University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER LXXXIX.

Scarcely had Boabdil ensconced himself
in his capital, when King Ferdinand,
at the head of seven thousand horse, and
twenty thousand foot, again appeared in
the vega. He had set out in all haste
from Cordova, to the relief of Salobreña;
but hearing on his march that the siege
was raised, he turned with his army, to
make a second ravage round the walls
of devoted Granada. His present forage
lasted fifteen days, in the course of which

every thing that had escaped his former
desolating visit was so completely destroyed,
that scarcely a green thing, or
a living animal was left on the face of
the land. The Moors sallied frequently,
and fought desperately in defence of
their fields; but the work of destruction
was accomplished, and Granada, once
the queen of gardens, was left surrounded
by a desert.

From hence Ferdinand marched to crush
a conspiracy, which had lately manifested
itself in the cities of Guadix, Baza,
and Almeria. These recently conquered
places had entered into secret correspondence
with King Boabdil, inviting him to
march to their gates, promising to rise
upon the Christian garrisons, seize upon
the citadels, and surrender themselves
into his power. The Marquis of Villena
had received notice of the conspiracy,
and suddenly thrown himself, with a
large force, into Guadix. Under pretence
of making a review of the inhabitants,
he made them sally forth into the
fields before the city. When the whole
Moorish population, capable of bearing
arms, was thus without the walls, he
ordered the gates to be closed. He then
permitted them to enter two by two, and
three by three, and to take forth their
wives and children, and effects. The
houseless Moors were fain to make themselves
temporary hovels, in the gardens
and orchards about the city. They were
clamorous in their complaints at being
thus excluded from their homes; but
were told, they must wait with patience,
until the charges against them could be
investigated, and the pleasure of the king
be known.[113]

When Ferdinand arrived at Guadix,
he found the unhappy Moors in their
cabins among the orchards. They
complained bitterly of the deception that
had been practised upon them, and implored
permission to return into the city,
and live peaceably in their dwellings, as
had been promised them in their articles
of capitulation.

King Ferdinand listened graciously to
their complaints. "My friends," said he
in reply, "I am informed, that there has
been a conspiracy among you, to kill my
alcayde and garrison, and to take part
with my enemy, the King of Granada.
I shall make a thorough investigation of
this conspiracy. Those among you, who
shall be proved innocent, shall be restored
to their dwellings; but the guilty shall
incur the penalty of their offences. As I
wish, however, to proceed with mercy as
well as justice, I now give you your
choice, either to depart at once, without
further question, going wherever you
please, and taking with you your families
and effects, under an assurance of safety,
or to deliver up those who are guilty; not
one of whom, I give you my word, shall
escape punishment."

When the people of Guadix heard this,
they communed among themselves, "and,
as most of them," says the worthy Agapida,
"were either culpable, or feared to
be considered so, they accepted the alternative,
and departed sorrowfully, they,
and their wives, and their little ones."
"Thus," in the words of that excellent
and contemporary historian, Andres
Bernaldes, commonly called the Curate
of Los Palacios, "thus did the king
deliver Guadix from the hands of the
enemies of our holy faith, after seven
hundred and seventy years, that it had
been in their possession, even since the
time of Roderick the Goth; and this was
one of the mysteries of our Lord, who
would not consent that the city should
remain longer in the power of the Moors."
A pious and sage remark, which is
quoted with peculiar approbation by the
worthy Agapida.

King Ferdinand offered similar alternatives
to the Moors of Baza, Almeria,
and other cities, accused of participation
in this conspiracy; who generally preferred
to abandon their homes, rather
than incur the risk of an investigation.
Most of them relinquished Spain, as a
country where they could no longer live
in security and independence, and departed
with their families for Africa;
such as remained were suffered to live in
villages and hamlets, and other unwalled
places.[114]

While Ferdinand was thus occupied at
Guadix, dispensing justice and mercy,
and receiving cities in exchange, the old

monarch, Muley Abdulla, surnamed El
Zagal, appeared before him. He was
haggard with care, and almost crazed
with passion. He had found his little
territory of Andaraxa, and his two thousand
subjects, as difficult to govern as
had been the distracted kingdom of Granada.
The charm, which had bound the
Moors to him, was broken, when he appeared
in arms under the banner of Ferdinand.
He had returned from his
inglorious campaign, with his petty army
of two hundred men, followed by the
execrations of the people of Granada, and
the secret repining of those he had led
into the field. No sooner had his subjects
heard of the successes of Boabdil el
Chico, than they seized their arms, assembled
tumultuously, declared for the
young monarch threatening the life of
El Zagal.[115] The unfortunate old king
had with difficulty evaded their fury;
and this last lesson seemed entirely to
have cured him of his passion for sovereignty.
He now entreated Ferdinand to
purchase the towns and castles and other
possessions, which had been granted to
him; offering them at a low rate, and
begging safe passage, for himself and his
followers, to Africa. King Ferdinand
graciously complied with his wishes. He
purchased of him three-and-twenty towns
and villages, in the valleys of Andaraxa
and Alhauren, for which he gave him
five millions of maravedis. El Zagal
relinquished his right to one half of the
salinas, or salt-pits, of Maleha, in favour
of his brother-in-law, Cidi Yahye.
Having thus disposed of his petty empire
and possessions, he packed up all his
treasure, of which he had a great amount,
and, followed by many Moorish families,
passed over to Africa.[116]

And here let us cast an eye beyond
the present period of our chronicle, and
trace the remaining career of El Zagal.
His short and turbulent reign, and disastrous
end, would afford a wholesome
lesson to unprincipled ambition, were not
all ambition of the kind fated to be blind
to precept and example. When he arrived
in Africa, instead of meeting with
kindness and sympathy, he was seized
and thrown in prison by the king of Fez,
as though he had been his vassal. He
was accused of being the cause of the
dissensions and downfall of the kingdom
of Granada; and the accusation being
proved to the satisfaction of the king
of Fez, he condemned the unhappy El
Zagal to perpetual darkness. A basin of
glowing copper was passed before his
eyes, which effectually destroyed his
sight. His wealth, which had probably
been the secret cause of these cruel
measures, was confiscated and seized
by his oppressor, and El Zagal was
thrust forth, blind, helpless, and destitute,
upon the world. In this wretched
condition, the late Moorish monarch
groped his way through the regions of
Tingitania, until he reached the city of
Velez de Gomera. The king of Velez
had formerly been his ally, and felt
some movement of compassion at his
present altered and abject state. He
gave him food and raiment, and suffered
him to remain unmolested in his dominions.
Death, which so often hurries off
the prosperous and happy from the midst
of untasted pleasures, spares, on the
other hand, the miserable, to drain the
last drop of his cup of bitterness. El
Zagal dragged out a wretched existence
of many years, in the city of Velez.
He wandered about, blind and disconsolate,
an object of mingled scorn and pity,
and bearing above his raiment a parchment,
on which was written in Arabic,
"This is the unfortunate king of Andalusia."[117]