That he would put my maids to scorn, The wedded and to wed, And underneath my silken gown My little page strike dead!...’ Of the two hundred and five _romances_ on the Cid printed by Madame Michaëlis de Vasconcellos, probably one hundred and eighty at least may be considered modern, and some we know to have been written by Lorenzo de Sepúlveda, Lucas Rodríguez, and Juan de la Cueva. But the rest are doubtless ancient (as _romances_ go), and it is unfortunate that Lockhart gives no specimen of the ballads on the siege of Zamora. For example, the celebrated ballad that begins Riberas del Duero arriba cabalgan dos Zamoranos[42]— a splendid _romance_ the opening of which may be quoted from Gibson’s rendering:— Along the Douro’s bank there ride Two gallant Zamorese On sorrel steeds; their banners green Are fluttering in the breeze. Their armour is of finest steel, And rich their burnished brands; They bear their shields before their breasts, Stout lances in their hands. They ride their steeds with pointed spurs, And bits of silver fine; More gallant men were never seen, So bright their arms do shine. Then follow their challenge to any two knights in Sancho’s camp (except the King himself and the Cid), its acceptance by the two Counts, the Cid’s mocking intervention, and the encounter:— The Counts arrive; one clad in black, And one in crimson bright; The opposing ranks each other meet, And furious is the fight. The youth has quick unhorsed his man, With sturdy stroke and true; The Sire has pierced the other’s mail, And sent his lance right through. The horseless knight, pale at the sight, Ran hurrying from the fray; Back to Zamora ride the twain, With glory crowned that day! And another _romance_ worth giving from the Zamora series is the impressive Por aquel postigo viejo que nunca fuera cerrado.[43] Fortunately, Lockhart’s omission has been made good by Gibson, though of course no translation can do more than give a hint of the original:— On through the ancient gateway, That had nor lock nor bar, I saw a crimson banner come, With three hundred horse of war; I saw them bear a coffin, And black was its array; And placed within the coffin A noble body lay.... These ballads are included in the _Romancero del Cid_, and they are particularly interesting as being the _débris_ of a lost epic on the siege of Zamora which has apparently been utilised in the _Crónica general_; but perhaps a translator might excuse himself for not dealing with them on the ground that the Cid only appears incidentally. Indeed in Por aquel postigo viejo que nunca fuera cerrado, the Cid does not appear at all. The same excuse might be given for omitting the well-known Doliente estaba, doliente, ese buen rey don Fernando,[44]