty noble a grudge, and the opportunity to repay it seemed at hand. The\nduke had led his forces to the aid of King Ferdinand, who was making a\nforay into Moorish territory. He had left almost unguarded his\nfar-spreading lands, wide pasture plains covered thickly with flocks and\nherds and offering a rare opportunity for a hasty foray.\n\n\"I will give this cavalier a lesson that will cure him of his love for\ncampaigning,\" said the fierce old king.\n\nLeaving his port of Malaga at the head of fifteen hundred horse and six\nthousand foot, the Moorish monarch followed the sea-shore route to the\nborder of his dominions, entering Christian territory between Gibraltar\nand Castellar. There was only one man in this quarter of whom he had any\nfear. This was Pedro de Vargas, governor of Gibraltar, a shrewd and\nvigilant old soldier, whose daring Abul Hassan well knew, but knew also\nthat his garrison was too small to serve for a successful sally.\n\nThe alert Moor, however, advanced with great caution, sending out parties\nto explore every pass where an ambush might await him, since, despite his\nsecrecy, the news of his coming might have gone before. At length the\nbroken country of Castellar was traversed and the plains were reached.\nEncamping on the banks of the Celemin, he sent four hundred lancers to the\nvicinity of Algeciras to keep a close watch upon Gibraltar across the bay,\nto attack Pedro if he sallied out, and to send word to the camp if any\nmovement took place. This force was four times that said to be in\nGibraltar. Remaining on the Celemin with his main body of troops, King\nHassan sent two hundred horsemen to scour the plain of Tarifa, and as many\nmore to the lands of Medina Sidonia, the whole district being a rich\npasture land upon which thousands of animals grazed.\n\nAll went well. The parties of foragers came in, driving vast flocks and\nherds, enough to replace those which had been swept from the vega of\nGranada by the foragers of Spain. The troops on watch at Algeciras sent\nword that all was quiet at Gibraltar. Satisfied that for once Pedro de\nVargas had been foiled, the old king called in his detachments and started\nback in triumph with his spoils.\n\nHe was mistaken. The vigilant governor had been advised of his movements,\nbut was too weak in men to leave his post. Fortunately for him, a squadron\nof the armed galleys in the strait put into port, and, their commander\nagreeing to take charge of Gibraltar in his absence, Pedro sallied out at\nmidnight with seventy of his men, bent upon giving the Moors what trouble\nhe could.\n\nSending men to the mountain-tops, he had alarm fires kindled as a signal\nto the peasants that the Moors were out and their herds in peril. Couriers\nwere also despatched at speed to rouse the country and bid all capable of\nbearing arms to rendezvous at Castellar, a stronghold which Abul Hassan\nwould have to pass on his return. The Moorish king saw the fire signals\nand knew well what they meant. Striking his tents, he began as hasty a\nretreat as his slow-moving multitude of animals would permit. In advance\nrode two hundred and fifty of his bravest men. Then came the great drove\nof cattle. In the rear marched the main army, with Abul Hassan at its\nhead. And thus they moved across the broken country towards Castellar.\n\nNear that place De Vargas was on the watch, a thick and lofty cloud of\ndust revealing to him the position of the Moors. A half-league of hills\nand declivities separated the van and the rear of the raiding column, a\nlong, dense forest rising between. De Vargas saw that they were in no\nposition to aid each other quickly, and that something might come of a\nsudden and sharp attack. Selecting the best fifty of his small force, he\nmade a circuit towards a place which he knew to be suitable for ambush.\nHere a narrow glen opened into a defile with high, steep sides. It was the\nonly route open to the Moors, and he proposed to let the vanguard and the\nherds pass and fall upon the rear.\n\nThe Moors, however, were on the alert. While the Spaniards lay hidden, six\nmounted scouts entered the defile and rode into the mouth of the glen,\nkeenly looking to right and left for a concealed enemy. They came so near\nthat a minute or two more must reveal to them the ambush.\n\n\"Let us kill these men and retreat to Gibraltar,\" said one of the\nSpaniards; \"the infidels are far too many for us.\"\n\n\"I have come for larger game than this,\" answered De Vargas, \"and, by the\naid of God and Santiago, I will not go back without making my mark. I know\nthese Moors, and will show you how they stand a sudden charge.\"\n\nThe scouts were riding deeper into the glen. The ambush could no longer be\nconcealed. At a quick order from De Vargas ten horsemen rushed so suddenly\nupon them that four of their number were in an instant hurled to the\nground. The other two wheeled and rode back at full speed, hotly pursued\nby the ten men. Their dashing pace soon brought them in sight of the\nvanguard of the Moors, from which about eighty horsemen rode out to the\naid of their friends. The Spaniards turned and clattered back, with this\nforce in sharp pursuit. In a minute or two both parties came at a furious\nrush into the glen.\n\nThis was what De Vargas had foreseen. Bidding his trumpeter to sound, he\ndashed from his concealment at the head of his men, drawn up in close\narray. They were upon the Moors almost before they were seen, their\nweapons making havoc in the disordered ranks. The skirmish was short and\nsharp. The Moors, taken by surprise, and thrown into confusion, fell\nrapidly, their ranks being soon so thinned that scarce half of them turned\nin the retreat.\n\n\"After them!\" cried De Vargas. \"We will have a brush with the vanguard\nbefore the rear can come up.\"\n\nOnward after the flying Moors rode the gallant fifty, coming with such\nforce and fury on the advance-guard that many were overturned in the first\nshock. Those behind held their own with some firmness, but their leaders,\nthe alcaides of Marabella and Casares, being slain, the line gave way and\nfled towards the rear-guard, passing through the droves of cattle, which\nthey threw into utter confusion.\n\nNothing further could be done. The trampling cattle had filled the air\nwith a blinding cloud of dust. De Vargas was badly wounded. A few minutes\nmight bring up the Moorish king with an overwhelming force. Despoiling the\nslain, and taking with them some thirty horses, the victorious Spaniards\nrode in triumph back to Castellar.\n\nThe Moorish king, hearing the exaggerated report of the fugitives, feared\nthat all Xeres was up and in arms.\n\n\"Our road is blocked,\" cried some of his officers. \"We had better abandon\nthe animals and seek another route for our return.\"\n\n\"Not so,\" cried the old king; \"no true soldier gives up his booty without\na blow. Follow me; we will have a brush with these dogs of Christians.\"\n\nIn hot haste he galloped onward, right through the centre of the herd,\ndriving the cattle to right and left. On reaching the field of battle he\nfound no Spaniard in sight, but dozens of his own men lay dead and\ndespoiled, among them the two alcaides. The sight filled the warlike old\nking with rage. Confident that his foes had taken refuge in Castellar, he\nrode on to that place, set fire to two houses near its walls, and sent a\nshower of arrows into its streets. Pedro de Vargas was past taking to\nhorse, but he ordered his men to make a sally, and a sharp skirmish took\nplace under the walls. In the end the king drew off to the scene of the\nfight, buried the dead except the alcaides, whose bodies were laid on\nmules to be interred at Malaga, and, gathering the scattered herds, drove\nthem past the walls of Castellar by way of taunting the Christian foe.\n\nYet the stern old Moorish warrior could thoroughly appreciate valor and\ndaring even in an enemy.\n\n\"What are the revenues of the alcaide of Gibraltar?\" he asked of two\nChristian captives he had taken.\n\n\"We know not,\" they replied, \"except that he is entitled to one animal out\nof every drove of cattle that passes his bounds.\"\n\n\"Then Allah forbid that so brave a cavalier should be defrauded of his\ndues.\"\n\nHe gave orders to select twelve of the finest cattle from the twelve\ndroves that formed the herd of spoil, and directed that they should be\ndelivered to Pedro de Vargas.\n\n\"Tell him,\" said the king, \"that I beg his pardon for not sending these\ncattle sooner, but have just learned they are his dues, and hasten to\nsatisfy them in courtesy to so worthy a cavalier. Tell him, at the same\ntime, that I did not know the alcaide of Gibraltar was so vigilant in\ncollecting his tolls.\"\n\nThe soldierly pleasantry of the old king was much to the taste of the\nbrave De Vargas, and called for a worthy return. He bade his men deliver a\nrich silken vest and a scarlet mantle to the messenger, to be presented to\nthe Moorish king.\n\n\"Tell his majesty,\" he said, \"that I kiss his hands for the honor he has\ndone me, and regret that my scanty force was not fitted to give him a more\nsignal reception. Had three hundred horsemen, whom I have been promised\nfrom Xeres, arrived in time, I might have served him up an entertainment\nmore befitting his station. They may arrive during the night, in which\ncase his majesty, the king, may look for a royal service in the morning.\"\n\n\"Allah preserve us,\" cried the king, on receiving this message, \"from a\nbrush with these hard riders of Xeres! A handful of troops familiar with\nthese wild mountain-passes may destroy an army encumbered like ours with\nbooty.\"\n\nIt was a relief to the king to find that De Vargas was too sorely wounded\nto take the field in person. A man like him at the head of an adequate\nforce might have given no end of trouble. During the day the retreat was\npushed with all speed, the herds being driven with such haste that they\nwere frequently broken and scattered among the mountain defiles, the\nresult being that more than five thousand cattle were lost, being gathered\nup again by the Christians.\n\nThe king returned triumphantly to Malaga with the remainder, rejoicing in\nhis triumph over the Duke of Medina Sidonia, and having taught King\nFerdinand that the game of ravaging an enemy's country was one at which\ntwo could play.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE RIVAL KINGS OF GRANADA.\n\n\n\"In the hand of God is the destiny of princes. He alone giveth empire,\"\npiously says an old Arabian chronicler, and goes on with the following\nstory: A Moorish horseman, mounted on a fleet Arabian steed, was one day\ntraversing the mountains which extend between Granada and the frontier of\nMurcia. He galloped swiftly through the valleys, but paused and gazed\ncautiously from the summit of every height. A squadron of cavaliers\nfollowed warily at a distance. There were fifty lances. The richness of\ntheir armor and attire showed them to be warriors of noble rank, and their\nleader had a lofty and prince-like demeanor.\n\nFor two nights and a day the cavalcade made its way through that rugged\ncountry, avoiding settled places and choosing the most solitary passes of\nthe mountains. Their hardships were severe, but campaigning was their\ntrade and their horses were of generous spirit. It was midnight when they\nleft the hills and rode through darkness and silence to the city of\nGranada, under the shadows of whose high walls they passed to the gate of\nthe Albaycin. Here the leader ordered his followers to halt and remain\nconcealed. Taking four or five with him, he advanced to the gate and\nstruck upon it with the handle of his scimitar.\n\n\"Who is it knocks at this unseasonable hour of the night?\" demanded the\nwarder within.\n\n\"Your king,\" was the answer. \"Open and admit him.\"\n\nOpening a wicket, the warder held forth a light and looked at the man\nwithout. Recognizing him at a glance, he opened the gate, and the\ncavalier, who had feared a less favorable reception, rode in with his\nfollowers and galloped in haste to the hill of the Albaycin, where the\nnew-comers knocked loudly at the doors of the principal dwellings, bidding\ntheir tenants to rise and take arms for their lawful sovereign. The\nsummons was obeyed. Trumpets soon resounded in the streets; the gleam of\ntorches lit the dark avenues and flashed upon naked steel. From right and\nleft the Moors came hurrying to the rendezvous. By daybreak the whole\nforce of the Albaycin was under arms, ready to meet in battle the hostile\narray on the opposite height of the Alhambra.\n\nTo tell what this midnight movement meant we must go back a space in\nhistory. The conquest of Granada was not due to Ferdinand and the\nSpaniards alone. It was greatly aided by the dissensions of the Moors, who\nwere divided into two parties and fought bitterly with each other during\ntheir intervals of truce with the Christians. Ferdinand won in the game\nlargely by a shrewd playing off of one of these factions against the other\nand by taking advantage of the weakness and vacillation of the young king,\nwhose clandestine entrance to the city we have just seen.\n\nBoabdil el Chico, or Boabdil the Young, as he was called, was the son of\nMuley Abul Hassan, against whom he had rebelled, and with such effect\nthat, after a bloody battle in the streets of the city, the old king was\ndriven without its walls. His tyranny had caused the people to gather\nround his son.\n\nFrom that time forward there was dissension and civil war in Granada, and\nthe quarrels of its kings paved the way for the downfall of the state. The\ncountry was divided into the two factions of the young and the old kings.\nIn the city the hill of the Albaycin, with its fortress of the Alcazaba,\nwas the stronghold of Boabdil, while the partisans of Abul Hassan dwelt on\nthe height of the Alhambra, the lower town between being the battle-ground\nof the rival factions.\n\nThe succeeding events were many, but must be told in few words. King\nBoabdil, to show his prowess to the people, marched over the border to\nattack the city of Lucena. As a result he was himself assailed, his army\nput to the rout, and himself taken prisoner by the forces of Ferdinand of\nAragon. To regain his liberty he acknowledged himself a vassal of the\nSpanish monarch, to whom he agreed to pay tribute. On his release he made\nhis way to the city of Granada, but his adherents were so violently\nassailed by those of his father that the streets of the city ran blood,\nand Boabdil the Unlucky, as he was now called, found it advisable to leave\nthe capital and fix his residence in Almeria, a large and splendid city\nwhose people were devoted to him.\n\nAs the years went on Muley Abul Hassan became sadly stricken with age. He\ngrew nearly blind and was bed-ridden with paralysis. His brother Abdallah,\nknown as El Zagal, or \"The Valiant,\" commander-in-chief of the Moorish\narmies, assumed his duties as a sovereign, and zealously took up the\nquarrel with his son. He attempted to surprise the young king at Almeria,\ndrove him out as a fugitive, and took possession of that city. At a later\ndate he endeavored to remove him by poison. It was this attempt that\nspurred Boabdil to the enterprise we have just described. El Zagal was now\nfull king in Granada, holding the Alhambra as his palace, and his nephew,\nwho had been a wanderer since his flight from Almeria, was instigated to\nmake a bold stroke for the throne.\n\nOn the day after the secret return of Boabdil battle raged in the streets\nof Granada, a fierce encounter taking place between the two kings in the\nsquare before the principal mosque. Hand to hand they fought with the\ngreatest fury till separated by the charges of their followers.\n\nFor days the conflict went on, death and turmoil ruling in Granada, such\nhatred existing between the two factions that neither side gave quarter.\nBoabdil was the weaker in men. Fearing defeat in consequence, he sent a\nmessenger to Don Fadrique de Toledo, the Christian commander on the\nborder, asking for assistance. Don Fadrique had been instructed by\nFerdinand to give what aid he could to the young king, the vassal of\nSpain, and responded to Boabdil's request by marching with a body of\ntroops to the vicinity of Granada. No sooner had Boabdil seen their\nadvancing banners than he sallied forth with a squadron to meet them. El\nZagal, who was equally on the alert, sallied forth at the same time, and\ndrew up his troops in battle array.\n\nThe wary Don Fadrique, in doubt as to the meaning of this double movement,\nand fearing treachery, halted at a safe distance, and drew off for the\nnight to a secure situation. Early the next morning a Moorish cavalier\napproached the sentinels and asked for an audience with Don Fadrique, as\nan envoy from El Zagal. The Christian troops, he said on behalf of the old\nking, had come to aid his nephew, but he was ready to offer them an\nalliance on better terms than those of Boabdil. Don Fadrique listened\ncourteously to the envoy, but for better assurance, determined to send a\nrepresentative to El Zagal himself, under protection of a flag. For this\npurpose he selected Don Juan de Vera, one of the most intrepid and\ndiscreet of his cavaliers, who had in years before been sent by King\nFerdinand on a mission to the Alhambra.\n\nDon Juan, on reaching the palace, was well received by the old king,\nholding an interview with him which extended so far into the night that it\nwas too late to return to camp, and he was lodged in a sumptuous apartment\nof the Alhambra. In the morning he was approached by one of the Moorish\ncourtiers, a man given to jest and satire, who invited him to take part in\na ceremony in the palace mosque. This invitation, given in jest, was\nreceived by the punctilious Catholic knight in earnest, and he replied,\nwith stern displeasure,--\n\n              [Illustration: KING CHARLES'S WELL, ALHAMBRA.]\n\n                      KING CHARLES'S WELL, ALHAMBRA.\n\n\n\"The servants of Queen Isabella of Castile, who bear on their armor the\ncross of St. Iago, never enter the temples of Mohammed, except to level\nthem to the earth and trample on them.\"\n\nThis discourteous reply was repeated by the courtier to a renegade, who,\nhaving newly adopted the Moorish faith, was eager to show his devotion to\nthe Moslem creed, and proposed to engage the hot-tempered Catholic knight\nin argument. Seeking Don Juan, they found him playing chess with the\nalcaide of the palace, and the renegade at once began to comment on the\nChristian religion in uncomplimentary terms. Don Juan was quick to anger,\nbut he restrained himself, and replied, with grave severity,--\n\n\"You would do well to cease talking about what you do not understand.\"\n\nThe renegade and his jesting companion replied in a series of remarks\nintended as wit, though full of insolence, Don Juan fuming inwardly as he\ncontinued to play. In the end they went too far, the courtier making an\nobscene comparison between the Virgin Mary and Amina, the mother of\nMohammed. In an instant the old knight sprang up, white with rage, and\ndashing aside chess-board and chessmen. Drawing his sword, he dealt such a\n\"_hermosa cuchillada_\" (\"handsome slash\") across the head of the offending\nMoor as to stretch him bleeding on the floor. The renegade fled in terror,\nrousing the echoes of the palace with his outcries and stirring up guards\nand attendants, who rushed into the room where the irate Christian stood\nsword in hand defying Mohammed and his hosts. The alarm quickly reached\nthe ears of the king, who hurried to the scene, his appearance at once\nrestoring order. On hearing from the alcaide the cause of the affray, he\nacted with becoming dignity, ordering the guards from the room and\ndirecting that the renegade should be severely punished for daring to\ninfringe the hospitality of the palace and insult an embassador.\n\nDon Juan, his quick fury evaporated, sheathed his sword, thanked the king\nfor his courtesy, and proposed a return to the camp. But this was not easy\nof accomplishment. A garbled report of the tumult in the palace had spread\nto the streets, where it was rumored that Christian spies had been\nintroduced into the palace with treasonable intent. In a brief time\nhundreds of the populace were in arms and thronging about the gate of\nJustice of the Alhambra, where they loudly demanded the death of all\nChristians in the palace and of all who had introduced them.\n\nIt was impossible for Don Juan to leave the palace by the route he had\nfollowed on his arrival. The infuriated mob would have torn him to pieces.\nBut it was important that he should depart at once. All that El Zagal\ncould do was to furnish him with a disguise, a swift horse, and an escort,\nand to let him out of the Alhambra by a private gate. This secret mode of\ndeparture was not relished by the proud Spaniard, but life was just then\nof more value than dignity, as he appreciated when, in Moorish dress, he\npassed through crowds who were thirsting for his blood. A gate of the city\nwas at length reached, and Don Juan and his escort rode quietly out. But\nhe was no sooner on the open plain than he spurred his horse to its speed,\nand did not draw rein until the banners of Don Fadrique waved above his\nhead.\n\nDon Fadrique heard with much approval of the boldness of his envoy. His\nopinion of Don Juan's discretion he kept to himself. He rewarded him with\na valuable horse, and wrote a letter of thanks to El Zagal for his\nprotection to his emissary. Queen Isabella, on learning how stoutly the\nknight had stood up for the chastity of the Blessed Virgin, was highly\ndelighted, and conferred several distinctions of honor upon the cavalier\nbesides presenting him with three hundred thousand maravedis.\n\nThe outcome of the advances of the two kings was that Don Fadrique chose\nBoabdil as his ally, and sent him a reinforcement of foot-soldiers and\narquebusiers. This introduction of Christians into the city rekindled the\nflames of war, and it continued to rage in the streets for the space of\nfifty days.\n\nThe result of the struggle between the two kings may be briefly told.\nWhile they contended for supremacy Ferdinand of Aragon invaded their\nkingdom with a large army and marched upon the great seaport of Malaga. El\nZagal sought an accommodation with Boabdil, that they might unite their\nforces against the common foe, but the short-sighted young man spurned his\novertures with disdain. El Zagal then, the better patriot of the two,\nmarched himself against the Christian host, hoping to surprise them in the\npasses of the mountains and perhaps capture King Ferdinand himself.\nUnluckily for him, his well-laid plan was discovered by the Christians,\nwho attacked and defeated him, his troops flying in uncontrollable\ndisorder.\n\nThe news of this disaster reached Granada before him and infuriated the\npeople, who closed their gates and threatened the defeated king from the\nwalls. Nothing remained to El Zagal but to march to Almeria and establish\nhis court in that city in which Boabdil had formerly reigned. Thus the\npositions of the rival kings became reversed. From that time forward the\nkingdom of Granada was divided into two, and the work of conquest by the\nChristians was correspondingly reduced.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE KNIGHT OF THE EXPLOITS.\n\n\nThe dull monotony of sieges, of which there were many during the war with\nGranada, was little to the taste of the valorous Spanish cavaliers. They\nburned for adventure, and were ever ready for daring exploits, the more\nwelcome the more dangerous they promised to be. One day during the siege\nof Baza, a strong city in El Zagal's dominions, two of these spirited\nyoung cavaliers, Francisco de Bazan and Antonio de Cueva, were seated on\nthe ramparts of the siege works, bewailing the dull life to which they\nwere confined. They were overheard by a veteran scout, who was familiar\nwith the surrounding country.\n\n\"Se\u00f1ors,\" he said, \"if you pine for peril and profit and are eager to\npluck the beard of the fiery old Moorish king, I can lead you where you\nwill have a fine opportunity to prove your valor. There are certain\nhamlets not far from the walls of El Zagal's city of Guadix where rich\nbooty awaits the daring raider. I can lead you there by a way that will\nenable you to take them by surprise; and if you are as cool in the head as\nyou are hot in the spur you may bear off spoils from under the very eyes\nof the king of the Moors.\"\n\nHe had struck the right vein. The youths were at once hot for the\nenterprise. To win booty from the very gates of Guadix was a stirring\nscheme, and they quickly found others of their age as eager as themselves\nfor the daring adventure. In a short time they had enrolled a body of\nnearly three hundred horse and two hundred foot, well armed and equipped,\nand every man of them ready for the road.\n\nThe force obtained, the raiders left the camp early one evening, keeping\ntheir destination secret, and made their way by starlight through the\nmountain passes, led by the _adalid_, or guide. Pressing rapidly onward by\nday and night, they reached the hamlets one morning just before daybreak,\nand fell on them suddenly, making prisoners of the inhabitants, sacking\nthe houses, and sweeping the fields of their grazing herds. Then, without\ntaking a moment to rest, they set out with all speed for the mountains,\nwhich they hoped to reach before the country could be roused.\n\nSeveral of the herdsmen had escaped and fled to Guadix, where they told El\nZagal of the daring ravage. Wild with rage at the insult, the old king at\nonce sent out six hundred of his choicest horse and foot, with orders for\nswift pursuit, bidding them to recover the booty and bring him as\nprisoners the insolent marauders. The Christians, weary with their two\ndays and nights of hard marching, were driving the captured cattle and\nsheep up a mountainside, when, looking back, they saw a great cloud of\ndust upon their trail. Soon they discerned the turbaned host, evidently\nsuperior to them in number, and man and horse in fresh condition.\n\n\"They are too much for us,\" cried some of the horsemen. \"It would be\nmadness in our worn-out state to face a fresh force of that number. We\nshall have to let the cattle go and seek safety in flight.\"\n\n\"What!\" cried Antonio and Francisco, their leaders; \"abandon our prey\nwithout a blow? Desert our foot-soldiers and leave them to the enemy? Did\nany of you think El Zagal would let us off without a brush? You do not\ngive good Spanish counsel, for every soldier knows that there is less\ndanger in presenting our faces than our backs to the foe, and fewer men\nare killed in a brave advance than in a cowardly retreat.\"\n\nSome of the cavaliers were affected by these words, but the mass of the\nparty were chance volunteers, who received no pay and had nothing to gain\nby risking their lives. Consequently, as the enemy came near, the\ndiversity of opinions grew into a tumult, and confusion reigned. The\ncaptains ordered the standard-bearer to advance against the Moors,\nconfident that any true soldiers would follow his banner. He hesitated to\nobey; the turmoil increased; in a moment more the horsemen might be in\nfull flight.\n\nAt this critical juncture a horseman of the royal guards rode forward,--the\ngood knight Hernan Perez del Pulgar, governor of the fortress of Salar.\nTaking off the handkerchief which, in the Andalusian fashion, he wore\nround his head, he tied it to a lance and raised it in the air.\n\n\"Comrades,\" he cried, \"why do you load yourself with arms if you trust for\nsafety to your feet? We shall see who among you are the brave men and who\nare the cowards. If it is a standard you want, here is mine. Let the man\nwho has the heart to fight follow this handkerchief.\"\n\nWaving his improvised banner, he spurred against the Moors. Many followed\nhim. Those who at first held back soon joined the advance. With one accord\nthe whole body rushed with shouts upon the enemy. The Moors, who were now\nclose at hand, were seized with surprise and alarm at this sudden charge.\nThe foremost files turned and fled in panic, followed by the others, and\npursued by the Christians, who cut them down without a blow in return.\nSoon the whole body was in full flight. Several hundred of the Moors were\nkilled and their bodies despoiled, many were taken prisoners, and the\nChristians returned in triumph to the army, driving their long array of\ncattle and sheep and of mules laden with booty, and bearing in their front\nthe standard under which they had fought.\n\nKing Ferdinand was so delighted with this exploit, and in particular with\nthe gallant action of Perez del Pulgar, that he conferred knighthood upon\nthe latter with much ceremony, and authorized him to bear upon his\nescutcheon a golden lion in an azure field, showing a lance with a\nhandkerchief at its point. Round its border were to be depicted the eleven\nalcaides defeated in the battle. This heroic deed was followed by so many\nothers during the wars with the Moors that Perez del Pulgar became in time\nknown by the flattering appellation of \"He of the exploits.\"\n\nThe most famous exploit of this daring knight took place during the siege\nof Granada,--the final operation of the long war. Here single combats and\nminor skirmishes between Christian and Moorish cavaliers were of almost\ndaily occurrence, until Ferdinand strictly forbade all such tilts, as he\nsaw that they gave zeal and courage to the Moors, and were attended with\nconsiderable loss of life among his bravest followers.\n\nThis edict of the king was very distasteful to the fiery Moorish knights,\nwho declared that the crafty Christian wished to destroy chivalry and put\nan end to heroic valor. They did their best to provoke the Spanish knights\nto combat, galloping on their fleet steeds close to the borders of the\ncamp and hurling their lances over the barriers, each lance bearing the\nname of its owner with some defiant message. But despite the irritation\ncaused by these insults to the Spanish knights, none of them ventured to\ndisobey the mandate of the king.\n\nChief among these Moorish cavaliers was one named Tarfe, a man of fierce\nand daring spirit and a giant in size, who sought to surpass his fellows\nin acts of audacity. In one of his sallies towards the Christian camp this\nbold cavalier leaped his steed over the barrier, galloped inward close to\nthe royal quarters, and launched his spear with such strength that it\nquivered in the earth close to the tents of the sovereigns. The royal\nguards rushed out, but Tarfe was already far away, scouring the plain on\nhis swift Barbary steed. On examining the lance it was found to bear a\nlabel indicating that it was intended for the queen, who was present in\nthe camp.\n\nThis bravado and the insult offered Queen Isabella excited the highest\nindignation among the Christian warriors. \"Shall we let this insolent\nfellow outdo us?\" said Perez del Pulgar, who was present. \"I propose to\nteach these insolent Moors a lesson. Who will stand by me in an enterprise\nof desperate peril?\" The warriors knew Pulgar well enough to be sure that\nhis promise of peril was likely to be kept, yet all who heard him were\nready to volunteer. Out of them he chose fifteen,--men whom he knew he\ncould trust for strength of arm and valor of heart.\n\nHis proposed enterprise was indeed a perilous one. A Moorish renegade had\nagreed to guide him into the city by a secret pass. Once within, they were\nto set fire to the Alcaiceria and others of the principal buildings, and\nthen escape as best they could.\n\nAt dead of night they set out, provided with the necessary combustibles.\nTheir guide led them up a channel of the river Darro, until they halted\nunder a bridge near the royal gate. Here Pulgar stationed six of his\nfollowers on guard, bidding them to keep silent and motionless. With the\nothers he made his way up a drain of the stream which passed under a part\nof the city and opened into the streets. All was dark and silent. Not a\nsoul moved. The renegade, at the command of Pulgar, led the adventurers to\nthe principal mosque. Here the pious cavalier drew from under his cloak a\nparchment inscribed in large letters with AVE MARIA, and nailed this to\nthe door of the mosque, thus dedicating the heathen temple to the Virgin\nMary.\n\nThey now hurried to the Alcaiceria, where the combustibles were placed\nready to fire. Not until this moment was it discovered that the\ntorch-bearer had carelessly left his torch at the door of the mosque. It\nwas too late to return. Pulgar sought to strike fire with flint and steel,\nbut while doing so the Moorish guard came upon them in its rounds. Drawing\nhis sword and followed by his comrades, the bold Spaniard made a fierce\nassault upon the astonished Moors, quickly putting them to flight. But the\nenterprise was at an end. The alarm was given and soldiers were soon\nhurrying in every direction through the streets. Guided by the renegade,\nPulgar and his companions hastened to the drain by which they had entered,\nplunged into it, and reached their companions under the bridge. Here\nmounting their horses, they rode back to the camp.\n\nThe Moors were at a loss to imagine the purpose of this apparently\nfruitless enterprise, but wild was their exasperation the next morning\nwhen they found the \"Ave Maria\" on the door of a mosque in the centre of\ntheir city. The mosque thus sanctified by Perez del Pulgar was actually\nconverted into a Christian cathedral after the capture of the city.\n\nWe have yet to describe the sequel of this exploit. On the succeeding day\na powerful train left the Christian camp and advanced towards the city\nwalls. In its centre were the king and queen, the prince and princesses,\nand the ladies of the court, surrounded by the royal body-guard,--a richly\ndressed troop, composed of the sons of the most illustrious families of\nSpain. The Moors gazed with wonder upon this rare pageant, which moved in\nglittering array across the vega to the sound of martial music; a host\nbrilliant with banners and plumes, shining arms and shimmering silks, for\nthe court and the army moved there hand in hand. Queen Isabella had\nexpressed a wish to see, nearer at hand, a city whose beauty was of\nworld-wide renown, and the Marquis of Cadiz had drawn out this powerful\nescort that she might be gratified in her desire. The queen had her wish,\nbut hundreds of men died that she might be pleased.\n\nWhile the royal dame and her ladies were gazing with delight on the red\ntowers of the Alhambra, rising in rich contrast through the green verdure\nof their groves, a large force of Moorish cavalry poured from the city\ngates, ready to accept the gage of battle which the Christians seemed to\noffer. The first to come were a host of richly armed and gayly attired\nlight cavalry, mounted on fleet and fiery Barbary steeds. Heavily armed\ncavalry followed, and then a strong force of foot-soldiers, until an army\nwas drawn up on the plain. Queen Isabella saw this display with disquiet,\nand forbade an attack upon the enemy, or even a skirmish, as it would pain\nher if a single warrior should lose his life through the indulgence of her\ncuriosity.\n\nAs a result, though the daring Moorish horsemen rode fleetly along the\nChristian front, brandishing their lances, and defying the cavaliers to\nmortal combat, not a Spaniard stirred. The cavaliers were under the eyes\nof Ferdinand, by whom such duels had been strictly forbidden. At length,\nhowever, they were incensed beyond their powers of resistance. Forth from\nthe city rode a stalwart Moorish horseman, clad in steel armor, and\nbearing a huge buckler and a ponderous lance. His device showed him to be\nthe giant warrior Tarfe, the daring infidel who had flung his lance at the\nqueen's tent. As he rode out he was followed by the shouts and laughter of\na mob, and when he came within full view of the Spanish army the cavaliers\nsaw, with indignant horror, tied to his horse's tail and dragging in the\ndust, the parchment with its inscription of \"Ave Maria\" which Hernan Perez\ndel Pulgar had nailed to the door of the mosque.\n\nThis insult was more than Castilian flesh and blood could bear. Hernan was\nnot present to maintain his deed, but Garcilasso de la Vega, one of the\nyoung companions of his exploit, galloped to the king and earnestly begged\npermission to avenge the degrading insult to their holy faith. The king,\nwho was as indignant as the knight, gave the desired permission, and\nGarcilasso, closing his visor and grasping his spear, rode out before the\nranks and defied the Moor to combat to the death.\n\nTarfe asked nothing better, and an exciting passage at arms took place on\nthe plain with the two armies as witnesses. Tarfe was the stronger of the\ntwo, and the more completely armed. He was skilled in the use of his\nweapons and dexterous in managing his horse, and the Christians trembled\nfor their champion.\n\nThe warriors met in mid career with a furious shock. Their lances were\nshivered, and Garcilasso was borne back in his saddle. But his horse\nwheeled away and he was quickly firm in his seat again, sword in hand.\nSword against scimitar, the combatants returned to the encounter. The Moor\nrode a trained horse, that obeyed his every signal. Round the Christian he\ncircled, seeking some opening for a blow. But the smaller size of\nGarcilasso was made equal by greater agility. Now he parried a blow with\nhis sword, now he received a furious stroke on his shield. Each of the\ncombatants before many minutes felt the edge of the steel, and their blood\nbegan to flow.\n\nAt length the Moor, thinking his antagonist exhausted, rushed in and\ngrappled with him, using all his force to fling him from his horse.\nGarcilasso grasped him in return with all his strength, and they fell\ntogether to the earth, the Moor uppermost. Placing his knee on the breast\nof the Spaniard, Tarfe drew his dagger and brandished it above his throat.\nTerror filled the Christian ranks; a shout of triumph rose from those of\nthe Moors. But suddenly Tarfe was seen to loosen his grasp and roll over\nin the dust. Garcilasso had shortened his sword and, as Tarfe raised his\narm, had struck him to the heart.\n\nThe rules of chivalry were rigidly observed. No one interfered on either\nside. Garcilasso despoiled his victim, raised the inscription \"Ave Maria\"\non the point of his sword, and bore it triumphantly back, amid shouts of\ntriumph from the Christian army.\n\nBy this time the passions of the Moors were so excited that they could not\nbe restrained. They made a furious charge upon the Spanish host, driving\nin its advanced ranks. The word to attack was given the Spaniards in\nreturn, the war-cry \"Santiago!\" rang along the line, and in a short time\nboth armies were locked in furious combat. The affair ended in a repulse\nof the Moors, the foot-soldiers taking to flight, and the cavalry vainly\nendeavoring to rally them. They were pursued to the gates of the city,\nmore than two thousand of them being killed, wounded, or taken prisoners\nin \"the queen's skirmish,\" as the affair came to be called.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE LAST SIGH OF THE MOOR.\n\n\nIn 1492, nearly eight centuries after the conquest of Spain by the Arabs,\ntheir dominion ended in the surrender of the city of Granada by King\nBoabdil to the army of Ferdinand and Isabella. The empire of the Arab\nMoors had shrunk, year by year and century by century, before the steady\nadvance of the Christians, until only the small kingdom of Granada\nremained. This, distracted by anarchy within and assailed by King\nFerdinand with all the arts of statecraft and all the strength of arms,\ngradually decreased in dimensions, city after city, district after\ndistrict, being lost, until only the single city of Granada remained.\n\nThis populous and powerful city would have proved very difficult to take\nby the ordinary methods of war, and could only have been subdued with\ngreat loss of life and expenditure of treasure. Ferdinand assailed it by a\nless costly and more exasperating method. Granada subsisted on the broad\nand fertile vega or plain surrounding it, a region marvellously productive\nin grain and fruits and rich in cattle and sheep. It was a cold-blooded\nand cruel system adopted by the Spanish monarch. He assailed the city\nthrough the vega. Disregarding the city, he marched his army into the\nplain at the time of harvest and so thoroughly destroyed its growing crops\nthat the smiling and verdant expanse was left a scene of frightful\ndesolation. This was not accomplished without sharp reprisals by the\nMoors, but the Spaniard persisted until he had converted the fruitful\nparadise into a hopeless desert, and then marched away, leaving the\ncitizens to a winter of despair.\n\nThe next year he came again, encamped his army near the city, destroyed\nwhat little verdure remained near its walls, and waited calmly until\nfamine and anarchy should force the citizens to yield. He attempted no\nsiege. It was not necessary. He could safely trust to his terrible allies.\nThe crowded city held out desperately while the summer passed and autumn\nmoved on to winter's verge, and then, with famine stalking through their\nstreets and invading their homes, but one resource remained to the\ncitizens,--surrender.\n\nFerdinand did not wish to distress too deeply the unhappy people. To\nobtain possession of the city on any terms was the one thought then in his\nmind. Harshness could come later, if necessary. Therefore, on the 25th of\nNovember, 1492, articles of capitulation were signed, under which the\nMoors of Granada were to retain all their possessions, be protected in\ntheir religious exercises, and governed by their own laws, which were to\nbe administered by their own officials; the one unwelcome proviso being\nthat they should become subjects of Spain. To Boabdil were secured all his\nrich estates and the patrimony of the crown, while he was to receive in\naddition thirty thousand castellanos in gold. Excellent terms, one would\nsay, in view of the fact that Granada was at the mercy of Ferdinand, and\nmight soon have been obliged to surrender unconditionally.\n\nOn the night preceding the surrender doleful lamentations filled the halls\nof the Alhambra, for the household of Boabdil were bidding a last farewell\nto that delightful abode. The most precious effects were hastily packed\nupon mules, and with tears and wailings the rich hangings and ornaments of\nthe beautiful apartments were removed. Day had not yet dawned when a\nsorrowful cavalcade moved through an obscure postern gate of the palace\nand wound through a retired quarter of the city. It was the family of the\ndeposed monarch, which he had sent off thus early to save them from\npossible scoffs and insults.\n\nThe sun had barely risen when three signal-guns boomed from the heights of\nthe Alhambra, and the Christian army began its march across the vega. To\nspare the feelings of the citizens it was decided that the city should not\nbe entered by its usual gates, and a special road had been opened leading\nto the Alhambra.\n\nAt the head of the procession moved the king and queen, with the prince\nand princesses and the dignitaries and ladies of the court, attended by\nthe royal guards in their rich array. This cortege halted at the village\nof Armilla, a league and a half from the city. Meanwhile, Don Pedro\nGonzalez de Mendoza, Grand Cardinal of Spain, with an escort of three\nthousand foot and a troop of cavalry, proceeded towards the Alhambra to\ntake possession of that noblest work of the Moors. At their approach\nBoabdil left the palace by a postern gate attended by fifty cavaliers, and\nadvanced to meet the grand cardinal, whom, in words of mournful\nrenunciation, he bade to take possession of the royal fortress of the\nMoors. Then he passed sadly onward to meet the sovereigns of Spain, who\nhad halted awaiting his approach, while the army stood drawn up on the\nbroad plain.\n\nAs the Spaniards waited in anxious hope, all eyes fixed on the Alhambra\nheights, they saw the silver cross, the great standard of this crusade,\nrise upon the great watch-tower, where it sparkled in the sunbeams, while\nbeside it floated the pennon of St. James, at sight of which a great shout\nof \"Santiago! Santiago!\" rose from the awaiting host. Next rose the royal\nstandard, amid resounding cries of \"Castile! Castile! For King Ferdinand\nand Queen Isabella.\" The sovereigns sank upon their knees, giving thanks\nto God for their great victory, the whole army followed their example, and\nthe choristers of the royal chapel broke forth into the solemn anthem of\n\"_Te Deum laudamus_.\"\n\nFerdinand now advanced to a point near the banks of the Xenil, where he\nwas met by the unfortunate Boabdil. As the Moorish king approached he made\na movement to dismount, which Ferdinand prevented. He then offered to kiss\nthe king's hand. This homage also, as previously arranged, was declined,\nwhereupon Boabdil leaned forward and kissed the king's right arm. He then\nwith a resigned mien delivered the keys of the city.\n\n\"These keys,\" he said, \"are the last relics of the Arabian empire in\nSpain. Thine, O king, are our trophies, our kingdom, and our person. Such\nis the will of God! Receive them with the clemency thou hast promised, and\nwhich we look for at thy hands.\"\n\n    [Illustration: MOORISH KING PAYING HOMAGE TO THE KING OF CASTILE.]\n\n            MOORISH KING PAYING HOMAGE TO THE KING OF CASTILE.\n\n\n\"Doubt not our promises,\" said Ferdinand, kindly, \"nor that thou shalt\nregain from our friendship the prosperity of which the fortune of war has\ndeprived thee.\"\n\nThen drawing from his finger a gold ring set with a precious stone,\nBoabdil presented it to the Count of Tendilla, who, he was informed, was\nto be governor of the city, saying,--\n\n\"With this ring Granada has been governed. Take it and govern with it, and\nGod make you more fortunate than I.\"\n\nHe then proceeded to the village of Armilla, where Queen Isabella\nremained. She received him with the utmost courtesy and graciousness, and\ndelivered to him his son, who had been held as a hostage for the\nfulfilment of the capitulation. Boabdil pressed the child tenderly to his\nbosom, and moved on until he had joined his family, from whom and their\nattendants the shouts and strains of music of the victorious army drew\ntears and moans.\n\nAt length the weeping train reached the summit of an eminence about two\nleagues distant which commanded the last view of Granada. Here they paused\nfor a look of farewell at the beautiful and beloved city, whose towers and\nminarets gleamed brightly before them in the sunshine. While they still\ngazed a peal of artillery, faint with distance, told them that the city\nwas taken possession of and was lost to the Moorish kings forever. Boabdil\ncould no longer contain himself.\n\n\"Allah achbar! God is great!\" he murmured, tears accompanying his words of\nresignation.\n\nHis mother, a woman of intrepid soul, was indignant at this display of\nweakness.\n\n\"You do well,\" she cried, \"to weep like a woman for what you failed to\ndefend like a man.\"\n\nOthers strove to console the king, but his tears were not to be\nrestrained.\n\n\"Allah achbar!\" he exclaimed again; \"when did misfortunes ever equal\nmine?\"\n\nThe hill where this took place afterwards became known as Feg Allah\nAchbar; but the point of view where Boabdil obtained the last prospect of\nGranada is called by the Spaniards \"_El ultimo suspiro del Moro_\" or \"The\nlast sigh of the Moor.\"\n\nAs Boabdil thus took his last look at beautiful Granada, it behooves us to\ntake a final backward glance at Arabian Spain, from whose history we have\ndrawn so much of interest and romance. In this hospitable realm\ncivilization dwelt when few traces of it existed elsewhere. Here luxury\nreigned while barbarism prevailed widely in Europe. We are told that in\nCordova a man might walk ten miles by the light of the public lamps, while\ncenturies afterwards there was not a single public lamp in London streets.\nIts avenues were solidly paved, while centuries afterwards the people of\nParis, on rainy days, stepped from their door-sills into mud ankle-deep.\nThe dwellings were marked by beauty and luxury, while the people of\nEurope, as a rule in that semi-barbaric period, dwelt in miserable huts,\ndressed in leather, and lived on the rudest and least nutritive food.\n\nThe rulers of France, England, and Germany lived in rude buildings without\nchimneys or windows, with a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape, at a\ntime when the royal halls of Arabian Spain were visions of grace and\nbeauty. The residences of the Arabs had marble balconies overhanging\norange-gardens; their floors and walls were frequently of rich and\ngraceful mosaic; fountains gushed in their courts, quicksilver often\ntaking the place of water, and falling in a glistening spray. In summer\ncool air was drawn into the apartments through ventilating towers; in\nwinter warm and perfumed air was discharged through hidden passages. From\nthe ceilings, corniced with fretted gold, great chandeliers hung. Here\nwere clusters of frail marble columns, which, in the boudoirs of the\nsultanas, gave way to verd-antique incrusted with lapis lazuli. The\nfurniture was of sandal- or citron-wood, richly inlaid with gold, silver,\nor precious minerals. Tapestry hid the walls, Persian carpets covered the\nfloors, pillows and couches of elegant forms were spread about the rooms.\nGreat care was given to bathing and personal cleanliness at a time when\nsuch a thought had not dawned upon Christian Europe. Their\npleasure-gardens were of unequalled beauty, and were rich with flowers and\nfruits. In short, in this brief space it is impossible to give more than a\nbare outline of the marvellous luxury which surrounded this people,\nrecently come from the deserts of Arabia, at a time when most of the\nremainder of Europe was plunged into the rudest barbarism.\n\nMuch might be said of their libraries, their universities, their scholars\nand scientists, and the magnificence of their architecture, of which\nabundant examples still remain in the cities of Spain, the Alhambra of\nGranada, the palace which Boabdil so reluctantly left, being almost\nwithout an equal for lightness, grace, and architectural beauty in the\ncities of the world. Well might the dethroned monarch look back with\nbitter regret upon this rarest monument of the Arabian civilization and\ngive vent, in farewell to its far-seen towers, to \"The last sigh of the\nMoor.\"\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE RETURN OF COLUMBUS.\n\n\nIn the spring succeeding the fall of Granada there came to Spain a glory\nand renown that made her the envy of all the nations of Europe. During the\nyear before an Italian mariner, Christopher Columbus by name, after long\nhaunting the camp and court of Ferdinand and Isabella, had been sent out\nwith a meagre expedition in the forlorn hope of discovering new lands\nbeyond the seas. In March, 1493, extraordinary tidings spread through the\nkingdom and reached the ears of the monarchs at their court in Barcelona.\nThe tidings were that the poor and despised mariner had returned to Palos\nwith wonderful tales of the discovery of a vast, rich realm beyond the\nseas,--a mighty new empire for Spain.\n\nThe marvellous news set the whole kingdom wild with joy. The ringing of\nbells and solemn thanksgivings welcomed Columbus at the port from which he\nhad set sail. On his journey to the king's court his progress was impeded\nby the multitudes who thronged to see the suddenly famous man,--the humble\nmariner who had discovered for Spain what every one already spoke of as a\n\"New World.\" With him he brought several of the bronze-hued natives of\nthat far land, dressed in their simple island costume, and decorated, as\nthey passed through the principal cities, with collars, bracelets, and\nother ornaments of gold. He exhibited, also, gold in dust and in shapeless\nmasses, many new plants, some of them of high medicinal value, several\nanimals never before seen in Europe, and birds whose brilliant plumage\nattracted glances of delight from all eyes.\n\nIt was mid-April when Columbus reached Barcelona. The nobility and knights\nof the court met him in splendid array and escorted him to the royal\npresence through the admiring throngs that filled the streets. Ferdinand\nand Isabella, with their son, Prince John, awaited his arrival seated\nunder a superb canopy of state. On the approach of the discoverer they\nrose and extended their hands to him to kiss, not suffering him to kneel\nin homage. Instead, they bade him seat himself before them,--a mark of\ncondescension to a person of his rank unknown before in the haughty court\nof Castile. He was, at that moment, \"the man whom the king delighted to\nhonor,\" and it was the proudest period in his life when, having proved\ntriumphantly all for which he had so long contended, he was honored as the\nequal of the proud monarchs of Spain.\n\nAt the request of the sovereigns Columbus gave them a brief account of his\nadventures, in a dignified tone, that warmed with enthusiasm as he\nproceeded. He described the various tropical islands he had landed upon,\nspoke with favor of their delightful climate and the fertility of their\nsoil, and exhibited the specimens he had brought as examples of their\nfruitfulness. He dwelt still more fully upon their wealth in the precious\nmetals, of which he had been assured by the natives, and offered the gold\nhe brought with him as evidence. Lastly, he expatiated on the opportunity\noffered for the extension of the Christian religion through lands populous\nwith pagans,--a suggestion which appealed strongly to the Spanish heart.\nWhen he ceased the king and queen, with all present, threw themselves on\ntheir knees and gave thanks to God, while the solemn strains of the _Te\nDeum_ were poured forth by the choir of the royal chapel.\n\n     [Illustration: RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.]\n\n             RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.\n\n\nThroughout his residence in Barcelona Columbus continued to receive the\nmost honorable distinction from the Spanish sovereigns. When Ferdinand\nrode abroad the admiral rode by his side. Isabella, the true promoter of\nhis expedition, treated him with the most gracious consideration. The\ncourtiers, emulating their sovereigns, gave frequent entertainments in his\nhonor, treating him with the punctilious deference usually shown only to a\nnoble of the highest rank. It cannot be said, however, that envy at the\nhigh distinction shown this lately obscure and penniless adventurer was\nquite concealed, and at one of these entertainments is said to have taken\nplace the famous episode of the egg.\n\nA courtier of shallow wit, with the purpose of throwing discredit on the\nachievement of Columbus, intimated that it was not so great an exploit\nafter all; all that was necessary was to sail west a certain number of\ndays; the lands lay there waiting to be discovered. Were there not other\nmen in Spain, he asked, capable of this?\n\nThe response of Columbus was to take an egg and ask those present to make\nit stand upright on its end. After they had tried and failed he struck the\negg on the table, cracking the shell and giving it a base on which to\nstand.\n\n\"But anybody could do that!\" cried the critic.\n\n\"Yes; and anybody can become a discoverer when once he has been shown the\nway,\" retorted Columbus. \"It is easy to follow in a known track.\"\n\nBy this time all Europe had heard of the brilliant discovery of the\nGenoese mariner, and everywhere admiration at his achievement and interest\nin its results were manifested. Europe had never been so excited by any\nsingle event. The world was found to be larger than had been dreamed of,\nand it was evident that hundreds of new things remained to be known. Word\ncame to Barcelona that King John of Portugal was equipping a large\narmament to obtain a share of the new realms in the west, and all haste\nwas made to anticipate this dangerous rival by sending Columbus again to\nthe New World.\n\nOn the 25th of September, 1493, he set sail with a gallant armament, which\nquite threw into the shade his three humble caravels of the year before.\nIt consisted of seventeen vessels, some of them of large size for that\nday, and fifteen hundred souls, including several persons of rank, and\nmembers of the royal household. Many of those that had taken part in the\nMoorish war, stimulated by the love of adventure, were to win fame in the\ncoming years in the conquest of the alluring realms of the West, and the\nearliest of these sailed now under the banner of the Great Admiral.\n\nThe story of Columbus is too familiar to readers for more to be said of it\nhere. It was one in which the boasted honor of the Spanish court was\nreplaced by injustice and lack of good faith. Envy and malice surrounded\nthe discoverer, and in 1500 he was sent home in chains by an infamous\ngovernor. The king, roused by a strong display of public indignation,\ndisavowed the base act of his agent, and received Columbus again with a\nshow of favor, but failed to reinstate him in the office of which he had\nbeen unjustly deprived. The discoverer of America died at Valladolid in\n1506, giving directions that the fetters which he had once worn, and which\nhe had kept as evidence of Spanish ingratitude, should be buried with him.\n\n\n\n\n\nPETER THE CRUEL AND THE FREE COMPANIES.\n\n\nAbout the middle of the year 1365 a formidable expedition set out from\nFrance for the invasion of Castile. It consisted of the celebrated Free\nCompanies, marauding bands of French and English knights and archers whose\nallegiance was to the sword, and who, having laid waste France, now sought\nfresh prey in Spain. Valiant and daring were these reckless freebooters,\nbred to war, living on rapine, battle their delight, revel their\nrelaxation. For years the French and English Free Companies had been\nenemies. Now a truce existed between their princes, and they had joined\nhands under the leadership of the renowned knight Bertrand du Guesclin, at\nthat time the most famous soldier of France. Sir Hugh de Calverley headed\nthe English bands, known as the White Company, and made up largely of\nmen-at-arms, that is, of heavy armed horsemen; but with a strong\ncontingent of the formidable English archers. The total force comprised\nmore than twelve thousand men.\n\n\"You lead the life of robbers,\" said Du Guesclin to them. \"Every day you\nrisk your lives in forays, which yield you more blows than booty. I come\nto propose an enterprise worthy of gallant knights and to open to you a\nnew field of action. In Spain both glory and profit await you. You will\nthere find a rich and avaricious king who possesses great treasures, and\nis the ally of the Saracens; in fact, is half a pagan himself. We propose\nto conquer his kingdom and to bestow it on the Count of Trastamara, an old\ncomrade of yours, a good lance, as you all know, and a gentle and generous\nknight, who will share with you his land when you win it for him from the\nJews and Moslems of that wicked king, Don Pedro. Come, comrades, let us\nhonor God and shame the devil.\"\n\nThe Free Companies were ready at a word to follow his banner. Among them\nwere many knights of noble birth who valued glory above booty, and looked\nupon it as a worthy enterprise to dethrone a cruel and wicked king, the\nmurderer of his queen. As for the soldiers, they cared not against whom\nthey fought, if booty was to be had.\n\n\"Messire Bertrand,\" they said, \"gives all that he wins to his men-at-arms.\nHe is the father of the soldier. Let us march with him.\"\n\nAnd so the bargain was made and the Free Companies marched away, light of\nheart and strong of hand, with a promising goal before them, and a chance\nof abundance of fighting before they would see their homes again.\n\nPeter the Cruel, King of Castile and Leon, amply deserved to be dethroned.\nHis reign had been one of massacre. All whom he suspected died by the\ndagger of the assassin. He bitterly hated his two half-brothers, Fadrique\nand Henry. Fadrique he enticed to his court by a show of friendship, and\nthen had him brutally murdered at the gate of his palace, the Alcazar of\nSeville. But his treatment of his queen was what made him specially odious\nto his people. He married a French princess, Blanche of Bourbon, but\ndeserted her after two days to return to his mistress, Maria de Pedilla.\nBlanche was taken to Toledo, where she was so closely confined that the\npeople rose and rescued her from the king's guards. Peter marched in anger\nagainst the city, but its people defied him and kept the queen. Then the\ncrafty villain pretended sorrow and asked for a reconciliation. The queen\nconsented, went back to him, and was quickly imprisoned in a strong\nfortress, where she was murdered by his orders in 1361.\n\nIt was this shameful act and the murder of his brother Fadrique that\nroused the people to insurrection. Henry of Trastamara, the remaining\nbrother, headed a revolt against the tyrant and invited the Free Companies\nto his aid. These were the circumstances that gave rise to the march of Du\nGuesclin and Calverley and their battle-loving bands.\n\nThe adventurers wore crosses on their vests and banners, as though they\nwere a company of crusaders raised in the service of the church. But in\ntruth they were under the ban of excommunication, for they had no more\nspared the church than the castle or the cottage. Du Guesclin, determined\nto relieve them from this ban and force the Pope to grant them absolution,\ndirected his march upon Avignon, the papal residence in France. It was not\nonly absolution he wanted. The papal coffers were full; his military chest\nwas empty; his soldiers would not remain tractable unless well paid; the\nchurch should have the privilege of aiding the army.\n\nIt was with dismay that the people of Avignon beheld the White Company\nencamp before their ramparts, late in the year 1365. An envoy from the\nPope was sent in haste to their camp, with a promise from the Holy Father\nthat he would remove the ban of excommunication if they would evacuate the\nterritory of the Church. The envoy's mission was a dangerous one, for the\nfierce Free Companions had no reverence for priest or pope. He had hardly\ncrossed the Rhone before he was confronted by a turbulent band of English\narchers, who demanded if he had brought money.\n\n\"Money?\" he asked, in faltering tones.\n\n\"Ay, money!\" they insolently cried, impeding his passage.\n\nOn reaching Du Guesclin's tent he was treated with more politeness, but\nwas met with the same demand.\n\n\"We cannot control our troops,\" said some of the chiefs; \"and, as they are\nready to hazard their lives for the greater glory of the faith, they well\ndeserve the aid of the Church.\"\n\n\"The Holy Father will incur much danger if he refuses the demand of our\nmen,\" said Du Guesclin, in smooth but menacing tones. \"They have become\ngood Catholics in spite of themselves, and would very readily return to\ntheir old trade.\"\n\nImminent as the danger was, the Pope resisted, and tried to scare off that\nflock of reckless war-hawks by the thunders of papal condemnation. But he\nsoon learned that appeals and threats alike were wasted on the Free\nCompanies. From the windows of his palace he could see groups of his\nunruly visitors at work plundering farms and country houses. Fires were\nhere and there kindled. The rich lands of Avignon were in danger of a\ngeneral ravage.\n\n\"What can I do?\" said Du Guesclin to the complaints of the people. \"My\nsoldiers are excommunicated. The devil is in them, and we are no longer\ntheir masters.\"\n\nEvidently there was but one way to get rid of this irreligious crew. The\nchiefs agreed to be satisfied with five thousand golden florins. This sum\nwas paid, and the knights companions, laden with plunder and absolved from\ntheir sins, set out in the highest spirits, singing the praises of their\ncaptain and the joys of war. Such was their farewell to France.\n\nOnward they marched, across the Pyrenees and into Aragon, whose king had\njoined with Henry of Trastamara in requesting their presence. They were\nfar from welcome to the people of this region of Spain. Pedro IV. of\nAragon had agreed to pay them one hundred thousand golden florins on\ncondition that they should pass through his dominions without disorder;\nbut the adventurers, imagining that they were already in the enemy's\ncountry, began their usual service of fire and sword. In Barbastro they\npillaged the houses, killed the burghers or tortured them to extort\nransom, and set fire to a church in which some had taken refuge, burning\nalive more than two hundred persons.\n\nIf such was the course of these freebooting bands in the country of their\nfriends, what would it be in that of their foes? Every effort was made to\nget them out of the country as soon as possible. Immediate action was\nneeded, for the warlike mountaineers were beginning to revenge the\nrobberies of the adventurers by waylaying their convoys and killing their\nstragglers. In early March, 1366, the frontier was passed, Sir Hugh de\nCalverley leading his men against Borja, a town of Aragon which was\noccupied by soldiers of Castile.\n\nThe garrison fled on their approach, and soon the army entered Castile and\nmarched upon Calahorra, a town friendly to Prince Henry, and which opened\nits gates at sight of their banners. Here an interesting ceremony took\nplace. Du Guesclin and the other leaders of the Free Companies, with as\nmuch assurance as if they had already conquered Castile, offered Henry the\nthrone.\n\n\"Take the crown,\" said the burly leader. \"You owe this honor to the many\nnoble knights who have elected you their leader in this campaign. Don\nPedro, your enemy, has refused to meet you in the battle-field, and thus\nacknowledges that the throne of Castile is vacant.\"\n\nHenry held back. He felt that these foreigners had not the crown of\nCastile in their gift. But when the Castilians present joined in the\ndemand he yielded, and permitted them to place the crown upon his head.\nHis chief captain at once unfurled the royal standard, and passed through\nthe camp, crying, \"Castile for King Henry! Long live King Henry!\" Then,\namid loud acclamations, he planted the banner on the crest of a hill on\nthe road to Burgos.\n\nWe need not delay on the events of this campaign. Everywhere the people of\nCastile fell away from their cruel king, and Henry's advance was almost\nunopposed. Soon he was in Burgos, and Don Pedro had become a fugitive\nwithout an army and almost without a friend. Henry was now again crowned\nking, many of the Castilian nobles taking part in the imposing ceremony.\n\nThe first acts of the new king were to recompense the men who had raised\nhim to that high office. The money which he found in the treasury served\nas a rich reward to the followers of Du Guesclin. He gave titles of\nnobility and grants of land with a free hand to the chiefs of the Free\nCompanies and his other companions in arms. On Du Guesclin he conferred\nhis own countship of Trastamara, and added to it the lordship of Molino,\nwith the domains appertaining to both. Calverley was made Count of\nCarrion, and received the domains which had formerly been held by the\nsons-in-law of the Cid. Lesser rewards were given to lesser chiefs, and\nnone had reason to accuse Henry of Castile of want of generosity.\n\nBut the Free Companions soon became a sword in the side of the new king.\nAs there was no more fighting to be done, they resumed their old\noccupation of pillaging, and from every side complaints rained in upon the\nthrone. Henry felt it necessary to get rid of his unruly friends with all\ndespatch. Retaining Du Guesclin and Calverley in his service, with fifteen\nhundred lances, mainly French and Breton, he dismissed the remainder,\nplacating them with rich presents and warm thanks. Nothing loath, and\ngratified that they had avenged the murdered Queen Blanche, they took\ntheir way back, finding abundant chance for fighting on their return. The\nCastilians, the Navarrese, and the Aragonese all rose against them, and\neverywhere they had to force a passage with their swords. But nothing\ncould stop them. Spain, accustomed to fight with Arabs and Moors, had no\nwarriors fit to face these intrepid and heavily armed veterans. Through\nthe Pyrenees they made their way, and here cut a road with their swords\nthrough the main body of a French army which had gathered to oppose their\nmarch. Once more they were upon the soil of France.\n\nIt was the English and Gascon bands that were principally opposed. It was\nknown that the Black Prince was preparing to invade Spain, and an effort\nwas made to cut off the free lances who might enlist under his banners.\nThis famous knight, son of Edward III. of England, and victor at the\nbattle of Poitiers, where he had taken prisoner the king of France, was a\ncousin of the fugitive king of Castile, who sought him at Cape Breton, and\nbegged his aid to recover his dominions. The chivalrous prince of Wales\nknew little of the dastardly deeds of the suppliant. Don Pedro had brought\nwith him his three young maiden daughters, whose helpless state appealed\nwarmly to the generous knight. National policy accorded with the\ninclination of the prince, for the Castilian revolution had been promoted\nby France, and the usurper had been in the pay of the French king. These\ninducements were enough to win for Don Pedro the support of Edward III.,\nand the aid of the Black Prince, who entered upon the enterprise with the\npassionate enthusiasm which was a part of his nature.\n\nSoon again two armies were in the field, that of King Henry, raised to\ndefend his new dominions, and that of the Prince of Wales, gathered to\nreplace the fugitive Don Pedro upon the throne. With the latter was the\nWhite Company, which had aided to drive Pedro from his seat and was now\nequally ready to replace him there. These bold lancers and archers fought\nfor their own hands, with little care whose cause they backed.\n\nIt was through the valley of Roncesvalles, that celebrated pass which was\nassociated with the name of the famous Roland, the chief knight of French\nromance, that the army of the Black Prince made its way into Spain.\nCalverley, who was not willing to fight against his liege lord, joined him\nwith his lances, King Henry generously consenting. Du Guesclin, a veteran\nin the art of war, advised the Castilian king to employ a Fabian policy,\nharassing the invaders by skirmishes, drawing them deep into the country,\nand wearing them out with fatigue and hunger. He frankly told him that his\nmen could not face in a pitched battle the English veterans, led by such a\nsoldier as the Black Prince. But the policy suggested would have been\nhazardous in Castile, divided as it was between two parties. Henry\nremembered that his rival had lost the kingdom through not daring to risk\na battle, and he determined to fight for his throne, trusting his cause to\nProvidence and the strength of his arms.\n\nIt was in the month of April, 1367, that the two armies came face to face\non a broad plain. They were fairly matched in numbers, and as day broke\nboth marched resolutely to the encounter, amid opposing shouts of \"King\nHenry for Castile\" and \"St. George and Guyenne.\" It was a hard, fierce,\nbitter struggle that followed, in which the onset of Du Guesclin was so\nimpetuous as for a moment to break the English line. But the end was at\nhand when the Castilian cavalry broke in panic before the charge of an\nEnglish squadron, which turned Du Guesclin's battalion and took it in\nflank. The Captal de Buch at the same time fell on the flank of the\nCastilian vanguard. Thus beset and surrounded, the French and Spanish\nmen-at-arms desperately sought to hold their own against much superior\nnumbers. King Henry fought valiantly, and called on all to rally round his\nstandard. But at length the banner fell, the disorder grew general, the\nranks broke, and knights and foot-soldiers joined in a tumultuous retreat.\n\nTheir only hope now was the bridge of Najera, over the Najerilla, which\nstream lay behind their line. Some rushed for the bridge, others leaped\ninto the river, which became instantly red with blood, for the arrows of\nthe archers were poured into the crowded stream. Only the approach of\nnight, the fatigue of the victors, and the temptation to plunder the town\nand the camp saved the wreck of the Castilian army, which had lost seven\nthousand foot-soldiers and some six hundred men-at-arms. Du Guesclin's\nbattalion, which alone had made a gallant stand, was half slain. A large\nnumber of prisoners were taken, among them the valorous Du Guesclin\nhimself.\n\nEdward the Black Prince now first learned the character of the man whom he\nhad come to aid. Don Pedro galloped excitedly over the plain seeking his\nrival, and, chancing to meet Lopez de Orozco, one of his former friends,\nnow the prisoner of a Gascon knight, he stabbed him to the heart, despite\nthe efforts of the Gascon in his defence. The report of this murder filled\nthe Black Prince with indignation, which was heightened when Don Pedro\noffered to ransom all the Castilian prisoners, plainly indicating that he\nintended to murder them. Prince Edward sternly refused, only consenting to\ndeliver up certain nobles who had been declared traitors before the\nrevolution. These Don Pedro immediately had beheaded before his tent.\n\nThe breach between the allies rapidly widened, Don Pedro, as soon as he\nfairly got possession of the throne, breaking all his engagements with the\nBlack Prince, while he was unable, from the empty state of his treasury,\nto pay the allied troops. Four months Prince Edward waited, with growing\nindignation, for redress, while disease was rapidly carrying off his men,\nand then marched in anger from Spain with scarcely a fifth of the proud\narray with which he had won the battle of Najera.\n\nThe restored king soon justified his title of Peter the Cruel by a series\nof sanguinary executions, murdering all of the adherents of his rival on\nwhom he could lay his hands. In this thirst for revenge not even women\nescaped, and at length he committed an act which aroused the indignation\nof the whole kingdom. Don Alfonso de Guzman had refused to follow the king\ninto exile. He now kept out of his reach, but his mother, Do\u00f1a Urraca de\nOsorio, fell into the hands of the monster, and was punished for being the\nmother of a rebel by being burned alive on the ramparts of Seville.\n\nThese excesses of cruelty roused a rebellious sentiment throughout\nCastile, of which Henry, who had escaped to Aragon from the field of\nNajera, took advantage. Supplied with money by the king of France, he\npurchased arms and recruited soldiers, many of the French and Castilians\nwho had been taken prisoners at Najera and been released on parole joining\nhim in hopes of winning the means of paying their ransoms. Crossing the\nEbro, he marched upon Calahorra, in which the year before he had been\nproclaimed king. Here numerous volunteers joined him, and at the head of a\nconsiderable force he marched upon Burgos, which surrendered after a faint\nshow of resistance.\n\nDuring the winter the campaign continued, Leon, Madrid, and other towns\nbeing captured, and in the spring of 1368 all northern Castile was in\nHenry's hands. Don Pedro, whose army was small, had entered into alliance\nwith the Moorish king of Granada, who sent him an army of thirty-five\nthousand men, with which force a vigorous attack was made on the city of\nCordova,--a holy city in the eyes of the Moors. Among its defenders was Don\nAlfonso de Guzman, whose mother had been burned to death. The defence was\nobstinate, but the Moors at length made breaches in the walls. They were\nabout to pour into the city when the women, mad with fear, rushed into the\nstreets with cries and moans, now reproaching the men-at-arms with\ncowardice, now begging them with sobs and tears to make a last effort to\nsave the city from the brutal infidels.\n\nThis appeal gave new courage to the Christians. They rushed on the Moors\nwith the fury of despair, drove them from the posts they had taken, hurled\nthem from the ramparts, tore down the black flags which already waved on\nthe towers, and finally expelled them from the breaches and the walls in a\npanic. The breaches were repaired and the city was saved. In a few days\nthe Moors, thoroughly disheartened by their repulse, dispersed, and Don\nPedro lost his allies.\n\nMeanwhile, Henry was engaged in the siege of Toledo, the strongest place\nin the kingdom, and before which he persistently lay for months, despite\nall allurements to use his forces in other directions. Here Bertrand du\nGuesclin, who had been ransomed by the Black Prince, joined him with a\nforce of some six hundred men-at-arms, all picked men; and hither, in\nMarch, 1369, Don Pedro marched to the city's relief at the head of a\nstrong army.\n\nHenry, on learning of this movement, at once gathered all the forces he\ncould spare from the siege, three thousand men-at-arms in all, and\nhastened to intercept his rival on the march. Not dreaming of such a\nmovement, Don Pedro had halted at Montiel, where his men lay dispersed, in\nsearch of food and forage, over a space of several leagues. They were\nattacked at daybreak, their surprise being so complete that the main body\nwas at once put to flight, while each division was routed as soon as it\nappeared. Henry's forces suffered almost no loss, and within an hour's\ntime his rival's kingdom was reduced to the castle of Montiel, in which he\nhad taken refuge with a few of his followers.\n\nLeaving the defeated army to take care of itself, Henry devoted himself to\nthe siege of the castle, within whose poorly fortified walls lay the prize\nfor which he fought. Escape was impossible, and the small supply of\nprovisions would soon be exhausted. Don Pedro's only hope was to bribe\nsome of his foes. He sent an agent to Du Guesclin, offering him a rich\nreward in gold and lands if he would aid in his escape. Du Guesclin asked\nfor time to consider, and immediately informed Henry of the whole\ntransaction. He was at once offered a richer reward than Pedro had\npromised if he would entice the king out of the castle, and after some\nhesitation and much persuasion he consented.\n\nOn the night of March 23, ten days after the battle, Don Pedro,\naccompanied by several of his knights, secretly left the fortress, the\nfeet of their horses being bound with cloth to deaden the sound of hoofs.\nThe sentinels, who had been instructed in advance, allowed them to pass,\nand they approached the camp of the French adventurers, where Du Guesclin\nwas waiting to receive them.\n\n\"To horse, Messire Bertrand,\" said the king, in a low voice; \"it is time\nto set out.\"\n\nNo answer was returned. This silence frightened Don Pedro. He attempted to\nspring into his saddle, but he was surrounded, and a man-at-arms held the\nbridle of his horse. An officer asked him to wait in a neighboring tent.\nResistance was impossible, and he silently obeyed.\n\nHere he found himself encompassed by a voiceless group, through whose\nlines, after a few minutes of dread suspense, a man in full armor\nadvanced. It was Henry of Trastamara, who now faced his brother for the\nfirst time in fifteen years. He gazed with searching eyes upon Don Pedro\nand his followers.\n\n\"Where is this bastard,\" he harshly asked, \"this Jew who calls himself\nKing of Castile?\"\n\n\"There stands your enemy,\" said a French esquire, pointing to Don Pedro.\n\nHenry gazed at him fixedly. So many years had elapsed that he failed to\nrecognize him easily.\n\n\"Yes, it is I,\" exclaimed Don Pedro, \"I, the King of Castile. All the\nworld knows that I am the legitimate son of good King Alfonso. It is thou\nthat art the bastard.\"\n\nAt this insult Henry drew his dagger and struck the speaker a light blow\nin the face. They were in too close a circle to draw their swords, and in\nmortal fury they seized each other by the waist and struggled furiously,\nthe men around drawing back and no one attempting to interfere.\n\nAfter a brief period the wrestling brothers fell on a camp bed in a corner\nof the tent, Don Pedro, who was the stronger, being uppermost. While he\nfelt desperately for a weapon with which to pierce his antagonist, one of\nthose present seized him by the foot and threw him on one side, so that\nHenry found himself uppermost. Popular tradition says that it was Du\nGuesclin's hand that did this act, and that he cried, \"I neither make nor\nunmake kings, but I serve my lord;\" but some writers say it was the\nViscount de Rocaberti, of Aragon.\n\nHowever that be, Henry at once took advantage of the opportunity, picked\nup his dagger, lifted the king's coat of mail, and plunged the weapon\nagain and again into his side. Only two of Don Pedro's companions sought\nto defend him, and they were killed on the spot. Henry had his brother's\nhead at once cut off, and despatched the gruesome relic to Seville.\n\nThus perished, by an uncalled-for act of treachery on the part of Du\nGuesclin, for the castle must soon have surrendered, one of the most\nbloodthirsty kings who ever sat upon a throne. Don Fadrique, his brother,\nand Blanche of Bourbon, his wife, both of whom he had basely murdered,\nwere at length avenged. Henry ascended the throne as Henry II., and for\nyears reigned over Castile with a mild and just rule that threw still\ndeeper horror upon the bloody career of him who is known in history as\nPeter the Cruel.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE GREAT CAPTAIN.\n\n\nThe long and bitter war for the conquest of Granada filled Spain with\ntrained soldiers and skilful leaders, men who had seen service on a\nhundred fields, grim, daring veterans, without their equals in Europe. The\nSpanish foot-soldiers of that day were inflexibly resolute, the cavalry\nwere skilled in the brilliant tactics of the Moors, and the leaders were\nmen experienced in all the arts of war. These were the soldiers who in the\nNew World overthrew empires with a handful of adventurers, and within a\nfraction of a century conquered a continent for Spain. In Europe they were\nkept actively employed. Charles VIII. of France, moved by ambition and\nthirst for glory, led an army of invasion into Italy. He was followed in\nthis career of foreign conquest by his successor, Louis XII. The armies of\nFrance were opposed by those of Spain, led by the greatest soldier of the\nage, Gonsalvo de Cordova, a man who had learned the art of war in Granada,\nbut in Italy showed such brilliant and remarkable powers that he gained\nthe distinguishing title of the Great Captain.\n\nThese wars were stretched out over years, and the most we can do is to\ngive some of their interesting incidents. In 1502 the Great Captain lay in\nthe far south of Italy, faced by a more powerful French army under the\nDuke of Nemours, a young nobleman not wanting in courage, but quite unfit\nto cope with the experienced veteran before him. Gonsalvo, however, was in\nno condition to try conclusions with his well-appointed enemy. His little\ncorps was destitute of proper supplies, the men had been so long unpaid\nthat they were mutinous, he had pleaded for reinforcements in vain, and\nthe most he could do was to concentrate his small force in the seaport of\nBarleta and the neighboring strongholds, and make the best show he could\nin the face of his powerful foe.\n\nThe war now declined into foraging inroads on the part of the French, in\nwhich they swept the flocks and herds from the fertile pastures, and into\nguerilla operations on the part of the Spanish, who ambushed and sought to\ncut off the detached troops of the enemy. But more romantic encounters\noccasionally took place. The knights on both sides, full of the spirit of\nchivalry, and eager to prove their prowess, defied one another to jousts\nand tourneys, and for the time being brought back a state of warfare then\nfast passing away.\n\nThe most striking of these meetings arose from the contempt with which the\nFrench knights spoke of the cavalry of their enemy, which they declared to\nbe far inferior to their own. This insult, when told to the proud knights\nof Gonsalvo's army, brought from them a challenge to the knights of\nFrance, and a warlike meeting between eleven Spanish and as many French\nwarriors was arranged. A fair field was offered the combatants in the\nneutral territory under the walls of the Venetian city of Trani, and on\nthe appointed day a gallant array of well-armed knights of both parties\nappeared to guard the lists and maintain the honor of the tournament.\n\nSpectators crowded the roofs and battlements of Trani, while the lists\nwere thronged with French and Spanish cavaliers, who for the time laid\naside their enmity in favor of national honor and a fair fight. At the\nfixed hour the champions rode into the lists, armed at all points, and\ntheir horses richly caparisoned and covered with steel panoply. Among\nthose on the Castilian side were Diego de Paredes and Diego de Vera, men\nwho had won renown in the Moorish wars. Most conspicuous on the other side\nwas the good knight Pierre de Bayard, the chevalier \"_sans peur et sans\nreproche_,\" who was then entering upon his famous career.\n\nAt the sound of the signal trumpets the hostile parties rushed to the\nencounter, meeting in the centre of the lists with a shock that hurled\nthree of the Spaniards from their saddle, while four of their antagonists'\nhorses were slain. The fight, which began at ten in the morning, and was\nto end at sunset, if not concluded before, was prosecuted with great fury\nand varied success. Long before the hour of closing all the French were\ndismounted except the Chevalier Bayard and one of his companions, their\nhorses, at which the Spaniards had specially aimed, being disabled or\nslain. Seven of the Spaniards were still on horseback, and pressed so hard\nupon their antagonists that the victory seemed safely theirs.\n\nBut Bayard and his comrade bravely held their own, while the others,\nintrenched behind their dead horses, defended themselves vigorously with\nsword and shield, the Spaniards vainly attempting to spur their terrified\nhorses over the barrier. The fight went on in this way until the sun sank\nbelow the horizon, when, both parties still holding the field, neither was\ngiven the palm of victory, all the combatants being declared to have\nproved themselves good and valiant knights.\n\nBoth parties now met in the centre of the lists, where the combatants\nembraced as true companions in chivalry, \"making good cheer together\"\nbefore they separated. But the Great Captain did not receive the report of\nthe result with favor.\n\n\"We have,\" said one of his knights, \"disproved the taunts of the\nFrenchmen, and shown ourselves as good horsemen as they.\"\n\n\"I sent you for better,\" Gonsalvo coldly replied.\n\nA second combat in which the Chevalier Bayard was concerned met with a\nmore tragic termination. A Spanish cavalier, Alonzo de Sotomayor,\ncomplained that Bayard had treated him uncourteously while holding him\nprisoner. Bayard denied the charge, and defied the Spaniard to prove it by\nforce of arms, on horse or on foot, as he preferred. Sotomayor, well\nknowing Bayard's skill as a horseman, challenged him to a battle on foot\n_\u00e0 l'outrance_, or \"to the death.\"\n\nAt the appointed time the two combatants entered the lists, armed with\nsword and dagger and in complete armor, though wearing their visors up.\nFor a few minutes both knelt in silent prayer. They then rose, crossed\nthemselves, and advanced to the combat, \"the good knight Bayard,\" we are\ntold, \"moving as light of step as if he were going to lead some fair lady\ndown the dance.\"\n\nBayard was the smaller man of the two, and still felt weakness from a\nfever which had recently prostrated him. The Spaniard, taking advantage of\nthis, sought to crush him by the weight of his blows, or to close with him\nand bring him to the ground by dint of his superior strength. But the\nlightness and agility of the French knight enabled him to avoid the\nSpaniard's grasp, while, by skill with the sword, he parried his enemy's\nstrokes, and dealt him an occasional one in return.\n\nAt length, the Spaniard having exposed himself to attack by an\nill-directed blow, Bayard got in so sharp a thrust on the gorget that it\ngave way, and the point of the blade entered his throat. Maddened by the\npain of the wound, Sotomayor leaped furiously on his antagonist and\ngrasped him in his arms, both rolling on the ground together. While thus\nclasped in fierce struggle Bayard, who had kept his poniard in his left\nhand throughout the fight, while his enemy had left his in his belt, drove\nthe steel home under his eye with such force that it pierced through his\nbrain.\n\nAs the victor sprang to his feet, the judges awarded him the honors of the\nday, and the minstrels began to pour forth triumphant strains in his\nhonor. The good knight, however, bade them desist, as it was no time for\ngratulation when a good knight lay dead, and, first kneeling and returning\ngrateful thanks for his victory, he walked slowly from the lists, saying\nthat he was sorry for the result of the combat, and wished, since his\nhonor was saved, that his antagonist had lived.\n\nIn these passages at arms we discern the fading gleam of the spirit of\nmedi\u00e6val chivalry, soon to vanish before the new art of war. Rough and\nviolent as were these displays as compared with the pastimes of later\ndays, the magnificence with which they were conducted, and the\nmanifestations of knightly honor and courtesy which attended them, threw\nsomething of grace and softness over an age in which ferocity was the\nruling spirit.\n\nMeanwhile, the position of the little garrison of Barleta grew daily\nworse. No help came, the French gradually occupied the strongholds of the\nneighboring country, and a French fleet in the Adriatic stood seriously in\nthe way of the arrival of stores and reinforcements. But the Great Captain\nmaintained his cheerfulness through all discouragement, and sought to\ninfuse his spirit into the hearts of his followers. His condition would\nhave been desperate with an able opponent, but he perfectly understood the\ncharacter of the French commander and patiently bided his time.\n\nThe opportunity came. The French, weary of the slow game of blockade,\nmarched from their quarters and appeared before the walls of Barleta, bent\non drawing the garrison from the \"old den\" and deciding the affair in a\npitched battle. The Duke of Nemours sent a trumpet into the town to defy\nthe Great Captain to the encounter, but the latter coolly sent back word,--\n\n\"It is my custom to choose my own time and place for fighting, and I would\nthank the Duc de Nemours to wait till my men have time to shoe their\nhorses and burnish up their arms.\"\n\nThe duke waited a few days, then, finding that he could not decoy his wily\nfoe from the walls, broke camp and marched back, proud of having flaunted\na challenge in the face of the enemy. He knew not Gonsalvo. The French had\nnot gone far before the latter opened the gates and sent out his whole\nforce of cavalry, under Diego de Mendoza, with two corps of infantry, in\nrapid pursuit. Mendoza was so eager that he left the infantry in the rear,\nand fell on the French before they had got many miles away.\n\nA lively skirmish followed, though of short duration, Mendoza quickly\nretiring, pursued by the French rear-guard, whose straggling march had\ndetached it from the main body of the army. Mendoza's feigned retreat soon\nbrought him back to the infantry columns, which closed in on the enemy's\nflanks, while the flying cavalry wheeled in the rapid Moorish style and\ncharged their pursuers boldly in front. All was now confusion in the\nFrench ranks. Some resisted, but the greater part, finding themselves\nentrapped, sought to escape. In the end, nearly all who did not fall on\nthe field were carried prisoners to Barleta, under whose walls Gonsalvo\nhad drawn up his whole army, in readiness to support Mendoza if necessary.\nThe whole affair had passed so quickly that Nemours knew nothing of it\nuntil the bulk of his rear-guard were safely lodged within the walls of\nthe Spanish stronghold.\n\nThis brilliant success proved the turning-point in the tide of the war. A\nconvoy of transports soon after reached Barleta, bringing in an abundance\nof provisions, and the Spaniards, restored in health and spirits, looked\neagerly for some new enterprise. Nemours having incautiously set out on a\ndistant expedition, Gonsalvo at once fell on the town of Ruvo and took it\nby storm, in spite of a most obstinate defence. On April 28, 1503,\nGonsalvo, strengthened by reinforcements, finally left the stronghold of\nBarleta, where he and his followers had suffered so severely and shown\nsuch indomitable constancy. Reaching Cerignola, about sixteen miles from\nBarleta, he awaited the advancing army of the French, rapidly intrenching\nthe ground, which was well suited for defence. Before these works were\ncompleted, Nemours and his army appeared, and, though it was near\nnightfall, made an immediate attack. The commander was incited to this by\ntaunts on his courage from some hot-headed subordinates, to whom he weakly\ngave way, saying, \"We will fight to-night, then; and perhaps those who\nvaunt the loudest will be found to trust more to their spurs than to their\nswords,\"--a prediction which was to prove true.\n\nOf the battle, it must suffice to say that the trenches dug by the\nSpaniards fatally checked the French advance, and in the effort to find a\npassage Nemours fell mortally wounded. Soon the French lines were in\nconfusion, the Spanish arquebusiers pouring a galling fire into their\ndense masses. Perceiving the situation, Gonsalvo ordered a general\nadvance, and, leaping their intrenchments, the Spaniards rushed in fury on\ntheir foes, most of whose leaders had fallen. Panic succeeded, and the\nflying French were cut down almost without resistance.\n\nThe next morning the Great Captain passed over the field of battle, where\nlay more than three thousand of the French, half their entire force. The\nloss of the Spaniards was very small, and all the artillery, the baggage,\nand most of the colors of the enemy were in their hands. Rarely had so\ncomplete a victory been gained in so brief a time, the battle being hardly\nmore than one hour in duration. The body of the unfortunate Duke of\nNemours was found under a heap of the slain, much disfigured and bearing\nthe marks of three wounds. Gonsalvo was affected to tears at the sight of\nthe mutilated body of his young and gallant adversary, who, though\nunfitted to head an army, had always proved himself a valiant knight.\nDuring the following month Gonsalvo entered Naples, the main prize of the\nwar, where he was received with acclamations of joy and given the triumph\nwhich his brilliant exploits so richly deserved.\n\nThe work of the Great Captain was not yet at an end. Finding that his\nforces were being defeated in every encounter and the cities held by them\ncaptured, Louis XII. sent a large army to their relief, and late in the\nyear 1503 the hostile forces came face to face again, Gonsalvo being\nforced by the exigencies of the campaign to encamp in a deplorable\nsituation, a region of swamp, which had been converted by the incessant\nrains into a mere quagmire. The French occupied higher ground and were\nmuch more comfortably situated. But Gonsalvo refused to move. He was\nplaying his old waiting game, knowing that the French dared not attack his\nintrenched camp, and that time would work steadily in his favor.\n\n   [Illustration: GONSALVO DE CORDOVA FINDING THE CORPSE OF THE DUKE OF\n                                NEMOURS.]\n\n      GONSALVO DE CORDOVA FINDING THE CORPSE OF THE DUKE OF NEMOURS.\n\n\n\"It is indispensable to the public service to maintain our present\nposition,\" he said to the officers who appealed to him to move; \"and be\nassured, I would sooner march forward two steps, though it would bring me\nto my grave, than fall back one, to gain a hundred years of life.\"\n\nAfter that there were no more appeals. Gonsalvo's usual cheerfulness was\nmaintained, infusing spirit into his men in all the inconveniences of\ntheir situation. He had a well-planned object in view. The hardy\nSpaniards, long used to rough campaigning, bore their trying position with\nunyielding resolution. The French, on the contrary, largely new recruits,\ngrew weary and mutinous, while sickness broke out in their ranks and\nincreased with alarming rapidity.\n\nAt length Gonsalvo's day came. His opponent, not dreaming of an attack,\nhad extended his men over a wide space. On the night of December 28, in\ndarkness and storm, the Spanish army broke camp, marched to the river that\ndivided the forces, silently threw a bridge across the stream, and were\nsoon on its opposite side. Here they fell like a thunderbolt on the\nunsuspecting and unprepared French, who were soon in disordered retreat,\nhotly pursued by their foes, their knights vainly attempting to check the\nenemy. Bayard had three horses killed under him, and was barely rescued\nfrom death by a friend. So utterly were the French beaten that their\ndiscouraged garrisons gave up town after town without a blow, and that\nbrilliant night's work not only ended the control of France over the\nkingdom of Naples, but filled Louis XII. with apprehension of losing all\nhis possessions in Italy.\n\nSuch were the most brilliant exploits of the man who well earned the proud\ntitle of the Great Captain. He was as generous in victory as vigorous in\nbattle, and as courteous and genial with all he met as if he had been a\ncourtier instead of a soldier. In the end, his striking and unbroken\nsuccess in war aroused the envy and jealousy of King Ferdinand, and after\nthe return of Gonsalvo to Spain the unjust monarch kept him in retirement\ntill his death, putting smaller men at the head of his armies rather than\npermit the greatest soldier of the century to throw his own exploits more\ndeeply into the shade.\n\n\n\n\n\nA KING IN CAPTIVITY.\n\n\nTwo great rivals were on the thrones of France and Spain,--Francis I., who\ncame to power in France in 1515, and Charles I., who became king of Spain\nin 1516. In 1519 they were rivals for the imperial power in Germany.\nCharles gained the German throne, being afterwards known as the emperor\nCharles V., and during the remainder of their reigns these rival monarchs\nwere frequently at war. A league was formed against the French king by\nCharles V., Henry VIII. of England, and Pope Leo X., as a result of which\nthe French were driven from the territory of Milan, in Italy. In 1524 they\nwere defeated at the battle of Sesia, the famous Chevalier Bayard here\nfalling with a mortal wound; and in 1525 they met with a more disastrous\ndefeat at the battle of Pavia, whose result is said to have caused Francis\nto write to his mother, \"_Madame, tout est perdu fors l'honneur_\" (\"All is\nlost but honor\").\n\nThe reason for these words may be briefly given. Francis was besieging\nPavia, with hopes of a speedy surrender, when the forces of Charles\nmarched to its relief. The most experienced French generals advised the\nking to retire, but he refused. He had said he would take Pavia or perish\nin the attempt, and a romantic notion of honor held him fast. The result\nwas ruinous, as may be expected where sentiment outweighs prudence.\nStrongly as the French were intrenched, they were broken and put to rout,\nand soon there was no resistance except where the king obstinately\ncontinued to fight.\n\nWounded in several places, and thrown from his horse, which was killed\nunder him, Francis defended himself on foot with heroic valor, while the\ngroup of brave officers who sought to save his life, one after another,\nlost their own. At length, exhausted with his efforts, and barely able to\nwield his sword, the king was left almost alone, exposed to the fierce\nassault of some Spanish soldiers, who were enraged by his obstinacy and\nignorant of his rank.\n\nAt this moment a French gentleman named Pomperant, who had entered the\nservice of Spain, recognized the struggling king and hurried to his aid,\nhelping to keep off the assailants, and begging him to surrender to the\nDuke of Bourbon, who was close at hand. Great as was the peril, Francis\nindignantly refused to surrender to a rebel and traitor, as he held\nBourbon to be, and calling to Lannoy, a general in the imperial army who\nwas also near by, he gave up his sword to him. Lannoy, recognizing his\nprisoner, received the sword with a show of the deepest respect, and\nhanded the king his own in return, saying,--\n\n\"It does not become so great a monarch to remain disarmed in the presence\nof one of the emperor's subjects.\"\n\nThe lack of prudence in Francis had proved serious not only to himself,\nbut to his troops, ten thousand of whom fell, among them many\ndistinguished nobles who preferred death to dishonor. Numbers of high rank\nwere taken prisoners, among them the king of Navarre. In two weeks not a\nFrenchman remained in Italy. The gains from years of war had vanished in a\nsingle battle.\n\nThe tidings of the captivity of the French king filled France with\nconsternation and Spain with delight, while to all Europe it was an event\nof the deepest concern, for all the nations felt the danger that might\narise from the ambition of the powerful emperor of Spain and Germany.\nHenry VIII. requested that Francis should be delivered to him, as an ally\nof Spain, though knowing well that such a demand would not gain a moment's\nconsideration. As for Italy, it was in terror lest it should be overrun by\nthe imperial armies.\n\nFrancis, whom Lannoy held with great respect, but with the utmost care to\nprevent an escape, hoped much from the generosity of Charles, whose\ndisposition he judged from his own. But Charles proposed to weaken his\nenemy and refused to set him free unless he would renounce all claims upon\nItaly, yield the provinces of Provence and Dauphin\u00e9 to form a kingdom for\nthe Constable Bourbon, and give up Burgundy to Germany. On hearing these\nsevere conditions, Francis, in a transport of rage, drew his dagger,\nexclaiming,--\n\n\"It were better that a king should die thus!\"\n\nA by-stander arrested the thrust; but, though Francis soon regained his\ncomposure, he declared that he would remain a prisoner for life rather\nthan purchase liberty at such a price to his country.\n\nThinking that these conditions came from the Spanish council, and not from\nCharles himself, Francis now became anxious to visit the emperor in Spain,\nhoping to soften him in a personal interview. He even furnished the\ngalleys for that purpose, Charles at that time being too poor to fit out a\nsquadron, and soon the spectacle was seen of a captive monarch sailing in\nhis own ships past his own dominions, of which he had a distant and\nsorrowful view, to a land in which he was to suffer the indignities of\nprison life.\n\nLanding at Barcelona, Francis was taken to Madrid and lodged in the\nalcazar, under the most vigilant guard. He soon found that he had been far\ntoo hasty in trusting to the generosity of his captor. Charles, on\nlearning of his captivity, had made a politic show of sympathy and\nfeeling, but on getting his rival fully into his hands manifested a plain\nintention of forcing upon him the hardest bargain possible. Instead of\ntreating his prisoner with the courtesy due from one monarch to another,\nhe seemed to seek by rigorous usage to force from him a great ransom.\n\nThe captive king was confined in an old castle, under a keeper of such\nformal austerity of manners as added to the disgust of the high-spirited\nFrench monarch. The only exercise allowed him was to ride on a mule,\nsurrounded by armed guards on horseback. Though Francis pressingly\nsolicited an interview, Charles suffered several weeks to pass before\ngoing near him. These indignities made so deep an impression on the\nprisoner that his natural lightness of temper deserted him, and after a\nperiod of deep depression he fell into a dangerous fever, in which he\nbitterly complained of the harshness with which he had been treated, and\nsaid that the emperor would now have the satisfaction of having his\ncaptive die on his hands.\n\nThe physicians at length despaired of his life, and informed Charles that\nthey saw no hope of his recovery unless he was granted the interview he so\ndeeply desired. This news put the emperor into a quandary. If Francis\nshould die, all the advantage gained from the battle of Pavia would be\nlost. And there were clouds in the sky elsewhere. Henry VIII. had\nconcluded a treaty of alliance with Queen Louise, regent of France, and\nengaged to use all his efforts for the release of the king. In Italy a\ndangerous conspiracy had been detected. There was danger of a general\nEuropean confederacy against him unless he should come to some speedy\nagreement with the captive king.\n\nCharles, moved by these various considerations, at length visited Francis,\nand, with a show of respect and affection, gave him such promises of\nspeedy release and princely treatment as greatly cheered the sad heart of\nthe captive. The interview was short; Francis was too ill to bear a long\none; but its effect was excellent, and the sick man at once began to\nrecover, soon regaining his former health. Hope had proved a medicine far\nsuperior to all the drugs of the doctors.\n\nBut the obdurate captor had said more than he meant. Francis was kept as\nclosely confined as ever. And insult was added to indignity by the\nemperor's reception of the Constable Bourbon, a traitorous subject of\nFrance, whom Charles received with the highest honors which a monarch\ncould show his noblest visitor, and whom he made his general-in-chief in\nItaly. This act had a most serious result, which may here be briefly\ndescribed. In 1527 Bourbon made an assault on Rome, with an army largely\ncomposed of Lutherans from Germany, and took it by assault, he being\nkilled on the walls. There followed a sack of the great city which had not\nbeen surpassed in brutality by the Vandals themselves, and for months Rome\nlay in the hands of a barbarous soldiery, who plundered and destroyed\nwithout stint or mercy.\n\nWhat Charles mainly insisted upon and Francis most indignantly refused was\nthe cession of Burgundy to the German empire. He was willing to yield on\nall other points, but bitterly refused to dismember his kingdom. He would\nyield all claim to territory in Italy and the Netherlands, would pay a\nlarge sum in ransom, and would make other concessions, but Burgundy was\npart of France, and Burgundy he would not give up.\n\nIn the end Francis, in deep despair, took steps towards resigning his\ncrown to his son, the dauphin. A plot for his escape was also formed,\nwhich filled Charles with the fear that a second effort might succeed. In\ndread that, through seeking too much, he might lose all, he finally agreed\nupon a compromise in regard to Burgundy, Francis consenting to yield it,\nbut not until after he was set at liberty. The treaty included many other\narticles, most of them severe and rigorous, while Francis agreed to leave\nhis sons, the dauphin and the Duke of Orleans, in the emperor's hands as\nhostages for the fulfilment of the treaty. This treaty was signed at\nMadrid, January 14, 1526. By it Charles believed that he had effectually\nhumbled his rival, and weakened him so that he could never regain any\ngreat power. In this the statesmen of the day did not agree with him, as\nthey were not ready to believe that the king of France would live up to\nconditions of such severity, forced from him under constraint.\n\n     [Illustration: FRANCIS I. REFUSING THE DEMANDS OF THE EMPEROR.]\n\n             FRANCIS I. REFUSING THE DEMANDS OF THE EMPEROR.\n\n\nThe treaty signed, the two monarchs seemed to become at once the best of\nfriends. They often appeared together in public; they had long conferences\nin private; they travelled in the same litter and joined in the same\namusements; the highest confidence and affection seemed to exist between\nthem. Yet this love was all a false show,--Francis still distrusted the\nemperor, and Charles still had him watched like a prisoner.\n\nIn about a month the ratification of the treaty was brought from France,\nand Francis set out from Madrid with the first true emotions of joy which\nhe had felt for a year. He was escorted by a body of horse under Alarcon,\nwho, when the frontiers of France were reached, guarded him as\nscrupulously as ever. On arriving at the banks of the Andaye River, which\nthere separated the two kingdoms, Lautrec appeared on the opposite bank,\nwith a guard of horse equal to that of Alarcon. An empty bark was moored\nin mid-stream. The cavalry drew up in order on each bank. Lannoy, with\neight gentlemen and the king, put off in a boat from the Spanish side of\nthe stream. Lautrec did the same from the French side, bringing with him\nthe dauphin and the Duke of Orleans. The two parties met in the empty\nvessel, where in a moment the exchange was made, Francis embracing his\nsons and then handing them over as hostages. Leaping into Lautrec's boat,\nhe was quickly on the soil of France.\n\nMounting a Barbary horse which awaited him, the freed captive waved his\nhand triumphantly over his head, shouted joyfully several times, \"I am yet\na king!\" and galloped away at full speed for Bayonne. He had been held in\ncaptivity for a year and twenty-two days.\n\nOur tale of the captivity of the king ends here, but the consequences of\nthat captivity must be told. A league was immediately afterwards formed\nagainst Charles, named the Holy League, from the Pope being at its head.\nThe nobles of Burgundy refused to be handed over to the imperial realm,\nand an assembly called by Francis absolved him from his oath to keep the\ntreaty of Madrid. Francis, bewailing his lack of power to do what he had\npromised in regard to Burgundy, offered to pay the emperor two millions of\ncrowns instead. In short, Charles had overreached himself through his\nstringency to a captive rival, and lost all through his eagerness to\nobtain too much.\n\nTen years afterwards the relations between the two monarchs were in a\nmeasure reversed. A rebellion had broken out in Flanders which needed the\nimmediate presence of Charles, and, for reasons satisfactory to himself,\nhe wished to go through France. His counsellors at Madrid looked upon such\na movement as fatally rash; but Charles persisted, feeling that he knew\nthe character of Francis better than they. The French king was ready\nenough to grant the permission asked, and looked upon the occasion as an\nopportunity to show his rival how kings should deal with their royal\nneighbors.\n\nCharles was received with an ostentatious welcome, each town entertaining\nhim with all the magnificence it could display. He was presented with the\nkeys of the gates, the prisoners were set at liberty, and he was shown all\nthe honor due to the sovereign of the country itself. The emperor, though\nimpatient to continue his journey, remained six days in Paris, where all\nthings possible were done to render his visit a pleasant one. Had Francis\nlistened to the advice of some of his ministers, he would have seized and\nheld prisoner the incautious monarch who had so long kept him in\ncaptivity. But the confidence of the emperor was not misplaced; no\nconsideration could induce the high-minded French king to violate his\nplighted word, or make him believe that Charles would fail to carry out\ncertain promises he had made. He forgot for the time how he had dealt with\nhis own compacts, but Charles remembered, and was no sooner out of France\nthan all his promises faded from his mind, and Francis learned that he was\nnot the only king who could enter into engagements which he had no\nintention to fulfil.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE INVASION OF AFRICA.\n\n\nAs Italy was invaded by Gonsalvo de Cordova, the Great Captain, so Africa\nwas invaded by Cardinal Ximenes, the Great Churchman, one of the ablest\nmen who ever appeared in Spain, despite the fact that he made a dreadful\nbonfire of thousands of Arabian manuscripts in the great square of\nGranada. The greater part of these were copies of the Koran, but many of\nthem were of high scientific and literary value, and impossible to\nreplace. Yet, while thus engaged in a work fitted for an unlettered\nbarbarian, Ximenes was using his large revenues to found the University of\nAlcala, the greatest educational institution in Spain, and was preparing\nhis famous polyglot Bible, for which the rarest manuscripts were\npurchased, without regard to cost, that the Scriptures might be shown at\none view in their various ancient languages. To indicate the cost of this\nwork, it is said that he paid four thousand golden crowns for seven\nmanuscripts, which came too late to be of use in the work. It is strange,\nunder these circumstances, that he failed to preserve the valuable part of\nthe Arabian manuscripts.\n\nThe vast labors undertaken by Ximenes at home did not keep him from\nenterprises abroad. He was filled with a burning zeal for the propagation\nof the Catholic faith, formed plans for a crusade to the Holy Land, and\norganized a remarkably successful expedition against the Moslems of\nAfrica. It is of the latter that we desire to speak.\n\nSoon after the death of Isabella, Mazalquivir, a nest of pirates on the\nBarbary coast, had been captured by an expedition organized by the\nenergetic Ximenes. He quickly set in train a more difficult enterprise,\none directed against Oran, a Moorish city of twenty thousand inhabitants,\nstrongly fortified, with a large commerce, and the haunt of a swarm of\npiratical cruisers. The Spanish king had no money and little heart for\nthis enterprise, but that did not check the enthusiastic cardinal, who\noffered to loan all the sums needed, and to take full charge of the\nexpedition, leading it himself, if the king pleased. Ferdinand made no\nobjection to this, being quite willing to make conquests at some one\nelse's expense, and the cardinal set to work.\n\nIt is not often that an individual can equip an army, but Ximenes had a\ngreat income of his own and had the resources of the Church at his back.\nBy the close of the spring of 1509 he had made ready a fleet of ten\ngalleys and eighty smaller vessels, and assembled an army of four thousand\nhorse and ten thousand foot, fully supplied with provisions and military\nstores for a four months' campaign. Such was the energy and activity of a\nman whose life, until a few years before, had been spent in the solitude\nof the cloister and in the quiet practices of religion, and who was now an\ninfirm invalid of more than seventy years of age.\n\nThe nobles thwarted his plans, and mocked at the idea of \"a monk fighting\nthe battles of Spain.\" The soldiers had little taste for fighting under a\nfather of the Church, \"while the Great Captain was left to stay at home\nand count his beads like a hermit.\" The king threw cold water on the\nenterprise. But the spirit and enthusiasm of the old monk triumphed over\nthem all, and on the 16th of May the fleet weighed anchor, reaching the\nport of Mazalquivir on the following day. Oran, the goal of the\nexpedition, lay about a league away.\n\nAs soon as the army was landed and drawn up in line, Ximenes mounted his\nmule and rode along its front, dressed in his priestly robes, but with a\nsword by his side. A group of friars followed, also with monastic garbs\nand weapons of war. The cardinal, ascending a rising ground, made an\nanimated address to the soldiers, rousing their indignation by speaking of\nthe devastation of the coast of Spain by the Moslems, and awakening their\ncupidity by dwelling on the golden spoil to be found in the rich city of\nOran. He concluded by saying that he had come to peril his own life in the\nservice of the cross and lead them in person to battle.\n\nThe officers now crowded around the warlike old monk and earnestly begged\nhim not to expose his sacred person to the hazards of the fight, saying\nthat his presence would do more harm than good, as the men might be\ndistracted from the work before them by attending to his personal safety.\nThis last argument moved the warlike cardinal, who, with much reluctance,\nconsented to keep in the rear and leave the command of the army to its\nmilitary leader, Count Pedro Navarro.\n\nThe day was now far advanced. Beacon-fires on the hill-tops showed that\nthe country was in alarm. Dark groups of Moorish soldiers could be seen on\nthe summit of the ridge that lay between Oran and Mazalquivir, and which\nit would be necessary to take before the city could be reached. The men\nwere weary with the labors of landing, and needed rest and refreshment,\nand Navarro deemed it unsafe to attempt anything more that day; but the\nenergetic prelate bade him \"to go forward in God's name,\" and orders to\nadvance were at once given.\n\nSilently the Spanish troops began to ascend the steep sides of the\nacclivity. Fortunately for them, a dense mist had arisen, which rolled\ndown the skirts of the hills and filled the valley through which they\nmoved. As soon as they left its cover and were revealed to the Moors a\nshower of balls and arrows greeted them, followed by a desperate charge\ndown the hill. But the Spanish infantry, with their deep ranks and long\npikes, moved on unbroken by the assault, while Navarro opened with a\nbattery of heavy guns on the flank of the enemy.\n\nThrown into disorder by the deadly volleys, the Moors began to give\nground, and, pressed upon heavily by the Spanish spearsmen, soon broke\ninto flight. The Spaniards hotly pursued, breaking rank in their eagerness\nin a way that might have proved fatal but for the panic of the Moors, who\nhad lost all sense of discipline. The hill-top was reached, and down its\nopposite slope poured the Spaniards, driving the fleeing Moors. Not far\nbefore them rose the walls of Oran. The fleet had anchored before the city\nand was vigorously cannonading it, being answered with equal spirit by\nsixty pieces of artillery on the fortifications. Such were the excitement\nand enthusiasm of the soldiers that they forgot weariness and disregarded\nobstacles. In swift pursuit they followed the scattering Moors, and in a\nbrief time were close to the walls, defended by a deeply discouraged\ngarrison.\n\nThe Spaniards had brought few ladders, but in the intense excitement and\nenergy of the moment no obstacle deterred them. Planting their long pikes\nagainst the walls, or thrusting them into the crevices between the stones,\nthey clambered up with remarkable dexterity,--a feat which they were\nutterly unable to repeat the next day, when they tried it in cold blood.\n\nA weak defence was made, and the ramparts soon swarmed with Spanish\nsoldiers. Sousa, the captain of the cardinal's guard, was the first to\ngain the summit, where he unfurled the banner of Ximenes,--the cross on one\nside and the cardinal's arms on the other. Six other banners soon floated\nfrom the walls, and the soldiers, leaping down into the streets, gained\nand threw open the gates. In streamed the army, sweeping all opposition\nbefore it. Resistance and flight were alike unavailing. Houses and mosques\nwere tumultuously entered, no mercy being shown, no regard for age or sex,\nthe soldiers abandoning themselves to the brutal license and ferocity\ncommon to the wars of that epoch.\n\nIn vain Navarro sought to check his brutal troops; they were beyond\ncontrol; the butchery never ceased until, gorged with the food and wine\nfound in the houses, the worn-out soldiers flung themselves down in the\nstreets and squares to sleep. Four thousand Moors had been slain in the\nbrief assault, and perhaps twice that number were taken prisoners. The\ncity of Oran, that morning an opulent and prosperous community, was at\nnight a ruined and captive city, with its ferocious conquerors sleeping\namidst their slaughtered victims.\n\n   [Illustration: LIBERATION OF THE CAPTIVES FROM THE DUNGEON OF ORAN.]\n\n           LIBERATION OF THE CAPTIVES FROM THE DUNGEON OF ORAN.\n\n\nIt was an almost incredible victory, considering the rapidity with which\nit had been achieved. On the morning of the 16th the fleet of transports\nhad set sail from Spain. On the night of the 17th the object of the\nexpedition was fully accomplished, the army being in complete possession\nof Oran, a strongly manned and fortified city, taken almost without loss.\nXimenes, to whose warlike enthusiasm this remarkable victory was wholly\ndue, embarked in his galley the next morning and sailed along the city's\nmargin, his soul swelling with satisfaction at his wonderful success. On\nlanding, the army hailed him as the true victor of Oran, a wave of\nacclamations following him as he advanced to the alcazar, where the keys\nof the fortress were put into his hands. A few hours after the surrender\nof the city a powerful reinforcement arrived for its relief, but on\nlearning of its loss the disconcerted Moors retired. Had the attack been\ndeferred to the next day, as Navarro proposed, it would probably have\nfailed. The people of Spain ascribed the victory to inspiration from\nheaven; but the only inspiration lay in the impetuous energy and\nenthusiasm of the cardinal. Yet at that period it was by no means uncommon\nto invent stories of miracles, and it is soberly asserted that the sun\nstood still for several hours while the action went on, Heaven repeating\nthe miracle of Joshua, and halting the solar orb in its career, that more\nof the heathen might be slaughtered. The greatest miracle of all would\nhave been had the sun stood still nowhere else than over the fated city of\nOran.\n\nIt may not be amiss to add to this narrative an account of a second\nexpedition against Africa, made by Charles V. some thirty years later, in\nwhich Heaven failed to come to the aid of Spain, and whose termination was\nas disastrous as that of the expedition of Ximenes had been fortunate.\n\nIt was the city of Algiers that Charles set out to reduce, and, though the\nseason was late and it was the time of the violent autumnal winds, he\npersisted in his purpose in spite of the advice of experienced mariners.\nThe expedition consisted of twenty thousand foot and two thousand horse,\nwith a large body of noble volunteers. The storms came as promised and\ngave the army no small trouble in its voyage, but at length, with much\ndifficulty and danger, the troops were landed on the coast near Algiers\nand advanced at once upon the town.\n\nHascan, the Moorish leader, had only about six thousand men to oppose to\nthe large Spanish army, and had little hope of a successful resistance by\nforce of arms. But in this case Heaven--if we admit its interference at\nall--came to the aid of the Moors. On the second day after landing, and\nbefore operations had fairly begun, the clouds gathered and the skies grew\nthreatening. Towards evening rain began to fall and a fierce wind arose.\nDuring the night a violent tempest swept the camp, and the soldiers, who\nwere without tents or shelter of any kind, were soon in a deplorable\nstate. Their camp, which was in a low situation, was quickly overflowed by\nthe pouring rains, and the ground became ankle deep in mud. No one could\nlie down, while the wind blew so furiously that they could only stand by\nthrusting their spears into the ground and clinging to them. About\nday-dawn they were attacked by the vigilant Hascan, and a considerable\nnumber of them killed before the enemy was forced to retire.\n\nBad as the night had been, the day proved more disastrous still. The\ntempest continued, its force increasing, and the sea, roused to its utmost\nfury by the winds, made sad havoc of the ships. They were torn from their\nanchorage, flung violently together, beat to pieces on the rocks, and\ndriven ashore, while many sank bodily in the waves. In less than an hour\nfifteen war-vessels and a hundred and forty transports were wrecked and\neight thousand men had perished, those of the crews who reached shore\nbeing murdered by the Moors as soon as they touched land.\n\nIt was with anguish and astoundment that the emperor witnessed this wreck\nof all his hopes, the great stores which he had collected for subsistence\nand military purposes being in one fatal hour buried in the depths of the\nsea. At length the wind began to fall, and some hopes arose that vessels\nenough might have escaped to carry the distressed army back to Europe. But\ndarkness was again at hand, and a second night of suspense and misery was\npassed. In the morning a boat reached land with a messenger from Andrew\nDoria, the admiral of the fleet, who sent word that in fifty years of\nmaritime life he had never seen so frightful a storm, and that he had been\nforced to bear away with his shattered ships to Cape Metafuz, whither he\nadvised the emperor to march with all speed, as the skies were still\nthreatening and the tempest might be renewed.\n\nThe emperor was now in a fearful quandary. Metafuz was at least three\ndays' march away. All the food that had been brought ashore was consumed.\nThe soldiers, worn out with fatigue, were in no condition for such a\njourney. Yet it was impossible to stay where they were. There was no need\nof deliberation; no choice was left; their only hope of safety lay in\ninstant movement.\n\nThe sick, wounded, and feeble were placed in the centre, the stronger in\nfront and rear, and the disastrous march began. Some of the men could\nhardly bear the weight of their arms; others, worn out with toiling\nthrough the nearly impassable roads, lay down and died; many perished from\nhunger and exhaustion, there being no food but roots and berries gathered\nby the way and the flesh of horses killed by the emperor's order; many\nwere drowned in the streams, swollen by the severe rains; many were killed\nby the enemy, who followed and harassed them throughout the march. The\nlate gallant army was a bedraggled and miserable fragment when the\nsurvivors at length reached Metafuz. Fortunately the storm was at an end,\nand they were able to obtain from the ships the provisions of which they\nstood so sorely in need.\n\nThe calamities which attended this unlucky expedition were not yet at an\nend. No sooner had the soldiers embarked than a new storm arose, less\nviolent than the former, but sufficient to scatter the ships to right and\nleft, some making port in Spain, some in Italy, all seeking such harbors\nof refuge as they could find. The emperor, after passing through great\nperils, was driven to the port of Bugia in Africa, where contrary winds\nheld him prisoner for several weeks. He at length reached Spain, to find\nthe whole land in dismay at the fate of the gallant expedition, which had\nset out with such high hopes of success. To the end of his reign Charles\nV. had no further aspirations for conquest in Africa.\n\n\n\n\n\nAN EMPEROR RETIRED FROM BUSINESS.\n\n\nIn October of the year 1555 a strange procession passed through a rugged\nand hilly region of Spain. At its head rode an alcalde with a posse of\nalguazils. Next came a gouty old man in a horse-litter, like a prisoner in\nthe hands of a convoy of officers of justice. A body of horsemen followed,\nand in the rear toiled onward a long file of baggage-mules.\n\nAs the train advanced into the more settled regions of the country it\nbecame evident that the personage thus convoyed was not a prisoner, but a\nperson of the highest consequence. On each side of the road the people\nassembled to see him pass, with a show of deep respect. At the towns along\nthe route the great lords of the neighborhood gathered in his honor, and\nin the cities the traveller was greeted by respectful deputations of\nofficials. When Burgos was approached the great constable of Castile, with\na strong retinue of attendants, came to meet him, and when he passed\nthrough the illuminated streets of that city the bells rang out in merry\npeals, while enthusiastic people filled the streets.\n\nIt was not a prisoner to the law, but a captive to gout, who thus passed\nin slow procession through the lands and cities of Spain. It was the royal\nCharles, King of Spain and the Netherlands, Emperor of Germany, and\nmagnate of America, at that time the greatest monarch in Europe, lord of a\nrealm greater than that of Charlemagne, who made his way with this small\nfollowing and in this simple manner through the heart of his Spanish\ndominions. He had done what few kings have done before or since,\nvoluntarily thrown off his crown in the height of his power,--weary of\nreigning, surfeited with greatness,--and retired to spend the remainder of\nhis life in privacy, to dwell far from the pomp of courts in a simple\ncommunity of monks.\n\nThe next principal halting-place of the retired monarch was the city of\nValladolid, once the capital of the kingdom and still a rich and splendid\nplace, adorned with stately public buildings and the palaces of great\nnobles. Here he remained for some time resting from his journey, his house\nthronged with visitors of distinction. Among these, one day, came the\ncourt fool. Charles touched his cap to him.\n\n\"Welcome, brother,\" said the jester; \"do you raise your hat to me because\nyou are no longer emperor?\"\n\n\"No,\" answered Charles, \"but because this sorry courtesy is all I have\nleft to give you.\"\n\nOn quitting Valladolid Charles seemed to turn his back finally on the\nworld, with all its pomps and vanities. Before leaving he took his last\ndinner in public, and bade an affectionate farewell to his sisters, his\ndaughter, and his grandson, who had accompanied him thus far in his\njourney. A large train of nobles and cavaliers rode with him to the gates\nof the city, where he courteously dismissed them, and moved onward\nattended only by his simple train.\n\n\"Heaven be praised!\" said the world-weary monarch, as he came nearer his\nplace of retreat; \"after this no more visits of ceremony, no more\nreceptions!\"\n\nBut he was not yet rid of show and ostentation. Spending the night at\nMedina del Campo, at the house of a rich banker named Rodrigo de Due\u00f1as,\nthe latter, by way of display, warmed the emperor's room with a brazier of\npure gold, in which, in place of common fuel, sticks of cinnamon were\nburned. Neither the perfume nor the ostentation was agreeable to Charles,\nand on leaving the next morning he punished his over-officious host by\nrefusing to permit him to kiss his hand, and by causing him to be paid for\nthe night's lodging like a common inn-keeper.\n\nThis was not the first time that cinnamon had been burned in the emperor's\nchamber. The same was done by the Fuggers, the famous bankers of Germany,\nwho had loaned Charles large sums for his expedition against Tunis, and\nentertained him at their house on his return. In this case the emperor was\nnot offended by the odor of cinnamon, since it was modified by a different\nand more agreeable perfume. The bankers, grateful to Charles for breaking\nup a pestilent nest of Barbary pirates, threw the receipts for the money\nthey had loaned him into the fire, turning their gold into ashes in his\nbehalf. This was a grateful sacrifice to the emperor, whose war-like\nenterprises consumed more money than he could readily command.\n\nThe vicinity of Yuste was reached late in November. Here resided a\ncommunity of Jeronymite monks, in whose monastery he proposed to pass the\nremainder of his days. There were two roads by which it could be\nreached,--one an easy, winding highway, the other a rugged mountain-pass.\nBut by the latter four days would be saved, and Charles, tired of the long\njourney, determined to take it, difficult as it might prove.\n\nHe had been warned against the mountain pathway, and found it fully as\nformidable as he had been told. A body of hardy rustics were sent ahead,\nwith pikes, shovels, and other implements, to clear the way. But it was\nchoked here and there with fallen stones and trunks of trees which they\nwere unable to move. In some localities the path wound round dizzy\nprecipices, where a false step would have been fatal. To any traveller it\nwould have been very difficult; to the helpless emperor it was frightfully\ndangerous. The peasants carried the litter; in bad parts of the way the\nemperor was transferred to his chair; in very perilous places the vigorous\npeasants carried him in their arms.\n\nSeveral hours of this hard toil passed before they reached the summit. As\nthey emerged from the dark defiles of the _Puerto Nuevo_--now known as \"The\nEmperor's Pass\"--Charles exclaimed, \"It is the last pass I shall go through\nin this world, save that of death.\"\n\nThe descent was much more easy, and soon the gray walls of Yuste, half\nhidden in chestnut-groves, came in sight. Yet it was three months before\nthe traveller reached there, for the apartments preparing for him were far\nfrom ready, and he had to wait throughout the winter in the vicinity, in a\ncastle of the Count of Oropesa, and in the midst of an almost continual\ndownpour of rain, which turned the roads to mire, the country almost to a\nswamp, and the mountains to vapor-heaps. The threshold of his new home was\nfar from an agreeable one.\n\nCharles V. had long contemplated the step he had thus taken. He was only\nfifty-five years of age, but he had become an old man at fifty, and was\nsuch a victim to the gout as to render his life a constant torment and the\nduties of royalty too heavy to be borne. So, taking a resolution which few\nmonarchs have taken before or since, he gave up his power and resolved to\nspend the remainder of his life in such quiet and peace as a retired\nmonastery would give. Spain and its subject lands he transferred to his\nson Philip, who was to gain both fame and infamy as Philip II. He did his\nbest, also, to transfer the imperial crown of Germany to his fanatical and\nheartless heir, but his brother Ferdinand, who was in power there, would\nnot consent, and he was obliged to make Ferdinand emperor of Germany, and\nbreak in two the vast dominion which he had controlled.\n\nCharles had only himself to thank for his gout. Like many a man in humbler\nlife, he had abused the laws of nature until they had avenged themselves\nupon him. The pleasures of the table with him far surpassed those of\nintellectual or business pursuits. He had an extraordinary appetite, equal\nto that of any royal _gourmand_ of whom history speaks, and, while leaving\nhis power behind him, he brought this enemy with him into his retirement.\n\n              [Illustration: CHARLES V. APPROACHING YUSTE.]\n\n                      CHARLES V. APPROACHING YUSTE.\n\n\nWe are told by a Venetian envoy at his court, in the latter part of his\nreign, that, while still in bed in the morning, he was served with potted\ncapon, prepared with sugar, milk, and spices, and then went to sleep\nagain. At noon a meal of various dishes was served him, and another after\nvespers. In the evening he supped heartily on anchovies, of which he was\nparticularly fond, or some other gross and savory food. His cooks were\noften at their wits' end to devise some new dish, rich and highly seasoned\nenough to satisfy his appetite, and his perplexed purveyor one day,\nknowing Charles's passion for timepieces, told him \"that he really did not\nknow what new dish he could prepare him, unless it were a _fricass\u00e9e_ of\nwatches.\"\n\nCharles drank as heartily as he ate. His huge repasts were washed down\nwith potations proportionately large. Iced beer was a favorite beverage,\nwith which he began on rising and kept up during the day. By way of a\nstronger potation, Rhenish wine was much to his taste. Roger Ascham, who\nsaw him on St. Andrew's day dining at the feast of the Golden Fleece,\ntells us: \"He drank the best that I ever saw. He had his head in the glass\nfive times as long as any of us, and never drank less than a good quart at\nonce of Rhenish.\"\n\nIt was this over-indulgence in the pleasures of the table that brought the\nemperor to Yuste. His physician warned him in vain. His confessor wasted\nadmonitions on his besetting sin. Sickness and suffering vainly gave him\nwarning to desist. Indigestion troubled him; bilious disorders brought\nmisery to his overworked stomach. At length came gout, the most terrible\nof his foes. This enemy gave him little rest day or night. The man who had\nhunted in the mountains for days without fatigue, who had kept the saddle\nday and night in his campaigns, who had held his own in the lists with the\nbest knights of Europe, was now a miserable cripple, carried, wherever he\nwent, in the litter of an invalid.\n\nOne would have thought that, in his monastic retreat, Charles would cease\nto indulge in gastronomic excesses, but the retired emperor, with little\nelse to think of, gave as much attention to his appetite as ever. Yuste\nwas kept in constant communication with the rest of the world on matters\nconnected with the emperor's table. He was especially fond of fish and all\nthe progeny of the water,--eels, frogs, oysters, and the like. The trout of\nthe neighborhood were too small for his liking, so he had larger ones sent\nfrom a distance. Potted fish--anchovies in particular--were favorite viands.\nEel pasty appealed strongly to his taste. Soles, lampreys, flounders\nreached his kitchen from Seville and Portugal. The country around supplied\npork, mutton, and game. Sausages were sent him from a distance; olives\nwere brought from afar, as those near at hand were not to his liking.\nPresents of sweetmeats and confectionery were sent him by ladies who\nremembered his ancient tastes. In truth, Charles, tortured with gout, did\neverything he well could to favor its attacks.\n\nThe retired emperor, though he made a monastery his abode, had no idea of\nliving like a monk. His apartments were richly furnished and hung with\nhandsome tapestry, and every attention was paid to his personal comfort.\nRich carpets, canopies of velvet, sofas and chairs of carved walnut, seats\namply garnished with cushions for the ease of his tender joints, gave a\nluxurious aspect to his retirement. His wardrobe contained no less than\nsixteen robes of silk and velvet, lined with ermine, eider-down, or the\nsoft hair of the Barbary goat. He could not endure cold weather, and had\nfireplaces and chimneys constructed in every room, usually keeping his\napartments almost at furnace heat, much to the discomfort of his\nhousehold. With all this, and his wrappings of fur and eider-down, he\nwould often be in a shiver and complain that he was chilled to the bone.\n\nHis table was richly provided with plate, its service being of silver, as\nwere also the articles of the toilet, the basins, pitchers, and other\nutensils of his bed-chamber. With these were articles of pure gold,\nvaluable for their curious workmanship. He had brought with him many\njewels of value, and a small but choice collection of paintings, some of\nthem among the noblest masterpieces of art. Among them were eight gems\nfrom the hand of Titian. These were hung in rich frames around his rooms.\nHe was no reader, and had brought few books, his whole library comprising\nbut thirty-one volumes, and these mostly religious works, such as\npsalters, missals, breviaries, and the like. There was some little science\nand some little history, but the work which chiefly pleased him was a\nFrench poem, \"_Le Chevalier D\u00e9lib\u00e9r\u00e9_,\" then popular, which celebrated the\nexploits of the house of Burgundy, and especially of Charles the Bold.\n\nAnd now it comes in place to say something of how Charles employed himself\nat Yuste, aside from eating and drinking and shivering in his chimney\ncorner. The mode in which a monarch retired from business passes his time\ncannot be devoid of interest. He by no means gave up his attention to the\naffairs of the realm, but kept himself well informed in all that was going\non, sometimes much to his annoyance, since blunders were made that gave\nhim a passing desire to be again at the head of affairs. In truth, two\nyears after his retirement, the public concerns got into such a snarl that\nPhilip earnestly sought to induce the emperor to leave his retreat and aid\nhim with his ripened experience. This Charles utterly refused to do. He\nhad had his fill of politics. It was much less trouble to run a household\nthan a nation. But he undertook to do what he could to improve the\nrevenues of the crown. Despatches about public affairs were brought to him\nconstantly, and his mental thermometer went up or down as things prospered\nor the reverse. But he was not to be tempted to plunge again into the\nturbulent tide of public affairs.\n\nCharles had other and more humble duties to occupy his time. His paroxysms\nof gout came only at intervals, and in the periods between he kept himself\nengaged. He had a taste for mechanics, and among his attendants was an\nItalian named Torriano, a man of much ingenuity, who afterwards\nconstructed the celebrated hydraulic works at Toledo. He was a skilful\nclock-maker, and, as Charles took a special interest in timepieces, his\nassistant furnished his apartments with a series of elaborate clocks. One\nof these was so complicated that its construction occupied more than three\nyears, every detail of the work being curiously watched by Charles.\nWatches were then of recent invention, yet there were a number of them at\nYuste, made by Torriano.\n\nThe attempt to make his clocks keep time together is said to have been one\nof the daily occupations of the retired emperor, and the adjustment of his\nclocks and watches gave him so much trouble that he is said to have one\nday remarked that it was absurd to try and make men think alike, when, do\nwhat he would, he could not make two of his timepieces agree.\n\nHe often amused himself with Torriano in making little puppets,--soldiers\nthat would go through their exercises, dancing tambourine-girls, etc. It\nis even asserted that they constructed birds that would fly in and out of\nthe window, a story rather difficult to accept. The monks began to look\nupon Torriano as a professor of magic when he invented a handmill small\nenough to be hidden in a friar's sleeve, yet capable of grinding enough\nmeal in a day to last a man for a week.\n\nThe emperor was very fond of music, particularly devotional music, and was\na devotee in religious exercises, spending much of his time in listening\nto the addresses of the chaplains, and observing the fasts and festivals\nof the Church. His fondness for fish made the Lenten season anything but a\nperiod of penance for him.\n\nHe went on, indeed, eating and drinking as he would; and his disease went\non growing and deepening, until at length the shadow of death lay heavy on\nthe man whose religion did not include temperance in its precepts. During\n1558 he grew steadily weaker, and on the 21st of September the final day\ncame; his eyes quietly closed and life fled from his frame.\n\nYuste, famous as the abiding-place of Charles in his retirement, remained\nunmolested in the subsequent history of the country until 1810, when a\nparty of French dragoons, foraging near by, found the murdered body of one\nof their comrades not far from the monastery gates. Sure in their minds\nthat the monks had killed him, they broke in, dispersed the inmates, and\nset the buildings on fire. The extensive pile of edifices continued to\nburn for eight days, no one seeking to quench the flames. On the ninth the\nancient monastery was left a heap of ashes, only the church remaining,\nand, protected by it, the palace of Charles.\n\nIn 1820 a body of neighboring insurgents entered and defaced the remaining\nbuildings, carrying off everything they could find of value and turning\nthe church into a stable. Some of the monks returned, but in 1837 came an\nact suppressing the convents, and the poor Jeronymites were finally turned\nadrift. To-day the palace of Charles V. presents only desolate and dreary\nchambers, used as magazines for grain and olives. So passes away the glory\nof the world.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE FATE OF A RECKLESS PRINCE.\n\n\nIn 1568 died Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the son of Philip II. of\nSpain; and in the same year died Isabella of Valois, the young and\nbeautiful queen of the Spanish monarch. Legend has connected the names of\nCarlos and Isabella, and a mystery hangs over them which research has\nfailed to dispel. Their supposed love, their untimely fate, and the\nsuspicion that their death was due to the jealousy of the king, have\nproved a prolific theme for fiction, and the story of the supposed unhappy\nfate of the two has passed from the domain of history into that of romance\nand the drama, there being more than one fine play based on the loves and\nmisfortunes of Carlos and Isabella. But sober history tells nothing of the\nkind, and it is with history that we are here concerned.\n\nCarlos, the heir of the throne of Spain, was born in 1545. He was a bold,\nheadstrong boy, reckless in disposition, fond of manly exercises, generous\nto a fault, fearless of heart, and passionately desirous of a military\nlife. In figure he was deformed, one shoulder being higher and one leg\nlonger than the other, while his chest was flat and his back slightly\nhumped.  His features were not unhandsome, though very pale, and he spoke\nwith some difficulty. He was feeble and sickly as a boy, subject to\nintermittent fever, and wasted away so greatly that it seemed as if he\nwould not live to manhood.\n\nSuch were the mental and physical characteristics of the princely youth\nwho while still young was betrothed by treaty to the beautiful French\nprincess Isabella of Valois. The marriage was not destined to take place.\nBefore the treaty was ratified, Queen Mary of England, Philip's wife,\ndied, and his name was substituted for that of his son in the marriage\ntreaty. The wedding ceremony took place at Toledo, in February, 1560, and\nwas celebrated with great splendor. Carlos was present, and may have felt\nsome resentment at being robbed by his father of this beautiful bride.\nRomantic historians tell us that Isabella felt a tender sentiment for him,\na very unlikely statement in view of the fact that he was at that time a\nsickly, ill-favored boy of only fourteen years of age. Shortly after the\nmarriage Carlos was formally recognized as heir to the crown.\n\nTwo years afterwards a serious accident occurred. In descending a flight\nof stairs the boy slipped and fell headlong, injuring his head so severely\nthat his life was despaired of. His head swelled to an enormous size; he\nbecame delirious and totally blind; examination showed that his skull was\nfractured; a part of the bone was removed, but no relief was obtained. All\nthe arts of the doctors of that day were tried in vain, but the boy got no\nbetter. Processions were made to the churches, prayers were offered, and\npilgrimages were vowed, all without avail. Then more radical means were\ntried. The mouldering bones of a holy Franciscan, who had died a hundred\nyears before, and had always been the object of the prince's especial\nveneration, were taken from their coffin and laid on the boy's bed, and\nthe cloth that had enclosed the dead man's skull was placed on his\nforehead.\n\nThat night, we are gravely told, the dead friar came to Carlos in his\nsleep, bidding him to \"be of good cheer, for he would certainly recover.\"\nSoon after, the fever subsided, his head shrank back to its natural size,\nhis sight returned. In two months from the date of the accident he was\nphysically well, his recovery being partly or wholly due to the skill of\nan Italian surgeon, who trepanned him and by this act restored him to\nconsciousness.\n\nLikely enough the boy was never cured. The blow may have done some\npermanent injury to his brain. At any rate, he became strikingly eccentric\nand reckless, giving way to every mad whim that came into his mind. The\nstories of his wild doings formed the scandal of Madrid. In 1564 one of\nhis habits was to patrol the streets with a number of young nobles as\nlawless as himself, attacking the passengers with their swords, kissing\nthe women, and using foul language to ladies of the highest rank.\n\nAt that time it was the custom for the young gallants of the court to wear\nvery large boots. Carlos increased the size of his, that he might carry in\nthem a pair of small pistols. Fearing mischief, the king ordered the\nshoemaker to reduce the size of his son's boots; but when the unlucky son\nof St. Crispin brought them to the palace, the prince flew into a rage,\nbeat him severely, and then ordered the leather to be cut into pieces and\nstewed, and forced the shoemaker to swallow it on the spot--or as much of\nit as he could get down.\n\nThese are only a sample of his pranks. He beat his governor, attempted to\nthrow his chamberlain out of the window, and threatened to stab Cardinal\nEspinosa for banishing a favorite actor from the palace.\n\nOne anecdote told of him displays a reckless and whimsical humor. Having\nneed of money, Carlos asked of a merchant, named Grimaldo, a loan of\nfifteen hundred ducats. The money-lender readily consented, thanked the\nprince for the compliment, and, in the usual grandiloquent vein of\nCastilian courtesy, told Carlos that all he had was at his disposal.\n\n\"I am glad to learn that,\" answered the prince. \"You may make the loan,\nthen, one hundred thousand ducats.\"\n\nPoor Grimaldo was thunderstruck. He tremblingly protested that it was\nimpossible,--he had not the money. \"It would ruin my credit,\" he declared.\n\"What I said were only words of compliment.\"\n\n\"You have no right to bandy compliments with princes,\" Don Carlos replied.\n\"I take you at your word. If you do not, in twenty-four hours, pay over\nthe money to the last _real_, you shall have bitter cause to rue it.\"\n\nThe unhappy Grimaldo knew not what to do. Carlos was persistent. It took\nmuch negotiation to induce the prince to reduce the sum to sixty thousand\nducats, which the merchant raised and paid,--with a malediction on all\nwords of compliment. The money flew like smoke from the prince's hands, he\nbeing quite capable of squandering the revenues of a kingdom. He lived in\nthe utmost splendor, and was lavish with all who came near him, saying, in\nsupport of his gifts and charities, \"Who will give if princes do not?\"\n\nThe mad excesses of the prince, his wild defiance of decency and decorum,\nwere little to the liking of his father, who surrounded the young man with\nagents whom he justly looked upon as spies, and became wilder in his\nconduct in consequence. Offers of marriage were made from abroad.\nCatharine de M\u00e9dicis proposed the hand of a younger sister of Isabella.\nThe emperor of Germany pressed for a union with his daughter Anne, the\ncousin of Carlos. Philip agreed to the latter, but deferred the marriage.\nHe married Anne himself after the death of Carlos, making her his fourth\nwife. Thus both the princesses intended for the son became the brides of\nthe father.\n\nThe trouble between Carlos and his father steadily grew. The prince was\nnow twenty-one years of age, and, in his eagerness for a military life,\nwished to take charge of affairs in the Netherlands, then in rebellion\nagainst Spain. On learning that the Duke of Alva was to be sent thither,\nCarlos said to him, \"You are not to go there; I will go myself.\"\n\nThe efforts of the duke to soothe him only irritated him, and in the end\nhe drew his dagger and exclaimed, \"You shall not go; if you do I will kill\nyou.\"\n\nA struggle followed, the prince making violent efforts to stab the duke.\nIt only ended when a chamberlain came in and rescued Alva. This outrage on\nhis minister doubled the feeling of animosity between father and son, and\nthey grew so hostile that they ceased to speak, though living in the same\npalace.\n\nThe next escapade of Carlos brought matters to a crisis. He determined to\nfly from Spain and seek a more agreeable home in Germany or the\nNetherlands. As usual, he had no money, and he tried to obtain funds by\ndemanding loans from different cities,--a reckless process which at once\nproclaimed that he had some mad design in mind. He went further than this,\nsaying to his confidants that \"he wished to kill a man with whom he had a\nquarrel.\" This purpose he confessed to a priest, and demanded absolution.\nThe priest refused this startling request, and as the prince persisted in\nhis sanguinary purpose, a conclave of sixteen theologians was called\ntogether to decide what action it was advisable to take in so\nextraordinary a case.\n\nAfter a debate on the subject, one of them asked Carlos the name of his\nenemy. The prince calmly replied,--\n\n\"My father is the person. I wish to take his life.\"\n\nThis extraordinary declaration, in which the mad prince persisted, threw\nthe conclave into a state of the utmost consternation. On breaking up,\nthey sent a messenger to the king, then at the Escorial Palace, and made\nhim acquainted with the whole affair. This story, if it is true, seems to\nindicate that the prince was insane.\n\nHis application to the cities for funds was in a measure successful. By\nthe middle of January, 1568, his agents brought him in a hundred and fifty\nthousand ducats,--a fourth of the sum he had demanded. On the 17th he sent\nan order to Don Ramon de Tassis, director-general of the posts, demanding\nthat eight horses should be provided for him that evening. Tassis,\nsuspecting something wrong, sent word that the horses were all out. Carlos\nrepeated his order in a peremptory manner, and the postmaster now sent all\nthe horses out, and proceeded with the news to the king at the Escorial.\nPhilip immediately returned to Madrid, where, the next morning, Carlos\nattacked his uncle, Don John of Austria, with a drawn sword, because the\nlatter refused to repeat a conversation he had had with the king.\n\nFor some time Carlos had slept with the utmost precautions, as if he\nfeared an attack upon his life. His sword and dagger lay ready by his\nbedside, and he kept a loaded musket within reach. He had also a bolt\nconstructed in such a manner that, by aid of pulleys, he could fasten or\nunfasten the door of his chamber while in bed. All this was known to\nPhilip, and he ordered the mechanic who had made it to derange the\nmechanism so that it would not work. To force a way into the chamber of a\nman like Carlos might not have been safe.\n\n                [Illustration: THE ROYAL PALACE. MADRID.]\n\n                        THE ROYAL PALACE. MADRID.\n\n\nAt the hour of eleven that night the king came down-stairs, wearing armor\non his body and a helmet on his head. With him were the Duke of Feria,\ncaptain of the guard, several other lords, and twelve guardsmen. They\nquietly entered the chamber of the prince, and the duke, stealing to the\nbedside, secured the sword, dagger, and musket which lay there.\n\nThe noise now wakened Carlos, who sprang up, demanding who was there.\n\n\"It is the council of state,\" answered the duke.\n\nOn hearing this the prince leaped from the bed, uttering threats and\nimprecations, and endeavored to seize his arms. Philip, who had prudently\nkept in the background until the weapons were secured, now advanced and\nbade his son to return to bed and keep quiet.\n\n\"What does your majesty want of me?\" demanded the prince.\n\n\"You will soon learn,\" Philip harshly replied.\n\nHe then gave orders that the windows and doors of the room should be\nstrongly secured and the keys brought to him. Every article of furniture,\neven the andirons, with which violence might have been done, was removed\nfrom the room. The king then appointed Feria keeper of the prince, and\nbade the other nobles to serve him, with due respect, saying that he would\nhold them as traitors if they permitted him to escape.\n\n\"Your majesty had better kill me than keep me a prisoner,\" exclaimed\nCarlos. \"It will be a great scandal to the kingdom. If you do not kill me\nI will kill myself.\"\n\n\"You will do no such thing,\" answered Philip. \"That would be the act of a\nmadman.\"\n\n\"Your majesty,\" replied the prince, \"treats me so ill that you drive me to\nthis extremity. I am not mad, but you drive me to despair.\"\n\nOther words passed, and on the withdrawal of the king the voice of Carlos\nwas so broken by sobs that his words could scarcely be heard. That night\nthe Duke of Feria and two other lords remained in the prince's room,--now\nhis prison. Each succeeding night two of the six appointed lords performed\nthis duty. They were not allowed to wear their swords in the presence of\nthe prince, but his meat was cut up before serving, as no knife was\npermitted to be used at his meals. A guard was stationed in the passage\nwithout, and, as the prince could not look from his barricaded windows, he\nwas from that day dead to the world.\n\nThe king immediately summoned his council of state and began a process\nagainst the prisoner. Though making a show of deep affliction, he was\npresent at all the meetings and listened to all the testimony, which, when\nwritten out, formed a heap of paper half a foot thick.\n\nThe news of the arrest of Don Carlos made a great sensation in Spain. The\nwildest rumors were set afloat. Some said that he had tried to kill his\nfather, others that he was plotting rebellion. Many laid all the blame on\nthe king. \"Others, more prudent than their neighbors, laid their fingers\non their lips and were silent.\" The affair created almost as much\nsensation throughout Europe as in Spain. Philip, in his despatches to\nother courts, spoke in such vague and mysterious language that it was\nimpossible to tell what he meant, and the most varied surmises were\nadvanced.\n\nMeanwhile, Carlos was kept rigorously confined, so much so that he was not\nleft alone day or night. Of the two nobles in his chamber at night, one\nwas required to keep awake while the other slept. They were permitted to\ntalk with him, but not on political matters nor on the subject of his\nimprisonment. They were ordered to bring him no messages from without nor\nreceive any from him. No books except devotional ones were allowed him.\n\nIf it was the purpose of Philip to end the life of his son by other means\nthan execution he could not have taken better measures. For a young man of\nhis high spirit and fiery temper such strict confinement was maddening. At\nfirst he was thrown into a frenzy, and tried more than once to make way\nwith himself. The sullenness of despair succeeded. He grew daily more\nemaciated, and the malarial fever which had so long affected him now\nreturned in a severe degree. To allay the heat of the fever he would\ndeluge the floor of his chamber with water, and walk for hours with bare\nfeet on the cold floor. He had a warming-pan filled with ice and snow\nbrought him, and kept it for hours at night in his bed. He would drink\nsnow-water in immoderate draughts. In his eating he seemed anxious to\nbreak down his strength,--now refusing all food for days together, now\ndevouring a pasty of four partridges at a sitting, washing it down with\nthree gallons or more of iced water.\n\nThat he was permitted to indulge in such caprices seems to indicate that\nPhilip wished him to kill himself. No constitution, certainly not so weak\na one as that of Carlos, could long withstand these excesses. His stomach\nrefused to perform its duty; severe vomiting attacked him; dysentery set\nin; his strength rapidly failed. The expected end came on the 24th of\nJuly, six months after the date of his imprisonment, death releasing the\nprince from the misery of his unhappy lot. One writer tells us that it was\nhastened by a strong purgative dose, administered by his father's orders,\nand that he was really assassinated. However that be, Philip had little\nreason to be sorry at the death of his lunatic son. To one of his austere\ntemperament it was probably an easy solution of a difficult problem.\n\nLess than three months passed after the death of Carlos when Isabella\nfollowed him to the grave. She was then but twenty-three years old,--about\nthe same age as himself. The story was soon set afloat that Philip had\nmurdered both his son and his wife, moved thereto by jealousy; and from\nthis has arisen the romantic story of secret love between the two, with\nthe novels and dramas based thereon. In all probability the story is\nwithout foundation. Philip is said to have been warmly loved by his wife,\nand the poison which carried her away seems to have been the heavy doses\nof medicine with which the doctors of that day sought to cure a passing\nillness.\n\n\n\n\n\nSPAIN'S GREATEST VICTORY AT SEA.\n\n\nOn the 16th of September, 1571, there sailed from the harbor of Messina\none of the greatest fleets the Mediterranean had ever borne upon its\nwaves. It consisted of more than three hundred vessels, most of them\nsmall, but some of great bulk for that day, carrying forty pieces of\nartillery. On board these ships were eighty thousand men. Of these, less\nthan thirty thousand were soldiers, for in those days, when war-galleys\nwere moved by oars rather than sails, great numbers of oarsmen were\nneeded. At the head of this powerful armament was Don John of Austria,\nbrother of Philip II., and the ablest naval commander that Spain\npossessed.\n\nAt sunrise on the 7th of October the Christian fleet came in sight, at the\nentrance to the Bay of Lepanto, on the west of Greece, of the great\nTurkish armament, consisting of nearly two hundred and fifty royal\ngalleys, with a number of smaller vessels in the rear. On these ships are\nsaid to have been not less than one hundred and twenty thousand men. A\ngreat battle for the supremacy of Christian or Mohammedan was about to be\nfought between two of the largest fleets ever seen in the Mediterranean.\n\nFor more than a century the Turks had been masters of Constantinople and\nthe Eastern Empire, and had extended their dominion far to the west. The\nMediterranean had become a Turkish lake, which the fleets of the Ottoman\nemperors swept at will. Cyprus had fallen, Malta had sustained a terrible\nsiege, and the coasts of Italy and Spain were exposed to frightful\nravages, in which the corsairs of the Barbary states joined hands with the\nTurks. France only was exempt, its princes having made an alliance with\nTurkey, in which they gained safety at the cost of honor.\n\nSpain was the leading opponent of this devastating power. For centuries\nthe Spanish people had been engaged in a bitter crusade against the Moslem\nforces. The conquest of Granada was followed by descents upon the African\ncoast, the most important of which was the conquest of Tunis by Charles\nthe Fifth in 1535, on which occasion ten thousand Christian captives were\nset free from a dreadful bondage. An expedition against Tripoli in 1559,\nhowever, ended in disaster, the Turks and the Moors continued triumphant\nat sea, and it was not until 1571 that the proud Moslem powers received an\neffectual check.\n\nThe great fleet of which Don John of Austria was admiral-in-chief had not\ncome solely from Spain. Genoa had furnished a large number of galleys,\nunder their famous admiral, Andrew Doria,--a name to make the Moslems\ntremble. Venice had added its fleet, and the Papal States had sent a\nstrong contingent of ships. Italy had been suffering from the Turkish\nfleet, fire and sword had turned the Venetian coasts into a smoking\ndesolation, and this was the answer of Christian Europe to the Turkish\nmenace.\n\nThe sight of the Turkish fleet on that memorable 7th of October created\ninstant animation in the Christian armament. Don John hoisted his pennon,\nordered the great standard of the league, given by the Pope, to be\nunfurled, and fired a gun in defiance of the Turks. Some of the commanders\ndoubted the wisdom of engaging the enemy in a position where he had the\nadvantage, but the daring young commander curtly cut short the discussion.\n\n\"Gentlemen,\" he said, \"this is the time for combat, not for counsel.\"\n\nSteadily the two fleets approached each other on that quiet sea. The\nChristian ships extended over a width of three miles. On the right was\nAndrew Doria, with sixty-four galleys. The centre, consisting of\nsixty-three galleys, was commanded by Don John, with Colonna, the\ncaptain-general of the Pope, on one flank, and Veniero, the Venetian\ncaptain-general, on the other. The left wing, commanded by the noble\nVenetian Barbarigo, extended as near to the coast of \u00c6tolia as it was\ndeemed safe to venture. The reserve, of thirty-five galleys, was under the\nMarquis of Santa Cruz. The plan of battle was simple. Don John's orders to\nhis captains were for each to select an adversary, close with him at once,\nand board as soon as possible.\n\nAs the fleet advanced the armament of the Turks came into full view,\nspread out in half-moon shape over a wider space than that of the allies.\nThe great galleys, with their gilded and brightly painted prows and their\nmyriad of banners and pennons, presented a magnificent spectacle. But the\nwind, which had thus far favored the Turks, now suddenly shifted and blew\nin their faces, and the sun, as the day advanced, shone directly in their\neyes. The centre of their line was occupied by the huge galley of Ali\nPasha, their leader. Their right was commanded by Mahomet Sirocco, viceroy\nof Egypt; their left by Uluch Ali, dey of Algiers, the most redoubtable of\nthe corsair lords of the sea.\n\nThe breeze continued light. It was nearly noon when the fleets came face\nto face. The sun, now nearing the zenith, shone down from a cloudless sky.\nAs yet it seemed like some grand holiday spectacle rather than the coming\nof a struggle for life or death.\n\nSuddenly the shrill war-cry of the Turks rang out on the air. Their cannon\nbegan to play. The firing ran along the line until the whole fleet was\nengaged. On the Christian side the trumpets rang defiance and the guns\nanswered the Turkish peals. The _galeazzas_, a number of mammoth\nwar-ships, had been towed a half-mile in advance of the Spanish fleet, and\nas the Turks came up poured broadsides from their heavy guns with striking\neffect, doing considerable damage. But Ali Pasha, not caring to engage\nthese monster craft, opened his lines and passed them by. They had done\ntheir work, and took no further part, being too unwieldy to enter into\nclose action.\n\nThe battle began on the left. Barbarigo, the Venetian admiral, had brought\nhis ships as near the coast as he dared. But Mahomet Sirocco knew the\nwaters better, passed between his ships and the shore, and doubled upon\nhim, bringing the Christian line between two fires. Barbarigo was wounded,\neight galleys were sent to the bottom, and several were captured. Yet the\nVenetians, who hated the Turks with a mortal hatred, fought on with\nunyielding fury.\n\nUluch Ali, on the Christian right, tried the same manoeuvre. But he had\nAndrew Doria, the experienced Genoese, to deal with, and his purpose was\ndefeated by a wide extension of the Christian line. It was a trial of\nskill between the two ablest commanders on the Mediterranean. Doria, by\nstretching out his line, had weakened his centre, and the corsair captain,\nwith alert decision, fell upon some galleys separated from their\ncompanions, sinking several, and carrying off the great Capitana of Malta\nas a prize.\n\nThus both on the right and on the left the Christians had the worst of it.\nThe severest struggle was in the centre. Here were the flag-ships of the\ncommanders,--the Real, Don John's vessel, flying the holy banner of the\nLeague; Ali Pasha displaying the great Ottoman standard, covered with\ntexts from the Koran in letters of gold, and having the name of Allah\nwritten upon it many thousands of times.\n\nBoth the commanders, young and ardent, burned with desire to meet in mid\nbattle. The rowers urged forward their vessels with an energy that sent\nthem ahead of the rest of their lines, driving them through the foaming\nwater with such force that the pasha's galley, much the larger and loftier\nof the two, was hurled upon its opponent until its prow reached the fourth\nbench of rowers. Both vessels groaned and quivered to their very keels\nwith the shock.\n\nAs soon as the vessels could be disengaged the combat began, the pasha\nopening with a fierce fire of cannon and musketry, which was returned with\nequal fury and more effect. The Spanish gunners and musketeers were\nprotected by high defences, and much of the Turkish fire went over their\nheads, while their missiles, poured into the unprotected and crowded crews\nof Ali's flag-ship, caused terrible loss. But the Turks had much the\nadvantage in numbers, and both sides fought with a courage that made the\nresult a matter of doubt.\n\nThe flag-ships were not long left alone. Other vessels quickly gathered\nround them, and the combat spread fiercely to both sides. The new-comers\nattacked one another and assailed at every opportunity the two central\nships. But the latter, beating off their assailants, clung together with\nunyielding pertinacity, as if upon them depended the whole issue of the\nfight.\n\nThe complete width of the entrance to the bay of Lepanto was now a scene\nof mortal combat, though the vessels were so lost under a pall of smoke\nthat none of the combatants could see far to the right or left. The lines,\nindeed, were broken up into small detachments, each fighting the\nantagonists in its front, without regard to what was going on elsewhere.\nThe battle was in no sense a grand whole, but a series of separate combats\nin which the galleys grappled and the soldiers and sailors boarded and\nfought hand to hand. The slaughter was frightful. In the case of some\nvessels, it is said, every man on board was killed or wounded, while the\nblood that flowed from the decks stained the waters of the gulf red for\nmiles.\n\nThe left wing of the allies, as has been said, was worsted at the\nbeginning of the fight, its commander receiving a wound which proved\nmortal. But the Venetians fought on with the courage of despair. In the\nend they drove back their adversaries and themselves became the\nassailants, taking vessel after vessel from the foe. The vessel of Mahomet\nSirocco was sunk, and he was slain after escaping death by drowning. His\ndeath ended the resistance of his followers. They turned to fly, many of\nthe vessels being run ashore and abandoned and their crews largely\nperishing in the water.\n\nWhile victory in this quarter perched on the Christian banners, the mortal\nstruggle in the centre went on. The flag-ships still clung together, an\nincessant fire of artillery and musketry sweeping both decks. The\nSpaniards proved much the better marksmen, but the greater numbers of the\nTurks, and reinforcements received from an accompanying vessel, balanced\nthis advantage. Twice the Spaniards tried to board and were driven back. A\nthird effort was more successful, and the deck of the Turkish galley was\nreached. The two commanders cheered on their men, exposing themselves to\ndanger as freely as the meanest soldier. Don John received a wound in the\nfoot,--fortunately a slight one. Ali Pasha led his janizaries boldly\nagainst the boarders, but as he did so he was struck in the head by a\nmusket-ball and fell. The loss of his inspiring voice discouraged his men.\nFor a time they continued to struggle, but, borne back by their impetuous\nassailants, they threw down their arms and asked for quarter.\n\nThe deck was covered with the bodies of the dead and wounded. From beneath\nthem the body of Ali was drawn, severely, perhaps mortally, wounded. His\nrescuers would have killed him on the spot, but he diverted them by\npointing out where his money and jewels could be found. The next soldier\nto come up was one of the galley-slaves, whom Don John had unchained from\nthe oar and supplied with arms. Ali's story of treasure was lost on him.\nWith one blow he severed his head from his shoulders, and carried the gory\nprize to Don John, laying it at his feet. The generous Spaniard looked at\nit with a mingling of pity and horror.\n\n\"Of what use can such a present be to me?\" he coldly asked the slave, who\nlooked for some rich reward; \"throw it into the sea.\"\n\nThis was not done. The head was stuck on a pike and raised aloft on the\ncaptured galley. At the same time the great Ottoman banner was drawn down,\nwhile that of the Cross was elevated with cheers of triumph in its place.\n\nThe shouts of \"victory!\" the sight of the Christian standard at the\nmast-head of Ali's ship, the news of his death, which spread from ship to\nship, gave new courage to the allies and robbed the Turks of spirit. They\nfought on, but more feebly. Many of their vessels were boarded and taken.\nOthers were sunk. After four hours of fighting the resistance of the\nTurkish centre was at an end.\n\nOn the right, as related, Andrew Doria had suffered a severe loss by\nstretching his line too far. He would have suffered still more had not the\nreserve under Santa Cruz, which had already given aid to Don John, come to\nhis relief. Strengthened by Cardona with the Sicilian squadron, he fell on\nthe Algerine galleys with such fierceness that they were forced to recoil.\nIn their retreat they were hotly assailed by Doria, and Uluch, beset on\nall sides, was obliged to abandon his prizes and take to flight. Tidings\nnow came to him of the defeat of the centre and the death of Ali, and,\nhoisting signals for retreat, he stood in all haste to the north, followed\nby the galleys of his fleet.\n\nWith all sail spread and all its oarsmen vigorously at work, the corsair\nfleet sped rapidly away, followed by Doria and Santa Cruz. Don John joined\nin the pursuit, hoping to intercept the fugitives in front of a rocky\nheadland which stretched far into the sea. But the skilled Algerine leader\nweathered this peril, losing a few vessels on the rocks, the remainder,\nnearly forty in number, bearing boldly onward. Soon they distanced their\npursuers, many of whose oarsmen had taken part and been wounded in the\nfight. Before nightfall the Algerines were vanishing below the horizon.\n\nThere being signs of a coming storm, Don John hastened to seek a harbor of\nrefuge, setting fire to such vessels as were damaged beyond usefulness,\nand with the remainder of his prizes making all haste to the neighboring\nport of Petala, the best harbor within reach.\n\nThe loss of the Turks had been immense, probably not less than twenty-five\nthousand being killed and five thousand taken prisoners. To Don John's\nprizes may be added twelve thousand Christian captives, chained to the\noars by the Turks, who now came forth, with tears of joy, to bless their\ndeliverers. The allies had lost no more than eight thousand men. This\ndiscrepancy was largely due to their use of fire-arms, while many of the\nTurks fought with bows and arrows. Only the forty Algerine ships escaped;\none hundred and thirty vessels were taken. The Christian loss was but\nfifteen galleys. The spoils were large and valuable, consisting in great\nmeasure of gold, jewels, and rich brocades.\n\nOf the noble cavaliers who took part in the fight, we shall speak only of\nAlexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, a nephew of Don John, whom he was\ndestined to succeed in military renown. He began here his career with a\ndisplay of courage and daring unsurpassed on the fleet. Among the\ncombatants was a common soldier, Cervantes by name, whose future glory was\nto throw into the shade that of all the leaders in the fight. Though\nconfined to bed with a fever on the morning of the battle, he insisted on\ntaking part, and his courage in the affray was shown by two wounds on his\nbreast and a third in his hand which disabled it for life. Fortunately it\nwas the left hand. The right remained to write the immortal story of Don\nQuixote de la Mancha.\n\nThus ended one of the greatest naval battles of modern times. No important\npolitical effect came from it, but it yielded an immense moral result. It\nhad been the opinion of Europe that the Turks were invincible at sea. This\nvictory dispelled that theory, gave new heart to Christendom, and so\ndispirited the Turks that in the next year they dared not meet the\nChristians at sea, though they were commanded by the daring dey of\nAlgiers. The beginning of the decline of the Ottoman empire may be said to\ndate from the battle of Lepanto.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE INVINCIBLE ARMADA.\n\n\nDuring almost the whole reign of Philip II. the army of Spain was kept\nbusily engaged, now with the Turks and the Barbary states, now with the\nrevolted Moriscos, or descendants of the Moors of Granada, now in the\nconquest of Portugal, now with the heretics of the Netherlands. All this\nwas not enough for the ambition of the Spanish king. Elizabeth of England\nhad aided the Netherland rebels and had insulted him in America by sending\nfleets to plunder his colonies; England, besides, was a nest of enemies of\nthe church of which Philip was one of the most zealous supporters; he\ndetermined to attempt the conquest of that heretical and hostile island\nand the conversion of its people.\n\nFor months all the shipwrights of Spain were kept busy in building vessels\nof an extraordinary size. Throughout the kingdom stores were actively\ncollected for their equipment. Levies of soldiers were made in Italy,\nGermany, and the Netherlands, to augment the armies of Spain. What was in\nview was the secret of the king, but through most of 1587 all Europe\nresounded with the noise of his preparations.\n\nPhilip broached his project to his council of state, but did not gain much\nsupport for his enterprise. \"England,\" said one of them, \"is surrounded\nwith a tempestuous ocean and has few harbors. Its navy is equal to that of\nany other nation, and if a landing is made we shall find its coasts\ndefended by a powerful army. It would be better first to subdue the\nNetherlands; that done we shall be better able to chastise the English\nqueen.\" The Duke of Parma, Philip's general in chief, was of the same\nopinion. Before any success could be hoped for, he said, Spain should get\npossession of some large seaport in Zealand, for the accommodation of its\nfleet.\n\nThese prudent counsels were thrown away on the self-willed king. His\narmies had lately conquered Portugal; England could not stand before their\nvalor; one battle at sea and another on shore would decide the contest;\nthe fleet he was building would overwhelm all the ships that England\npossessed; the land forces of Elizabeth, undisciplined and unused to war,\ncould not resist his veteran troops, the heroes of a hundred battles, and\nled by the greatest general of the age. All this he insisted on. Europe\nshould see what he could do. England should be punished for its heresy and\nElizabeth pay dearly for her discourtesy.\n\nPhilip was confirmed in his purpose by the approbation of the Pope.\nElizabeth of England was the greatest enemy of the Catholic faith. She had\nabolished it throughout her dominions and executed as a traitor the\nCatholic Queen Mary of Scotland. For nearly thirty years she had been the\nchief support of the Protestants in Germany, France, and the Netherlands.\nPope Pius V. had already issued a bull deposing Elizabeth, on the ground\nof acts of perfidy. Sixtus VI., who succeeded, renewed this bull and\nencouraged Philip who, ambitious to be considered the guardian of the\nChurch, hastened his preparations for the conquest of the island kingdom.\n\nElizabeth was not deceived by the stories set afloat by Spain. She did not\nbelieve that this great fleet was intended partly for the reduction of\nHolland, partly for use in America, as Philip declared. Scenting danger\nafar, she sent Sir Francis Drake with a fleet to the coast of Spain to\ninterrupt these stupendous preparations.\n\nDrake was the man for the work. Dispersing the Spanish fleet sent to\noppose him, he entered the harbor of Cadiz, where he destroyed two large\ngalleons and a handsome vessel filled with provisions and naval stores.\nThen he sailed for the Azores, captured a rich carrack on the way home\nfrom the East Indies, and returned to England laden with spoils. He had\neffectually put an end to Philip's enterprise for that year.\n\nPhilip now took steps towards a treaty of peace with England, for the\npurpose of quieting the suspicions of the queen. She appeared to fall into\nthe snare, pretended to believe that his fleet was intended for Holland\nand America, and entered into a conference with Spain for the settlement\nof all disturbing questions. But at the same time she raised an army of\neighty thousand men, fortified all exposed ports, and went vigorously to\nwork to equip her fleet. She had then less than thirty ships in her navy,\nand these much smaller than those of Spain, but the English sailors were\nthe best and boldest in the world, new ships were rapidly built, and pains\nwas taken to increase the abhorrence which the people felt for the tyranny\nof Spain. Accounts were spread abroad of the barbarities practised in\nAmerica and in the Netherlands, vivid pictures were drawn of the cruelties\nof the Inquisition, and the Catholic as well as the Protestant people of\nEngland became active in preparing for defence. The whole island was of\none mind; loyalty seemed universal; the citizens of London provided thirty\nships, and the nobility and gentry of England forty or fifty more. But\nthese were of small size as compared with those of their antagonist, and\nthroughout the island apprehension prevailed.\n\nIn the beginning of May, 1588, Philip's strenuous labors were concluded\nand the great fleet was ready. It was immense as compared with that with\nwhich William the Conqueror had invaded and conquered England five\ncenturies before. The Invincible Armada, as the Spaniards called it,\nconsisted of one hundred and fifty ships, many of them of enormous size.\nThey were armed with more than two thousand six hundred great guns, were\nprovisioned for half a year, and contained military stores in a profusion\nwhich only the wealth of America and the Indies could have supplied. On\nthem were nearly twenty thousand of the famous troops of Spain, with two\nthousand volunteers of the most distinguished families, and eight thousand\nsailors. In addition there was assembled in the coast districts of the\nNetherlands an army of thirty-four thousand men, for whose transportation\nto England a great number of flat-bottomed vessels had been procured.\nThese were to venture upon the sea as soon as the Armada was in position\nfor their support.\n\nAnd now, indeed, \"perfidious Albion\" had reason to tremble. Never had that\nnation of islanders been so seriously threatened, not even when the ships\nof William of Normandy were setting sail for its shores. The great fleet,\nwhich lay at Lisbon, then a city of Spain, was to set sail in the early\ndays of May, and no small degree of fear affected the hearts of all\nProtestant Europe, for the conquest of England by Philip the fanatic would\nhave been a frightful blow to the cause of religious and political\nliberty.\n\nAll had so far gone well with Spain; now all began to go ill. At the very\ntime fixed for sailing the Marquis of Santa Cruz, the admiral of the\nfleet, was taken violently ill and died, and with him died the Duke of\nPaliano, the vice-admiral. Santa Cruz's place was not easy to fill. Philip\nchose to succeed him the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman totally\nignorant of sea affairs, giving him for vice-admiral Martinez de Recaldo,\na seaman of much experience. All this caused so much delay that the fleet\ndid not sail till May 29.\n\nStorm succeeded sickness to interfere with Philip's plans. A tempest fell\non the fleet on its way to Corunna, where it was to take on some troops\nand stores. All but four of the ships reached Corunna, but they had been\nso battered and dishevelled by the winds that several weeks passed before\nthey could again be got ready for sea,--much to the discomfiture of the\nking, who was eager to become the lord and master of England. He had dwelt\nthere in former years as the husband of Queen Mary; now he was ambitious\nto set foot there as absolute king.\n\nEngland, meanwhile, was in an ebullition of joy. Word had reached there\nthat the Spanish fleet was rendered unseaworthy by the storm, and the\nqueen's secretary, in undue haste, ordered Lord Howard, the admiral, to\nlay up four of his largest ships and discharge their crews, as they would\nnot be needed. But Howard was not so ready to believe a vague report, and\nbegged the queen to let him keep the ships, even if at his own expense,\ntill the truth could be learned. To satisfy himself, he set sail for\nCorunna, intending to try and destroy the Armada if as much injured as\nreported. Learning the truth, and finding that a favorable wind for Spain\nhad begun to blow, he returned to Plymouth in all haste, in some dread\nlest the Armada might precede him to the English coast.\n\nHe had not long been back when stirring tidings came. The Armada had been\nseen upon the seas. Lord Howard at once left harbor with his fleet. The\nterrible moment of conflict, so long and nervously awaited, was at hand.\nOn the next day--July 30--he came in view of the great Spanish fleet, drawn\nup in the form of a crescent, with a space of seven miles between its\nwings. Before this giant fleet his own seemed but a dwarf. Paying no\nattention to Lord Howard's ships, the Armada moved on with dignity up the\nChannel, its purpose being to disperse the Dutch and English ships off the\nNetherland coast and escort to England the Duke of Parma's army, then\nready to sail.\n\nLord Howard deemed it wisest to pursue a guerilla mode of warfare,\nharassing the Spaniards and taking any advantage that offered. He first\nattacked the flag-ship of the vice-admiral Recaldo, and with such vigor\nand dexterity as to excite great alarm in the Spanish fleet. From that\ntime it kept closer order, yet on the same day Howard attacked one of its\nlargest ships. Others hurried to the aid; but in their haste two of them\nran afoul, one, a large galleon, having her mast broken. She fell behind\nand was captured by Sir Francis Drake, who discovered, to his delight,\nthat she had on board a chief part of the Spanish treasure.\n\nOther combats took place, in all of which the English were victorious. The\nSpaniards proved ignorant of marine evolutions, and the English sailed\naround them with a velocity which none of their ships could equal, and\nproved so much better marksmen that nearly every shot told, while the\nSpanish gunners fired high and wasted their balls in the air. The fight\nwith the Armada seemed a prototype of the much later sea-battles at Manila\nand Santiago de Cuba.\n\nFinally, after a halt before Calais, the Armada came within sight of\nDunkirk, where Parma's army, with its flat-bottomed transports, was\nwaiting to embark. Here a calm fell upon the fleets, and they remained\nmotionless for a whole day. But about midnight a breeze sprang up and Lord\nHoward put into effect a scheme he had devised the previous day. He had\nmade a number of fire-ships by filling eight vessels with pitch, sulphur,\nand other combustibles, and these were now set on fire and sent down the\nwind against the Spanish fleet.\n\nIt was with terror that the Spaniards beheld the coming of these flaming\nships. They remembered vividly the havoc occasioned by fire-ships at the\nsiege of Antwerp. The darkness of the night added to their fears, and\npanic spread from end to end of the fleet. All discipline vanished;\nself-preservation was the sole thought of each crew. Some took time to\nweigh their anchors, but others, in wild haste, cut their cables, and soon\nthe ships were driving blindly before the wind, some running afoul of each\nother and being completely disabled by the shock.\n\nWhen day dawned Lord Howard saw with the highest satisfaction the results\nof his stratagem. The Spanish fleet was in the utmost disorder, its ships\nwidely dispersed. His own fleet had just been strengthened, and he at once\nmade an impetuous attack upon the scattered Armada. The battle began at\nfour in the morning and lasted till six in the evening, the Spaniards\nfighting with great bravery but doing little execution. Many of their\nships were greatly damaged, and ten of the largest were sunk, run aground,\nor captured. The principal galeas, or large galley, manned with three\nhundred galley slaves and having on board four hundred soldiers, was\ndriven ashore near Calais, and nearly all the Spaniards were killed or\ndrowned in attempting to reach land. The rowers were set at liberty.\n\nThe Spanish admiral was greatly dejected by this series of misfortunes. As\nyet the English had lost but one small ship and about one hundred men,\nwhile his losses had been so severe that he began to dread the destruction\nof the entire fleet. He could not without great danger remain where he\nwas. His ships were too large to approach nearer to the coast of Flanders.\nPhilip had declined to secure a suitable harbor in Zealand, as advised.\nThe Armada was a great and clumsy giant, from which Lord Howard's much\nsmaller fleet had not fled in terror, as had been expected, and which now\nwas in such a condition that there was nothing left for it but to try and\nreturn to Spain.\n\nBut the getting there was not easy. A return through the Channel was\nhindered by the wind, which blew strongly from the south. Nor was it a\nwise movement in the face of the English fleet. The admiral, therefore,\ndetermined to sail northward and make the circuit of the British islands.\n\nUnfortunately for Lord Howard, he was in no condition to pursue. By the\nneglect of the authorities he had been ill-supplied with gunpowder, and\nwas forced to return to England for a fresh supply. But for this\ndeficiency he possibly might, in the distressed condition of the Spanish\nfleet, have forced a surrender of the entire Armada. As it was, his return\nproved fortunate, for the fleets had not far separated when a frightful\ntempest began, which did considerable harm to the English ships, but fell\nwith all its rage on the exposed Armada.\n\nThe ships, drawn up in close ranks, were hurled fiercely together, many\nbeing sunk. Driven helplessly before the wind, some were dashed to pieces\non the rocks of Norway, others on the Scottish coast or the shores of the\nwestern islands. Some went down in the open sea. A subsequent storm, which\ncame from the west, drove more than thirty of them on the Irish coast. Of\nthese, some got off in a shattered state, others were utterly wrecked and\ntheir crews murdered on reaching the shore. The admiral's ship, which had\nkept in the open sea, reached the Spanish coast about the close of\nSeptember.\n\nEven after reaching harbor in Spain troubles pursued them, two of the\ngalleons taking fire and burning to ashes. Of the delicately reared noble\nvolunteers, great numbers had died from the hardships of the voyage, and\nmany more died from diseases contracted at sea. The total loss is not\nknown; some say that thirty-two, some that more than eighty, ships were\nlost, while the loss of life is estimated at from ten thousand to fifteen\nthousand. Spain felt the calamity severely. There was hardly a family of\nrank that had not some one of its members to mourn, and so universal was\nthe grief that Philip, to whose ambition the disaster was due, felt\nobliged to issue an edict to abridge the time of public mourning.\n\nIn England and Holland, on the contrary, the event was hailed with\nuniversal joy. Days of solemn thanksgiving were appointed, and Elizabeth,\nseated in a triumphal chariot and surrounded by her ministers and nobles,\nwent for this purpose to St. Paul's Cathedral, the concourse bearing a\ngreat number of flags that had been taken from the enemy.\n\nThe joy at the destruction of the Armada was not confined to England and\nHolland. All Northern Europe joined in it. Philip's ambition, in the event\nof victory over England, might have led him to attempt the subjection of\nevery Protestant state in Europe, while Catholic France, which he\nafterwards attempted to conquer, had the greatest reason to dread his\nsuccess.\n\nThus ended the most threatening enterprise in the religious wars of the\nsixteenth century, and to Lord Howard and his gallant captains England and\nEurope owe the deepest debt of gratitude, for the success of the Armada\nand the conquest of England by Spain might have proved a calamity whose\neffects would have been felt to the present day.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE CAUSES OF SPAIN'S DECADENCE.\n\n\nThe golden age of Spain began in 1492, in which year the conquest of\nGranada extinguished the Arab dominion, and the discovery of America by\nColumbus opened a new world to the enterprise of the Spanish cavaliers. It\ncontinued during the reigns of Charles I. and Philip II., extending over a\nperiod of about a century, during which Spain was the leading power in\nEurope, and occupied the foremost position in the civilized world. In\nEurope its possessions included the Netherlands and important regions in\nItaly, while its king, Charles I., ruled as Charles V. over the German\nempire, possessing a dominion in Europe only surpassed by that of\nCharlemagne. Under Philip II. Portugal became a part of the Spanish realm,\nand with it its colony of Brazil, so that Spain was the unquestioned owner\nof the whole continent of South America, while much of North America lay\nunder its flag.\n\nWealth flowed into the coffers of this broad kingdom in steady streams,\nthe riches of America over-flowing its treasury; its fleet was the\ngreatest, its army the best trained and most irresistible in Europe; it\nstood as the bulwark against that mighty Ottoman power before which the\nother nations trembled, and checked its career of victory at Lepanto; in\nshort, as above said, it was for a brief period the leading power in\nEurope, and appeared to have in it the promise of a glorious career.\n\nSuch was the status of Spain during the reigns of the monarchs named. This\nwas followed by a long period of decline, which reduced that kingdom from\nits position of supremacy into that of one of the minor powers of Europe.\nVarious causes contributed to this change, the chief being the accession\nof a series of weak monarchs and the false ideas of the principles of\npolitical economy which then prevailed. The great treasure which flowed\ninto Spain from her American colonies rather hastened than retarded her\ndecline. The restrictions and monopolies of her colonial policy gave rise\nto an active contraband trade, which reaped the harvest of her commerce.\nThe over-abundant supply of gold and silver had the effect of increasing\nthe price of other commodities and discouraging her rising industries, the\nresult being that she was obliged to purchase abroad the things she ceased\nto produce at home and the wealth of America flowed from her coffers into\nthose of the adjoining nations. Her policy towards the Moriscos banished\nthe most active agriculturists from the land, and large districts became\ndesert, population declined, and the resources of the kingdom diminished\nyearly. In a century after the death of Philip II. Spain, from being the\narbiter of the destinies of Europe, had grown so weak that the other\nnations ceased to regard her otherwise than as a prey for their ambition,\nher population had fallen from eight to six millions, her revenue from two\nhundred and eighty to thirty millions, her navy had vanished, her army had\nweakened, and her able soldiers and statesmen had disappeared.\n\nIn addition to the causes of decline named, others of importance were her\ntreatment of the Jews and the Moriscos, though the banishment of the\nformer took place at an earlier date. Despite their activity in trade and\nfinance and the value to the nations of their genius for business, the\nJews of Europe were everywhere persecuted, often exposed to robbery and\nmassacre, and expelled from some kingdoms. In Spain their expulsion was\nconducted with cruel severity.\n\nMany of the unfortunate Jews, seeking to escape persecution, embraced\nChristianity. But their conversion was doubted, they were subjected to\nconstant espionage, and the least suspicion of indulging in their old\nworship exposed them to the dangerous charge of heresy, a word of\nfrightful omen in Spain. It was to punish these delinquent Jews that in\n1480 the Inquisition was introduced, and at once began its frightful work,\nno less than two thousand \"heretics\" being burned alive in 1481, while\nseventeen thousand were \"reconciled,\" a word of mild meaning elsewhere,\nbut which in Spain signified torture, confiscation of property, loss of\ncitizenship, and frequently imprisonment for life in the dungeons of the\nInquisition. Severe as was the treatment of the Jews throughout\nChristendom, nowhere were they treated more pitilessly than in Spain.\n\nThe year 1492, in which Spain gained glory by the conquest of Granada and\nthe discovery of America, was one of the deepest misfortune to this\npeople, who were cruelly driven from the kingdom. The edict for this was\nsigned by Ferdinand and Isabella at Granada, March 30, 1492, and decreed\nthat all unbaptized Jews, without regard to sex, age, or condition, should\nleave Spain before the end of the next July, and never return thither\nunder penalty of death and confiscation of property. Every Spaniard was\nforbidden to give aid in any form to a Jew after the date named. The Jews\nmight sell their property and carry the proceeds with them in bills of\nexchange or merchandise, but not in gold or silver.\n\nThis edict came like a thunderbolt to the Israelites. At a tyrant's word\nthey must go forth as exiles from the land in which they and their\nforefathers had dwelt for ages, break all their old ties of habit and\nassociation, and be cast out helpless and defenceless, marked with a brand\nof infamy, among nations who held them in hatred and contempt.\n\nUnder the unjust terms of the edict they were forced to abandon most of\nthe property which they had spent their lives in gaining. It was\nimpossible to sell their effects in the brief time given, in a market\nglutted with similar commodities, for more than a tithe of their value. As\na result their hard-won wealth was frightfully sacrificed. One chronicler\nrelates that he saw a house exchanged for an ass and a vineyard for a suit\nof clothes. In Aragon the property of the Jews was confiscated for the\nbenefit of their creditors, with little regard to its value. As for the\nbills of exchange which they were to take instead of gold and silver, it\nwas impossible to obtain them to the amount required in that age of\nlimited commerce, and here again they were mercilessly robbed.\n\nThe migration was one of the most pitiable known in history. As the time\nfixed for their departure approached the roads of the country swarmed with\nemigrants, young and old, strong and feeble, sick and well, some on horses\nor mules, but the great multitude on foot. The largest division, some\neighty thousand in number, passed through Portugal, whose monarch taxed\nthem for a free passage through his dominions, but, wiser than Ferdinand,\npermitted certain skilful artisans among them to settle in his kingdom.\n\nThose who reached Africa and marched towards Fez, where many of their race\nresided, were attacked by the desert tribes, robbed, slain, and treated\nwith the most shameful barbarity. Many of them, half-dead with famine and\nin utter despair, returned to the coast, where they consented to be\nbaptized with the hope that they might be permitted to return to their\nnative land.\n\nThose who sought Italy contracted an infectious disease in the crowded and\nfilthy vessels which they were obliged to take; a disorder so malignant\nthat it carried off twenty thousand of the people of Naples during the\nyear, and spread far over the remainder of Italy. As for the Jews, hosts\nof them perished of hunger and disease, and of the whole number expelled,\nestimated at one hundred and sixty thousand, only a miserable fragment\nfound homes at length in foreign lands, some seeking Turkey, others\ngaining refuge and protection in France and England. As for the effect of\nthe migration on Spain it must suffice here to quote the remark of a\nmonarch of that day: \"Do they call this Ferdinand a politic prince, who\ncan thus impoverish his own kingdom and enrich ours?\"\n\nSpain was in this barbarous manner freed of her Jewish population. There\nremained the Moors, who had capitulated, under favorable terms, to\nFerdinand in 1492. These terms were violated a few years later by Cardinal\nXimenes, his severity driving them into insurrection in 1500. This was\nsuppressed, and then punishment began. So rigid was the inquiry that it\nseemed as if all the people of Granada would be condemned as guilty, and\nin mortal dread many of them made peace by embracing Christianity, while\nothers sold their estates and migrated to Barbary. In the end, all who\nremained escaped persecution only by consenting to be baptized, the total\nnumber of converts being estimated at fifty thousand. The name of Moors,\nwhich had superseded that of Arabs, was now changed to that of Moriscos,\nby which these unfortunate people were afterwards known.\n\nThe ill-faith shown to the Moors of the plain gave rise to an insurrection\nin the mountains, in which the Spaniards suffered a severe defeat. The\ninsurgents, however, were soon subdued, and most of them, to prevent being\ndriven from their homes, professed the Christian faith. By the free use of\ntorture and the sword the kings of Spain had succeeded in adding largely\nto their Christian subjects.\n\nThe Moriscos became the most skilful and industrious agriculturists of\nSpain, but they were an alien element of the population and from time to\ntime irritating edicts were issued for their control. In 1560 the Moriscos\nwere forbidden to employ African slaves, for fear that they might make\ninfidels of them. This was a severe annoyance, for the wealthy farmers\ndepended on the labor of these slaves. In 1563 they were forbidden to\npossess arms except under license. In 1566 still more oppressive edicts\nwere passed. They were no longer to use the Arabic language or wear the\nMoorish dress, and the women were required to go about with their faces\nunveiled,--a scandalous thing among Mohammedans. Their weddings were to be\nconducted in public, after the Christian forms, their national songs and\ndances were interdicted, and they were even forbidden to indulge in warm\nbaths, bathing being a custom of which the Spaniard of that day appears to\nhave disapproved.\n\nThe result of these oppressive edicts was a violent and dangerous\ninsurrection, which involved nearly all the Moriscos of Spain, and\ncontinued for more than two years, requiring all the power of Spain for\nits suppression. Don John of Austria, the victor at Lepanto, led the\nSpanish troops, but he had a difficult task, the Moriscos, sheltered in\ntheir mountain fastnesses, making a desperate and protracted resistance,\nand showing a warlike energy equal to that which had been displayed in the\ndefence of Granada.\n\nThe end of the war was followed by a decree from Philip II. that all the\nMoors of Granada should be removed into the interior of the country, their\nlands and houses being forfeited, and nothing left them but their personal\neffects. This act of confiscation was followed by their reduction to a\nstate of serfdom in their new homes, no one being permitted to change his\nabode without permission, under a very severe penalty. If found within ten\nleagues of Granada they were condemned, if between the ages of ten and\nseventeen, to the galleys for life; if older, to the punishment of death.\n\nThe dispersal of the Moriscos of Granada, while cruel to them, proved of\nthe greatest benefit to Spain. Wherever they went the effects of their\nsuperior skill and industry were soon manifested. They were skilled not\nonly in husbandry, but in the mechanic arts, and their industry gave a new\naspect of prosperity to the provinces to which they were banished, while\nthe valleys and hill-sides of Granada, which had flourished under their\ncultivation, sank into barrenness under the unskilful hands of their\nsuccessors.\n\nYet this benefit to agriculture did not appeal to the ruling powers in\nSpain. The Moriscos were not Spaniards, and could not easily become so\nwhile deprived of all civil rights. While nominally Christian, there was a\nsuspicion that at heart they were still Moslems. And their relations to\nthe Moors of Africa and possible league with the corsairs of the\nMediterranean aroused distrust. Under Philip III., a timid and incapable\nking, the final act came. He was induced to sign an edict for the\nexpulsion of the Moriscos, and this quiet and industrious people, a\nmillion in number, were in 1610, like the Jews before them, forced to\nleave their homes in Spain.\n\nIt is not necessary to repeat the story of the suffering which necessarily\nfollowed so barbarous an act. What has been said of the circumstances\nattending the expulsion of the Jews will suffice. That of the Moriscos was\nnot so inhuman in its consequences, but it was serious enough.\nFortunately, in view of the intense impolicy and deep intolerance\nindicated in the act, its evil effects reacted upon its advocates. To the\nMoriscos the suffering was personal; to Spain it was national. As France\nhalf-ruined herself by expelling the Huguenots, the most industrious of\nher population, Spain did the same in expelling the Moriscos, to whose\nskill and industry she owed so much of her prosperity. So it ever must be\nwhen bigotry is allowed to control the policy of states. France recovered\nfrom the evil effects of her mad act. Spain never did. The expulsion of\nthe Moriscos was one of the most prominent causes of her decline, and no\nindications of a recovery have yet been shown.\n\nThe expulsion of the Jews and Moriscos was not sufficient to satisfy the\nintolerant spirit of Spain. Heresy had made its way even into the minds of\nSpaniards. Sons of the Church themselves had begun to think in other lines\nthan those laid down for them by the priestly guardians of their minds.\nProtestant books were introduced into the ever-faithful land, and a\nconsiderable number of converts to Protestantism were made.\n\nUpon these heretics the Inquisition descended with all its frightful\nforce. Philip, in a monstrous edict, condemned all to be burned alive who\nbought, sold, or read books prohibited by the Church. The result was\nterrible. The land was filled with spies. Arrests were made on all sides.\nThe instruments of torture were kept busy. In all the principal cities of\nSpain the monstrous spectacle of the _auto-de-f\u00e9_ was to be seen,\nmultitudes being burned at the stake for having dared to read the books or\naccept the arguments of Protestant writers.\n\nThe total effect of this horrible system of persecution we can only\nepitomize. Thousands were burned at the stake, thousands imprisoned for\nlife after terrible torture, thousands robbed of their property, and their\nchildren condemned to poverty and opprobrium; and the kingdom of Christ,\nas the Spanish monarchs of that day estimated it, was established in\nSpain.\n\nThe Spanish Inquisition proved an instrument of conviction which none\ndared question. Heresy was blotted out from Spain,--and Spain was blotted\nout from the ranks of enlightened nations. Freedom of thought was at an\nend. The mind of the Spaniard was put in fetters. Spain, under the sombre\nshadow of this barbarity, was shut out from the light which was breaking\nover the remainder of Europe. Literature moved in narrow channels,\nphilosophy was checked, the domain of science was closed, progress was at\nan end. Spain stood still while the rest of the world was sweeping onward;\nand she stands still to-day, her mind in the fifteenth century. The\ndecadence of Spain is due to the various causes named,--the weakness of her\nrulers, lack of just and advantageous ideas of political and commercial\neconomy, suppression of freedom of thought and opinion on topics which\nwere being freely handled elsewhere in Christendom, and a narrow and\nintolerant policy which, wherever shown, is a fatal barrier to the\nprogress of mankind.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE LAST OF A ROYAL RACE.\n\n\nThe rebellion of the Moriscos, due to the oppressive edicts of Philip II.,\nas stated in the preceding tale, was marked by numerous interesting\nevents. Some of these are worth giving in illustration of the final\nstruggle of the Moors in Spain. The insurgents failed in their first\neffort, that of seizing the city of Granada, still filled with their\nfellow-countrymen, and restoring as far as possible their old kingdom; and\nthey afterwards confined themselves to the difficult passes and mountain\nfastnesses of the Sierra Nevada, where they presented a bold front to the\npower of Spain.\n\nHaving proclaimed their independence, and cast off all allegiance to the\ncrown of Spain, their first step was to select a new monarch of their own\nrace. The man selected for this purpose was of royal blood, being\ndescended in a direct line from the ancient family of the Omeyades,\ncaliphs of Damascus, and for nearly four centuries rulers in Spain. This\nman, who bore the Castilian name of Don Fernando de Valor, but was known\nby the Moors as Aben-Humeya, was at that time twenty-two years of age,\ncomely in person and engaging in manners, and of a deportment worthy of\nthe princely line from which he had descended. A man of courage and\nenergy, he escaped from Granada and took refuge in the mountains, where he\nbegan a war to the knife against Spain.\n\nThe early events of the war were unfavorable to the Moors. Their\nstrongholds were invaded by a powerful Spanish force under the Marquis of\nMondejar, and their forces soon put to flight. Aben-Humeya was so hotly\npursued that he was forced to spring from his horse, cut the hamstrings of\nthe animal to render it useless to his pursuers, and seek refuge in the\ndepths of the sierras, where dozens of hiding-places unknown to his\npursuers could be found.\n\nThe insurrection was now in a desperate stage. Mondejar was driving the\nrebels in arms in terror before him; tower and town fell in succession\ninto his hands; everywhere his arms were victorious, and only one thing\nwas wanting to bring all opposition to an end,--the capture of Aben-Humeya,\nthe \"little king\" of the Alpujarras. This crownless monarch was known to\nbe wandering with a few followers in the wilds of the mountains; but while\nhe lived the insurrection might at any moment blaze out again, and\ndetachments of soldiers were sent to pursue him through the sierras.\n\nThe captain of one of these parties learned from a traitor that the\nfugitive prince remained hidden in the mountains only during the day,\nfinding shelter at night in the house of a kinsman, Aben-Aboo, on the\nskirts of the sierras. Learning the situation of this mansion, the Spanish\ncaptain led his men with the greatest secrecy towards it. Travelling by\nnight, they reached the vicinity of the dwelling under cover of the\ndarkness. In a minute more the house would have been surrounded and its\ninmates secured; but at this critical moment the arquebuse of one of the\nSpaniards was accidentally discharged, the report echoing loudly among the\nhills and warning the lightly sleeping inmates of their danger.\n\nOne of them, El Zaguer, the uncle of Aben-Humeya, at once sprang up and\nleaped from the window of his room, making his way with all haste to the\nmountains. His nephew was not so fortunate. Running to his window, in the\nfront of the house, he saw the ground occupied by troops. He hastily\nsought another window, but his foes were there before him. Bewildered and\ndistressed, he knew not where to turn. The house was surrounded; the\nSpaniards were thundering on the door for admittance; he was like a wolf\ncaught in its lair, and with as little mercy to hope from his captors.\n\nBy good fortune the door was well secured. One possible chance for safety\noccurred to the hunted prince. Hastening down-stairs, he stood behind the\nportal and noiselessly drew its bolts. The Spaniards, finding the door\ngive way, and supposing that it had yielded to their blows, rushed hastily\nin and hurried through the house in search of the fugitive who was hidden\nbehind the door. The instant they had all passed he slipped out, and,\nconcealed by the darkness outside, hastened away, soon finding a secure\nrefuge in the mountains.\n\nAben-Aboo remained in the hands of the assaillants, who vainly questioned\nhim as to the haunts of his kinsmen. On his refusal to answer they\nemployed torture, but with no better effect. \"I may die,\" he courageously\nsaid, \"but my friends will live.\" So severe and cruel was their treatment,\nthat in the end they left him for dead, returning to camp with the other\nprisoners they had taken. As it proved, however, the heroic Aben-Aboo did\nnot die, but lived to play a leading part in the war.\n\nWith kindly treatment of the Moriscos he would probably have given no more\ntrouble, but the Spanish proved utterly merciless, their soldiers raging\nthrough the mountains, and committing the foulest acts of outrage and\nrapine. In Granada a frightful deed was committed. A large number of the\nleading Moriscos, about one hundred and fifty in all, had been seized and\nimprisoned, being held as hostages for the good behavior of their friends.\nHere, on a night in March, the prison was entered by a body of Spaniards,\nwho assailed the unfortunate captives, arms in hand, and began an\nindiscriminate massacre. The prisoners seizing what means of defence they\ncould find, fought desperately for their lives, and for two hours the\nunequal combat continued, not ending while a Morisco remained alive.\n\nThis savage act led to terrible reprisals on the part of the insurgents,\nwho in the subsequent war treated with atrocious cruelty many of their\ncaptives. The Moriscos were soon in arms again, Aben-Humeya at their head,\nand the war blazed throughout the length and breadth of the mountains.\nEven from Barbary came a considerable body of Moors, who entered the\nservice of the Morisco chief. Fierce and intrepid, trained to the military\ncareer, and accustomed to a life of wild adventure, these were a most\nvaluable reinforcement to Aben-Humeya's forces, and enabled him to carry\non a guerilla warfare which proved highly vexatious to the troops of\nSpain. He made forays from the mountains into the plain, penetrating into\nthe vega and boldly venturing even to the walls of Granada. The\ninsurrection spread far and wide through the Sierra Nevada, and the\nSpanish army, now led by Don John of Austria, the king's brother, found\nitself confronted by a most serious task.\n\nThe weak point in the organization of the Moriscos lay in the character of\ntheir king. Aben-Humeya, at first popular, soon displayed traits of\ncharacter which lost him the support of his followers. Surrounded by a\nstrong body-guard, he led a voluptuous life, and struck down without mercy\nthose whom he feared, no less than three hundred and fifty persons falling\nvictims to his jealousy or revenge. His cruelty and injustice at length\nled to a plot for his death, and his brief reign ended in assassination,\nhis kinsman, Aben-Aboo, being chosen as his successor.\n\nThe new king was a very different man from his slain predecessor. He was\nmuch the older of the two, a man of high integrity and great decorum of\ncharacter. While lacking the dash and love of adventure of Aben-Humeya, he\nhad superior judgment in military affairs, and full courage in carrying\nout his plans. His election was confirmed from Algiers, a large quantity\nof arms and ammunition was imported from Barbary, reinforcements crossed\nthe Mediterranean, and the new king began his reign under excellent\nauspices, his first movement being against Orgiba, a fortified place on\nthe road to Granada, which he invested in October with an army of ten\nthousand men.\n\n            [Illustration: THE ALHAMBRA, OVERLOOKING GRANADA.]\n\n                    THE ALHAMBRA, OVERLOOKING GRANADA.\n\n\nThe capture of this place, which soon followed, roused the enthusiasm of\nthe Moriscos to the highest pitch. From all sides the warlike peasantry\nflocked to the standard of their able chief, and a war began resembling\nthat of a century before, when the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella were\ninvading the Kingdom of Granada. From peak to peak of the sierras\nbeacon-fires flashed their signals, calling the bold mountaineers to\nforays on the lands of the enemy. Pouring suddenly down on the lower\nlevels, the daring marauders swept away in triumph to the mountains the\nflocks and herds of their Christian foes. The vega of Granada became, as\nin ancient times, the battle-ground of Moorish and Christian cavaliers,\nthe latter having generally the advantage, though occasionally the\ninsurgent bands would break into the suburbs, or even the city of Granada,\nfilling its people with consternation, and causing the great bell of the\nAlhambra to peal out its tocsin of alarm and call the Spanish chivalry in\nhaste to the fray.\n\nWe cannot describe, even in epitome, the varied course of this sanguinary\nwar. As might well have been expected, the greater force of the Spaniards\ngradually prevailed, and the autumn of 1570 found the insurgents almost\neverywhere subdued. Only Aben-Aboo, the \"little king,\" remained in arms, a\nforce of four hundred men being all that were left to him of his recent\narmy. But these were men warmly devoted to him, and until the spring of\n1571 every effort for his capture proved in vain. Hiding in mountain caves\nand in inaccessible districts, he defied pursuit, and in a measure kept\nalive the flame of rebellion.\n\nTreason at length brought his career to an end. One of the few insurgent\nprisoners who escaped death at the hands of the Spanish executioners\nrevealed the hiding-place of the fugitive king, and named the two persons\non whom Aben-Aboo most relied, his secretary, Abou Amer, and a Moorish\ncaptain named El Senix.\n\nAn effort was made to win over the secretary by one who had formerly known\nhim, a letter being sent him which roused him to intense indignation. El\nSenix, however, becoming aware of its contents, and having a private\ngrudge against his master, sent word by the messenger that he would\nundertake, for a suitable recompense, to betray him to the Christians.\n\nAn interview soon after took place between the Moor and Barredo, the\nSpanish agent, some intimation of which came to the ears of Aben-Aboo. The\nking at once sought a cavern in the neighborhood where El Senix was\nsecreted, and, leaving his followers outside, imprudently entered alone.\nHe found El Senix surrounded by several of his friends, and sternly\ndemanded of him the purpose of his interview with Barredo. Senix, confused\nby the accusation, faltered out that he had simply been seeking to obtain\nan amnesty for him. Aben-Aboo listened with a face of scorn, and, turning\non his heel with the word \"treachery,\" walked back to the mouth of the\ncave.\n\nUnluckily, his men, with the exception of two guards stationed at the\nentrance, had left the spot to visit some near-by friends. Senix,\nperceiving that his own life was in danger, and that this was his only\nopportunity for safety, fell with his followers on the guards, one of whom\nwas killed and the other put to flight. Then an attack was made on\nAben-Aboo. The latter defended himself desperately, but the odds were too\ngreat, and the dastardly El Senix ended the struggle by felling him with\nthe butt-end of his musket, when he was quickly despatched.\n\nThus died the last of the Omeyades, the famous dynasty of Arabian caliphs\nfounded in 660, and established in Spain in 756. Aben-Aboo, the last of\nthis royal race, was given in death a triumphal entrance to Granada, as if\nhe were one whom the Spaniards delighted to honor. The corpse was set\nastride on a mule, being supported by a wooden frame, which lay hidden\nbeneath flowing robes. On one side rode Barredo; on the other the murderer\nEl Senix bore the scimitar and arquebuse of the dead prince. The kinsmen\nand friends of the Morisco chief rode in his train, and after them came a\nregiment of infantry and a troop of horse.\n\nAs the procession moved along the street of Zacatin salvos of musketry\nsaluted it, peals of artillery roared from the towers of the Alhambra, and\nthe multitude thronged to gaze with silent curiosity on the ghastly face.\nThus the cavalcade proceeded until the great square of Vivarambla was\nreached. Here were assembled the principal cavaliers and magistrates of\nthe city, and here El Senix dismounted and delivered to Deza, the\npresident of the tribunal before which were tried the insurgent captives,\nthe arms of the murdered prince.\n\nAnd now this semblance of respect to a brave enemy was followed by a scene\nof barbarity worthy of the Spain of that day. The ceremony of a public\nexecution was gone through with, the head of the corpse being struck off,\nafter which the body was given to the boys of Granada, who dragged it\nthrough the streets and exposed it to every indignity, finally committing\nit to the flames. The head, enclosed in a cage, was set over the gate that\nfaced towards the Alpujarras. There it remained for a year, seeming to\ngaze towards the hills which the Morisco chief had loved so well, and\nwhich had witnessed his brief and disastrous reign.\n\nSuch was the fate of Aben-Aboo, the last of a line of great monarchs, and\none of the best of them all; a man of lofty spirit, temperate appetites,\nand courageous endurance, who, had he lived in more prosperous days, might\nhave ruled in the royal halls of Cordova with a renown equal to that of\nthe most famous caliph of his race.\n\n\n\n\n\nHENRY MORGAN AND THE BUCCANEERS.\n\n\nAs the seventeenth century passed on, Spain, under the influence of\nreligious intolerance and bad government, grew weak, both at home and\nabroad. Its prominent place in Europe was lost. Its vast colonial\nprovinces in America were scenes of persecution and anarchy. There the\nfortresses were allowed to decay, the soldiers, half-clothed and unpaid,\nto become beggars or bandits, the treasures to be pilfered, and commerce\nto become a system of fraud; while the colonists were driven to detest\ntheir mother land. This weakness was followed by dire consequences. Bands\nof outcasts from various nations, who had settled on Spanish territory in\nthe West Indies, at first to forage on the cattle of Hispaniola, organized\ninto pirate crews, and, under the name of buccaneers, became frightful\nscourges of the commerce of Spain.\n\nThese wretches, mainly French, English, and Dutch, deserters and outlaws,\nthe scum of their nations, made the rich merchant and treasure ships of\nSpain their prey, slaughtering their crews, torturing them for hidden\nwealth, rioting with profuse prodigality at their lurking-places on land,\nand turning those fair tropical islands into a pandemonium of outrage,\ncrime, and slaughter. As they troubled little the ships of other nations,\nthese nations rather favored than sought to suppress them, and Spain\nseemed powerless to bring their ravages to an end. In consequence, as the\nyears went on, they grew bolder and more adventurous. Beginning with a few\nsmall, deckless sloops, they in time gained large and well-armed vessels,\nand created so deep a terror among the Spaniards by their savage attacks\nthat the latter rarely made a strong resistance.\n\nLurking in forest-hidden creeks and inlets of the West India islands, they\nkept a keen lookout for the ships that bore to Spain the gold, silver,\nprecious stones, and rich products of the New World, pursued them in their\nswift barks, boarded them, and killed all who ventured to resist. If the\ncargo was a rich one, and there had been little effort at defence, the\nprisoners might be spared their lives; if otherwise, they were flung\nmercilessly into the sea. Sailing then to their place of rendezvous, the\ncaptors indulged in the wildest and most luxurious orgies, their tables\ngroaning with strong liquors and rich provisions; gaming, music, and\ndancing succeeding; extravagance, debauchery, and profusion of every kind\nsoon dissipating their blood-bought wealth.\n\nAmong the pirate leaders several gained prominence for superior boldness\nor cruelty, among whom we may particularly name L'Olonnois, a Frenchman,\nof such savage ferocity that all mariners of Spanish birth shuddered with\nfear at his very name. This wretch suffered the fate he deserved. In an\nexpedition to the Isthmus of Darien he was taken prisoner by a band of\nsavage Indians, who tore him to pieces alive, flung his quivering limbs\ninto the fire, and then scattered the ashes to the air.\n\nMost renowned of all the buccaneers was Henry Morgan, a native of Wales,\nwho ran away from home as a boy, was sold as a slave in Barbadoes, and\nafterwards joined a pirate crew, in time becoming a leader among the\nlawless hordes. By this time the raids of the ferocious buccaneers had\nalmost put an end to Spanish commerce with the New World, and the daring\nfreebooters, finding their gains at sea falling off, collected fleets and\nmade attacks on land, plundering rich towns and laying waste thriving\nsettlements. So greatly had Spanish courage degenerated that the pirates\nwith ease put to flight ten times their number of that Spanish soldiery\nwhich, a century before, had been the finest in the world.\n\nThe first pirate to make such a raid was Lewis Scott, who sacked the town\nof Campeachy, robbing it of all its wealth, and forcing its inhabitants to\npay an enormous ransom. Another named Davies marched inland to Nicaragua,\ntook and plundered that town, and carried off a rich booty in silver and\nprecious stones. He afterwards pillaged the city of St. Augustine,\nFlorida. Others performed similar exploits, but we must confine our\nattention to the deeds of Morgan, the boldest and most successful of them\nall.\n\nMorgan's first enterprise was directed against Port au Prince, Cuba,\nwhere, however, the Spaniards had received warning and concealed their\ntreasures, so that the buccaneer gained little for his pains. His next\nexpedition was against Porto Bello, on the Isthmus, one of the richest and\nbest fortified of American cities. Two castles, believed to be\nimpregnable, commanded the entrances to the harbor. When the freebooters\nlearned that their leader proposed to attack so strong a place as this the\nhearts of the boldest among them shrank. But Morgan, with a few inspiring\nwords, restored their courage.\n\n\"What boots it,\" he exclaimed, \"how small our number, if our hearts be\ngreat! The fewer we are the closer will be our union and the larger our\nshares of plunder.\"\n\nBoldness and secrecy carried the day. One of the castles was taken by\nsurprise, the first knowledge of the attack coming to the people of the\ntown from the concussion when Morgan blew it up. Before the garrison or\nthe citizens could prepare to oppose them the freebooters were in the\ntown. The governor and garrison fled in panic haste to the other castle,\nwhile the terrified people threw their treasures into wells and cisterns.\nThe castle made a gallant resistance, but was soon obliged to yield to the\nimpetuous attacks of the pirate crews.\n\nIt was no light exploit which Morgan had performed,--to take with five\nhundred men a fortified city with a large garrison and strengthened by\nnatural obstacles to assault. The ablest general in ordinary war might\nwell have claimed renown for so signal a victory. But the ability of the\nleader was tarnished by the cruelty of the buccaneer. The people were\ntreated with shocking barbarity, many of them being shut up in convents\nand churches and burned alive, while the pirates gave themselves up to\nevery excess of debauchery.\n\nThe great booty gained by this raid caused numerous pirate captains to\nenlist under Morgan's flag, and other towns were taken, in which similar\norgies of cruelty and debauchery followed. But the impunity of the\nbuccaneers was nearing its end. Their atrocious acts had at length aroused\nthe indignation of the civilized world, and a treaty was concluded between\nGreat Britain and Spain whose chief purpose was to put an end to these\nsanguinary and ferocious deeds.\n\nThe first effect of this treaty was to spur the buccaneers to the\nperformance of some exploit surpassing any they had yet achieved. So high\nwas Morgan's reputation among the pirates that they flocked from all\nquarters to enlist under his flag, and he soon had a fleet of no fewer\nthan thirty-seven vessels manned by two thousand men. With so large a\nforce an expedition on a greater scale could well be undertaken, and a\ncounsel of the chiefs debated whether they should make an assault upon\nVera Cruz, Carthagena, or Panama. Their choice fell upon Panama, as the\nrichest of the three.\n\nThe city of Panama at that time (1670) was considered one of the greatest\nand most opulent in America. It contained two thousand large buildings and\nfive thousand smaller, all of which were three stories high. Many of these\nwere built of stone, others of cedar wood, being elegantly constructed and\nrichly furnished. The city was the emporium for the silver- and gold-mines\nof New Spain, and its merchants lived in great opulence, their houses rich\nin articles of gold and silver, adorned with beautiful paintings and other\nworks of art, and full of the luxuries of the age. The churches were\nmagnificent in their decorations, and richly embellished with ornaments in\ngold and silver. The city presented such a prize to cupidity as\nfreebooters and bandits had rarely conceived of in their wildest dreams.\n\n             [Illustration: STREET IN OLD QUARTER OF PANAMA.]\n\n                     STREET IN OLD QUARTER OF PANAMA.\n\n\nThe daring enterprise began with the capture by four hundred men of the\nFort of St. Laurence, at the mouth of the Chagres River. Up this\nserpentine stream sailed the freebooters, as far as it would bear them,\nand thence they marched overland, suffering the greatest hardships and\novercoming difficulties which would have deterred men of less intrepid\nspirit. Eight days of this terrible march brought the adventurers within\nsight of the far-spreading Pacific, and of the spires of the coveted city\non its shores.\n\nThe people of Panama had been apprised of what was in store for them, and\nhad laid ambuscades for the buccaneers, but Morgan, by taking an indirect\nroute to the town, avoided these. Panama was but partly fortified. In\nseveral quarters it lay open to attack. It must be fought for and won or\nlost on the open plain. Here the Spaniards had assembled to the number of\ntwo thousand infantry and four hundred cavalry, well equipped and\npossessing everything needed but spirit to meet the dreaded foe. They had\nadopted an expedient sure to prove a dangerous one. A herd of wild bulls,\nto the number of more than two thousand, was provided, with Indians and\nnegroes to drive them on the pirate horde. The result resembled that in\nwhich the Greeks drove elephants upon the Roman legions. Many of the\nbuccaneers were accustomed to the chase of wild cattle, and, by shouts and\nthe waving of colored flags, turned the bulls back upon the Spanish lines,\nwhich they threw into disorder.\n\nThe buccaneers followed with an impetuous charge which broke the ranks of\nthe defenders of the town, who, after a two hours' combat, were completely\nrouted, the most of them being killed or taken prisoners. The assault was\nnow directed upon the town, which was strongly defended, the pirates being\ntwice repulsed and suffering much from the numerous Spanish guns. But\nafter a three hours' fight they overcame all opposition and the city fell\ninto their hands.\n\nA scene of frightful bloodshed and inhumanity followed. The buccaneers\ngave no quarter, killing all they met. Lest they should be exposed to a\ncounter assault while intoxicated, Morgan called them together and forbade\nthem to taste the wine of the town, saying that it had been poisoned.\nConflagration followed massacre. Fires broke out in several quarters of\nthe city, and great numbers of dwellings, with churches, convents, and\nnumerous warehouses filled with valuable goods were reduced to ashes.\nThese fires continued to burn during most of the month in which the\nfreebooters held the city, and in which they indulged to the full in their\naccustomed cruelty, rapacity, and licentiousness.\n\nTreasure was found in great quantities in the wells and caves, where it\nhad been thrown by the terrified people. The vessels taken in the harbor\nyielded valuable commodities. Detachments were sent into the country to\ncapture and bring back those who had fled for safety, and by torturing\nthese several rich deposits of treasure were discovered in the surrounding\nforests. A few of the inhabitants escaped with their wealth by sea,\nseeking shelter in the islands of the bay, and a galleon laden with the\nking's plate and jewels and other precious articles belonging to the\nchurch and the people narrowly escaped after a hot chase by the\nbuccaneers. With these exceptions the rich city was completely looted.\n\nAfter a month spent among the ruins of Panama Morgan and his villainous\nfollowers departed, one hundred and seventy-five mules carrying their more\nbulky spoil, while with them were six hundred prisoners, some carrying\nburdens, others held to ransom. Thus laden, they reached again the mouth\nof the Chagres, where their ships awaited them and where a division of the\nspoil was to be made.\n\nTreachery followed this stupendous act of piracy, Morgan's later history\nbeing an extraordinary one for a man of his infamous record. He was\npossessed with the demon of cupidity, and a quarrel arose between him and\nhis men concerning the division of the spoil. Morgan ended it by running\noff with the disputed plunder. On the night preceding the final division,\nduring the hours of deepest slumber, the treacherous chief, with a few of\nhis confidants, set sail for Jamaica, in a vessel deeply laden with\nspoils. On waking and learning this act of base treachery, the infuriated\npirates pursued him, but in vain; he safely reached Jamaica with his\nill-gotten wealth.\n\nIn this English island the pirate chief gained not only safety, but\nhonors. In some way he won the favor of Charles II., who knighted him as\nSir Henry Morgan and placed him on the admiralty court in Jamaica. He\nsubsequently, for a time, acted as deputy governor, and in this office\ndisplayed the greatest severity towards his old associates, several of\nwhom were tried before him and executed. One whole crew of buccaneers were\nsent by him to the Spaniards at Carthagena, in whose hands they were\nlikely to find little favor. He was subsequently arrested, sent to\nEngland, and imprisoned for three years under charges from Spain; but this\nwas the sole punishment dealt out to the most notorious of the buccaneers.\n\nThe success of Morgan's enterprise stimulated the piratical crews to\nsimilar deeds of daring, and the depredations continued, not only in the\nWest Indies and eastern South America, but afterwards along the Pacific,\nthe cities of Leon, in Mexico, New Granada, on the lake of Nicaragua, and\nGuayaquil, the port of Quito, being taken, sacked, and burned. Finally,\nFrance and England joined Spain in efforts for their suppression, the\ncoasts were more strictly guarded, and many of the freebooters settled as\nplanters or became mariners in honest trade. Some of them, however,\ncontinued in their old courses, dispersing over all seas as enemies of the\nshipping of the world; but by the year 1700 their career had fairly come\nto an end, and the race of buccaneers ceased to exist.\n\n\n\n\n\nELIZABETH FARNESE AND ALBERONI.\n\n\nIn 1714 certain events took place in Spain of sufficient interest to be\nworth the telling. Philip V., a feeble monarch, like all those for the\ncentury preceding him, was on the throne. In his youth he had been the\nDuke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV. of France, and upon the death of\nthat great monarch would be close in the succession to the throne of that\nkingdom. But, chosen as king of Spain by the will of Charles II., he\npreferred a sure seat to a doubtful one, and renounced his claim to the\nFrench crown, thus bringing to an end the fierce \"War of the Succession,\"\nwhich had involved most of the powers of Europe for many years.\n\nPhilip, by nature weak and yielding, became in time a confirmed\nhypochondriac, and on the death of his wife, Maria Louise, in 1714,\nabandoned himself to grief, refusing to attend to business of any kind,\nshutting himself up in the strictest seclusion, and leaving the affairs of\nthe kingdom practically in the hands of the Princess Orsini, the governess\nof his children, and his chief adviser.\n\nSorrow-stricken as was the bereaved king, affairs were already in train to\nprovide him with a new wife, a plan being laid for that purpose at the\nvery funeral of his queen, as some writers say, between the ambitious\nPrincess Orsini and a cunning Italian named Alberoni, while they, with a\nshow of grave decorum, followed Maria Louise to the grave.\n\nThe story of Alberoni is an interesting one. This man, destined to become\nprime minister of Spain, began life as the son of a gardener in the duchy\nof Parma. While a youth he showed such powers of intellect that the\nJesuits took him into their seminary and gave him an education of a\nsuperior character. He assumed holy orders and, by a combination of\nknowledge and ability with adulation and buffoonery, made his way until he\nreceived the appointment of interpreter to the Bishop of St. Domino, who\nwas about to set out on a mission from the Duke of Parma to the Duke of\nVend\u00f4me, then commander of the French forces in Italy.\n\nThe worthy bishop soon grew thoroughly disgusted with Vend\u00f4me, who, high\nas he was in station, displayed a shameless grossness of manner which was\nmore than the pious churchman could endure. The conduct of the affair was\ntherefore left to the interpreter, whose delicacy was not disturbed by the\nduke's behavior, and who managed to ingratiate himself fully in the good\ngraces of the French general, becoming so great a favorite that in the end\nhe left the service of the Duke of Parma for that of Vend\u00f4me.\n\nSubsequently the duke was appointed to a command in Spain, where he\nemployed Alberoni in all his negotiations with the court of Madrid. Here\nthe wily and ambitious Italian won the favor of the Princess Orsini so\nfully that when, on Vend\u00f4me's death, he returned home, the Duke of Parma\nsent him as his envoy to Spain.\n\nThe princess little dreamed the character of the man whom she had taken\ninto confidential relations, and who was plotting to overthrow her\ninfluence at court. Bent on retaining her influence by the choice of a\ntractable queen, she spoke to Alberoni of the urgent necessity of finding\nanother bride for the disconsolate king. The shrewd diplomat named several\neligible princesses, each of whom he dismissed as objectionable for one\nreason or another. At the end he adroitly introduced the name of Elizabeth\nFarnese, step-daughter of the Duke of Parma, of whom he spoke carelessly\nas a good girl, fattened on Parmesan cheese and butter, and so narrowly\neducated that she had not an idea beyond her embroidery. She might\nsucceed, he hinted, to the throne of Parma, as the duke had no child of\nhis own, in which case there would be a chance for Spain to regain her\nlost provinces in Italy.\n\nThe deluded Princess Orsini was delighted with the suggestion. With such a\ngirl as this for queen she could continue to hold the reins of state. She\neasily induced Philip to approve the choice; the Duke of Parma was charmed\nwith the offer; and the preliminary steps to the marriage were hurried\nthrough with all possible rapidity.\n\nBefore the final conclusion of the affair, however, the Princess Orsini\ndiscovered in some way that Alberoni had lied, and that the proposed bride\nwas by no means the ignorant and incapable country girl she had been told.\nFurious at the deception, she at once sent off a courier with orders to\nstop all further proceedings relating to the marriage. The messenger\nreached Parma in the morning of the day on which the marriage ceremony was\nto be performed by proxy. But Alberoni was wide awake to the danger, and\nmanaged to have the messenger detained until it was too late. Before he\ncould deliver his despatches Elizabeth Farnese was the legal wife of\nPhilip of Spain.\n\nThe new queen had been fully advised of the state of affairs by Alberoni.\nThe Princess Orsini, to whom she owed her elevation, was to be got rid of,\nat once and permanently. On crossing the frontiers she was met by all her\nhousehold except the princess, who was with the king, then on his way to\nmeet and espouse his bride. At Alcala the princess left him and hastened\nto meet the queen, reaching the village of Xadraca in time to receive her\nas she alighted from her carriage, kiss her hand, and in virtue of her\noffice at court to conduct her to her apartment.\n\nElizabeth met the princess with a show of graciousness, but on entering\nher chamber suddenly turned and accused her visitor of insulting her by\nlack of respect, and by appearing before her in improper attire. The\namazed princess, overwhelmed by this accusation, apologized and\nremonstrated, but the queen refused to listen to her, ordered her from the\nroom, and bade the officer of the guard to arrest and convey her beyond\nthe frontier.\n\nHere was a change in the situation! The officer hesitated to arrest one\nwho for years had been supreme in Spain.\n\n\"Were you not instructed to obey me implicitly?\" demanded Elizabeth.\n\n\"Yes, your majesty.\"\n\n\"Then do as I have ordered. I assume all responsibility.\"\n\n\"Will your majesty give me a written sanction?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said Elizabeth, in a tone very different from that of the\nbread-and-butter miss whom Alberoni had represented her.\n\nCalling for pen, ink, and paper, she wrote upon her knee an order for the\nprincess's arrest, and bade the hesitating officer to execute it at once.\n\nHe dared no longer object. The princess, in court dress, was hurried into\na carriage, with a single female attendant and two officers, being allowed\nneither a change of clothing, protection against the cold, nor money to\nprocure needed conveniences on the road. In this way a woman of over sixty\nyears of age, whose will a few hours before had been absolute in Spain,\nwas forced to travel throughout an inclement winter night, and continue\nher journey until she was thrust beyond the limits of Spain, within which\nshe was never again permitted to set foot.\n\nSuch was the first act of the docile girl whom the ambitious princess had\nfully expected to use as a tool for her designs. Schooled by her skilled\nadviser, and perhaps sanctioned by Philip, who may have wished to get rid\nof his old favorite, Elizabeth at the start showed a grasp of the\nsituation which she was destined to keep until the end. The feeble-minded\nmonarch at once fell under her influence, and soon all the affairs of the\nkingdom became subject to her control.\n\nElizabeth was a woman of restless ambition and impetuous temper, and she\nmanaged throughout Philip's reign to keep the kingdom in constant hot\nwater. The objects she kept in view were two: first, to secure to Philip\nthe reversion of the French crown in case of the death of the then Duke of\nAnjou, despite the fact that he had taken frequent oaths of renunciation;\nsecond, to secure for her own children sovereign rule in Italy.\n\nWe cannot detail the long story of the intrigues by which the ambitious\nwoman sought to bring about these purposes, but in all of them she found\nan able ally in Alberoni. Elizabeth did not forget that she owed her high\nposition to this man. They were, besides, congenial in disposition, and\nshe persuaded Philip to trust and consult him, and finally to appoint him\nprime minister. Not satisfied with this reward to her favorite, she, after\na few years, induced the Pope to grant him a cardinal's hat and Philip to\nmake him a grandee of Spain. The gardener's son had, by ability and\nshrewdness, reached the highest summit to which his ambition could aspire.\n\nFrom the greatest height one may make the most rapid fall. The power of\nAlberoni was destined quickly to reach its end. Yet it was less his own\nfault than the ambition of the queen that led to the termination of his\ncareer. As a prime minister he proved a marked success, giving Spain an\nadministration far superior to any she had enjoyed for many years.\nAlberoni was a man of great ability, which he employed in zealous efforts\nto improve the internal condition of the country, having the wisdom to\navail himself of the talents and knowledge of other able men in handling\nthose departments of government with which he was unfamiliar. He seemed\ninclined to keep Spain at peace, at least until she had regained some of\nher old power and energy; but the demands of the queen overcame his\nreluctance, and in the end he entered upon the accomplishment of her\npurposes with a daring and recklessness in full accordance with the\ndemands of her restless spirit of intrigue.\n\nLouis XIV. died in 1715. Louis XV., his heir, was a sickly child, not yet\nfive years old. Philip would have been regent during his youth, and his\nheir in case of his death, had he not renounced all claim to the French\nthrone. He was too weak and irresolute in himself to take any steps to\ngain this position, but his wife spurred him on to ambitious designs, and\nAlberoni entered eagerly into her projects, beginning a series of\nintrigues in France with all who were opposed to the Duke of Orleans, the\nexisting regent.\n\nThese intrigues led to war. The duke concluded an alliance with England\nand Germany, the former enemies of France. Philip, exasperated at seeing\nhimself thus thwarted, declared war against the German emperor, despite\nall that Alberoni could do to prevent, and sent an expedition against\nSardinia, which captured that island. Sicily was also invaded. Alberoni\nnow entered into intrigues for the restoration of the banished Stuarts to\nthe English throne, and took part in a conspiracy in France to seize the\nDuke of Orleans and appoint Philip to the regency.\n\nBoth these plots failed, the war became general, Philip found his armies\nbeaten, and Alberoni was forced to treat for peace. The Spanish minister\nhad made bitter enemies of George I. of England and the Duke of Orleans,\nwho, claiming that he was responsible for disturbing the peace of Europe,\ndemanded his dismissal as a preliminary to peace. His failure had lost him\ninfluence with the king, but the queen, the real power behind the throne,\nsupported him, and it was only by promises of the enemies of Alberoni to\naid her views for the establishment of her children that she was induced\nto yield consent to his overthrow.\n\nOn the 4th of December, 1719, Alberoni spent the evening transacting\naffairs of state with the king and queen. Up to that time he remained in\nfull favor and authority, however he may have suspected the intrigues for\nhis overthrow. Their majesties that night left Madrid for their country\npalace at Pardo, and from there was sent a decree by the hands of a\nsecretary of state, to the all-powerful minister, depriving him of all his\noffices, and bidding him to quit Madrid within eight days and Spain within\nthree weeks.\n\nAlberoni had long been hated by the people of Spain, and detested by the\ngrandees, who could not be reconciled to the supremacy of a foreigner and\nhis appointment to equality with them in rank. But this sudden dismissal\nseemed to change their sentiments, and rouse them to realization of the\nfact that Spain was losing its ablest man. Nobles and clergy flocked to\nhis house in such numbers that the king became alarmed at this sudden\npopularity, and ordered him to shorten the time of his departure.\n\nAlberoni sought refuge in Rome, but here the enmity of France and England\npursued him, and Philip accused him of misdemeanors in office, for which\nhe demanded a trial by the Pope and cardinals. Before these judges the\ndisgraced minister defended himself so ably that the court brought the\ninvestigation to a sudden end by ordering him to retire to a monastery for\nthree years.\n\nThis period the favor of the Pope reduced to one year, and his chief\nenemy, the regent of France, soon after dying, he was permitted to leave\nthe monastery and pass the remainder of his life free from persecution.\nHis career was a singular one, considering the lowness of his origin, and\nshowed what ability and shrewdness may accomplish even against the\ngreatest obstacles of fortune.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR.\n\n\nThe great Mediterranean Sea has its gate-way, nine miles wide, opening\ninto the Atlantic, the gate-posts being the headland of Ceuta, on the\nAfrican coast, and the famous rock of Gibraltar, in southwestern Spain,\ntwo natural fortresses facing each other across the sea. It is a singular\nfact that the African headland is held by Spain, and the Spanish headland\nby Great Britain,--this being a result of the wars of the eighteenth\ncentury. Gibraltar, in fact, has had a striking history, one worth the\ntelling.\n\nThis towering mass of rock rises in solitary grandeur at the extremity of\na sandy level, reaching upward to a height of fourteen hundred and eight\nfeet, while it is three miles long and three-fourths of a mile in average\nwidth. It forms a stronghold of nature which attracted attention at an\nearly date. To the Greeks it was one of the Pillars of Hercules,--Abyla\n(now Ceuta) being the other,--and formed the supposed western boundary of\nthe world. Tarik, the Arab, landed here in 711, fortified the rock, and\nmade it his base of operations against Gothic Spain. From him it received\nits name, Gebel el Tarik (Hill of Tarik), now corrupted into Gibraltar.\nFor seven centuries it remained in Moorish hands, except for a short\ninterval after 1302, when it was taken by Ferdinand II. of Castile. The\nking of Granada soon recaptured it; from him it was taken by treachery by\nthe king of Fez in 1333; Alfonso XI. of Castile vigorously besieged it,\nbut in vain; the king of Granada mastered it again in 1410; and it finally\nfell into the hands of Spain in 1462.\n\nA formidable attempt was made by the Moors for its recovery in 1540, it\nbeing vigorously attacked by the pirates of Algiers, who fought fiercely\nto win the rock, but were finally repulsed.\n\nFor the next event in the history of this much-coveted rock we must go on\nto the year 1704, when the celebrated war of the Succession was in full\nplay. Louis XIV. of France supported his grandson Philip V. as the\nsuccessor to the throne of Spain. The Archduke Charles of Austria was\nsupported by England, Portugal, and Holland, and was conveyed to the\nPeninsula and landed at Lisbon by an English fleet under Admiral Rorke.\nThe admiral, having disposed of the would-be king, sailed for Barcelona,\nwhich he was told was a ripe plum, ready to fall into his mouth. He was\ndisappointed; Barcelona was by no means ripe for his purposes, and he\nsailed back, ready for any enterprise that might offer itself.\n\nSoon before him towered the rock of Gibraltar, a handsome prize if it\ncould be captured, and poorly defended, as he knew. The Spaniards,\ntrusting, as it seems, in the natural strength of the place, which they\ndeemed impregnable, had left it with a very small supply of artillery and\nammunition, and with almost no garrison. Here was a promising opportunity\nfor the disappointed admiral and his associate, the prince of Hesse\nDarmstadt, who headed the foreign troops. A landing was made, siege lines\nwere opened, batteries were erected, and a hot bombardment began, to which\nthe feeble garrison could make but a weak reply. But the most effective\nwork was done by a body of soldiers, who scrambled up a part of the rock\nthat no one dreamed could be ascended, and appeared above the works,\nfilling with terror the hearts of the garrison.\n\nTwo days answered for the enterprise. At the end of that time the\ngovernor, Don Diego de Salmas, capitulated, and Gibraltar was taken\npossession of in the name of Queen Anne of England, the prince being left\nthere with a garrison of two thousand men. From that time to this\nGibraltar has remained an outpost of Great Britain, with whose outlying\nstrongholds the whole world bristles.\n\nThe loss of this strong place proved a bitter draught to the pride of\nSpain, and strenuous efforts to recapture it were made. In the succeeding\nyear (1705) it was besieged by a strong force of French and Spanish\ntroops, but their efforts were wasted, for the feeble court of Madrid left\nthe army destitute of necessary supplies. By the peace of Utrecht, 1713,\nGibraltar was formally made over to Great Britain, a country famous for\nclinging with a death-grip to any place of which she has once taken hold.\n\nLater efforts were made to win the Rock of Tarik for Spain, one in 1756,\nbut the last and greatest in 1779-82. It is this vigorous effort with\nwhich we are here concerned, the siege being one of the most famous of\nrecent times.\n\nThe Revolutionary War in the United States stirred up all Europe, and\nfinally brought Great Britain two new foes, the allied kingdoms of France\nand Spain. The latter country had never lost its irritation at seeing a\nforeign power in possession of a part of its home territory. Efforts were\nmade to obtain Gibraltar by negotiation, Spain offering her friendly aid\nto Great Britain in her wars if she would give up Gibraltar. This the\nBritish government positively refused to do, and war was declared. A siege\nof Gibraltar began which lasted for more than three years.\n\nSpain began the work in 1779 with a blockade by sea and an investment by\nland. Supplies were cut off from the garrison, which was soon in a state\nof serious distress for food, and strong hopes were entertained that it\nwould be forced to yield. But the British government was alert. Admiral\nRodney was sent with a strong fleet to the Mediterranean, the Spanish\nblockading fleet was defeated, the garrison relieved, provisioned, and\nreinforced, and Rodney sailed in triumph for the West Indies.\n\nFor three years the blockade was continued with varying fortunes, the\ngarrison being now on the verge of starvation, now relieved by British\nfleets. At the close of the third year it was far stronger than at the\nbeginning. The effort to subdue it by famine was abandoned, and\npreparations for a vigorous siege were made. France had joined her forces\nwith those of Spain. The island of Minorca, held by the British, had been\ntaken by the allied fleet, and it was thought impossible for Gibraltar to\nresist the projected assault.\n\nThe land force that had so long besieged the rock was greatly\nstrengthened, new batteries were raised, new trenches opened, and a severe\nfire was begun upon the works. Yet so commanding was the situation and so\nstrong were the defences of the garrison that success from the land side\nseemed impossible, and it was determined to make the main attack from the\nsea.\n\nA promising method of attack was devised by a French engineer of the\nhighest reputation for skill in his profession, the Chevalier D'Ar\u00e7on. The\nplan offered by him was so original and ingenious as to fill the besiegers\nwith hopes of sure success, and the necessary preparations were diligently\nmade. Ten powerful floating batteries were constructed, which were thought\nfully adapted to resist fire, throw off shells, and quench red-hot balls.\nEvery effort was made to render them incombustible and incapable of being\nsunk. These formidable batteries were towed to the bay of Gibraltar and\nanchored at a suitable distance from the works, D'Ar\u00e7on himself being in\ncommand. Ten ships of the line were sent to co-operate with them, the\narrival of reinforcements from France increased the land army to forty\nthousand men, and Crillon, the conqueror of Minorca, was placed in supreme\ncommand. The allied fleets were ordered to cruise in the straits, so as to\nprevent interference by a British fleet.\n\nThese great and scientific preparations filled all hearts with hope. No\ndoubt was entertained that Gibraltar now must fall and Great Britain\nreceive the chastisement she deserved. The nobility of Spain sought in\nnumbers the scene of action, eager to be present at the triumph of her\narms. From Versailles came the French princes, full of expectation of\nwitnessing the humbling of British pride. So confident of success was\nCharles III., king of Spain, that his first question every morning on\nwaking was, \"Is Gibraltar taken?\" All Spain and all France were instinct\nwith hope of seeing the pride of the islanders go down.\n\nGibraltar was garrisoned by seven thousand troops under General Elliot.\nThese lay behind fortifications on which had been exhausted all the\nresources of the engineering skill of that day, and in their hearts was\nthe fixed resolve never to surrender. The question had become one of\nnational pride rather than of utility. Gibraltar was not likely to prove\nof any very important advantage to Great Britain, but the instinct to hold\non has always been with that country a national trait, and, however she\nmight have been induced to yield Gibraltar as an act of policy, she was\ndetermined not to do so as an act of war.\n\nEarly on the 13th of September, 1782, the long-threatened bombardment\nbegan from so powerful a park of artillery that its roar is said to have\nexceeded anything ever before heard. There were defects in the plan. The\ntrenches on land proved to be too far away. The water was rough and the\ngunboats could not assist. But the work of the batteries came up to the\nhighest expectations. The fire poured by them upon the works was\ntremendous, while for many hours the shells and red-hot balls of the\ngarrison, fired with the greatest precision, proved of no avail. The\nbatteries seemed invulnerable to fire and shell, and the hopes of the\nbesiegers rose to the highest point, while those of the besieged\ncorrespondingly fell.\n\nIn the end this powerful assault was defeated by one of those events to\nwhich armed bodies of men are always liable,--a sudden and uncalled-for\nspasm of fear that flew like wildfire through fleet and camp. The day had\nnearly passed, evening was approaching, the hopes of the allies were at\ntheir height, when a red-hot ball from the works lodged in the nearest\nbattery and started a fire, which the crew sought in vain to quench.\n\nIn a sudden panic, for which there seems to have been no sufficient cause,\nthe terrified crew wet their powder and ceased to fire on the British\nworks. The panic spread to the other batteries, and from them to the\nforces on shore, even the commander-in-chief being affected by the\ncauseless fear. At one moment the assailants were enthusiastic with\nexpectation of success. Not many minutes afterwards they were so overcome\nwith unreasoning terror that an insane order was given to burn the\nbatteries, and these were fired with such precipitate haste that the crews\nwere allowed no time to escape. More of the men were saved by their\nenemies, who came with generous intrepidity to their aid, than by their\nown terror-stricken friends.\n\nThis unfortunate event put a sudden end to the costly and promising\neffort. The nobles of Spain and the princes of France left the camp in\ndisgust. Charles III. received word that Gibraltar was not captured, and\nnot likely to be, and the idea of taking the stronghold by force was\nabandoned, the blockade being resumed.\n\nTo keep away British aid the allied fleet was increased until it numbered\nforty-seven ships of the line, with a considerable number of smaller\nvessels. Furnaces were prepared to heat shot for the destruction of any\ntransports and store-ships that might enter the harbor. Against this great\nfleet Lord Howe appeared in October with only thirty sail, and encumbered\nwith a large convoy. The allied leaders seeing this small force, felt sure\nof victory, and of Gibraltar as their prize.\n\nBut again they were doomed to disappointment. The elements came to the\nBritish aid. A violent storm drove the allied fleet from its anchorage,\ndispersed the vessels, injured many of the large ships, and drove the\nsmall craft ashore. Lord Howe, whose ships were far better handled, sailed\nin good order through the straits, and for five days of rough weather\noffered battle to the disabled enemy, keeping them at a distance while his\ntransports and store-ships entered the harbor and supplied the garrison\nabundantly with provisions, ammunition, and men. The effort to take\nGibraltar was hopelessly defeated. The blockade was still kept up, but\nmerely as a satisfaction to Spanish pride. All hope of taking the fortress\nwas at an end. Gibraltar remains to-day in British hands, and no later\nattempt to take it has been made.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE FALL OF A FAVORITE.\n\n\nThe course of our work now brings us down to recent times. After the death\nof Philip II., in 1598, Spain had little history worth considering. Ruled\nby a succession of painfully weak kings, who were devoid of anything\napproaching political wisdom, the fortunes of the realm ran steadily\ndownward. From being the strongest, it became in time one of the weakest\nand least considered of European kingdoms; and from taking the lead in the\npolitics and wars of Europe, it came to be a plaything of the neighboring\nnations,--a catspaw which they used for the advancement of their own ends.\n\nIt was in this way that Napoleon treated Spain. He played with it as a cat\nplays with a mouse, and when the proper time came pounced upon it and\ngathered it in. Charles IV., the Spanish king of Napoleon's time, was one\nof the feeblest of his weak line,--an imbecile whom the emperor of France\ncounted no more than a feather in his path. He sought to deal with him as\nhe had done with the equally effeminate king of Portugal. When a French\narmy invaded Portugal in 1807, its weak monarch cut the knot of the\ndifficulty by taking ship and crossing the ocean to Brazil, abandoning his\nold kingdom and setting up a new one in the New World. When Spain was in\nits turn invaded, its king proposed to do the same thing,--to carry the\nroyal court of Spain to America, and leave a kingdom without a head to\nNapoleon. Such an act would have exactly suited the purposes of the astute\nconqueror, but the people rose in riot, and Charles IV. remained at home.\n\nThe real ruler of Spain at that time was a licentious and insolent\nfavorite of the king and queen, Emanuel Godoy by name, who began life as a\nsoldier, was made Duke of Alcudia by his royal patrons, and was appointed\nprime minister in 1792. In 1795, having made peace with France after a\ndisastrous war, he received the title of \"Prince of the Peace.\" His\nadministration was very corrupt, and he won the hatred of the nobles, the\npeople, and the heir to the throne. But his influence over the imbecile\nking and the licentious queen was unbounded, and he could afford to laugh\nin the face of his foes. But favorites are apt to have a short period of\npower, and, though Godoy remained long in office, his downfall at length\ncame.\n\nNapoleon had marched his armies through Spain to the conquest of Portugal,\nno one in Spain having the courage to object. It was stipulated that a\nsecond French army should not cross the Pyrenees, but in defiance of this\nNapoleon filled the north of Spain with his troops in 1808, and sent a\nthird army across the mountains without pretence of their being needed in\nPortugal. No protest was made against this invasion of a neutral nation.\nThe court of Madrid was helpless with terror, and, with the hope of\npropitiating Napoleon, admitted his legions into all the cities of\nCatalonia, Biscay, and Navarre.\n\nOnly one thing more was needed to make the French masters of the whole\ncountry. They held the towns, but the citadels were in possession of\nSpanish troops. These could not be expelled by violence while a show of\npeace was kept up. But Napoleon wanted them, and employed stratagem to get\nthem into his hands.\n\nIn two of the towns, St. Sebastian and Figueras, a simple lie sufficed.\nThe officers in command of the French garrisons asked permission to\nquarter their unruly conscripts in the citadels. As the court had ordered\nthat all the wishes of the emperor's officers should be gratified, this\nseemingly innocent request was granted. But in place of conscripts the\nbest men of the regiments were sent, and these were gradually increased in\nnumbers until in the end they overpowered the Spanish garrisons and\nadmitted the French.\n\nAt Pamplona a similar request was refused by the governor of the citadel,\nbut he permitted sixty unarmed men daily to enter the fortress to receive\nrations for their respective divisions. Here was the fatal entering wedge.\nOne night the officer in charge, whose quarters were near the citadel\ngate, secretly filled his house with armed grenadiers. The next morning\nsixty picked men, with arms hidden under their cloaks, were sent in for\nrations. The hour was too early, and the French soldiers loitered about\nunder pretence of waiting for the quartermaster. Some sauntered into the\nSpanish guard-house. Others, by a sportive scuffle on the drawbridge,\nprevented its being raised, and occupied the attention of the garrison.\nSuddenly a signal was given. The men drew their weapons and seized the\narms of the Spaniards. The grenadiers rushed from their concealment. The\nbridge and gate were secured, French troops hastened to the aid of their\ncomrades, and the citadel was won.\n\nAt Barcelona a different stratagem was employed. A review of the French\nforces was held under the walls of the citadel, whose garrison assembled\nto look on. During the progress of the review the French general, on\npretence that he had been ordered from the city, rode with his staff on to\nthe drawbridge with the ostensible purpose of bidding farewell to the\nSpanish commander. While the Spaniards curiously watched the manoeuvres of\nthe troops others of the French quietly gathered on the drawbridge. At a\nsignal this was seized, a rush took place, and the citadel of Barcelona\nwas added to the conquests of France.\n\nThe surprise of these fortresses produced an immense sensation in Spain.\nThat country had sunk into a condition of pitiable weakness. Its navy,\nonce powerful, was now reduced to a small number of ships, few of them in\ncondition for service. Its army, once the strongest in Europe, was now but\na handful of poorly equipped and half-drilled men. Its finances were in a\nstate of frightful disorganization. The government of a brainless king, a\ndissolute queen, and an incapable favorite had brought Spain into a\ncondition in which she dared not raise a hand to resist the ambitious\nFrench emperor.\n\nIn this dilemma Godoy, the so-called \"Prince of the Peace,\" persuaded the\nking and queen of Spain that nothing was left them but flight. The royal\nhouse of Portugal had found a great imperial realm awaiting it in America.\nSpain possessed there a dominion of continental extent. What better could\nthey do than remove to the New World the seat of their throne and cut\nloose from their threatened and distracted realm?\n\nThe project was concealed under the form of a journey to Andalusia, for\nthe purpose, as announced by Godoy, of inspecting the ports. But the\nextensive preparations of the court for this journey aroused a suspicion\nof its true purpose among the people, whose indignation became extreme on\nfinding that they were to be deserted by the royal house, as Portugal had\nbeen. The exasperation of all classes--the nobility, the middle class, and\nthe people--against the court grew intense. It was particularly developed\nin the army, a body which Godoy had badly treated. The army leaders argued\nthat they had better welcome the French than permit this disgrace, and\nthat it was their duty to prevent by force the flight of the king.\n\nBut all this did not deter the Prince of the Peace. He had several\nfrigates made ready in the port of Cadiz, the royal carriages were ordered\nto be in readiness, and relays of horses were provided on the road. The\ndate of departure was fixed for the 15th or 16th of March, 1808.\n\nOn the 13th Godoy made his way from Madrid to Aranjuez, a magnificent\nroyal residence on the banks of the Tagus, then occupied by the royal\nfamily. This residence, in the Italian style and surrounded by superb\ngrounds and gardens, was fronted by a wide highway, expanding opposite the\npalace into a spacious place, on which were several fine mansions\nbelonging to courtiers and ministers, one of the finest being occupied by\nthe prime minister. In the vicinity a multitude of small houses, inhabited\nby tradesmen and shop-keepers, made up the town of Aranjuez.\n\nGodoy, on arriving at Aranjuez, summoned a council of the ministers, the\ntime having arrived to apprise them of what was proposed. One of them, the\nMarquis of Caballero, kept him waiting, and on his arrival refused to\nconsent, either by word or signature, to the flight of the king.\n\n\"I order you to sign,\" the prime minister angrily exclaimed.\n\n\"I take no orders except from the king,\" haughtily replied the marquis.\n\nA sharp altercation followed, in which the other ministers took part, and\nthe meeting broke up in disorder, nothing being done. On retiring, the\nirate counsellors, full of agitation, dropped words which were caught up\nby the public and aroused a commotion that quickly spread throughout the\ntown. Thence it extended into the surrounding country, everywhere arousing\nthe disaffected, and soon strange and sinister faces appeared in the quiet\ntown. The elements of a popular outbreak were gathering.\n\nDuring the succeeding two days the altercation between the Prince of the\nPeace and the ministers continued, and the public excitement was added to\nby words attributed to Ferdinand, the king's son and heir to the throne,\nwho was said to have sought aid against those who proposed to carry him\noff against his will. On the morning of the 16th, the final day fixed for\nthe journey, the public agitation was so great that the king issued a\nproclamation, which was posted in the streets, saying that he had no\nthought of leaving his people. It ended: \"Spaniards, be easy; your king\nwill not leave you.\"\n\nThis for the time calmed the people. Yet on the 17th the excitement\nreappeared. The carriages remained loaded in the palace court-yard; the\nrelays of horses were kept up; all the indications were suspicious. During\nthe day the troops of the garrison of Madrid not on duty, with a large\nnumber of the populace, appeared in Aranjuez, having marched a distance of\nseven or eight leagues. They shouted maledictions on their way against the\nqueen and the Prince of the Peace.\n\nThe streets of Aranjuez that night were filled with an excited mob, many\nof them life-guards from Madrid, who divided into bands and patrolled the\nvicinity of the palace, determined that no one should leave. About\nmidnight an incident changed the excitement into a riot. A lady left\nGodoy's residence under escort of a few soldiers. She appeared to be about\nto enter a carriage. The crowd pressed closely around, and the hussars of\nthe minister, who attended the lady, attempted to force a passage through\nthem. At this moment a gun was fired,--by whom was not known. A frightful\ntumult at once arose. The life-guards and other soldiers rushed upon the\nhussars, and a furious mob gathered around the palace, shouting, \"Long\nlive the king!\" \"Death to the Prince of the Peace!\"\n\nSoon a rush was made towards the residence of the prince, which the throng\nsurrounded, gazing at it with eyes of anger, yet hesitating to make an\nattack. As they paused in doubt, a messenger from the palace approached\nthe mansion and sought admission. It was refused from those within. He\ninsisted upon entrance, and a shot came from the guards within. In an\ninstant all hesitation was at an end. The crowd rushed in fury against the\ndoors, broke them in, and swarmed into the building, driving the guards\nback in dismay.\n\nIt was magnificently furnished, but their passion to destroy soon made\nhavoc of its furniture and decorations. Pictures, hangings, costly\narticles of use and ornament were torn down, dashed to pieces, flung from\nthe windows. The mob ran from room to room, destroying everything of value\nthey met, and eagerly seeking the object of their hatred, with a\npassionate thirst for his life. The whole night was spent in the search,\nand, the prince not being found, his house was reduced to a wreck.\n\nWord of what was taking place filled the weak soul of Charles IV. with\nmortal terror. The prince failed to appear, and, by the advice of the\nministers, a decree was issued by the king on the following morning\ndepriving Emanuel Godoy of the offices of grand admiral and generalissimo,\nand exiling him from the court.\n\nThus fell this detestable favorite, the people, who blamed him for the\ndegradation of Spain, breaking into a passionate joy, singing, dancing,\nbuilding bonfires, and giving every manifestation of delight. In Madrid,\nwhen the news reached there, the enthusiasm approached delirium.\n\nMeanwhile, where was the fallen favorite? Despite the close search made by\nthe mob, he remained concealed in his residence. Alarmed by the crash of\nthe breaking doors, he had seized a pistol and a handful of gold, rushed\nup-stairs, and hid himself in a loft under the roof, rolling himself up in\na sort of rush carpet used in Spain. Here he remained during the whole of\nthe 18th and the succeeding night, but on the morning of the 19th, after\nthirty-six hours' suffering, thirst and hunger forced him to leave his\nretreat. He presented himself suddenly before a sentry on duty in the\npalace, offering him his gold. But the man refused the bribe and instantly\ncalled the guard. Fortunately the mass of the people were not near by.\nSome life-guards who just then came up placed the miserable captive\nbetween their horses, and conveyed him as rapidly as they could towards\ntheir barracks. But these were at some distance, the news of the capture\nspread like wild-fire, and they had not gone far before the mob began to\ngather around them, their hearts full of murderous rage.\n\nThe prince was on foot between two of the mounted guardsmen, leaning for\nshelter against the pommels of their saddles. Others of the horsemen\nclosed up in front and rear, and did their best to protect him from the\nfury of the rabble, who struck wildly at him with every weapon they had\nbeen able to snatch up. Despite the efforts of the guardsmen some of the\nblows reached him, and he was finally brought to the barracks with his\nfeet trodden by the horses, a large wound in his thigh, and one eye nearly\nout of his head. Here he was thrown, covered with blood, upon the straw in\nthe stables, a sad example of what comes of the favor of kings when\nexercised in defiance of the will of the people. Godoy had begun life as a\nlife-guardsman, and now, after almost sharing the throne, he had thus\nreturned to the barracks and the straw bed of his youth.\n\nWe may give in outline the remainder of the story of this fallen favorite.\nPromise being given that he should have an impartial trial, the mob ceased\nits efforts to kill him. Napoleon, who had use for him, now came to his\nrescue, and induced him to sign a deed under which Charles IV. abdicated\nthe throne in favor of his son. His possessions in Spain were confiscated,\nbut Charles, who removed to Rome, was his friend during life. After the\ndeath of his protector he went to Paris, where he received a pension from\nLouis Philippe; and in 1847, when eighty years of age, he received\npermission to return to Spain, his titles and most of his property being\nrestored. But he preferred to live in Paris, where he died in 1851.\n\n\n\n\n\n                  [Illustration: THE CITY OF SARAGOSSA.]\n\n                          THE CITY OF SARAGOSSA.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE SIEGE OF SARAGOSSA.\n\n\nOn the banks of the Ebro, in northwestern Spain, stands the ancient city\nof Saragossa, formerly the capital of Aragon, and a place of fame since\nearly Roman days. A noble bridge of seven arches, built nearly five\ncenturies ago, crosses the stream, and a wealth of towers and spires gives\nthe city an imposing appearance. This city is famous for its sieges, of\nwhich a celebrated one took place in the twelfth century, when the\nChristians held it in siege for five years, ending in 1118. In the end the\nMoors were forced to surrender, or such of them as survived, for a great\npart of them had died of hunger. In modern times it gained new and high\nhonor from its celebrated resistance to the French in 1808. It is this\nsiege with which we are concerned, one almost without parallel in history.\n\nWe have told in the preceding tale how Charles IV. of Spain was forced to\nyield the throne to his son Ferdinand, who was proclaimed king March 20,\n1808. This act by no means agreed with the views of Napoleon, who had\nplans of his own for Spain, and who sought to end the difficulty by\ndeposing the Bourbon royal family and placing his own brother, Joseph\nBonaparte, on the throne.\n\nThe imperious emperor of the French had, however, the people as well as\nthe rulers of Spain to deal with. The news of his arbitrary action was\nreceived throughout the Peninsula with intense indignation, and suddenly\nthe land blazed into insurrection, and the French garrisons, which had\nbeen treacherously introduced into Spain, found themselves besieged.\nEverywhere the peasants seized arms and took to the field, and a fierce\nguerilla warfare began which the French found it no easy matter to\novercome. At Baylen, a town of Andalusia, which was besieged by the\ninsurgents, the French suffered a serious defeat, an army of eighteen\nthousand men being forced to surrender as prisoners of war. This was the\nonly important success of the Spanish, but they courageously resisted\ntheir foes, and at Saragossa gained an honor unsurpassed in the history of\nSpain. Never had there been known such a siege and such a defence.\n\nSaragossa was attacked by General Lefebre on June 15, 1808. Thinking that\na city protected only by a low brick wall, with peasants and townsmen for\nits defenders, and few guns in condition for service, could be carried at\nfirst assault, the French general made a vigorous attack, but found\nhimself driven back. He had but four or five thousand men, while the town\nhad fifty thousand inhabitants, the commander of the garrison being Joseph\nPalafox, a man of indomitable spirit.\n\nLefebre, perceiving that he had been over-confident, now encamped and\nawaited reinforcements, which arrived on the 29th, increasing his force to\ntwelve thousand men. He was recalled for service elsewhere, General\nVerdier being left in command, and during the succeeding two months the\nsiege was vigorously prosecuted, the French being supplied with a large\nsiege train, with which they hotly bombarded the city.\n\nWeak as were the walls of Saragossa, interiorly it was remarkably well\nadapted for defence. The houses were strongly built, of incombustible\nmaterial, they being usually of two stories, each story vaulted and\npractically fireproof. Every house had its garrison, and the massive\nconvents which rose like castles within the circuit of the wall were\nfilled with armed men. Usually when the walls of a city are taken the city\nfalls; but this was by no means the case with Saragossa. The loss of its\nwalls was but the beginning, not the end, of its defence. Each convent,\neach house, formed a separate fortress. The walls were loop-holed for\nmusketry, ramparts were constructed of sand-bags, and beams were raised\nendwise against the houses to afford shelter from shells.\n\nIt was not until August that the French, now fifteen thousand strong, were\nable to force their way into the city. But to enter the city was not to\ncapture it. They had to fight their way from street to street and from\nhouse to house. At length the assailants penetrated to the Cosso, a public\nwalk formed on the line of the old Moorish ramparts, but here their\nadvance was checked, the citizens defending themselves with the most\ndesperate and unyielding energy.\n\nThe singular feature of this defence was that the women of Saragossa took\nas active a part in it as the men. The Countess Burita, a beautiful young\nwoman of intrepid spirit, took the lead in forming her fellow-women into\ncompanies, at whose head were ladies of the highest rank. These,\nundeterred by the hottest fire and freely braving wounds and death,\ncarried provisions to the combatants, removed the wounded to the\nhospitals, and were everywhere active in deeds of mercy and daring. One of\nthem, a young woman of low rank but intrepid soul, gained world-wide\ncelebrity by an act of unusual courage and presence of mind.\n\nWhile engaged one day in her regular duty, that of carrying meat and wine\nto the defenders of a battery, she found it deserted and the guns\nabandoned. The French fire had proved so murderous that the men had shrunk\nback in mortal dread. Snatching a match from the hand of a dead\nartillery-man, the brave girl fired his gun, and vowed that she would\nnever leave it while a Frenchman remained in Saragossa. Her daring shamed\nthe men, who returned to their guns, but, as the story goes, the brave\ngirl kept her vow, working the gun she had chosen until she had the joy to\nsee the French in full retreat. This took place on the 14th of August,\nwhen the populace, expecting nothing but to die amid the ruins of their\nhouses, beheld with delight the enemy in full retreat. The obstinate\nresistance of the people and reverses to the arms of France elsewhere had\nforced them to raise the siege.\n\nThe deeds of the \"Maid of Saragossa\" have been celebrated in poetry by\nByron and Southey and in art by Wilkie, and she stands high on the roll of\nheroic women, being given, as some declare, a more elevated position than\nher exploit deserved.\n\nSaragossa, however, was only reprieved, not abandoned. The French found\nthemselves too busily occupied elsewhere to attend to this centre of\nSpanish valor until months had passed. At length, after the defeat and\nretreat of Sir John Moore and the English allies of Spain, a powerful\narmy, thirty-five thousand strong, returned to the city on the Ebro, with\na battering train of sixty guns.\n\nPalafox remained in command in the city, which was now much more strongly\nfortified and better prepared for defence. The garrison was\nsuper-abundant. From the field of battle at Tudela, where the Spaniards\nhad suffered a severe defeat, a stream of soldiers fled to Saragossa,\nbringing with them wagons and military stores in abundance. As the\nfugitives passed, the villagers along the road, moved by terror, joined\nthem, and into the gates of the city poured a flood of soldiers,\ncamp-followers, and peasants, until it was thronged with human beings.\nLast of all came the French, reaching the city on the 20th of December,\nand resuming their interrupted siege. And now Saragossa, though destined\nto fall, was to cover itself with undying glory.\n\nThe townsmen, giving up every thought of personal property, devoted all\ntheir goods, their houses, and their persons to the war, mingling with the\nsoldiers and the peasants to form one great garrison for the fortress into\nwhich the whole city was transformed. In all quarters of the city massive\nchurches and convents rose like citadels, the various large streets\nrunning into the broad avenue called the Cosso, and dividing the city into\na number of districts, each with its large and massive structures, well\ncapable of defence.\n\nNot only these thick-walled buildings, but all the houses, were converted\ninto forts, the doors and windows being built up, the fronts loop-holed,\nand openings for communication broken through the party-walls; while the\nstreets were defended by trenches and earthen ramparts mounted with\ncannon. Never before was there such an instance of a whole city converted\ninto a fortress, the thickness of the ramparts being here practically\nmeasured by the whole width of the city.\n\nSaragossa had been a royal depot for saltpetre, and powder-mills near by\nhad taught many of its people the process of manufacture, so no magazines\nof powder subject to explosion were provided, this indispensable substance\nbeing made as it was needed. Outside the walls the trees were cut down and\nthe houses demolished, so that they might not shield the enemy; the public\nmagazines contained six months' provisions, the convents and houses were\nwell stocked, and every preparation was made for a long siege and a\nvigorous defence.\n\nAgain, as before, companies of women were enrolled to attend the wounded\nin the hospitals and carry food and ammunition to the men, the Countess\nBurita being once more their commander, and performing her important duty\nwith a heroism and high intelligence worthy of the utmost praise. Not less\nthan fifty thousand combatants within the walls faced the thirty-five\nthousand French soldiers without, who had before them the gigantic task of\novercoming a city in which every dwelling was a fort and every family a\ngarrison.\n\nA month and more passed before the walls were taken. Steadily the French\nguns played on these defences, breach after breach was made, a number of\nthe encircling convents were entered and held, and by the 1st of February\nthe walls and outer strongholds of the city were lost. Ordinarily, under\nsuch circumstances, the city would have fallen, but here the work of the\nassailants had but fairly begun. The inner defences--the houses with their\nunyielding garrisons--stood intact, and a terrible task still faced the\nFrench.\n\nThe war was now in the city streets, the houses nearest the posts held by\nthe enemy were crowded with defenders, in every quarter the alarm-bells\ncalled the citizens to their duty, new barricades rose in the streets,\nmines were sunk in the open spaces, and the internal passages from house\nto house were increased until the whole city formed a vast labyrinth,\nthroughout which the defenders could move under cover.\n\nMarshall Lannes, the French commander, viewed with dread and doubt the\nscene before him. Untrained in the art of war as were the bulk of the\ndefenders, courage and passionate patriotism made up for all deficiencies.\nMen like these, heedless of death in their determined defence, were\ndangerous to meet in open battle, and the prudent Frenchman resolved to\nemploy the slow but surer process of excavating a passage and fighting his\nway through house after house until the city should be taken piecemeal.\n\nMining through the houses was not sufficient. The greater streets divided\nthe city into a number of small districts, the group of dwellings in each\nof which forming a separate stronghold. To cross these streets it was\nnecessary to construct underground galleries, or build traverses, since a\nSpanish battery raked each street, and each house had to be fought for and\ntaken separately.\n\nWhile the Spaniards held the convents and churches the capture of the\nhouses by the French was of little service to them, the defenders making\nsudden and successful sallies from these strong buildings, and\ncountermining their enemies, their numbers and perseverance often\nfrustrating the superior skill of the French. The latter, therefore,\ndirected their attacks upon these buildings, mining and destroying many of\nthem. On the other hand, the defenders saturated with rosin and pitch the\ntimbers of the buildings they could no longer hold, and interposed a\nbarrier of fire between themselves and their assailants which often\ndelayed them for several days.\n\nStep by step, inch by inch, the French made their way forward, complete\ndestruction alone enabling them to advance. The fighting was incessant.\nThe explosion of mines, the crash of falling buildings, the roar of cannon\nand musketry, the shouts of the combatants continually filled the air,\nwhile a cloud of smoke and dust hung constantly over the city as the\nterrible scene of warfare continued day after day.\n\nBy the 17th of February the Cosso was reached and passed. But the French\nsoldiers had become deeply discouraged by their fifty days of unremitting\nlabor and battle, fighting above and beneath the earth, facing an enemy as\nbold as themselves and much more numerous, and with half the city still to\nbe conquered. Only the obstinate determination of Marshal Lannes kept them\nto their work.\n\nBy his orders a general assault was made on the 18th. Under the\nuniversity, a large building in the Cosso, mines containing three thousand\npounds of powder were exploded, the walls falling with a terrific crash.\nMeanwhile, fifty pieces of artillery were playing on the side of the Ebro,\nwhere the great convent of St. Lazar was breached and taken, two thousand\nmen being here cut off from the city. On the 19th other mines were\nexploded, and on the 20th six great mines under the Cosso, loaded with\nthousands of pounds of powder, whose explosion would have caused immense\ndestruction, were ready for the match, when an offer to surrender brought\nthe terrible struggle to an end.\n\nThe case had become one of surrender or death. The bombardment, incessant\nsince the 10th of January, had forced the women and children into the\nvaults, which were abundant in Saragossa. There the closeness of the air,\nthe constant burning of oil, and the general unsanitary conditions had\ngiven rise to a pestilence which threatened to carry off all the\ninhabitants of the city. Such was the state of the atmosphere that slight\nwounds became fatal, and many of the defenders of the barricades were fit\nonly for the hospitals. By the 1st of February the death-rate had become\nenormous. The daily deaths numbered nearly five hundred, and thousands of\ncorpses, which it was impossible to bury, lay in the streets and houses,\nand in heaps at the doors of the churches, infecting the air with their\ndecay. The French held the suburbs, most of the wall, and one-fourth of\nthe houses, while the bursting of thousands of shells and the explosion of\nnearly fifty thousand pounds of gunpowder in mines had shaken the city to\nits foundations. Of the hundred thousand people who had gathered within\nits walls, more than fifty thousand were dead; thousands of others would\nsoon follow them to the grave; Palafox, their indomitable chief, was sick\nunto death. Yet despite this there was a strong and energetic party who\nwished to protract the siege, and the deputies appointed to arrange terms\nof surrender were in peril of their lives.\n\nThe terms granted were that the garrison should march out with the honors\nof war, to be taken as prisoners to France; the peasants should be sent to\ntheir homes; the rights of property and exercise of religion should be\nguaranteed.\n\nThus ended one of the most remarkable sieges on record,--remarkable alike\nfor the energy and persistence of the attack and the courage and obstinacy\nof the defence. Never in all history has any other city stood out so long\nafter its walls had fallen. Rarely has any city been so adapted to a\nprotracted defence. Had not its houses been nearly incombustible it would\nhave been reduced to ashes by the bombardment. Had not its churches and\nconvents possessed the strength of forts it must have quickly yielded. Had\nnot the people been animated by an extraordinary enthusiasm, in which\nwomen did the work of men, a host of peasants and citizens could not so\nlong have endured the terrors of assault on the one hand and of pestilence\non the other. In the words of General Napier, the historian of the\nPeninsular War, \"When the other events of the Spanish war shall be lost in\nthe obscurity of time, or only traced by disconnected fragments, the story\nof Zaragoza, like some ancient triumphal pillar standing amidst ruins,\nwill tell a tale of past glory.\"\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE HERO OF THE CARLISTS.\n\n\nSpain for years past has had its double king,--a king in possession and a\nking in exile, a holder of the throne and an aspirant to the throne. For\nthe greater part of a century one has rarely heard of Spain without\nhearing of the Carlists, for continually since 1830 there has been a\nprincely claimant named Charles, or Don Carlos, struggling for the crown.\n\nFerdinand VII., who succeeded to the throne on the abdication of Charles\nIV. in 1808, made every effort to obtain an heir. Three wives he had\nwithout a child, and his brother, Don Carlos, naturally hoped to succeed\nhim. But the persistent king married a fourth time, and this time a\ndaughter was born to him. There was a law excluding females from the\nthrone, but this law had been abrogated by Ferdinand to please his wife,\nand thus the birth of his daughter robbed Don Carlos of his hopes of\nbecoming king.\n\nFerdinand died in 1833, and the infant Isabella was proclaimed queen, with\nher mother as regent. The liberals supported her, the absolutists gathered\naround Don Carlos, and for years there was a bitter struggle in Spain, the\nstrength of the Carlists being in the Basque provinces and Spanish\nNavarre,--a land of mountaineers, loyal in nature and conservative by\nhabit.\n\nThe dynasty of the pretender has had three successive claimants to the\nthrone. The first Don Carlos abdicated in 1844, and was succeeded by Don\nCarlos the Second, his son. He died in 1861, and his cousin, Don Carlos\nthe Third, succeeded to the claim, and renewed the struggle for the crown.\nIt was this third of the name that threatened to renew the insurrection\nduring the Spanish-American war of 1898.\n\nThis explanation is necessary to make clear what is known by Carlism in\nSpain. Many as have been the Carlist insurrections, they have had but one\nleader of ability, one man capable of bringing them success. This was the\nfamous Basque chieftain Zumalacarregui, the renowned \"Uncle Tomas\" of the\nCarlists, whose brilliant career alone breaks the dull monotony of Spanish\nhistory in the nineteenth century, and who would in all probability have\nplaced Don Carlos on the throne but for his death from a mortal wound in\n1835. Since then Carlism has struggled on with little hope of success.\n\nNavarre, the chief seat of the insurrection, borders on the chain of the\nPyrenees, and is a wild confusion of mountains and hills, where the\ntraveller is confused in a labyrinth of long and narrow valleys, deep\nglens, and rugged rocks and cliffs. The mountains are highest in the\nnorth, but nowhere can horsemen proceed the day through without\ndismounting, and in many localities even foot travel is very difficult. In\npassing from village to village long and winding roads must be traversed,\nthe short cuts across the mountains being such as only a goat or a\nNavarrese can tread.\n\nRegular troops, in traversing this rugged country, are exhausted by the\nshortest marches, while the people of the region go straight through wood\nand ravine, plunging into the thick forests and following narrow paths,\nthrough which pursuit is impossible, and where an invading force does not\ndare to send out detachments for fear of having them cut off by a sudden\nguerilla attack. It was here and in the Basque provinces to the west, with\ntheir population of hardy and daring mountaineers, that the troops of\nNapoleon found themselves most annoyed by the bold guerilla chiefs, and\nhere the Carlist forces long defied the armies of the crown.\n\nTomas Zumalacarregui, the \"modern Cid,\" as his chief historian entitles\nhim, was a man of high military genius, rigid in discipline, skilful in\nadministration, and daring in leadership; a stern, grave soldier, to whose\nface a smile rarely came except when shots were falling thick around him\nand when his staff appeared as if they would have preferred music of a\ndifferent kind. To this intrepid chief fear seemed unknown, prudence in\nbattle unthought of, and so many were his acts of rashness that when a\nbullet at length reached him it seemed a miracle that he had escaped so\nlong. The white charger which he rode became such a mark for the enemy,\nfrom its frequent appearance at the head of a charging troop or in\nrallying a body of skirmishers, that all those of a similar color ridden\nby members of his staff were successively shot, though his always escaped.\nOn more than one occasion he brought victory out of doubt, or saved his\nlittle army in retreat, by an act of hare-brained bravery. Such was the\n\"Uncle Tomas\" of the Navarrese, the darling of the mountaineers, the man\nwho would very likely have brought final victory to their cause had not\ndeath cut him off in the midst of his career.\n\nFew were the adherents of Don Carlos when this able soldier placed himself\nat their head,--a feeble remnant hunted like a band of robbers among their\nnative mountains. When he appeared in 1833, escaping from Madrid, where he\nwas known as a brave soldier and an opponent of the queen, he found but\nthe fragment of an insurgent army in Navarre. All he could gather under\nhis banner were about eight hundred half-armed and undisciplined men,--a\nsorry show with which to face an army of over one hundred and twenty\nthousand men, many of them veterans of the recent wars. These were thrown\nin successive waves against Uncle Tomas and his handful of followers,\nreinforcement following reinforcement, general succeeding general, even\nthe redoubtable Mina among them, each with a new plan to crush the Carlist\nchief, yet each disastrously failing.\n\nBeginning with eight hundred badly armed peasants and fourteen horses, the\ngallant leader had at the time of his death a force of twenty-eight\nthousand well-organized and disciplined infantry and eight hundred\nhorsemen, with twenty-eight pieces of artillery and twelve thousand spare\nmuskets, all won by his good sword from the foe,--his arsenal being, as he\nexpressed it, \"in the ranks of the enemy.\" During these two years of\nincessant war more than fifty thousand of the army of Spain, including a\nvery large number of officers, had fallen in Navarre, sixteen fortified\nplaces had been taken, and the cause of Don Carlos was advancing by leaps\nand bounds. The road to Madrid lay open to the Carlist hero when, at the\nsiege of Bilboa, a distant and nearly spent shot struck him, inflicting a\nwound from which he soon died. With the fall of Zumalacarregui fell the\nCarlist cause. Weak hands seized the helm from which his strong one had\nbeen struck, incompetency succeeded genius, and three years more of a\nweakening struggle brought the contest to an end. In all later revivals of\nthe insurrection it has never gained a hopeful stand, and with the fall of\n\"Uncle Tomas\" the Carlist claim to the throne seemingly received its\ndeath-blow.\n\nThe events of the war between the Navarrese and their opponents were so\nnumerous that it is not easy to select one of special interest from the\nmass. We shall therefore speak only of the final incidents of\nZumalacarregui's career. Among the later events was the siege and capture\nof Villafranca. Espartero, the Spanish general, led seven thousand men to\nthe relief of this place, marching them across the mountains on a dark and\nstormy night with the hope of taking the Carlists by surprise. But Uncle\nTomas was not the man to be taken unawares, and reversed the surprise,\nstriking Espartero with a small force in the darkness, and driving back\nhis men in confusion and dismay. Eighteen hundred prisoners were taken,\nand the general himself narrowly escaped. General Mirasol was taken, with\nall his staff, in a road-side house, from which he made an undignified\nescape. He was a small man, and by turning up his embroidered cuffs, these\nbeing the only marks of the grade of brigadier-general in the Spanish\narmy, he concealed his rank. He told his captors that he was a _tambor_.\nIn their anxiety to capture officers the soldiers considered a drummer too\nsmall game, and dismissed the general with a sound kick to the custody of\nthose outside. As these had more prisoners than they could well manage, he\neasily escaped.\n\nOn learning of the defeat of Espartero the city surrendered. The news of\nthe fall of Villafranca had an important effect, the city of Tolosa being\nabandoned by its garrison and Burgera surrendered, though it was strongly\ngarrisoned. Here Charles V.--as Don Carlos was styled by his party--made a\ntriumphal entry. He was then at the summit of his fortunes and full of\naspiring hopes. Eybar was next surrendered, the garrison of Durango fled,\nand Salvatierra was evacuated.\n\nVictory seemed to have perched upon the banners of the Navarrese, town\nafter town falling in rapid succession into their hands, and the crown of\nSpain appeared likely soon to change hands. Zumalacarregui proposed next\nto march upon Vittoria, which had been abandoned with the exception of a\nfew battalions, and thence upon the important city of Burgos, where he\nwould either force the enemy to a battle or move forward upon Madrid. So\nrapid and signal had been his successes that consternation filled the army\nof the queen, the soldiers being in such terror that little opposition was\nfeared. Bets ran high in the Carlist army that six weeks would see them in\nMadrid, and any odds could have been had that they would be there within\ntwo months. Such was the promising state of affairs when the impolitic\ninterference of Don Carlos led to a turn in the tide of his fortune and\nthe overthrow of his cause.\n\nWhat he wanted most was money. His military chest was empty. In the path\nof the army lay the rich mercantile city of Bilboa. Its capture would\nfurnish a temporary supply. He insisted that the army, instead of crossing\nthe Ebro and taking full advantage of the panic of the enemy, should\nattack this place. This Zumalacarregui strongly opposed.\n\n\"Can you take it?\" asked Carlos.\n\n\"I can take it, but it will be at an immense sacrifice, not so much of men\nas of time, which now is precious,\" was the reply.\n\nDon Carlos insisted, and the general, sorely against his will, complied.\nThe movement was not only unwise in itself, it led to an accident that\nbrought to an end all the fair promise of success.\n\nThe siege was begun. Zumalacarregui, anxious to save time, determined to\ntake the place by storm as soon as a practicable breach should be made,\nand on the morning of the day he had fixed for the assault he, with his\nusual daring, stepped into the balcony of a building not far from the\nwalls to inspect the state of affairs with his glass.\n\nOn seeing a man thus exposed, evidently a superior officer, to judge from\nhis telescope and the black fur jacket he wore, all the men within that\npart of the walls opened fire on him. The general soon came out of the\nbalcony limping in a way that at once created alarm, and, unable to\nconceal his lameness, he admitted that he was wounded. A bullet, glancing\nfrom one of the bars of the balcony window, had struck him in the calf of\nthe right leg, fracturing the small bone and dropping two or three inches\nlower in the flesh.\n\nThe wound appeared but trifling,--the slight hurt of a spent ball,--but the\nsurgeons, disputing as to the policy of extracting the ball, did nothing,\nnot even dressing the wound till the next morning. It was of slight\nimportance, they said. He would be on horseback within a month, perhaps in\ntwo weeks. The wounded man was not so sanguine.\n\n\"The pitcher goes to the well till it breaks at last,\" he said. \"Two\nmonths more and I would not have cared for any sort of wound.\"\n\nThose two months might have put Don Carlos on the throne and changed the\nhistory of Spain. In eleven days the general was dead and a change had\ncome over the spirit of affairs. The operations against Bilboa languished,\nthe garrison regained their courage, the plan of storming the place was\nset aside, the queen's troops, cheered by tidings of the death of the\n\"terrible Zumalacarregui,\" took heart again and marched to the relief of\nthe city. Their advance ended in the siege being raised, and in the first\nencounter after the death of their redoubtable chief the Carlists met with\ndefeat. The decline in the fortunes of Don Carlos had begun. One man had\nlifted them from the lowest ebb almost to the pinnacle of success. With\nthe fall of Zumalacarregui Carlism received a death-blow in Spain, for\nthere is little hope that one of this dynasty of claimants will ever reach\nthe throne.\n\n\n\n\n\nMANILA AND SANTIAGO.\n\n\nThe record of Spain has not been glorious at sea. She has but one great\nvictory, that of Lepanto, to offer in evidence against a number of great\ndefeats, such as those of the Armada, Cape St. Vincent, and Trafalgar. In\n1898 two more defeats, those of Manila and Santiago, were added to the\nlist, and with an account of these our series of tales from Spanish\nhistory may fitly close.\n\nExactly three centuries passed from the death of Philip II. (1598) to that\nof the war with the United States, and during that long period the tide of\nSpanish affairs moved steadily downward. At its beginning Spain exercised\na powerful influence over European politics; at its end she was looked\nupon with disdainful pity and had no longer a voice in continental\naffairs. Such was the inevitable result of the weakness and lack of\nstatesmanship with which the kingdom had been misgoverned during the\ngreater part of this period.\n\nIn her colonial affairs Spain had shown herself as intolerant and\noppressive as at home. When the other nations of Europe were loosening the\nreins of their colonial policy, Spain kept hers unyieldingly rigid.\nColonial revolution was the result, and she lost all her possessions in\nAmerica but the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. Yet she had learned no\nlesson,--she seemed incapable of profiting by experience,--and the old\npolicy of tyranny and rapacity was exercised over these islands until\nCuba, the largest of them, was driven into insurrection.\n\nIn attempting to suppress this insurrection Spain adopted the cruel\nmethods she had exercised against the Moriscos in the sixteenth century,\nignoring the fact that the twentieth century was near its dawn, and that a\nnew standard of humane sympathy and moral obligation had arisen in other\nnations. Her cruelty towards the insurgent Cubans became so intolerable\nthat the great neighboring republic of the United States bade her, in\ntones of no uncertain meaning, to bring it to an end. In response Spain\nadopted her favorite method of procrastination, and the frightful reign of\nstarvation in Cuba was maintained. This was more than the American people\ncould endure, and war was declared. With the cause and the general course\nof that war our readers are familiar, but it embraced two events of signal\nsignificance--the naval contests of the war--which are worth telling again\nas the most striking occurrences in the recent history of Spain.\n\nAt early dawn of the 1st of May, 1898, a squadron of United States\ncruisers appeared before the city of Manila, in the island of Luzon, the\nlargest island of the Philippine archipelago, then a colony of Spain. This\nsquadron, consisting of the cruisers Olympia, Baltimore, Raleigh, and\nBoston, the gunboats Petrel and Concord, and the despatch-boat McCulloch,\nhad entered the bay of Manila during the night, passing unhurt the\nbatteries at its mouth, and at daybreak swept in proud array past the city\nfront, seeking the Spanish fleet, which lay in the little bay of Cavit\u00e9,\nopening into the larger bay.\n\n                  [Illustration: THE CITY OF SARAGOSSA.]\n\n      THE ANNIHILATION OF THE SPANISH FLEET IN THE HARBOR OF MANILA.\n\nCopyright, 1898, by Arkell Publishing Company\n\n\nThe Spanish ships consisted of five cruisers and three gunboats, inferior\nin weight and armament to their enemy, but flanked by shore batteries on\neach end of the line, and with an exact knowledge of the harbor, while the\nAmericans were ignorant of distances and soundings. These advantages on\nthe side of the Spanish made the two fleets practically equal in strength.\nThe battle about to be fought was one of leading importance in naval\naffairs. It was the second time in history in which two fleets built under\nthe new ideas in naval architecture and armament had met in battle. The\nresult was looked for with intense interest by the world.\n\nCommodore Dewey, the commander of the American squadron, remained fully\nexposed on the bridge of his flag-ship, the Olympia, as she stood daringly\nin, followed in line by the Baltimore, Raleigh, Petrel, Concord, and\nBoston. As they came up, the shore batteries opened fire, followed by the\nSpanish ships, while two submarine mines, exploded before the Olympia,\ntossed a shower of water uselessly into the air.\n\nHeedless of all this, the ships continued their course, their guns\nremaining silent, while the Spanish fire grew continuous. Plunging shells\ntore up the waters of the bay to right and left, but not a ship was\nstruck, and not a shot came in return from the frowning muzzles of the\nAmerican guns. The hour of 5.30 had passed and the sun was pouring its\nbeams brightly over the waters of the bay, when from the forward turret of\nthe Olympia boomed a great gun, and an 8-inch shell rushed screaming in\ntowards the Spanish fleet. Within ten minutes more all the ships were in\naction, and a steady stream of shells were pouring upon the Spanish ships.\n\nThe difference in effect was striking. The American gunners were trained\nto accurate aiming; the Spanish idea was simply to load and fire. In\nconsequence few shells from the Spanish guns reached their mark, while few\nof those from American guns went astray. Soon the fair ships of Spain were\nfrightfully torn and rent and many of their men stretched in death, while\nhardly a sign of damage was visible on an American hull.\n\nSweeping down parallel to the Spanish line, and pouring in its fire as it\nwent from a distance of forty-five hundred yards, the American squadron\nswept round in a long ellipse and sailed back, now bringing its starboard\nbatteries into play. Six times it passed over this course, the last two at\nthe distance of two thousand yards. From the great cannon, and from the\nbatteries of smaller rapid-fire guns, a steady stream of projectiles was\nhurled inward, frightfully rending the Spanish ships, until at the end of\nthe evolutions three of them were burning fiercely, and the others were\nlittle more than wrecks.\n\nAdmiral Montojo's flag-ship, the Reina Cristina, made a sudden dash from\nthe line in the middle of the combat, with the evident hope of ramming and\nsinking the Olympia. The attempt was a desperate one, the fire of the\nentire fleet being concentrated on the single antagonist, until the storm\nof projectiles grew so terrific that utter annihilation seemed at hand.\nThe Spanish admiral now swung his ship around and started hastily back.\nJust as she had fairly started in the reverse course an 8-inch shell from\nthe Olympia struck her fairly in the stern and drove inward through every\nobstruction, wrecking the aft-boiler and blowing up the deck in its\nexplosion. It was a fatal shot. Clouds of white smoke were soon followed\nby the red glare of flames. For half an hour longer the crew continued to\nwork their guns. At the end of that time the fire was master of the ship.\n\nTwo torpedo-boats came out with the same purpose, and met with the same\nreception. Such a rain of shell poured on them that they hastily turned\nand ran back. They had not gone far before one of them, torn by a shell,\nplunged headlong to the bottom of the bay. The other was beached, her crew\nflying in terror to the shore.\n\nWhile death and destruction were thus playing havoc with the Spanish\nships, the Spanish fire was mainly wasted upon the sea. Shots struck the\nOlympia, Baltimore, and Boston, but did little damage. One passed just\nunder Commodore Dewey on the bridge and tore a hole in the deck. One\nripped up the main deck of the Baltimore, disabled a 6-inch gun, and\nexploded a box of ammunition, by which eight men were slightly wounded.\nThese were the only men hurt on the American side during the whole battle.\n\nAt 7.35 Commodore Dewey withdrew his ships that the men might breakfast.\nThe Spanish ships were in a hopeless state. Shortly after eleven the\nAmericans returned and ranged up again before the ships of Spain, nearly\nall of which were in flames. For an hour and a quarter longer the blazing\nships were pounded with shot and shell, the Spaniards feebly replying. At\nthe end of that time the work was at an end, the batteries being silenced\nand the ships sunk, their upper works still blazing. Of their crews,\nnearly a thousand had perished in the fight.\n\nThus ended one of the most remarkable naval battles in history. For more\nthan three hours the American ships had been targets for a hot fire from\nthe Spanish fleet and forts, and during all that time not a man had been\nkilled and not a ship seriously injured. Meanwhile, the Spanish fleet had\nceased to exist. Its burnt remains lay on the bottom of the bay. The forts\nhad been battered into shapeless heaps of earth, their garrisons killed or\nput to flight. It was an awful example of the difference between accurate\ngunnery and firing at random.\n\nTwo months later a second example of the same character was made. Spain's\nfinest squadron, consisting of the four first-class armored cruisers Maria\nTeresa, Vizcaya, Almirante Oquendo, and Cristobal Colon, with two\ntorpedo-boat destroyers, lay in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, blockaded\nby a powerful American fleet of battle-ships and cruisers under Admiral\nSampson. They were held in a close trap. The town was being besieged by\nland. Sampson's fleet far outnumbered them at sea. They must either\nsurrender with the town or take the forlorn hope of escape by flight.\n\nThe latter was decided upon. On the morning of July 3 the lookout on the\nBrooklyn, Commodore Schley's flag-ship, reported that a ship was coming\nout of the harbor. The cloud of moving smoke had been seen at the same\ninstant from the battle-ship Iowa, and in an instant the Sunday morning\ncalm on these vessels was replaced by intense excitement.\n\nMast-head signals told the other ships of what was in view, the men rushed\nin mad haste to quarters, the guns were made ready for service, ammunition\nwas hoisted, coal hurled into the furnaces, and every man on the alert. It\nwas like a man suddenly awoke from sleep with an alarm cry: at one moment\nsilent and inert, in the next moment thrilling with intense life and\nactivity.\n\nThis was not a battle; it was a flight and pursuit. The Spaniards as soon\nas the harbor was cleared opened a hot fire on the Brooklyn, their nearest\nantagonist, which they wished to disable through fear of her superior\nspeed. But their gunnery here was like that at Manila, their shells being\nwasted through unskilful handling. On the other hand the fire from the\nAmerican ships was frightful, precise, and destructive, the fugitive ships\nbeing rapidly torn by such a rain of shells as had rarely been seen\nbefore.\n\nTurning down the coast, the fugitive ships drove onward at their utmost\nspeed. After them came the cruiser Brooklyn and the battle-ships Texas,\nIowa, Oregon, and Indiana, hurling shells from their great guns in their\nwake. The New York, Admiral Sampson's flag-ship, was distant several miles\nup the coast, too far away to take part in the fight.\n\nSuch a hail of shot, sent with such accurate aim, could not long be\nendured. The Maria Teresa, Admiral Cervera's flag-ship, was quickly in\nflames, while shells were piercing her sides and bursting within. The main\nsteam-pipe was severed, the pump was put out of service, the captain was\nkilled. Lowering her flag, the vessel headed for the shore, where she was\nquickly beached.\n\nThe Almirante Oquendo, equally punished, followed the same example, a mass\nof flames shrouding her as she rushed for the beach. The Vizcaya was the\nnext to succumb, after a futile effort to ram the Brooklyn. One shell from\nthe cruiser went the entire length of her gun-deck, killing or wounding\nall the men on it. The Oregon was pouring shells into her hull, and she in\nturn, burning fiercely, was run ashore. She had made a flight of twenty\nmiles.\n\nOnly one of the Spanish cruisers remained,--the Cristobal Colon. She had\npassed all her consorts, and when the Vizcaya went ashore was six miles\nahead of the Brooklyn and more than seven miles from the Oregon. It looked\nas if she might escape. But she would have to round Cape Cruz by a long\ndetour, and the Brooklyn was headed straight for the cape, while the\nOregon kept on the Colon's trail.\n\nAn hour, a second hour, passed; the pursuers were gaining mile by mile;\nthe spurt of speed of the Colon was at an end. One of the great 13-inch\nshells of the Oregon, fired from four miles away, struck the water near\nthe Colon. A second fell beyond her. An 8-inch shell from the Brooklyn\npierced her above her armor-belt. At one o'clock both ships were pounding\naway at her, an ineffective fire being returned. At 1.20 she hauled down\nher flag, and, like her consorts, ran ashore. She had made a run of\nforty-eight miles.\n\nAbout six hundred men were killed on the Spanish ships; the American loss\nwas one man killed and one wounded. The ships of Spain were blazing\nwrecks; those of the United States were none the worse for the fight. It\nwas like the victory at Manila repeated. It resembled the latter in\nanother particular, two torpedo-boats taking part in the affair. These\nwere attacked by the Gloucester, a yacht converted into a gunboat, and\ndealt with so shrewdly that both of them were sunk.\n\nThe battle ended, efforts to save on the part of the American ships\nsucceeded the effort to destroy, the Yankee tars showing as much courage\nand daring in their attempts to rescue the wounded from the decks of the\nburning ships as they had done in the fight. The ships were blazing fore\nand aft, their guns were exploding from the heat, at any moment the fire\nmight reach the main magazines. A heavy surf made the work of rescue\ndoubly dangerous; yet no risk could deter the American sailors while the\nchance to save one of the wounded remained, and they made as proud a\nrecord on the decks of the burning ships as they had done behind the guns.\n\nThese two signal victories were the great events of the war. Conjoined\nwith one victory on land, they put an end to the conflict. Without a\nfleet, and with no means of aiding her Cuban troops, Spain was helpless,\nand the naval victories at Manila and Santiago, in which one man was\nkilled, virtually settled the question of Cuban independence, and taught\nthe nations of Europe that a new and great naval power had arisen, with\nwhich they would have to deal when they next sought to settle the\ndestinies of the world.\n\nTHE END.","title":"Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 07 (of 15), Spanish","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":82884}