CHAPTER XL.
Conclusion of the siege of Loxa.
Having possession of the heights of
Albohacin, and the suburb of the city,
the Christians were enabled to choose
the most favourable situations for their
batteries. They immediately destroyed
the stone bridge, by which the garrison
had made its sallies; and they threw two
wooden bridges across the river, and
others over the canals and streams, so as
to establish an easy communication between
the different camps.
When all was arranged, a heavy fire
was opened upon the city from various
points. They threw not only balls of
stone and iron, but great careases of fire,
which burst like meteors on the houses,
wrapping them instantly in a blaze. The
walls were shattered, and the towers
toppled down by tremendous discharges
from the lombards. Through the openings
thus made, they could behold the
interior of the city; houses tumbling
down or in flames; men, women, and
children flying in terror through the
streets, and slaughtered by the shower
of missiles sent through these openings
from smaller artillery, and from crossbows
and arquebuses.
The Moors attempted to repair the
breaches; but fresh discharges from the
lombards buried them beneath the ruins
of the walls they were mending. In their
despair, many of the inhabitants rushed
forth into the narrow streets of the suburbs,
and assailed the Christians with
darts, cimeters, and poniards; seeking
to destroy rather than defend, and heedless
of death, in the confidence, that to
die fighting with an unbeliever was to be
translated at once to paradise.
For two nights and a day this awful
scene continued: when certain of the
principal inhabitants began to reflect
upon the hopelessness of resistance.
Their king was disabled; their principal
captains were either killed or wounded;
their fortifications little better than heaps
of ruins. They had urged the unfortunate
Boabdil to the conflict; they now
clamoured for a capitulation. A parley
was procured from the Christian monarch,
and the terms of surrender were
soon adjusted. They were to yield up
the city immediately, with all the Christian
captives, and to sally forth with as
much of their property as they could
take with them. The Marquis of Cadiz,
on whose honour and humanity they had
great reliance, was to escort them to
Granada, to protect them from assault
or robbery. Such as chose to remain in
Spain were to be permitted to reside in
Castile, Aragon, or Valencia. As to
Boabdil el Chico, he was to do homage
as vassal to King Ferdinand; but no
charge was to be urged against him, of
having violated his former pledge. If he
should yield up all pretensions to Granada,
the title of Duke of Guadix was to
be assigned him, and the territory thereto
annexed, provided it should be recovered
from El Zagal within six months.
The capitulation being arranged, they
gave as hostages the alcayde of the city,
and the principal officers, together with
the sons of their late chieftain, the veteran
Ali Atar. The warriors of Loxa then
issued forth, humbled and dejected, at
having to surrender those walls, which
they had so long maintained with valour
and renown; and the women and children
filled the air with lamentations, at
being exiled from their native homes.
Last came forth Boabdil, most truly
called El Zogoybi, the unlucky. Accustomed,
as he had been, to be crowned
and uncrowned; to be ransomed, and
treated as a matter of bargain, he had
acceded of course to the capitulation.
He was enfeebled by his wounds, and had
an air of dejection; yet, it is said, his
conscience acquitted him of a breach of
faith towards the Castilian sovereigns;
and the personal valour he had displayed
had caused a sympathy for him among
many of the Christian cavaliers. He
kneeled to Ferdinand, according to the
forms of vassalage, and then departed in
melancholy mood for Priego, a town
about three leagues distant. Ferdinand
immediately ordered Loxa to be repaired
and strongly garrisoned. He was greatly
clated at the capture of this place, in
consequence of his former defeat before
its walls. He passed great encomiums
upon the commanders who had distinguished
themselves; and historians dwell
particularly upon his visit to the tent of
the English earl. His majesty consoled
him for the loss of his teeth, by the consideration,
that he might otherwise have
been deprived of them by natural decay:
whereas the lack of them would now be
esteemed a beauty rather than a defect;
serving as a trophy of the glorious cause
in which he had been engaged.
The earl replied, "that he gave thanks
to God and to the holy Virgin for being
thus honoured by a visit from the most
potent king in Christendom; that he accepted,
with all gratitude, his gracious
consolation for the loss he had sustained;
though he held it little to lose two teeth
in the service of God, who had given him
all."
"A speech," says Fray Antonio Agapida,
"full of most courtly wit and Christian
piety; and one only marvels that it
should be made by a native of an island
so far distant from Castile."
