CHAPTER XLVIII

Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada

by Washington Irving

CHAPTER XLVIII, CHRONICLE OF THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA by Washington Irving

HOW KING FERDINAND AND HIS ARMY WERE EXPOSED TO IMMINENT
PERIL BEFORE VELEZ MALAGA.


While the standard of the cross waved on the hills before Velez
Malaga, and every height and cliff bristled with hostile arms, the
civil war between the factions of the Alhambra and the Albaycin, or
rather between El Zagal and El Chico, continued to convulse the city
of Granada. The tidings of the investment of Velez Malaga at length
roused the attention of the old men and the alfaquis, whose heads
were not heated by the daily broils, and they endeavored to arouse
the people to a sense of their common danger.

"Why," said they, "continue these brawls between brethren and
kindred? What battles are these where even triumph is ignominious,
and the victor blushes and conceals his scars? Behold the Christians
ravaging the land won by the valor and blood of your forefathers,
dwelling in the houses they built, sitting under the trees they planted,
while your brethren wander about houseless and desolate. Do you
wish to seek your real foe?--he is encamped on the mountain of
Bentomiz. Do you want a field for the display of your valor?--you
will find it before the walls of Velez Malaga."

When they had roused the spirit of the people they made their way to
the rival kings, and addressed them with like remonstrances. Hamet
Aben Zarraz, the inspired santon, reproached El Zagal with his blind
and senseless ambition. "You are striving to be king," said he,
bitterly, "yet suffer the kingdom to be lost!"

El Zagal found himself in a perplexing dilemma. He had a double
war to wage--with the enemy without and the enemy within. Should
the Christians gain possession of the sea-coast, it would be ruinous
to the kingdom; should he leave Granada to oppose them, his vacant
throne might be seized on by his nephew. He made a merit of
necessity, and, pretending to yield to the remonstrances of the
alfaquis, endeavored to compromise with Boabdil. He expressed deep
concern at the daily losses of the country caused by the dissensions
of the capital: an opportunity now presented to retrieve all by a
blow. The Christians had in a manner put themselves in a tomb
between the mountains--nothing remained but to throw the earth
upon them. He offered to resign the title of king, to submit to the
government of his nephew, and fight under his standard; all he
desired was to hasten to the relief of Velez Malaga and to take full
vengeance on the Christians.

Boabdil spurned his proposition as the artifice of a hypocrite and a
traitor. "How shall I trust a man," said he, "who has murdered my
father and my kindred by treachery, and has repeatedly sought my
own life both by violence and stratagem?"

El Zagal boiled with rage and vexation, but there was no time to be
lost. He was beset by the alfaquis and the nobles of his count; the
youthful cavaliers were hot for action, the common people loud in
their complaints that the richest cities were abandoned to the mercy
of the enemy. The old warrior was naturally fond of fighting; he saw
also that to remain inactive would endanger both crown and kingdom,
whereas a successful blow might secure his popularity in Granada.
He had a much more powerful force than his nephew, having lately
received reinforcements from Baza, Guadix, and Almeria; he could
march with a large force, therefore, to the relief of Velez Malaga,
and yet leave a strong garrison in the Alhambra. He took his
measures accordingly, and departed suddenly in the night at the
head of one thousand horse and twenty thousand foot, and urged
his way rapidly by the most unfrequented roads along the chain of
mountains extending from Granada to the heights above Velez Malaga.

The Christians were alarmed one evening by the sudden blazing
of great fires on the mountains about the fortress of Bentomiz. By
the ruddy light they beheld the flash of weapons and the array of
troops, and they heard the distant sound of Moorish drums and
trumpets. The fires of Bentomiz were answered by fires on the towers
of Velez Malaga. The shouts of "El Zagal! El Zagal!" echoed along the
cliffs and resounded from the city, and the Christians found that the
old warrior-king of Granada was on the mountain above the camp.

The spirits of the Moors were suddenly raised to a pitch of the
greatest exultation, while the Christians were astonished to see the
storm of war ready to burst upon their heads. The count de Cabra,
with his accustomed eagerness when there was a king in the field,
would fain have scaled the heights and attacked El Zagal before
he had time to form his camp; but Ferdinand, more cool and wary,
restrained him. To attack the height would be to abandon the siege.
He ordered every one, therefore, to keep a vigilant watch at his
post and stand ready to defend it to the utmost, but on no account
to sally forth and attack the enemy.

All night the signal-fires kept blazing along the mountains, rousing
and animating the whole country. The morning sun rose over the
lofty summit of Bentomiz on a scene of martial splendor. As its rays
glanced down the mountain they lighted up the white tents of the
Christian cavaliers cresting its lower prominences, their pennons
and ensigns fluttering in the morning breeze. The sumptuous
pavilions of the king, with the holy standard of the cross and the
royal banners of Castile and Aragon, dominated the encampment.
Beyond lay the city, its lofty castle and numerous towers glistening
with arms, while above all, and just on the profile of the height,
in the full blaze of the rising sun, were descried the tents of the
Moor, his troops clustering about them and his infidel banners
floating against the sky. Columns of smoke rose where the night-
fires had blazed, and the clash of the Moorish cymbal, the bray of
trumpet, and the neigh of steed were faintly heard from the airy
heights. So pure and transparent is the atmosphere in this region
that every object can be distinctly seen at a great distance, and
the Christians were able to behold the formidable hosts of fires
gathering on the summits of the surrounding mountains.

One of the first measures of the Moorish king was to detach a large
force, under Reduan de Vanegas, alcayde of Granada, to fall upon the
convoy of ordnance, which stretched for a great distance through the
mountain-defiles. Ferdinand had anticipated this attempt, and sent
the commander of Leon with a body of horse and foot to reinforce the
master of Alcantara. El Zagal from his mountain-height beheld the
detachment issue from the camp, and immediately recalled Reduan.
The armies now remained quiet for a time, the Moor looking grimly
down upon the Christian camp, like a tiger meditating a bound upon
his prey. The Christians were in fearful jeopardy--a hostile city below
them, a powerful army above them, and on every side mountains filled
with implacable foes.

After El Zagal had maturely considered the situation of the Christian
camp, and informed himself of all the passes of the mountain, he
conceived a plan to surprise the enemy which he flattered himself
would ensure their ruin and perhaps the capture of King Ferdinand.
He wrote a letter to the alcayde of the city, commanding him in the
dead of the night, on a signal-fire being made from the mountain,
to sally forth with all his troops and fall furiously upon the Christian
camp. The king would, at the same time, rush down with his army from
the mountain, and assail it on the opposite side, thus overwhelming
it at the hour of deep repose. This letter he despatched by a renegado
Christian, who knew all the secret roads of the country, and if taken
could pass himself for a Christian who had escaped from captivity.

El Zagal, confident in his stratagem, looked down upon the Christians
as his devoted victims. As the sun went down and the long shadows
of the mountains stretched across the vega, he pointed with exultation
to the camp below, apparently unconscious of the impending danger.
"Behold," said he, "the unbelievers are delivered into our hands; their
king and choicest chivalry will soon be at our mercy. Now is the time
to show the courage of men, and by one glorious victory retrieve all
that we have lost. Happy he who falls fighting in the cause of the
Prophet! he will at once be transported to the paradise of the faithful
and surrounded by immortal houris. Happy he who shall survive
victorious! he will behold Granada--an earthly paradise!--once more
delivered from its foes and restored to all its glory." The words of El
Zagal were received with acclamations by his troops, who waited
impatiently for the appointed hour to pour down from their mountain-
hold upon the Christians.