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The walls being cleared, these two kindred cavaliers now hastened with their forces in pursuit of the seventy
Moors who had gained an entrance into the town. The main party of the garrison being engaged at a distance
resisting the feigned attack of the Moorish king, this fierce band of infidels had ranged the streets almost
without opposition, and were making their way to the gates to throw them open to the army.* They were chosen
men from among the Moorish forces, several of them gallant knights of the proudest families of Granada. Their footsteps through the city were in a manner printed in blood, and they were tracked by the bodies of
those they had killed and wounded. They had attained the
gate; most of the guard had fallen beneath their scimetars; a moment more and Alhama would have been
thrown open to the enemy.
*Zurita, lib. 20, c. 43.

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Just at this juncture Don Alonzo Ponce and Pedro de Pineda reached the spot with their forces. The Moors had
the enemy in front and rear; they placed themselves back to back, with their banner in the centre. In this way
they fought with desperate and deadly determination, making a rampart around them with the slain. More
Christian troops arrived and hemmed them in, but still they fought, without asking for quarter. As their number
decreased they serried their circle still closer, defending their banner from assault, and the last Moor died at his post grasping the standard of the Prophet. This standard was displayed from the walls, and the turbaned heads of the Moors were thrown down to the besiegers.*
*Pedro de Pineda received the honor of knighthood from the hand of King Ferdinand for his valor on this
occasion (Alonzo Ponce was already knight.)--See Zuniga, Annales of Seville, lib. 12, an. 1482.

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Muley Abul Hassan tore his beard with rage at the failure of this attempt and at the death of so many of his chosen cavaliers. He saw that all further effort was in vain; his scouts brought word that they had seen from
the heights the long columns and flaunting banners of the Christian army approaching through the mountains. To linger would be to place himself between two bodies of the enemy. Breaking up his camp, therefore, in all
haste, he gave up the siege of Alhama and hastened back to Granada; and the last clash of his cymbals scarce
died upon the ear from the distant hills before the standard of the Duke of Medina Sidonia was seen emerging
in another direction from the defiles of the mountains. When the Christians in Alhama beheld their enemies retreating on one side and their friends advancing on the other, they uttered shouts of joy and hymns of thanksgiving, for it was as a sudden relief from present death. Harassed by several weeks of incessant vigil and fighting, suffering from scarcity of provisions and
almost continual thirst, they resembled skeletons rather than living men. It was a noble and gracious spectacle-
-the meeting of those hitherto inveterate foes, the duke of Medina Sidonia and the marques of Cadiz. At sight of his magnanimous deliverer the marques melted into tears:
all past animosities only gave the greater poignancy to present feelings of gratitude and admiration. The late
deadly rivals clasped each other in their arms, and from that time forward were true and cordial friends. While this generous scene took place between the commanders a sordid contest arose among their troops.
The soldiers who had come to the rescue claimed a portion of the spoils of Alhama, and so violent was the
dispute that both parties seized their arms. The duke of Medina Sidonia interfered, and settled the question with his characteristic magnanimity. He declared that the spoil belonged to those who had captured the city. "We
have taken the field," said he, "only for honor, for religion, and for the rescue of our countrymen and fellow-Christians, and the success of our enterprise is a sufficient and a glorious reward. If we desire booty, there are sufficient Moorish cities yet to be taken to enrich us all." The soldiers were convinced by the frank
and chivalrous reasoning of the duke; they replied to his speech by acclamations, and the transient broil was happily appeased.

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The marchioness of Cadiz, with the forethought of a loving wife, had despatched her major-domo with the army with a large supply of provisions. Tables were immediately spread beneath the tents, where the marques
gave a banquet to the duke and the cavaliers who had accompanied him, and nothing but hilarity prevailed in
this late scene of suffering and death.
A garrison of fresh troops was left in Alhama, and the veterans who had so valiantly captured and maintained it
returned to their homes burdened with precious booty. The marques and duke, with their confederate cavaliers,
repaired to Antiquera, where they were received with great distinction by the king, who honored the marques
of Cadiz with signal marks of favor. The duke then accompanied his late enemy, but now most zealous and
grateful friend, the marques of Cadiz, to his town of Marchena, where he received the reward of his generous
conduct in the thanks and blessings of the marchioness. The marques celebrated a sumptuous feast in honor of his guest; for a day and night his palace was thrown open and was the scene of continual revel and festivity. When the duke departed for his estates at St. Lucar the marques attended him for some distance on his journey, and when they separated it was as the parting scene of
brothers. Such was the noble spectacle exhibited to the
chivalry of Spain by these two illustrious rivals. Each reaped universal renown from the part he had performed in the campaign--the marques from having surprised and
captured one of the most important and formidable fortresses of the kingdom of Granada, and the duke from having subdued his deadliest foe by a great act of magnanimity.

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CHAPTER IX.
EVENTS AT GRANADA, AND RISE OF THE MOORISH KING, BOABDIL
EL CHICO.

The Moorish king, Abul Hassan, returned, baffled and disappointed, from before the walls of Alhama, and was received with groans and smothered execrations by the people of Granada. The prediction of the santon was in every mouth, and appeared to be rapidly fulfilling, for
the enemy was already strongly fortified in Alhama, in the very heart of the kingdom. At the same time, the
nobles who had secretly conspired to depose the old king and elevate his son Boabdil to the throne had matured
their plans in concert with the prince, who had been joined in Guadix by hosts of adherents. An opportunity
soon presented to carry their plans into operation. Muley Abul Hassan had a royal country palace, with
gardens and fountains, called the Alixares, situated on the Cerro del Sol, or Mountain of the Sun, a height the ascent to which leads up from the Alhambra, but which towers far above that fortress, and looks down as from
the clouds upon it and upon the subjacent city of Granada. It was a favorite retreat of the Moorish kings
to inhale the pure mountain-breezes and leave far below the din and turmoil of the city; Muley Abul Hassan had
passed a day among its bowers, in company with his favorite wife Zoraya, when toward evening he heard a
strange sound rising from the city, like the gathering of a storm or the sullen roar of the ocean. Apprehensive
of evil, he ordered the officers of his guard to descend with all speed to the city and reconnoitre. The intelligence brought back was astounding. A civil war was raging in the city. Boabdil had been brought from Guadix by the conspirators, the foremost of whom were the gallant race of the Abencerrages. He had entered the
Albaycin in triumph, and been hailed with rapture and proclaimed king in that populous quarter of the city.
Abul Cacim Vanegas, the vizier, at the head of the royal guards had attacked the rebels, and the noise which had
alarmed the king was the din of fighting in the streets and squares.

Muley Abul Hassan hastened to descend to the Alhambra,
confident that, ensconced in that formidable fortress, he could soon put an end to the rash commotion. To his
surprise and dismay, he found the battlements lined with hostile troops: Aben Comixa, the alcayde, had declared in favor of Boabdil and elevated his standard on the
towers: thus cut off from his stronghold, the old monarch was fain to return to the Alixares. The conflict lasted throughout the night with carnage on both sides. In the morning Abul Cacim, driven out of the
city, appeared before the old king with his broken squadrons, and told him there was no safety but in flight. "Allah Akbar!" (God is great!) exclaimed old
Muley; "it is in vain to contend against what is written in the book of fate. It was predestined that my son
should sit upon the throne --Allah forfend the rest of the prediction." So saying, he made a hasty retreat,
escorted by Abul Cacim Vanegas and his troops, who conducted him to the castle of Mondujar in the valley of
Locrin. Here he was joined by many powerful cavaliers, relatives of Abul Cacim and partisans of Zoraya, among
whom were Cid Hiaya, Aben Jamy, and Reduan Vanegas, men
who had alcaydes, vassals, at their command, and possessed great influence in Almeria and Baza. He was
joined also by his brother Abdallah, commonly called El Zagal, or the Valiant, who was popular in many parts of the kingdom. All these offered to aid him with their swords in suppressing the rebellion.

Thus reinforced, Muley Abul Hassan determined on a sudden blow for the recovery of his throne and the
punishment of the rebels. He took his measures with that combination of dexterity and daring which formed his
character, and arrived one night under the walls of Granada with five hundred chosen followers. Scaling the walls of the Alhambra, he threw himself with sanguinary fury into its silent courts. The sleeping inmates were roused from their repose only to fall by the
exterminating scimetar. The rage of Abul Hassan spared neither age nor rank nor sex; the halls resounded with
shrieks and yells, and the fountains ran red with blood. The alcayde, Aben Comixa, retreated to a strong tower
with a few of the garrison and inhabitants. The furious Abul Hassan did not lose time in pursuing him; he was anxious to secure the city and to wreak his vengeance on its rebellious inhabitants. Descending with his bloody band into the streets, he cut down the defenceless inhabitants as, startled from their sleep, they rushed
forth to learn the cause of the alarm. The city was soon completely roused; the people flew to arms; lights
blazed in every street, revealing the scanty number of this band that had been dealing such fatal vengeance in
the dark. Muley Abul Hassan had been mistaken in his conjectures: the great mass of the people, incensed by
his tyranny, were zealous in favor of his son. A violent but transient conflict took place in the streets and squares: many of the followers of Abul Hassan were slain, the rest driven out of the city, and the old monarch, with the remnant of his band, retreated to his
loyal city of Malaga.

Such was the commencement of those great internal feuds and divisions which hastened the downfall of Granada.
The Moors became separated into two hostile factions, headed by the father and the son, the latter of whom was called by the Spaniards "El Rey Chico," or the Young King; but, though bloody encounters took place between them, they never failed to act with all their separate force against the Christians as a common enemy whenever an opportunity occurred.

CHAPTER X.
ROYAL EXPEDITION AGAINST LOXA.

King Ferdinand held a council of war at Cordova, where it was deliberated what was to be done with Alhama. Most of the council advised that it should be demolished, inasmuch as, being in the centre of the Moorish kingdom, it would be at all times liable to attack, and could only be maintained by a powerful garrison and at a vast expense. Queen Isabella arrived at Cordova in the midst
of these deliberations, and listened to them with surprise and impatience. "What!" said she, "destroy the
first fruits of our victories? Abandon the first place we have wrested from the Moors? Never let us suffer such
an idea to occupy our minds. It would argue fear or feebleness, and give new courage to the enemy. You talk
of the toil and expense of maintaining Alhama. Did we doubt on undertaking this war that it was to be one of
infinite cost, labor, and bloodshed? And shall we shrink from the cost the moment a victory is obtained and the
question is merely to guard or abandon its glorious trophy? Let us hear no more about the destruction of
Alhama; let us maintain its walls sacred, as a stronghold granted us by Heaven in the centre of this
hostile land; and let our only consideration be how to
extend our conquest and capture the surrounding cities." The language of the queen infused a more lofty and
chivalrous spirit into the royal council. Preparations were made to maintain Alhama at all risk and expense,
and King Ferdinand appointed as alcayde Luis Fernandez Puerto Carrero, senior of the house of Palma, supported by Diego Lopez de Ayala, Pero Ruiz de Alarcon, and
Alonso Ortis, captains of four hundred lances and a body of one thousand foot, supplied with provisions for three
months.

Continued