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diff --git a/19457-8.txt b/19457-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..10bf2dd --- /dev/null +++ b/19457-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8723 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Historical Tales - The Romance of Reality - +Volume VII by Charles Morris + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: Historical Tales - The Romance of Reality - Volume VII + +Author: Charles Morris + +Release Date: October 3, 2006 [Ebook #19457] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO 8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORICAL TALES - THE ROMANCE OF REALITY - VOLUME VII*** + + + + + + [Illustration: CHARLES V. AT YUSTE.] + + CHARLES V. AT YUSTE. + + + + + +Historical Tales - The Romance of Reality + + +By Charles Morris + +_Author of "Half-Hours with the Best American Authors," "Tales from the +Dramatists," etc._ + +in fifteen volumes + +Volume VII + +London +George Bell and Sons + +1898 + + + + + +Copyright 1898, by J. B. Lippincott Company. + +Copyright 1904, by J. B. Lippincott Company. + +Copyright 1908, by J. B. Lippincott Company. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +THE GOOD KING WAMBA. +THE GREEK KING'S DAUGHTER. +THE ENCHANTED PALACE. +THE BATTLE OF THE GUADALETE. +THE TABLE OF SOLOMON. +THE STORY OF QUEEN EXILONA. +PELISTES, THE DEFENDER OF CORDOVA. +THE STRATAGEM OF THEODOMIR. +THE CAVE OF COVADONGA. +THE ADVENTURES OF A FUGITIVE PRINCE. +BERNARDO DEL CARPIO. +RUY DIAZ, THE CID CAMPEADOR. +LAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA. +THE KEY OF GRANADA. +KING ABUL HASSAN AND THE ALCAIDE OF GIBRALTAR. +THE RIVAL KINGS OF GRANADA. +THE KNIGHT OF THE EXPLOITS. +THE LAST SIGH OF THE MOOR. +THE RETURN OF COLUMBUS. +PETER THE CRUEL AND THE FREE COMPANIES. +THE GREAT CAPTAIN. +A KING IN CAPTIVITY. +THE INVASION OF AFRICA. +AN EMPEROR RETIRED FROM BUSINESS. +THE FATE OF A RECKLESS PRINCE. +SPAIN'S GREATEST VICTORY AT SEA. +THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. +THE CAUSES OF SPAIN'S DECADENCE. +THE LAST OF A ROYAL RACE. +HENRY MORGAN AND THE BUCCANEERS. +ELIZABETH FARNESE AND ALBERONI. +THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. +THE FALL OF A FAVORITE. +THE SIEGE OF SARAGOSSA. +THE HERO OF THE CARLISTS. +MANILA AND SANTIAGO. + + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +CHARLES V. AT YUSTE. +TOLEDO, WITH THE ALCAZAR. +A COUNCIL OF THE VISIGOTHS. +BARONIAL CASTLE IN OLD CASTILE. +VALENCIA DEL CID. +ALFONSO VIII. HARANGUING HIS TROOPS UPON THE EVE OF BATTLE. +KING CHARLES'S WELL, ALHAMBRA. +MOORISH KING PAYING HOMAGE TO THE KING OF CASTILE. +RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. +GONSALVO DE CORDOVA FINDING THE CORPSE OF THE DUKE OF NEMOURS. +FRANCIS I. REFUSING THE DEMANDS OF THE EMPEROR. +LIBERATION OF THE CAPTIVES FROM THE DUNGEON OF ORAN. +CHARLES V. APPROACHING YUSTE. +THE ROYAL PALACE. MADRID. +THE ALHAMBRA, OVERLOOKING GRANADA. +STREET IN OLD QUARTER OF PANAMA. +THE CITY OF SARAGOSSA. +THE ANNIHILATION OF THE SPANISH FLEET IN THE HARBOR OF MANILA. + + + + + + +THE GOOD KING WAMBA. + + +Long had the Goths been lords of Spain. Chief after chief had they chosen, +king after king had they served; and, though it was young in time, Gothic +Spain was growing old in years. It reached its golden age in the time of +"Good King Wamba," a king of fancy as much as of fact, under whom Spain +became a land of Arcady, everybody was happy, all things prospered, and +the tide of evil events for a space ceased to flow. + +In those days, when a king died and left no son, the Goths elected a new +one, seeking their best and worthiest, and holding the election in the +place where the old king had passed away. It was in the little village of +Gerticos, some eight miles from the city of Valladolid, that King +Recesuinto had sought health and found death. Hither came the +electors,--the great nobles, the bishops, and the generals,--and here they +debated who should be king, finally settling on a venerable Goth named +Wamba, the one man of note in all the kingdom who throughout his life had +declined to accept rank and station. + +The story goes that their choice was aided by miracle. In those days +miracles were "as plentiful as blackberries," but many of these seem to +have been what we may speak of as "miracles made to order," designed by +shrewd individuals to gain some personal or other advantage. St. Leo is +said to have told the electors to seek a husbandman named Wamba, whose +lands lay somewhere in the west, asserting that he did this under +direction of the heavenly powers. However that be, scouts were sent +through the land in search of Wamba, whom they found at length in his +fields, driving his plough through the soil and asking for no higher lot. +He was like Cincinnatus, the famous Roman, who was called from the plough +to the sceptre. + +"Leave your plough in the furrow," they said to him; "nobler work awaits +you. You have been elected king of Spain." + +"There is no nobler work," answered Wamba. "Seek elsewhere your monarch. I +prefer to rule over my fields." + +The astonished heralds knew not what to make of this. To them the man who +would not be king must be a saint--or an idiot. They reasoned, begged, +implored, until Wamba, anxious to get rid of them, said,-- + +"I will accept the crown when the dry rod in my hand grows green +again,--and not till then." + +The good old husbandman fancied that he had fairly settled the question, +but miracle defeated his purpose. To his utter surprise and their deep +astonishment the dry stick which he thrust into the ground at once became +a green plant, fresh leaves breaking out on its upper end. What was the +old man fond of his plough to do in such a case? He had appealed to +Heaven, and here was Heaven's reply. He went with the heralds to the +electoral congress, but there, in spite of the green branch, he again +refused to be king. He knew what it meant to try and govern men like those +around him, and preferred not to undertake the task. But one of the chiefs +sprang up, drew his sword, and advanced to the old man. + +"If you are still obstinate in refusing the position we offer you," he +sternly said, "you shall lose your head as well as your crown." + +His fierce eyes and brandished sword gave weight to his words, and Wamba, +concluding that he would rather be a king than a corpse, accepted the +trust. He was then escorted by the council and the army to Toledo, feeling +more like a captive than a monarch. There he was anointed and crowned, +and, from being lord of his fields, the wise old husbandman became king of +Spain. + +Such a king as Wamba proved to be the Goths had never known. Age had +brought him wisdom, but it had not robbed him of energy. He knew what he +had to expect and showed himself master of the situation. Revolts broke +out, conspiracies threatened the throne, but one after another he put them +down. Yet he was as merciful as he was prompt. His enemies were set free +and bidden to behave themselves better in the future. One ambitious noble +named Paul, who thought it would be an easy thing to take the throne from +an old man who had shown so plainly that he did not want it, rose in +rebellion. He soon learned his mistake. Wamba met him in battle, routed +his army, and took him prisoner. Paul expected nothing less than to have +his head stricken off, but Wamba simply ordered that it should be shaved. + +To shave the crown of the head in those days was no trifling matter. It +formed what is known as the tonsure, then the mark of the monastic orders. +A man condemned to the tonsure could not serve as king or chieftain, but +must spend the remainder of his days in seclusion as a monk. So Paul was +disposed of without losing his life. + +Wamba, however, did not spend all his time in fighting with conspirators. +He was so just a king that all the historians praise him to the +stars,--though none of them tell us what just deeds he did. He was one of +those famous monarchs around whom legend loves to grow, as the green +leaves grew around his dry rod, and who become kings of fancy in the +absence of facts. About all we know is that he was "Good King Wamba," a +just and merciful man under whom Spain reached its age of gold. + +He made a great and beautiful city of Toledo, his capital. It had a wall, +but he gave it another, stronger and loftier. And within the city he built +a noble palace and other splendid buildings, all of which time has swept +away. But over the great gate of Toledo the inscription still remains: +_Erexit fautore Deo Rex inclytus urbem Wamba_. "To God and King Wamba the +city owes its walls." + +Alas! the end was what might be expected of such goodness in so evil an +age. A traitor arose among those he most favored. There was a youth named +Ervigio, in whose veins ran the blood of former kings, and whom Wamba so +loved and honored as to raise him to great authority in the kingdom. +Ervigio was one of those who must be king or slave. Ambition made him +forget all favors, and he determined to cast his royal benefactor from the +throne. But he was not base enough to murder the good old man to whom he +owed his greatness. It was enough if he could make him incapable of +reigning,--as Wamba had done with Paul. + +To accomplish this he gave the king a sleeping potion, and while he was +under its influence had him tonsured,--that is, had the crown of his head +shaved. He then proclaimed that this had been done at the wish of the +king, who was weary of the throne. But whether or not, the law was strict. +No matter how or why it was done, no man who had received the tonsure +could ever again sit upon the Gothic throne. Fortunately for Ervigio, +Wamba cared no more for the crown now than he had done at first, and when +he came back to his senses he made little question of the base trick of +his favorite, but cheerfully enough became a monk. The remaining seven +years of his life he passed happily in withdrawal from a world into which +he had been forced against his will. + +But the people loved him, the good old man, and were not willing to accept +the scheming Ervigio as their king unless he could prove his right to the +throne. So, in the year 681, he called together a council of lords and +bishops at Toledo, before whom he appeared with a great show of humility, +bringing testimony to prove that Wamba had become monk at his own wish, +when in peril of death. To this he added a document signed by Wamba, in +which he abdicated the throne, and another in which he recommended Ervigio +as his successor. For eight days the council considered the question. The +documents might be false, but Wamba was a monk, and Ervigio was in power; +so they chose him as king. The holy oil of consecration was poured upon +his unholy head. + +Thus it was that Wamba the husbandman first became king and afterwards +monk. In all his stations--farmer, king, and monk--he acquitted himself well +and worthily, and his name has come down to us from the mists of time as +one of those rare men of whom we know little, but all that little good. + + + + + +THE GREEK KING'S DAUGHTER. + + +History wears a double face,--one face fancy, the other fact. The worst of +it is that we cannot always tell which face is turned towards us, and we +mistake one for the other far oftener than we know. In truth, fancy works +in among the facts of the most sober history, while in that primitive form +of history known as legend or tradition fancy has much the best of it, +though it may often be founded upon fact. In the present tale we have to +do with legend pure and simple, with hardly a thread of fact to give +substance to its web. + +There was a certain Grecian king of Cadiz whose daughter was of such +peerless beauty that her hand was sought in marriage by many of the other +kings of Andalusia. In those days "that country was ruled by several +kings, each having estates not extending over more than one or two +cities." What to do with the crowd of suitors the father was puzzled to +decide. Had a single one asked for his daughter's hand he might have +settled it with a word, but among so many, equally brave, handsome, and +distinguished, answer was not so easy; and the worthy king of Cadiz was +sorely troubled and perplexed. + +Luckily for him, the fair damsel was as wise as she was beautiful, and +took the matter into her own hands, making an announcement that quickly +cut down the number of her admirers. She said that she would have no +husband but one who could prove himself "a wise king." In our days, when +every king and nearly every man thinks himself wise, such a decision would +not have deterred suitors, and she would have been compelled, in the end, +to choose among the few unwise. But wisdom, in those times of fable and +necromancy, had a wider meaning than we give it. A wise king was one who +had control of the powers of earth and air, who could call the genii to +his aid by incantations, and perform supernatural deeds. Hence it was that +the suitors fell off from the maiden like leaves from an autumn bough, +leaving but two who deemed themselves fitting aspirants to her hand. + +To test the wisdom of these two she gave them the following tasks: One was +bidden to construct on the mainland an aqueduct and a water-wheel to bring +water from the mountains into Cadiz. The other was to produce a talisman +which should save the island of Cadiz from invasion by Berbers or any +other of the fierce tribes of Africa, by whom it was frequently +threatened. + +"The one of you," said the princess, "who first and best performs his +task, shall win my hand by his work." + +The two suitors were warmly in love with the beautiful maiden, and both +ardently entered upon their duties. The first to get to work was the +aqueduct builder, whose task called for hard labor rather than magical +aid. Cadiz stands on a long, narrow peninsula, opposite which, on the +mainland, the king built a hydraulic machine, to which the water was +brought by pipes or canals from springs in a nearby mountain. This stream +of cool, refreshing water poured upon a wheel, by which it was driven into +an aqueduct crossing the bay into Cadiz. + +Here comes the fact behind the legend. Such an aqueduct stood long in +evidence, and as late as the eighteenth century traces of it could be +seen. We have an account of it by the Arab writer, Al Makkari. "It +consisted," he says, "of a long line of arches, and the way it was done +was this: whenever they came to high ground or to a mountain they cut a +passage through it; when the ground was lower, they built a bridge over +arches; if they met with a porous soil, they laid a bed of gravel for the +passage of the water; when the building reached the sea-shore, the water +was made to pass underground, and in this way it reached Cadiz." So it was +built, and "wise" was the king who built it, even if he did not call upon +the genii for assistance. + +The other king could not perform his labor so simply. He had a talisman to +construct, so powerful that it would keep out of Spain those fierce +African tribes whose boats swept the seas. What talisman could he produce +that would be proof against ships and swords? The king thought much and +deeply, and then went diligently to work. On the border of the strait that +lay between Spain and Africa he built a lofty marble column, a square, +white shaft based on a solid foundation. On its summit he erected a +colossal statue of iron and copper, melted and cast into the human form. +The figure was that of a Berber, like whom it wore a full and flowing +beard, while a tuft of hair hung over its forehead in Berber fashion. The +dress was that of the African tribes. The extended right arm of the figure +pointed across the strait towards the opposite shores. In its hand were a +padlock and keys. Though it spoke not, it seemed to say, "No one must pass +this way." It bore the aspect of a Berber captive, chained to the tower's +top, and warning his brethren to keep away from Spain. + +Rapidly wrought the rival kings, each seeking to finish his work the +first. In this the aqueduct builder succeeded. The water began to flow, +the wheel to revolve, and the refreshing liquid to pour into the public +fountains of Cadiz. The multitude were overjoyed as the glad torrent +flowed into their streets, and hailed with loud acclamations the +successful builder. + +The sound of the people's shouts of joy reached the ears of the statue +builder as he was putting the last touches to his great work of art and +magic. Despair filled his heart. Despite his labors, his rival had won the +prize. In bitterness of spirit he threw himself from the top of the column +and was dashed to pieces at its foot. "By which means," says the +chronicle, "the other prince, freed from his rival, became the master of +the lady, of the wheel, and of the charm." + +The talisman was really a watch-tower, from which the news of an African +invasion could be signalled through the land. In this cold age we can give +its builder credit for no higher magic than that of wisdom and vigilance. + + + + + +THE ENCHANTED PALACE. + + +Near the city of Toledo, the capital of Spain when that country was a +kingdom of the Goths, was a great palace of the olden time, or, as some +say, a vast cave, which had been deepened and widened and made into many +rooms. Still others say that it was a mighty tower, built by Hercules. +Whatever it was,--palace, tower, or cavern,--a spell lay upon it from far +past days, which none had dared to break. There was an ancient prophecy +that Spain would in time be invaded by barbarians from Africa, and to +prevent this a wise king, who knew the arts of magic, had placed a secret +talisman in one of the rooms. While this remained undisturbed the country +was safe from invasion. If once the secret of the talisman should be +divulged, swift ruin would descend upon the kingdom of the Goths. It must +be guarded strongly and well, for in it lay the destinies of Spain. + +A huge iron gate closed the entrance to the enchanted palace, and upon +this each king of the Goths, on coming to the throne, placed a strong +lock, so that in time huge padlocks covered much of its front and its +secrecy seemed amply assured. When Roderic, the last king of the Goths, +came to the throne, twenty-seven of such locks hung upon the gate. As for +the keys, some writers tell us that they remained in the locks, others say +that they had been hidden and lost; but it is certain that no one had +dared to open a single one of the locks; prudence and fear guarded the +secret better than gates and locks. + +At length the time came when the cherished secret was to be divulged. Don +Roderic, who had seized the throne by violence, and bore in his heart the +fatal bane of curiosity, determined to learn what had lain for centuries +behind those locks. The whole affair, he declared, was the jest of an +ancient king, which did very well when superstition ruled the world, but +which was far behind the age in which he lived. Two things moved the +epoch-breaking king,--curiosity, that vice which has led thousands to ruin, +and avarice, which has brought destruction upon thousands more. "It is a +treasure-house, not a talisman," he told himself. "Gold, silver, and +jewels lie hidden in its mouldy depths. My treasury is empty, and I should +be a fool to let a cluster of rusty locks keep me from filling it from +this ancient store." + +When it became known what Roderic proposed a shudder of horror ran through +the land. Nobles and bishops hastened to the audience chamber and sought +to hinder the fateful purpose of the rash monarch. Their hearts were +filled with dread of the perils that would follow any meddling with the +magic spell, and they earnestly implored him not to bring the foretold +disaster upon the land. + +"The kings who reigned before you have religiously obeyed the injunction," +they said. "Each of them has fixed his lock to the gate. It will be wise +and prudent in you to follow their example. If it is gold and jewels you +look for, tell us how much you think the cavern holds, even all your fancy +hopes to find, and so much we will give you. Even if it beggars us, we +will collect and bring you this sum without fail. We pray and implore you, +then, do not break a custom which our old kings have all held sacred. They +knew well what they did when they commanded that none after them should +seek to disclose the fatal secret of the hidden chamber." + +Earnest as was their appeal, it was wasted upon Roderic. Their offer of +gold did not reach his deepest motive; curiosity with him was stronger +than greed, and he laughed in his beard at the fears and tremblings of his +lords. + +"It shall not be said that Don Roderic, the king of the Goths, fears the +devil or his agents," he loudly declared, and orders were given that the +locks should be forced. + +One by one the rusty safeguards yielded to key or sledge, and the gates +shrieked disapproval when at length they reluctantly turned on their stiff +hinges, that had not moved for centuries. Into the cavern strode the king, +followed by his fearful but curious train. The rooms, as tradition had +said, were many, and from room to room he hurried with rapid feet. He +sought in vain. No gold appeared, no jewels glittered on his sight. The +rooms were drear and empty, their hollow floors mocking his footsteps with +long-silent echoes. One treasure only he found, the jewelled table of +Solomon, a famous ancient work of art which had long remained hidden from +human sight. Of this wonderful relic we shall say no more here, for it has +a history of its own, to be told in a future tale. + +On and on went the disappointed king, with nothing to satisfy his avarice +or his curiosity. At length he entered the chamber of the spell, the magic +room which had so long been locked from human vision, and looked with eyes +of wonder on the secret which had been so carefully preserved. + +What he saw was simple but threatening. On the wall of the room was a rude +painting, which represented a group of strangely dressed horsemen, some +wearing turbans, some bareheaded, with locks of coarse black hair hanging +over their foreheads. The skins of animals covered their limbs; they +carried scimitars and lances and bore fluttering pennons; their horses +were small, but of purest breed. + +Turning in doubt and dread from this enigmatical drawing, the daring +intruder saw in the centre of the apartment a pedestal bearing a marble +urn, in which lay a scroll of parchment. From this one of his scribes read +the following words: + +"Whenever this asylum is violated and the spell contained in this urn +broken, the people shown in the picture shall invade the land and overturn +the throne of its kings. The rule of the Goths shall end and the whole +country fall into the hands of heathen strangers." + +King Roderic looked again with eyes of alarm on the pictured forms. Well +he knew their meaning. The turban-wearers were Arabians, their horses the +famous steeds of the desert; the bare-headed barbarians were Berbers or +Moors. Already they threatened the land from Africa's shores; he had +broken the spell which held them back; the time for the fulfilment of the +prophecy was at hand. + +Filled with sudden terror, the rash invader hurried from the chamber of +the talisman, his courtiers flying with wild haste to the open air. The +brazen gates were closed with a clang which rang dismally through the +empty rooms, and the lock of the king was fixed upon them. But it was too +late. The voice of destiny had spoken and the fate of the kingdom been +revealed, and all the people looked upon Don Roderic as a doomed man. + +We have given this legend in its mildest form. Some Arab writers surround +it with magical incidents until it becomes a tale worthy of the "Arabian +Nights' Entertainments." They speak of two ancient men with snowy beards +who kept the keys of the gate and opened the locks only at Roderic's stern +command. When the locks were removed no one could stir the gates until the +hand of the king touched them, when they sprang open of themselves. Inside +stood a huge bronze giant with a club of steel, with which he dealt +resounding blows on the floor to right and left. He desisted at the king's +command, and the train entered unharmed. In the magic chamber they found a +golden casket containing a linen cloth between tablets of brass. On this +were painted figures of Arabs in armor. As they gazed these began to move, +sounds of war were heard, and the vision of a battle between Arab and +Christian warriors passed before the affrighted eyes of the intruders. The +Christian army was defeated, and Roderic saw the image of himself in +flight, and finally of his horse without a rider. As he rushed in terror +from the fatal room the bronze giant was no longer to be seen and the +ancient guardians of the gate lay dead upon their posts. In the end the +tower was burned by magic fire, and its very ashes were scattered by the +wings of an innumerable flight of birds. + + + + + +THE BATTLE OF THE GUADALETE. + + +The legends just given are full of the pith of facts. Dread of Africa lay +deep in the Spanish heart and gave point to these and other magical and +romantic tales. The story of how the great conqueror, Mohammed, had come +out from the deserts of Arabia and sent his generals, sword and Koran in +hand, to conquer the world, had spread far to the east and the west, and +brought terror wherever it came. From Arabia the Moslem hordes had swept +through Egypt and along the African coast to the extremity of Morocco. +They now faced Spain and coveted that rich and populous land. Well might +the degenerate sons of the Goths fear their coming and strive to keep them +out with talismans and spells. + +Years before, in the days of good King Wamba, a great Mohammedan fleet had +ravaged the Andalusian coast. Others came, not for conquest, but for +spoil. But at length all North Africa lay under the Moslem yoke, and Musa +Ibn Nasseyr, the conqueror of the African tribes, cast eyes of greed upon +Spain and laid plans for the subjugation to Arab rule of that +far-spreading Christian land. + +Africa, he was told, was rich, but Spain was richer. Its soil was as +fertile as that of Syria, its climate as mild and sweet as that of Araby +the Blest. The far-famed mines of distant Cathay did not equal it in +wealth of minerals and gems; nowhere else were such harbors, nowhere such +highlands and plains. The mountain-ranges, beautiful to see, enclosed +valleys of inexhaustible fertility. It was a land "plentiful in waters, +renowned for their sweetness and clearness,"--Andalusia's noble streams. +Famous monuments graced its towns: the statue of Hercules at Cadiz, the +idol of Galicia, the stately ruins of Merida and Tarragona. It was a realm +the conquest of which would bring wealth and fame,--great glory to the sons +of Allah and great treasure to the successors of the Prophet. Musa +determined upon its invasion. + +A traitor came to his aid. Count Julian was governor of Ceuta, a Spanish +city on the African coast. His daughter Florinda was maid of honor to the +queen of Don Roderic. But word from the daughter came to the father that +she had suffered grievous injury at the hands of the king, and Count +Julian, thirsting for revenge upon Roderic, offered to deliver Ceuta into +the hands of the Arabian warrior and aid him in the conquest of Spain. To +test the good faith of Julian, Musa demanded that he should first invade +Andalusia himself. This he did, taking over a small force in two vessels, +overrunning the coast country, killing many of its people, and returning +with a large booty in slaves and plunder. + +In the summer of 710 a Berber named Tarif was sent over to spy out the +land, and in the spring of 711 the army of invasion was led over by Tarik +Ibn Zeyad, a valiant chief, who had gained great glory in the wars with +the Berber tribes. Who Tarik was cannot be told. He was of humble origin, +probably of Persian birth, but possessed of a daring spirit that was to +bring him the highest fame. He is described as a tall man, with red hair +and a white complexion, blind of one eye, and with a mole on his hand. The +Spanish historians call him Tarik el Tuerto, meaning either "one-eyed" or +"squint-eyed." Such was the man whom Musa sent to begin the conquest of +Spain. + +The army of invasion consisted of seven thousand men,--a handful to conquer +a kingdom. They were nearly all Moorish and Berber cavalry, there being +only three hundred Arabians of pure blood, most of whom were officers. +Landing in Spain, for a time they found no one to meet them. Roderic was +busy with his army in the north and knew naught of this invasion of his +kingdom, and for two months Tarik ravaged the land at his will. But at +length the Gothic king, warned of his danger, began a hasty march +southward, sending orders in advance to levy troops in all parts of the +kingdom, the rallying place being Cordova. + +It was a large army which he thus got together, but they were ill-trained, +ill-disciplined, and ill-disposed to their king. Ninety thousand there +were, as Arab historians tell us, while Tarik had but twelve thousand, +Musa having sent him five thousand more. But the large army was a mob, +half-armed, and lacking courage and discipline; the small army was a +compact and valorous body, used to victory, fearless, and impetuous. + +It was on Sunday, the 19th of July, 711, that the two armies came face to +face on the banks of the Guadalete, a river whose waters traverse the +plain of Sidonia, in which the battle was fought. It was one of the +decisive battles in the world's history, for it gave the peninsula of +Spain for eight centuries to Arab dominion. The story of how this battle +was fought is, therefore, among the most important of the historical tales +of Spain. + +Roderic's army consisted of two bodies of men,--a smaller force of +cavaliers, clad in mail armor and armed with swords and battle-axes, and +the main body, which was a motley crew, without armor, and carrying bows, +lances, axes, clubs, scythes, and slings. Of the Moslem army the greater +number wore mail, some carrying lances and scimitars of Damascus steel, +others being armed with light long-bows. Their horses were Arabian or +Barbary steeds, such as Roderic had seen on the walls of the secret +chamber. + +It was in the early morning of a bright spring day that the Spanish +clarions sounded defiance to the enemy, and the Moorish horns and +kettle-drums rang back the challenge to battle. Nearer and nearer together +came the hosts, the shouts of the Goths met by the shrill _lelies_ of the +Moslems. + +"By the faith of the Messiah," Roderic is reported to have said, "these +are the very men I saw painted on the walls of the chamber of the spell at +Toledo." From that moment, say the chroniclers, "fear entered his heart." +And yet the story goes that he fought long and well and showed no signs of +fear. + +On his journey to the south Roderic had travelled in a chariot of ivory, +lined with cloth of gold, and drawn by three white mules harnessed +abreast. On the silken awning of the chariot pearls, rubies, and other +rich jewels were profusely sprinkled. He sat with a crown of gold on his +head, and was dressed in a robe made of strings of pearls interwoven with +silk. This splendor of display, however, was not empty ostentation, but +the state and dignity which was customary with the Gothic kings. + +In his chariot of ivory Roderic passed through the ranks, exhorting the +men to valor, and telling them that the enemy was a low rabble of +heathens, abhorred of God and men. "Remember," he said, "the valor of your +ancestors and the holy Christian faith, for whose defence we are +fighting." Then he sprang from his chariot, put on his horned helmet, +mounted his war-horse Orelia, and took his station in the field, prepared +to fight like a soldier and a king. + +For two days the battle consisted of a series of skirmishes. At the end of +that time the Christians had the advantage. Their numbers had told, and +new courage came to their hearts. Tarik saw that defeat would be his lot +if this continued, and on the morning of the third day he made a fiery +appeal to his men, rousing their fanaticism and picturing the treasures +and delights which victory would bring them. He ended with his war-cry of +"Guala! Guala! Follow me, my warriors! I shall not stop until I reach the +tyrant in the midst of his steel-clad warriors, and either kill him or he +kill me!" + +At the head of his men the dusky one-eyed warrior rushed with fiery energy +upon the Gothic lines, cleaving his way through the ranks towards a +general whose rich armor seemed to him that of the king. His impetuous +charge carried him deep into their midst. The seeming king was before him. +One blow and he fell dead; while the Moslems, crying that the king of the +Goths was killed, followed their leader with resistless ardor into the +hostile ranks. The Christians heard and believed the story, and lost heart +as their enemy gained new energy. + +At this critical moment, as we are told, Bishop Oppas, brother-in-law of +the traitor Julian, drew off and joined the Moslem ranks. Whether this was +the case or not, the charge of Tarik led the way to victory. He had +pierced the Christian centre. The wings gave way before the onset of his +chiefs. Resistance was at an end. In utter panic the soldiers flung away +their arms and took to flight, heedless of the stores and treasures of +their camp, thinking of nothing but safety, flying in all directions +through the country, while the Moslems, following on their flying steeds, +cut them down without mercy. + +Roderic, the king, had disappeared. If slain in the battle, his body was +never found. Wounded and despairing, he may have been slain in flight or +been drowned in the stream. It was afterwards said that his war-horse, its +golden saddle rich with rubies, was found riderless beside the stream, and +that near by lay a royal crown and mantle, and a sandal embroidered with +pearls and emeralds. But all we can safely say is that Roderic had +vanished, his army was dispersed, and Spain was the prize of Tarik and the +Moors, for resistance was quickly at an end, and they went on from victory +to victory until the country was nearly all in their hands. + + + + + +THE TABLE OF SOLOMON. + + +We have told how King Roderic, when he invaded the enchanted palace of +Toledo, found in its empty chambers a single treasure,--the famous table of +Solomon. But this was a treasure worth a king's ransom, a marvellous +talisman, so splendid, so beautiful, so brilliant that the chroniclers can +scarce find words fitly to describe its richness and value. Some say that +it was made of pure gold, richly inlaid with precious stones. Others say +that it was a mosaic of gold and silver, burnished yellow and gleaming +white, ornamented with three rows of priceless jewels, one being of large +pearls, one of costly rubies, and a third of gleaming emeralds. Other +writers say that its top was made of a single emerald, a talisman +revealing the fates in its lucid depths. Most writers say that it stood +upon three hundred and sixty-five feet, each made of a single emerald, +though still another writer declares that it had not a foot to stand upon. + +Evidently none of these worthy chroniclers had seen the jewelled table +except in the eye of fancy, which gave it what shape and form best fitted +its far-famed splendor. They varied equally in their history of the +talisman. A mildly drawn story says that it first came from Jerusalem to +Rome, that it fell into the hands of the Goths when they sacked the city +of the Cæsars, and that some of them brought it into Spain. But there was +a story more in accordance with the Arabian love of the marvellous which +stated that the table was the work of the Djinn, or Genii, the mighty +spirits of the air, whom the wise king Solomon had subdued and who obeyed +his commands. After Solomon's time it was kept among the holy treasures of +the temple, and became one of the richest spoils of the Romans when they +captured and sacked Jerusalem. It afterwards became the prize of a king of +Spain, perhaps in the way stated above. + +Thus fancy has adorned the rich and beautiful work of art which Don +Roderic is said to have found in the enchanted palace, and which he placed +as the noblest of the treasures of Spain in the splendid church of Toledo, +the Gothic capital. This city fell into the hands of Tarik el Tuerto in +his conquering progress through the realm of Spain, and the emerald table, +whose fame had reached the shores of Africa, was sought by him far and +near. + +It had disappeared from the church, perhaps carried off by the bishop in +his flight. But fast as the fugitives fled, faster rode the Arab horsemen +on their track, one swift troop riding to Medina Celi, on the high road to +Saragossa. On this route they came to a city named by them +Medinatu-l-Mayidah (city of the table), in which they found the famous +talisman. They brought it to Tarik as one of the choicest spoils of Spain. + +Its later history is as curious and much more authentic than its earlier. +Tarik, as we have told in the previous tale, had been sent to Andalusia by +Musa, the caliph's viceroy in Africa, simply that he might gain a footing +in the land, whose conquest Musa reserved for himself. But the impetuous +Tarik was not to be restrained. No sooner was Roderic slain and his army +dispersed than the Arab cavaliers spread far and wide through Spain, city +after city falling into their hands, until it seemed as if nothing would +be left for Musa to conquer. + +This state of affairs was far from agreeable to the jealous and ambitious +viceroy. He sent messengers to the caliph at Damascus, in which he claimed +the conquest of Spain as his own, and barely mentioned the name of the +real conqueror. He severely blamed Tarik for presuming to conquer a +kingdom without direct orders, and, gathering an army, he crossed to +Spain, that he might rightfully claim a share in the glory of the +conquest. + +Tarik was not ignorant of what Musa had done. He expected to be called +sharply to account by his jealous superior, and knew well that his +brilliant deeds had been overlooked in the viceroy's despatches to +Damascus, then the capital of the Arab empire. The daring soldier was +therefore full of joy when the table of Solomon fell into his hands. He +hoped to win favor from Al-Walid, the caliph, by presenting him this +splendid prize. Yet how was he to accomplish this? Would not Musa, who was +well aware of the existence and value of the table, claim it as his own +and send it to Al-Walid with the false story that he had won it by the +power of his arms? + +To defeat this probable act Tarik devised a shrewd stratagem. The table, +as has been stated, was abundantly provided with feet, but of these four +were larger than the rest. One of the latter Tarik took off and concealed, +to be used in the future if what he feared should come to pass. + +As it proved, he had not misjudged his jealous lord. In due time Musa came +to Toledo and rode in state through the gate-way of that city, Tarik +following like a humble servitor in his train. As soon as he reached the +palace he haughtily demanded a strict account of the spoils. These were at +hand, and were at once delivered up. Their number and value should have +satisfied his avarice, but the wonderful table of Solomon, of which he had +heard such marvellous accounts, was not among them, and he demanded that +this, too, should be brought forward. As Tarik had foreseen, he designed +to send it to the caliph, as an acceptable present and an evidence of his +victorious career. + +The table was produced, and Musa gazed upon it with eyes of delight. His +quick glance, however, soon discovered that one of the emerald feet was +missing. + +"It is imperfect," he said. "Where is the missing foot?" + +"That I cannot tell you," replied Tarik; "you have the table as it was +brought to me." + +Musa, accepting this answer without suspicion, gave orders that the lost +foot should be replaced with one of gold. Then, after thanking the other +leading officers for their zeal and valor, he turned upon Tarik and +accused him in severe tones of disobedience. He ended by depriving him of +his command and putting him under arrest, while he sent the caliph a +report in which Tarik was sharply blamed and the merit of his exploits +made light of. He would have gone farther and put him to death, but this +he dared not do without the caliph's orders. + +As it proved, Al-Walid, the Commander of the Faithful, knew something of +the truth. Far distant as Damascus was from Toledo, a report of Tarik's +exploits had reached his august ears, and Musa received orders to replace +him in his command, since it would not do "to render useless one of the +best swords of Islam." Musa dared not disobey; and thus, for the time +being, Tarik triumphed. + +And now, for the end of the trouble between Musa and Tarik, we must go +forward in time. They were left in Spain until they had completed the +conquest of that kingdom, then both were ordered to appear before the +caliph's judgment seat. This they did in different methods. Tarik, who had +no thirst for spoil, made haste, with empty hands, to Damascus, where, +though he had no rich presents for the commander of the faithful, he +delighted him with the story of his brilliant deeds. Musa came more slowly +and with more ostentation. Leaving his sons in command in Spain and +Africa, he journeyed slowly to Syria, with all the display of a triumphal +march. With him were one hundred of his principal officers, as many sons +of the highest Berber chiefs, and the kings of the Balearic Islands in all +their barbaric state. In his train rode four hundred captive nobles, each +wearing a crown and girdle of gold, and thirty thousand captives of lower +rank. At intervals in the train were camels and wagons, richly laden with +gold, jewels, and other spoils. He brought to the East the novelties of +the West, hawks, mules, and Barbary horses, and the curious fruits of +Africa and Spain, "treasures," we are told, "the like of which no hearer +ever heard of before, and no beholder ever saw before his eyes." + +Thus the proud conqueror came, by slow marches, with frequent halts. He +left Spain in August, 713. It was February, 715, when he reached the +vicinity of Damascus, having spent a year and a half on the way. + +Meanwhile, changes had taken place in Syria. Al-Walid, the caliph, was +sick unto death, suffering from a mortal disease, Soliman, his brother and +heir, wrote to Musa when at Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, asking him to +halt there, as his brother could live but a few days. He, as the new +caliph, would receive him. Al-Walid in turn ordered him to hasten his +march. Musa was in a quandary. If Al-Walid should live, delay might be +fatal. If he should die, haste might be fatal. He took what seemed to him +the safest course, hastened to Damascus, and met with a brilliant +reception. But a change soon came; in forty days Al-Walid died; Soliman, +whom he had disobeyed, was caliph of the empire. Musa's sun was near its +setting. + +It was not long before the conqueror found himself treated as a criminal. +He was charged with rapacity, injustice to Tarik, and the purpose of +throwing all power into the hands of his sons. He was even accused of +"disobedience" for making a triumphal entry into Damascus before the death +of Al-Walid. These and other charges were brought, Soliman being bent on +the ruin of the man who had added Africa to the Arabian empire. + +When Musa was brought before the caliph for a final hearing Tarik and many +other soldiers from Spain were present, and there stood before the +monarch's throne the splendid table of Solomon, one of the presents which +Musa had made to Al-Walid, declaring it to be the most magnificent of all +the prizes of his valor. + +"Tell me," said the caliph to Tarik, "if you know whence this table came." + +"It was found by me," answered Tarik. "If you would have evidence of the +truth of my words, O caliph, have it examined and see if it be perfect." + +Soliman gave orders, the table was closely examined, and it was soon +discovered that one of its emerald feet was gone and that a foot of gold +occupied its place. + +"Ask Musa," said Tarik, "if this was the condition of the table when he +found it." + +"Yes," answered Musa, "it was as you see it now." + +Tarik answered by taking from under his mantle the foot of emerald which +he had removed, and which just matched the others. + +"You may learn now," he said to the caliph, "which of us is the +truth-teller. Here is the lost leg of the table. I found the table and +kept this for evidence. It is the same with most of the treasures Musa has +shown you. It was I who won them and captured the cities in which they +were found. Ask any of these soldiers if I speak the truth or not." + +These words were ruinous to Musa. The table had revenged its finder. If +Musa had lied in this case, he had lied in all. So held the angry caliph, +who turned upon him with bitter abuse, calling him thief and liar, and +swearing by Allah that he would crucify him. In the end he ordered the old +man, fourscore years of age, corpulent and asthmatic, to be exposed to the +fierce sun of Syria for a whole summer's day, and bade his brother Omar to +see that the cruel sentence was executed. + +Until high noon had passed the old warrior stood under the scorching solar +rays, his blood at length seeming to boil in his veins, while he sank +suffocated to the earth. Death would soon have ended his suffering had not +Omar, declaring "that he had never passed a worse day in his life," +prevailed upon the caliph to abridge his punishment. + +Bent upon his utter ruin, the vindictive Soliman laid upon him the +enormous fine of four million and thirty thousand dinars, equal to about +ten million dollars. His sons were left in power in Spain that they might +aid him in paying the fine. Great as the sum was, Musa, by giving up his +own fortune, by the aid of his sons in Africa and Spain, and by assistance +from his friends, succeeded in obtaining it. But even this did not satisfy +the caliph, who now banished him to his birthplace, that his early friends +might see and despise him in his ruin. He even determined to destroy his +sons, that the whole family might be rooted out and none be left in whose +veins the blood of Musa ran. + +The ablest of these sons, Abdul-Aziz, had been left in chief command over +Spain. Thither the caliph sent orders for his death. Much as the young +ruler was esteemed, wisely as he had ruled, no one thought of questioning +an order of the Commander of the Faithful, the mighty autocrat of the +great Arabian empire, and the innocent Abdul was assassinated by some who +had been among his chief friends. His head was then cut off, embalmed, and +sent to Soliman, before whom it was laid, enclosed in a casket of precious +wood. + +Sending for Musa, the vindictive caliph had the casket opened in his +presence, saying, as the death-like features appeared, "Do you know whose +head that is?" + +The answer of Musa was a pathetic one. Never was there a Moslem, he said, +who less deserved such a fate; never a man of milder heart, braver soul, +or more pious and obedient disposition. In the end the poor old man broke +down, and he could only murmur,-- + +"Grant me his head, O Commander of the Faithful, that I may shut the lids +of his eyes." + +"Thou mayest take it," was Soliman's reply. + +And so Musa left the caliph's presence, heart-broken and disconsolate. It +is said that before he died he was forced to beg his bread. Of Tarik we +hear no more. He had fully repaid Musa for his injustice, but the caliph, +who perhaps feared to let any one become too great, failed to restore him +to his command, and he disappeared from history. The cruel Soliman lived +only a year after the death of the victim of his rage. He died in 717, of +remorse for his injustice to Musa, say some, but the record of history is +that he was defeated before Constantinople and died of grief. + +Thus ends our story of the table of Solomon. It brought good to none who +had to do with it, and utter disaster to him who had made it an agent of +falsehood and avarice. Injustice cannot hope to hide itself behind a +talisman. + + + + + +THE STORY OF QUEEN EXILONA. + + +When Roderic overthrew the ancient dynasty of Spain and made himself king, +he had the defences of the cities thrown down that they might not give +shelter to his enemies. Only the walls of the frontier cities were left, +and among these was the ancient city of Denia, on the Mediterranean +shores. Dread of the Moorish pirates was felt in this stronghold, and a +strong castle was built on a high rock that overlooked the sea. To the old +alcaide who served as governor of Denia word was brought, at the end of a +day of fierce tempest, that a Moorish ship was approaching the shore. +Instantly the bells were rung to rouse the people, and signal fires were +kindled on the tower that they might flash from peak to peak the news of +an invasion by the Moors. + +But as the ship came closer it was seen that alarm had been taken too +soon. The vessel was alone and had evidently been in the grip of the +tempest. It was seen to be a bark rich in carving and gilding, adorned +with silken banderoles, and driven through the water by banks of crimson +oars; a vessel of state and ceremony, not a ship of war. As it came nearer +it was perceived to have suffered severely in the ruthless grasp of the +storm. Broken were its masts and shattered its oars, while there fluttered +in the wind the torn remnants of its banners and sails. When at length it +grounded on the sands below the castle the proud bark was little better +than a shattered wreck. + +It was with deep curiosity that the Spaniards saw on the deck of the +stranded bark a group of high-born Moors, men and maidens dressed in robes +of silk rich with jewels, and their features bearing the stamp of lofty +rank. In their midst stood a young lady of striking beauty, sumptuously +attired, and evidently of the highest station, for all paid her reverence, +and a guard of armed Moors stood around her, scimitar in hand. + +On landing, a venerable Moor approached the alcaide, who had descended to +meet the strangers, and said, in such words of the Gothic language as he +could command,-- + +"Worthy sir, we beg your protection and compassion. The princess under our +care is the only daughter of the king of Algiers, on her way to the court +of the king of Tunis, to whom she is betrothed. The tempest has driven us +to your shores. Be not, we implore you, more cruel than the storm, which +has spared us and our precious charge." + +The alcaide returned a courteous answer, offering the princess and her +train the shelter of the castle, but saying that he had not the power to +release them. They must hold themselves the captives of Roderic, the king +of the Goths, to whom his duty required him to send them. The fate of a +royal captive, he said, could be decided only by the royal voice. + +Some days afterwards Elyata, the Moorish princess, entered Toledo in a +procession more like that of a triumphant heroine than of a captive. A +band of Christian horsemen preceded the train. The Moorish guard, richly +attired, followed. In the midst rode the princess, surrounded by her +maidens and dressed in her bridal robes, which were resplendent with +pearls, diamonds, and other gems. Roderic advanced in state from his +palace to receive her, and was so struck with her beauty and dignity of +aspect that at first sight warm emotions filled his heart. + +Elyata was sadly downcast at her captivity, but Roderic, though not +releasing her, did all he could to make her lot a pleasant one. A royal +palace was set aside for her residence, in whose spacious apartments and +charming groves and gardens the grief of the princess gradually softened +and passed away. Roderic, moved by a growing passion, frequently visited +her, and in time soft sentiments woke in her heart for the handsome and +courteous king. When, in the end, he begged her to become his bride her +blushes and soft looks spoke consent. + +One thing was wanting. Roderic's bride should be a Christian. Taught the +doctrines of the new faith by learned bishops, Elyata's consent to the +change of faith was easily won, and the princess was baptized as a +Christian maiden under the new name of Exilona. The marriage was +celebrated with the greatest magnificence, and was followed by tourneys +and banquets and all the gayeties of the time. Some of the companions of +the princess accepted the new faith and remained with her. Those who clung +to their old belief were sent back to Africa with rich presents from the +king, an embassy going with them to inform the monarch of Algiers of his +daughter's marriage, and to offer him the alliance and friendship of +Roderic the Gothic king. + + [Illustration: TOLEDO, WITH THE ALCAZAR.] + + TOLEDO, WITH THE ALCAZAR. + + +Queen Exilona passed a happy life as the bride of the Gothic monarch, but +many were the vicissitudes which lay before her, for the Arab conquest was +near at hand and its effects could not but bear heavily upon her destiny. +After the defeat and death of Roderic a considerable number of noble Goths +sought shelter in the city of Merida, among them the widowed queen. +Thither came Musa with a large army and besieged the city. It was strongly +and bravely defended, and the gallant garrison only yielded when famine +came to the aid of their foes. + +A deputation from the city sought the Arab camp and was conducted to the +splendid pavilion of Musa, whom the deputies found to be an old man with +long white beard and streaming white hair. He received them kindly, +praised them for their valor, and offered them favorable terms. They +returned the next day to complete the conditions. On this day the +Mohammedan fast of Ramadhan ended, and the Arabs, who had worn their +meanest garb, were now in their richest attire, and joy had everywhere +succeeded penitent gloom. As for Musa, he seemed transformed. The meanly +dressed and hoary ancient of the previous visit now appeared a man in the +prime of life, his beard dark-red in hue, and his robes rich with gold and +jewels. The Goths, to whom the art of dyeing the hair was unknown, looked +on the transformation as a miracle. + +"We have seen," they said on their return, "their king, who was an old +man, become a young one. We have to do with a nation of prophets who can +change their appearance at will and transform themselves into any shape +they like. Our advice is that we should grant Musa his demands, for men +like these we cannot resist." + +The stratagem of the Arab was successful, the gates were opened, and +Merida became a captive city. The people were left their private wealth +and were free to come and go as they would, with the exception of some of +their noblest, who were to be held as hostages. Among these was the +widowed Queen Exilona. + +She was still young and beautiful. By paying tribute she was allowed to +live unmolested, and in this way she passed to the second phase of her +romantic career. Arab fancy has surrounded her history with many +surprising incidents, and Lope de Vega, the Spanish dramatist, has made +her the heroine of a romantic play, but her actual history is so full of +interest that we need not draw contributions from fable or invention. + +When Musa went to Syria at the command of the caliph he left his son +Abdul-Aziz as emir or governor of Spain. The new emir was a young, +handsome, and gallant man. He had won fame in Africa, and gained new +repute for wisdom and courage in Spain. The Moorish princess who had +become a Gothic queen was now a hostage in his hands, and her charms moved +his susceptible heart. His persuasive tongue and attractive person were +not without their effect upon the fair captive, who a second time lost her +heart to her captor, and agreed once more to become a bride. Her first +husband had been the king of Gothic Spain. Her second was the ruler of +Moorish Spain. She declined to yield her Christian creed, but she became +his wife and the queen of his heart, called by him Ummi-Assam, a name of +endearment common in Arab households. + +Exilona was ambitious, and sought to induce her new husband to assume the +style of a king. She made him a crown of gold and precious stones which +her soft persuasion induced him to wear. She bowed in his presence as if +to a royal potentate, and to oblige the nobles to do the same she induced +him to have the door-way of his audience chamber made so low that no one +could enter it without making an involuntary bow. She even tried to +convert him to Christianity, and built a low door to her oratory, so that +any one entering would seem to bow to the cross. + +These arts of the queen proved fatal to the prince whom she desired to +exalt, for this and other stories were told to the caliph, who was seeking +some excuse to proceed against the sons of Musa, whose ruin he had sworn. +It was told him that Abdul-Aziz was seeking to make Spain independent and +was bowing before strange gods. Soliman asked no more, but sent the order +for his death. + +It was to friends of the emir that the fatal mandate was sent. They loved +the mild Abdul, but they were true sons of Islam, and did not dare to +question the order of the Commander of the Faithful. The emir was then at +a villa near Seville, whither he was accustomed to withdraw from the cares +of state to the society of his beloved wife. Near by he had built a +mosque, and here, on the morning of his death, he entered and began to +read the Koran. + +A noise at the door disturbed him, and in a moment a throng burst into the +building. At their head was Habib, his trusted friend, who rushed upon him +and struck him with a dagger. The emir was unhurt, and sought to escape, +but the others were quickly upon him, and in a moment his body was rent +with dagger strokes and he had fallen dead. His head was at once cut off, +embalmed, and sent to the caliph. The cruel use made of it we have told. + +A wild commotion followed when the people learned of this murder, but it +was soon quelled. The power of the caliph was yet too strong to be +questioned, even in far-off Spain. What became of Exilona we do not know. +Some say that she was slain with her husband; some that she survived him +and died in privacy. However it be, her life was one of singular romance. + +As for the kindly and unfortunate emir, his memory was long fondly +cherished in Spain, and his name still exists in the title of a valley in +the suburbs of Antequera, which was named Abdelaxis in his honor. + + + + + +PELISTES, THE DEFENDER OF CORDOVA. + + +No sooner had Tarik defeated the Christian army on the fatal field of +Sidonia than he sent out detachments of horsemen in all directions, hoping +to win the leading cities of Spain before the people should recover from +their terror. One of these detachments, composed of seven hundred horse, +was sent against Cordova, an ancient city which was to become the capital +of Moslem Spain. This force was led by a brave soldier named Magued, a +Roman or Greek by birth, who had been taken prisoner when a child and +reared in the Arab faith. He now ranked next to Tarik in the arts and +stratagems of war, and as a horseman and warrior was the model and +admiration of his followers. + +Among the Christian leaders who had fled from the field of the Guadalete +was an old and valiant Gothic noble, Pelistes by name, who had fought in +the battle front until his son sank in death and most of his followers had +fallen around him. Then, with the small band left him, he rode in all +haste to Cordova, which he hoped to hold as a stronghold of the Goths. But +he found himself almost alone in the town, most of whose inhabitants had +fled with their valuables, so that, including the invalids and old +soldiers found there, he had but four hundred men with whom to defend the +city. + +A river ran south of the city and formed one of its defences. To its banks +came Magued,--led, say some of the chronicles, by the traitor, Count +Julian,--and encamped in a forest of pines. He sent heralds to the town, +demanding its surrender, and threatening its defenders with death if they +resisted. But Pelistes defied him to do his worst. + +What Magued might have found difficult to do by force he accomplished by +stratagem. A shepherd whom he had captured told him of the weakness of the +garrison, and acquainted him with a method by which the city might be +entered. Forcing the rustic to act as guide, Magued crossed the river on a +stormy night, swimming the stream with his horses, each cavalier having a +footman mounted behind him. By the time they reached the opposite shore +the rain had changed to hail, whose loud pattering drowned the noise of +the horses' hoofs as the assailants rode to a weak place in the wall of +which the shepherd had told them. Here the battlements were broken and +part of the wall had fallen, and near by grew a fig-tree whose branches +stretched towards the breach. Up this climbed a nimble soldier, and by +hard effort reached the broken wall. He had taken with him Magued's +turban, whose long folds of linen were unfolded and let down as a rope, by +whose aid others soon climbed to the summit. The storm had caused the +sentries to leave their posts, and this part of the wall was left +unguarded. + +In a short time a considerable number of the assailants had gained the top +of the wall. Leaping from the parapet, they entered the city and ran to +the nearest gate, which they flung open to Magued and his force. The city +was theirs; the alarm was taken too late, and all who resisted were cut +down. By day-dawn Cordova was lost to Spain with the exception of the +church of St. George, a large and strong edifice, in which Pelistes had +taken refuge with the remnant of his men. Here he found an ample supply of +food and obtained water from some secret source, so that he was enabled to +hold out against the enemy. + +For three long months the brave garrison defied its foes, though Magued +made every effort to take the church. How they obtained water was what +most puzzled him, but he finally discovered the secret through the aid of +a negro whom the Christians had captured and who escaped from their hands. +The prisoner had learned during his captivity that the church communicated +by an underground channel with a spring somewhere without. This was sought +for with diligence and at length found, whereupon the water supply of the +garrison was cut off at its source, and a new summons to surrender was +made. + +There are two stories of what afterwards took place. One is that the +garrison refused to surrender, and that Magued, deeply exasperated, +ordered the church to be set on fire, most of its defenders perishing in +the flames. The other story is a far more romantic one, and perhaps as +likely to be true. This tells us that Pelistes, weary of long waiting for +assistance from without, determined to leave the church in search of aid, +promising, in case of failure, to return and die with his friends. + +Mounted on the good steed that he had kept alive in the church, and armed +with lance, sword, and shield, the valiant warrior set forth before the +dawn, and rode through the silent streets, unseen by sentinel or early +wayfarer. The vision of a Christian knight on horseback was not likely to +attract much attention, as there were many renegade Christians with the +Moors, brought thither in the train of Count Julian. Therefore, when the +armed warrior presented himself at a gate of the city just as a foraging +party was entering, he rode forth unnoticed in the confusion and galloped +briskly away towards the neighboring mountains. + +Having reached there he stopped to rest, but to his alarm he noticed a +horseman in hot pursuit upon his trail. Spurring his steed onward, +Pelistes now made his way into the rough intricacies of the mountain +paths; but, unluckily, as he was passing along the edge of a declivity, +his horse stumbled and rolled down into the ravine below, so bruising and +cutting him in the fall that, when he struggled to his feet, his face was +covered with blood. + +While he was in this condition the pursuer rode up. It proved to be Magued +himself, who had seen him leave the city and had followed in haste. To his +sharp summons for surrender the good knight responded by drawing his +sword, and, wounded and bleeding as he was, put himself in posture for +defence. + +The fight that followed was as fierce as some of those told of King +Arthur's knights. Long and sturdily the two champions fought, foot to +foot, sword to scimitar, until their shields and armor were rent and +hacked and the ground was red with their blood. Never had those hills seen +so furious a fight by so well-matched champions, and during their +breathing spells the two knights gazed upon each other with wonder and +admiration. Magued had never met so able an antagonist before, nor +Pelistes encountered so skilfully wielded a blade. + +But the Gothic warrior had been hurt by his fall. This gave Magued the +advantage, and he sought to take his noble adversary alive. Finally, weak +from loss of blood, the gallant Goth gave a last blow and fell prostrate. +In a moment Magued's point was at his throat, and he was bidden to ask for +his life or die. No answer came. Unlacing the helmet of the fallen knight, +Magued found him insensible. As he debated with himself how he would get +the captive of his sword to the city, a group of Moorish cavaliers rode up +and gazed with astonishment on the marks of the terrible fight. The +Christian knight was placed by them on a spare horse and carried to +Cordova's streets. + +As the train passed the beleaguered church its garrison, seeing their late +leader a captive in Moorish hands, sallied fiercely out to his rescue, and +for some minutes the street rang sharply with the sounds of war. But +numbers gathered to the defence, the assailants were driven back, and the +church was entered by their foes, the clash of arms resounding within its +sacred precincts. In the end most of the garrison were killed and the rest +made prisoners. + +The wounded knight was tenderly cared for by his captor, soon regaining +his senses, and in time recovering his health. Magued, who had come to +esteem him highly, celebrated his return to health by a magnificent +banquet, at which every honor was done the noble knight. The Arabs knew +well how to reward valor, even in a foe. + +In the midst of the banquet Pelistes spoke of a noble Christian knight he +once had known, his brother in arms and the cherished friend of his heart, +one whom he had most admired and loved of all the Gothic host,--his old and +dear comrade, Count Julian. + +"He is here!" cried some of the Arabs, enthusiastically, pointing to a +knight who had recently entered. "Here is your old friend and comrade, +Count Julian." + +"That Julian!" cried Pelistes, in tones of scorn; "that traitor and +renegade my friend and comrade! No, no; this is not Julian, but a fiend +from hell who has entered his body to bring him dishonor and ruin." + +Turning scornfully away he strode proudly from the room, leaving the +traitor knight, overwhelmed with shame and confusion, the centre of a +circle of scornful looks, for the Arabs loved not the traitor, however +they might have profited by his treason. + +The fate of Pelistes, as given in the Arab chronicles, was a tragic one. +Magued, who had never before met his equal at sword play, proposed to send +him to Damascus, thinking that so brave a man would be a fitting present +to the caliph and a living testimony to his own knightly prowess. But +others valued the prize of valor as well as Magued, Tarik demanding that +the valiant prisoner should be delivered to him, and Musa afterwards +claiming possession. The controversy ended in a manner suitable to the +temper of the times, Magued slaying the captive with his own hand rather +than deliver to others the prize of his sword and shield. + + + + + +THE STRATAGEM OF THEODOMIR. + + +The defeat of the Guadalete seemed for the time to have robbed the Goths +of all their ancient courage. East and west, north and south, rode the +Arab horsemen, and stronghold after stronghold fell almost without +resistance into their hands, until nearly the whole of Spain had +surrendered to the scimitar. History has but a few stories to tell of +valiant defence by the Gothic warriors. One was that of Pelistes, at +Cordova, which we have just told. The other was that of the wise and +valorous Theodomir, which we have next to relate. + +Abdul-Aziz, Musa's noble son, whose sad fate we have chronicled, had been +given the control of Southern Spain, with his head-quarters in Seville. +Here, after subduing the Comarca, he decided on an invasion of far-off +Murcia, the garden-land of the south, a realm of tropic heat, yet richly +fertile and productive. There ruled a valiant Goth named Theodomir, who +had resisted Tarik on his landing, had fought in the fatal battle in which +Roderic fell, and had afterwards, with a bare remnant of his followers, +sought his own territory, which after him was called the land of Tadmir. + +Hither marched Abdul-Aziz, eager to meet in battle a warrior of such +renown, and to add to his dominions a country so famed for beauty and +fertility. He was to find Theodomir an adversary worthy of his utmost +powers. So small was the force of the Gothic lord that he dared not meet +the formidable Arab horsemen in open contest, but he checked their advance +by all the arts known in war, occupying the mountain defiles and gorges +through which his country must be reached, cutting off detachments, and +making the approach of the Arabs difficult and dangerous. + + [Illustration: A COUNCIL OF THE VISIGOTHS.] + + A COUNCIL OF THE VISIGOTHS. + + +His defence was not confined to the hills. At times he would charge +fiercely on detached parties of Arabs in the valleys or plains, and be off +again to cover before the main force could come up. Long he defeated every +effort of the Arab leader to bring on an open battle, but at length found +himself cornered at Lorca, in a small valley at a mountain's foot. Here, +though the Goths fought bravely, they found themselves too greatly +outnumbered, and in the end were put to panic-flight, numbers of them +being left dead on the hotly contested field. + +The handful of fugitives, sharply pursued by the Moorish cavalry, rode in +all haste to the fortified town of Orihuela, a place of such strength that +with sufficient force they might have defied there the powerful enemy. But +such had been their losses in battle and in flight that Theodomir found +himself far too weak to face the Moslem host, whose advance cavalry had +followed so keenly on his track as to reach the outer walls by the time he +had fairly closed the gates. + +Defence was impossible. He had not half enough men to guard the walls and +repel assaults. It would have been folly to stand a siege, yet Theodomir +did not care to surrender except on favorable terms, and therefore adopted +a shrewd stratagem to deceive the enemy in regard to his strength. + +To the surprise of the Arab leader the walls of the town, which he had +thought half garrisoned, seemed to swarm with armed and bearded warriors, +far too great a force to be overcome by a sudden dash. In the face of so +warlike an array, caution awoke in the hearts of the assailants. They had +looked for an easy victory, but against such numbers as these assault +might lead to severe bloodshed and eventual defeat. They felt that it +would be necessary to proceed by the slow and deliberate methods of a +regular siege. + +While Abdul-Aziz was disposing his forces and making heedful preparations +for the task he saw before him, he was surprised to see the principal gate +of the city thrown open and a single Gothic horseman ride forth, bearing a +flag of truce and making signals for a parley. A safe-conduct was given +him, and he was led to the tent of the Moslem chief. + +"Theodomir has sent me to negotiate with you," he said, "and I have full +power to conclude terms of surrender. We are abundantly able to hold out, +as you may see by the forces on our walls, but as we wish to avoid +bloodshed we are willing to submit on honorable terms. Otherwise we will +defend ourselves to the bitter end." + +The boldness and assurance with which he spoke deeply impressed the Arab +chief. This was not a fearful foe seeking for mercy, but a daring +antagonist as ready to fight as to yield. + +"What terms do you demand?" asked Abdul-Aziz. + +"My lord," answered the herald, "will only surrender on such conditions as +a generous enemy should grant and a valiant people receive. He demands +peace and security for the province and its people and such authority for +himself as the strength of his walls and the numbers of his garrison +justify him in demanding." + +The wise and clement Arab saw the strength of the argument, and, glad to +obtain so rich a province without further loss of life, he assented to the +terms proposed, bidding the envoy to return and present them to his chief. +The Gothic knight replied that there was no need of this, he having full +power to sign the treaty. The terms were therefore drawn up and signed by +the Arab general, after which the envoy took the pen and, to the +astonishment of the victor, signed the name of Theodomir at the foot of +the document. It was the Gothic chief himself. + +Pleased alike with his confidence and his cleverness, Abdul-Aziz treated +the Gothic knight with the highest honor and distinction. At the dawn of +the next day the gates of the city were thrown open for surrender, and +Abdul-Aziz entered at the head of a suitable force. But when the garrison +was drawn up in the centre of the city for surrender, the surprise of the +Moslem became deep amazement. What he saw before him was a mere handful of +stalwart soldiers, eked out with feeble old men and boys. But the main +body before him was composed of women, whom the astute Goth had bidden to +dress like men and to tie their long hair under their chins to represent +beards; when, with casques on their heads and spears in their hands, they +had been ranged along the walls, looking at a distance like a line of +sturdy warriors. + +Theodomir waited with some anxiety, not knowing how the victor would +regard this stratagem. Abdul might well have viewed with anger the +capitulation of an army of women and dotards, but he had a sense of humor +and a generous heart, and the smile of amusement on his face told the +Gothic chief that he was fully forgiven for his shrewd stratagem. +Admiration was stronger than mortification in the Moslem's heart. He +praised Theodomir for his witty and successful expedient, and for the +three days that he remained at Orihuela banquets and fêtes marked his +stay, he occupying the position of a guest rather than an enemy. No injury +was done to people or town, and the Arabs soon left the province to +continue their career of conquest, satisfied with the arrangements for +tribute which they had made. + +By a strange chance the treaty of surrender of the land of Tadmir still +exists. It is drawn up in Latin and in Arabic, and is of much interest as +showing the mode in which such things were managed at that remote date. It +stipulates that war shall not be waged against Theodomir, son of the +Goths, and his people; that he shall not be deprived of his kingdom; that +the Christians shall not be separated from their wives and children, or +hindered in the services of their religion; and that their temples shall +not be burned. Theodomir was left lord of seven cities,--Orihuela, +Valencia, Alicante, Mula, Biscaret, Aspis, and Lorca,--in which he was to +harbor no enemies of the Arabs. + +The tribute demanded of him and his nobles was a dinar (a gold coin) +yearly from each, also four measures each of wheat, barley, must, vinegar, +honey, and oil. Vassals and taxable people were to pay half this amount. + +These conditions were liberal in the extreme. The tribute demanded was by +no means heavy for a country so fertile, in which light culture yields +abundant harvests; the delightful valley between Orihuela and Murcia, in +particular, being the garden spot of Spain. The inhabitants for a long +period escaped the evils of war felt in other parts of the conquered +territory, their province being occupied by only small garrisons of the +enemy, while its distance from the chief seat of war removed it from +danger. + +After the murder of Abdul-Aziz, Theodomir sent an embassy to the Caliph +Soliman, begging that the treaty should be respected. The caliph in reply +sent orders that its stipulations should be faithfully observed. In this +the land of Tadmir almost stood alone in that day, when treaties were +usually made only to be set at naught. + + + + + +THE CAVE OF COVADONGA. + + +Tarik landed in Spain in April, 711. So rapid were the Arabs in conquest +that in two years from that date nearly the whole peninsula was in their +hands. Not quite all, or history might have another story to relate. In a +remote province of the once proud kingdom--a rugged northwest corner--a few +of its fugitive sons remained in freedom, left alone by the Arabs partly +through scorn, partly on account of the rude and difficult character of +their place of refuge. The conquerors despised them, yet this slender +group was to form the basis of the Spain we know to-day, and to expand and +spread until the conquerors would be driven from Spanish soil. + +The Goths had fled in all directions from their conquerors, taking with +them such of their valuables as they could carry, some crossing the +Pyrenees to France, some hiding in the mountain valleys, some seeking a +place of refuge in the Asturias, a rough hill country cut up in all +directions by steep, scarped rocks, narrow defiles, deep ravines, and +tangled thickets. Here the formidable Moslem cavalry could not pursue +them; here no army could deploy; here ten men might defy a hundred. The +place was far from inviting to the conquerors, but in it was sown the seed +of modern Spain. + +A motley crew it was that gathered in this rugged region, a medley of +fugitives of all ranks and stations,--soldiers, farmers, and artisans; +nobles and vassals; bishops and monks; men, women, and children,--brought +together by a terror that banished all distinctions of rank and avocation. +For a number of years this small band of fugitive Christians, gathered +between the mountains and the sea in northwestern Spain, remained quiet, +desiring only to be overlooked or disregarded by the conquerors. But in +the year 717 a leader came to them, and Spain once more lifted her head in +defiance of her invaders. + +Pelayo, the leader named, is a hero shrouded in mist. Fable surrounds him; +a circle of romantic stories have budded from his name. He is to us like +his modern namesake, the one battle-ship of Spain, which, during the +recent war, wandered up and down the Mediterranean with no object in view +that any foreigner could discover. Of the original Pelayo, some who +profess to know say that he was of the highest rank,--young, handsome, and +heroic, one who had fought under Roderic at the Guadalete, had been held +by the Arabs as a hostage at Cordova, and had escaped to his native hills, +there to infuse new life and hope into the hearts of the fugitive group. + +Ibun Hayyan, an Arabian chronicler, gives the following fanciful account +of Pelayo and his feeble band. "The commencement of the rebellion happened +thus: there remained no city, town, or village in Galicia but what was in +the hands of the Moslems with the exception of a steep mountain, on which +this Pelayo took refuge with a handful of men. There his followers went on +dying through hunger until he saw their numbers reduced to about thirty +men and ten women, having no other food for support than the honey which +they gathered in the crevices of the rock, which they themselves inhabited +like so many bees. However, Pelayo and his men fortified themselves by +degrees in the passes of the mountain until the Moslems were made +acquainted with their preparations; but, perceiving how few they were, +they heeded not the advice given to them, but allowed them to gather +strength, saying, 'What are thirty barbarians perched upon a rock? They +must inevitably die.'" + +Die they did not, that feeble relic of Spain on the mountain-side, though +long their only care was for shelter and safety. Here Pelayo cheered them, +doing his utmost to implant new courage in their fearful hearts. At length +the day came when Spain could again assume a defiant attitude, and in the +mountain valley of Caggas de Onis Pelayo raised the old Gothic standard +and ordered the beating of the drums. Beyond the sound of the long roll +went his messengers seeking warriors in valley and glen, and soon his +little band had grown to a thousand stalwart men, filled with his spirit +and breathing defiance to the Moslem conquerors. That was an eventful day +for Spain, in which her crushed people again lifted their heads. + +It was a varied throng that gathered around Pelayo's banner. Sons of the +Goths and the Romans were mingled with descendants of the more ancient +Celts and Iberians. Representatives of all the races that had overrun +Spain were there gathered, speaking a dozen dialects, yet instinct with a +single spirit. From them the modern Spaniard was to come, no longer Gothic +or Roman, but a descendant of all the tribes and races that had peopled +Spain. Some of them carried the swords and shields they had wielded in the +battle of the Guadalete, others brought the rude weapons of the +mountaineers. But among them were strong hands and stout hearts, summoned +by the drums of Pelayo to the reconquest of Spain. + +Word soon came to Al Horr, the new emir of Spain, that a handful of +Christians were in arms in the mountains of the northwest, and he took +instant steps to crush this presumptuous gathering, sending his trusty +general Al Kamah with a force that seemed abundant to destroy Pelayo and +his rebel band. + +Warning of the approach of the Moslem foe was quickly brought to the +Spanish leader, who at once left his place of assembly for the cave of +Covadonga, a natural fortress in Eastern Asturia, some five miles from +Caggas de Onis, which he had selected as a place strikingly adapted to a +defensive stand. Here rise three mountain-peaks to a height of nearly four +thousand feet, enclosing a small circular valley, across which rushes the +swift Diva, a stream issuing from Mount Orandi. At the base of Mount +Auseva, the western peak, rises a detached rock, one hundred and seventy +feet high, projecting from the mountain in the form of an arch. At a short +distance above its foot is visible the celebrated cave or grotto of +Covadonga, an opening forty feet wide, twelve feet high, and extending +twenty-five feet into the rock. + +The river sweeps out through a narrow and rocky defile, at whose narrowest +part the banks rise in precipitous walls. Down this ravine the stream +rushes in rapids and cascades, at one point forming a picturesque +waterfall seventy-five feet in height. Only through this straitened path +can the cave be reached, and this narrow ravine and the valley within +Pelayo proposed to hold with his slender and ill-armed force. + +Proudly onward came the Moslem captain, full of confidence in his powerful +force and despising his handful of opponents. Pelayo drew him on into the +narrow river passage by a clever stratagem. He had posted a small force at +the mouth of the pass, bidding them to take to flight after a discharge of +arrows. His plan worked well, the seeming retreat giving assurance to the +Moslems, who rushed forward in pursuit along the narrow ledge that borders +the Diva, and soon emerged into the broader path that opens into the +valley of Covadonga. + +They had incautiously entered a _cul-de-sac_, in which their numbers were +of no avail, and where a handful of men could hold an army at bay. A small +body of the best armed of the Spaniards occupied the cave, the others +being placed in ambush among the chestnut-trees that covered the heights +above the Diva. All kept silent until the Moslem advance had emerged into +the valley. Then the battle began, one of the most famous conflicts in the +whole history of Spain, famous not for the numbers engaged, but for the +issue involved. The future of Spain dwelt in the hands of that group of +patriots. The fight in the valley was sharp, but one-sided. The Moslem +arrows rebounded harmlessly from the rocky sides of the cave, whose +entrance could be reached only by a ladder, while the Christians, hurling +their missiles from their point of vantage into the crowded mass below, +punished them so severely that the advance was forced back upon those that +crowded the defile in the rear. Al Kamah, finding his army recoiling in +dismay and confusion, and discovering too late his error, ordered a +retreat; but no sooner had a reverse movement been instituted than the +ambushed Christians on the heights began their deadly work, hurling huge +stones and fallen trees into the defile, killing the Moslems by hundreds, +and choking up the pass until flight became impossible. + +The panic was complete. From every side the Christians rushed upon the +foe. Pelayo, bearing a cross of oak and crying that the Lord was fighting +for his people, leaped downward from the cave, followed by his men, who +fell with irresistible fury on the foe, forcing them backward under the +brow of Mount Auseva, where Al Kamah strove to make a stand. + +The elements now came to the aid of the Christians, a furious storm +arising whose thunders reverberated among the rocks, while lightnings +flashed luridly in the eyes of the terrified troops. The rain poured in +blinding torrents, and soon the Diva, swollen with the sudden fall, rose +into a flood, and swept away many of those who were crowded on its +slippery banks. The heavens seemed leagued with the Christians against the +Moslem host, whose destruction was so thorough that, if we can credit the +chronicles, not a man of the proud army escaped. + +This is doubtless an exaggeration, but the victory of Pelayo was complete +and the first great step in the reconquest of Spain was taken. The year +was 717, six years after the landing of the Arabs and the defeat of the +Goths. + +Thus ended perhaps the most decisive battle in the history of Spain. With +it new Spain began. The cave of Covadonga is still a place of pilgrimage +for the Spanish patriot, a stairway of marble replacing the ladder used by +Pelayo and his men. We may tell what followed in a few words. Their +terrible defeat cleared the territory of the Austurias of Moslem soldiers. +From every side fugitive Christians left their mountain retreats to seek +the standard of Pelayo. Soon the patriotic and daring leader had an army +under his command, by whom he was chosen king of Christian Spain. + +The Moslems made no further attack. They were discouraged by their defeat +and were engaged in a project for the invasion of Gaul that required their +utmost force. Pelayo slowly and cautiously extended his dominions, +descending from the mountains into the plains and valleys, and organizing +his new kingdom in civil as well as in military affairs. All the men under +his control were taught to bear arms, fortifications were built, the +ground was planted, and industry revived. Territory which the Moslems had +abandoned was occupied, and from a group of soldiers in a mountain cavern +a new nation began to emerge. + +Pelayo died at Caggas de Onis in the year 737, twenty years after his +great victory. After his death the work he had begun was carried forward, +until by the year 800 the Spanish dominion had extended over much of Old +Castile,--so called from its numerous castles. In a hundred years more it +had extended to the borders of New Castile. The work of reconquest was +slowly but surely under way. + + + + + + [Illustration: BARONIAL CASTLE IN OLD CASTILE.] + + BARONIAL CASTLE IN OLD CASTILE. + + + + + +THE ADVENTURES OF A FUGITIVE PRINCE. + + +A new dynasty came to the throne of the caliphs of Damascus in 750. The +line of the Ommeyades, who had held the throne since the days of the +Prophet Mohammed, was overthrown, and the line of the Abbassides began. +Abdullah, the new caliph, bent on destroying every remnant of the old +dynasty, invited ninety of its principal adherents to a banquet, where +they were set upon and brutally murdered. There followed a scene worthy of +a savage. The tables were removed, carpets were spread over the bleeding +corpses, and on these the viands were placed, the guests eating their +dinner to the dismal music of the groans of the dying victims beneath. + +The whole country was now scoured for all who were connected with the +fallen dynasty, and wherever found they were brutally slain; yet despite +the vigilance of the murderers a scion of the family of the Ommeyades +escaped. Abdurrahman, the princely youth in question, was fortunately +absent from Damascus when the order for his assassination was given. +Warned of his proposed fate, he gathered what money and jewels he could +and fled for his life, following little-used paths until he reached the +banks of the Euphrates. But spies were on his track and descriptions of +him had been sent to all provinces. He was just twenty years old, and, +unlike the Arabians in general, had a fair complexion and blue eyes, so +that he could easily be recognized, and it seemed impossible that he could +escape. + +His retreat on the Euphrates was quickly discovered, and the agents of +murder were so hot upon his track that he was forced to spring into the +river and seek for safety by swimming. The pursuers reached the banks when +the fugitives were nearly half-way across, Abdurrahman supporting his son, +four years of age, and Bedr, a servant, aiding his thirteen-year-old +brother. The agents of the caliph called them back, saying that they would +not harm them, and the boy, whose strength was giving out, turned back in +spite of his brother's warning. When Abdurrahman reached the opposite +bank, it was with a shudder of horror that he saw the murder of the boy, +whose head was at once cut off. That gruesome spectacle decided the +question of his trusting himself to the mercy of the caliph or his agents. + +The life of the fugitive prince now became one of unceasing adventure. He +made his way by covert paths towards Egypt, wandering through the desert +in company with bands of Bedouins, living on their scanty fare, and +constantly on the alert against surprise. Light sleep and hasty flittings +were the rule with him and his few attendants as they made their way +slowly westward over the barren sands, finally reaching Egypt. Here he was +too near the caliph for safety, and he kept on westward to Barca, where he +hoped for protection from the governor, who owed his fortunes to the favor +of the late caliph. + +He was mistaken. Ibn Habib, the governor of Barca, put self-interest above +gratitude, and made vigorous efforts to seize the fugitive, whom he hoped +to send as a welcome gift to the cruel Abdullah. The life of the fugitive +was now one of hair-breadth escapes. For five years he remained in Barca, +disguised and under a false name, yet in almost daily peril of his life. +On one occasion a band of pursuers surrounded the tent in which he was and +advanced to search it. His life was saved by Tekfah, the wife of the +chief, who hid him under her clothes. When, in later years, he came to +power, he rewarded the chief and his wife richly for their kindly aid. + +On another occasion a body of horse rode into the village of tents in +which he dwelt as a guest and demanded that he should be given up. The +handsome aspect and gentle manner of the fugitive had made the tribesmen +suspect that they were the hosts of a disguised prince; he had gained a +sure place in their hearts, and they set the pursuers on a false scent. +Such a person was with them, they said, but he had gone with a number of +young men on a lion hunt in a neighboring mountain valley and would not +return until the next evening. The pursuers at once set off for the place +mentioned, and the fugitive, who had been hidden in one of the tents, rode +away in the opposite direction with his slender train. + +Leaving Barca, he journeyed farther westward over the desert, which at +that point comes down to the Mediterranean. Finally Tahart was reached, a +town within the modern Algeria, the seat of the Beni Rustam, a tribe which +gave him the kindliest welcome. To them, as to the Barcans, he seemed a +prince in disguise. Near by was a tribe of Arabs named the Nefezah, to +which his mother had belonged, and from which he hoped for protection and +assistance. Reaching this, he told his rank and name, and was welcomed +almost as a king, the tribesmen, his mother's kindred, paying him homage, +and offering their aid to the extent of their ability in the ambitious +scheme which he disclosed. + +This was an invasion of Spain, which at that time was a scene of confusion +and turmoil, distracted by rival leaders, the people exhausted by wars and +quarrels, many of their towns burned or ruined, and the country ravaged by +famine. What could be better than for the heir of the illustrious house of +Ommeyades, flying from persecution by the Abbassides, and miraculously +preserved, to seek the throne of Spain, bring peace to that distracted +land, and found an independent kingdom in that western section of the vast +Arabian empire? + +His servant, Bedr, who had kept with him through all his varied career and +was now his chief officer, was sent to Spain on a secret mission to the +friends of the late dynasty of caliphs, of whom there were many in that +land. Bedr was highly successful in his mission. Yusuf, the Abbasside +emir, was absent from Cordova and ignorant of his danger, and all promised +well. Not waiting for the assistance promised him in Africa, the prince +put to sea almost alone. As he was about to step on board his boat a +number of Berbers gathered round and showed an intention to prevent his +departure. They were quieted by a handful of dinars and he hastened on +board,--none too soon, for another band, greedy for gold, rushed to the +beach, some of them wading out and seizing the boat and the camel's-hair +cable that held it to the anchor. These fellows got blows instead of +dinars, one, who would not let go, having his hand cut off by a sword +stroke. The edge of a scimitar cut the cable, the sail was set, and the +lonely exile set forth upon the sea to the conquest of a kingdom. It was +evening of a spring day of the year 756 that the fugitive prince landed +near Malaga, in the land of Andalusia, where some prominent chiefs were in +waiting to receive him with the homage due to a king. + +Hundreds soon flocked to the standard of the adventurer, whose manly and +handsome presence, his beaming blue eyes, sweet smile, and gracious manner +won him the friendship of all whom he met. With steadily growing forces he +marched to Seville. Here were many of his partisans, and the people flung +open the gates with wild shouts of welcome. It was in the month of May +that the fortunes of Abdurrahman were put to the test, Yusuf having +hastily gathered a powerful force and advanced to the plain of Musarah, +near Cordova, on which field the fate of the kingdom was to be decided. + +It was under a strange banner that Abdurrahman advanced to meet the army +of the emir,--a turban attached to a lance-head. This standard afterwards +became sacred, the turban, as it grew ragged, being covered by a new one. +At length the hallowed old rags were removed by an irreverent hand, "and +from that time the empire of the Beni Ummeyah began to decline." + +We may briefly conclude our tale. The battle was fierce, but Abdurrahman's +boldness and courage prevailed, and the army of Yusuf in the end gave way, +Cordova becoming the victor's prize. The generous conqueror gave liberty +and distinction to the defeated emir, and was repaid in two years by a +rebellion in which he had an army of twenty thousand men to meet. Yusuf +was again defeated, and now lost his life. + +Thus it was that the fugitive prince, who had saved his life by swimming +the Euphrates under the eyes of an assassin band, became the Caliph of the +West, for under him Spain was cut loose from the dominion of the +Abbassides and made an independent kingdom, its conqueror becoming its +first monarch under the title of Abdurrahman I. + +Almansur, then the Caliph of the East, sought to recover the lost domain, +sending a large army from Africa; but this was defeated with terrible +slaughter by the impetuous young prince, who revenged himself by sending +the heads of the general and many of his officers to the caliph in bags +borne by merchants, which were deposited at the door of Almansur's tent +during the darkness of the night. The finder was cautioned to be careful, +as the bags contained treasure. So they were brought in to the caliph, who +opened them with his own hand. Great was his fury and chagrin when he saw +what a ghastly treasure they contained. "This man is the foul fiend in +human form," he exclaimed. "Praised be Allah that he has placed a sea +between him and me." + + + + + +BERNARDO DEL CARPIO. + + +Spain, like France, had its hero of legend. The great French hero was +Roland, whose mighty deeds in the pass of Roncesvalles have been widely +commemorated in song and story. In Spanish legend the gallant opponent of +the champion of France was Bernardo del Carpio, a hero who perhaps never +lived, except on paper, but about whose name a stirring cycle of story has +grown. The tale of his life is a tragedy, as that of heroes is apt to be. +It may be briefly told. + +When Charlemagne was on the throne of France Alfonso II. was king of +Christian Spain. A hundred years had passed since all that was left to +Spain was the cave of Covadonga, and in that time a small kingdom had +grown up with Oviedo for its capital city. This kingdom had spread from +the Asturias over Leon, which gave its name to the new realm, and the slow +work of driving back the Moslem conquerors had well begun. + +Alfonso never married and had no children. People called him Alfonso the +Chaste. He went so far as to forbid any of his family to marry, so that +the love affairs of his sister, the fair infanta Ximena, ran far from +smooth. The beautiful princess loved and was loved again by the noble +Sancho Diaz, Count of Saldaña, but the king would not listen to their +union. The natural result followed; as they dared not marry in public they +did so in private, and for a year or two lived happily together, none +knowing of their marriage, and least of all the king. + +But when a son was born to them the truth came out. It threw the +tyrannical king into a violent rage. His sister was seized by his orders +and shut up in a convent, and her husband was thrown into prison for life, +some accounts saying that his eyes were put out by order of the cruel +king. As for their infant son, he was sent into the mountains of the +Asturias, to be brought up among peasants and mountaineers. + +It was known that he had been sent there by Alfonso, and the people +believed him to be the king's son and treated him as a prince. In the +healthy out-door life of the hills he grew strong and handsome, while his +native courage was shown in hunting adventures and the perils of mountain +life. When old enough he learned the use of arms, and soon left his humble +friends for the army, in which his boldness and bravery were shown in many +encounters with the French and the Arabs. Those about him still supposed +him to be the son of the king, though Alfonso, while furnishing him with +all knightly arms and needs, neither acknowledged nor treated him as his +son. But if not a king's son, he was a very valiant knight, and became the +terror of all the foes of Spain. + +All this time his unfortunate father languished in prison, where from time +to time he was told by his keepers of the mighty deeds of the young prince +Bernardo del Carpio, by which name the youthful warrior was known. Count +Sancho knew well that this was his son, and complained bitterly of the +ingratitude of the youth who could leave his father perishing in a prison +cell while he rode freely and joyously in the open air, engaged in battle +and banquet, and was everywhere admired and praised. He knew not that the +young warrior had been kept in ignorance of his birth. + +During this period came that great event in the early history of Spain in +which Charlemagne crossed the Pyrenees with a great army and marched upon +the city of Saragossa. It was in the return from this expedition that the +dreadful attack took place in which Roland and the rear guard of the army +were slain in the pass of Roncesvalles. In Spanish story it was Bernardo +del Carpio who led the victorious hosts, and to whose prowess was due the +signal success. + +This fierce fight in a mountain-pass, in which a valiant band of +mountaineers overwhelmed and destroyed the flower of the French army, has +been exalted by poetic legend into one of the most stupendous and romantic +of events. Ponderous epic poems have made Roland their theme, numbers of +ballads and romances tell of his exploits, and the far-off echoes of his +ivory horn still sound through the centuries. One account tells that he +blew his horn so loud and long that the veins of his neck burst in the +strain. Others tell that he split a mountain in twain by a mighty stroke +of his sword Durandal. The print of his horse's hoofs are shown on a +mountain-peak where only a flying horse could ever have stood. In truth, +Roland, whose name is barely mentioned in history, rose to be the greatest +hero of romance, the choicest and best of the twelve paladins of +Charlemagne. + +Bernardo del Carpio was similarly celebrated in Spanish song, though he +attained no such worldwide fame. History does not name him at all, but the +ballads of Spain say much of his warlike deeds. It must suffice here to +say that this doughty champion marched upon Roland and his men while they +were winding through the narrow mountain-pass, and as they advanced the +mountaineers swelled their ranks. + + "As through the glen his spears did gleam, the soldiers from the hills, + They swelled his host, as mountain-stream receives the roaring rills; + They round his banner flocked in scorn of haughty Charlemagne, + And thus upon their swords are sworn the faithful sons of Spain." + +Roland and his force lay silent in death when the valiant prince led back +his army, flushed with victory, and hailed with the plaudits of all the +people of the land. At this moment of his highest triumph the tragedy of +his life began. His old nurse, who had feared before to tell the tale, now +made him acquainted with the true story of his birth, telling him that he +was the nephew, not the son, of the king; that his mother, whom he thought +long dead, still lived, shut up for life in a convent; and that his father +lay languishing in a dungeon cell, blind and in chains. + +As may well be imagined, this story filled the soul of the young hero with +righteous wrath. He strode into the presence of the king and asked, with +little reverence, if the story were true. Alfonso surlily admitted it. +Bernardo then demanded his father's freedom. This the king refused. +Burning with anger, the valiant youth shut himself up in his castle, +refusing to take part in the rejoicings that followed the victory, and +still sternly demanding the release of his father. + +"Is it well that I should be abroad fighting thy battles," he asked the +king, "while my father lies fettered in thy dungeons? Set him free and I +shall ask no further reward." + +Alfonso, who was obstinate in his cruelty, refused, and the indignant +prince took arms against him, joining the Moors, whom he aided to harry +the king's dominions. Fortifying his castle, and gathering a bold and +daring band from his late followers, he made incursions deep into the +country of the king, plundering hamlet and city and fighting in the ranks +of the Moslems. + +This method of argument was too forcible even for the obstinacy of +Alfonso. His counsellors, finding the kingdom itself in danger, urged him +to grant Bernardo's request, and to yield him his father in return for his +castle. The king at length consented, and Bernardo, as generous and +trusting as he was brave, immediately accepted the proposed exchange, +sought the king, handed him the keys of his castle, and asked him to +fulfil his share of the contract. + +Alfonso agreed to do so, and in a short time the king and his nephew rode +forth, Bernardo's heart full of joy at the thought of meeting the parent +whom he had never yet seen. As they rode forward a train came from the +opposite direction to meet them, in the midst a tall figure, clad in +splendid attire and mounted on horseback. But there was something in his +aspect that struck Bernardo's heart deep with dread. + +"God help me!" he exclaimed, "is that sightless and corpse-like figure the +noble Count of Saldaña, my father?" + +"You wished to see him," coldly answered the king. "He is before you. Go +and greet him." + +Bernardo did so, and reverently took the cold hand of his father to kiss +it. As he did so the body fell forward on the neck of the horse. It was +only a corpse. Alfonso had killed the father before delivering him to his +son. + +Only his guards saved the ruthless tyrant at that moment from death. The +infuriated knight swore a fearful oath of vengeance upon the king, and +rode away, taking the revered corpse with him. Unfortunately, the story of +Bernardo ends here. None of the ballads tell what he did for revenge. We +may imagine that he joined his power to the Moors and harried the land of +Leon during his after life, at length reaching Alfonso's heart with his +vengeful blade. But of this neither ballad nor legend tells, and with the +pathetic scene of the dead father's release our story ends. + + + + + +RUY DIAZ, THE CID CAMPEADOR. + + +Bernardo del Carpio is not the chief Spanish hero of romance. To find the +mate of Roland the paladin we must seek the incomparable Cid, the +campeador or champion of Spain, the noblest figure in Spanish story or +romance. _El Mio Cid_, "My Cid," as he is called, with his matchless horse +Bavieca and his trenchant sword Tisona, towers in Spanish tale far above +Christian king and Moslem caliph, as the pink of chivalry, the pearl of +knighthood, the noblest and worthiest figure in all that stirring age. + +Cid is an Arabic word, meaning "lord" or "chief." The man to whom it was +applied was a real personage, not a figment of fancy, though it is to +poetry and romance that he owes his fame, his story having been expanded +and embellished in chronicles, epic poems, and ballads until it bears +little semblance to actual history. Yet the deeds of the man himself +probably lie at the basis of all the splendid fictions of romance. + +The great poem in which his exploits were first celebrated, the famous +"Poema del Cid," is thought to be the oldest, as it is one of the noblest +in the Spanish language. Written probably not later than the year 1200, it +is of about three thousand lines in length, and of such merit that its +unknown author has been designated the "Homer of Spain." As it was written +soon after the death of the Cid, it could not have deviated far from +historic truth. Chief among the prose works is the "Chronicle of the +Cid,"--_Chronica del famoso Cavallero Cid Ruy Diez_,--which, with additions +from the poem, was charmingly rendered in English by the poet Southey, +whose production is a prose poem in itself. Such are the chief sources of +our knowledge of the Cid, an active, stirring figure, full of the spirit +of mediævalism, whose story seems to bring back to us the living features +of the age in which he flourished. A brave and daring knight, rousing the +jealousy of nobles and kings by his valiant deeds, now banished and now +recalled, now fighting against the Moslems, now with them, now for his own +hand, and in the end winning himself a realm and dying a king without the +name,--such is the man whose story we propose to tell. + +This hero of romance was born about the year 1040 at Bivar, a little +village near Burgos, his father being Diego Lainez, a man of gentle birth, +his mother Teresa Rodriguez, daughter of the governor of the Asturias. He +is often called Rodrigo de Bivar, from his birthplace, but usually Rodrigo +Diaz, or Ruy Diez, as his name is given in the chronicle. + +While still a boy the future prowess of the Cid was indicated. He was keen +of intellect, active of frame, and showed such wonderful dexterity in +manly exercises as to become unrivalled in the use of arms. Those were +days of almost constant war. The kingdom of the Moors was beginning to +fall to pieces; that of the Christians was growing steadily stronger; not +only did war rage between the two races, but Moor fought with Moor, +Christian with Christian, and there was abundant work ready for the strong +hand and sharp sword. This state of affairs was to the taste of the +youthful Rodrigo, whose ambition was to become a hero of knighthood. + +While gentle in manner and magnanimous in disposition, the young soldier +had an exalted sense of honor and was sternly devoted to duty. While he +was still a boy his father was bitterly insulted by Count Gomez, who +struck him in the face. The old man brooded over his humiliation until he +lost sleep and appetite, and withdrew from society into disconsolate +seclusion. + +Rodrigo, deeply moved by his father's grief, sought and killed the +insulter, and brought the old man the bleeding head of his foe. At this +the disconsolate Diego rose and embraced his son, and bade him sit above +him at table, saying that "he who brought home that head should be the +head of the house of Layn Calvo." + +From that day on the fame of the young knight rapidly grew, until at +length he defeated and captured five Moorish kings who had invaded +Castile. This exploit won him the love of Ximena, the fair daughter of +Count Gomez, whom he had slain. Foreseeing that he would become the +greatest man in Spain, the damsel waited not to be wooed, but offered him +her hand in marriage, an offer which he was glad to accept. And ever +after, says the chronicle, she was his loving wife. + +The young champion is said to have gained the good-will of St. Lazarus and +the Holy Virgin by sleeping with a leper who had been shunned by his +knights. No evil consequences came from this example of Christian +philanthropy, while it added to the knight's high repute. + +Fernando I., who had gathered a large Christian kingdom under his crown, +died when Rodrigo was but fifteen years of age, and in his will foolishly +cut up his kingdom between his three sons and two daughters, greatly +weakening the Christian power, and quickly bringing his sons to sword's +point. By the will Sancho was placed over Castile, Alfonso became king of +Leon, Garcia ruled in Galicia; Urraca, one of the daughters, received the +city of Toro, and Elvira was given that of Zamora. + +Sancho was not satisfied with this division. Being the oldest, he thought +he should have all, and prepared to seize the shares of his brothers and +sisters. Looking for aid in this design, he was attracted by the growing +fame of young Rodrigo, and gained his aid in the restoration of Zamora, +which the Moors had destroyed. While thus engaged there came to Rodrigo +messengers with tribute from the five Moorish kings whom he had captured +and released. They hailed the young warrior as Sid, or Cid, and the king, +struck by the title, said that Ruy Diaz should thenceforth bear it; also +that he should be known as campeador or champion. + +King Sancho now knighted the young warrior with his own hand, and soon +after made him _alferez_, or commander of his troops. As such he was +despatched against Alfonso, who was soon driven from his kingdom of Leon +and sought shelter in the Moorish city of Toledo. Leon being occupied, the +Cid marched against Galicia, and drove out Garcia as he had done Alfonso. +Then he deprived Urraca and Elvira of the cities left them by their +father, and the whole kingdom was once more placed under a single ruler. + +It did not long remain so. Sancho died in 1072, and at once Alfonso and +Garcia hurried back from exile to recover their lost realms. But Alfonso's +ambition equalled that of Sancho. All or none was his motto. Invading the +kingdom of Galicia, he robbed Garcia of it and held him prisoner. Then he +prepared to invade Castile, and offered the command of the army for this +enterprise to the Cid. + +The latter was ready for fighting in any form, so that he could fight with +honor. But there was doubt in his mind if service under Alfonso was +consistent with the honor of a knight. King Sancho had been assassinated +while hunting, and it was whispered that Alfonso had some share in the +murder. The high-minded Cid would not draw sword for him unless he swore +that he had no lot or part in his brother's death. Twice the Cid gave him +the oath, whereupon, says the chronicle, "My Cid repeated the oath to him +a third time, and the king and the knights said 'Amen.' But the wrath of +the king was exceeding great; and he said to the Cid, 'Ruy Diaz, why dost +thou press me so, man?' From that day forward there was no love towards My +Cid in the heart of the king." + +But the king had sworn, and the Cid entered his service and soon conquered +Castile, so that Alfonso became monarch of Castile, Leon, Galicia, and +Portugal, and took the title of Emperor of Spain. As adelantado, or lord +of the marches, Ruy Diaz now occupied himself with the Moors,--fighting +where hostility reigned, taking tribute for the king from Seville and +other cities, and settling with the sword the disputes of the chiefs, or +aiding them in their quarrels. Thus he took part with Seville in a war +with Cordova, and was rewarded with so rich a present by the grateful king +that Alfonso, inspired by his secret hatred for the Cid, grew jealous and +envious. + +During these events years passed on, and the Cid's two fair daughters grew +to womanhood and were married, at the command of the king, to the two +counts of Carrion. The Cid liked not his sons-in-law, and good reason he +had, for they were a pair of base hounds despite their lordly title. The +brides were shamefully treated by them, being stripped and beaten nearly +to death on their wedding-journey. + +When word of this outrage came to the Cid his wrath overflowed. Stalking +with little reverence into the king's hall, he sternly demanded redress +for the brutal act. He could not appeal to the law. The husband in those +days was supreme lord and master of his wife. But there was an unwritten +law, that of the sword, and the incensed father demanded that the brutal +youths should appear in the lists and prove their honor, if they could, +against his champion. + +They dared not refuse. In those days, when the sword was the measure of +honor and justice, to refuse would have been to be disgraced. They came +into the lists, where they were beaten like the hounds that they had shown +themselves, and the noble girls were set free from their bonds. Better +husbands soon sought the Cid's daughters, and they were happily married in +the end. + +The exploits of the Cid were far too many for us to tell. Wherever he went +victory attended his sword. On one occasion the king marched to the aid of +one of his Moorish allies, leaving the Cid behind him too sick to ride. +Here was an opportunity for the Moors, a party of whom broke into Castile +and by a rapid march made themselves masters of the fortress of Gomez. Up +from his bed of sickness rose the Cid, mounted his steed (though he could +barely sit in the saddle), charged and scattered the invaders, pursued +them into the kingdom of Toledo, and returned with seven thousand +prisoners and all the Moorish spoil. + +This brilliant defence of the kingdom was the turning point in his career. +The king of Toledo complained to Alfonso that his neutral territory had +been invaded by the Cid and his troops, and King Alfonso, seeking revenge +for the three oaths he had been compelled to take, banished the Cid from +his dominions, on the charge of invading the territory of his allies. + +Thus the champion went forth as a knight-errant, with few followers, but a +great name. Tears came into his eyes as he looked back upon his home, its +doors open, its hall deserted, no hawks upon the perches, no horses in the +stalls. "My enemies have done this," he said. "God be praised for all +things." He went to Burgos, but there the people would not receive him, +having had strict orders from the king. Their houses were closed, the +inn-keepers barred their doors, only a bold little maiden dared venture +out to tell him of the decree. As there was no shelter for him there, he +was forced to seek lodging in the sands near the town. + +Needing money, he obtained it by a trick that was not very honorable, +though in full accord with the ethics of those times. He pawned to the +Jews two chests which he said were treasure chests, filled with gold. Six +hundred marks were received, and when the chests were afterwards opened +they proved to be filled with sand. This was merely a good joke to poet +and chronicler. The Jews lay outside the pale of justice and fair-dealing. + +Onward went the Cid, his followers growing in number as he marched. First +to Barcelona, then to Saragossa, he went, seeking knightly adventures +everywhere. In Saragossa he entered the service of the Moorish king, and +for several years fought well and sturdily for his old enemies. But time +brought a change. In 1081 Alfonso captured Toledo and made that city his +capital, from which he prepared to push his way still deeper into the +Moorish dominions. He now needed the Cid, whom he had banished five years +before. + +But it was easier to ask than to get. The Cid had grown too great to be at +any king's beck and call. He would fight for Alfonso, but in his own way, +holding himself free to attack whom he pleased and when he pleased, and to +capture the cities of the Moslems and rule them as their lord. He had +become a free lance, fighting for his own hand, while armies sprang, as it +were, from the ground at his call to arms. + +In those days of turmoil valor rarely had long to wait for opportunity. +Ramon Berenguer, lord of Barcelona, had laid siege to Valencia, an +important city on the Mediterranean coast. Thither marched the Cid with +all speed, seven thousand men in his train, and forced Ramon to raise the +siege. The Cid became governor of Valencia, under tribute to King Alfonso, +and under honor to hold it against the Moors. + +The famous champion was not done with his troubles with Alfonso. In the +years that followed he was once more banished by the faithless king, and +his wife and children were seized and imprisoned. At a later date he came +to the king's aid in his wars, but found him again false to his word, and +was obliged to flee for safety from the camp. + +Valencia had passed from his control and had more than once since changed +hands. At length the Moorish power grew so strong that the city refused to +pay tribute to Spain and declared its independence. Here was work for the +Cid--not for the benefit of Alfonso, but for his own honor and profit. He +was weary of being made the foot-ball of a jealous and faithless monarch, +and craved a kingdom of his own. Against Valencia he marched with an army +of free swords at his back. He was fighting now for the Cid, not for +Moorish emir or Spanish monarch. For twenty months he beseiged the fair +city, until starvation came to the aid of his sword. No relief reached the +Moors; the elements fought against them, floods of rain destroying the +roads and washing away the bridges; on June 15, 1094, the Cid Campeador +marched into the city thenceforth to be associated with his name. + +Ascending its highest tower, he gazed with joy upon the fair possession +which he had won with his own good sword without aid from Spanish king or +Moorish ally, and which he proposed to hold for his own while life +remained. His city it was, and today it bears his name, being known as +Valencia del Cid. But he had to hold it with the good sword by which he +won it, for the Moors, who had failed to aid the beleaguered city, sought +with all their strength to win it back. + +During the next year thirty thousand of them came and encamped about the +walls of the city. But fighting behind walls was not to the taste of the +Cid Campeador. Out from the gates he sallied and drove them like sheep +from their camp, killing fifteen thousand of them in the fight. + +"Be it known," the chronicle tells us, "that this was a profitable day's +work. Every foot-soldier shared a hundred marks of silver that day, and +the Cid returned full honorably to Valencia. Great was the joy of the +Christians in the Cid Ruy Diaz, who was born in a happy hour. His beard +was grown, and continued to grow, a great length. My Cid said of his chin, +'For the love of King Don Alfonso, who hath banished me from his land, no +scissors shall come upon it, nor shall a hair be cut away, and Moors and +Christians shall talk of it.'" And until he died his great beard grew on +untouched. + + [Illustration: VALENCIA DEL CID.] + + VALENCIA DEL CID. + + +Not many were the men with whom he had done his work, but they were +soldiers of tried temper and daring hearts. "There were one thousand +knights of lineage and five hundred and fifty other horsemen. There were +four thousand foot-soldiers, besides boys and others. Thus many were the +people of My Cid, him of Bivar. And his heart rejoiced, and he smiled and +said, 'Thanks be to God and to Holy Mother Mary! We had a smaller company +when we left the house of Bivar.'" + +The next year King Yussef, leader of the Moors, came again to the siege of +Valencia, this time with fifty thousand men. Small as was the force of the +Cid as compared with this great army, he had no idea of fighting cooped up +like a rat in a cage. Out once more he sallied, with but four thousand men +at his back. His bishop, Hieronymo, absolved them, saying, "He who shall +die, fighting full forward, I will take as mine his sins, and God shall +have his soul." + +A learned and wise man was the good bishop, but a valorous one as well, +mighty in arms alike on horseback and on foot. "A boon, Cid don Rodrigo," +he cried. "I have sung mass to you this morning. Let me have the giving of +the first wounds in this battle." + +"In God's name, do as you will," answered the Cid. + +That day the bishop had his will of the foe, fighting with both hands +until no man knew how many of the infidels he slew. Indeed, they were all +too busy to heed the bishop's blows, for, so the chronicle says, only +fifteen thousand of the Moslems escaped. Yussef, sorely wounded, left to +the Cid his famous sword Tisona, and barely escaped from the field with +his life. + +Bucar, the brother of Yussef, came to revenge him, but he knew not with +whom he had to deal. Bishop Hieronymo led the right wing, and made havoc +in the ranks of the foe. "The bishop pricked forward," we are told. "Two +Moors he slew with the first two thrusts of his lance; the haft broke and +he laid hold on his sword. God! how well the bishop fought. He slew two +with the lance and five with the sword. The Moors fled." + +"Turn this way, Bucar," cried the Cid, who rode close on the heels of the +Moorish chief; "you who came from behind sea to see the Cid with the long +beard. We must greet each other and cut out a friendship." + +"God confound such friendships," cried Bucar, following his flying troops +with nimble speed. + +Hard behind him rode the Cid, but his horse Bavieca was weary with the +day's hard work, and Bucar rode a fresh and swift steed. And thus they +went, fugitive and pursuer, until the ships of the Moors were at hand, +when the Cid, finding that he could not reach the Moorish king with his +sword, flung the weapon fiercely at him, striking him between the +shoulders. Bucar, with the mark of battle thus upon him, rode into the sea +and was taken into a boat, while the Cid picked up his sword from the +ground and sought his men again. + +The Moorish host did not escape so well. Set upon fiercely by the +Spaniards, they ran in a panic into the sea, where twice as many were +drowned as were slain in the battle; and of these, seventeen thousand and +more had fallen, while a vast host remained as prisoners. Of the +twenty-nine kings who came with Bucar, seventeen were left dead upon the +field. + +The chronicler uses numbers with freedom. The Cid is his hero, and it is +his task to exalt him. But the efforts of the Moors to regain Valencia and +their failure to do so may be accepted as history. In due time, however, +age began to tell upon the Cid, and death came to him as it does to all. +He died in 1099, from grief, as the story goes, that his colleague, Alvar +Fañez, had suffered a defeat. Whether from grief or age, at any rate he +died, and his wife, Ximena, was left to hold the city, which for two years +she gallantly did, against all the power of the Moors. Then Alfonso +entered it, and, finding that he could not hold it, burned the principal +buildings and left it to the Moors. A century and a quarter passed before +the Christians won it again. + +When Alfonso left the city of the Cid he brought with him the body of the +campeador, mounted upon his steed Bavieca, and solemnly and slowly the +train wound on until the corpse of the mighty dead was brought to the +cloister of the monastery of Cardeña. Here the dead hero was seated on a +throne, with his sword Tisona in his hand; and, the story goes, a caitiff +Jew, perhaps wishing to revenge his brethren who had been given sand for +gold, plucked the flowing beard of the Cid. At this insult the hand of the +corpse struck out and the insulter was hurled to the floor. + +The Cid Campeador is a true hero of romance, and well are the Spaniards +proud of him. Honor was the moving spring of his career. As a devoted son, +he revenged the insult to his father; as a loving husband, he made Ximena +the partner of his fame; as a tender father, he redressed his daughters' +wrongs; as a loyal subject, he would not serve a king on whom doubt of +treachery rested. In spite of the injustice of the king, he was true to +his country, and came again and again to its aid. Though forced into the +field as a free lance, he was throughout a Christian cavalier. And, though +he cheated the Jews, the story goes that he repaid them their gold. +Courage, courtesy, and honor were the jewels of his fame, and romance +holds no nobler hero. + +It will not be amiss to close our tale of the Cid with a quotation from +the famous poem in which it is shown how even a lion quailed before his +majesty: + + "Peter Bermuez arose; somewhat he had to say; + The words were strangled in his throat, they could not find their way; + Till forth they came at once, without a stop or stay: + 'Cid, I'll tell you what, this always is your way; + You have always served me thus, whenever you have come + To meet here in the Cortes, you call me Peter the Dumb. + I cannot help my nature; I never talk nor rail; + But when a thing is to be done, you know I never fail. + Fernando, you have lied, you have lied in every word; + You have been honored by the Cid and favored and preferred. + I know of all your tricks, and can tell them to your face: + Do you remember in Valencia the skirmish and the chase? + You asked leave of the Cid to make the first attack, + You went to meet a Moor, but you soon came running back. + I met the Moor and killed him, or he would have killed you; + I gave you up his arms, and all that was my due. + Up to this very hour, I never said a word; + You praised yourself before the Cid and I stood by and heard + How you had killed the Moor, and done a valiant act; + And they believed you all, but they never knew the fact. + You are tall enough and handsome, but cowardly and weak, + Thou tongue without a hand, how can you dare to speak? + There's the story of the lions should never be forgot; + Now let us hear, Fernando, what answer you have got? + The Cid was sleeping in his chair, with all his knights around; + The cry went forth along the hall that the lion was unbound. + What did you do, Fernando? Like a coward as you were, + You shrunk behind the Cid, and crouched beneath his chair. + We pressed around the throne to shield our loved from harm. + Till the good Cid awoke. He rose without alarm. + He went to meet the lion with his mantle on his arm. + The lion was abashed the noble Cid to meet; + He bowed his mane to the earth, his muzzle at his feet. + The Cid by the neck and the mane drew him to his den, + He thrust him in at the hatch, and came to the hall again. + He found his knights, his vassals, and all his valiant men. + He asked for his sons-in-law, they were neither of them there + I defy you for a coward and a traitor as you are.'" + + + + + +LAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA. + + +On the 16th of July, 1212, was fought the great battle which broke the +Moorish power in Spain. During the two centuries before fresh streams of +invasion had flowed in from Africa to yield new life to the Moslem power. +From time to time in the Mohammedan world reforms have sprung up, and been +carried far and wide by fanaticism and the sword. One such body of +reformers, the Almoravides, invaded Spain in the eleventh century and +carried all before it. It was with these that the Cid Campeador had to +deal. A century later a new reformer, calling himself El Mahdi, appeared +in Africa, and set going a movement which overflowed the African states +and made its way into Spain, where it subdued the Moslem kingdoms and +threatened the Christian states. These invaders were known as the +Almohades. They were pure Moors. The Arab movement had lost its strength, +and from that time forward the Moslem dominions in Spain were peopled +chiefly by Moors. + +Spain was threatened now as France had been threatened centuries before +when Charles Martel crushed the Arab hordes on the plains of Tours. All +Christendom felt the danger and Pope Innocent III. preached a crusade for +the defence of Spain against the infidel. In response, thousands of armed +crusaders flocked into Spain, coming in corps, in bands, and as +individuals, and gathered about Toledo, the capital of Alfonso VIII., King +of Castile. From all the surrounding nations they came, and camped in the +rich country about the capital, a host which Alfonso had much ado to feed. + +Mohammed An-Nassir, the emperor of the Almohades, responded to the effort +of the Pope by organizing a crusade in Moslem Africa. He proclaimed an +_Algihed_, or Holy War, ordered a massacre of all the Christians in his +dominions, and then led the fanatical murderers to Spain to join the +forces there in arms. Christian Europe was pitted against Moslem Africa in +a holy war, Spain the prize of victory, and the plains of Andalusia the +arena of the coming desperate strife. + +The decisive moment was at hand. Mohammed left Morocco and reached Seville +in June. His new levies were pouring into Spain in hosts. On the 21st of +June Alfonso began his advance, leading southward a splendid array. +Archbishops and bishops headed the army. In the van marched a mighty force +of fifty thousand men under Don Diego Lopez de Haro, ten thousand of them +being cavalry. After them came the troops of the kings of Aragon and +Castile, each a distinct army. Next came the knights of St. John of +Calatrava and the knights of Santiago, their grand-masters leading, and +after them many other bodies, including troops from Italy and Germany. +Such a gallant host Spain had rarely seen. It was needed, for the peril +was great. While one hundred thousand marched under the Christian banners, +the green standard of the prophet, if we may credit the historians, rose +before an army nearly four times as large. + + [Illustration: ALFONSO VIII. HARANGUING HIS TROOPS UPON THE EVE OF + BATTLE.] + + ALFONSO VIII. HARANGUING HIS TROOPS UPON THE EVE OF BATTLE. + + +Without dwelling on the events of the march, we may hasten forward to the +12th of July, when the host of Alfonso reached the vicinity of the Moorish +army, and the Navas de Tolosa, the destined field of battle, lay near at +hand. The word _navas_ means "plains." Here, on a sloping spur of the +Sierra Morena, in the upper valley of the Guadalquiver, about seventy +miles east of Cordova, lies an extended table-land, a grand plateau whose +somewhat sloping surface gave ample space for the vast hosts which met +there on that far-off July day. + +To reach the plateau was the problem before Alfonso. The Moslems held the +ground, and occupied in force the pass of Losa, Nature's highway to the +plain. What was to be done? The pass could be won, if at all, only at +great cost in life. No other pass was known. To retire would be to +inspirit the enemy and dispirit the Christian host. No easy way out of the +quandary at first appeared, but a way was found,--by miracle, the writers +of that time say; but it hardly seems a miracle that a shepherd of the +region knew of another mountain-pass. This man, Martin Halaja, had grazed +his flocks in that vicinity for years. He told the king of a pass unknown +to the enemy, by which the army might reach the table-land, and to prove +his words led Lopez de Haro and another through this little-known mountain +by-way. It was difficult but passable, the army was put in motion and +traversed it all night long, and on the morning of the 14th of July the +astonished eyes of the Mohammedans gazed on the Christian host, holding in +force the borders of the plateau, and momentarily increasing in numbers +and strength. Ten miles before the eyes of Alfonso and his men stretched +the plain, level in the centre, in the distance rising in gentle slopes to +its border of hills, like a vast natural amphitheatre. The soldiers, +filled with hope and enthusiasm, spread through their ranks the story that +the shepherd who had led them was an angel, sent by the Almighty to lead +his people to victory over the infidel. + +Mohammed and his men had been told on the previous day by their scouts +that the camp of the Christians was breaking up, and rejoiced in what +seemed a victory without a blow. But when they saw these same Christians +defiling in thousands before them on the plain, ranged in battle array +under their various standards, their joy was changed to rage and +consternation. Against the embattled front their wild riders rode, +threatening the steady troops with brandished lances and taunting them +with cowardice. But Alfonso held his mail-clad battalions firm, and the +light-armed Moorish horsemen hesitated to attack. Word was brought to +Mohammed that the Christians would not fight, and in hasty gratulation he +sent off letters to cities in the rear to that effect. He little dreamed +that he was soon to follow his messengers in swifter speed. + +It was a splendid array upon which the Christians gazed,--one well +calculated to make them tremble for the result,--for the hosts of Mohammed +covered the hill-sides and plain like "countless swarms of locusts." On an +eminence which gave an outlook over the whole broad space stood the +emperor's tent, of three-ply crimson velvet flecked with gold, strings of +pearls depending from its purple fringes. To guard it from assault rows of +iron chains were stretched, before which stood three thousand camels in +line. In front of these ten thousand negroes formed a living wall, their +front bristling with the steel of their lances, whose butts were planted +firmly in the sand. In the centre of this powerful guard stood the +emperor, wearing the green dress and turban of his ancestral line. +Grasping in one hand his scimitar, in the other he held a Koran, from +which he read those passages of inspiration to the Moslems which promised +the delights of Paradise to those who should fall in a holy war and the +torments of hell to the coward who should desert his ranks. + +The next day was Sunday. The Moslems, eager for battle, stood all day in +line, but the Christians declined to fight, occupying themselves in +arranging their different corps. Night descended without a skirmish. But +this could not continue with the two armies so closely face to face. One +side or the other must surely attack on the following day. At midnight +heralds called the Christians to mass and prayer. Everywhere priests were +busy confessing and shriving the soldiers. The sound of the furbishing of +arms mingled with the strains of religious service. At the dawn of the +next day both hosts were drawn up in battle array. The great struggle was +about to begin. + +The army of the Moors, said to contain three hundred thousand regular +troops and seventy-five thousand irregulars, was drawn up in crescent +shape in front of the imperial tent,--in the centre the vast host of the +Almohades, the tribes of the desert on the wings, in advance the +light-armed troops. The Christian host was formed in four legions, King +Alfonso occupying the centre, his banner bearing an effigy of the Virgin. +With him were Rodrigo Ximenes, the archbishop of Toledo, and many other +prelates. The force was less than one hundred thousand strong, some of the +crusaders having left it in the march. + +The sun was not high when the loud sound of the Christian trumpets and the +Moorish _atabals_ gave signal for the fray, and the two hosts surged +forward to meet in fierce assault. Sternly and fiercely the battle went +on, the struggling multitudes swaying in the ardor of the fight,--now the +Christians, now the Moslems surging forward or driven back. With +difficulty the thin ranks of the Christians bore the onsets of their +densely grouped foes, and at length King Alfonso, in fear for the result, +turned to the prelate Rodrigo and exclaimed,-- + +"Archbishop, you and I must die here." + +"Not so," cried the bold churchman. "Here we must triumph over our +enemies." + +"Then let us to the van, where we are sorely needed, for, indeed, our +lines are being bitterly pressed." + +Nothing backward, the archbishop followed the king. Fernan Garcia, one of +the king's cavaliers, urged him to wait for aid, but Alfonso, commending +himself to God and the Virgin, spurred forward and plunged into the thick +of the fight. And ever as he rode, by his side rode the archbishop, +wearing his chasuble and bearing aloft the cross. The Moorish troops, who +had been jeering at the king and the cross-bearing prelate, drew back +before this impetuous assault, which was given force by the troops who +crowded in to the rescue of the king. The Moors soon yielded to the +desperate onset, and were driven back in wild disarray. + +This was the beginning of the end. Treason in the Moorish ranks came to +the Christian aid. Some of Mohammed's force, who hated him for having +cruelly slain their chief, turned and fled. The breaking of their centre +opened a way for the Spaniards to the living fortress which guarded the +imperial tent, and on this dense line of sable lancers the Christian +cavalry madly charged. + +In vain they sought to break that serried line of steel. Some even turned +their horses and tried to back them in, but without avail. Many fell in +the attempt. The Moslem ranks seemed impervious. In the end one man did +what a host had failed to perform. A single cavalier, Alvar Nuñez de Lara, +stole in between the negroes and the camels, in some way passed the +chains, and with a cheer of triumph raised his banner in the interior of +the line. A second and a third followed in his track. The gap between the +camels and the guard widened. Dozens, hundreds rushed to join their daring +leader. The camels were loosened and dispersed; the negroes, attacked +front and rear, perished or fled; the living wall that guarded the emperor +was gone, and his sacred person was in peril. + +Mohammed was dazed. His lips still repeated from the Koran, "God alone is +true, and Satan is a betrayer," but terror was beginning to stir the roots +of his hair. An Arab rode up on a swift mare, and, springing to the +ground, cried,-- + +"Mount and flee, O king. Not thy steed but my mare. She comes of the +noblest breed, and knows not how to fail her rider in his need. All is +lost! Mount and flee!" + +All was lost, indeed. Mohammed scrambled up and set off at the best speed +of the Arabian steed, followed by his troops in a panic of terror. The +rout was complete. While day continued the Christian horsemen followed and +struck, until the bodies of slain Moors lay so thick upon the plain that +there was scarce room for man or horse to pass. Then Archbishop Rodrigo, +who had done so much towards the victory, stood before Mohammed's tent and +in a loud voice intoned the _Te Deum laudamus_, the soldiers uniting in +the sacred chant of victory. + +The archbishop, who became the historian of this decisive battle, speaks +of two hundred thousand Moslem slain. We cannot believe it so many, +despite the historian's statement. Twenty-five Christians alone fell. This +is as much too small as the other estimate is too large. But, whatever the +losses, it was a great and glorious victory, and the spoils of war that +fell to the victors were immense. Gold and silver were there in abundance; +horses, camels, and wagons in profusion; arms of all kinds, commissary +stores in quantities. So vast was the number of lances strewn on the +ground that the conquering army used only these for firewood in their +camp, and did not burn the half of them. + +King Alfonso, with a wise and prudent liberality, divided the spoil among +his troops and allies, keeping only the glory of the victory for himself. +Mohammed's splendid tent was taken to Rome to adorn St. Peter's, and the +captured banners were sent to the cities of Spain as evidences of the +great victory. For himself, the king reserved a fine emerald, which he +placed in the centre of his shield. Ever since that brilliant day in +Spanish annals, the sixteenth of July has been kept as a holy festival, in +which the captured banners are carried in grand procession, to celebrate +the "Triumph of the Cross." + +The supposed miracle of the shepherd was not the only one which the +monastic writers saw in the victorious event. It was said that a red +cross, like that of Calatrava, appeared in the sky, inspiriting the +Christians and dismaying their foes; and that the sight of the Virgin +banner borne by the king's standard-bearer struck the Moslems with terror. +It was a credulous age, one in which reputed miracles could be woven out +of the most homely and every-day material. + +Death soon came to the leaders in the war. Mohammed, sullen with defeat, +hurried to Morocco, where he shut himself up in gloomy seclusion, and +died--or was poisoned--before the year's end. Alfonso died two years later. +The Christians did not follow up their victory with much energy, and the +Moslems still held a large section of Spain, but their power had +culminated and with this signal defeat began its decline. Step by step +they yielded before the Christian advance, though nearly three centuries +more passed before they lost their final hold on Spain. + + + + + +THE KEY OF GRANADA. + + +Nearly eight hundred years had passed away after the landing of Tarik, the +Arab, in Spain and the defeat and death of Don Roderic, the last king of +the Goths. During those centuries the handful of warriors which in the +mountains of the north had made a final stand against the invading hordes +had grown and spread, pushing back the Arabs and Moors, until now the +Christians held again nearly all the land, the sole remnant of Moslem +dominion being the kingdom of Granada in the south. The map of Spain shows +the present province of Granada as a narrow district bordering on the +Mediterranean Sea, but the Moorish kingdom covered a wider space, +spreading over the present provinces of Malaga and Almeria, and occupying +one of the richest sections of Spain. It was a rock-bound region. In every +direction ran sierras, or rugged mountain-chains, so rocky and steep as to +make the kingdom almost impregnable. Yet within their sterile confines lay +numbers of deep and rich valleys, prodigal in their fertility. + +In the centre of the kingdom arose its famous capital, the populous and +beautiful city of Granada, standing in the midst of a great vega or plain, +one hundred miles and more in circumference and encompassed by the snowy +mountains of the Sierra Nevada. The seventy thousand houses of the city +spread over two lofty hills and occupied the valley between them, through +which ran the waters of the Douro. On one of these hills stood the +Alcazaba, a strong fortress; on the other rose the famous Alhambra, a +royal palace and castle, with space within its confines for forty thousand +men, and so rare and charming in its halls and courts, its gardens and +fountains, that it remains to-day a place of pilgrimage to the world for +lovers of the beautiful in architecture. And from these hills the city +between showed no less attractive, with its groves of citron, orange, and +pomegranate trees, its leaping fountains, its airy minarets, its mingled +aspect of crowded dwellings and verdant gardens. + +High walls, three leagues in circuit, with twelve gates and a thousand and +thirty towers, girded it round, beyond which extended the vega, a vast +garden of delight, to be compared only with the famous plain of Damascus. +Through it the Xenil wound in silvery curves, its waters spread over the +plain in thousands of irrigating streams and rills. Blooming gardens and +fields of waving grain lent beauty to the plain; orchards and vineyards +clothed the slopes of the hills; in the orange and citron groves the voice +of the nightingale made the nights musical. In short, all was so beautiful +below and so soft and serene above that the Moors seemed not without +warrant for their fond belief that Paradise lay in the skies overhanging +this happy plain. + +But, alas for Granada! war hung round its borders, and the blare of the +trumpet and clash of the sword were ever familiar sounds within its +confines. Christian kingdoms surrounded it, whose people envied the +Moslems this final abiding-place on the soil of Spain. Hostilities were +ceaseless on the borders; plundering forays were the delight of the +Castilian cavaliers and the Moorish horsemen. Every town was a fortress, +and on every peak stood a watch-tower, ready to give warning with a signal +fire by night or a cloud of smoke by day of any movement of invasion. For +many years such a state of affairs continued between Granada and its +principal antagonist, the united kingdoms of Castile and Leon. Even when, +in 1457, a Moorish king, disheartened by a foray into the vega itself, +made a truce with Henry IV., king of Castile and Leon, and agreed to pay +him an annual tribute, the right of warlike raids was kept open. It was +only required that they must be conducted secretly, without sound of +trumpet or show of banners, and must not continue more than three days. +Such a state of affairs was desired alike by the Castilian and Moorish +chivalry, who loved these displays of daring and gallantry, and enjoyed +nothing more than a crossing of swords with their foes. In 1465 a Moorish +prince, Muley Abul Hassan, a man who enjoyed war and hated the Christians, +came to the throne, and at once the tribute ceased to be paid. For some +years still the truce continued, for Ferdinand and Isabella, the new +monarchs of Spain, had troubles at home to keep them engaged. But in 1481 +the war reopened with more than its old fury, and was continued until +Granada fell in 1492, the year in which the wise Isabella gave aid to +Columbus for the discovery of an unknown world beyond the seas. + +The war for the conquest of Granada was one full of stirring adventure and +hair-breadth escapes, of forays and sieges, of the clash of swords and the +brandishing of spears. It was no longer fought by Spain on the principle +of the raid,--to dash in, kill, plunder, and speed away with clatter of +hoofs and rattle of spurs. It was Ferdinand's policy to take and hold, +capturing stronghold after stronghold until all Granada was his. In a +memorable pun on the name of Granada, which signifies a pomegranate, he +said, "I will pick out the seeds of this pomegranate one by one." + +Muley Abul Hassan, the new Moorish king, began the work, foolishly +breaking the truce which Ferdinand wished a pretext to bring to an end. On +a dark night in 1481 he fell suddenly on Zahara, a mountain town on the +Christian frontier, so strong in itself that it was carelessly guarded. It +was taken by surprise, its inhabitants were carried off as slaves, and a +strong Moorish garrison was left to hold it. + +The Moors paid dearly for their daring assault. The Christians retaliated +by an attack on the strong and rich city of Alhama, a stronghold within +the centre of the kingdom, only a few leagues distant from the capital +itself. Strongly situated on a rocky height, with a river nearly +surrounding it and a fortress seated on a steep crag above it, and far +within the border, no dream of danger to Alhama came to the mind of the +Moors, who contented themselves with a small garrison and a negligent +guard. + +But the loss of Zahara had exasperated Ferdinand. His wars at home were +over and he had time to attend to the Moors, and scouts had brought word +of the careless security of the guard of Alhama. It could be reached by a +difficult and little-travelled route through the defiles of the mountains, +and there were possibilities that a secret and rapid march might lead to +its surprise. + +At the head of the enterprise was Don Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, Marquis of +Cadiz, the most distinguished champion in the war that followed. With a +select force of three thousand light cavalry and four thousand infantry, +adherents of several nobles who attended the expedition, the mountains +were traversed with the greatest secrecy and celerity, the marches being +made mainly by night and the troops remaining quiet and concealed during +the day. No fires were made and no noise was permitted, and midnight of +the third day found the invaders in a small, deep valley not far from the +fated town. Only now were the troops told what was in view. They had +supposed that they were on an ordinary foray. The inspiring tidings filled +them with ardor, and they demanded to be led at once to the assault. + +Two hours before daybreak the army was placed in ambush close to Alhama, +and a body of three hundred picked men set out on the difficult task of +scaling the walls of the castle and surprising its garrison. The ascent +was steep and very difficult, but they were guided by one who had +carefully studied the situation on a previous secret visit and knew what +paths to take. Following him they reached the foot of the castle walls +without discovery. + +Here, under the dark shadow of the towers, they halted and listened. There +was not a sound to be heard, not a light to be seen; sleep seemed to brood +over castle and town. The ladders were placed and the men noiselessly +ascended, Ortega, the guide, going first. The parapet reached, they moved +stealthily along its summit until they came upon a sleepy sentinel. +Seizing him by the throat, Ortega flourished a dagger before his eyes and +bade him point the way to the guard-room. The frightened Moor obeyed, and +a dagger thrust ended all danger of his giving an alarm. In a minute more +the small scaling party was in the guard-room, massacring the sleeping +garrison, while the remainder of the three hundred were rapidly ascending +to the battlements. + +Some of the awakened Moors fought desperately for their lives, the clash +of arms and cries of the combatants came loudly from the castle, and the +ambushed army, finding that the surprise had been effective, rushed from +their lurking-place with shouts and the sound of trumpets and drums, +hoping thereby to increase the dismay of the garrison. Ortega at length +fought his way to a postern, which he threw open, admitting the Marquis of +Cadiz and a strong following, who quickly overcame all opposition, the +citadel being soon in full possession of the Christians. + +While this went on the town took the alarm. The garrison had been +destroyed in the citadel, but all the Moors, citizens and soldiers alike, +were accustomed to weapons and warlike in spirit, and, looking for speedy +aid from Granada, eight leagues away, the tradesmen manned the battlements +and discharged showers of stones and arrows upon the Christians wherever +visible. The streets leading to the citadel were barricaded, and a steady +fire was maintained upon its gate, all who attempted to sally into the +city being shot down. + +It began to appear as if the Spaniards had taken too great a risk. Their +peril was great. Unless they gained the town they must soon be starved out +of the castle. Some of them declared that they could not hope to hold the +town even if they took it, and proposed to sack and burn the castle and +make good their retreat before the king of Granada could reach them with +his forces. + +This weak-hearted counsel was not to the taste of the valiant Ponce de +Leon. "God has given us the castle," he said, "and He will aid us in +holding it. We won it with bloodshed; it would be a stain upon our honor +to abandon it through fear. We knew our peril before we came; let us face +it boldly." + +His words prevailed, and the army was led to the assault, planting their +scaling-ladders against the walls and swarming up to attack the Moors upon +the ramparts. The Marquis of Cadiz, finding that the gate of the castle +was commanded by the artillery of the town, ordered a breach to be made in +the wall; and through this, sword in hand, he led a body of troops into +the town. At the same time an assault was made from every point, and the +battle raged with the greatest fury at the ramparts and in the streets. + +The Moors, who fought for life, liberty, and property, defended themselves +with desperation, fighting in the streets and from the windows and roofs +of their houses. From morning until night the contest continued; then, +overpowered, the townsmen sought shelter in a large mosque near the walls, +whence they kept up so hot a flight of arrows and lances that the +assailants dared not approach. Finally, protected by bucklers and wooden +shields, some of the soldiers succeeded in setting fire to the door of the +mosque. As the flames rolled upward the Moors, deeming that all was lost, +rushed desperately out. Many of them were killed in this final fight; the +rest surrendered as prisoners. + +The struggle was at an end; the town lay at the mercy of the Spaniards; it +was given up to plunder, and immense was the booty taken. Gold and silver, +rare jewels, rich silks, and costly goods were found in abundance; horses +and cattle, grain, oil, and honey, all the productions of the kingdom, in +fact, were there in quantities; for Alhama was the richest town in the +Moorish territory, and from its strength and situation was called the Key +of Granada. The soldiers were not content with plunder. Thinking that they +could not hold the place, they destroyed all they could not carry away. +Huge jars of oil were shattered, costly furniture was demolished, much +material of the greatest value was destroyed. In the dungeons were found +many of the Christian captives who had been taken at Zahara, and who +gladly gained their freedom again. + +The loss of Alhama was a terrible blow to the kingdom of Granada. Terror +filled the citizens of the capital when the news reached that city. Sighs +and lamentations came from all sides, the mournful ejaculation, "Woe is +me, Alhama!" was in every mouth, and this afterwards became the burden of +a plaintive ballad, "_Ay de mi, Alhama_," which remains among the gems of +Spanish poetry. + +Abul Hassan, full of wrath at the daring presumption of his foes, hastened +at the head of more than fifty thousand men against the city, driving back +a force that was marching to the aid of the Christians, attacking the +walls with the fiercest fury, and cutting off the stream upon which the +city depended for water, thus threatening the defenders with death by +thirst. Yet, though in torments, they fought with unyielding desperation, +and held their own until the duke of Medina Sidonia, a bitter enemy of the +Marquis of Cadiz in peace, but his comrade in war, came with a large army +to his aid. King Ferdinand was hastening thither with all speed, and the +Moorish monarch, after a last fierce assault upon the city, broke up his +camp and retreated in despair. From that time to the end of the contest +the Christians held the "Key of Granada," a threatening stronghold in the +heart of the land, from which they raided the vega at will, and exhausted +the resources of the kingdom. "_Ay de mi, Alhama!_" + + + + + +KING ABUL HASSAN AND THE ALCAIDE OF GIBRALTAR. + + +Muley Abul Hassan, the warlike king of Granada, weary of having his lands +raided and his towns taken, resolved to repay the Christians in kind. The +Duke of Medina Sidonia had driven him from captured Alhama. He owed this +mighty noble a grudge, and the opportunity to repay it seemed at hand. The +duke had led his forces to the aid of King Ferdinand, who was making a +foray into Moorish territory. He had left almost unguarded his +far-spreading lands, wide pasture plains covered thickly with flocks and +herds and offering a rare opportunity for a hasty foray. + +"I will give this cavalier a lesson that will cure him of his love for +campaigning," said the fierce old king. + +Leaving his port of Malaga at the head of fifteen hundred horse and six +thousand foot, the Moorish monarch followed the sea-shore route to the +border of his dominions, entering Christian territory between Gibraltar +and Castellar. There was only one man in this quarter of whom he had any +fear. This was Pedro de Vargas, governor of Gibraltar, a shrewd and +vigilant old soldier, whose daring Abul Hassan well knew, but knew also +that his garrison was too small to serve for a successful sally. + +The alert Moor, however, advanced with great caution, sending out parties +to explore every pass where an ambush might await him, since, despite his +secrecy, the news of his coming might have gone before. At length the +broken country of Castellar was traversed and the plains were reached. +Encamping on the banks of the Celemin, he sent four hundred lancers to the +vicinity of Algeciras to keep a close watch upon Gibraltar across the bay, +to attack Pedro if he sallied out, and to send word to the camp if any +movement took place. This force was four times that said to be in +Gibraltar. Remaining on the Celemin with his main body of troops, King +Hassan sent two hundred horsemen to scour the plain of Tarifa, and as many +more to the lands of Medina Sidonia, the whole district being a rich +pasture land upon which thousands of animals grazed. + +All went well. The parties of foragers came in, driving vast flocks and +herds, enough to replace those which had been swept from the vega of +Granada by the foragers of Spain. The troops on watch at Algeciras sent +word that all was quiet at Gibraltar. Satisfied that for once Pedro de +Vargas had been foiled, the old king called in his detachments and started +back in triumph with his spoils. + +He was mistaken. The vigilant governor had been advised of his movements, +but was too weak in men to leave his post. Fortunately for him, a squadron +of the armed galleys in the strait put into port, and, their commander +agreeing to take charge of Gibraltar in his absence, Pedro sallied out at +midnight with seventy of his men, bent upon giving the Moors what trouble +he could. + +Sending men to the mountain-tops, he had alarm fires kindled as a signal +to the peasants that the Moors were out and their herds in peril. Couriers +were also despatched at speed to rouse the country and bid all capable of +bearing arms to rendezvous at Castellar, a stronghold which Abul Hassan +would have to pass on his return. The Moorish king saw the fire signals +and knew well what they meant. Striking his tents, he began as hasty a +retreat as his slow-moving multitude of animals would permit. In advance +rode two hundred and fifty of his bravest men. Then came the great drove +of cattle. In the rear marched the main army, with Abul Hassan at its +head. And thus they moved across the broken country towards Castellar. + +Near that place De Vargas was on the watch, a thick and lofty cloud of +dust revealing to him the position of the Moors. A half-league of hills +and declivities separated the van and the rear of the raiding column, a +long, dense forest rising between. De Vargas saw that they were in no +position to aid each other quickly, and that something might come of a +sudden and sharp attack. Selecting the best fifty of his small force, he +made a circuit towards a place which he knew to be suitable for ambush. +Here a narrow glen opened into a defile with high, steep sides. It was the +only route open to the Moors, and he proposed to let the vanguard and the +herds pass and fall upon the rear. + +The Moors, however, were on the alert. While the Spaniards lay hidden, six +mounted scouts entered the defile and rode into the mouth of the glen, +keenly looking to right and left for a concealed enemy. They came so near +that a minute or two more must reveal to them the ambush. + +"Let us kill these men and retreat to Gibraltar," said one of the +Spaniards; "the infidels are far too many for us." + +"I have come for larger game than this," answered De Vargas, "and, by the +aid of God and Santiago, I will not go back without making my mark. I know +these Moors, and will show you how they stand a sudden charge." + +The scouts were riding deeper into the glen. The ambush could no longer be +concealed. At a quick order from De Vargas ten horsemen rushed so suddenly +upon them that four of their number were in an instant hurled to the +ground. The other two wheeled and rode back at full speed, hotly pursued +by the ten men. Their dashing pace soon brought them in sight of the +vanguard of the Moors, from which about eighty horsemen rode out to the +aid of their friends. The Spaniards turned and clattered back, with this +force in sharp pursuit. In a minute or two both parties came at a furious +rush into the glen. + +This was what De Vargas had foreseen. Bidding his trumpeter to sound, he +dashed from his concealment at the head of his men, drawn up in close +array. They were upon the Moors almost before they were seen, their +weapons making havoc in the disordered ranks. The skirmish was short and +sharp. The Moors, taken by surprise, and thrown into confusion, fell +rapidly, their ranks being soon so thinned that scarce half of them turned +in the retreat. + +"After them!" cried De Vargas. "We will have a brush with the vanguard +before the rear can come up." + +Onward after the flying Moors rode the gallant fifty, coming with such +force and fury on the advance-guard that many were overturned in the first +shock. Those behind held their own with some firmness, but their leaders, +the alcaides of Marabella and Casares, being slain, the line gave way and +fled towards the rear-guard, passing through the droves of cattle, which +they threw into utter confusion. + +Nothing further could be done. The trampling cattle had filled the air +with a blinding cloud of dust. De Vargas was badly wounded. A few minutes +might bring up the Moorish king with an overwhelming force. Despoiling the +slain, and taking with them some thirty horses, the victorious Spaniards +rode in triumph back to Castellar. + +The Moorish king, hearing the exaggerated report of the fugitives, feared +that all Xeres was up and in arms. + +"Our road is blocked," cried some of his officers. "We had better abandon +the animals and seek another route for our return." + +"Not so," cried the old king; "no true soldier gives up his booty without +a blow. Follow me; we will have a brush with these dogs of Christians." + +In hot haste he galloped onward, right through the centre of the herd, +driving the cattle to right and left. On reaching the field of battle he +found no Spaniard in sight, but dozens of his own men lay dead and +despoiled, among them the two alcaides. The sight filled the warlike old +king with rage. Confident that his foes had taken refuge in Castellar, he +rode on to that place, set fire to two houses near its walls, and sent a +shower of arrows into its streets. Pedro de Vargas was past taking to +horse, but he ordered his men to make a sally, and a sharp skirmish took +place under the walls. In the end the king drew off to the scene of the +fight, buried the dead except the alcaides, whose bodies were laid on +mules to be interred at Malaga, and, gathering the scattered herds, drove +them past the walls of Castellar by way of taunting the Christian foe. + +Yet the stern old Moorish warrior could thoroughly appreciate valor and +daring even in an enemy. + +"What are the revenues of the alcaide of Gibraltar?" he asked of two +Christian captives he had taken. + +"We know not," they replied, "except that he is entitled to one animal out +of every drove of cattle that passes his bounds." + +"Then Allah forbid that so brave a cavalier should be defrauded of his +dues." + +He gave orders to select twelve of the finest cattle from the twelve +droves that formed the herd of spoil, and directed that they should be +delivered to Pedro de Vargas. + +"Tell him," said the king, "that I beg his pardon for not sending these +cattle sooner, but have just learned they are his dues, and hasten to +satisfy them in courtesy to so worthy a cavalier. Tell him, at the same +time, that I did not know the alcaide of Gibraltar was so vigilant in +collecting his tolls." + +The soldierly pleasantry of the old king was much to the taste of the +brave De Vargas, and called for a worthy return. He bade his men deliver a +rich silken vest and a scarlet mantle to the messenger, to be presented to +the Moorish king. + +"Tell his majesty," he said, "that I kiss his hands for the honor he has +done me, and regret that my scanty force was not fitted to give him a more +signal reception. Had three hundred horsemen, whom I have been promised +from Xeres, arrived in time, I might have served him up an entertainment +more befitting his station. They may arrive during the night, in which +case his majesty, the king, may look for a royal service in the morning." + +"Allah preserve us," cried the king, on receiving this message, "from a +brush with these hard riders of Xeres! A handful of troops familiar with +these wild mountain-passes may destroy an army encumbered like ours with +booty." + +It was a relief to the king to find that De Vargas was too sorely wounded +to take the field in person. A man like him at the head of an adequate +force might have given no end of trouble. During the day the retreat was +pushed with all speed, the herds being driven with such haste that they +were frequently broken and scattered among the mountain defiles, the +result being that more than five thousand cattle were lost, being gathered +up again by the Christians. + +The king returned triumphantly to Malaga with the remainder, rejoicing in +his triumph over the Duke of Medina Sidonia, and having taught King +Ferdinand that the game of ravaging an enemy's country was one at which +two could play. + + + + + +THE RIVAL KINGS OF GRANADA. + + +"In the hand of God is the destiny of princes. He alone giveth empire," +piously says an old Arabian chronicler, and goes on with the following +story: A Moorish horseman, mounted on a fleet Arabian steed, was one day +traversing the mountains which extend between Granada and the frontier of +Murcia. He galloped swiftly through the valleys, but paused and gazed +cautiously from the summit of every height. A squadron of cavaliers +followed warily at a distance. There were fifty lances. The richness of +their armor and attire showed them to be warriors of noble rank, and their +leader had a lofty and prince-like demeanor. + +For two nights and a day the cavalcade made its way through that rugged +country, avoiding settled places and choosing the most solitary passes of +the mountains. Their hardships were severe, but campaigning was their +trade and their horses were of generous spirit. It was midnight when they +left the hills and rode through darkness and silence to the city of +Granada, under the shadows of whose high walls they passed to the gate of +the Albaycin. Here the leader ordered his followers to halt and remain +concealed. Taking four or five with him, he advanced to the gate and +struck upon it with the handle of his scimitar. + +"Who is it knocks at this unseasonable hour of the night?" demanded the +warder within. + +"Your king," was the answer. "Open and admit him." + +Opening a wicket, the warder held forth a light and looked at the man +without. Recognizing him at a glance, he opened the gate, and the +cavalier, who had feared a less favorable reception, rode in with his +followers and galloped in haste to the hill of the Albaycin, where the +new-comers knocked loudly at the doors of the principal dwellings, bidding +their tenants to rise and take arms for their lawful sovereign. The +summons was obeyed. Trumpets soon resounded in the streets; the gleam of +torches lit the dark avenues and flashed upon naked steel. From right and +left the Moors came hurrying to the rendezvous. By daybreak the whole +force of the Albaycin was under arms, ready to meet in battle the hostile +array on the opposite height of the Alhambra. + +To tell what this midnight movement meant we must go back a space in +history. The conquest of Granada was not due to Ferdinand and the +Spaniards alone. It was greatly aided by the dissensions of the Moors, who +were divided into two parties and fought bitterly with each other during +their intervals of truce with the Christians. Ferdinand won in the game +largely by a shrewd playing off of one of these factions against the other +and by taking advantage of the weakness and vacillation of the young king, +whose clandestine entrance to the city we have just seen. + +Boabdil el Chico, or Boabdil the Young, as he was called, was the son of +Muley Abul Hassan, against whom he had rebelled, and with such effect +that, after a bloody battle in the streets of the city, the old king was +driven without its walls. His tyranny had caused the people to gather +round his son. + +From that time forward there was dissension and civil war in Granada, and +the quarrels of its kings paved the way for the downfall of the state. The +country was divided into the two factions of the young and the old kings. +In the city the hill of the Albaycin, with its fortress of the Alcazaba, +was the stronghold of Boabdil, while the partisans of Abul Hassan dwelt on +the height of the Alhambra, the lower town between being the battle-ground +of the rival factions. + +The succeeding events were many, but must be told in few words. King +Boabdil, to show his prowess to the people, marched over the border to +attack the city of Lucena. As a result he was himself assailed, his army +put to the rout, and himself taken prisoner by the forces of Ferdinand of +Aragon. To regain his liberty he acknowledged himself a vassal of the +Spanish monarch, to whom he agreed to pay tribute. On his release he made +his way to the city of Granada, but his adherents were so violently +assailed by those of his father that the streets of the city ran blood, +and Boabdil the Unlucky, as he was now called, found it advisable to leave +the capital and fix his residence in Almeria, a large and splendid city +whose people were devoted to him. + +As the years went on Muley Abul Hassan became sadly stricken with age. He +grew nearly blind and was bed-ridden with paralysis. His brother Abdallah, +known as El Zagal, or "The Valiant," commander-in-chief of the Moorish +armies, assumed his duties as a sovereign, and zealously took up the +quarrel with his son. He attempted to surprise the young king at Almeria, +drove him out as a fugitive, and took possession of that city. At a later +date he endeavored to remove him by poison. It was this attempt that +spurred Boabdil to the enterprise we have just described. El Zagal was now +full king in Granada, holding the Alhambra as his palace, and his nephew, +who had been a wanderer since his flight from Almeria, was instigated to +make a bold stroke for the throne. + +On the day after the secret return of Boabdil battle raged in the streets +of Granada, a fierce encounter taking place between the two kings in the +square before the principal mosque. Hand to hand they fought with the +greatest fury till separated by the charges of their followers. + +For days the conflict went on, death and turmoil ruling in Granada, such +hatred existing between the two factions that neither side gave quarter. +Boabdil was the weaker in men. Fearing defeat in consequence, he sent a +messenger to Don Fadrique de Toledo, the Christian commander on the +border, asking for assistance. Don Fadrique had been instructed by +Ferdinand to give what aid he could to the young king, the vassal of +Spain, and responded to Boabdil's request by marching with a body of +troops to the vicinity of Granada. No sooner had Boabdil seen their +advancing banners than he sallied forth with a squadron to meet them. El +Zagal, who was equally on the alert, sallied forth at the same time, and +drew up his troops in battle array. + +The wary Don Fadrique, in doubt as to the meaning of this double movement, +and fearing treachery, halted at a safe distance, and drew off for the +night to a secure situation. Early the next morning a Moorish cavalier +approached the sentinels and asked for an audience with Don Fadrique, as +an envoy from El Zagal. The Christian troops, he said on behalf of the old +king, had come to aid his nephew, but he was ready to offer them an +alliance on better terms than those of Boabdil. Don Fadrique listened +courteously to the envoy, but for better assurance, determined to send a +representative to El Zagal himself, under protection of a flag. For this +purpose he selected Don Juan de Vera, one of the most intrepid and +discreet of his cavaliers, who had in years before been sent by King +Ferdinand on a mission to the Alhambra. + +Don Juan, on reaching the palace, was well received by the old king, +holding an interview with him which extended so far into the night that it +was too late to return to camp, and he was lodged in a sumptuous apartment +of the Alhambra. In the morning he was approached by one of the Moorish +courtiers, a man given to jest and satire, who invited him to take part in +a ceremony in the palace mosque. This invitation, given in jest, was +received by the punctilious Catholic knight in earnest, and he replied, +with stern displeasure,-- + + [Illustration: KING CHARLES'S WELL, ALHAMBRA.] + + KING CHARLES'S WELL, ALHAMBRA. + + +"The servants of Queen Isabella of Castile, who bear on their armor the +cross of St. Iago, never enter the temples of Mohammed, except to level +them to the earth and trample on them." + +This discourteous reply was repeated by the courtier to a renegade, who, +having newly adopted the Moorish faith, was eager to show his devotion to +the Moslem creed, and proposed to engage the hot-tempered Catholic knight +in argument. Seeking Don Juan, they found him playing chess with the +alcaide of the palace, and the renegade at once began to comment on the +Christian religion in uncomplimentary terms. Don Juan was quick to anger, +but he restrained himself, and replied, with grave severity,-- + +"You would do well to cease talking about what you do not understand." + +The renegade and his jesting companion replied in a series of remarks +intended as wit, though full of insolence, Don Juan fuming inwardly as he +continued to play. In the end they went too far, the courtier making an +obscene comparison between the Virgin Mary and Amina, the mother of +Mohammed. In an instant the old knight sprang up, white with rage, and +dashing aside chess-board and chessmen. Drawing his sword, he dealt such a +"_hermosa cuchillada_" ("handsome slash") across the head of the offending +Moor as to stretch him bleeding on the floor. The renegade fled in terror, +rousing the echoes of the palace with his outcries and stirring up guards +and attendants, who rushed into the room where the irate Christian stood +sword in hand defying Mohammed and his hosts. The alarm quickly reached +the ears of the king, who hurried to the scene, his appearance at once +restoring order. On hearing from the alcaide the cause of the affray, he +acted with becoming dignity, ordering the guards from the room and +directing that the renegade should be severely punished for daring to +infringe the hospitality of the palace and insult an embassador. + +Don Juan, his quick fury evaporated, sheathed his sword, thanked the king +for his courtesy, and proposed a return to the camp. But this was not easy +of accomplishment. A garbled report of the tumult in the palace had spread +to the streets, where it was rumored that Christian spies had been +introduced into the palace with treasonable intent. In a brief time +hundreds of the populace were in arms and thronging about the gate of +Justice of the Alhambra, where they loudly demanded the death of all +Christians in the palace and of all who had introduced them. + +It was impossible for Don Juan to leave the palace by the route he had +followed on his arrival. The infuriated mob would have torn him to pieces. +But it was important that he should depart at once. All that El Zagal +could do was to furnish him with a disguise, a swift horse, and an escort, +and to let him out of the Alhambra by a private gate. This secret mode of +departure was not relished by the proud Spaniard, but life was just then +of more value than dignity, as he appreciated when, in Moorish dress, he +passed through crowds who were thirsting for his blood. A gate of the city +was at length reached, and Don Juan and his escort rode quietly out. But +he was no sooner on the open plain than he spurred his horse to its speed, +and did not draw rein until the banners of Don Fadrique waved above his +head. + +Don Fadrique heard with much approval of the boldness of his envoy. His +opinion of Don Juan's discretion he kept to himself. He rewarded him with +a valuable horse, and wrote a letter of thanks to El Zagal for his +protection to his emissary. Queen Isabella, on learning how stoutly the +knight had stood up for the chastity of the Blessed Virgin, was highly +delighted, and conferred several distinctions of honor upon the cavalier +besides presenting him with three hundred thousand maravedis. + +The outcome of the advances of the two kings was that Don Fadrique chose +Boabdil as his ally, and sent him a reinforcement of foot-soldiers and +arquebusiers. This introduction of Christians into the city rekindled the +flames of war, and it continued to rage in the streets for the space of +fifty days. + +The result of the struggle between the two kings may be briefly told. +While they contended for supremacy Ferdinand of Aragon invaded their +kingdom with a large army and marched upon the great seaport of Malaga. El +Zagal sought an accommodation with Boabdil, that they might unite their +forces against the common foe, but the short-sighted young man spurned his +overtures with disdain. El Zagal then, the better patriot of the two, +marched himself against the Christian host, hoping to surprise them in the +passes of the mountains and perhaps capture King Ferdinand himself. +Unluckily for him, his well-laid plan was discovered by the Christians, +who attacked and defeated him, his troops flying in uncontrollable +disorder. + +The news of this disaster reached Granada before him and infuriated the +people, who closed their gates and threatened the defeated king from the +walls. Nothing remained to El Zagal but to march to Almeria and establish +his court in that city in which Boabdil had formerly reigned. Thus the +positions of the rival kings became reversed. From that time forward the +kingdom of Granada was divided into two, and the work of conquest by the +Christians was correspondingly reduced. + + + + + +THE KNIGHT OF THE EXPLOITS. + + +The dull monotony of sieges, of which there were many during the war with +Granada, was little to the taste of the valorous Spanish cavaliers. They +burned for adventure, and were ever ready for daring exploits, the more +welcome the more dangerous they promised to be. One day during the siege +of Baza, a strong city in El Zagal's dominions, two of these spirited +young cavaliers, Francisco de Bazan and Antonio de Cueva, were seated on +the ramparts of the siege works, bewailing the dull life to which they +were confined. They were overheard by a veteran scout, who was familiar +with the surrounding country. + +"Señors," he said, "if you pine for peril and profit and are eager to +pluck the beard of the fiery old Moorish king, I can lead you where you +will have a fine opportunity to prove your valor. There are certain +hamlets not far from the walls of El Zagal's city of Guadix where rich +booty awaits the daring raider. I can lead you there by a way that will +enable you to take them by surprise; and if you are as cool in the head as +you are hot in the spur you may bear off spoils from under the very eyes +of the king of the Moors." + +He had struck the right vein. The youths were at once hot for the +enterprise. To win booty from the very gates of Guadix was a stirring +scheme, and they quickly found others of their age as eager as themselves +for the daring adventure. In a short time they had enrolled a body of +nearly three hundred horse and two hundred foot, well armed and equipped, +and every man of them ready for the road. + +The force obtained, the raiders left the camp early one evening, keeping +their destination secret, and made their way by starlight through the +mountain passes, led by the _adalid_, or guide. Pressing rapidly onward by +day and night, they reached the hamlets one morning just before daybreak, +and fell on them suddenly, making prisoners of the inhabitants, sacking +the houses, and sweeping the fields of their grazing herds. Then, without +taking a moment to rest, they set out with all speed for the mountains, +which they hoped to reach before the country could be roused. + +Several of the herdsmen had escaped and fled to Guadix, where they told El +Zagal of the daring ravage. Wild with rage at the insult, the old king at +once sent out six hundred of his choicest horse and foot, with orders for +swift pursuit, bidding them to recover the booty and bring him as +prisoners the insolent marauders. The Christians, weary with their two +days and nights of hard marching, were driving the captured cattle and +sheep up a mountainside, when, looking back, they saw a great cloud of +dust upon their trail. Soon they discerned the turbaned host, evidently +superior to them in number, and man and horse in fresh condition. + +"They are too much for us," cried some of the horsemen. "It would be +madness in our worn-out state to face a fresh force of that number. We +shall have to let the cattle go and seek safety in flight." + +"What!" cried Antonio and Francisco, their leaders; "abandon our prey +without a blow? Desert our foot-soldiers and leave them to the enemy? Did +any of you think El Zagal would let us off without a brush? You do not +give good Spanish counsel, for every soldier knows that there is less +danger in presenting our faces than our backs to the foe, and fewer men +are killed in a brave advance than in a cowardly retreat." + +Some of the cavaliers were affected by these words, but the mass of the +party were chance volunteers, who received no pay and had nothing to gain +by risking their lives. Consequently, as the enemy came near, the +diversity of opinions grew into a tumult, and confusion reigned. The +captains ordered the standard-bearer to advance against the Moors, +confident that any true soldiers would follow his banner. He hesitated to +obey; the turmoil increased; in a moment more the horsemen might be in +full flight. + +At this critical juncture a horseman of the royal guards rode forward,--the +good knight Hernan Perez del Pulgar, governor of the fortress of Salar. +Taking off the handkerchief which, in the Andalusian fashion, he wore +round his head, he tied it to a lance and raised it in the air. + +"Comrades," he cried, "why do you load yourself with arms if you trust for +safety to your feet? We shall see who among you are the brave men and who +are the cowards. If it is a standard you want, here is mine. Let the man +who has the heart to fight follow this handkerchief." + +Waving his improvised banner, he spurred against the Moors. Many followed +him. Those who at first held back soon joined the advance. With one accord +the whole body rushed with shouts upon the enemy. The Moors, who were now +close at hand, were seized with surprise and alarm at this sudden charge. +The foremost files turned and fled in panic, followed by the others, and +pursued by the Christians, who cut them down without a blow in return. +Soon the whole body was in full flight. Several hundred of the Moors were +killed and their bodies despoiled, many were taken prisoners, and the +Christians returned in triumph to the army, driving their long array of +cattle and sheep and of mules laden with booty, and bearing in their front +the standard under which they had fought. + +King Ferdinand was so delighted with this exploit, and in particular with +the gallant action of Perez del Pulgar, that he conferred knighthood upon +the latter with much ceremony, and authorized him to bear upon his +escutcheon a golden lion in an azure field, showing a lance with a +handkerchief at its point. Round its border were to be depicted the eleven +alcaides defeated in the battle. This heroic deed was followed by so many +others during the wars with the Moors that Perez del Pulgar became in time +known by the flattering appellation of "He of the exploits." + +The most famous exploit of this daring knight took place during the siege +of Granada,--the final operation of the long war. Here single combats and +minor skirmishes between Christian and Moorish cavaliers were of almost +daily occurrence, until Ferdinand strictly forbade all such tilts, as he +saw that they gave zeal and courage to the Moors, and were attended with +considerable loss of life among his bravest followers. + +This edict of the king was very distasteful to the fiery Moorish knights, +who declared that the crafty Christian wished to destroy chivalry and put +an end to heroic valor. They did their best to provoke the Spanish knights +to combat, galloping on their fleet steeds close to the borders of the +camp and hurling their lances over the barriers, each lance bearing the +name of its owner with some defiant message. But despite the irritation +caused by these insults to the Spanish knights, none of them ventured to +disobey the mandate of the king. + +Chief among these Moorish cavaliers was one named Tarfe, a man of fierce +and daring spirit and a giant in size, who sought to surpass his fellows +in acts of audacity. In one of his sallies towards the Christian camp this +bold cavalier leaped his steed over the barrier, galloped inward close to +the royal quarters, and launched his spear with such strength that it +quivered in the earth close to the tents of the sovereigns. The royal +guards rushed out, but Tarfe was already far away, scouring the plain on +his swift Barbary steed. On examining the lance it was found to bear a +label indicating that it was intended for the queen, who was present in +the camp. + +This bravado and the insult offered Queen Isabella excited the highest +indignation among the Christian warriors. "Shall we let this insolent +fellow outdo us?" said Perez del Pulgar, who was present. "I propose to +teach these insolent Moors a lesson. Who will stand by me in an enterprise +of desperate peril?" The warriors knew Pulgar well enough to be sure that +his promise of peril was likely to be kept, yet all who heard him were +ready to volunteer. Out of them he chose fifteen,--men whom he knew he +could trust for strength of arm and valor of heart. + +His proposed enterprise was indeed a perilous one. A Moorish renegade had +agreed to guide him into the city by a secret pass. Once within, they were +to set fire to the Alcaiceria and others of the principal buildings, and +then escape as best they could. + +At dead of night they set out, provided with the necessary combustibles. +Their guide led them up a channel of the river Darro, until they halted +under a bridge near the royal gate. Here Pulgar stationed six of his +followers on guard, bidding them to keep silent and motionless. With the +others he made his way up a drain of the stream which passed under a part +of the city and opened into the streets. All was dark and silent. Not a +soul moved. The renegade, at the command of Pulgar, led the adventurers to +the principal mosque. Here the pious cavalier drew from under his cloak a +parchment inscribed in large letters with AVE MARIA, and nailed this to +the door of the mosque, thus dedicating the heathen temple to the Virgin +Mary. + +They now hurried to the Alcaiceria, where the combustibles were placed +ready to fire. Not until this moment was it discovered that the +torch-bearer had carelessly left his torch at the door of the mosque. It +was too late to return. Pulgar sought to strike fire with flint and steel, +but while doing so the Moorish guard came upon them in its rounds. Drawing +his sword and followed by his comrades, the bold Spaniard made a fierce +assault upon the astonished Moors, quickly putting them to flight. But the +enterprise was at an end. The alarm was given and soldiers were soon +hurrying in every direction through the streets. Guided by the renegade, +Pulgar and his companions hastened to the drain by which they had entered, +plunged into it, and reached their companions under the bridge. Here +mounting their horses, they rode back to the camp. + +The Moors were at a loss to imagine the purpose of this apparently +fruitless enterprise, but wild was their exasperation the next morning +when they found the "Ave Maria" on the door of a mosque in the centre of +their city. The mosque thus sanctified by Perez del Pulgar was actually +converted into a Christian cathedral after the capture of the city. + +We have yet to describe the sequel of this exploit. On the succeeding day +a powerful train left the Christian camp and advanced towards the city +walls. In its centre were the king and queen, the prince and princesses, +and the ladies of the court, surrounded by the royal body-guard,--a richly +dressed troop, composed of the sons of the most illustrious families of +Spain. The Moors gazed with wonder upon this rare pageant, which moved in +glittering array across the vega to the sound of martial music; a host +brilliant with banners and plumes, shining arms and shimmering silks, for +the court and the army moved there hand in hand. Queen Isabella had +expressed a wish to see, nearer at hand, a city whose beauty was of +world-wide renown, and the Marquis of Cadiz had drawn out this powerful +escort that she might be gratified in her desire. The queen had her wish, +but hundreds of men died that she might be pleased. + +While the royal dame and her ladies were gazing with delight on the red +towers of the Alhambra, rising in rich contrast through the green verdure +of their groves, a large force of Moorish cavalry poured from the city +gates, ready to accept the gage of battle which the Christians seemed to +offer. The first to come were a host of richly armed and gayly attired +light cavalry, mounted on fleet and fiery Barbary steeds. Heavily armed +cavalry followed, and then a strong force of foot-soldiers, until an army +was drawn up on the plain. Queen Isabella saw this display with disquiet, +and forbade an attack upon the enemy, or even a skirmish, as it would pain +her if a single warrior should lose his life through the indulgence of her +curiosity. + +As a result, though the daring Moorish horsemen rode fleetly along the +Christian front, brandishing their lances, and defying the cavaliers to +mortal combat, not a Spaniard stirred. The cavaliers were under the eyes +of Ferdinand, by whom such duels had been strictly forbidden. At length, +however, they were incensed beyond their powers of resistance. Forth from +the city rode a stalwart Moorish horseman, clad in steel armor, and +bearing a huge buckler and a ponderous lance. His device showed him to be +the giant warrior Tarfe, the daring infidel who had flung his lance at the +queen's tent. As he rode out he was followed by the shouts and laughter of +a mob, and when he came within full view of the Spanish army the cavaliers +saw, with indignant horror, tied to his horse's tail and dragging in the +dust, the parchment with its inscription of "Ave Maria" which Hernan Perez +del Pulgar had nailed to the door of the mosque. + +This insult was more than Castilian flesh and blood could bear. Hernan was +not present to maintain his deed, but Garcilasso de la Vega, one of the +young companions of his exploit, galloped to the king and earnestly begged +permission to avenge the degrading insult to their holy faith. The king, +who was as indignant as the knight, gave the desired permission, and +Garcilasso, closing his visor and grasping his spear, rode out before the +ranks and defied the Moor to combat to the death. + +Tarfe asked nothing better, and an exciting passage at arms took place on +the plain with the two armies as witnesses. Tarfe was the stronger of the +two, and the more completely armed. He was skilled in the use of his +weapons and dexterous in managing his horse, and the Christians trembled +for their champion. + +The warriors met in mid career with a furious shock. Their lances were +shivered, and Garcilasso was borne back in his saddle. But his horse +wheeled away and he was quickly firm in his seat again, sword in hand. +Sword against scimitar, the combatants returned to the encounter. The Moor +rode a trained horse, that obeyed his every signal. Round the Christian he +circled, seeking some opening for a blow. But the smaller size of +Garcilasso was made equal by greater agility. Now he parried a blow with +his sword, now he received a furious stroke on his shield. Each of the +combatants before many minutes felt the edge of the steel, and their blood +began to flow. + +At length the Moor, thinking his antagonist exhausted, rushed in and +grappled with him, using all his force to fling him from his horse. +Garcilasso grasped him in return with all his strength, and they fell +together to the earth, the Moor uppermost. Placing his knee on the breast +of the Spaniard, Tarfe drew his dagger and brandished it above his throat. +Terror filled the Christian ranks; a shout of triumph rose from those of +the Moors. But suddenly Tarfe was seen to loosen his grasp and roll over +in the dust. Garcilasso had shortened his sword and, as Tarfe raised his +arm, had struck him to the heart. + +The rules of chivalry were rigidly observed. No one interfered on either +side. Garcilasso despoiled his victim, raised the inscription "Ave Maria" +on the point of his sword, and bore it triumphantly back, amid shouts of +triumph from the Christian army. + +By this time the passions of the Moors were so excited that they could not +be restrained. They made a furious charge upon the Spanish host, driving +in its advanced ranks. The word to attack was given the Spaniards in +return, the war-cry "Santiago!" rang along the line, and in a short time +both armies were locked in furious combat. The affair ended in a repulse +of the Moors, the foot-soldiers taking to flight, and the cavalry vainly +endeavoring to rally them. They were pursued to the gates of the city, +more than two thousand of them being killed, wounded, or taken prisoners +in "the queen's skirmish," as the affair came to be called. + + + + + +THE LAST SIGH OF THE MOOR. + + +In 1492, nearly eight centuries after the conquest of Spain by the Arabs, +their dominion ended in the surrender of the city of Granada by King +Boabdil to the army of Ferdinand and Isabella. The empire of the Arab +Moors had shrunk, year by year and century by century, before the steady +advance of the Christians, until only the small kingdom of Granada +remained. This, distracted by anarchy within and assailed by King +Ferdinand with all the arts of statecraft and all the strength of arms, +gradually decreased in dimensions, city after city, district after +district, being lost, until only the single city of Granada remained. + +This populous and powerful city would have proved very difficult to take +by the ordinary methods of war, and could only have been subdued with +great loss of life and expenditure of treasure. Ferdinand assailed it by a +less costly and more exasperating method. Granada subsisted on the broad +and fertile vega or plain surrounding it, a region marvellously productive +in grain and fruits and rich in cattle and sheep. It was a cold-blooded +and cruel system adopted by the Spanish monarch. He assailed the city +through the vega. Disregarding the city, he marched his army into the +plain at the time of harvest and so thoroughly destroyed its growing crops +that the smiling and verdant expanse was left a scene of frightful +desolation. This was not accomplished without sharp reprisals by the +Moors, but the Spaniard persisted until he had converted the fruitful +paradise into a hopeless desert, and then marched away, leaving the +citizens to a winter of despair. + +The next year he came again, encamped his army near the city, destroyed +what little verdure remained near its walls, and waited calmly until +famine and anarchy should force the citizens to yield. He attempted no +siege. It was not necessary. He could safely trust to his terrible allies. +The crowded city held out desperately while the summer passed and autumn +moved on to winter's verge, and then, with famine stalking through their +streets and invading their homes, but one resource remained to the +citizens,--surrender. + +Ferdinand did not wish to distress too deeply the unhappy people. To +obtain possession of the city on any terms was the one thought then in his +mind. Harshness could come later, if necessary. Therefore, on the 25th of +November, 1492, articles of capitulation were signed, under which the +Moors of Granada were to retain all their possessions, be protected in +their religious exercises, and governed by their own laws, which were to +be administered by their own officials; the one unwelcome proviso being +that they should become subjects of Spain. To Boabdil were secured all his +rich estates and the patrimony of the crown, while he was to receive in +addition thirty thousand castellanos in gold. Excellent terms, one would +say, in view of the fact that Granada was at the mercy of Ferdinand, and +might soon have been obliged to surrender unconditionally. + +On the night preceding the surrender doleful lamentations filled the halls +of the Alhambra, for the household of Boabdil were bidding a last farewell +to that delightful abode. The most precious effects were hastily packed +upon mules, and with tears and wailings the rich hangings and ornaments of +the beautiful apartments were removed. Day had not yet dawned when a +sorrowful cavalcade moved through an obscure postern gate of the palace +and wound through a retired quarter of the city. It was the family of the +deposed monarch, which he had sent off thus early to save them from +possible scoffs and insults. + +The sun had barely risen when three signal-guns boomed from the heights of +the Alhambra, and the Christian army began its march across the vega. To +spare the feelings of the citizens it was decided that the city should not +be entered by its usual gates, and a special road had been opened leading +to the Alhambra. + +At the head of the procession moved the king and queen, with the prince +and princesses and the dignitaries and ladies of the court, attended by +the royal guards in their rich array. This cortege halted at the village +of Armilla, a league and a half from the city. Meanwhile, Don Pedro +Gonzalez de Mendoza, Grand Cardinal of Spain, with an escort of three +thousand foot and a troop of cavalry, proceeded towards the Alhambra to +take possession of that noblest work of the Moors. At their approach +Boabdil left the palace by a postern gate attended by fifty cavaliers, and +advanced to meet the grand cardinal, whom, in words of mournful +renunciation, he bade to take possession of the royal fortress of the +Moors. Then he passed sadly onward to meet the sovereigns of Spain, who +had halted awaiting his approach, while the army stood drawn up on the +broad plain. + +As the Spaniards waited in anxious hope, all eyes fixed on the Alhambra +heights, they saw the silver cross, the great standard of this crusade, +rise upon the great watch-tower, where it sparkled in the sunbeams, while +beside it floated the pennon of St. James, at sight of which a great shout +of "Santiago! Santiago!" rose from the awaiting host. Next rose the royal +standard, amid resounding cries of "Castile! Castile! For King Ferdinand +and Queen Isabella." The sovereigns sank upon their knees, giving thanks +to God for their great victory, the whole army followed their example, and +the choristers of the royal chapel broke forth into the solemn anthem of +"_Te Deum laudamus_." + +Ferdinand now advanced to a point near the banks of the Xenil, where he +was met by the unfortunate Boabdil. As the Moorish king approached he made +a movement to dismount, which Ferdinand prevented. He then offered to kiss +the king's hand. This homage also, as previously arranged, was declined, +whereupon Boabdil leaned forward and kissed the king's right arm. He then +with a resigned mien delivered the keys of the city. + +"These keys," he said, "are the last relics of the Arabian empire in +Spain. Thine, O king, are our trophies, our kingdom, and our person. Such +is the will of God! Receive them with the clemency thou hast promised, and +which we look for at thy hands." + + [Illustration: MOORISH KING PAYING HOMAGE TO THE KING OF CASTILE.] + + MOORISH KING PAYING HOMAGE TO THE KING OF CASTILE. + + +"Doubt not our promises," said Ferdinand, kindly, "nor that thou shalt +regain from our friendship the prosperity of which the fortune of war has +deprived thee." + +Then drawing from his finger a gold ring set with a precious stone, +Boabdil presented it to the Count of Tendilla, who, he was informed, was +to be governor of the city, saying,-- + +"With this ring Granada has been governed. Take it and govern with it, and +God make you more fortunate than I." + +He then proceeded to the village of Armilla, where Queen Isabella +remained. She received him with the utmost courtesy and graciousness, and +delivered to him his son, who had been held as a hostage for the +fulfilment of the capitulation. Boabdil pressed the child tenderly to his +bosom, and moved on until he had joined his family, from whom and their +attendants the shouts and strains of music of the victorious army drew +tears and moans. + +At length the weeping train reached the summit of an eminence about two +leagues distant which commanded the last view of Granada. Here they paused +for a look of farewell at the beautiful and beloved city, whose towers and +minarets gleamed brightly before them in the sunshine. While they still +gazed a peal of artillery, faint with distance, told them that the city +was taken possession of and was lost to the Moorish kings forever. Boabdil +could no longer contain himself. + +"Allah achbar! God is great!" he murmured, tears accompanying his words of +resignation. + +His mother, a woman of intrepid soul, was indignant at this display of +weakness. + +"You do well," she cried, "to weep like a woman for what you failed to +defend like a man." + +Others strove to console the king, but his tears were not to be +restrained. + +"Allah achbar!" he exclaimed again; "when did misfortunes ever equal +mine?" + +The hill where this took place afterwards became known as Feg Allah +Achbar; but the point of view where Boabdil obtained the last prospect of +Granada is called by the Spaniards "_El ultimo suspiro del Moro_" or "The +last sigh of the Moor." + +As Boabdil thus took his last look at beautiful Granada, it behooves us to +take a final backward glance at Arabian Spain, from whose history we have +drawn so much of interest and romance. In this hospitable realm +civilization dwelt when few traces of it existed elsewhere. Here luxury +reigned while barbarism prevailed widely in Europe. We are told that in +Cordova a man might walk ten miles by the light of the public lamps, while +centuries afterwards there was not a single public lamp in London streets. +Its avenues were solidly paved, while centuries afterwards the people of +Paris, on rainy days, stepped from their door-sills into mud ankle-deep. +The dwellings were marked by beauty and luxury, while the people of +Europe, as a rule in that semi-barbaric period, dwelt in miserable huts, +dressed in leather, and lived on the rudest and least nutritive food. + +The rulers of France, England, and Germany lived in rude buildings without +chimneys or windows, with a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape, at a +time when the royal halls of Arabian Spain were visions of grace and +beauty. The residences of the Arabs had marble balconies overhanging +orange-gardens; their floors and walls were frequently of rich and +graceful mosaic; fountains gushed in their courts, quicksilver often +taking the place of water, and falling in a glistening spray. In summer +cool air was drawn into the apartments through ventilating towers; in +winter warm and perfumed air was discharged through hidden passages. From +the ceilings, corniced with fretted gold, great chandeliers hung. Here +were clusters of frail marble columns, which, in the boudoirs of the +sultanas, gave way to verd-antique incrusted with lapis lazuli. The +furniture was of sandal- or citron-wood, richly inlaid with gold, silver, +or precious minerals. Tapestry hid the walls, Persian carpets covered the +floors, pillows and couches of elegant forms were spread about the rooms. +Great care was given to bathing and personal cleanliness at a time when +such a thought had not dawned upon Christian Europe. Their +pleasure-gardens were of unequalled beauty, and were rich with flowers and +fruits. In short, in this brief space it is impossible to give more than a +bare outline of the marvellous luxury which surrounded this people, +recently come from the deserts of Arabia, at a time when most of the +remainder of Europe was plunged into the rudest barbarism. + +Much might be said of their libraries, their universities, their scholars +and scientists, and the magnificence of their architecture, of which +abundant examples still remain in the cities of Spain, the Alhambra of +Granada, the palace which Boabdil so reluctantly left, being almost +without an equal for lightness, grace, and architectural beauty in the +cities of the world. Well might the dethroned monarch look back with +bitter regret upon this rarest monument of the Arabian civilization and +give vent, in farewell to its far-seen towers, to "The last sigh of the +Moor." + + + + + +THE RETURN OF COLUMBUS. + + +In the spring succeeding the fall of Granada there came to Spain a glory +and renown that made her the envy of all the nations of Europe. During the +year before an Italian mariner, Christopher Columbus by name, after long +haunting the camp and court of Ferdinand and Isabella, had been sent out +with a meagre expedition in the forlorn hope of discovering new lands +beyond the seas. In March, 1493, extraordinary tidings spread through the +kingdom and reached the ears of the monarchs at their court in Barcelona. +The tidings were that the poor and despised mariner had returned to Palos +with wonderful tales of the discovery of a vast, rich realm beyond the +seas,--a mighty new empire for Spain. + +The marvellous news set the whole kingdom wild with joy. The ringing of +bells and solemn thanksgivings welcomed Columbus at the port from which he +had set sail. On his journey to the king's court his progress was impeded +by the multitudes who thronged to see the suddenly famous man,--the humble +mariner who had discovered for Spain what every one already spoke of as a +"New World." With him he brought several of the bronze-hued natives of +that far land, dressed in their simple island costume, and decorated, as +they passed through the principal cities, with collars, bracelets, and +other ornaments of gold. He exhibited, also, gold in dust and in shapeless +masses, many new plants, some of them of high medicinal value, several +animals never before seen in Europe, and birds whose brilliant plumage +attracted glances of delight from all eyes. + +It was mid-April when Columbus reached Barcelona. The nobility and knights +of the court met him in splendid array and escorted him to the royal +presence through the admiring throngs that filled the streets. Ferdinand +and Isabella, with their son, Prince John, awaited his arrival seated +under a superb canopy of state. On the approach of the discoverer they +rose and extended their hands to him to kiss, not suffering him to kneel +in homage. Instead, they bade him seat himself before them,--a mark of +condescension to a person of his rank unknown before in the haughty court +of Castile. He was, at that moment, "the man whom the king delighted to +honor," and it was the proudest period in his life when, having proved +triumphantly all for which he had so long contended, he was honored as the +equal of the proud monarchs of Spain. + +At the request of the sovereigns Columbus gave them a brief account of his +adventures, in a dignified tone, that warmed with enthusiasm as he +proceeded. He described the various tropical islands he had landed upon, +spoke with favor of their delightful climate and the fertility of their +soil, and exhibited the specimens he had brought as examples of their +fruitfulness. He dwelt still more fully upon their wealth in the precious +metals, of which he had been assured by the natives, and offered the gold +he brought with him as evidence. Lastly, he expatiated on the opportunity +offered for the extension of the Christian religion through lands populous +with pagans,--a suggestion which appealed strongly to the Spanish heart. +When he ceased the king and queen, with all present, threw themselves on +their knees and gave thanks to God, while the solemn strains of the _Te +Deum_ were poured forth by the choir of the royal chapel. + + [Illustration: RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.] + + RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. + + +Throughout his residence in Barcelona Columbus continued to receive the +most honorable distinction from the Spanish sovereigns. When Ferdinand +rode abroad the admiral rode by his side. Isabella, the true promoter of +his expedition, treated him with the most gracious consideration. The +courtiers, emulating their sovereigns, gave frequent entertainments in his +honor, treating him with the punctilious deference usually shown only to a +noble of the highest rank. It cannot be said, however, that envy at the +high distinction shown this lately obscure and penniless adventurer was +quite concealed, and at one of these entertainments is said to have taken +place the famous episode of the egg. + +A courtier of shallow wit, with the purpose of throwing discredit on the +achievement of Columbus, intimated that it was not so great an exploit +after all; all that was necessary was to sail west a certain number of +days; the lands lay there waiting to be discovered. Were there not other +men in Spain, he asked, capable of this? + +The response of Columbus was to take an egg and ask those present to make +it stand upright on its end. After they had tried and failed he struck the +egg on the table, cracking the shell and giving it a base on which to +stand. + +"But anybody could do that!" cried the critic. + +"Yes; and anybody can become a discoverer when once he has been shown the +way," retorted Columbus. "It is easy to follow in a known track." + +By this time all Europe had heard of the brilliant discovery of the +Genoese mariner, and everywhere admiration at his achievement and interest +in its results were manifested. Europe had never been so excited by any +single event. The world was found to be larger than had been dreamed of, +and it was evident that hundreds of new things remained to be known. Word +came to Barcelona that King John of Portugal was equipping a large +armament to obtain a share of the new realms in the west, and all haste +was made to anticipate this dangerous rival by sending Columbus again to +the New World. + +On the 25th of September, 1493, he set sail with a gallant armament, which +quite threw into the shade his three humble caravels of the year before. +It consisted of seventeen vessels, some of them of large size for that +day, and fifteen hundred souls, including several persons of rank, and +members of the royal household. Many of those that had taken part in the +Moorish war, stimulated by the love of adventure, were to win fame in the +coming years in the conquest of the alluring realms of the West, and the +earliest of these sailed now under the banner of the Great Admiral. + +The story of Columbus is too familiar to readers for more to be said of it +here. It was one in which the boasted honor of the Spanish court was +replaced by injustice and lack of good faith. Envy and malice surrounded +the discoverer, and in 1500 he was sent home in chains by an infamous +governor. The king, roused by a strong display of public indignation, +disavowed the base act of his agent, and received Columbus again with a +show of favor, but failed to reinstate him in the office of which he had +been unjustly deprived. The discoverer of America died at Valladolid in +1506, giving directions that the fetters which he had once worn, and which +he had kept as evidence of Spanish ingratitude, should be buried with him. + + + + + +PETER THE CRUEL AND THE FREE COMPANIES. + + +About the middle of the year 1365 a formidable expedition set out from +France for the invasion of Castile. It consisted of the celebrated Free +Companies, marauding bands of French and English knights and archers whose +allegiance was to the sword, and who, having laid waste France, now sought +fresh prey in Spain. Valiant and daring were these reckless freebooters, +bred to war, living on rapine, battle their delight, revel their +relaxation. For years the French and English Free Companies had been +enemies. Now a truce existed between their princes, and they had joined +hands under the leadership of the renowned knight Bertrand du Guesclin, at +that time the most famous soldier of France. Sir Hugh de Calverley headed +the English bands, known as the White Company, and made up largely of +men-at-arms, that is, of heavy armed horsemen; but with a strong +contingent of the formidable English archers. The total force comprised +more than twelve thousand men. + +"You lead the life of robbers," said Du Guesclin to them. "Every day you +risk your lives in forays, which yield you more blows than booty. I come +to propose an enterprise worthy of gallant knights and to open to you a +new field of action. In Spain both glory and profit await you. You will +there find a rich and avaricious king who possesses great treasures, and +is the ally of the Saracens; in fact, is half a pagan himself. We propose +to conquer his kingdom and to bestow it on the Count of Trastamara, an old +comrade of yours, a good lance, as you all know, and a gentle and generous +knight, who will share with you his land when you win it for him from the +Jews and Moslems of that wicked king, Don Pedro. Come, comrades, let us +honor God and shame the devil." + +The Free Companies were ready at a word to follow his banner. Among them +were many knights of noble birth who valued glory above booty, and looked +upon it as a worthy enterprise to dethrone a cruel and wicked king, the +murderer of his queen. As for the soldiers, they cared not against whom +they fought, if booty was to be had. + +"Messire Bertrand," they said, "gives all that he wins to his men-at-arms. +He is the father of the soldier. Let us march with him." + +And so the bargain was made and the Free Companies marched away, light of +heart and strong of hand, with a promising goal before them, and a chance +of abundance of fighting before they would see their homes again. + +Peter the Cruel, King of Castile and Leon, amply deserved to be dethroned. +His reign had been one of massacre. All whom he suspected died by the +dagger of the assassin. He bitterly hated his two half-brothers, Fadrique +and Henry. Fadrique he enticed to his court by a show of friendship, and +then had him brutally murdered at the gate of his palace, the Alcazar of +Seville. But his treatment of his queen was what made him specially odious +to his people. He married a French princess, Blanche of Bourbon, but +deserted her after two days to return to his mistress, Maria de Pedilla. +Blanche was taken to Toledo, where she was so closely confined that the +people rose and rescued her from the king's guards. Peter marched in anger +against the city, but its people defied him and kept the queen. Then the +crafty villain pretended sorrow and asked for a reconciliation. The queen +consented, went back to him, and was quickly imprisoned in a strong +fortress, where she was murdered by his orders in 1361. + +It was this shameful act and the murder of his brother Fadrique that +roused the people to insurrection. Henry of Trastamara, the remaining +brother, headed a revolt against the tyrant and invited the Free Companies +to his aid. These were the circumstances that gave rise to the march of Du +Guesclin and Calverley and their battle-loving bands. + +The adventurers wore crosses on their vests and banners, as though they +were a company of crusaders raised in the service of the church. But in +truth they were under the ban of excommunication, for they had no more +spared the church than the castle or the cottage. Du Guesclin, determined +to relieve them from this ban and force the Pope to grant them absolution, +directed his march upon Avignon, the papal residence in France. It was not +only absolution he wanted. The papal coffers were full; his military chest +was empty; his soldiers would not remain tractable unless well paid; the +church should have the privilege of aiding the army. + +It was with dismay that the people of Avignon beheld the White Company +encamp before their ramparts, late in the year 1365. An envoy from the +Pope was sent in haste to their camp, with a promise from the Holy Father +that he would remove the ban of excommunication if they would evacuate the +territory of the Church. The envoy's mission was a dangerous one, for the +fierce Free Companions had no reverence for priest or pope. He had hardly +crossed the Rhone before he was confronted by a turbulent band of English +archers, who demanded if he had brought money. + +"Money?" he asked, in faltering tones. + +"Ay, money!" they insolently cried, impeding his passage. + +On reaching Du Guesclin's tent he was treated with more politeness, but +was met with the same demand. + +"We cannot control our troops," said some of the chiefs; "and, as they are +ready to hazard their lives for the greater glory of the faith, they well +deserve the aid of the Church." + +"The Holy Father will incur much danger if he refuses the demand of our +men," said Du Guesclin, in smooth but menacing tones. "They have become +good Catholics in spite of themselves, and would very readily return to +their old trade." + +Imminent as the danger was, the Pope resisted, and tried to scare off that +flock of reckless war-hawks by the thunders of papal condemnation. But he +soon learned that appeals and threats alike were wasted on the Free +Companies. From the windows of his palace he could see groups of his +unruly visitors at work plundering farms and country houses. Fires were +here and there kindled. The rich lands of Avignon were in danger of a +general ravage. + +"What can I do?" said Du Guesclin to the complaints of the people. "My +soldiers are excommunicated. The devil is in them, and we are no longer +their masters." + +Evidently there was but one way to get rid of this irreligious crew. The +chiefs agreed to be satisfied with five thousand golden florins. This sum +was paid, and the knights companions, laden with plunder and absolved from +their sins, set out in the highest spirits, singing the praises of their +captain and the joys of war. Such was their farewell to France. + +Onward they marched, across the Pyrenees and into Aragon, whose king had +joined with Henry of Trastamara in requesting their presence. They were +far from welcome to the people of this region of Spain. Pedro IV. of +Aragon had agreed to pay them one hundred thousand golden florins on +condition that they should pass through his dominions without disorder; +but the adventurers, imagining that they were already in the enemy's +country, began their usual service of fire and sword. In Barbastro they +pillaged the houses, killed the burghers or tortured them to extort +ransom, and set fire to a church in which some had taken refuge, burning +alive more than two hundred persons. + +If such was the course of these freebooting bands in the country of their +friends, what would it be in that of their foes? Every effort was made to +get them out of the country as soon as possible. Immediate action was +needed, for the warlike mountaineers were beginning to revenge the +robberies of the adventurers by waylaying their convoys and killing their +stragglers. In early March, 1366, the frontier was passed, Sir Hugh de +Calverley leading his men against Borja, a town of Aragon which was +occupied by soldiers of Castile. + +The garrison fled on their approach, and soon the army entered Castile and +marched upon Calahorra, a town friendly to Prince Henry, and which opened +its gates at sight of their banners. Here an interesting ceremony took +place. Du Guesclin and the other leaders of the Free Companies, with as +much assurance as if they had already conquered Castile, offered Henry the +throne. + +"Take the crown," said the burly leader. "You owe this honor to the many +noble knights who have elected you their leader in this campaign. Don +Pedro, your enemy, has refused to meet you in the battle-field, and thus +acknowledges that the throne of Castile is vacant." + +Henry held back. He felt that these foreigners had not the crown of +Castile in their gift. But when the Castilians present joined in the +demand he yielded, and permitted them to place the crown upon his head. +His chief captain at once unfurled the royal standard, and passed through +the camp, crying, "Castile for King Henry! Long live King Henry!" Then, +amid loud acclamations, he planted the banner on the crest of a hill on +the road to Burgos. + +We need not delay on the events of this campaign. Everywhere the people of +Castile fell away from their cruel king, and Henry's advance was almost +unopposed. Soon he was in Burgos, and Don Pedro had become a fugitive +without an army and almost without a friend. Henry was now again crowned +king, many of the Castilian nobles taking part in the imposing ceremony. + +The first acts of the new king were to recompense the men who had raised +him to that high office. The money which he found in the treasury served +as a rich reward to the followers of Du Guesclin. He gave titles of +nobility and grants of land with a free hand to the chiefs of the Free +Companies and his other companions in arms. On Du Guesclin he conferred +his own countship of Trastamara, and added to it the lordship of Molino, +with the domains appertaining to both. Calverley was made Count of +Carrion, and received the domains which had formerly been held by the +sons-in-law of the Cid. Lesser rewards were given to lesser chiefs, and +none had reason to accuse Henry of Castile of want of generosity. + +But the Free Companions soon became a sword in the side of the new king. +As there was no more fighting to be done, they resumed their old +occupation of pillaging, and from every side complaints rained in upon the +throne. Henry felt it necessary to get rid of his unruly friends with all +despatch. Retaining Du Guesclin and Calverley in his service, with fifteen +hundred lances, mainly French and Breton, he dismissed the remainder, +placating them with rich presents and warm thanks. Nothing loath, and +gratified that they had avenged the murdered Queen Blanche, they took +their way back, finding abundant chance for fighting on their return. The +Castilians, the Navarrese, and the Aragonese all rose against them, and +everywhere they had to force a passage with their swords. But nothing +could stop them. Spain, accustomed to fight with Arabs and Moors, had no +warriors fit to face these intrepid and heavily armed veterans. Through +the Pyrenees they made their way, and here cut a road with their swords +through the main body of a French army which had gathered to oppose their +march. Once more they were upon the soil of France. + +It was the English and Gascon bands that were principally opposed. It was +known that the Black Prince was preparing to invade Spain, and an effort +was made to cut off the free lances who might enlist under his banners. +This famous knight, son of Edward III. of England, and victor at the +battle of Poitiers, where he had taken prisoner the king of France, was a +cousin of the fugitive king of Castile, who sought him at Cape Breton, and +begged his aid to recover his dominions. The chivalrous prince of Wales +knew little of the dastardly deeds of the suppliant. Don Pedro had brought +with him his three young maiden daughters, whose helpless state appealed +warmly to the generous knight. National policy accorded with the +inclination of the prince, for the Castilian revolution had been promoted +by France, and the usurper had been in the pay of the French king. These +inducements were enough to win for Don Pedro the support of Edward III., +and the aid of the Black Prince, who entered upon the enterprise with the +passionate enthusiasm which was a part of his nature. + +Soon again two armies were in the field, that of King Henry, raised to +defend his new dominions, and that of the Prince of Wales, gathered to +replace the fugitive Don Pedro upon the throne. With the latter was the +White Company, which had aided to drive Pedro from his seat and was now +equally ready to replace him there. These bold lancers and archers fought +for their own hands, with little care whose cause they backed. + +It was through the valley of Roncesvalles, that celebrated pass which was +associated with the name of the famous Roland, the chief knight of French +romance, that the army of the Black Prince made its way into Spain. +Calverley, who was not willing to fight against his liege lord, joined him +with his lances, King Henry generously consenting. Du Guesclin, a veteran +in the art of war, advised the Castilian king to employ a Fabian policy, +harassing the invaders by skirmishes, drawing them deep into the country, +and wearing them out with fatigue and hunger. He frankly told him that his +men could not face in a pitched battle the English veterans, led by such a +soldier as the Black Prince. But the policy suggested would have been +hazardous in Castile, divided as it was between two parties. Henry +remembered that his rival had lost the kingdom through not daring to risk +a battle, and he determined to fight for his throne, trusting his cause to +Providence and the strength of his arms. + +It was in the month of April, 1367, that the two armies came face to face +on a broad plain. They were fairly matched in numbers, and as day broke +both marched resolutely to the encounter, amid opposing shouts of "King +Henry for Castile" and "St. George and Guyenne." It was a hard, fierce, +bitter struggle that followed, in which the onset of Du Guesclin was so +impetuous as for a moment to break the English line. But the end was at +hand when the Castilian cavalry broke in panic before the charge of an +English squadron, which turned Du Guesclin's battalion and took it in +flank. The Captal de Buch at the same time fell on the flank of the +Castilian vanguard. Thus beset and surrounded, the French and Spanish +men-at-arms desperately sought to hold their own against much superior +numbers. King Henry fought valiantly, and called on all to rally round his +standard. But at length the banner fell, the disorder grew general, the +ranks broke, and knights and foot-soldiers joined in a tumultuous retreat. + +Their only hope now was the bridge of Najera, over the Najerilla, which +stream lay behind their line. Some rushed for the bridge, others leaped +into the river, which became instantly red with blood, for the arrows of +the archers were poured into the crowded stream. Only the approach of +night, the fatigue of the victors, and the temptation to plunder the town +and the camp saved the wreck of the Castilian army, which had lost seven +thousand foot-soldiers and some six hundred men-at-arms. Du Guesclin's +battalion, which alone had made a gallant stand, was half slain. A large +number of prisoners were taken, among them the valorous Du Guesclin +himself. + +Edward the Black Prince now first learned the character of the man whom he +had come to aid. Don Pedro galloped excitedly over the plain seeking his +rival, and, chancing to meet Lopez de Orozco, one of his former friends, +now the prisoner of a Gascon knight, he stabbed him to the heart, despite +the efforts of the Gascon in his defence. The report of this murder filled +the Black Prince with indignation, which was heightened when Don Pedro +offered to ransom all the Castilian prisoners, plainly indicating that he +intended to murder them. Prince Edward sternly refused, only consenting to +deliver up certain nobles who had been declared traitors before the +revolution. These Don Pedro immediately had beheaded before his tent. + +The breach between the allies rapidly widened, Don Pedro, as soon as he +fairly got possession of the throne, breaking all his engagements with the +Black Prince, while he was unable, from the empty state of his treasury, +to pay the allied troops. Four months Prince Edward waited, with growing +indignation, for redress, while disease was rapidly carrying off his men, +and then marched in anger from Spain with scarcely a fifth of the proud +array with which he had won the battle of Najera. + +The restored king soon justified his title of Peter the Cruel by a series +of sanguinary executions, murdering all of the adherents of his rival on +whom he could lay his hands. In this thirst for revenge not even women +escaped, and at length he committed an act which aroused the indignation +of the whole kingdom. Don Alfonso de Guzman had refused to follow the king +into exile. He now kept out of his reach, but his mother, Doña Urraca de +Osorio, fell into the hands of the monster, and was punished for being the +mother of a rebel by being burned alive on the ramparts of Seville. + +These excesses of cruelty roused a rebellious sentiment throughout +Castile, of which Henry, who had escaped to Aragon from the field of +Najera, took advantage. Supplied with money by the king of France, he +purchased arms and recruited soldiers, many of the French and Castilians +who had been taken prisoners at Najera and been released on parole joining +him in hopes of winning the means of paying their ransoms. Crossing the +Ebro, he marched upon Calahorra, in which the year before he had been +proclaimed king. Here numerous volunteers joined him, and at the head of a +considerable force he marched upon Burgos, which surrendered after a faint +show of resistance. + +During the winter the campaign continued, Leon, Madrid, and other towns +being captured, and in the spring of 1368 all northern Castile was in +Henry's hands. Don Pedro, whose army was small, had entered into alliance +with the Moorish king of Granada, who sent him an army of thirty-five +thousand men, with which force a vigorous attack was made on the city of +Cordova,--a holy city in the eyes of the Moors. Among its defenders was Don +Alfonso de Guzman, whose mother had been burned to death. The defence was +obstinate, but the Moors at length made breaches in the walls. They were +about to pour into the city when the women, mad with fear, rushed into the +streets with cries and moans, now reproaching the men-at-arms with +cowardice, now begging them with sobs and tears to make a last effort to +save the city from the brutal infidels. + +This appeal gave new courage to the Christians. They rushed on the Moors +with the fury of despair, drove them from the posts they had taken, hurled +them from the ramparts, tore down the black flags which already waved on +the towers, and finally expelled them from the breaches and the walls in a +panic. The breaches were repaired and the city was saved. In a few days +the Moors, thoroughly disheartened by their repulse, dispersed, and Don +Pedro lost his allies. + +Meanwhile, Henry was engaged in the siege of Toledo, the strongest place +in the kingdom, and before which he persistently lay for months, despite +all allurements to use his forces in other directions. Here Bertrand du +Guesclin, who had been ransomed by the Black Prince, joined him with a +force of some six hundred men-at-arms, all picked men; and hither, in +March, 1369, Don Pedro marched to the city's relief at the head of a +strong army. + +Henry, on learning of this movement, at once gathered all the forces he +could spare from the siege, three thousand men-at-arms in all, and +hastened to intercept his rival on the march. Not dreaming of such a +movement, Don Pedro had halted at Montiel, where his men lay dispersed, in +search of food and forage, over a space of several leagues. They were +attacked at daybreak, their surprise being so complete that the main body +was at once put to flight, while each division was routed as soon as it +appeared. Henry's forces suffered almost no loss, and within an hour's +time his rival's kingdom was reduced to the castle of Montiel, in which he +had taken refuge with a few of his followers. + +Leaving the defeated army to take care of itself, Henry devoted himself to +the siege of the castle, within whose poorly fortified walls lay the prize +for which he fought. Escape was impossible, and the small supply of +provisions would soon be exhausted. Don Pedro's only hope was to bribe +some of his foes. He sent an agent to Du Guesclin, offering him a rich +reward in gold and lands if he would aid in his escape. Du Guesclin asked +for time to consider, and immediately informed Henry of the whole +transaction. He was at once offered a richer reward than Pedro had +promised if he would entice the king out of the castle, and after some +hesitation and much persuasion he consented. + +On the night of March 23, ten days after the battle, Don Pedro, +accompanied by several of his knights, secretly left the fortress, the +feet of their horses being bound with cloth to deaden the sound of hoofs. +The sentinels, who had been instructed in advance, allowed them to pass, +and they approached the camp of the French adventurers, where Du Guesclin +was waiting to receive them. + +"To horse, Messire Bertrand," said the king, in a low voice; "it is time +to set out." + +No answer was returned. This silence frightened Don Pedro. He attempted to +spring into his saddle, but he was surrounded, and a man-at-arms held the +bridle of his horse. An officer asked him to wait in a neighboring tent. +Resistance was impossible, and he silently obeyed. + +Here he found himself encompassed by a voiceless group, through whose +lines, after a few minutes of dread suspense, a man in full armor +advanced. It was Henry of Trastamara, who now faced his brother for the +first time in fifteen years. He gazed with searching eyes upon Don Pedro +and his followers. + +"Where is this bastard," he harshly asked, "this Jew who calls himself +King of Castile?" + +"There stands your enemy," said a French esquire, pointing to Don Pedro. + +Henry gazed at him fixedly. So many years had elapsed that he failed to +recognize him easily. + +"Yes, it is I," exclaimed Don Pedro, "I, the King of Castile. All the +world knows that I am the legitimate son of good King Alfonso. It is thou +that art the bastard." + +At this insult Henry drew his dagger and struck the speaker a light blow +in the face. They were in too close a circle to draw their swords, and in +mortal fury they seized each other by the waist and struggled furiously, +the men around drawing back and no one attempting to interfere. + +After a brief period the wrestling brothers fell on a camp bed in a corner +of the tent, Don Pedro, who was the stronger, being uppermost. While he +felt desperately for a weapon with which to pierce his antagonist, one of +those present seized him by the foot and threw him on one side, so that +Henry found himself uppermost. Popular tradition says that it was Du +Guesclin's hand that did this act, and that he cried, "I neither make nor +unmake kings, but I serve my lord;" but some writers say it was the +Viscount de Rocaberti, of Aragon. + +However that be, Henry at once took advantage of the opportunity, picked +up his dagger, lifted the king's coat of mail, and plunged the weapon +again and again into his side. Only two of Don Pedro's companions sought +to defend him, and they were killed on the spot. Henry had his brother's +head at once cut off, and despatched the gruesome relic to Seville. + +Thus perished, by an uncalled-for act of treachery on the part of Du +Guesclin, for the castle must soon have surrendered, one of the most +bloodthirsty kings who ever sat upon a throne. Don Fadrique, his brother, +and Blanche of Bourbon, his wife, both of whom he had basely murdered, +were at length avenged. Henry ascended the throne as Henry II., and for +years reigned over Castile with a mild and just rule that threw still +deeper horror upon the bloody career of him who is known in history as +Peter the Cruel. + + + + + +THE GREAT CAPTAIN. + + +The long and bitter war for the conquest of Granada filled Spain with +trained soldiers and skilful leaders, men who had seen service on a +hundred fields, grim, daring veterans, without their equals in Europe. The +Spanish foot-soldiers of that day were inflexibly resolute, the cavalry +were skilled in the brilliant tactics of the Moors, and the leaders were +men experienced in all the arts of war. These were the soldiers who in the +New World overthrew empires with a handful of adventurers, and within a +fraction of a century conquered a continent for Spain. In Europe they were +kept actively employed. Charles VIII. of France, moved by ambition and +thirst for glory, led an army of invasion into Italy. He was followed in +this career of foreign conquest by his successor, Louis XII. The armies of +France were opposed by those of Spain, led by the greatest soldier of the +age, Gonsalvo de Cordova, a man who had learned the art of war in Granada, +but in Italy showed such brilliant and remarkable powers that he gained +the distinguishing title of the Great Captain. + +These wars were stretched out over years, and the most we can do is to +give some of their interesting incidents. In 1502 the Great Captain lay in +the far south of Italy, faced by a more powerful French army under the +Duke of Nemours, a young nobleman not wanting in courage, but quite unfit +to cope with the experienced veteran before him. Gonsalvo, however, was in +no condition to try conclusions with his well-appointed enemy. His little +corps was destitute of proper supplies, the men had been so long unpaid +that they were mutinous, he had pleaded for reinforcements in vain, and +the most he could do was to concentrate his small force in the seaport of +Barleta and the neighboring strongholds, and make the best show he could +in the face of his powerful foe. + +The war now declined into foraging inroads on the part of the French, in +which they swept the flocks and herds from the fertile pastures, and into +guerilla operations on the part of the Spanish, who ambushed and sought to +cut off the detached troops of the enemy. But more romantic encounters +occasionally took place. The knights on both sides, full of the spirit of +chivalry, and eager to prove their prowess, defied one another to jousts +and tourneys, and for the time being brought back a state of warfare then +fast passing away. + +The most striking of these meetings arose from the contempt with which the +French knights spoke of the cavalry of their enemy, which they declared to +be far inferior to their own. This insult, when told to the proud knights +of Gonsalvo's army, brought from them a challenge to the knights of +France, and a warlike meeting between eleven Spanish and as many French +warriors was arranged. A fair field was offered the combatants in the +neutral territory under the walls of the Venetian city of Trani, and on +the appointed day a gallant array of well-armed knights of both parties +appeared to guard the lists and maintain the honor of the tournament. + +Spectators crowded the roofs and battlements of Trani, while the lists +were thronged with French and Spanish cavaliers, who for the time laid +aside their enmity in favor of national honor and a fair fight. At the +fixed hour the champions rode into the lists, armed at all points, and +their horses richly caparisoned and covered with steel panoply. Among +those on the Castilian side were Diego de Paredes and Diego de Vera, men +who had won renown in the Moorish wars. Most conspicuous on the other side +was the good knight Pierre de Bayard, the chevalier "_sans peur et sans +reproche_," who was then entering upon his famous career. + +At the sound of the signal trumpets the hostile parties rushed to the +encounter, meeting in the centre of the lists with a shock that hurled +three of the Spaniards from their saddle, while four of their antagonists' +horses were slain. The fight, which began at ten in the morning, and was +to end at sunset, if not concluded before, was prosecuted with great fury +and varied success. Long before the hour of closing all the French were +dismounted except the Chevalier Bayard and one of his companions, their +horses, at which the Spaniards had specially aimed, being disabled or +slain. Seven of the Spaniards were still on horseback, and pressed so hard +upon their antagonists that the victory seemed safely theirs. + +But Bayard and his comrade bravely held their own, while the others, +intrenched behind their dead horses, defended themselves vigorously with +sword and shield, the Spaniards vainly attempting to spur their terrified +horses over the barrier. The fight went on in this way until the sun sank +below the horizon, when, both parties still holding the field, neither was +given the palm of victory, all the combatants being declared to have +proved themselves good and valiant knights. + +Both parties now met in the centre of the lists, where the combatants +embraced as true companions in chivalry, "making good cheer together" +before they separated. But the Great Captain did not receive the report of +the result with favor. + +"We have," said one of his knights, "disproved the taunts of the +Frenchmen, and shown ourselves as good horsemen as they." + +"I sent you for better," Gonsalvo coldly replied. + +A second combat in which the Chevalier Bayard was concerned met with a +more tragic termination. A Spanish cavalier, Alonzo de Sotomayor, +complained that Bayard had treated him uncourteously while holding him +prisoner. Bayard denied the charge, and defied the Spaniard to prove it by +force of arms, on horse or on foot, as he preferred. Sotomayor, well +knowing Bayard's skill as a horseman, challenged him to a battle on foot +_à l'outrance_, or "to the death." + +At the appointed time the two combatants entered the lists, armed with +sword and dagger and in complete armor, though wearing their visors up. +For a few minutes both knelt in silent prayer. They then rose, crossed +themselves, and advanced to the combat, "the good knight Bayard," we are +told, "moving as light of step as if he were going to lead some fair lady +down the dance." + +Bayard was the smaller man of the two, and still felt weakness from a +fever which had recently prostrated him. The Spaniard, taking advantage of +this, sought to crush him by the weight of his blows, or to close with him +and bring him to the ground by dint of his superior strength. But the +lightness and agility of the French knight enabled him to avoid the +Spaniard's grasp, while, by skill with the sword, he parried his enemy's +strokes, and dealt him an occasional one in return. + +At length, the Spaniard having exposed himself to attack by an +ill-directed blow, Bayard got in so sharp a thrust on the gorget that it +gave way, and the point of the blade entered his throat. Maddened by the +pain of the wound, Sotomayor leaped furiously on his antagonist and +grasped him in his arms, both rolling on the ground together. While thus +clasped in fierce struggle Bayard, who had kept his poniard in his left +hand throughout the fight, while his enemy had left his in his belt, drove +the steel home under his eye with such force that it pierced through his +brain. + +As the victor sprang to his feet, the judges awarded him the honors of the +day, and the minstrels began to pour forth triumphant strains in his +honor. The good knight, however, bade them desist, as it was no time for +gratulation when a good knight lay dead, and, first kneeling and returning +grateful thanks for his victory, he walked slowly from the lists, saying +that he was sorry for the result of the combat, and wished, since his +honor was saved, that his antagonist had lived. + +In these passages at arms we discern the fading gleam of the spirit of +mediæval chivalry, soon to vanish before the new art of war. Rough and +violent as were these displays as compared with the pastimes of later +days, the magnificence with which they were conducted, and the +manifestations of knightly honor and courtesy which attended them, threw +something of grace and softness over an age in which ferocity was the +ruling spirit. + +Meanwhile, the position of the little garrison of Barleta grew daily +worse. No help came, the French gradually occupied the strongholds of the +neighboring country, and a French fleet in the Adriatic stood seriously in +the way of the arrival of stores and reinforcements. But the Great Captain +maintained his cheerfulness through all discouragement, and sought to +infuse his spirit into the hearts of his followers. His condition would +have been desperate with an able opponent, but he perfectly understood the +character of the French commander and patiently bided his time. + +The opportunity came. The French, weary of the slow game of blockade, +marched from their quarters and appeared before the walls of Barleta, bent +on drawing the garrison from the "old den" and deciding the affair in a +pitched battle. The Duke of Nemours sent a trumpet into the town to defy +the Great Captain to the encounter, but the latter coolly sent back word,-- + +"It is my custom to choose my own time and place for fighting, and I would +thank the Duc de Nemours to wait till my men have time to shoe their +horses and burnish up their arms." + +The duke waited a few days, then, finding that he could not decoy his wily +foe from the walls, broke camp and marched back, proud of having flaunted +a challenge in the face of the enemy. He knew not Gonsalvo. The French had +not gone far before the latter opened the gates and sent out his whole +force of cavalry, under Diego de Mendoza, with two corps of infantry, in +rapid pursuit. Mendoza was so eager that he left the infantry in the rear, +and fell on the French before they had got many miles away. + +A lively skirmish followed, though of short duration, Mendoza quickly +retiring, pursued by the French rear-guard, whose straggling march had +detached it from the main body of the army. Mendoza's feigned retreat soon +brought him back to the infantry columns, which closed in on the enemy's +flanks, while the flying cavalry wheeled in the rapid Moorish style and +charged their pursuers boldly in front. All was now confusion in the +French ranks. Some resisted, but the greater part, finding themselves +entrapped, sought to escape. In the end, nearly all who did not fall on +the field were carried prisoners to Barleta, under whose walls Gonsalvo +had drawn up his whole army, in readiness to support Mendoza if necessary. +The whole affair had passed so quickly that Nemours knew nothing of it +until the bulk of his rear-guard were safely lodged within the walls of +the Spanish stronghold. + +This brilliant success proved the turning-point in the tide of the war. A +convoy of transports soon after reached Barleta, bringing in an abundance +of provisions, and the Spaniards, restored in health and spirits, looked +eagerly for some new enterprise. Nemours having incautiously set out on a +distant expedition, Gonsalvo at once fell on the town of Ruvo and took it +by storm, in spite of a most obstinate defence. On April 28, 1503, +Gonsalvo, strengthened by reinforcements, finally left the stronghold of +Barleta, where he and his followers had suffered so severely and shown +such indomitable constancy. Reaching Cerignola, about sixteen miles from +Barleta, he awaited the advancing army of the French, rapidly intrenching +the ground, which was well suited for defence. Before these works were +completed, Nemours and his army appeared, and, though it was near +nightfall, made an immediate attack. The commander was incited to this by +taunts on his courage from some hot-headed subordinates, to whom he weakly +gave way, saying, "We will fight to-night, then; and perhaps those who +vaunt the loudest will be found to trust more to their spurs than to their +swords,"--a prediction which was to prove true. + +Of the battle, it must suffice to say that the trenches dug by the +Spaniards fatally checked the French advance, and in the effort to find a +passage Nemours fell mortally wounded. Soon the French lines were in +confusion, the Spanish arquebusiers pouring a galling fire into their +dense masses. Perceiving the situation, Gonsalvo ordered a general +advance, and, leaping their intrenchments, the Spaniards rushed in fury on +their foes, most of whose leaders had fallen. Panic succeeded, and the +flying French were cut down almost without resistance. + +The next morning the Great Captain passed over the field of battle, where +lay more than three thousand of the French, half their entire force. The +loss of the Spaniards was very small, and all the artillery, the baggage, +and most of the colors of the enemy were in their hands. Rarely had so +complete a victory been gained in so brief a time, the battle being hardly +more than one hour in duration. The body of the unfortunate Duke of +Nemours was found under a heap of the slain, much disfigured and bearing +the marks of three wounds. Gonsalvo was affected to tears at the sight of +the mutilated body of his young and gallant adversary, who, though +unfitted to head an army, had always proved himself a valiant knight. +During the following month Gonsalvo entered Naples, the main prize of the +war, where he was received with acclamations of joy and given the triumph +which his brilliant exploits so richly deserved. + +The work of the Great Captain was not yet at an end. Finding that his +forces were being defeated in every encounter and the cities held by them +captured, Louis XII. sent a large army to their relief, and late in the +year 1503 the hostile forces came face to face again, Gonsalvo being +forced by the exigencies of the campaign to encamp in a deplorable +situation, a region of swamp, which had been converted by the incessant +rains into a mere quagmire. The French occupied higher ground and were +much more comfortably situated. But Gonsalvo refused to move. He was +playing his old waiting game, knowing that the French dared not attack his +intrenched camp, and that time would work steadily in his favor. + + [Illustration: GONSALVO DE CORDOVA FINDING THE CORPSE OF THE DUKE OF + NEMOURS.] + + GONSALVO DE CORDOVA FINDING THE CORPSE OF THE DUKE OF NEMOURS. + + +"It is indispensable to the public service to maintain our present +position," he said to the officers who appealed to him to move; "and be +assured, I would sooner march forward two steps, though it would bring me +to my grave, than fall back one, to gain a hundred years of life." + +After that there were no more appeals. Gonsalvo's usual cheerfulness was +maintained, infusing spirit into his men in all the inconveniences of +their situation. He had a well-planned object in view. The hardy +Spaniards, long used to rough campaigning, bore their trying position with +unyielding resolution. The French, on the contrary, largely new recruits, +grew weary and mutinous, while sickness broke out in their ranks and +increased with alarming rapidity. + +At length Gonsalvo's day came. His opponent, not dreaming of an attack, +had extended his men over a wide space. On the night of December 28, in +darkness and storm, the Spanish army broke camp, marched to the river that +divided the forces, silently threw a bridge across the stream, and were +soon on its opposite side. Here they fell like a thunderbolt on the +unsuspecting and unprepared French, who were soon in disordered retreat, +hotly pursued by their foes, their knights vainly attempting to check the +enemy. Bayard had three horses killed under him, and was barely rescued +from death by a friend. So utterly were the French beaten that their +discouraged garrisons gave up town after town without a blow, and that +brilliant night's work not only ended the control of France over the +kingdom of Naples, but filled Louis XII. with apprehension of losing all +his possessions in Italy. + +Such were the most brilliant exploits of the man who well earned the proud +title of the Great Captain. He was as generous in victory as vigorous in +battle, and as courteous and genial with all he met as if he had been a +courtier instead of a soldier. In the end, his striking and unbroken +success in war aroused the envy and jealousy of King Ferdinand, and after +the return of Gonsalvo to Spain the unjust monarch kept him in retirement +till his death, putting smaller men at the head of his armies rather than +permit the greatest soldier of the century to throw his own exploits more +deeply into the shade. + + + + + +A KING IN CAPTIVITY. + + +Two great rivals were on the thrones of France and Spain,--Francis I., who +came to power in France in 1515, and Charles I., who became king of Spain +in 1516. In 1519 they were rivals for the imperial power in Germany. +Charles gained the German throne, being afterwards known as the emperor +Charles V., and during the remainder of their reigns these rival monarchs +were frequently at war. A league was formed against the French king by +Charles V., Henry VIII. of England, and Pope Leo X., as a result of which +the French were driven from the territory of Milan, in Italy. In 1524 they +were defeated at the battle of Sesia, the famous Chevalier Bayard here +falling with a mortal wound; and in 1525 they met with a more disastrous +defeat at the battle of Pavia, whose result is said to have caused Francis +to write to his mother, "_Madame, tout est perdu fors l'honneur_" ("All is +lost but honor"). + +The reason for these words may be briefly given. Francis was besieging +Pavia, with hopes of a speedy surrender, when the forces of Charles +marched to its relief. The most experienced French generals advised the +king to retire, but he refused. He had said he would take Pavia or perish +in the attempt, and a romantic notion of honor held him fast. The result +was ruinous, as may be expected where sentiment outweighs prudence. +Strongly as the French were intrenched, they were broken and put to rout, +and soon there was no resistance except where the king obstinately +continued to fight. + +Wounded in several places, and thrown from his horse, which was killed +under him, Francis defended himself on foot with heroic valor, while the +group of brave officers who sought to save his life, one after another, +lost their own. At length, exhausted with his efforts, and barely able to +wield his sword, the king was left almost alone, exposed to the fierce +assault of some Spanish soldiers, who were enraged by his obstinacy and +ignorant of his rank. + +At this moment a French gentleman named Pomperant, who had entered the +service of Spain, recognized the struggling king and hurried to his aid, +helping to keep off the assailants, and begging him to surrender to the +Duke of Bourbon, who was close at hand. Great as was the peril, Francis +indignantly refused to surrender to a rebel and traitor, as he held +Bourbon to be, and calling to Lannoy, a general in the imperial army who +was also near by, he gave up his sword to him. Lannoy, recognizing his +prisoner, received the sword with a show of the deepest respect, and +handed the king his own in return, saying,-- + +"It does not become so great a monarch to remain disarmed in the presence +of one of the emperor's subjects." + +The lack of prudence in Francis had proved serious not only to himself, +but to his troops, ten thousand of whom fell, among them many +distinguished nobles who preferred death to dishonor. Numbers of high rank +were taken prisoners, among them the king of Navarre. In two weeks not a +Frenchman remained in Italy. The gains from years of war had vanished in a +single battle. + +The tidings of the captivity of the French king filled France with +consternation and Spain with delight, while to all Europe it was an event +of the deepest concern, for all the nations felt the danger that might +arise from the ambition of the powerful emperor of Spain and Germany. +Henry VIII. requested that Francis should be delivered to him, as an ally +of Spain, though knowing well that such a demand would not gain a moment's +consideration. As for Italy, it was in terror lest it should be overrun by +the imperial armies. + +Francis, whom Lannoy held with great respect, but with the utmost care to +prevent an escape, hoped much from the generosity of Charles, whose +disposition he judged from his own. But Charles proposed to weaken his +enemy and refused to set him free unless he would renounce all claims upon +Italy, yield the provinces of Provence and Dauphiné to form a kingdom for +the Constable Bourbon, and give up Burgundy to Germany. On hearing these +severe conditions, Francis, in a transport of rage, drew his dagger, +exclaiming,-- + +"It were better that a king should die thus!" + +A by-stander arrested the thrust; but, though Francis soon regained his +composure, he declared that he would remain a prisoner for life rather +than purchase liberty at such a price to his country. + +Thinking that these conditions came from the Spanish council, and not from +Charles himself, Francis now became anxious to visit the emperor in Spain, +hoping to soften him in a personal interview. He even furnished the +galleys for that purpose, Charles at that time being too poor to fit out a +squadron, and soon the spectacle was seen of a captive monarch sailing in +his own ships past his own dominions, of which he had a distant and +sorrowful view, to a land in which he was to suffer the indignities of +prison life. + +Landing at Barcelona, Francis was taken to Madrid and lodged in the +alcazar, under the most vigilant guard. He soon found that he had been far +too hasty in trusting to the generosity of his captor. Charles, on +learning of his captivity, had made a politic show of sympathy and +feeling, but on getting his rival fully into his hands manifested a plain +intention of forcing upon him the hardest bargain possible. Instead of +treating his prisoner with the courtesy due from one monarch to another, +he seemed to seek by rigorous usage to force from him a great ransom. + +The captive king was confined in an old castle, under a keeper of such +formal austerity of manners as added to the disgust of the high-spirited +French monarch. The only exercise allowed him was to ride on a mule, +surrounded by armed guards on horseback. Though Francis pressingly +solicited an interview, Charles suffered several weeks to pass before +going near him. These indignities made so deep an impression on the +prisoner that his natural lightness of temper deserted him, and after a +period of deep depression he fell into a dangerous fever, in which he +bitterly complained of the harshness with which he had been treated, and +said that the emperor would now have the satisfaction of having his +captive die on his hands. + +The physicians at length despaired of his life, and informed Charles that +they saw no hope of his recovery unless he was granted the interview he so +deeply desired. This news put the emperor into a quandary. If Francis +should die, all the advantage gained from the battle of Pavia would be +lost. And there were clouds in the sky elsewhere. Henry VIII. had +concluded a treaty of alliance with Queen Louise, regent of France, and +engaged to use all his efforts for the release of the king. In Italy a +dangerous conspiracy had been detected. There was danger of a general +European confederacy against him unless he should come to some speedy +agreement with the captive king. + +Charles, moved by these various considerations, at length visited Francis, +and, with a show of respect and affection, gave him such promises of +speedy release and princely treatment as greatly cheered the sad heart of +the captive. The interview was short; Francis was too ill to bear a long +one; but its effect was excellent, and the sick man at once began to +recover, soon regaining his former health. Hope had proved a medicine far +superior to all the drugs of the doctors. + +But the obdurate captor had said more than he meant. Francis was kept as +closely confined as ever. And insult was added to indignity by the +emperor's reception of the Constable Bourbon, a traitorous subject of +France, whom Charles received with the highest honors which a monarch +could show his noblest visitor, and whom he made his general-in-chief in +Italy. This act had a most serious result, which may here be briefly +described. In 1527 Bourbon made an assault on Rome, with an army largely +composed of Lutherans from Germany, and took it by assault, he being +killed on the walls. There followed a sack of the great city which had not +been surpassed in brutality by the Vandals themselves, and for months Rome +lay in the hands of a barbarous soldiery, who plundered and destroyed +without stint or mercy. + +What Charles mainly insisted upon and Francis most indignantly refused was +the cession of Burgundy to the German empire. He was willing to yield on +all other points, but bitterly refused to dismember his kingdom. He would +yield all claim to territory in Italy and the Netherlands, would pay a +large sum in ransom, and would make other concessions, but Burgundy was +part of France, and Burgundy he would not give up. + +In the end Francis, in deep despair, took steps towards resigning his +crown to his son, the dauphin. A plot for his escape was also formed, +which filled Charles with the fear that a second effort might succeed. In +dread that, through seeking too much, he might lose all, he finally agreed +upon a compromise in regard to Burgundy, Francis consenting to yield it, +but not until after he was set at liberty. The treaty included many other +articles, most of them severe and rigorous, while Francis agreed to leave +his sons, the dauphin and the Duke of Orleans, in the emperor's hands as +hostages for the fulfilment of the treaty. This treaty was signed at +Madrid, January 14, 1526. By it Charles believed that he had effectually +humbled his rival, and weakened him so that he could never regain any +great power. In this the statesmen of the day did not agree with him, as +they were not ready to believe that the king of France would live up to +conditions of such severity, forced from him under constraint. + + [Illustration: FRANCIS I. REFUSING THE DEMANDS OF THE EMPEROR.] + + FRANCIS I. REFUSING THE DEMANDS OF THE EMPEROR. + + +The treaty signed, the two monarchs seemed to become at once the best of +friends. They often appeared together in public; they had long conferences +in private; they travelled in the same litter and joined in the same +amusements; the highest confidence and affection seemed to exist between +them. Yet this love was all a false show,--Francis still distrusted the +emperor, and Charles still had him watched like a prisoner. + +In about a month the ratification of the treaty was brought from France, +and Francis set out from Madrid with the first true emotions of joy which +he had felt for a year. He was escorted by a body of horse under Alarcon, +who, when the frontiers of France were reached, guarded him as +scrupulously as ever. On arriving at the banks of the Andaye River, which +there separated the two kingdoms, Lautrec appeared on the opposite bank, +with a guard of horse equal to that of Alarcon. An empty bark was moored +in mid-stream. The cavalry drew up in order on each bank. Lannoy, with +eight gentlemen and the king, put off in a boat from the Spanish side of +the stream. Lautrec did the same from the French side, bringing with him +the dauphin and the Duke of Orleans. The two parties met in the empty +vessel, where in a moment the exchange was made, Francis embracing his +sons and then handing them over as hostages. Leaping into Lautrec's boat, +he was quickly on the soil of France. + +Mounting a Barbary horse which awaited him, the freed captive waved his +hand triumphantly over his head, shouted joyfully several times, "I am yet +a king!" and galloped away at full speed for Bayonne. He had been held in +captivity for a year and twenty-two days. + +Our tale of the captivity of the king ends here, but the consequences of +that captivity must be told. A league was immediately afterwards formed +against Charles, named the Holy League, from the Pope being at its head. +The nobles of Burgundy refused to be handed over to the imperial realm, +and an assembly called by Francis absolved him from his oath to keep the +treaty of Madrid. Francis, bewailing his lack of power to do what he had +promised in regard to Burgundy, offered to pay the emperor two millions of +crowns instead. In short, Charles had overreached himself through his +stringency to a captive rival, and lost all through his eagerness to +obtain too much. + +Ten years afterwards the relations between the two monarchs were in a +measure reversed. A rebellion had broken out in Flanders which needed the +immediate presence of Charles, and, for reasons satisfactory to himself, +he wished to go through France. His counsellors at Madrid looked upon such +a movement as fatally rash; but Charles persisted, feeling that he knew +the character of Francis better than they. The French king was ready +enough to grant the permission asked, and looked upon the occasion as an +opportunity to show his rival how kings should deal with their royal +neighbors. + +Charles was received with an ostentatious welcome, each town entertaining +him with all the magnificence it could display. He was presented with the +keys of the gates, the prisoners were set at liberty, and he was shown all +the honor due to the sovereign of the country itself. The emperor, though +impatient to continue his journey, remained six days in Paris, where all +things possible were done to render his visit a pleasant one. Had Francis +listened to the advice of some of his ministers, he would have seized and +held prisoner the incautious monarch who had so long kept him in +captivity. But the confidence of the emperor was not misplaced; no +consideration could induce the high-minded French king to violate his +plighted word, or make him believe that Charles would fail to carry out +certain promises he had made. He forgot for the time how he had dealt with +his own compacts, but Charles remembered, and was no sooner out of France +than all his promises faded from his mind, and Francis learned that he was +not the only king who could enter into engagements which he had no +intention to fulfil. + + + + + +THE INVASION OF AFRICA. + + +As Italy was invaded by Gonsalvo de Cordova, the Great Captain, so Africa +was invaded by Cardinal Ximenes, the Great Churchman, one of the ablest +men who ever appeared in Spain, despite the fact that he made a dreadful +bonfire of thousands of Arabian manuscripts in the great square of +Granada. The greater part of these were copies of the Koran, but many of +them were of high scientific and literary value, and impossible to +replace. Yet, while thus engaged in a work fitted for an unlettered +barbarian, Ximenes was using his large revenues to found the University of +Alcala, the greatest educational institution in Spain, and was preparing +his famous polyglot Bible, for which the rarest manuscripts were +purchased, without regard to cost, that the Scriptures might be shown at +one view in their various ancient languages. To indicate the cost of this +work, it is said that he paid four thousand golden crowns for seven +manuscripts, which came too late to be of use in the work. It is strange, +under these circumstances, that he failed to preserve the valuable part of +the Arabian manuscripts. + +The vast labors undertaken by Ximenes at home did not keep him from +enterprises abroad. He was filled with a burning zeal for the propagation +of the Catholic faith, formed plans for a crusade to the Holy Land, and +organized a remarkably successful expedition against the Moslems of +Africa. It is of the latter that we desire to speak. + +Soon after the death of Isabella, Mazalquivir, a nest of pirates on the +Barbary coast, had been captured by an expedition organized by the +energetic Ximenes. He quickly set in train a more difficult enterprise, +one directed against Oran, a Moorish city of twenty thousand inhabitants, +strongly fortified, with a large commerce, and the haunt of a swarm of +piratical cruisers. The Spanish king had no money and little heart for +this enterprise, but that did not check the enthusiastic cardinal, who +offered to loan all the sums needed, and to take full charge of the +expedition, leading it himself, if the king pleased. Ferdinand made no +objection to this, being quite willing to make conquests at some one +else's expense, and the cardinal set to work. + +It is not often that an individual can equip an army, but Ximenes had a +great income of his own and had the resources of the Church at his back. +By the close of the spring of 1509 he had made ready a fleet of ten +galleys and eighty smaller vessels, and assembled an army of four thousand +horse and ten thousand foot, fully supplied with provisions and military +stores for a four months' campaign. Such was the energy and activity of a +man whose life, until a few years before, had been spent in the solitude +of the cloister and in the quiet practices of religion, and who was now an +infirm invalid of more than seventy years of age. + +The nobles thwarted his plans, and mocked at the idea of "a monk fighting +the battles of Spain." The soldiers had little taste for fighting under a +father of the Church, "while the Great Captain was left to stay at home +and count his beads like a hermit." The king threw cold water on the +enterprise. But the spirit and enthusiasm of the old monk triumphed over +them all, and on the 16th of May the fleet weighed anchor, reaching the +port of Mazalquivir on the following day. Oran, the goal of the +expedition, lay about a league away. + +As soon as the army was landed and drawn up in line, Ximenes mounted his +mule and rode along its front, dressed in his priestly robes, but with a +sword by his side. A group of friars followed, also with monastic garbs +and weapons of war. The cardinal, ascending a rising ground, made an +animated address to the soldiers, rousing their indignation by speaking of +the devastation of the coast of Spain by the Moslems, and awakening their +cupidity by dwelling on the golden spoil to be found in the rich city of +Oran. He concluded by saying that he had come to peril his own life in the +service of the cross and lead them in person to battle. + +The officers now crowded around the warlike old monk and earnestly begged +him not to expose his sacred person to the hazards of the fight, saying +that his presence would do more harm than good, as the men might be +distracted from the work before them by attending to his personal safety. +This last argument moved the warlike cardinal, who, with much reluctance, +consented to keep in the rear and leave the command of the army to its +military leader, Count Pedro Navarro. + +The day was now far advanced. Beacon-fires on the hill-tops showed that +the country was in alarm. Dark groups of Moorish soldiers could be seen on +the summit of the ridge that lay between Oran and Mazalquivir, and which +it would be necessary to take before the city could be reached. The men +were weary with the labors of landing, and needed rest and refreshment, +and Navarro deemed it unsafe to attempt anything more that day; but the +energetic prelate bade him "to go forward in God's name," and orders to +advance were at once given. + +Silently the Spanish troops began to ascend the steep sides of the +acclivity. Fortunately for them, a dense mist had arisen, which rolled +down the skirts of the hills and filled the valley through which they +moved. As soon as they left its cover and were revealed to the Moors a +shower of balls and arrows greeted them, followed by a desperate charge +down the hill. But the Spanish infantry, with their deep ranks and long +pikes, moved on unbroken by the assault, while Navarro opened with a +battery of heavy guns on the flank of the enemy. + +Thrown into disorder by the deadly volleys, the Moors began to give +ground, and, pressed upon heavily by the Spanish spearsmen, soon broke +into flight. The Spaniards hotly pursued, breaking rank in their eagerness +in a way that might have proved fatal but for the panic of the Moors, who +had lost all sense of discipline. The hill-top was reached, and down its +opposite slope poured the Spaniards, driving the fleeing Moors. Not far +before them rose the walls of Oran. The fleet had anchored before the city +and was vigorously cannonading it, being answered with equal spirit by +sixty pieces of artillery on the fortifications. Such were the excitement +and enthusiasm of the soldiers that they forgot weariness and disregarded +obstacles. In swift pursuit they followed the scattering Moors, and in a +brief time were close to the walls, defended by a deeply discouraged +garrison. + +The Spaniards had brought few ladders, but in the intense excitement and +energy of the moment no obstacle deterred them. Planting their long pikes +against the walls, or thrusting them into the crevices between the stones, +they clambered up with remarkable dexterity,--a feat which they were +utterly unable to repeat the next day, when they tried it in cold blood. + +A weak defence was made, and the ramparts soon swarmed with Spanish +soldiers. Sousa, the captain of the cardinal's guard, was the first to +gain the summit, where he unfurled the banner of Ximenes,--the cross on one +side and the cardinal's arms on the other. Six other banners soon floated +from the walls, and the soldiers, leaping down into the streets, gained +and threw open the gates. In streamed the army, sweeping all opposition +before it. Resistance and flight were alike unavailing. Houses and mosques +were tumultuously entered, no mercy being shown, no regard for age or sex, +the soldiers abandoning themselves to the brutal license and ferocity +common to the wars of that epoch. + +In vain Navarro sought to check his brutal troops; they were beyond +control; the butchery never ceased until, gorged with the food and wine +found in the houses, the worn-out soldiers flung themselves down in the +streets and squares to sleep. Four thousand Moors had been slain in the +brief assault, and perhaps twice that number were taken prisoners. The +city of Oran, that morning an opulent and prosperous community, was at +night a ruined and captive city, with its ferocious conquerors sleeping +amidst their slaughtered victims. + + [Illustration: LIBERATION OF THE CAPTIVES FROM THE DUNGEON OF ORAN.] + + LIBERATION OF THE CAPTIVES FROM THE DUNGEON OF ORAN. + + +It was an almost incredible victory, considering the rapidity with which +it had been achieved. On the morning of the 16th the fleet of transports +had set sail from Spain. On the night of the 17th the object of the +expedition was fully accomplished, the army being in complete possession +of Oran, a strongly manned and fortified city, taken almost without loss. +Ximenes, to whose warlike enthusiasm this remarkable victory was wholly +due, embarked in his galley the next morning and sailed along the city's +margin, his soul swelling with satisfaction at his wonderful success. On +landing, the army hailed him as the true victor of Oran, a wave of +acclamations following him as he advanced to the alcazar, where the keys +of the fortress were put into his hands. A few hours after the surrender +of the city a powerful reinforcement arrived for its relief, but on +learning of its loss the disconcerted Moors retired. Had the attack been +deferred to the next day, as Navarro proposed, it would probably have +failed. The people of Spain ascribed the victory to inspiration from +heaven; but the only inspiration lay in the impetuous energy and +enthusiasm of the cardinal. Yet at that period it was by no means uncommon +to invent stories of miracles, and it is soberly asserted that the sun +stood still for several hours while the action went on, Heaven repeating +the miracle of Joshua, and halting the solar orb in its career, that more +of the heathen might be slaughtered. The greatest miracle of all would +have been had the sun stood still nowhere else than over the fated city of +Oran. + +It may not be amiss to add to this narrative an account of a second +expedition against Africa, made by Charles V. some thirty years later, in +which Heaven failed to come to the aid of Spain, and whose termination was +as disastrous as that of the expedition of Ximenes had been fortunate. + +It was the city of Algiers that Charles set out to reduce, and, though the +season was late and it was the time of the violent autumnal winds, he +persisted in his purpose in spite of the advice of experienced mariners. +The expedition consisted of twenty thousand foot and two thousand horse, +with a large body of noble volunteers. The storms came as promised and +gave the army no small trouble in its voyage, but at length, with much +difficulty and danger, the troops were landed on the coast near Algiers +and advanced at once upon the town. + +Hascan, the Moorish leader, had only about six thousand men to oppose to +the large Spanish army, and had little hope of a successful resistance by +force of arms. But in this case Heaven--if we admit its interference at +all--came to the aid of the Moors. On the second day after landing, and +before operations had fairly begun, the clouds gathered and the skies grew +threatening. Towards evening rain began to fall and a fierce wind arose. +During the night a violent tempest swept the camp, and the soldiers, who +were without tents or shelter of any kind, were soon in a deplorable +state. Their camp, which was in a low situation, was quickly overflowed by +the pouring rains, and the ground became ankle deep in mud. No one could +lie down, while the wind blew so furiously that they could only stand by +thrusting their spears into the ground and clinging to them. About +day-dawn they were attacked by the vigilant Hascan, and a considerable +number of them killed before the enemy was forced to retire. + +Bad as the night had been, the day proved more disastrous still. The +tempest continued, its force increasing, and the sea, roused to its utmost +fury by the winds, made sad havoc of the ships. They were torn from their +anchorage, flung violently together, beat to pieces on the rocks, and +driven ashore, while many sank bodily in the waves. In less than an hour +fifteen war-vessels and a hundred and forty transports were wrecked and +eight thousand men had perished, those of the crews who reached shore +being murdered by the Moors as soon as they touched land. + +It was with anguish and astoundment that the emperor witnessed this wreck +of all his hopes, the great stores which he had collected for subsistence +and military purposes being in one fatal hour buried in the depths of the +sea. At length the wind began to fall, and some hopes arose that vessels +enough might have escaped to carry the distressed army back to Europe. But +darkness was again at hand, and a second night of suspense and misery was +passed. In the morning a boat reached land with a messenger from Andrew +Doria, the admiral of the fleet, who sent word that in fifty years of +maritime life he had never seen so frightful a storm, and that he had been +forced to bear away with his shattered ships to Cape Metafuz, whither he +advised the emperor to march with all speed, as the skies were still +threatening and the tempest might be renewed. + +The emperor was now in a fearful quandary. Metafuz was at least three +days' march away. All the food that had been brought ashore was consumed. +The soldiers, worn out with fatigue, were in no condition for such a +journey. Yet it was impossible to stay where they were. There was no need +of deliberation; no choice was left; their only hope of safety lay in +instant movement. + +The sick, wounded, and feeble were placed in the centre, the stronger in +front and rear, and the disastrous march began. Some of the men could +hardly bear the weight of their arms; others, worn out with toiling +through the nearly impassable roads, lay down and died; many perished from +hunger and exhaustion, there being no food but roots and berries gathered +by the way and the flesh of horses killed by the emperor's order; many +were drowned in the streams, swollen by the severe rains; many were killed +by the enemy, who followed and harassed them throughout the march. The +late gallant army was a bedraggled and miserable fragment when the +survivors at length reached Metafuz. Fortunately the storm was at an end, +and they were able to obtain from the ships the provisions of which they +stood so sorely in need. + +The calamities which attended this unlucky expedition were not yet at an +end. No sooner had the soldiers embarked than a new storm arose, less +violent than the former, but sufficient to scatter the ships to right and +left, some making port in Spain, some in Italy, all seeking such harbors +of refuge as they could find. The emperor, after passing through great +perils, was driven to the port of Bugia in Africa, where contrary winds +held him prisoner for several weeks. He at length reached Spain, to find +the whole land in dismay at the fate of the gallant expedition, which had +set out with such high hopes of success. To the end of his reign Charles +V. had no further aspirations for conquest in Africa. + + + + + +AN EMPEROR RETIRED FROM BUSINESS. + + +In October of the year 1555 a strange procession passed through a rugged +and hilly region of Spain. At its head rode an alcalde with a posse of +alguazils. Next came a gouty old man in a horse-litter, like a prisoner in +the hands of a convoy of officers of justice. A body of horsemen followed, +and in the rear toiled onward a long file of baggage-mules. + +As the train advanced into the more settled regions of the country it +became evident that the personage thus convoyed was not a prisoner, but a +person of the highest consequence. On each side of the road the people +assembled to see him pass, with a show of deep respect. At the towns along +the route the great lords of the neighborhood gathered in his honor, and +in the cities the traveller was greeted by respectful deputations of +officials. When Burgos was approached the great constable of Castile, with +a strong retinue of attendants, came to meet him, and when he passed +through the illuminated streets of that city the bells rang out in merry +peals, while enthusiastic people filled the streets. + +It was not a prisoner to the law, but a captive to gout, who thus passed +in slow procession through the lands and cities of Spain. It was the royal +Charles, King of Spain and the Netherlands, Emperor of Germany, and +magnate of America, at that time the greatest monarch in Europe, lord of a +realm greater than that of Charlemagne, who made his way with this small +following and in this simple manner through the heart of his Spanish +dominions. He had done what few kings have done before or since, +voluntarily thrown off his crown in the height of his power,--weary of +reigning, surfeited with greatness,--and retired to spend the remainder of +his life in privacy, to dwell far from the pomp of courts in a simple +community of monks. + +The next principal halting-place of the retired monarch was the city of +Valladolid, once the capital of the kingdom and still a rich and splendid +place, adorned with stately public buildings and the palaces of great +nobles. Here he remained for some time resting from his journey, his house +thronged with visitors of distinction. Among these, one day, came the +court fool. Charles touched his cap to him. + +"Welcome, brother," said the jester; "do you raise your hat to me because +you are no longer emperor?" + +"No," answered Charles, "but because this sorry courtesy is all I have +left to give you." + +On quitting Valladolid Charles seemed to turn his back finally on the +world, with all its pomps and vanities. Before leaving he took his last +dinner in public, and bade an affectionate farewell to his sisters, his +daughter, and his grandson, who had accompanied him thus far in his +journey. A large train of nobles and cavaliers rode with him to the gates +of the city, where he courteously dismissed them, and moved onward +attended only by his simple train. + +"Heaven be praised!" said the world-weary monarch, as he came nearer his +place of retreat; "after this no more visits of ceremony, no more +receptions!" + +But he was not yet rid of show and ostentation. Spending the night at +Medina del Campo, at the house of a rich banker named Rodrigo de Dueñas, +the latter, by way of display, warmed the emperor's room with a brazier of +pure gold, in which, in place of common fuel, sticks of cinnamon were +burned. Neither the perfume nor the ostentation was agreeable to Charles, +and on leaving the next morning he punished his over-officious host by +refusing to permit him to kiss his hand, and by causing him to be paid for +the night's lodging like a common inn-keeper. + +This was not the first time that cinnamon had been burned in the emperor's +chamber. The same was done by the Fuggers, the famous bankers of Germany, +who had loaned Charles large sums for his expedition against Tunis, and +entertained him at their house on his return. In this case the emperor was +not offended by the odor of cinnamon, since it was modified by a different +and more agreeable perfume. The bankers, grateful to Charles for breaking +up a pestilent nest of Barbary pirates, threw the receipts for the money +they had loaned him into the fire, turning their gold into ashes in his +behalf. This was a grateful sacrifice to the emperor, whose war-like +enterprises consumed more money than he could readily command. + +The vicinity of Yuste was reached late in November. Here resided a +community of Jeronymite monks, in whose monastery he proposed to pass the +remainder of his days. There were two roads by which it could be +reached,--one an easy, winding highway, the other a rugged mountain-pass. +But by the latter four days would be saved, and Charles, tired of the long +journey, determined to take it, difficult as it might prove. + +He had been warned against the mountain pathway, and found it fully as +formidable as he had been told. A body of hardy rustics were sent ahead, +with pikes, shovels, and other implements, to clear the way. But it was +choked here and there with fallen stones and trunks of trees which they +were unable to move. In some localities the path wound round dizzy +precipices, where a false step would have been fatal. To any traveller it +would have been very difficult; to the helpless emperor it was frightfully +dangerous. The peasants carried the litter; in bad parts of the way the +emperor was transferred to his chair; in very perilous places the vigorous +peasants carried him in their arms. + +Several hours of this hard toil passed before they reached the summit. As +they emerged from the dark defiles of the _Puerto Nuevo_--now known as "The +Emperor's Pass"--Charles exclaimed, "It is the last pass I shall go through +in this world, save that of death." + +The descent was much more easy, and soon the gray walls of Yuste, half +hidden in chestnut-groves, came in sight. Yet it was three months before +the traveller reached there, for the apartments preparing for him were far +from ready, and he had to wait throughout the winter in the vicinity, in a +castle of the Count of Oropesa, and in the midst of an almost continual +downpour of rain, which turned the roads to mire, the country almost to a +swamp, and the mountains to vapor-heaps. The threshold of his new home was +far from an agreeable one. + +Charles V. had long contemplated the step he had thus taken. He was only +fifty-five years of age, but he had become an old man at fifty, and was +such a victim to the gout as to render his life a constant torment and the +duties of royalty too heavy to be borne. So, taking a resolution which few +monarchs have taken before or since, he gave up his power and resolved to +spend the remainder of his life in such quiet and peace as a retired +monastery would give. Spain and its subject lands he transferred to his +son Philip, who was to gain both fame and infamy as Philip II. He did his +best, also, to transfer the imperial crown of Germany to his fanatical and +heartless heir, but his brother Ferdinand, who was in power there, would +not consent, and he was obliged to make Ferdinand emperor of Germany, and +break in two the vast dominion which he had controlled. + +Charles had only himself to thank for his gout. Like many a man in humbler +life, he had abused the laws of nature until they had avenged themselves +upon him. The pleasures of the table with him far surpassed those of +intellectual or business pursuits. He had an extraordinary appetite, equal +to that of any royal _gourmand_ of whom history speaks, and, while leaving +his power behind him, he brought this enemy with him into his retirement. + + [Illustration: CHARLES V. APPROACHING YUSTE.] + + CHARLES V. APPROACHING YUSTE. + + +We are told by a Venetian envoy at his court, in the latter part of his +reign, that, while still in bed in the morning, he was served with potted +capon, prepared with sugar, milk, and spices, and then went to sleep +again. At noon a meal of various dishes was served him, and another after +vespers. In the evening he supped heartily on anchovies, of which he was +particularly fond, or some other gross and savory food. His cooks were +often at their wits' end to devise some new dish, rich and highly seasoned +enough to satisfy his appetite, and his perplexed purveyor one day, +knowing Charles's passion for timepieces, told him "that he really did not +know what new dish he could prepare him, unless it were a _fricassée_ of +watches." + +Charles drank as heartily as he ate. His huge repasts were washed down +with potations proportionately large. Iced beer was a favorite beverage, +with which he began on rising and kept up during the day. By way of a +stronger potation, Rhenish wine was much to his taste. Roger Ascham, who +saw him on St. Andrew's day dining at the feast of the Golden Fleece, +tells us: "He drank the best that I ever saw. He had his head in the glass +five times as long as any of us, and never drank less than a good quart at +once of Rhenish." + +It was this over-indulgence in the pleasures of the table that brought the +emperor to Yuste. His physician warned him in vain. His confessor wasted +admonitions on his besetting sin. Sickness and suffering vainly gave him +warning to desist. Indigestion troubled him; bilious disorders brought +misery to his overworked stomach. At length came gout, the most terrible +of his foes. This enemy gave him little rest day or night. The man who had +hunted in the mountains for days without fatigue, who had kept the saddle +day and night in his campaigns, who had held his own in the lists with the +best knights of Europe, was now a miserable cripple, carried, wherever he +went, in the litter of an invalid. + +One would have thought that, in his monastic retreat, Charles would cease +to indulge in gastronomic excesses, but the retired emperor, with little +else to think of, gave as much attention to his appetite as ever. Yuste +was kept in constant communication with the rest of the world on matters +connected with the emperor's table. He was especially fond of fish and all +the progeny of the water,--eels, frogs, oysters, and the like. The trout of +the neighborhood were too small for his liking, so he had larger ones sent +from a distance. Potted fish--anchovies in particular--were favorite viands. +Eel pasty appealed strongly to his taste. Soles, lampreys, flounders +reached his kitchen from Seville and Portugal. The country around supplied +pork, mutton, and game. Sausages were sent him from a distance; olives +were brought from afar, as those near at hand were not to his liking. +Presents of sweetmeats and confectionery were sent him by ladies who +remembered his ancient tastes. In truth, Charles, tortured with gout, did +everything he well could to favor its attacks. + +The retired emperor, though he made a monastery his abode, had no idea of +living like a monk. His apartments were richly furnished and hung with +handsome tapestry, and every attention was paid to his personal comfort. +Rich carpets, canopies of velvet, sofas and chairs of carved walnut, seats +amply garnished with cushions for the ease of his tender joints, gave a +luxurious aspect to his retirement. His wardrobe contained no less than +sixteen robes of silk and velvet, lined with ermine, eider-down, or the +soft hair of the Barbary goat. He could not endure cold weather, and had +fireplaces and chimneys constructed in every room, usually keeping his +apartments almost at furnace heat, much to the discomfort of his +household. With all this, and his wrappings of fur and eider-down, he +would often be in a shiver and complain that he was chilled to the bone. + +His table was richly provided with plate, its service being of silver, as +were also the articles of the toilet, the basins, pitchers, and other +utensils of his bed-chamber. With these were articles of pure gold, +valuable for their curious workmanship. He had brought with him many +jewels of value, and a small but choice collection of paintings, some of +them among the noblest masterpieces of art. Among them were eight gems +from the hand of Titian. These were hung in rich frames around his rooms. +He was no reader, and had brought few books, his whole library comprising +but thirty-one volumes, and these mostly religious works, such as +psalters, missals, breviaries, and the like. There was some little science +and some little history, but the work which chiefly pleased him was a +French poem, "_Le Chevalier Délibéré_," then popular, which celebrated the +exploits of the house of Burgundy, and especially of Charles the Bold. + +And now it comes in place to say something of how Charles employed himself +at Yuste, aside from eating and drinking and shivering in his chimney +corner. The mode in which a monarch retired from business passes his time +cannot be devoid of interest. He by no means gave up his attention to the +affairs of the realm, but kept himself well informed in all that was going +on, sometimes much to his annoyance, since blunders were made that gave +him a passing desire to be again at the head of affairs. In truth, two +years after his retirement, the public concerns got into such a snarl that +Philip earnestly sought to induce the emperor to leave his retreat and aid +him with his ripened experience. This Charles utterly refused to do. He +had had his fill of politics. It was much less trouble to run a household +than a nation. But he undertook to do what he could to improve the +revenues of the crown. Despatches about public affairs were brought to him +constantly, and his mental thermometer went up or down as things prospered +or the reverse. But he was not to be tempted to plunge again into the +turbulent tide of public affairs. + +Charles had other and more humble duties to occupy his time. His paroxysms +of gout came only at intervals, and in the periods between he kept himself +engaged. He had a taste for mechanics, and among his attendants was an +Italian named Torriano, a man of much ingenuity, who afterwards +constructed the celebrated hydraulic works at Toledo. He was a skilful +clock-maker, and, as Charles took a special interest in timepieces, his +assistant furnished his apartments with a series of elaborate clocks. One +of these was so complicated that its construction occupied more than three +years, every detail of the work being curiously watched by Charles. +Watches were then of recent invention, yet there were a number of them at +Yuste, made by Torriano. + +The attempt to make his clocks keep time together is said to have been one +of the daily occupations of the retired emperor, and the adjustment of his +clocks and watches gave him so much trouble that he is said to have one +day remarked that it was absurd to try and make men think alike, when, do +what he would, he could not make two of his timepieces agree. + +He often amused himself with Torriano in making little puppets,--soldiers +that would go through their exercises, dancing tambourine-girls, etc. It +is even asserted that they constructed birds that would fly in and out of +the window, a story rather difficult to accept. The monks began to look +upon Torriano as a professor of magic when he invented a handmill small +enough to be hidden in a friar's sleeve, yet capable of grinding enough +meal in a day to last a man for a week. + +The emperor was very fond of music, particularly devotional music, and was +a devotee in religious exercises, spending much of his time in listening +to the addresses of the chaplains, and observing the fasts and festivals +of the Church. His fondness for fish made the Lenten season anything but a +period of penance for him. + +He went on, indeed, eating and drinking as he would; and his disease went +on growing and deepening, until at length the shadow of death lay heavy on +the man whose religion did not include temperance in its precepts. During +1558 he grew steadily weaker, and on the 21st of September the final day +came; his eyes quietly closed and life fled from his frame. + +Yuste, famous as the abiding-place of Charles in his retirement, remained +unmolested in the subsequent history of the country until 1810, when a +party of French dragoons, foraging near by, found the murdered body of one +of their comrades not far from the monastery gates. Sure in their minds +that the monks had killed him, they broke in, dispersed the inmates, and +set the buildings on fire. The extensive pile of edifices continued to +burn for eight days, no one seeking to quench the flames. On the ninth the +ancient monastery was left a heap of ashes, only the church remaining, +and, protected by it, the palace of Charles. + +In 1820 a body of neighboring insurgents entered and defaced the remaining +buildings, carrying off everything they could find of value and turning +the church into a stable. Some of the monks returned, but in 1837 came an +act suppressing the convents, and the poor Jeronymites were finally turned +adrift. To-day the palace of Charles V. presents only desolate and dreary +chambers, used as magazines for grain and olives. So passes away the glory +of the world. + + + + + +THE FATE OF A RECKLESS PRINCE. + + +In 1568 died Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias, the son of Philip II. of +Spain; and in the same year died Isabella of Valois, the young and +beautiful queen of the Spanish monarch. Legend has connected the names of +Carlos and Isabella, and a mystery hangs over them which research has +failed to dispel. Their supposed love, their untimely fate, and the +suspicion that their death was due to the jealousy of the king, have +proved a prolific theme for fiction, and the story of the supposed unhappy +fate of the two has passed from the domain of history into that of romance +and the drama, there being more than one fine play based on the loves and +misfortunes of Carlos and Isabella. But sober history tells nothing of the +kind, and it is with history that we are here concerned. + +Carlos, the heir of the throne of Spain, was born in 1545. He was a bold, +headstrong boy, reckless in disposition, fond of manly exercises, generous +to a fault, fearless of heart, and passionately desirous of a military +life. In figure he was deformed, one shoulder being higher and one leg +longer than the other, while his chest was flat and his back slightly +humped. His features were not unhandsome, though very pale, and he spoke +with some difficulty. He was feeble and sickly as a boy, subject to +intermittent fever, and wasted away so greatly that it seemed as if he +would not live to manhood. + +Such were the mental and physical characteristics of the princely youth +who while still young was betrothed by treaty to the beautiful French +princess Isabella of Valois. The marriage was not destined to take place. +Before the treaty was ratified, Queen Mary of England, Philip's wife, +died, and his name was substituted for that of his son in the marriage +treaty. The wedding ceremony took place at Toledo, in February, 1560, and +was celebrated with great splendor. Carlos was present, and may have felt +some resentment at being robbed by his father of this beautiful bride. +Romantic historians tell us that Isabella felt a tender sentiment for him, +a very unlikely statement in view of the fact that he was at that time a +sickly, ill-favored boy of only fourteen years of age. Shortly after the +marriage Carlos was formally recognized as heir to the crown. + +Two years afterwards a serious accident occurred. In descending a flight +of stairs the boy slipped and fell headlong, injuring his head so severely +that his life was despaired of. His head swelled to an enormous size; he +became delirious and totally blind; examination showed that his skull was +fractured; a part of the bone was removed, but no relief was obtained. All +the arts of the doctors of that day were tried in vain, but the boy got no +better. Processions were made to the churches, prayers were offered, and +pilgrimages were vowed, all without avail. Then more radical means were +tried. The mouldering bones of a holy Franciscan, who had died a hundred +years before, and had always been the object of the prince's especial +veneration, were taken from their coffin and laid on the boy's bed, and +the cloth that had enclosed the dead man's skull was placed on his +forehead. + +That night, we are gravely told, the dead friar came to Carlos in his +sleep, bidding him to "be of good cheer, for he would certainly recover." +Soon after, the fever subsided, his head shrank back to its natural size, +his sight returned. In two months from the date of the accident he was +physically well, his recovery being partly or wholly due to the skill of +an Italian surgeon, who trepanned him and by this act restored him to +consciousness. + +Likely enough the boy was never cured. The blow may have done some +permanent injury to his brain. At any rate, he became strikingly eccentric +and reckless, giving way to every mad whim that came into his mind. The +stories of his wild doings formed the scandal of Madrid. In 1564 one of +his habits was to patrol the streets with a number of young nobles as +lawless as himself, attacking the passengers with their swords, kissing +the women, and using foul language to ladies of the highest rank. + +At that time it was the custom for the young gallants of the court to wear +very large boots. Carlos increased the size of his, that he might carry in +them a pair of small pistols. Fearing mischief, the king ordered the +shoemaker to reduce the size of his son's boots; but when the unlucky son +of St. Crispin brought them to the palace, the prince flew into a rage, +beat him severely, and then ordered the leather to be cut into pieces and +stewed, and forced the shoemaker to swallow it on the spot--or as much of +it as he could get down. + +These are only a sample of his pranks. He beat his governor, attempted to +throw his chamberlain out of the window, and threatened to stab Cardinal +Espinosa for banishing a favorite actor from the palace. + +One anecdote told of him displays a reckless and whimsical humor. Having +need of money, Carlos asked of a merchant, named Grimaldo, a loan of +fifteen hundred ducats. The money-lender readily consented, thanked the +prince for the compliment, and, in the usual grandiloquent vein of +Castilian courtesy, told Carlos that all he had was at his disposal. + +"I am glad to learn that," answered the prince. "You may make the loan, +then, one hundred thousand ducats." + +Poor Grimaldo was thunderstruck. He tremblingly protested that it was +impossible,--he had not the money. "It would ruin my credit," he declared. +"What I said were only words of compliment." + +"You have no right to bandy compliments with princes," Don Carlos replied. +"I take you at your word. If you do not, in twenty-four hours, pay over +the money to the last _real_, you shall have bitter cause to rue it." + +The unhappy Grimaldo knew not what to do. Carlos was persistent. It took +much negotiation to induce the prince to reduce the sum to sixty thousand +ducats, which the merchant raised and paid,--with a malediction on all +words of compliment. The money flew like smoke from the prince's hands, he +being quite capable of squandering the revenues of a kingdom. He lived in +the utmost splendor, and was lavish with all who came near him, saying, in +support of his gifts and charities, "Who will give if princes do not?" + +The mad excesses of the prince, his wild defiance of decency and decorum, +were little to the liking of his father, who surrounded the young man with +agents whom he justly looked upon as spies, and became wilder in his +conduct in consequence. Offers of marriage were made from abroad. +Catharine de Médicis proposed the hand of a younger sister of Isabella. +The emperor of Germany pressed for a union with his daughter Anne, the +cousin of Carlos. Philip agreed to the latter, but deferred the marriage. +He married Anne himself after the death of Carlos, making her his fourth +wife. Thus both the princesses intended for the son became the brides of +the father. + +The trouble between Carlos and his father steadily grew. The prince was +now twenty-one years of age, and, in his eagerness for a military life, +wished to take charge of affairs in the Netherlands, then in rebellion +against Spain. On learning that the Duke of Alva was to be sent thither, +Carlos said to him, "You are not to go there; I will go myself." + +The efforts of the duke to soothe him only irritated him, and in the end +he drew his dagger and exclaimed, "You shall not go; if you do I will kill +you." + +A struggle followed, the prince making violent efforts to stab the duke. +It only ended when a chamberlain came in and rescued Alva. This outrage on +his minister doubled the feeling of animosity between father and son, and +they grew so hostile that they ceased to speak, though living in the same +palace. + +The next escapade of Carlos brought matters to a crisis. He determined to +fly from Spain and seek a more agreeable home in Germany or the +Netherlands. As usual, he had no money, and he tried to obtain funds by +demanding loans from different cities,--a reckless process which at once +proclaimed that he had some mad design in mind. He went further than this, +saying to his confidants that "he wished to kill a man with whom he had a +quarrel." This purpose he confessed to a priest, and demanded absolution. +The priest refused this startling request, and as the prince persisted in +his sanguinary purpose, a conclave of sixteen theologians was called +together to decide what action it was advisable to take in so +extraordinary a case. + +After a debate on the subject, one of them asked Carlos the name of his +enemy. The prince calmly replied,-- + +"My father is the person. I wish to take his life." + +This extraordinary declaration, in which the mad prince persisted, threw +the conclave into a state of the utmost consternation. On breaking up, +they sent a messenger to the king, then at the Escorial Palace, and made +him acquainted with the whole affair. This story, if it is true, seems to +indicate that the prince was insane. + +His application to the cities for funds was in a measure successful. By +the middle of January, 1568, his agents brought him in a hundred and fifty +thousand ducats,--a fourth of the sum he had demanded. On the 17th he sent +an order to Don Ramon de Tassis, director-general of the posts, demanding +that eight horses should be provided for him that evening. Tassis, +suspecting something wrong, sent word that the horses were all out. Carlos +repeated his order in a peremptory manner, and the postmaster now sent all +the horses out, and proceeded with the news to the king at the Escorial. +Philip immediately returned to Madrid, where, the next morning, Carlos +attacked his uncle, Don John of Austria, with a drawn sword, because the +latter refused to repeat a conversation he had had with the king. + +For some time Carlos had slept with the utmost precautions, as if he +feared an attack upon his life. His sword and dagger lay ready by his +bedside, and he kept a loaded musket within reach. He had also a bolt +constructed in such a manner that, by aid of pulleys, he could fasten or +unfasten the door of his chamber while in bed. All this was known to +Philip, and he ordered the mechanic who had made it to derange the +mechanism so that it would not work. To force a way into the chamber of a +man like Carlos might not have been safe. + + [Illustration: THE ROYAL PALACE. MADRID.] + + THE ROYAL PALACE. MADRID. + + +At the hour of eleven that night the king came down-stairs, wearing armor +on his body and a helmet on his head. With him were the Duke of Feria, +captain of the guard, several other lords, and twelve guardsmen. They +quietly entered the chamber of the prince, and the duke, stealing to the +bedside, secured the sword, dagger, and musket which lay there. + +The noise now wakened Carlos, who sprang up, demanding who was there. + +"It is the council of state," answered the duke. + +On hearing this the prince leaped from the bed, uttering threats and +imprecations, and endeavored to seize his arms. Philip, who had prudently +kept in the background until the weapons were secured, now advanced and +bade his son to return to bed and keep quiet. + +"What does your majesty want of me?" demanded the prince. + +"You will soon learn," Philip harshly replied. + +He then gave orders that the windows and doors of the room should be +strongly secured and the keys brought to him. Every article of furniture, +even the andirons, with which violence might have been done, was removed +from the room. The king then appointed Feria keeper of the prince, and +bade the other nobles to serve him, with due respect, saying that he would +hold them as traitors if they permitted him to escape. + +"Your majesty had better kill me than keep me a prisoner," exclaimed +Carlos. "It will be a great scandal to the kingdom. If you do not kill me +I will kill myself." + +"You will do no such thing," answered Philip. "That would be the act of a +madman." + +"Your majesty," replied the prince, "treats me so ill that you drive me to +this extremity. I am not mad, but you drive me to despair." + +Other words passed, and on the withdrawal of the king the voice of Carlos +was so broken by sobs that his words could scarcely be heard. That night +the Duke of Feria and two other lords remained in the prince's room,--now +his prison. Each succeeding night two of the six appointed lords performed +this duty. They were not allowed to wear their swords in the presence of +the prince, but his meat was cut up before serving, as no knife was +permitted to be used at his meals. A guard was stationed in the passage +without, and, as the prince could not look from his barricaded windows, he +was from that day dead to the world. + +The king immediately summoned his council of state and began a process +against the prisoner. Though making a show of deep affliction, he was +present at all the meetings and listened to all the testimony, which, when +written out, formed a heap of paper half a foot thick. + +The news of the arrest of Don Carlos made a great sensation in Spain. The +wildest rumors were set afloat. Some said that he had tried to kill his +father, others that he was plotting rebellion. Many laid all the blame on +the king. "Others, more prudent than their neighbors, laid their fingers +on their lips and were silent." The affair created almost as much +sensation throughout Europe as in Spain. Philip, in his despatches to +other courts, spoke in such vague and mysterious language that it was +impossible to tell what he meant, and the most varied surmises were +advanced. + +Meanwhile, Carlos was kept rigorously confined, so much so that he was not +left alone day or night. Of the two nobles in his chamber at night, one +was required to keep awake while the other slept. They were permitted to +talk with him, but not on political matters nor on the subject of his +imprisonment. They were ordered to bring him no messages from without nor +receive any from him. No books except devotional ones were allowed him. + +If it was the purpose of Philip to end the life of his son by other means +than execution he could not have taken better measures. For a young man of +his high spirit and fiery temper such strict confinement was maddening. At +first he was thrown into a frenzy, and tried more than once to make way +with himself. The sullenness of despair succeeded. He grew daily more +emaciated, and the malarial fever which had so long affected him now +returned in a severe degree. To allay the heat of the fever he would +deluge the floor of his chamber with water, and walk for hours with bare +feet on the cold floor. He had a warming-pan filled with ice and snow +brought him, and kept it for hours at night in his bed. He would drink +snow-water in immoderate draughts. In his eating he seemed anxious to +break down his strength,--now refusing all food for days together, now +devouring a pasty of four partridges at a sitting, washing it down with +three gallons or more of iced water. + +That he was permitted to indulge in such caprices seems to indicate that +Philip wished him to kill himself. No constitution, certainly not so weak +a one as that of Carlos, could long withstand these excesses. His stomach +refused to perform its duty; severe vomiting attacked him; dysentery set +in; his strength rapidly failed. The expected end came on the 24th of +July, six months after the date of his imprisonment, death releasing the +prince from the misery of his unhappy lot. One writer tells us that it was +hastened by a strong purgative dose, administered by his father's orders, +and that he was really assassinated. However that be, Philip had little +reason to be sorry at the death of his lunatic son. To one of his austere +temperament it was probably an easy solution of a difficult problem. + +Less than three months passed after the death of Carlos when Isabella +followed him to the grave. She was then but twenty-three years old,--about +the same age as himself. The story was soon set afloat that Philip had +murdered both his son and his wife, moved thereto by jealousy; and from +this has arisen the romantic story of secret love between the two, with +the novels and dramas based thereon. In all probability the story is +without foundation. Philip is said to have been warmly loved by his wife, +and the poison which carried her away seems to have been the heavy doses +of medicine with which the doctors of that day sought to cure a passing +illness. + + + + + +SPAIN'S GREATEST VICTORY AT SEA. + + +On the 16th of September, 1571, there sailed from the harbor of Messina +one of the greatest fleets the Mediterranean had ever borne upon its +waves. It consisted of more than three hundred vessels, most of them +small, but some of great bulk for that day, carrying forty pieces of +artillery. On board these ships were eighty thousand men. Of these, less +than thirty thousand were soldiers, for in those days, when war-galleys +were moved by oars rather than sails, great numbers of oarsmen were +needed. At the head of this powerful armament was Don John of Austria, +brother of Philip II., and the ablest naval commander that Spain +possessed. + +At sunrise on the 7th of October the Christian fleet came in sight, at the +entrance to the Bay of Lepanto, on the west of Greece, of the great +Turkish armament, consisting of nearly two hundred and fifty royal +galleys, with a number of smaller vessels in the rear. On these ships are +said to have been not less than one hundred and twenty thousand men. A +great battle for the supremacy of Christian or Mohammedan was about to be +fought between two of the largest fleets ever seen in the Mediterranean. + +For more than a century the Turks had been masters of Constantinople and +the Eastern Empire, and had extended their dominion far to the west. The +Mediterranean had become a Turkish lake, which the fleets of the Ottoman +emperors swept at will. Cyprus had fallen, Malta had sustained a terrible +siege, and the coasts of Italy and Spain were exposed to frightful +ravages, in which the corsairs of the Barbary states joined hands with the +Turks. France only was exempt, its princes having made an alliance with +Turkey, in which they gained safety at the cost of honor. + +Spain was the leading opponent of this devastating power. For centuries +the Spanish people had been engaged in a bitter crusade against the Moslem +forces. The conquest of Granada was followed by descents upon the African +coast, the most important of which was the conquest of Tunis by Charles +the Fifth in 1535, on which occasion ten thousand Christian captives were +set free from a dreadful bondage. An expedition against Tripoli in 1559, +however, ended in disaster, the Turks and the Moors continued triumphant +at sea, and it was not until 1571 that the proud Moslem powers received an +effectual check. + +The great fleet of which Don John of Austria was admiral-in-chief had not +come solely from Spain. Genoa had furnished a large number of galleys, +under their famous admiral, Andrew Doria,--a name to make the Moslems +tremble. Venice had added its fleet, and the Papal States had sent a +strong contingent of ships. Italy had been suffering from the Turkish +fleet, fire and sword had turned the Venetian coasts into a smoking +desolation, and this was the answer of Christian Europe to the Turkish +menace. + +The sight of the Turkish fleet on that memorable 7th of October created +instant animation in the Christian armament. Don John hoisted his pennon, +ordered the great standard of the league, given by the Pope, to be +unfurled, and fired a gun in defiance of the Turks. Some of the commanders +doubted the wisdom of engaging the enemy in a position where he had the +advantage, but the daring young commander curtly cut short the discussion. + +"Gentlemen," he said, "this is the time for combat, not for counsel." + +Steadily the two fleets approached each other on that quiet sea. The +Christian ships extended over a width of three miles. On the right was +Andrew Doria, with sixty-four galleys. The centre, consisting of +sixty-three galleys, was commanded by Don John, with Colonna, the +captain-general of the Pope, on one flank, and Veniero, the Venetian +captain-general, on the other. The left wing, commanded by the noble +Venetian Barbarigo, extended as near to the coast of Ætolia as it was +deemed safe to venture. The reserve, of thirty-five galleys, was under the +Marquis of Santa Cruz. The plan of battle was simple. Don John's orders to +his captains were for each to select an adversary, close with him at once, +and board as soon as possible. + +As the fleet advanced the armament of the Turks came into full view, +spread out in half-moon shape over a wider space than that of the allies. +The great galleys, with their gilded and brightly painted prows and their +myriad of banners and pennons, presented a magnificent spectacle. But the +wind, which had thus far favored the Turks, now suddenly shifted and blew +in their faces, and the sun, as the day advanced, shone directly in their +eyes. The centre of their line was occupied by the huge galley of Ali +Pasha, their leader. Their right was commanded by Mahomet Sirocco, viceroy +of Egypt; their left by Uluch Ali, dey of Algiers, the most redoubtable of +the corsair lords of the sea. + +The breeze continued light. It was nearly noon when the fleets came face +to face. The sun, now nearing the zenith, shone down from a cloudless sky. +As yet it seemed like some grand holiday spectacle rather than the coming +of a struggle for life or death. + +Suddenly the shrill war-cry of the Turks rang out on the air. Their cannon +began to play. The firing ran along the line until the whole fleet was +engaged. On the Christian side the trumpets rang defiance and the guns +answered the Turkish peals. The _galeazzas_, a number of mammoth +war-ships, had been towed a half-mile in advance of the Spanish fleet, and +as the Turks came up poured broadsides from their heavy guns with striking +effect, doing considerable damage. But Ali Pasha, not caring to engage +these monster craft, opened his lines and passed them by. They had done +their work, and took no further part, being too unwieldy to enter into +close action. + +The battle began on the left. Barbarigo, the Venetian admiral, had brought +his ships as near the coast as he dared. But Mahomet Sirocco knew the +waters better, passed between his ships and the shore, and doubled upon +him, bringing the Christian line between two fires. Barbarigo was wounded, +eight galleys were sent to the bottom, and several were captured. Yet the +Venetians, who hated the Turks with a mortal hatred, fought on with +unyielding fury. + +Uluch Ali, on the Christian right, tried the same manoeuvre. But he had +Andrew Doria, the experienced Genoese, to deal with, and his purpose was +defeated by a wide extension of the Christian line. It was a trial of +skill between the two ablest commanders on the Mediterranean. Doria, by +stretching out his line, had weakened his centre, and the corsair captain, +with alert decision, fell upon some galleys separated from their +companions, sinking several, and carrying off the great Capitana of Malta +as a prize. + +Thus both on the right and on the left the Christians had the worst of it. +The severest struggle was in the centre. Here were the flag-ships of the +commanders,--the Real, Don John's vessel, flying the holy banner of the +League; Ali Pasha displaying the great Ottoman standard, covered with +texts from the Koran in letters of gold, and having the name of Allah +written upon it many thousands of times. + +Both the commanders, young and ardent, burned with desire to meet in mid +battle. The rowers urged forward their vessels with an energy that sent +them ahead of the rest of their lines, driving them through the foaming +water with such force that the pasha's galley, much the larger and loftier +of the two, was hurled upon its opponent until its prow reached the fourth +bench of rowers. Both vessels groaned and quivered to their very keels +with the shock. + +As soon as the vessels could be disengaged the combat began, the pasha +opening with a fierce fire of cannon and musketry, which was returned with +equal fury and more effect. The Spanish gunners and musketeers were +protected by high defences, and much of the Turkish fire went over their +heads, while their missiles, poured into the unprotected and crowded crews +of Ali's flag-ship, caused terrible loss. But the Turks had much the +advantage in numbers, and both sides fought with a courage that made the +result a matter of doubt. + +The flag-ships were not long left alone. Other vessels quickly gathered +round them, and the combat spread fiercely to both sides. The new-comers +attacked one another and assailed at every opportunity the two central +ships. But the latter, beating off their assailants, clung together with +unyielding pertinacity, as if upon them depended the whole issue of the +fight. + +The complete width of the entrance to the bay of Lepanto was now a scene +of mortal combat, though the vessels were so lost under a pall of smoke +that none of the combatants could see far to the right or left. The lines, +indeed, were broken up into small detachments, each fighting the +antagonists in its front, without regard to what was going on elsewhere. +The battle was in no sense a grand whole, but a series of separate combats +in which the galleys grappled and the soldiers and sailors boarded and +fought hand to hand. The slaughter was frightful. In the case of some +vessels, it is said, every man on board was killed or wounded, while the +blood that flowed from the decks stained the waters of the gulf red for +miles. + +The left wing of the allies, as has been said, was worsted at the +beginning of the fight, its commander receiving a wound which proved +mortal. But the Venetians fought on with the courage of despair. In the +end they drove back their adversaries and themselves became the +assailants, taking vessel after vessel from the foe. The vessel of Mahomet +Sirocco was sunk, and he was slain after escaping death by drowning. His +death ended the resistance of his followers. They turned to fly, many of +the vessels being run ashore and abandoned and their crews largely +perishing in the water. + +While victory in this quarter perched on the Christian banners, the mortal +struggle in the centre went on. The flag-ships still clung together, an +incessant fire of artillery and musketry sweeping both decks. The +Spaniards proved much the better marksmen, but the greater numbers of the +Turks, and reinforcements received from an accompanying vessel, balanced +this advantage. Twice the Spaniards tried to board and were driven back. A +third effort was more successful, and the deck of the Turkish galley was +reached. The two commanders cheered on their men, exposing themselves to +danger as freely as the meanest soldier. Don John received a wound in the +foot,--fortunately a slight one. Ali Pasha led his janizaries boldly +against the boarders, but as he did so he was struck in the head by a +musket-ball and fell. The loss of his inspiring voice discouraged his men. +For a time they continued to struggle, but, borne back by their impetuous +assailants, they threw down their arms and asked for quarter. + +The deck was covered with the bodies of the dead and wounded. From beneath +them the body of Ali was drawn, severely, perhaps mortally, wounded. His +rescuers would have killed him on the spot, but he diverted them by +pointing out where his money and jewels could be found. The next soldier +to come up was one of the galley-slaves, whom Don John had unchained from +the oar and supplied with arms. Ali's story of treasure was lost on him. +With one blow he severed his head from his shoulders, and carried the gory +prize to Don John, laying it at his feet. The generous Spaniard looked at +it with a mingling of pity and horror. + +"Of what use can such a present be to me?" he coldly asked the slave, who +looked for some rich reward; "throw it into the sea." + +This was not done. The head was stuck on a pike and raised aloft on the +captured galley. At the same time the great Ottoman banner was drawn down, +while that of the Cross was elevated with cheers of triumph in its place. + +The shouts of "victory!" the sight of the Christian standard at the +mast-head of Ali's ship, the news of his death, which spread from ship to +ship, gave new courage to the allies and robbed the Turks of spirit. They +fought on, but more feebly. Many of their vessels were boarded and taken. +Others were sunk. After four hours of fighting the resistance of the +Turkish centre was at an end. + +On the right, as related, Andrew Doria had suffered a severe loss by +stretching his line too far. He would have suffered still more had not the +reserve under Santa Cruz, which had already given aid to Don John, come to +his relief. Strengthened by Cardona with the Sicilian squadron, he fell on +the Algerine galleys with such fierceness that they were forced to recoil. +In their retreat they were hotly assailed by Doria, and Uluch, beset on +all sides, was obliged to abandon his prizes and take to flight. Tidings +now came to him of the defeat of the centre and the death of Ali, and, +hoisting signals for retreat, he stood in all haste to the north, followed +by the galleys of his fleet. + +With all sail spread and all its oarsmen vigorously at work, the corsair +fleet sped rapidly away, followed by Doria and Santa Cruz. Don John joined +in the pursuit, hoping to intercept the fugitives in front of a rocky +headland which stretched far into the sea. But the skilled Algerine leader +weathered this peril, losing a few vessels on the rocks, the remainder, +nearly forty in number, bearing boldly onward. Soon they distanced their +pursuers, many of whose oarsmen had taken part and been wounded in the +fight. Before nightfall the Algerines were vanishing below the horizon. + +There being signs of a coming storm, Don John hastened to seek a harbor of +refuge, setting fire to such vessels as were damaged beyond usefulness, +and with the remainder of his prizes making all haste to the neighboring +port of Petala, the best harbor within reach. + +The loss of the Turks had been immense, probably not less than twenty-five +thousand being killed and five thousand taken prisoners. To Don John's +prizes may be added twelve thousand Christian captives, chained to the +oars by the Turks, who now came forth, with tears of joy, to bless their +deliverers. The allies had lost no more than eight thousand men. This +discrepancy was largely due to their use of fire-arms, while many of the +Turks fought with bows and arrows. Only the forty Algerine ships escaped; +one hundred and thirty vessels were taken. The Christian loss was but +fifteen galleys. The spoils were large and valuable, consisting in great +measure of gold, jewels, and rich brocades. + +Of the noble cavaliers who took part in the fight, we shall speak only of +Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, a nephew of Don John, whom he was +destined to succeed in military renown. He began here his career with a +display of courage and daring unsurpassed on the fleet. Among the +combatants was a common soldier, Cervantes by name, whose future glory was +to throw into the shade that of all the leaders in the fight. Though +confined to bed with a fever on the morning of the battle, he insisted on +taking part, and his courage in the affray was shown by two wounds on his +breast and a third in his hand which disabled it for life. Fortunately it +was the left hand. The right remained to write the immortal story of Don +Quixote de la Mancha. + +Thus ended one of the greatest naval battles of modern times. No important +political effect came from it, but it yielded an immense moral result. It +had been the opinion of Europe that the Turks were invincible at sea. This +victory dispelled that theory, gave new heart to Christendom, and so +dispirited the Turks that in the next year they dared not meet the +Christians at sea, though they were commanded by the daring dey of +Algiers. The beginning of the decline of the Ottoman empire may be said to +date from the battle of Lepanto. + + + + + +THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. + + +During almost the whole reign of Philip II. the army of Spain was kept +busily engaged, now with the Turks and the Barbary states, now with the +revolted Moriscos, or descendants of the Moors of Granada, now in the +conquest of Portugal, now with the heretics of the Netherlands. All this +was not enough for the ambition of the Spanish king. Elizabeth of England +had aided the Netherland rebels and had insulted him in America by sending +fleets to plunder his colonies; England, besides, was a nest of enemies of +the church of which Philip was one of the most zealous supporters; he +determined to attempt the conquest of that heretical and hostile island +and the conversion of its people. + +For months all the shipwrights of Spain were kept busy in building vessels +of an extraordinary size. Throughout the kingdom stores were actively +collected for their equipment. Levies of soldiers were made in Italy, +Germany, and the Netherlands, to augment the armies of Spain. What was in +view was the secret of the king, but through most of 1587 all Europe +resounded with the noise of his preparations. + +Philip broached his project to his council of state, but did not gain much +support for his enterprise. "England," said one of them, "is surrounded +with a tempestuous ocean and has few harbors. Its navy is equal to that of +any other nation, and if a landing is made we shall find its coasts +defended by a powerful army. It would be better first to subdue the +Netherlands; that done we shall be better able to chastise the English +queen." The Duke of Parma, Philip's general in chief, was of the same +opinion. Before any success could be hoped for, he said, Spain should get +possession of some large seaport in Zealand, for the accommodation of its +fleet. + +These prudent counsels were thrown away on the self-willed king. His +armies had lately conquered Portugal; England could not stand before their +valor; one battle at sea and another on shore would decide the contest; +the fleet he was building would overwhelm all the ships that England +possessed; the land forces of Elizabeth, undisciplined and unused to war, +could not resist his veteran troops, the heroes of a hundred battles, and +led by the greatest general of the age. All this he insisted on. Europe +should see what he could do. England should be punished for its heresy and +Elizabeth pay dearly for her discourtesy. + +Philip was confirmed in his purpose by the approbation of the Pope. +Elizabeth of England was the greatest enemy of the Catholic faith. She had +abolished it throughout her dominions and executed as a traitor the +Catholic Queen Mary of Scotland. For nearly thirty years she had been the +chief support of the Protestants in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. +Pope Pius V. had already issued a bull deposing Elizabeth, on the ground +of acts of perfidy. Sixtus VI., who succeeded, renewed this bull and +encouraged Philip who, ambitious to be considered the guardian of the +Church, hastened his preparations for the conquest of the island kingdom. + +Elizabeth was not deceived by the stories set afloat by Spain. She did not +believe that this great fleet was intended partly for the reduction of +Holland, partly for use in America, as Philip declared. Scenting danger +afar, she sent Sir Francis Drake with a fleet to the coast of Spain to +interrupt these stupendous preparations. + +Drake was the man for the work. Dispersing the Spanish fleet sent to +oppose him, he entered the harbor of Cadiz, where he destroyed two large +galleons and a handsome vessel filled with provisions and naval stores. +Then he sailed for the Azores, captured a rich carrack on the way home +from the East Indies, and returned to England laden with spoils. He had +effectually put an end to Philip's enterprise for that year. + +Philip now took steps towards a treaty of peace with England, for the +purpose of quieting the suspicions of the queen. She appeared to fall into +the snare, pretended to believe that his fleet was intended for Holland +and America, and entered into a conference with Spain for the settlement +of all disturbing questions. But at the same time she raised an army of +eighty thousand men, fortified all exposed ports, and went vigorously to +work to equip her fleet. She had then less than thirty ships in her navy, +and these much smaller than those of Spain, but the English sailors were +the best and boldest in the world, new ships were rapidly built, and pains +was taken to increase the abhorrence which the people felt for the tyranny +of Spain. Accounts were spread abroad of the barbarities practised in +America and in the Netherlands, vivid pictures were drawn of the cruelties +of the Inquisition, and the Catholic as well as the Protestant people of +England became active in preparing for defence. The whole island was of +one mind; loyalty seemed universal; the citizens of London provided thirty +ships, and the nobility and gentry of England forty or fifty more. But +these were of small size as compared with those of their antagonist, and +throughout the island apprehension prevailed. + +In the beginning of May, 1588, Philip's strenuous labors were concluded +and the great fleet was ready. It was immense as compared with that with +which William the Conqueror had invaded and conquered England five +centuries before. The Invincible Armada, as the Spaniards called it, +consisted of one hundred and fifty ships, many of them of enormous size. +They were armed with more than two thousand six hundred great guns, were +provisioned for half a year, and contained military stores in a profusion +which only the wealth of America and the Indies could have supplied. On +them were nearly twenty thousand of the famous troops of Spain, with two +thousand volunteers of the most distinguished families, and eight thousand +sailors. In addition there was assembled in the coast districts of the +Netherlands an army of thirty-four thousand men, for whose transportation +to England a great number of flat-bottomed vessels had been procured. +These were to venture upon the sea as soon as the Armada was in position +for their support. + +And now, indeed, "perfidious Albion" had reason to tremble. Never had that +nation of islanders been so seriously threatened, not even when the ships +of William of Normandy were setting sail for its shores. The great fleet, +which lay at Lisbon, then a city of Spain, was to set sail in the early +days of May, and no small degree of fear affected the hearts of all +Protestant Europe, for the conquest of England by Philip the fanatic would +have been a frightful blow to the cause of religious and political +liberty. + +All had so far gone well with Spain; now all began to go ill. At the very +time fixed for sailing the Marquis of Santa Cruz, the admiral of the +fleet, was taken violently ill and died, and with him died the Duke of +Paliano, the vice-admiral. Santa Cruz's place was not easy to fill. Philip +chose to succeed him the Duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman totally +ignorant of sea affairs, giving him for vice-admiral Martinez de Recaldo, +a seaman of much experience. All this caused so much delay that the fleet +did not sail till May 29. + +Storm succeeded sickness to interfere with Philip's plans. A tempest fell +on the fleet on its way to Corunna, where it was to take on some troops +and stores. All but four of the ships reached Corunna, but they had been +so battered and dishevelled by the winds that several weeks passed before +they could again be got ready for sea,--much to the discomfiture of the +king, who was eager to become the lord and master of England. He had dwelt +there in former years as the husband of Queen Mary; now he was ambitious +to set foot there as absolute king. + +England, meanwhile, was in an ebullition of joy. Word had reached there +that the Spanish fleet was rendered unseaworthy by the storm, and the +queen's secretary, in undue haste, ordered Lord Howard, the admiral, to +lay up four of his largest ships and discharge their crews, as they would +not be needed. But Howard was not so ready to believe a vague report, and +begged the queen to let him keep the ships, even if at his own expense, +till the truth could be learned. To satisfy himself, he set sail for +Corunna, intending to try and destroy the Armada if as much injured as +reported. Learning the truth, and finding that a favorable wind for Spain +had begun to blow, he returned to Plymouth in all haste, in some dread +lest the Armada might precede him to the English coast. + +He had not long been back when stirring tidings came. The Armada had been +seen upon the seas. Lord Howard at once left harbor with his fleet. The +terrible moment of conflict, so long and nervously awaited, was at hand. +On the next day--July 30--he came in view of the great Spanish fleet, drawn +up in the form of a crescent, with a space of seven miles between its +wings. Before this giant fleet his own seemed but a dwarf. Paying no +attention to Lord Howard's ships, the Armada moved on with dignity up the +Channel, its purpose being to disperse the Dutch and English ships off the +Netherland coast and escort to England the Duke of Parma's army, then +ready to sail. + +Lord Howard deemed it wisest to pursue a guerilla mode of warfare, +harassing the Spaniards and taking any advantage that offered. He first +attacked the flag-ship of the vice-admiral Recaldo, and with such vigor +and dexterity as to excite great alarm in the Spanish fleet. From that +time it kept closer order, yet on the same day Howard attacked one of its +largest ships. Others hurried to the aid; but in their haste two of them +ran afoul, one, a large galleon, having her mast broken. She fell behind +and was captured by Sir Francis Drake, who discovered, to his delight, +that she had on board a chief part of the Spanish treasure. + +Other combats took place, in all of which the English were victorious. The +Spaniards proved ignorant of marine evolutions, and the English sailed +around them with a velocity which none of their ships could equal, and +proved so much better marksmen that nearly every shot told, while the +Spanish gunners fired high and wasted their balls in the air. The fight +with the Armada seemed a prototype of the much later sea-battles at Manila +and Santiago de Cuba. + +Finally, after a halt before Calais, the Armada came within sight of +Dunkirk, where Parma's army, with its flat-bottomed transports, was +waiting to embark. Here a calm fell upon the fleets, and they remained +motionless for a whole day. But about midnight a breeze sprang up and Lord +Howard put into effect a scheme he had devised the previous day. He had +made a number of fire-ships by filling eight vessels with pitch, sulphur, +and other combustibles, and these were now set on fire and sent down the +wind against the Spanish fleet. + +It was with terror that the Spaniards beheld the coming of these flaming +ships. They remembered vividly the havoc occasioned by fire-ships at the +siege of Antwerp. The darkness of the night added to their fears, and +panic spread from end to end of the fleet. All discipline vanished; +self-preservation was the sole thought of each crew. Some took time to +weigh their anchors, but others, in wild haste, cut their cables, and soon +the ships were driving blindly before the wind, some running afoul of each +other and being completely disabled by the shock. + +When day dawned Lord Howard saw with the highest satisfaction the results +of his stratagem. The Spanish fleet was in the utmost disorder, its ships +widely dispersed. His own fleet had just been strengthened, and he at once +made an impetuous attack upon the scattered Armada. The battle began at +four in the morning and lasted till six in the evening, the Spaniards +fighting with great bravery but doing little execution. Many of their +ships were greatly damaged, and ten of the largest were sunk, run aground, +or captured. The principal galeas, or large galley, manned with three +hundred galley slaves and having on board four hundred soldiers, was +driven ashore near Calais, and nearly all the Spaniards were killed or +drowned in attempting to reach land. The rowers were set at liberty. + +The Spanish admiral was greatly dejected by this series of misfortunes. As +yet the English had lost but one small ship and about one hundred men, +while his losses had been so severe that he began to dread the destruction +of the entire fleet. He could not without great danger remain where he +was. His ships were too large to approach nearer to the coast of Flanders. +Philip had declined to secure a suitable harbor in Zealand, as advised. +The Armada was a great and clumsy giant, from which Lord Howard's much +smaller fleet had not fled in terror, as had been expected, and which now +was in such a condition that there was nothing left for it but to try and +return to Spain. + +But the getting there was not easy. A return through the Channel was +hindered by the wind, which blew strongly from the south. Nor was it a +wise movement in the face of the English fleet. The admiral, therefore, +determined to sail northward and make the circuit of the British islands. + +Unfortunately for Lord Howard, he was in no condition to pursue. By the +neglect of the authorities he had been ill-supplied with gunpowder, and +was forced to return to England for a fresh supply. But for this +deficiency he possibly might, in the distressed condition of the Spanish +fleet, have forced a surrender of the entire Armada. As it was, his return +proved fortunate, for the fleets had not far separated when a frightful +tempest began, which did considerable harm to the English ships, but fell +with all its rage on the exposed Armada. + +The ships, drawn up in close ranks, were hurled fiercely together, many +being sunk. Driven helplessly before the wind, some were dashed to pieces +on the rocks of Norway, others on the Scottish coast or the shores of the +western islands. Some went down in the open sea. A subsequent storm, which +came from the west, drove more than thirty of them on the Irish coast. Of +these, some got off in a shattered state, others were utterly wrecked and +their crews murdered on reaching the shore. The admiral's ship, which had +kept in the open sea, reached the Spanish coast about the close of +September. + +Even after reaching harbor in Spain troubles pursued them, two of the +galleons taking fire and burning to ashes. Of the delicately reared noble +volunteers, great numbers had died from the hardships of the voyage, and +many more died from diseases contracted at sea. The total loss is not +known; some say that thirty-two, some that more than eighty, ships were +lost, while the loss of life is estimated at from ten thousand to fifteen +thousand. Spain felt the calamity severely. There was hardly a family of +rank that had not some one of its members to mourn, and so universal was +the grief that Philip, to whose ambition the disaster was due, felt +obliged to issue an edict to abridge the time of public mourning. + +In England and Holland, on the contrary, the event was hailed with +universal joy. Days of solemn thanksgiving were appointed, and Elizabeth, +seated in a triumphal chariot and surrounded by her ministers and nobles, +went for this purpose to St. Paul's Cathedral, the concourse bearing a +great number of flags that had been taken from the enemy. + +The joy at the destruction of the Armada was not confined to England and +Holland. All Northern Europe joined in it. Philip's ambition, in the event +of victory over England, might have led him to attempt the subjection of +every Protestant state in Europe, while Catholic France, which he +afterwards attempted to conquer, had the greatest reason to dread his +success. + +Thus ended the most threatening enterprise in the religious wars of the +sixteenth century, and to Lord Howard and his gallant captains England and +Europe owe the deepest debt of gratitude, for the success of the Armada +and the conquest of England by Spain might have proved a calamity whose +effects would have been felt to the present day. + + + + + +THE CAUSES OF SPAIN'S DECADENCE. + + +The golden age of Spain began in 1492, in which year the conquest of +Granada extinguished the Arab dominion, and the discovery of America by +Columbus opened a new world to the enterprise of the Spanish cavaliers. It +continued during the reigns of Charles I. and Philip II., extending over a +period of about a century, during which Spain was the leading power in +Europe, and occupied the foremost position in the civilized world. In +Europe its possessions included the Netherlands and important regions in +Italy, while its king, Charles I., ruled as Charles V. over the German +empire, possessing a dominion in Europe only surpassed by that of +Charlemagne. Under Philip II. Portugal became a part of the Spanish realm, +and with it its colony of Brazil, so that Spain was the unquestioned owner +of the whole continent of South America, while much of North America lay +under its flag. + +Wealth flowed into the coffers of this broad kingdom in steady streams, +the riches of America over-flowing its treasury; its fleet was the +greatest, its army the best trained and most irresistible in Europe; it +stood as the bulwark against that mighty Ottoman power before which the +other nations trembled, and checked its career of victory at Lepanto; in +short, as above said, it was for a brief period the leading power in +Europe, and appeared to have in it the promise of a glorious career. + +Such was the status of Spain during the reigns of the monarchs named. This +was followed by a long period of decline, which reduced that kingdom from +its position of supremacy into that of one of the minor powers of Europe. +Various causes contributed to this change, the chief being the accession +of a series of weak monarchs and the false ideas of the principles of +political economy which then prevailed. The great treasure which flowed +into Spain from her American colonies rather hastened than retarded her +decline. The restrictions and monopolies of her colonial policy gave rise +to an active contraband trade, which reaped the harvest of her commerce. +The over-abundant supply of gold and silver had the effect of increasing +the price of other commodities and discouraging her rising industries, the +result being that she was obliged to purchase abroad the things she ceased +to produce at home and the wealth of America flowed from her coffers into +those of the adjoining nations. Her policy towards the Moriscos banished +the most active agriculturists from the land, and large districts became +desert, population declined, and the resources of the kingdom diminished +yearly. In a century after the death of Philip II. Spain, from being the +arbiter of the destinies of Europe, had grown so weak that the other +nations ceased to regard her otherwise than as a prey for their ambition, +her population had fallen from eight to six millions, her revenue from two +hundred and eighty to thirty millions, her navy had vanished, her army had +weakened, and her able soldiers and statesmen had disappeared. + +In addition to the causes of decline named, others of importance were her +treatment of the Jews and the Moriscos, though the banishment of the +former took place at an earlier date. Despite their activity in trade and +finance and the value to the nations of their genius for business, the +Jews of Europe were everywhere persecuted, often exposed to robbery and +massacre, and expelled from some kingdoms. In Spain their expulsion was +conducted with cruel severity. + +Many of the unfortunate Jews, seeking to escape persecution, embraced +Christianity. But their conversion was doubted, they were subjected to +constant espionage, and the least suspicion of indulging in their old +worship exposed them to the dangerous charge of heresy, a word of +frightful omen in Spain. It was to punish these delinquent Jews that in +1480 the Inquisition was introduced, and at once began its frightful work, +no less than two thousand "heretics" being burned alive in 1481, while +seventeen thousand were "reconciled," a word of mild meaning elsewhere, +but which in Spain signified torture, confiscation of property, loss of +citizenship, and frequently imprisonment for life in the dungeons of the +Inquisition. Severe as was the treatment of the Jews throughout +Christendom, nowhere were they treated more pitilessly than in Spain. + +The year 1492, in which Spain gained glory by the conquest of Granada and +the discovery of America, was one of the deepest misfortune to this +people, who were cruelly driven from the kingdom. The edict for this was +signed by Ferdinand and Isabella at Granada, March 30, 1492, and decreed +that all unbaptized Jews, without regard to sex, age, or condition, should +leave Spain before the end of the next July, and never return thither +under penalty of death and confiscation of property. Every Spaniard was +forbidden to give aid in any form to a Jew after the date named. The Jews +might sell their property and carry the proceeds with them in bills of +exchange or merchandise, but not in gold or silver. + +This edict came like a thunderbolt to the Israelites. At a tyrant's word +they must go forth as exiles from the land in which they and their +forefathers had dwelt for ages, break all their old ties of habit and +association, and be cast out helpless and defenceless, marked with a brand +of infamy, among nations who held them in hatred and contempt. + +Under the unjust terms of the edict they were forced to abandon most of +the property which they had spent their lives in gaining. It was +impossible to sell their effects in the brief time given, in a market +glutted with similar commodities, for more than a tithe of their value. As +a result their hard-won wealth was frightfully sacrificed. One chronicler +relates that he saw a house exchanged for an ass and a vineyard for a suit +of clothes. In Aragon the property of the Jews was confiscated for the +benefit of their creditors, with little regard to its value. As for the +bills of exchange which they were to take instead of gold and silver, it +was impossible to obtain them to the amount required in that age of +limited commerce, and here again they were mercilessly robbed. + +The migration was one of the most pitiable known in history. As the time +fixed for their departure approached the roads of the country swarmed with +emigrants, young and old, strong and feeble, sick and well, some on horses +or mules, but the great multitude on foot. The largest division, some +eighty thousand in number, passed through Portugal, whose monarch taxed +them for a free passage through his dominions, but, wiser than Ferdinand, +permitted certain skilful artisans among them to settle in his kingdom. + +Those who reached Africa and marched towards Fez, where many of their race +resided, were attacked by the desert tribes, robbed, slain, and treated +with the most shameful barbarity. Many of them, half-dead with famine and +in utter despair, returned to the coast, where they consented to be +baptized with the hope that they might be permitted to return to their +native land. + +Those who sought Italy contracted an infectious disease in the crowded and +filthy vessels which they were obliged to take; a disorder so malignant +that it carried off twenty thousand of the people of Naples during the +year, and spread far over the remainder of Italy. As for the Jews, hosts +of them perished of hunger and disease, and of the whole number expelled, +estimated at one hundred and sixty thousand, only a miserable fragment +found homes at length in foreign lands, some seeking Turkey, others +gaining refuge and protection in France and England. As for the effect of +the migration on Spain it must suffice here to quote the remark of a +monarch of that day: "Do they call this Ferdinand a politic prince, who +can thus impoverish his own kingdom and enrich ours?" + +Spain was in this barbarous manner freed of her Jewish population. There +remained the Moors, who had capitulated, under favorable terms, to +Ferdinand in 1492. These terms were violated a few years later by Cardinal +Ximenes, his severity driving them into insurrection in 1500. This was +suppressed, and then punishment began. So rigid was the inquiry that it +seemed as if all the people of Granada would be condemned as guilty, and +in mortal dread many of them made peace by embracing Christianity, while +others sold their estates and migrated to Barbary. In the end, all who +remained escaped persecution only by consenting to be baptized, the total +number of converts being estimated at fifty thousand. The name of Moors, +which had superseded that of Arabs, was now changed to that of Moriscos, +by which these unfortunate people were afterwards known. + +The ill-faith shown to the Moors of the plain gave rise to an insurrection +in the mountains, in which the Spaniards suffered a severe defeat. The +insurgents, however, were soon subdued, and most of them, to prevent being +driven from their homes, professed the Christian faith. By the free use of +torture and the sword the kings of Spain had succeeded in adding largely +to their Christian subjects. + +The Moriscos became the most skilful and industrious agriculturists of +Spain, but they were an alien element of the population and from time to +time irritating edicts were issued for their control. In 1560 the Moriscos +were forbidden to employ African slaves, for fear that they might make +infidels of them. This was a severe annoyance, for the wealthy farmers +depended on the labor of these slaves. In 1563 they were forbidden to +possess arms except under license. In 1566 still more oppressive edicts +were passed. They were no longer to use the Arabic language or wear the +Moorish dress, and the women were required to go about with their faces +unveiled,--a scandalous thing among Mohammedans. Their weddings were to be +conducted in public, after the Christian forms, their national songs and +dances were interdicted, and they were even forbidden to indulge in warm +baths, bathing being a custom of which the Spaniard of that day appears to +have disapproved. + +The result of these oppressive edicts was a violent and dangerous +insurrection, which involved nearly all the Moriscos of Spain, and +continued for more than two years, requiring all the power of Spain for +its suppression. Don John of Austria, the victor at Lepanto, led the +Spanish troops, but he had a difficult task, the Moriscos, sheltered in +their mountain fastnesses, making a desperate and protracted resistance, +and showing a warlike energy equal to that which had been displayed in the +defence of Granada. + +The end of the war was followed by a decree from Philip II. that all the +Moors of Granada should be removed into the interior of the country, their +lands and houses being forfeited, and nothing left them but their personal +effects. This act of confiscation was followed by their reduction to a +state of serfdom in their new homes, no one being permitted to change his +abode without permission, under a very severe penalty. If found within ten +leagues of Granada they were condemned, if between the ages of ten and +seventeen, to the galleys for life; if older, to the punishment of death. + +The dispersal of the Moriscos of Granada, while cruel to them, proved of +the greatest benefit to Spain. Wherever they went the effects of their +superior skill and industry were soon manifested. They were skilled not +only in husbandry, but in the mechanic arts, and their industry gave a new +aspect of prosperity to the provinces to which they were banished, while +the valleys and hill-sides of Granada, which had flourished under their +cultivation, sank into barrenness under the unskilful hands of their +successors. + +Yet this benefit to agriculture did not appeal to the ruling powers in +Spain. The Moriscos were not Spaniards, and could not easily become so +while deprived of all civil rights. While nominally Christian, there was a +suspicion that at heart they were still Moslems. And their relations to +the Moors of Africa and possible league with the corsairs of the +Mediterranean aroused distrust. Under Philip III., a timid and incapable +king, the final act came. He was induced to sign an edict for the +expulsion of the Moriscos, and this quiet and industrious people, a +million in number, were in 1610, like the Jews before them, forced to +leave their homes in Spain. + +It is not necessary to repeat the story of the suffering which necessarily +followed so barbarous an act. What has been said of the circumstances +attending the expulsion of the Jews will suffice. That of the Moriscos was +not so inhuman in its consequences, but it was serious enough. +Fortunately, in view of the intense impolicy and deep intolerance +indicated in the act, its evil effects reacted upon its advocates. To the +Moriscos the suffering was personal; to Spain it was national. As France +half-ruined herself by expelling the Huguenots, the most industrious of +her population, Spain did the same in expelling the Moriscos, to whose +skill and industry she owed so much of her prosperity. So it ever must be +when bigotry is allowed to control the policy of states. France recovered +from the evil effects of her mad act. Spain never did. The expulsion of +the Moriscos was one of the most prominent causes of her decline, and no +indications of a recovery have yet been shown. + +The expulsion of the Jews and Moriscos was not sufficient to satisfy the +intolerant spirit of Spain. Heresy had made its way even into the minds of +Spaniards. Sons of the Church themselves had begun to think in other lines +than those laid down for them by the priestly guardians of their minds. +Protestant books were introduced into the ever-faithful land, and a +considerable number of converts to Protestantism were made. + +Upon these heretics the Inquisition descended with all its frightful +force. Philip, in a monstrous edict, condemned all to be burned alive who +bought, sold, or read books prohibited by the Church. The result was +terrible. The land was filled with spies. Arrests were made on all sides. +The instruments of torture were kept busy. In all the principal cities of +Spain the monstrous spectacle of the _auto-de-fé_ was to be seen, +multitudes being burned at the stake for having dared to read the books or +accept the arguments of Protestant writers. + +The total effect of this horrible system of persecution we can only +epitomize. Thousands were burned at the stake, thousands imprisoned for +life after terrible torture, thousands robbed of their property, and their +children condemned to poverty and opprobrium; and the kingdom of Christ, +as the Spanish monarchs of that day estimated it, was established in +Spain. + +The Spanish Inquisition proved an instrument of conviction which none +dared question. Heresy was blotted out from Spain,--and Spain was blotted +out from the ranks of enlightened nations. Freedom of thought was at an +end. The mind of the Spaniard was put in fetters. Spain, under the sombre +shadow of this barbarity, was shut out from the light which was breaking +over the remainder of Europe. Literature moved in narrow channels, +philosophy was checked, the domain of science was closed, progress was at +an end. Spain stood still while the rest of the world was sweeping onward; +and she stands still to-day, her mind in the fifteenth century. The +decadence of Spain is due to the various causes named,--the weakness of her +rulers, lack of just and advantageous ideas of political and commercial +economy, suppression of freedom of thought and opinion on topics which +were being freely handled elsewhere in Christendom, and a narrow and +intolerant policy which, wherever shown, is a fatal barrier to the +progress of mankind. + + + + + +THE LAST OF A ROYAL RACE. + + +The rebellion of the Moriscos, due to the oppressive edicts of Philip II., +as stated in the preceding tale, was marked by numerous interesting +events. Some of these are worth giving in illustration of the final +struggle of the Moors in Spain. The insurgents failed in their first +effort, that of seizing the city of Granada, still filled with their +fellow-countrymen, and restoring as far as possible their old kingdom; and +they afterwards confined themselves to the difficult passes and mountain +fastnesses of the Sierra Nevada, where they presented a bold front to the +power of Spain. + +Having proclaimed their independence, and cast off all allegiance to the +crown of Spain, their first step was to select a new monarch of their own +race. The man selected for this purpose was of royal blood, being +descended in a direct line from the ancient family of the Omeyades, +caliphs of Damascus, and for nearly four centuries rulers in Spain. This +man, who bore the Castilian name of Don Fernando de Valor, but was known +by the Moors as Aben-Humeya, was at that time twenty-two years of age, +comely in person and engaging in manners, and of a deportment worthy of +the princely line from which he had descended. A man of courage and +energy, he escaped from Granada and took refuge in the mountains, where he +began a war to the knife against Spain. + +The early events of the war were unfavorable to the Moors. Their +strongholds were invaded by a powerful Spanish force under the Marquis of +Mondejar, and their forces soon put to flight. Aben-Humeya was so hotly +pursued that he was forced to spring from his horse, cut the hamstrings of +the animal to render it useless to his pursuers, and seek refuge in the +depths of the sierras, where dozens of hiding-places unknown to his +pursuers could be found. + +The insurrection was now in a desperate stage. Mondejar was driving the +rebels in arms in terror before him; tower and town fell in succession +into his hands; everywhere his arms were victorious, and only one thing +was wanting to bring all opposition to an end,--the capture of Aben-Humeya, +the "little king" of the Alpujarras. This crownless monarch was known to +be wandering with a few followers in the wilds of the mountains; but while +he lived the insurrection might at any moment blaze out again, and +detachments of soldiers were sent to pursue him through the sierras. + +The captain of one of these parties learned from a traitor that the +fugitive prince remained hidden in the mountains only during the day, +finding shelter at night in the house of a kinsman, Aben-Aboo, on the +skirts of the sierras. Learning the situation of this mansion, the Spanish +captain led his men with the greatest secrecy towards it. Travelling by +night, they reached the vicinity of the dwelling under cover of the +darkness. In a minute more the house would have been surrounded and its +inmates secured; but at this critical moment the arquebuse of one of the +Spaniards was accidentally discharged, the report echoing loudly among the +hills and warning the lightly sleeping inmates of their danger. + +One of them, El Zaguer, the uncle of Aben-Humeya, at once sprang up and +leaped from the window of his room, making his way with all haste to the +mountains. His nephew was not so fortunate. Running to his window, in the +front of the house, he saw the ground occupied by troops. He hastily +sought another window, but his foes were there before him. Bewildered and +distressed, he knew not where to turn. The house was surrounded; the +Spaniards were thundering on the door for admittance; he was like a wolf +caught in its lair, and with as little mercy to hope from his captors. + +By good fortune the door was well secured. One possible chance for safety +occurred to the hunted prince. Hastening down-stairs, he stood behind the +portal and noiselessly drew its bolts. The Spaniards, finding the door +give way, and supposing that it had yielded to their blows, rushed hastily +in and hurried through the house in search of the fugitive who was hidden +behind the door. The instant they had all passed he slipped out, and, +concealed by the darkness outside, hastened away, soon finding a secure +refuge in the mountains. + +Aben-Aboo remained in the hands of the assaillants, who vainly questioned +him as to the haunts of his kinsmen. On his refusal to answer they +employed torture, but with no better effect. "I may die," he courageously +said, "but my friends will live." So severe and cruel was their treatment, +that in the end they left him for dead, returning to camp with the other +prisoners they had taken. As it proved, however, the heroic Aben-Aboo did +not die, but lived to play a leading part in the war. + +With kindly treatment of the Moriscos he would probably have given no more +trouble, but the Spanish proved utterly merciless, their soldiers raging +through the mountains, and committing the foulest acts of outrage and +rapine. In Granada a frightful deed was committed. A large number of the +leading Moriscos, about one hundred and fifty in all, had been seized and +imprisoned, being held as hostages for the good behavior of their friends. +Here, on a night in March, the prison was entered by a body of Spaniards, +who assailed the unfortunate captives, arms in hand, and began an +indiscriminate massacre. The prisoners seizing what means of defence they +could find, fought desperately for their lives, and for two hours the +unequal combat continued, not ending while a Morisco remained alive. + +This savage act led to terrible reprisals on the part of the insurgents, +who in the subsequent war treated with atrocious cruelty many of their +captives. The Moriscos were soon in arms again, Aben-Humeya at their head, +and the war blazed throughout the length and breadth of the mountains. +Even from Barbary came a considerable body of Moors, who entered the +service of the Morisco chief. Fierce and intrepid, trained to the military +career, and accustomed to a life of wild adventure, these were a most +valuable reinforcement to Aben-Humeya's forces, and enabled him to carry +on a guerilla warfare which proved highly vexatious to the troops of +Spain. He made forays from the mountains into the plain, penetrating into +the vega and boldly venturing even to the walls of Granada. The +insurrection spread far and wide through the Sierra Nevada, and the +Spanish army, now led by Don John of Austria, the king's brother, found +itself confronted by a most serious task. + +The weak point in the organization of the Moriscos lay in the character of +their king. Aben-Humeya, at first popular, soon displayed traits of +character which lost him the support of his followers. Surrounded by a +strong body-guard, he led a voluptuous life, and struck down without mercy +those whom he feared, no less than three hundred and fifty persons falling +victims to his jealousy or revenge. His cruelty and injustice at length +led to a plot for his death, and his brief reign ended in assassination, +his kinsman, Aben-Aboo, being chosen as his successor. + +The new king was a very different man from his slain predecessor. He was +much the older of the two, a man of high integrity and great decorum of +character. While lacking the dash and love of adventure of Aben-Humeya, he +had superior judgment in military affairs, and full courage in carrying +out his plans. His election was confirmed from Algiers, a large quantity +of arms and ammunition was imported from Barbary, reinforcements crossed +the Mediterranean, and the new king began his reign under excellent +auspices, his first movement being against Orgiba, a fortified place on +the road to Granada, which he invested in October with an army of ten +thousand men. + + [Illustration: THE ALHAMBRA, OVERLOOKING GRANADA.] + + THE ALHAMBRA, OVERLOOKING GRANADA. + + +The capture of this place, which soon followed, roused the enthusiasm of +the Moriscos to the highest pitch. From all sides the warlike peasantry +flocked to the standard of their able chief, and a war began resembling +that of a century before, when the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella were +invading the Kingdom of Granada. From peak to peak of the sierras +beacon-fires flashed their signals, calling the bold mountaineers to +forays on the lands of the enemy. Pouring suddenly down on the lower +levels, the daring marauders swept away in triumph to the mountains the +flocks and herds of their Christian foes. The vega of Granada became, as +in ancient times, the battle-ground of Moorish and Christian cavaliers, +the latter having generally the advantage, though occasionally the +insurgent bands would break into the suburbs, or even the city of Granada, +filling its people with consternation, and causing the great bell of the +Alhambra to peal out its tocsin of alarm and call the Spanish chivalry in +haste to the fray. + +We cannot describe, even in epitome, the varied course of this sanguinary +war. As might well have been expected, the greater force of the Spaniards +gradually prevailed, and the autumn of 1570 found the insurgents almost +everywhere subdued. Only Aben-Aboo, the "little king," remained in arms, a +force of four hundred men being all that were left to him of his recent +army. But these were men warmly devoted to him, and until the spring of +1571 every effort for his capture proved in vain. Hiding in mountain caves +and in inaccessible districts, he defied pursuit, and in a measure kept +alive the flame of rebellion. + +Treason at length brought his career to an end. One of the few insurgent +prisoners who escaped death at the hands of the Spanish executioners +revealed the hiding-place of the fugitive king, and named the two persons +on whom Aben-Aboo most relied, his secretary, Abou Amer, and a Moorish +captain named El Senix. + +An effort was made to win over the secretary by one who had formerly known +him, a letter being sent him which roused him to intense indignation. El +Senix, however, becoming aware of its contents, and having a private +grudge against his master, sent word by the messenger that he would +undertake, for a suitable recompense, to betray him to the Christians. + +An interview soon after took place between the Moor and Barredo, the +Spanish agent, some intimation of which came to the ears of Aben-Aboo. The +king at once sought a cavern in the neighborhood where El Senix was +secreted, and, leaving his followers outside, imprudently entered alone. +He found El Senix surrounded by several of his friends, and sternly +demanded of him the purpose of his interview with Barredo. Senix, confused +by the accusation, faltered out that he had simply been seeking to obtain +an amnesty for him. Aben-Aboo listened with a face of scorn, and, turning +on his heel with the word "treachery," walked back to the mouth of the +cave. + +Unluckily, his men, with the exception of two guards stationed at the +entrance, had left the spot to visit some near-by friends. Senix, +perceiving that his own life was in danger, and that this was his only +opportunity for safety, fell with his followers on the guards, one of whom +was killed and the other put to flight. Then an attack was made on +Aben-Aboo. The latter defended himself desperately, but the odds were too +great, and the dastardly El Senix ended the struggle by felling him with +the butt-end of his musket, when he was quickly despatched. + +Thus died the last of the Omeyades, the famous dynasty of Arabian caliphs +founded in 660, and established in Spain in 756. Aben-Aboo, the last of +this royal race, was given in death a triumphal entrance to Granada, as if +he were one whom the Spaniards delighted to honor. The corpse was set +astride on a mule, being supported by a wooden frame, which lay hidden +beneath flowing robes. On one side rode Barredo; on the other the murderer +El Senix bore the scimitar and arquebuse of the dead prince. The kinsmen +and friends of the Morisco chief rode in his train, and after them came a +regiment of infantry and a troop of horse. + +As the procession moved along the street of Zacatin salvos of musketry +saluted it, peals of artillery roared from the towers of the Alhambra, and +the multitude thronged to gaze with silent curiosity on the ghastly face. +Thus the cavalcade proceeded until the great square of Vivarambla was +reached. Here were assembled the principal cavaliers and magistrates of +the city, and here El Senix dismounted and delivered to Deza, the +president of the tribunal before which were tried the insurgent captives, +the arms of the murdered prince. + +And now this semblance of respect to a brave enemy was followed by a scene +of barbarity worthy of the Spain of that day. The ceremony of a public +execution was gone through with, the head of the corpse being struck off, +after which the body was given to the boys of Granada, who dragged it +through the streets and exposed it to every indignity, finally committing +it to the flames. The head, enclosed in a cage, was set over the gate that +faced towards the Alpujarras. There it remained for a year, seeming to +gaze towards the hills which the Morisco chief had loved so well, and +which had witnessed his brief and disastrous reign. + +Such was the fate of Aben-Aboo, the last of a line of great monarchs, and +one of the best of them all; a man of lofty spirit, temperate appetites, +and courageous endurance, who, had he lived in more prosperous days, might +have ruled in the royal halls of Cordova with a renown equal to that of +the most famous caliph of his race. + + + + + +HENRY MORGAN AND THE BUCCANEERS. + + +As the seventeenth century passed on, Spain, under the influence of +religious intolerance and bad government, grew weak, both at home and +abroad. Its prominent place in Europe was lost. Its vast colonial +provinces in America were scenes of persecution and anarchy. There the +fortresses were allowed to decay, the soldiers, half-clothed and unpaid, +to become beggars or bandits, the treasures to be pilfered, and commerce +to become a system of fraud; while the colonists were driven to detest +their mother land. This weakness was followed by dire consequences. Bands +of outcasts from various nations, who had settled on Spanish territory in +the West Indies, at first to forage on the cattle of Hispaniola, organized +into pirate crews, and, under the name of buccaneers, became frightful +scourges of the commerce of Spain. + +These wretches, mainly French, English, and Dutch, deserters and outlaws, +the scum of their nations, made the rich merchant and treasure ships of +Spain their prey, slaughtering their crews, torturing them for hidden +wealth, rioting with profuse prodigality at their lurking-places on land, +and turning those fair tropical islands into a pandemonium of outrage, +crime, and slaughter. As they troubled little the ships of other nations, +these nations rather favored than sought to suppress them, and Spain +seemed powerless to bring their ravages to an end. In consequence, as the +years went on, they grew bolder and more adventurous. Beginning with a few +small, deckless sloops, they in time gained large and well-armed vessels, +and created so deep a terror among the Spaniards by their savage attacks +that the latter rarely made a strong resistance. + +Lurking in forest-hidden creeks and inlets of the West India islands, they +kept a keen lookout for the ships that bore to Spain the gold, silver, +precious stones, and rich products of the New World, pursued them in their +swift barks, boarded them, and killed all who ventured to resist. If the +cargo was a rich one, and there had been little effort at defence, the +prisoners might be spared their lives; if otherwise, they were flung +mercilessly into the sea. Sailing then to their place of rendezvous, the +captors indulged in the wildest and most luxurious orgies, their tables +groaning with strong liquors and rich provisions; gaming, music, and +dancing succeeding; extravagance, debauchery, and profusion of every kind +soon dissipating their blood-bought wealth. + +Among the pirate leaders several gained prominence for superior boldness +or cruelty, among whom we may particularly name L'Olonnois, a Frenchman, +of such savage ferocity that all mariners of Spanish birth shuddered with +fear at his very name. This wretch suffered the fate he deserved. In an +expedition to the Isthmus of Darien he was taken prisoner by a band of +savage Indians, who tore him to pieces alive, flung his quivering limbs +into the fire, and then scattered the ashes to the air. + +Most renowned of all the buccaneers was Henry Morgan, a native of Wales, +who ran away from home as a boy, was sold as a slave in Barbadoes, and +afterwards joined a pirate crew, in time becoming a leader among the +lawless hordes. By this time the raids of the ferocious buccaneers had +almost put an end to Spanish commerce with the New World, and the daring +freebooters, finding their gains at sea falling off, collected fleets and +made attacks on land, plundering rich towns and laying waste thriving +settlements. So greatly had Spanish courage degenerated that the pirates +with ease put to flight ten times their number of that Spanish soldiery +which, a century before, had been the finest in the world. + +The first pirate to make such a raid was Lewis Scott, who sacked the town +of Campeachy, robbing it of all its wealth, and forcing its inhabitants to +pay an enormous ransom. Another named Davies marched inland to Nicaragua, +took and plundered that town, and carried off a rich booty in silver and +precious stones. He afterwards pillaged the city of St. Augustine, +Florida. Others performed similar exploits, but we must confine our +attention to the deeds of Morgan, the boldest and most successful of them +all. + +Morgan's first enterprise was directed against Port au Prince, Cuba, +where, however, the Spaniards had received warning and concealed their +treasures, so that the buccaneer gained little for his pains. His next +expedition was against Porto Bello, on the Isthmus, one of the richest and +best fortified of American cities. Two castles, believed to be +impregnable, commanded the entrances to the harbor. When the freebooters +learned that their leader proposed to attack so strong a place as this the +hearts of the boldest among them shrank. But Morgan, with a few inspiring +words, restored their courage. + +"What boots it," he exclaimed, "how small our number, if our hearts be +great! The fewer we are the closer will be our union and the larger our +shares of plunder." + +Boldness and secrecy carried the day. One of the castles was taken by +surprise, the first knowledge of the attack coming to the people of the +town from the concussion when Morgan blew it up. Before the garrison or +the citizens could prepare to oppose them the freebooters were in the +town. The governor and garrison fled in panic haste to the other castle, +while the terrified people threw their treasures into wells and cisterns. +The castle made a gallant resistance, but was soon obliged to yield to the +impetuous attacks of the pirate crews. + +It was no light exploit which Morgan had performed,--to take with five +hundred men a fortified city with a large garrison and strengthened by +natural obstacles to assault. The ablest general in ordinary war might +well have claimed renown for so signal a victory. But the ability of the +leader was tarnished by the cruelty of the buccaneer. The people were +treated with shocking barbarity, many of them being shut up in convents +and churches and burned alive, while the pirates gave themselves up to +every excess of debauchery. + +The great booty gained by this raid caused numerous pirate captains to +enlist under Morgan's flag, and other towns were taken, in which similar +orgies of cruelty and debauchery followed. But the impunity of the +buccaneers was nearing its end. Their atrocious acts had at length aroused +the indignation of the civilized world, and a treaty was concluded between +Great Britain and Spain whose chief purpose was to put an end to these +sanguinary and ferocious deeds. + +The first effect of this treaty was to spur the buccaneers to the +performance of some exploit surpassing any they had yet achieved. So high +was Morgan's reputation among the pirates that they flocked from all +quarters to enlist under his flag, and he soon had a fleet of no fewer +than thirty-seven vessels manned by two thousand men. With so large a +force an expedition on a greater scale could well be undertaken, and a +counsel of the chiefs debated whether they should make an assault upon +Vera Cruz, Carthagena, or Panama. Their choice fell upon Panama, as the +richest of the three. + +The city of Panama at that time (1670) was considered one of the greatest +and most opulent in America. It contained two thousand large buildings and +five thousand smaller, all of which were three stories high. Many of these +were built of stone, others of cedar wood, being elegantly constructed and +richly furnished. The city was the emporium for the silver- and gold-mines +of New Spain, and its merchants lived in great opulence, their houses rich +in articles of gold and silver, adorned with beautiful paintings and other +works of art, and full of the luxuries of the age. The churches were +magnificent in their decorations, and richly embellished with ornaments in +gold and silver. The city presented such a prize to cupidity as +freebooters and bandits had rarely conceived of in their wildest dreams. + + [Illustration: STREET IN OLD QUARTER OF PANAMA.] + + STREET IN OLD QUARTER OF PANAMA. + + +The daring enterprise began with the capture by four hundred men of the +Fort of St. Laurence, at the mouth of the Chagres River. Up this +serpentine stream sailed the freebooters, as far as it would bear them, +and thence they marched overland, suffering the greatest hardships and +overcoming difficulties which would have deterred men of less intrepid +spirit. Eight days of this terrible march brought the adventurers within +sight of the far-spreading Pacific, and of the spires of the coveted city +on its shores. + +The people of Panama had been apprised of what was in store for them, and +had laid ambuscades for the buccaneers, but Morgan, by taking an indirect +route to the town, avoided these. Panama was but partly fortified. In +several quarters it lay open to attack. It must be fought for and won or +lost on the open plain. Here the Spaniards had assembled to the number of +two thousand infantry and four hundred cavalry, well equipped and +possessing everything needed but spirit to meet the dreaded foe. They had +adopted an expedient sure to prove a dangerous one. A herd of wild bulls, +to the number of more than two thousand, was provided, with Indians and +negroes to drive them on the pirate horde. The result resembled that in +which the Greeks drove elephants upon the Roman legions. Many of the +buccaneers were accustomed to the chase of wild cattle, and, by shouts and +the waving of colored flags, turned the bulls back upon the Spanish lines, +which they threw into disorder. + +The buccaneers followed with an impetuous charge which broke the ranks of +the defenders of the town, who, after a two hours' combat, were completely +routed, the most of them being killed or taken prisoners. The assault was +now directed upon the town, which was strongly defended, the pirates being +twice repulsed and suffering much from the numerous Spanish guns. But +after a three hours' fight they overcame all opposition and the city fell +into their hands. + +A scene of frightful bloodshed and inhumanity followed. The buccaneers +gave no quarter, killing all they met. Lest they should be exposed to a +counter assault while intoxicated, Morgan called them together and forbade +them to taste the wine of the town, saying that it had been poisoned. +Conflagration followed massacre. Fires broke out in several quarters of +the city, and great numbers of dwellings, with churches, convents, and +numerous warehouses filled with valuable goods were reduced to ashes. +These fires continued to burn during most of the month in which the +freebooters held the city, and in which they indulged to the full in their +accustomed cruelty, rapacity, and licentiousness. + +Treasure was found in great quantities in the wells and caves, where it +had been thrown by the terrified people. The vessels taken in the harbor +yielded valuable commodities. Detachments were sent into the country to +capture and bring back those who had fled for safety, and by torturing +these several rich deposits of treasure were discovered in the surrounding +forests. A few of the inhabitants escaped with their wealth by sea, +seeking shelter in the islands of the bay, and a galleon laden with the +king's plate and jewels and other precious articles belonging to the +church and the people narrowly escaped after a hot chase by the +buccaneers. With these exceptions the rich city was completely looted. + +After a month spent among the ruins of Panama Morgan and his villainous +followers departed, one hundred and seventy-five mules carrying their more +bulky spoil, while with them were six hundred prisoners, some carrying +burdens, others held to ransom. Thus laden, they reached again the mouth +of the Chagres, where their ships awaited them and where a division of the +spoil was to be made. + +Treachery followed this stupendous act of piracy, Morgan's later history +being an extraordinary one for a man of his infamous record. He was +possessed with the demon of cupidity, and a quarrel arose between him and +his men concerning the division of the spoil. Morgan ended it by running +off with the disputed plunder. On the night preceding the final division, +during the hours of deepest slumber, the treacherous chief, with a few of +his confidants, set sail for Jamaica, in a vessel deeply laden with +spoils. On waking and learning this act of base treachery, the infuriated +pirates pursued him, but in vain; he safely reached Jamaica with his +ill-gotten wealth. + +In this English island the pirate chief gained not only safety, but +honors. In some way he won the favor of Charles II., who knighted him as +Sir Henry Morgan and placed him on the admiralty court in Jamaica. He +subsequently, for a time, acted as deputy governor, and in this office +displayed the greatest severity towards his old associates, several of +whom were tried before him and executed. One whole crew of buccaneers were +sent by him to the Spaniards at Carthagena, in whose hands they were +likely to find little favor. He was subsequently arrested, sent to +England, and imprisoned for three years under charges from Spain; but this +was the sole punishment dealt out to the most notorious of the buccaneers. + +The success of Morgan's enterprise stimulated the piratical crews to +similar deeds of daring, and the depredations continued, not only in the +West Indies and eastern South America, but afterwards along the Pacific, +the cities of Leon, in Mexico, New Granada, on the lake of Nicaragua, and +Guayaquil, the port of Quito, being taken, sacked, and burned. Finally, +France and England joined Spain in efforts for their suppression, the +coasts were more strictly guarded, and many of the freebooters settled as +planters or became mariners in honest trade. Some of them, however, +continued in their old courses, dispersing over all seas as enemies of the +shipping of the world; but by the year 1700 their career had fairly come +to an end, and the race of buccaneers ceased to exist. + + + + + +ELIZABETH FARNESE AND ALBERONI. + + +In 1714 certain events took place in Spain of sufficient interest to be +worth the telling. Philip V., a feeble monarch, like all those for the +century preceding him, was on the throne. In his youth he had been the +Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV. of France, and upon the death of +that great monarch would be close in the succession to the throne of that +kingdom. But, chosen as king of Spain by the will of Charles II., he +preferred a sure seat to a doubtful one, and renounced his claim to the +French crown, thus bringing to an end the fierce "War of the Succession," +which had involved most of the powers of Europe for many years. + +Philip, by nature weak and yielding, became in time a confirmed +hypochondriac, and on the death of his wife, Maria Louise, in 1714, +abandoned himself to grief, refusing to attend to business of any kind, +shutting himself up in the strictest seclusion, and leaving the affairs of +the kingdom practically in the hands of the Princess Orsini, the governess +of his children, and his chief adviser. + +Sorrow-stricken as was the bereaved king, affairs were already in train to +provide him with a new wife, a plan being laid for that purpose at the +very funeral of his queen, as some writers say, between the ambitious +Princess Orsini and a cunning Italian named Alberoni, while they, with a +show of grave decorum, followed Maria Louise to the grave. + +The story of Alberoni is an interesting one. This man, destined to become +prime minister of Spain, began life as the son of a gardener in the duchy +of Parma. While a youth he showed such powers of intellect that the +Jesuits took him into their seminary and gave him an education of a +superior character. He assumed holy orders and, by a combination of +knowledge and ability with adulation and buffoonery, made his way until he +received the appointment of interpreter to the Bishop of St. Domino, who +was about to set out on a mission from the Duke of Parma to the Duke of +Vendôme, then commander of the French forces in Italy. + +The worthy bishop soon grew thoroughly disgusted with Vendôme, who, high +as he was in station, displayed a shameless grossness of manner which was +more than the pious churchman could endure. The conduct of the affair was +therefore left to the interpreter, whose delicacy was not disturbed by the +duke's behavior, and who managed to ingratiate himself fully in the good +graces of the French general, becoming so great a favorite that in the end +he left the service of the Duke of Parma for that of Vendôme. + +Subsequently the duke was appointed to a command in Spain, where he +employed Alberoni in all his negotiations with the court of Madrid. Here +the wily and ambitious Italian won the favor of the Princess Orsini so +fully that when, on Vendôme's death, he returned home, the Duke of Parma +sent him as his envoy to Spain. + +The princess little dreamed the character of the man whom she had taken +into confidential relations, and who was plotting to overthrow her +influence at court. Bent on retaining her influence by the choice of a +tractable queen, she spoke to Alberoni of the urgent necessity of finding +another bride for the disconsolate king. The shrewd diplomat named several +eligible princesses, each of whom he dismissed as objectionable for one +reason or another. At the end he adroitly introduced the name of Elizabeth +Farnese, step-daughter of the Duke of Parma, of whom he spoke carelessly +as a good girl, fattened on Parmesan cheese and butter, and so narrowly +educated that she had not an idea beyond her embroidery. She might +succeed, he hinted, to the throne of Parma, as the duke had no child of +his own, in which case there would be a chance for Spain to regain her +lost provinces in Italy. + +The deluded Princess Orsini was delighted with the suggestion. With such a +girl as this for queen she could continue to hold the reins of state. She +easily induced Philip to approve the choice; the Duke of Parma was charmed +with the offer; and the preliminary steps to the marriage were hurried +through with all possible rapidity. + +Before the final conclusion of the affair, however, the Princess Orsini +discovered in some way that Alberoni had lied, and that the proposed bride +was by no means the ignorant and incapable country girl she had been told. +Furious at the deception, she at once sent off a courier with orders to +stop all further proceedings relating to the marriage. The messenger +reached Parma in the morning of the day on which the marriage ceremony was +to be performed by proxy. But Alberoni was wide awake to the danger, and +managed to have the messenger detained until it was too late. Before he +could deliver his despatches Elizabeth Farnese was the legal wife of +Philip of Spain. + +The new queen had been fully advised of the state of affairs by Alberoni. +The Princess Orsini, to whom she owed her elevation, was to be got rid of, +at once and permanently. On crossing the frontiers she was met by all her +household except the princess, who was with the king, then on his way to +meet and espouse his bride. At Alcala the princess left him and hastened +to meet the queen, reaching the village of Xadraca in time to receive her +as she alighted from her carriage, kiss her hand, and in virtue of her +office at court to conduct her to her apartment. + +Elizabeth met the princess with a show of graciousness, but on entering +her chamber suddenly turned and accused her visitor of insulting her by +lack of respect, and by appearing before her in improper attire. The +amazed princess, overwhelmed by this accusation, apologized and +remonstrated, but the queen refused to listen to her, ordered her from the +room, and bade the officer of the guard to arrest and convey her beyond +the frontier. + +Here was a change in the situation! The officer hesitated to arrest one +who for years had been supreme in Spain. + +"Were you not instructed to obey me implicitly?" demanded Elizabeth. + +"Yes, your majesty." + +"Then do as I have ordered. I assume all responsibility." + +"Will your majesty give me a written sanction?" + +"Yes," said Elizabeth, in a tone very different from that of the +bread-and-butter miss whom Alberoni had represented her. + +Calling for pen, ink, and paper, she wrote upon her knee an order for the +princess's arrest, and bade the hesitating officer to execute it at once. + +He dared no longer object. The princess, in court dress, was hurried into +a carriage, with a single female attendant and two officers, being allowed +neither a change of clothing, protection against the cold, nor money to +procure needed conveniences on the road. In this way a woman of over sixty +years of age, whose will a few hours before had been absolute in Spain, +was forced to travel throughout an inclement winter night, and continue +her journey until she was thrust beyond the limits of Spain, within which +she was never again permitted to set foot. + +Such was the first act of the docile girl whom the ambitious princess had +fully expected to use as a tool for her designs. Schooled by her skilled +adviser, and perhaps sanctioned by Philip, who may have wished to get rid +of his old favorite, Elizabeth at the start showed a grasp of the +situation which she was destined to keep until the end. The feeble-minded +monarch at once fell under her influence, and soon all the affairs of the +kingdom became subject to her control. + +Elizabeth was a woman of restless ambition and impetuous temper, and she +managed throughout Philip's reign to keep the kingdom in constant hot +water. The objects she kept in view were two: first, to secure to Philip +the reversion of the French crown in case of the death of the then Duke of +Anjou, despite the fact that he had taken frequent oaths of renunciation; +second, to secure for her own children sovereign rule in Italy. + +We cannot detail the long story of the intrigues by which the ambitious +woman sought to bring about these purposes, but in all of them she found +an able ally in Alberoni. Elizabeth did not forget that she owed her high +position to this man. They were, besides, congenial in disposition, and +she persuaded Philip to trust and consult him, and finally to appoint him +prime minister. Not satisfied with this reward to her favorite, she, after +a few years, induced the Pope to grant him a cardinal's hat and Philip to +make him a grandee of Spain. The gardener's son had, by ability and +shrewdness, reached the highest summit to which his ambition could aspire. + +From the greatest height one may make the most rapid fall. The power of +Alberoni was destined quickly to reach its end. Yet it was less his own +fault than the ambition of the queen that led to the termination of his +career. As a prime minister he proved a marked success, giving Spain an +administration far superior to any she had enjoyed for many years. +Alberoni was a man of great ability, which he employed in zealous efforts +to improve the internal condition of the country, having the wisdom to +avail himself of the talents and knowledge of other able men in handling +those departments of government with which he was unfamiliar. He seemed +inclined to keep Spain at peace, at least until she had regained some of +her old power and energy; but the demands of the queen overcame his +reluctance, and in the end he entered upon the accomplishment of her +purposes with a daring and recklessness in full accordance with the +demands of her restless spirit of intrigue. + +Louis XIV. died in 1715. Louis XV., his heir, was a sickly child, not yet +five years old. Philip would have been regent during his youth, and his +heir in case of his death, had he not renounced all claim to the French +throne. He was too weak and irresolute in himself to take any steps to +gain this position, but his wife spurred him on to ambitious designs, and +Alberoni entered eagerly into her projects, beginning a series of +intrigues in France with all who were opposed to the Duke of Orleans, the +existing regent. + +These intrigues led to war. The duke concluded an alliance with England +and Germany, the former enemies of France. Philip, exasperated at seeing +himself thus thwarted, declared war against the German emperor, despite +all that Alberoni could do to prevent, and sent an expedition against +Sardinia, which captured that island. Sicily was also invaded. Alberoni +now entered into intrigues for the restoration of the banished Stuarts to +the English throne, and took part in a conspiracy in France to seize the +Duke of Orleans and appoint Philip to the regency. + +Both these plots failed, the war became general, Philip found his armies +beaten, and Alberoni was forced to treat for peace. The Spanish minister +had made bitter enemies of George I. of England and the Duke of Orleans, +who, claiming that he was responsible for disturbing the peace of Europe, +demanded his dismissal as a preliminary to peace. His failure had lost him +influence with the king, but the queen, the real power behind the throne, +supported him, and it was only by promises of the enemies of Alberoni to +aid her views for the establishment of her children that she was induced +to yield consent to his overthrow. + +On the 4th of December, 1719, Alberoni spent the evening transacting +affairs of state with the king and queen. Up to that time he remained in +full favor and authority, however he may have suspected the intrigues for +his overthrow. Their majesties that night left Madrid for their country +palace at Pardo, and from there was sent a decree by the hands of a +secretary of state, to the all-powerful minister, depriving him of all his +offices, and bidding him to quit Madrid within eight days and Spain within +three weeks. + +Alberoni had long been hated by the people of Spain, and detested by the +grandees, who could not be reconciled to the supremacy of a foreigner and +his appointment to equality with them in rank. But this sudden dismissal +seemed to change their sentiments, and rouse them to realization of the +fact that Spain was losing its ablest man. Nobles and clergy flocked to +his house in such numbers that the king became alarmed at this sudden +popularity, and ordered him to shorten the time of his departure. + +Alberoni sought refuge in Rome, but here the enmity of France and England +pursued him, and Philip accused him of misdemeanors in office, for which +he demanded a trial by the Pope and cardinals. Before these judges the +disgraced minister defended himself so ably that the court brought the +investigation to a sudden end by ordering him to retire to a monastery for +three years. + +This period the favor of the Pope reduced to one year, and his chief +enemy, the regent of France, soon after dying, he was permitted to leave +the monastery and pass the remainder of his life free from persecution. +His career was a singular one, considering the lowness of his origin, and +showed what ability and shrewdness may accomplish even against the +greatest obstacles of fortune. + + + + + +THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. + + +The great Mediterranean Sea has its gate-way, nine miles wide, opening +into the Atlantic, the gate-posts being the headland of Ceuta, on the +African coast, and the famous rock of Gibraltar, in southwestern Spain, +two natural fortresses facing each other across the sea. It is a singular +fact that the African headland is held by Spain, and the Spanish headland +by Great Britain,--this being a result of the wars of the eighteenth +century. Gibraltar, in fact, has had a striking history, one worth the +telling. + +This towering mass of rock rises in solitary grandeur at the extremity of +a sandy level, reaching upward to a height of fourteen hundred and eight +feet, while it is three miles long and three-fourths of a mile in average +width. It forms a stronghold of nature which attracted attention at an +early date. To the Greeks it was one of the Pillars of Hercules,--Abyla +(now Ceuta) being the other,--and formed the supposed western boundary of +the world. Tarik, the Arab, landed here in 711, fortified the rock, and +made it his base of operations against Gothic Spain. From him it received +its name, Gebel el Tarik (Hill of Tarik), now corrupted into Gibraltar. +For seven centuries it remained in Moorish hands, except for a short +interval after 1302, when it was taken by Ferdinand II. of Castile. The +king of Granada soon recaptured it; from him it was taken by treachery by +the king of Fez in 1333; Alfonso XI. of Castile vigorously besieged it, +but in vain; the king of Granada mastered it again in 1410; and it finally +fell into the hands of Spain in 1462. + +A formidable attempt was made by the Moors for its recovery in 1540, it +being vigorously attacked by the pirates of Algiers, who fought fiercely +to win the rock, but were finally repulsed. + +For the next event in the history of this much-coveted rock we must go on +to the year 1704, when the celebrated war of the Succession was in full +play. Louis XIV. of France supported his grandson Philip V. as the +successor to the throne of Spain. The Archduke Charles of Austria was +supported by England, Portugal, and Holland, and was conveyed to the +Peninsula and landed at Lisbon by an English fleet under Admiral Rorke. +The admiral, having disposed of the would-be king, sailed for Barcelona, +which he was told was a ripe plum, ready to fall into his mouth. He was +disappointed; Barcelona was by no means ripe for his purposes, and he +sailed back, ready for any enterprise that might offer itself. + +Soon before him towered the rock of Gibraltar, a handsome prize if it +could be captured, and poorly defended, as he knew. The Spaniards, +trusting, as it seems, in the natural strength of the place, which they +deemed impregnable, had left it with a very small supply of artillery and +ammunition, and with almost no garrison. Here was a promising opportunity +for the disappointed admiral and his associate, the prince of Hesse +Darmstadt, who headed the foreign troops. A landing was made, siege lines +were opened, batteries were erected, and a hot bombardment began, to which +the feeble garrison could make but a weak reply. But the most effective +work was done by a body of soldiers, who scrambled up a part of the rock +that no one dreamed could be ascended, and appeared above the works, +filling with terror the hearts of the garrison. + +Two days answered for the enterprise. At the end of that time the +governor, Don Diego de Salmas, capitulated, and Gibraltar was taken +possession of in the name of Queen Anne of England, the prince being left +there with a garrison of two thousand men. From that time to this +Gibraltar has remained an outpost of Great Britain, with whose outlying +strongholds the whole world bristles. + +The loss of this strong place proved a bitter draught to the pride of +Spain, and strenuous efforts to recapture it were made. In the succeeding +year (1705) it was besieged by a strong force of French and Spanish +troops, but their efforts were wasted, for the feeble court of Madrid left +the army destitute of necessary supplies. By the peace of Utrecht, 1713, +Gibraltar was formally made over to Great Britain, a country famous for +clinging with a death-grip to any place of which she has once taken hold. + +Later efforts were made to win the Rock of Tarik for Spain, one in 1756, +but the last and greatest in 1779-82. It is this vigorous effort with +which we are here concerned, the siege being one of the most famous of +recent times. + +The Revolutionary War in the United States stirred up all Europe, and +finally brought Great Britain two new foes, the allied kingdoms of France +and Spain. The latter country had never lost its irritation at seeing a +foreign power in possession of a part of its home territory. Efforts were +made to obtain Gibraltar by negotiation, Spain offering her friendly aid +to Great Britain in her wars if she would give up Gibraltar. This the +British government positively refused to do, and war was declared. A siege +of Gibraltar began which lasted for more than three years. + +Spain began the work in 1779 with a blockade by sea and an investment by +land. Supplies were cut off from the garrison, which was soon in a state +of serious distress for food, and strong hopes were entertained that it +would be forced to yield. But the British government was alert. Admiral +Rodney was sent with a strong fleet to the Mediterranean, the Spanish +blockading fleet was defeated, the garrison relieved, provisioned, and +reinforced, and Rodney sailed in triumph for the West Indies. + +For three years the blockade was continued with varying fortunes, the +garrison being now on the verge of starvation, now relieved by British +fleets. At the close of the third year it was far stronger than at the +beginning. The effort to subdue it by famine was abandoned, and +preparations for a vigorous siege were made. France had joined her forces +with those of Spain. The island of Minorca, held by the British, had been +taken by the allied fleet, and it was thought impossible for Gibraltar to +resist the projected assault. + +The land force that had so long besieged the rock was greatly +strengthened, new batteries were raised, new trenches opened, and a severe +fire was begun upon the works. Yet so commanding was the situation and so +strong were the defences of the garrison that success from the land side +seemed impossible, and it was determined to make the main attack from the +sea. + +A promising method of attack was devised by a French engineer of the +highest reputation for skill in his profession, the Chevalier D'Arçon. The +plan offered by him was so original and ingenious as to fill the besiegers +with hopes of sure success, and the necessary preparations were diligently +made. Ten powerful floating batteries were constructed, which were thought +fully adapted to resist fire, throw off shells, and quench red-hot balls. +Every effort was made to render them incombustible and incapable of being +sunk. These formidable batteries were towed to the bay of Gibraltar and +anchored at a suitable distance from the works, D'Arçon himself being in +command. Ten ships of the line were sent to co-operate with them, the +arrival of reinforcements from France increased the land army to forty +thousand men, and Crillon, the conqueror of Minorca, was placed in supreme +command. The allied fleets were ordered to cruise in the straits, so as to +prevent interference by a British fleet. + +These great and scientific preparations filled all hearts with hope. No +doubt was entertained that Gibraltar now must fall and Great Britain +receive the chastisement she deserved. The nobility of Spain sought in +numbers the scene of action, eager to be present at the triumph of her +arms. From Versailles came the French princes, full of expectation of +witnessing the humbling of British pride. So confident of success was +Charles III., king of Spain, that his first question every morning on +waking was, "Is Gibraltar taken?" All Spain and all France were instinct +with hope of seeing the pride of the islanders go down. + +Gibraltar was garrisoned by seven thousand troops under General Elliot. +These lay behind fortifications on which had been exhausted all the +resources of the engineering skill of that day, and in their hearts was +the fixed resolve never to surrender. The question had become one of +national pride rather than of utility. Gibraltar was not likely to prove +of any very important advantage to Great Britain, but the instinct to hold +on has always been with that country a national trait, and, however she +might have been induced to yield Gibraltar as an act of policy, she was +determined not to do so as an act of war. + +Early on the 13th of September, 1782, the long-threatened bombardment +began from so powerful a park of artillery that its roar is said to have +exceeded anything ever before heard. There were defects in the plan. The +trenches on land proved to be too far away. The water was rough and the +gunboats could not assist. But the work of the batteries came up to the +highest expectations. The fire poured by them upon the works was +tremendous, while for many hours the shells and red-hot balls of the +garrison, fired with the greatest precision, proved of no avail. The +batteries seemed invulnerable to fire and shell, and the hopes of the +besiegers rose to the highest point, while those of the besieged +correspondingly fell. + +In the end this powerful assault was defeated by one of those events to +which armed bodies of men are always liable,--a sudden and uncalled-for +spasm of fear that flew like wildfire through fleet and camp. The day had +nearly passed, evening was approaching, the hopes of the allies were at +their height, when a red-hot ball from the works lodged in the nearest +battery and started a fire, which the crew sought in vain to quench. + +In a sudden panic, for which there seems to have been no sufficient cause, +the terrified crew wet their powder and ceased to fire on the British +works. The panic spread to the other batteries, and from them to the +forces on shore, even the commander-in-chief being affected by the +causeless fear. At one moment the assailants were enthusiastic with +expectation of success. Not many minutes afterwards they were so overcome +with unreasoning terror that an insane order was given to burn the +batteries, and these were fired with such precipitate haste that the crews +were allowed no time to escape. More of the men were saved by their +enemies, who came with generous intrepidity to their aid, than by their +own terror-stricken friends. + +This unfortunate event put a sudden end to the costly and promising +effort. The nobles of Spain and the princes of France left the camp in +disgust. Charles III. received word that Gibraltar was not captured, and +not likely to be, and the idea of taking the stronghold by force was +abandoned, the blockade being resumed. + +To keep away British aid the allied fleet was increased until it numbered +forty-seven ships of the line, with a considerable number of smaller +vessels. Furnaces were prepared to heat shot for the destruction of any +transports and store-ships that might enter the harbor. Against this great +fleet Lord Howe appeared in October with only thirty sail, and encumbered +with a large convoy. The allied leaders seeing this small force, felt sure +of victory, and of Gibraltar as their prize. + +But again they were doomed to disappointment. The elements came to the +British aid. A violent storm drove the allied fleet from its anchorage, +dispersed the vessels, injured many of the large ships, and drove the +small craft ashore. Lord Howe, whose ships were far better handled, sailed +in good order through the straits, and for five days of rough weather +offered battle to the disabled enemy, keeping them at a distance while his +transports and store-ships entered the harbor and supplied the garrison +abundantly with provisions, ammunition, and men. The effort to take +Gibraltar was hopelessly defeated. The blockade was still kept up, but +merely as a satisfaction to Spanish pride. All hope of taking the fortress +was at an end. Gibraltar remains to-day in British hands, and no later +attempt to take it has been made. + + + + + +THE FALL OF A FAVORITE. + + +The course of our work now brings us down to recent times. After the death +of Philip II., in 1598, Spain had little history worth considering. Ruled +by a succession of painfully weak kings, who were devoid of anything +approaching political wisdom, the fortunes of the realm ran steadily +downward. From being the strongest, it became in time one of the weakest +and least considered of European kingdoms; and from taking the lead in the +politics and wars of Europe, it came to be a plaything of the neighboring +nations,--a catspaw which they used for the advancement of their own ends. + +It was in this way that Napoleon treated Spain. He played with it as a cat +plays with a mouse, and when the proper time came pounced upon it and +gathered it in. Charles IV., the Spanish king of Napoleon's time, was one +of the feeblest of his weak line,--an imbecile whom the emperor of France +counted no more than a feather in his path. He sought to deal with him as +he had done with the equally effeminate king of Portugal. When a French +army invaded Portugal in 1807, its weak monarch cut the knot of the +difficulty by taking ship and crossing the ocean to Brazil, abandoning his +old kingdom and setting up a new one in the New World. When Spain was in +its turn invaded, its king proposed to do the same thing,--to carry the +royal court of Spain to America, and leave a kingdom without a head to +Napoleon. Such an act would have exactly suited the purposes of the astute +conqueror, but the people rose in riot, and Charles IV. remained at home. + +The real ruler of Spain at that time was a licentious and insolent +favorite of the king and queen, Emanuel Godoy by name, who began life as a +soldier, was made Duke of Alcudia by his royal patrons, and was appointed +prime minister in 1792. In 1795, having made peace with France after a +disastrous war, he received the title of "Prince of the Peace." His +administration was very corrupt, and he won the hatred of the nobles, the +people, and the heir to the throne. But his influence over the imbecile +king and the licentious queen was unbounded, and he could afford to laugh +in the face of his foes. But favorites are apt to have a short period of +power, and, though Godoy remained long in office, his downfall at length +came. + +Napoleon had marched his armies through Spain to the conquest of Portugal, +no one in Spain having the courage to object. It was stipulated that a +second French army should not cross the Pyrenees, but in defiance of this +Napoleon filled the north of Spain with his troops in 1808, and sent a +third army across the mountains without pretence of their being needed in +Portugal. No protest was made against this invasion of a neutral nation. +The court of Madrid was helpless with terror, and, with the hope of +propitiating Napoleon, admitted his legions into all the cities of +Catalonia, Biscay, and Navarre. + +Only one thing more was needed to make the French masters of the whole +country. They held the towns, but the citadels were in possession of +Spanish troops. These could not be expelled by violence while a show of +peace was kept up. But Napoleon wanted them, and employed stratagem to get +them into his hands. + +In two of the towns, St. Sebastian and Figueras, a simple lie sufficed. +The officers in command of the French garrisons asked permission to +quarter their unruly conscripts in the citadels. As the court had ordered +that all the wishes of the emperor's officers should be gratified, this +seemingly innocent request was granted. But in place of conscripts the +best men of the regiments were sent, and these were gradually increased in +numbers until in the end they overpowered the Spanish garrisons and +admitted the French. + +At Pamplona a similar request was refused by the governor of the citadel, +but he permitted sixty unarmed men daily to enter the fortress to receive +rations for their respective divisions. Here was the fatal entering wedge. +One night the officer in charge, whose quarters were near the citadel +gate, secretly filled his house with armed grenadiers. The next morning +sixty picked men, with arms hidden under their cloaks, were sent in for +rations. The hour was too early, and the French soldiers loitered about +under pretence of waiting for the quartermaster. Some sauntered into the +Spanish guard-house. Others, by a sportive scuffle on the drawbridge, +prevented its being raised, and occupied the attention of the garrison. +Suddenly a signal was given. The men drew their weapons and seized the +arms of the Spaniards. The grenadiers rushed from their concealment. The +bridge and gate were secured, French troops hastened to the aid of their +comrades, and the citadel was won. + +At Barcelona a different stratagem was employed. A review of the French +forces was held under the walls of the citadel, whose garrison assembled +to look on. During the progress of the review the French general, on +pretence that he had been ordered from the city, rode with his staff on to +the drawbridge with the ostensible purpose of bidding farewell to the +Spanish commander. While the Spaniards curiously watched the manoeuvres of +the troops others of the French quietly gathered on the drawbridge. At a +signal this was seized, a rush took place, and the citadel of Barcelona +was added to the conquests of France. + +The surprise of these fortresses produced an immense sensation in Spain. +That country had sunk into a condition of pitiable weakness. Its navy, +once powerful, was now reduced to a small number of ships, few of them in +condition for service. Its army, once the strongest in Europe, was now but +a handful of poorly equipped and half-drilled men. Its finances were in a +state of frightful disorganization. The government of a brainless king, a +dissolute queen, and an incapable favorite had brought Spain into a +condition in which she dared not raise a hand to resist the ambitious +French emperor. + +In this dilemma Godoy, the so-called "Prince of the Peace," persuaded the +king and queen of Spain that nothing was left them but flight. The royal +house of Portugal had found a great imperial realm awaiting it in America. +Spain possessed there a dominion of continental extent. What better could +they do than remove to the New World the seat of their throne and cut +loose from their threatened and distracted realm? + +The project was concealed under the form of a journey to Andalusia, for +the purpose, as announced by Godoy, of inspecting the ports. But the +extensive preparations of the court for this journey aroused a suspicion +of its true purpose among the people, whose indignation became extreme on +finding that they were to be deserted by the royal house, as Portugal had +been. The exasperation of all classes--the nobility, the middle class, and +the people--against the court grew intense. It was particularly developed +in the army, a body which Godoy had badly treated. The army leaders argued +that they had better welcome the French than permit this disgrace, and +that it was their duty to prevent by force the flight of the king. + +But all this did not deter the Prince of the Peace. He had several +frigates made ready in the port of Cadiz, the royal carriages were ordered +to be in readiness, and relays of horses were provided on the road. The +date of departure was fixed for the 15th or 16th of March, 1808. + +On the 13th Godoy made his way from Madrid to Aranjuez, a magnificent +royal residence on the banks of the Tagus, then occupied by the royal +family. This residence, in the Italian style and surrounded by superb +grounds and gardens, was fronted by a wide highway, expanding opposite the +palace into a spacious place, on which were several fine mansions +belonging to courtiers and ministers, one of the finest being occupied by +the prime minister. In the vicinity a multitude of small houses, inhabited +by tradesmen and shop-keepers, made up the town of Aranjuez. + +Godoy, on arriving at Aranjuez, summoned a council of the ministers, the +time having arrived to apprise them of what was proposed. One of them, the +Marquis of Caballero, kept him waiting, and on his arrival refused to +consent, either by word or signature, to the flight of the king. + +"I order you to sign," the prime minister angrily exclaimed. + +"I take no orders except from the king," haughtily replied the marquis. + +A sharp altercation followed, in which the other ministers took part, and +the meeting broke up in disorder, nothing being done. On retiring, the +irate counsellors, full of agitation, dropped words which were caught up +by the public and aroused a commotion that quickly spread throughout the +town. Thence it extended into the surrounding country, everywhere arousing +the disaffected, and soon strange and sinister faces appeared in the quiet +town. The elements of a popular outbreak were gathering. + +During the succeeding two days the altercation between the Prince of the +Peace and the ministers continued, and the public excitement was added to +by words attributed to Ferdinand, the king's son and heir to the throne, +who was said to have sought aid against those who proposed to carry him +off against his will. On the morning of the 16th, the final day fixed for +the journey, the public agitation was so great that the king issued a +proclamation, which was posted in the streets, saying that he had no +thought of leaving his people. It ended: "Spaniards, be easy; your king +will not leave you." + +This for the time calmed the people. Yet on the 17th the excitement +reappeared. The carriages remained loaded in the palace court-yard; the +relays of horses were kept up; all the indications were suspicious. During +the day the troops of the garrison of Madrid not on duty, with a large +number of the populace, appeared in Aranjuez, having marched a distance of +seven or eight leagues. They shouted maledictions on their way against the +queen and the Prince of the Peace. + +The streets of Aranjuez that night were filled with an excited mob, many +of them life-guards from Madrid, who divided into bands and patrolled the +vicinity of the palace, determined that no one should leave. About +midnight an incident changed the excitement into a riot. A lady left +Godoy's residence under escort of a few soldiers. She appeared to be about +to enter a carriage. The crowd pressed closely around, and the hussars of +the minister, who attended the lady, attempted to force a passage through +them. At this moment a gun was fired,--by whom was not known. A frightful +tumult at once arose. The life-guards and other soldiers rushed upon the +hussars, and a furious mob gathered around the palace, shouting, "Long +live the king!" "Death to the Prince of the Peace!" + +Soon a rush was made towards the residence of the prince, which the throng +surrounded, gazing at it with eyes of anger, yet hesitating to make an +attack. As they paused in doubt, a messenger from the palace approached +the mansion and sought admission. It was refused from those within. He +insisted upon entrance, and a shot came from the guards within. In an +instant all hesitation was at an end. The crowd rushed in fury against the +doors, broke them in, and swarmed into the building, driving the guards +back in dismay. + +It was magnificently furnished, but their passion to destroy soon made +havoc of its furniture and decorations. Pictures, hangings, costly +articles of use and ornament were torn down, dashed to pieces, flung from +the windows. The mob ran from room to room, destroying everything of value +they met, and eagerly seeking the object of their hatred, with a +passionate thirst for his life. The whole night was spent in the search, +and, the prince not being found, his house was reduced to a wreck. + +Word of what was taking place filled the weak soul of Charles IV. with +mortal terror. The prince failed to appear, and, by the advice of the +ministers, a decree was issued by the king on the following morning +depriving Emanuel Godoy of the offices of grand admiral and generalissimo, +and exiling him from the court. + +Thus fell this detestable favorite, the people, who blamed him for the +degradation of Spain, breaking into a passionate joy, singing, dancing, +building bonfires, and giving every manifestation of delight. In Madrid, +when the news reached there, the enthusiasm approached delirium. + +Meanwhile, where was the fallen favorite? Despite the close search made by +the mob, he remained concealed in his residence. Alarmed by the crash of +the breaking doors, he had seized a pistol and a handful of gold, rushed +up-stairs, and hid himself in a loft under the roof, rolling himself up in +a sort of rush carpet used in Spain. Here he remained during the whole of +the 18th and the succeeding night, but on the morning of the 19th, after +thirty-six hours' suffering, thirst and hunger forced him to leave his +retreat. He presented himself suddenly before a sentry on duty in the +palace, offering him his gold. But the man refused the bribe and instantly +called the guard. Fortunately the mass of the people were not near by. +Some life-guards who just then came up placed the miserable captive +between their horses, and conveyed him as rapidly as they could towards +their barracks. But these were at some distance, the news of the capture +spread like wild-fire, and they had not gone far before the mob began to +gather around them, their hearts full of murderous rage. + +The prince was on foot between two of the mounted guardsmen, leaning for +shelter against the pommels of their saddles. Others of the horsemen +closed up in front and rear, and did their best to protect him from the +fury of the rabble, who struck wildly at him with every weapon they had +been able to snatch up. Despite the efforts of the guardsmen some of the +blows reached him, and he was finally brought to the barracks with his +feet trodden by the horses, a large wound in his thigh, and one eye nearly +out of his head. Here he was thrown, covered with blood, upon the straw in +the stables, a sad example of what comes of the favor of kings when +exercised in defiance of the will of the people. Godoy had begun life as a +life-guardsman, and now, after almost sharing the throne, he had thus +returned to the barracks and the straw bed of his youth. + +We may give in outline the remainder of the story of this fallen favorite. +Promise being given that he should have an impartial trial, the mob ceased +its efforts to kill him. Napoleon, who had use for him, now came to his +rescue, and induced him to sign a deed under which Charles IV. abdicated +the throne in favor of his son. His possessions in Spain were confiscated, +but Charles, who removed to Rome, was his friend during life. After the +death of his protector he went to Paris, where he received a pension from +Louis Philippe; and in 1847, when eighty years of age, he received +permission to return to Spain, his titles and most of his property being +restored. But he preferred to live in Paris, where he died in 1851. + + + + + + [Illustration: THE CITY OF SARAGOSSA.] + + THE CITY OF SARAGOSSA. + + + + + +THE SIEGE OF SARAGOSSA. + + +On the banks of the Ebro, in northwestern Spain, stands the ancient city +of Saragossa, formerly the capital of Aragon, and a place of fame since +early Roman days. A noble bridge of seven arches, built nearly five +centuries ago, crosses the stream, and a wealth of towers and spires gives +the city an imposing appearance. This city is famous for its sieges, of +which a celebrated one took place in the twelfth century, when the +Christians held it in siege for five years, ending in 1118. In the end the +Moors were forced to surrender, or such of them as survived, for a great +part of them had died of hunger. In modern times it gained new and high +honor from its celebrated resistance to the French in 1808. It is this +siege with which we are concerned, one almost without parallel in history. + +We have told in the preceding tale how Charles IV. of Spain was forced to +yield the throne to his son Ferdinand, who was proclaimed king March 20, +1808. This act by no means agreed with the views of Napoleon, who had +plans of his own for Spain, and who sought to end the difficulty by +deposing the Bourbon royal family and placing his own brother, Joseph +Bonaparte, on the throne. + +The imperious emperor of the French had, however, the people as well as +the rulers of Spain to deal with. The news of his arbitrary action was +received throughout the Peninsula with intense indignation, and suddenly +the land blazed into insurrection, and the French garrisons, which had +been treacherously introduced into Spain, found themselves besieged. +Everywhere the peasants seized arms and took to the field, and a fierce +guerilla warfare began which the French found it no easy matter to +overcome. At Baylen, a town of Andalusia, which was besieged by the +insurgents, the French suffered a serious defeat, an army of eighteen +thousand men being forced to surrender as prisoners of war. This was the +only important success of the Spanish, but they courageously resisted +their foes, and at Saragossa gained an honor unsurpassed in the history of +Spain. Never had there been known such a siege and such a defence. + +Saragossa was attacked by General Lefebre on June 15, 1808. Thinking that +a city protected only by a low brick wall, with peasants and townsmen for +its defenders, and few guns in condition for service, could be carried at +first assault, the French general made a vigorous attack, but found +himself driven back. He had but four or five thousand men, while the town +had fifty thousand inhabitants, the commander of the garrison being Joseph +Palafox, a man of indomitable spirit. + +Lefebre, perceiving that he had been over-confident, now encamped and +awaited reinforcements, which arrived on the 29th, increasing his force to +twelve thousand men. He was recalled for service elsewhere, General +Verdier being left in command, and during the succeeding two months the +siege was vigorously prosecuted, the French being supplied with a large +siege train, with which they hotly bombarded the city. + +Weak as were the walls of Saragossa, interiorly it was remarkably well +adapted for defence. The houses were strongly built, of incombustible +material, they being usually of two stories, each story vaulted and +practically fireproof. Every house had its garrison, and the massive +convents which rose like castles within the circuit of the wall were +filled with armed men. Usually when the walls of a city are taken the city +falls; but this was by no means the case with Saragossa. The loss of its +walls was but the beginning, not the end, of its defence. Each convent, +each house, formed a separate fortress. The walls were loop-holed for +musketry, ramparts were constructed of sand-bags, and beams were raised +endwise against the houses to afford shelter from shells. + +It was not until August that the French, now fifteen thousand strong, were +able to force their way into the city. But to enter the city was not to +capture it. They had to fight their way from street to street and from +house to house. At length the assailants penetrated to the Cosso, a public +walk formed on the line of the old Moorish ramparts, but here their +advance was checked, the citizens defending themselves with the most +desperate and unyielding energy. + +The singular feature of this defence was that the women of Saragossa took +as active a part in it as the men. The Countess Burita, a beautiful young +woman of intrepid spirit, took the lead in forming her fellow-women into +companies, at whose head were ladies of the highest rank. These, +undeterred by the hottest fire and freely braving wounds and death, +carried provisions to the combatants, removed the wounded to the +hospitals, and were everywhere active in deeds of mercy and daring. One of +them, a young woman of low rank but intrepid soul, gained world-wide +celebrity by an act of unusual courage and presence of mind. + +While engaged one day in her regular duty, that of carrying meat and wine +to the defenders of a battery, she found it deserted and the guns +abandoned. The French fire had proved so murderous that the men had shrunk +back in mortal dread. Snatching a match from the hand of a dead +artillery-man, the brave girl fired his gun, and vowed that she would +never leave it while a Frenchman remained in Saragossa. Her daring shamed +the men, who returned to their guns, but, as the story goes, the brave +girl kept her vow, working the gun she had chosen until she had the joy to +see the French in full retreat. This took place on the 14th of August, +when the populace, expecting nothing but to die amid the ruins of their +houses, beheld with delight the enemy in full retreat. The obstinate +resistance of the people and reverses to the arms of France elsewhere had +forced them to raise the siege. + +The deeds of the "Maid of Saragossa" have been celebrated in poetry by +Byron and Southey and in art by Wilkie, and she stands high on the roll of +heroic women, being given, as some declare, a more elevated position than +her exploit deserved. + +Saragossa, however, was only reprieved, not abandoned. The French found +themselves too busily occupied elsewhere to attend to this centre of +Spanish valor until months had passed. At length, after the defeat and +retreat of Sir John Moore and the English allies of Spain, a powerful +army, thirty-five thousand strong, returned to the city on the Ebro, with +a battering train of sixty guns. + +Palafox remained in command in the city, which was now much more strongly +fortified and better prepared for defence. The garrison was +super-abundant. From the field of battle at Tudela, where the Spaniards +had suffered a severe defeat, a stream of soldiers fled to Saragossa, +bringing with them wagons and military stores in abundance. As the +fugitives passed, the villagers along the road, moved by terror, joined +them, and into the gates of the city poured a flood of soldiers, +camp-followers, and peasants, until it was thronged with human beings. +Last of all came the French, reaching the city on the 20th of December, +and resuming their interrupted siege. And now Saragossa, though destined +to fall, was to cover itself with undying glory. + +The townsmen, giving up every thought of personal property, devoted all +their goods, their houses, and their persons to the war, mingling with the +soldiers and the peasants to form one great garrison for the fortress into +which the whole city was transformed. In all quarters of the city massive +churches and convents rose like citadels, the various large streets +running into the broad avenue called the Cosso, and dividing the city into +a number of districts, each with its large and massive structures, well +capable of defence. + +Not only these thick-walled buildings, but all the houses, were converted +into forts, the doors and windows being built up, the fronts loop-holed, +and openings for communication broken through the party-walls; while the +streets were defended by trenches and earthen ramparts mounted with +cannon. Never before was there such an instance of a whole city converted +into a fortress, the thickness of the ramparts being here practically +measured by the whole width of the city. + +Saragossa had been a royal depot for saltpetre, and powder-mills near by +had taught many of its people the process of manufacture, so no magazines +of powder subject to explosion were provided, this indispensable substance +being made as it was needed. Outside the walls the trees were cut down and +the houses demolished, so that they might not shield the enemy; the public +magazines contained six months' provisions, the convents and houses were +well stocked, and every preparation was made for a long siege and a +vigorous defence. + +Again, as before, companies of women were enrolled to attend the wounded +in the hospitals and carry food and ammunition to the men, the Countess +Burita being once more their commander, and performing her important duty +with a heroism and high intelligence worthy of the utmost praise. Not less +than fifty thousand combatants within the walls faced the thirty-five +thousand French soldiers without, who had before them the gigantic task of +overcoming a city in which every dwelling was a fort and every family a +garrison. + +A month and more passed before the walls were taken. Steadily the French +guns played on these defences, breach after breach was made, a number of +the encircling convents were entered and held, and by the 1st of February +the walls and outer strongholds of the city were lost. Ordinarily, under +such circumstances, the city would have fallen, but here the work of the +assailants had but fairly begun. The inner defences--the houses with their +unyielding garrisons--stood intact, and a terrible task still faced the +French. + +The war was now in the city streets, the houses nearest the posts held by +the enemy were crowded with defenders, in every quarter the alarm-bells +called the citizens to their duty, new barricades rose in the streets, +mines were sunk in the open spaces, and the internal passages from house +to house were increased until the whole city formed a vast labyrinth, +throughout which the defenders could move under cover. + +Marshall Lannes, the French commander, viewed with dread and doubt the +scene before him. Untrained in the art of war as were the bulk of the +defenders, courage and passionate patriotism made up for all deficiencies. +Men like these, heedless of death in their determined defence, were +dangerous to meet in open battle, and the prudent Frenchman resolved to +employ the slow but surer process of excavating a passage and fighting his +way through house after house until the city should be taken piecemeal. + +Mining through the houses was not sufficient. The greater streets divided +the city into a number of small districts, the group of dwellings in each +of which forming a separate stronghold. To cross these streets it was +necessary to construct underground galleries, or build traverses, since a +Spanish battery raked each street, and each house had to be fought for and +taken separately. + +While the Spaniards held the convents and churches the capture of the +houses by the French was of little service to them, the defenders making +sudden and successful sallies from these strong buildings, and +countermining their enemies, their numbers and perseverance often +frustrating the superior skill of the French. The latter, therefore, +directed their attacks upon these buildings, mining and destroying many of +them. On the other hand, the defenders saturated with rosin and pitch the +timbers of the buildings they could no longer hold, and interposed a +barrier of fire between themselves and their assailants which often +delayed them for several days. + +Step by step, inch by inch, the French made their way forward, complete +destruction alone enabling them to advance. The fighting was incessant. +The explosion of mines, the crash of falling buildings, the roar of cannon +and musketry, the shouts of the combatants continually filled the air, +while a cloud of smoke and dust hung constantly over the city as the +terrible scene of warfare continued day after day. + +By the 17th of February the Cosso was reached and passed. But the French +soldiers had become deeply discouraged by their fifty days of unremitting +labor and battle, fighting above and beneath the earth, facing an enemy as +bold as themselves and much more numerous, and with half the city still to +be conquered. Only the obstinate determination of Marshal Lannes kept them +to their work. + +By his orders a general assault was made on the 18th. Under the +university, a large building in the Cosso, mines containing three thousand +pounds of powder were exploded, the walls falling with a terrific crash. +Meanwhile, fifty pieces of artillery were playing on the side of the Ebro, +where the great convent of St. Lazar was breached and taken, two thousand +men being here cut off from the city. On the 19th other mines were +exploded, and on the 20th six great mines under the Cosso, loaded with +thousands of pounds of powder, whose explosion would have caused immense +destruction, were ready for the match, when an offer to surrender brought +the terrible struggle to an end. + +The case had become one of surrender or death. The bombardment, incessant +since the 10th of January, had forced the women and children into the +vaults, which were abundant in Saragossa. There the closeness of the air, +the constant burning of oil, and the general unsanitary conditions had +given rise to a pestilence which threatened to carry off all the +inhabitants of the city. Such was the state of the atmosphere that slight +wounds became fatal, and many of the defenders of the barricades were fit +only for the hospitals. By the 1st of February the death-rate had become +enormous. The daily deaths numbered nearly five hundred, and thousands of +corpses, which it was impossible to bury, lay in the streets and houses, +and in heaps at the doors of the churches, infecting the air with their +decay. The French held the suburbs, most of the wall, and one-fourth of +the houses, while the bursting of thousands of shells and the explosion of +nearly fifty thousand pounds of gunpowder in mines had shaken the city to +its foundations. Of the hundred thousand people who had gathered within +its walls, more than fifty thousand were dead; thousands of others would +soon follow them to the grave; Palafox, their indomitable chief, was sick +unto death. Yet despite this there was a strong and energetic party who +wished to protract the siege, and the deputies appointed to arrange terms +of surrender were in peril of their lives. + +The terms granted were that the garrison should march out with the honors +of war, to be taken as prisoners to France; the peasants should be sent to +their homes; the rights of property and exercise of religion should be +guaranteed. + +Thus ended one of the most remarkable sieges on record,--remarkable alike +for the energy and persistence of the attack and the courage and obstinacy +of the defence. Never in all history has any other city stood out so long +after its walls had fallen. Rarely has any city been so adapted to a +protracted defence. Had not its houses been nearly incombustible it would +have been reduced to ashes by the bombardment. Had not its churches and +convents possessed the strength of forts it must have quickly yielded. Had +not the people been animated by an extraordinary enthusiasm, in which +women did the work of men, a host of peasants and citizens could not so +long have endured the terrors of assault on the one hand and of pestilence +on the other. In the words of General Napier, the historian of the +Peninsular War, "When the other events of the Spanish war shall be lost in +the obscurity of time, or only traced by disconnected fragments, the story +of Zaragoza, like some ancient triumphal pillar standing amidst ruins, +will tell a tale of past glory." + + + + + +THE HERO OF THE CARLISTS. + + +Spain for years past has had its double king,--a king in possession and a +king in exile, a holder of the throne and an aspirant to the throne. For +the greater part of a century one has rarely heard of Spain without +hearing of the Carlists, for continually since 1830 there has been a +princely claimant named Charles, or Don Carlos, struggling for the crown. + +Ferdinand VII., who succeeded to the throne on the abdication of Charles +IV. in 1808, made every effort to obtain an heir. Three wives he had +without a child, and his brother, Don Carlos, naturally hoped to succeed +him. But the persistent king married a fourth time, and this time a +daughter was born to him. There was a law excluding females from the +throne, but this law had been abrogated by Ferdinand to please his wife, +and thus the birth of his daughter robbed Don Carlos of his hopes of +becoming king. + +Ferdinand died in 1833, and the infant Isabella was proclaimed queen, with +her mother as regent. The liberals supported her, the absolutists gathered +around Don Carlos, and for years there was a bitter struggle in Spain, the +strength of the Carlists being in the Basque provinces and Spanish +Navarre,--a land of mountaineers, loyal in nature and conservative by +habit. + +The dynasty of the pretender has had three successive claimants to the +throne. The first Don Carlos abdicated in 1844, and was succeeded by Don +Carlos the Second, his son. He died in 1861, and his cousin, Don Carlos +the Third, succeeded to the claim, and renewed the struggle for the crown. +It was this third of the name that threatened to renew the insurrection +during the Spanish-American war of 1898. + +This explanation is necessary to make clear what is known by Carlism in +Spain. Many as have been the Carlist insurrections, they have had but one +leader of ability, one man capable of bringing them success. This was the +famous Basque chieftain Zumalacarregui, the renowned "Uncle Tomas" of the +Carlists, whose brilliant career alone breaks the dull monotony of Spanish +history in the nineteenth century, and who would in all probability have +placed Don Carlos on the throne but for his death from a mortal wound in +1835. Since then Carlism has struggled on with little hope of success. + +Navarre, the chief seat of the insurrection, borders on the chain of the +Pyrenees, and is a wild confusion of mountains and hills, where the +traveller is confused in a labyrinth of long and narrow valleys, deep +glens, and rugged rocks and cliffs. The mountains are highest in the +north, but nowhere can horsemen proceed the day through without +dismounting, and in many localities even foot travel is very difficult. In +passing from village to village long and winding roads must be traversed, +the short cuts across the mountains being such as only a goat or a +Navarrese can tread. + +Regular troops, in traversing this rugged country, are exhausted by the +shortest marches, while the people of the region go straight through wood +and ravine, plunging into the thick forests and following narrow paths, +through which pursuit is impossible, and where an invading force does not +dare to send out detachments for fear of having them cut off by a sudden +guerilla attack. It was here and in the Basque provinces to the west, with +their population of hardy and daring mountaineers, that the troops of +Napoleon found themselves most annoyed by the bold guerilla chiefs, and +here the Carlist forces long defied the armies of the crown. + +Tomas Zumalacarregui, the "modern Cid," as his chief historian entitles +him, was a man of high military genius, rigid in discipline, skilful in +administration, and daring in leadership; a stern, grave soldier, to whose +face a smile rarely came except when shots were falling thick around him +and when his staff appeared as if they would have preferred music of a +different kind. To this intrepid chief fear seemed unknown, prudence in +battle unthought of, and so many were his acts of rashness that when a +bullet at length reached him it seemed a miracle that he had escaped so +long. The white charger which he rode became such a mark for the enemy, +from its frequent appearance at the head of a charging troop or in +rallying a body of skirmishers, that all those of a similar color ridden +by members of his staff were successively shot, though his always escaped. +On more than one occasion he brought victory out of doubt, or saved his +little army in retreat, by an act of hare-brained bravery. Such was the +"Uncle Tomas" of the Navarrese, the darling of the mountaineers, the man +who would very likely have brought final victory to their cause had not +death cut him off in the midst of his career. + +Few were the adherents of Don Carlos when this able soldier placed himself +at their head,--a feeble remnant hunted like a band of robbers among their +native mountains. When he appeared in 1833, escaping from Madrid, where he +was known as a brave soldier and an opponent of the queen, he found but +the fragment of an insurgent army in Navarre. All he could gather under +his banner were about eight hundred half-armed and undisciplined men,--a +sorry show with which to face an army of over one hundred and twenty +thousand men, many of them veterans of the recent wars. These were thrown +in successive waves against Uncle Tomas and his handful of followers, +reinforcement following reinforcement, general succeeding general, even +the redoubtable Mina among them, each with a new plan to crush the Carlist +chief, yet each disastrously failing. + +Beginning with eight hundred badly armed peasants and fourteen horses, the +gallant leader had at the time of his death a force of twenty-eight +thousand well-organized and disciplined infantry and eight hundred +horsemen, with twenty-eight pieces of artillery and twelve thousand spare +muskets, all won by his good sword from the foe,--his arsenal being, as he +expressed it, "in the ranks of the enemy." During these two years of +incessant war more than fifty thousand of the army of Spain, including a +very large number of officers, had fallen in Navarre, sixteen fortified +places had been taken, and the cause of Don Carlos was advancing by leaps +and bounds. The road to Madrid lay open to the Carlist hero when, at the +siege of Bilboa, a distant and nearly spent shot struck him, inflicting a +wound from which he soon died. With the fall of Zumalacarregui fell the +Carlist cause. Weak hands seized the helm from which his strong one had +been struck, incompetency succeeded genius, and three years more of a +weakening struggle brought the contest to an end. In all later revivals of +the insurrection it has never gained a hopeful stand, and with the fall of +"Uncle Tomas" the Carlist claim to the throne seemingly received its +death-blow. + +The events of the war between the Navarrese and their opponents were so +numerous that it is not easy to select one of special interest from the +mass. We shall therefore speak only of the final incidents of +Zumalacarregui's career. Among the later events was the siege and capture +of Villafranca. Espartero, the Spanish general, led seven thousand men to +the relief of this place, marching them across the mountains on a dark and +stormy night with the hope of taking the Carlists by surprise. But Uncle +Tomas was not the man to be taken unawares, and reversed the surprise, +striking Espartero with a small force in the darkness, and driving back +his men in confusion and dismay. Eighteen hundred prisoners were taken, +and the general himself narrowly escaped. General Mirasol was taken, with +all his staff, in a road-side house, from which he made an undignified +escape. He was a small man, and by turning up his embroidered cuffs, these +being the only marks of the grade of brigadier-general in the Spanish +army, he concealed his rank. He told his captors that he was a _tambor_. +In their anxiety to capture officers the soldiers considered a drummer too +small game, and dismissed the general with a sound kick to the custody of +those outside. As these had more prisoners than they could well manage, he +easily escaped. + +On learning of the defeat of Espartero the city surrendered. The news of +the fall of Villafranca had an important effect, the city of Tolosa being +abandoned by its garrison and Burgera surrendered, though it was strongly +garrisoned. Here Charles V.--as Don Carlos was styled by his party--made a +triumphal entry. He was then at the summit of his fortunes and full of +aspiring hopes. Eybar was next surrendered, the garrison of Durango fled, +and Salvatierra was evacuated. + +Victory seemed to have perched upon the banners of the Navarrese, town +after town falling in rapid succession into their hands, and the crown of +Spain appeared likely soon to change hands. Zumalacarregui proposed next +to march upon Vittoria, which had been abandoned with the exception of a +few battalions, and thence upon the important city of Burgos, where he +would either force the enemy to a battle or move forward upon Madrid. So +rapid and signal had been his successes that consternation filled the army +of the queen, the soldiers being in such terror that little opposition was +feared. Bets ran high in the Carlist army that six weeks would see them in +Madrid, and any odds could have been had that they would be there within +two months. Such was the promising state of affairs when the impolitic +interference of Don Carlos led to a turn in the tide of his fortune and +the overthrow of his cause. + +What he wanted most was money. His military chest was empty. In the path +of the army lay the rich mercantile city of Bilboa. Its capture would +furnish a temporary supply. He insisted that the army, instead of crossing +the Ebro and taking full advantage of the panic of the enemy, should +attack this place. This Zumalacarregui strongly opposed. + +"Can you take it?" asked Carlos. + +"I can take it, but it will be at an immense sacrifice, not so much of men +as of time, which now is precious," was the reply. + +Don Carlos insisted, and the general, sorely against his will, complied. +The movement was not only unwise in itself, it led to an accident that +brought to an end all the fair promise of success. + +The siege was begun. Zumalacarregui, anxious to save time, determined to +take the place by storm as soon as a practicable breach should be made, +and on the morning of the day he had fixed for the assault he, with his +usual daring, stepped into the balcony of a building not far from the +walls to inspect the state of affairs with his glass. + +On seeing a man thus exposed, evidently a superior officer, to judge from +his telescope and the black fur jacket he wore, all the men within that +part of the walls opened fire on him. The general soon came out of the +balcony limping in a way that at once created alarm, and, unable to +conceal his lameness, he admitted that he was wounded. A bullet, glancing +from one of the bars of the balcony window, had struck him in the calf of +the right leg, fracturing the small bone and dropping two or three inches +lower in the flesh. + +The wound appeared but trifling,--the slight hurt of a spent ball,--but the +surgeons, disputing as to the policy of extracting the ball, did nothing, +not even dressing the wound till the next morning. It was of slight +importance, they said. He would be on horseback within a month, perhaps in +two weeks. The wounded man was not so sanguine. + +"The pitcher goes to the well till it breaks at last," he said. "Two +months more and I would not have cared for any sort of wound." + +Those two months might have put Don Carlos on the throne and changed the +history of Spain. In eleven days the general was dead and a change had +come over the spirit of affairs. The operations against Bilboa languished, +the garrison regained their courage, the plan of storming the place was +set aside, the queen's troops, cheered by tidings of the death of the +"terrible Zumalacarregui," took heart again and marched to the relief of +the city. Their advance ended in the siege being raised, and in the first +encounter after the death of their redoubtable chief the Carlists met with +defeat. The decline in the fortunes of Don Carlos had begun. One man had +lifted them from the lowest ebb almost to the pinnacle of success. With +the fall of Zumalacarregui Carlism received a death-blow in Spain, for +there is little hope that one of this dynasty of claimants will ever reach +the throne. + + + + + +MANILA AND SANTIAGO. + + +The record of Spain has not been glorious at sea. She has but one great +victory, that of Lepanto, to offer in evidence against a number of great +defeats, such as those of the Armada, Cape St. Vincent, and Trafalgar. In +1898 two more defeats, those of Manila and Santiago, were added to the +list, and with an account of these our series of tales from Spanish +history may fitly close. + +Exactly three centuries passed from the death of Philip II. (1598) to that +of the war with the United States, and during that long period the tide of +Spanish affairs moved steadily downward. At its beginning Spain exercised +a powerful influence over European politics; at its end she was looked +upon with disdainful pity and had no longer a voice in continental +affairs. Such was the inevitable result of the weakness and lack of +statesmanship with which the kingdom had been misgoverned during the +greater part of this period. + +In her colonial affairs Spain had shown herself as intolerant and +oppressive as at home. When the other nations of Europe were loosening the +reins of their colonial policy, Spain kept hers unyieldingly rigid. +Colonial revolution was the result, and she lost all her possessions in +America but the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. Yet she had learned no +lesson,--she seemed incapable of profiting by experience,--and the old +policy of tyranny and rapacity was exercised over these islands until +Cuba, the largest of them, was driven into insurrection. + +In attempting to suppress this insurrection Spain adopted the cruel +methods she had exercised against the Moriscos in the sixteenth century, +ignoring the fact that the twentieth century was near its dawn, and that a +new standard of humane sympathy and moral obligation had arisen in other +nations. Her cruelty towards the insurgent Cubans became so intolerable +that the great neighboring republic of the United States bade her, in +tones of no uncertain meaning, to bring it to an end. In response Spain +adopted her favorite method of procrastination, and the frightful reign of +starvation in Cuba was maintained. This was more than the American people +could endure, and war was declared. With the cause and the general course +of that war our readers are familiar, but it embraced two events of signal +significance--the naval contests of the war--which are worth telling again +as the most striking occurrences in the recent history of Spain. + +At early dawn of the 1st of May, 1898, a squadron of United States +cruisers appeared before the city of Manila, in the island of Luzon, the +largest island of the Philippine archipelago, then a colony of Spain. This +squadron, consisting of the cruisers Olympia, Baltimore, Raleigh, and +Boston, the gunboats Petrel and Concord, and the despatch-boat McCulloch, +had entered the bay of Manila during the night, passing unhurt the +batteries at its mouth, and at daybreak swept in proud array past the city +front, seeking the Spanish fleet, which lay in the little bay of Cavité, +opening into the larger bay. + + [Illustration: THE CITY OF SARAGOSSA.] + + THE ANNIHILATION OF THE SPANISH FLEET IN THE HARBOR OF MANILA. + +Copyright, 1898, by Arkell Publishing Company + + +The Spanish ships consisted of five cruisers and three gunboats, inferior +in weight and armament to their enemy, but flanked by shore batteries on +each end of the line, and with an exact knowledge of the harbor, while the +Americans were ignorant of distances and soundings. These advantages on +the side of the Spanish made the two fleets practically equal in strength. +The battle about to be fought was one of leading importance in naval +affairs. It was the second time in history in which two fleets built under +the new ideas in naval architecture and armament had met in battle. The +result was looked for with intense interest by the world. + +Commodore Dewey, the commander of the American squadron, remained fully +exposed on the bridge of his flag-ship, the Olympia, as she stood daringly +in, followed in line by the Baltimore, Raleigh, Petrel, Concord, and +Boston. As they came up, the shore batteries opened fire, followed by the +Spanish ships, while two submarine mines, exploded before the Olympia, +tossed a shower of water uselessly into the air. + +Heedless of all this, the ships continued their course, their guns +remaining silent, while the Spanish fire grew continuous. Plunging shells +tore up the waters of the bay to right and left, but not a ship was +struck, and not a shot came in return from the frowning muzzles of the +American guns. The hour of 5.30 had passed and the sun was pouring its +beams brightly over the waters of the bay, when from the forward turret of +the Olympia boomed a great gun, and an 8-inch shell rushed screaming in +towards the Spanish fleet. Within ten minutes more all the ships were in +action, and a steady stream of shells were pouring upon the Spanish ships. + +The difference in effect was striking. The American gunners were trained +to accurate aiming; the Spanish idea was simply to load and fire. In +consequence few shells from the Spanish guns reached their mark, while few +of those from American guns went astray. Soon the fair ships of Spain were +frightfully torn and rent and many of their men stretched in death, while +hardly a sign of damage was visible on an American hull. + +Sweeping down parallel to the Spanish line, and pouring in its fire as it +went from a distance of forty-five hundred yards, the American squadron +swept round in a long ellipse and sailed back, now bringing its starboard +batteries into play. Six times it passed over this course, the last two at +the distance of two thousand yards. From the great cannon, and from the +batteries of smaller rapid-fire guns, a steady stream of projectiles was +hurled inward, frightfully rending the Spanish ships, until at the end of +the evolutions three of them were burning fiercely, and the others were +little more than wrecks. + +Admiral Montojo's flag-ship, the Reina Cristina, made a sudden dash from +the line in the middle of the combat, with the evident hope of ramming and +sinking the Olympia. The attempt was a desperate one, the fire of the +entire fleet being concentrated on the single antagonist, until the storm +of projectiles grew so terrific that utter annihilation seemed at hand. +The Spanish admiral now swung his ship around and started hastily back. +Just as she had fairly started in the reverse course an 8-inch shell from +the Olympia struck her fairly in the stern and drove inward through every +obstruction, wrecking the aft-boiler and blowing up the deck in its +explosion. It was a fatal shot. Clouds of white smoke were soon followed +by the red glare of flames. For half an hour longer the crew continued to +work their guns. At the end of that time the fire was master of the ship. + +Two torpedo-boats came out with the same purpose, and met with the same +reception. Such a rain of shell poured on them that they hastily turned +and ran back. They had not gone far before one of them, torn by a shell, +plunged headlong to the bottom of the bay. The other was beached, her crew +flying in terror to the shore. + +While death and destruction were thus playing havoc with the Spanish +ships, the Spanish fire was mainly wasted upon the sea. Shots struck the +Olympia, Baltimore, and Boston, but did little damage. One passed just +under Commodore Dewey on the bridge and tore a hole in the deck. One +ripped up the main deck of the Baltimore, disabled a 6-inch gun, and +exploded a box of ammunition, by which eight men were slightly wounded. +These were the only men hurt on the American side during the whole battle. + +At 7.35 Commodore Dewey withdrew his ships that the men might breakfast. +The Spanish ships were in a hopeless state. Shortly after eleven the +Americans returned and ranged up again before the ships of Spain, nearly +all of which were in flames. For an hour and a quarter longer the blazing +ships were pounded with shot and shell, the Spaniards feebly replying. At +the end of that time the work was at an end, the batteries being silenced +and the ships sunk, their upper works still blazing. Of their crews, +nearly a thousand had perished in the fight. + +Thus ended one of the most remarkable naval battles in history. For more +than three hours the American ships had been targets for a hot fire from +the Spanish fleet and forts, and during all that time not a man had been +killed and not a ship seriously injured. Meanwhile, the Spanish fleet had +ceased to exist. Its burnt remains lay on the bottom of the bay. The forts +had been battered into shapeless heaps of earth, their garrisons killed or +put to flight. It was an awful example of the difference between accurate +gunnery and firing at random. + +Two months later a second example of the same character was made. Spain's +finest squadron, consisting of the four first-class armored cruisers Maria +Teresa, Vizcaya, Almirante Oquendo, and Cristobal Colon, with two +torpedo-boat destroyers, lay in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba, blockaded +by a powerful American fleet of battle-ships and cruisers under Admiral +Sampson. They were held in a close trap. The town was being besieged by +land. Sampson's fleet far outnumbered them at sea. They must either +surrender with the town or take the forlorn hope of escape by flight. + +The latter was decided upon. On the morning of July 3 the lookout on the +Brooklyn, Commodore Schley's flag-ship, reported that a ship was coming +out of the harbor. The cloud of moving smoke had been seen at the same +instant from the battle-ship Iowa, and in an instant the Sunday morning +calm on these vessels was replaced by intense excitement. + +Mast-head signals told the other ships of what was in view, the men rushed +in mad haste to quarters, the guns were made ready for service, ammunition +was hoisted, coal hurled into the furnaces, and every man on the alert. It +was like a man suddenly awoke from sleep with an alarm cry: at one moment +silent and inert, in the next moment thrilling with intense life and +activity. + +This was not a battle; it was a flight and pursuit. The Spaniards as soon +as the harbor was cleared opened a hot fire on the Brooklyn, their nearest +antagonist, which they wished to disable through fear of her superior +speed. But their gunnery here was like that at Manila, their shells being +wasted through unskilful handling. On the other hand the fire from the +American ships was frightful, precise, and destructive, the fugitive ships +being rapidly torn by such a rain of shells as had rarely been seen +before. + +Turning down the coast, the fugitive ships drove onward at their utmost +speed. After them came the cruiser Brooklyn and the battle-ships Texas, +Iowa, Oregon, and Indiana, hurling shells from their great guns in their +wake. The New York, Admiral Sampson's flag-ship, was distant several miles +up the coast, too far away to take part in the fight. + +Such a hail of shot, sent with such accurate aim, could not long be +endured. The Maria Teresa, Admiral Cervera's flag-ship, was quickly in +flames, while shells were piercing her sides and bursting within. The main +steam-pipe was severed, the pump was put out of service, the captain was +killed. Lowering her flag, the vessel headed for the shore, where she was +quickly beached. + +The Almirante Oquendo, equally punished, followed the same example, a mass +of flames shrouding her as she rushed for the beach. The Vizcaya was the +next to succumb, after a futile effort to ram the Brooklyn. One shell from +the cruiser went the entire length of her gun-deck, killing or wounding +all the men on it. The Oregon was pouring shells into her hull, and she in +turn, burning fiercely, was run ashore. She had made a flight of twenty +miles. + +Only one of the Spanish cruisers remained,--the Cristobal Colon. She had +passed all her consorts, and when the Vizcaya went ashore was six miles +ahead of the Brooklyn and more than seven miles from the Oregon. It looked +as if she might escape. But she would have to round Cape Cruz by a long +detour, and the Brooklyn was headed straight for the cape, while the +Oregon kept on the Colon's trail. + +An hour, a second hour, passed; the pursuers were gaining mile by mile; +the spurt of speed of the Colon was at an end. One of the great 13-inch +shells of the Oregon, fired from four miles away, struck the water near +the Colon. A second fell beyond her. An 8-inch shell from the Brooklyn +pierced her above her armor-belt. At one o'clock both ships were pounding +away at her, an ineffective fire being returned. At 1.20 she hauled down +her flag, and, like her consorts, ran ashore. She had made a run of +forty-eight miles. + +About six hundred men were killed on the Spanish ships; the American loss +was one man killed and one wounded. The ships of Spain were blazing +wrecks; those of the United States were none the worse for the fight. It +was like the victory at Manila repeated. It resembled the latter in +another particular, two torpedo-boats taking part in the affair. These +were attacked by the Gloucester, a yacht converted into a gunboat, and +dealt with so shrewdly that both of them were sunk. + +The battle ended, efforts to save on the part of the American ships +succeeded the effort to destroy, the Yankee tars showing as much courage +and daring in their attempts to rescue the wounded from the decks of the +burning ships as they had done in the fight. The ships were blazing fore +and aft, their guns were exploding from the heat, at any moment the fire +might reach the main magazines. A heavy surf made the work of rescue +doubly dangerous; yet no risk could deter the American sailors while the +chance to save one of the wounded remained, and they made as proud a +record on the decks of the burning ships as they had done behind the guns. + +These two signal victories were the great events of the war. Conjoined +with one victory on land, they put an end to the conflict. Without a +fleet, and with no means of aiding her Cuban troops, Spain was helpless, +and the naval victories at Manila and Santiago, in which one man was +killed, virtually settled the question of Cuban independence, and taught +the nations of Europe that a new and great naval power had arisen, with +which they would have to deal when they next sought to settle the +destinies of the world. + +THE END. + + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORICAL TALES - THE ROMANCE OF REALITY - VOLUME VII*** + + + +CREDITS + + +September 2006 + + Project Gutenberg Edition + Joshua Hutchinson + Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +A WORD FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG + + +This file should be named 19457-8.txt or 19457-8.zip. + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + + + http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/4/5/19457/ + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one -- the old editions will be +renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one +owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and +you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission +and without paying copyright royalties. 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