Gómez Arias

  CHAPTER I.

  INTRODUCTORY.

  The ancient city of Granada has ever proved a source of gratification tothose who have occupied themselves with the investigation of its earlierhistory. It abounds with objects curious and interesting; and is no lesscelebrated for the conspicuous place which it holds in the page ofSpanish history, than for the more pleasing associations of chivalryand romance. Situated at the base of the snow-capt mountains of the_Sierra Nevada_, and extending into the luxuriant plain of the _Vega_,it seems placed by nature as a barrier between an eternal winter and aconstant spring--

  "Not as elsewhere with fervours frosts severe, Or clouds with calms divide the happy hours, But heaven than whitest crystal e'en more clear, A flood of sunshine in all seasons showers; Nursing to fields their herbs, to herbs their flowers, To flowers their smell, leaves to th' immortal trees: Here by its lake the splendid palace towers, On marble columns rich with golden frieze, For leagues and leagues around, o'erhanging hills and seas."

  _Wiffen's Tasso._

  Amongst the many architectural remains which adorn the city, the palaceof the Alhambra is perhaps the most conspicuous. It was originallyfounded by one of the Moorish kings, after the conquest of the kingdomof Granada, and became, in process of time, the favorite residence of along line of princes, by whom it was enriched with the spoils ofconquest, and all the embellishments which wealth could supply. Nothing,indeed, that imagination could devise, or human industry effect, wasomitted, to render it a retreat worthy of the Moorish sovereigns ofGranada.

  Ages have gone by since its foundation, kingdoms have been overthrown,and whole generations have passed away, but the Alhambra still remains aproud record of the Moslem's power. It is the last monument of theirglory, amidst the changes that have long since taken place, and thatstill proclaim their fall.

  The city commands an extensive view of the surrounding country, and theeye wanders with delight over the picturesque and varied scenery whichopens on every side. Far as the eye can reach, a fertile plain teemingwith life exhibits nature in her most lovely and fascinating forms;large flocks and herds are seen browzing and disporting amongst theluxuriant herbage, while the distant quiet villages interspersedthroughout the landscape, are thrown out in bold relief by the darkgreen foliage in which they are embosomed. Here the orange-flower andthe jasmin of the gardens, decked in all the pride of cultivation, loadthe air with their grateful perfume; and sparkling jets of limpid water,thrown aloft from fountains of alabaster, impart a continual freshnessand beauty to the scene, whilst they contribute to dissipate the languorwhich in this luxurious climate softly steals over the senses.

  After dwelling with delight upon this living landscape of happiness andtranquillity, the feelings of the beholder are aroused by the imposingaspect of the _Sierra Nevada_. The never-varying hue, the sameness ofdesolation exhibited by these gigantic mountains, offer a strikingcontrast to the glowing and lively tints of the surrounding country. Ontheir lofty summits the clouds appear to have fixed their abode; and intheir inhospitable regions no living thing can dwell.--Still barren anddreary they remain, in the very bosom of luxuriance and cheerfulness;throughout the vicissitudes of climate and season they are for ever thesame.

  Granada was the last strong hold of the Moors in Spain. They had forseven centuries defied the power of different Christian sovereigns, whoby unremitted efforts slowly and progressively regained thoseterritories which had been suddenly wrested from their ancestors.Indeed, it required the lapse of ages and a series of successes, wroughtby the exertions of many a distinguished warrior, to recover thosepossessions which had been thus lost by the weakness of a king, and thetreason of a prelate.[1]

  Ferdinand and Isabella, happily uniting by marriage the crowns ofArragon and Castile, consolidated the power and gave a new impulse tothe energies of the Christians. After a variety of minor advantages,they resolved to lay siege to Granada, fortunately at a time when thatcity was a prey to civil dissentions, occasioned by the rival familiesof the Zegris and Abencerrages. The Moors, gradually weakened by theirdomestic broils, offered but an inadequate opposition to the enemy, whopressed them, on this account, with increasing ardour. After aprotracted siege of eight months, in which a host of warriorsdistinguished themselves, Granada, the royal residence of the Moslemsfor seven hundred years, surrendered, and the banner of the Crossstreamed triumphantly over the turrets of the Alhambra.

  The Moors seemed satisfied with their new masters, and the partialchange of government which ensued; so that King Ferdinand returned toSeville, leaving the subdued city in apparent tranquillity. This calmwas, however, but of short duration. Strong symptoms of disaffectionwere soon observable in the conduct of the vanquished Moors, and themurmurs of discontent which prevailed in every quarter, shortlyterminated in open revolt.

  The Archbishop of Toledo, in his intemperate zeal for the conversion ofthe infidels, had adopted measures which tended rather to increase theirnatural aversion to the Christian religion, than to wean them from acreed, the mandates of which were in greater harmony with their habitsand inclination. The prelate seeing his designs thwarted by theinhabitants of the Albaycin, commissioned one of his officers to arrestthose whom he suspected of promoting the opposition. This lastill-advised and imprudent step so greatly exasperated the malcontents,that no sooner did the alguazil proceed to the discharge of his duty,than he became a victim to their fury. Imprecations were first heapedupon him; menaces succeeded; and finally a large stone, hurled from awindow, stretched the unfortunate officer lifeless an the ground.

  This murder was the signal for open rebellion. The Moors were aware thatso flagrant an act could not escape an adequate punishment, and theyaccordingly prepared themselves for a vigorous resistance. Some of themost daring hurried from street to street, summoning theirfellow-countrymen to arms, and exclaiming that the articles of thetreaty, in virtue of which they had surrendered, were violated, sincethey could not continue unmolested in the exercise of their religiousduties.

  This untoward event was the occasion of great anxiety to the Count deTendilla, who had been entrusted with the government of the city by thequeen. He took active measures to subdue the increasing fury of themalcontents. But desirous of trying the effect of negociation before hehad recourse to extremes, he set forth to the rebels, in the strongestlight, the criminality and madness of the enterprise in which they hadembarked, and the little probability of their ever again struggling withsuccess against the Christian power. All his efforts to restore orderproved for some time ineffectual. But the promise of amnesty and redressof their grievances, the well known integrity of the count, and hisgenerosity in sending his lady and son as hostages for the fulfilment ofthe treaty, induced at length the majority of the rebels to lay downtheir arms and accept the proffered pardon.

  The forty chiefs, however, who had been chosen by the insurgents,considered this conduct as pusillanimous, and despised it accordingly.Dazzled by dreams of ambition, fired with hopes of asserting theirindependence, and aware that the wild recesses of the mountains affordedfacilities for conducting the war with greater security and success;they fled from Granada in the night, and succeeded in instilling theirsentiments into the minds of the Moors who inhabited the adjacentcountry. The towns of Guejar, Lanjaron and Andarax soon rose up in arms;all the mountaineers of the Alpujarras followed the example, and theChristians were threatened with the loss of those acquisitions, whichtheir valour and perseverance had so nobly won.

  It is at this interesting period that the following romance takes place;and some of the subsequent events of the rebellion form the historicalportion of its subject.