Caba Rumia, which, in our tongue, is the Cape of the Wicked Christian Woman; and it is a tradition among the Moors, that Caba, the daughter of Count Julian, who was the cause of the loss of Spain, lies buried there, and they think it ominous to be forced into that bay; for they never go in otherwise than by necessity."

Note II.

And guide me, Priest, to that mysterious room,

Where, if aught true in old tradition be,

His nation's future fate a Spanish King shall see. St. X. p. 25. The transition of an incident from history to tradition, and from tradition to fable and romance, becoming more marvellous at each step from its original simplicity, is not ill exemplified in the account of the "Fated Chamber" of Don Roderick, as given by his namesake, the historian of Toledo, contrasted with subsequent and more romantic accounts of the same subterranean discovery. I give the Archbishop of Toledo's tale in the words of Nonius, who seems to intimate, (though very modestly,) that the fatale palatium, of which so much had been said, was only the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre.

Extra muros, septentrionem versus, vestigia magni olim theatri sparsa visuntar. Auctor est Rodericus Toletanus Archiepiscopus, ante Arabum in Hispanias irruptionem, hic fatale palatium fuisse; quod invecti vectes, æterna ferri robora claudebant, ne reseratum Hispaniæ excidium adferret; quod in fatis non vulgus solum, sed et prudentissimi quique crededant. Sed Roderici ultimi Gothorum Regis animum infelix curiositas subiit, sciendi quid sub tot vetitis claustris observaretur, ingentes ibi superiorum regum opes et arcanos thesauros servari ratus. Seras et pessulos perfringì curat, invitis omnibus, nihil præter arculam repertum, et in ea linteum, quo explicato novæ et insolentes hominum facies habitusque apparuere, cum inscriptione Latina Hispania excidium ab illa gente imminere ; Vultus habitusque Maurorum erant. Quamobrem ex Africa tantam cladem instare regi cæterisque persuasum; nec falso ut

Hispaniæ annales etiamnum queruntur."-Hispania, Ludovic Nonij, cap. lix.

But about the term of the expulsion of the Moors from Grenada we find, in the "Historia Verdadera del Rey Don Roderigo," a (pretended) translation from the Arabic sage Alcayde Abulcacim Tarif Abentarique, a legend which puts to shame the modesty of the historian Roderick, with his chest and prophetic picture. The custom of ascribing a pretended Moorish original to these legendary histories, is ridiculed by Cervantes, who affects to translate the history of the Knight of the Woful Figure, from the Arabic of the sage Cid Hamet Benengeli. As I have been indebted to the Historia Verdadera for some of the imagery employed in the text, the following literal translation from the work itself may gratify the inquisitive read

er:

"One mile on the east side of the city of Toledo, among some rocks, was situated an ancient tower, of magnificent structure, though much dilapidated by time, which consumes all: four estados (i. e. four times a man's height) below it, there was a cave, with a very narrow entrance, and a gate cut out of the solid rock, lined with a strong covering of iron, and fastened with many locks; above the gate some Greek letters are engraved, which, although abbreviated, and of doubtful meaning, were thus in4erpreted, according to the exposition of learned men:-The king who opens this cave, and can discover the wonders, will discover both good and evil things.' Many kings desired to know the mystery of this tower, and sought to find out the manner with much care; but when they opened the gate, such a tremendous noise arose in the cave, that it appeared as if the earth was bursting; many of those present sickened with fear, and others lost their lives. In order to prevent such great perils, (as they supposed a dangerous enchantment was contained within,) they secured the gate with new locks, concluding, that though a king was destined to open it, the fated time was not yet arrived. At last, King Don Roderigo, led on by his evil fortune and unlucky destiny, opened the tower; and some bold attendants whom he had brought with him entered, although

A

agitated with fear. Having proceeded a good way, they fled back to the entrance, terrified with a frightful vision which they had beheld. The king was greatly moved, and ordered many torches, so contrived that the tempest in the cave could not extinguish them, to be lighted. Then the king entered, not without fear, before all the others. They discovered, by degrees, a splendid hall, apparently built in a very sumptuous manner; in the middle stood a Bronze Statue of very ferocious appearance, which held a battle-axe in its hands. With this he struck the floor violently, giving it such heavy blows, that the noise in the cave was occasioned by the motion of the air. The king, greatly affrighted and astonished, began to conjure this terrible vision, promising that he would return without doing any injury in the cave, after he had obtained sight of what was contained in it. The statue ceased to strike the floor, and the king, with his followers, somewhat assured, and recovering their courage, proceeded into the hall; and on the left of the statue they found this inscription on the wall: 'Unfortunate king, thou hast entered here in evil hour.' On the right side of the wall these words were inscribed, 'By strange nations thou shalt be dispossessed, and thy subjects foully degraded.' On the shoulders of the statue other words were written, which said, 'I call upon the Arabs.' And upon his breast was written, 'I do my office.' At the entrance of the hall there was placed a round bowl, from which a great noise, like the fall of waters, proceeded. They found no other thing in the ball; and when the king, sorrowful and greatly affected, had scarcely turned about to leave the cavern, the statue again commenced its accustomed blows upon the floor. After they had mutually promised to conceal what they had seen, they again closed the tower, and blocked up the gate of the cavern with earth, that no memory might remain in the world of such a portentous and evil-boding prodigy. The ensuing midnight they heard great cries and clamour from the cave, resounding like the noise of battle, and the ground shaking with a tremendous rear; the whole edifice of the old tower fell to the ground,

by which they were greatly affrighted, the vision which they had beheld appearing to them as a dream.

"The king having left the tower, ordered wise men to explain what the inscriptions signified; and having consulted upon and studied their meaning, they declared that the statue of bronze, with the motion which it made with its battle-axe, signified Time; and that its office, alluded to in the inscription on his breast, was, that he never rests a single moment. The words on the shoulders, 'I call upon the Arabs,' they expounded, that in time Spain would be conquered by the Arabs. The words upon the left wall signified the destruction of King Roderigo; those on the right, the dreadful calamities which were to fall upon the Spaniards and Goths, and that the unfortunate king would be dispossessed of all his states. Finally, the letters on the portal indicated, that good would betide to the conquerors, and evil to the conquered, of which experience proved the truth."-Historia Verdadera del Rey Don Rodrigo. Quinta impresion. Madrid, 1654, 4. p. 23.

Note III.

the Tecbir war-ery and the Lelie's yell-St. XIX. p. 29. The tecbir (derived from the words Alla acbar, God is most mighty) was the original war-cry of the Saracens. It is celebrated by Hughes, in the Siege of Damascus :

We heard the Tecbir; so these Arabs call
Their shout of onset, when with loud appeal
They challenge heaven, as if demanding conquest..

The Lelie, well known to the Christians during the crusades, is the shout of Alla illa Alla, the Mahomedan confession of faith. It is twice used in poetry by my friend Mr. W. Stuart Rose, in the Romance of Partenopex, and in the Crusade of St. Lewis.

Note IV.

By Heaven, the Moors prevail !—the Christians yield---
Their coward leader gives for flight the sign!

The sceptred craven mounts to quit the field—

Is not yon steed Orelia?—Yes, 'tis mine!—St. XXI. p. 30. Count Julian, the father of the injured Florinda, with the connivance and assistance of Oppas, Archbishop of Toledo, invited, in 713, the Saracens into Spain. A considerable army arrived under the command of Tarik, or Tarif, who bequeathed the well-known name of Gibraltar (Gibel al Tarik, or the mountain of Tarik) to the place of his landing. He was joined by Count Julian, ravaged Andalusia, and took Seville. In 714 they returned with a still greater force, and Roderick marched into Andalusia at the head of a great army to give them battle. The field was chosen near Xeres, and Mariana gives the following account of the action:

"Both armies being drawn up, the king, according to the custom of the Gothic kings, when they went to battle, appeared in an ivory chariot, clothed in cloth of gold, encouraging his men; Tarif, on the other side, did the same. The armies thus prepared, waited only for the signal to fall on; the Goths gave the charge, their drums and trumpets sounding, and the Moors received it with the noise of kettle-drums. Such were

the shouts and cries on both sides, that the mountains and valleys seemed to meet. First they began with slings, darts, javelins, and lances, then came to the swords; a long time the battle was dubious; but the Moors seemed to have the worst, till D. Oppas, the Archbishop, having to that time concealed his treachery, in the heat of the fight, with a great body of his followers, went over to the infidels. He joined Count Julian, with whom was a great number of Goths, and both together fell upon the flank of our army. Our men, terrified with that unparalleled treachery, and tired with fighting, could no longer sustain that charge, but were easily put to flight. The king performed the part not only of a wise general, but of a resolute soldier, relieving the weakest, bringing on fresh men in place of those that were tired, and stopping those that turned