The casket in which was deposited the most priceless relic of Islam was the same which had been adorned by the emulous devotion and prodigality of many generations of Moslem princes. Its material of ebony and sandal-wood was entirely concealed by the multitude of jewels with which it was encrusted. The greater part of these were emeralds and rubies, and were kept in place by heavy settings of gold. They were arranged in arabesques, and in the centre of each design sparkled a magnificent ruby cut in horseshoe form. The casket was lined with green silk and cloth-of-gold, and a covering of the same material sowed with pearls and other precious stones concealed the treasure from the eyes of the multitude. Its weight, which was far from inconsiderable, was supported by a stately camel, whose burden was sheltered by a canopy on which were emblazoned in golden letters appropriate legends from the Koran. In the rear of the Sultan came the princes of the blood, the royal tributaries, and the grand officials of the empire. Seventy thousand infantry and thirty thousand cavalry composed the available force of the invaders, whose ranks were further augmented by at least a hundred thousand slaves and dependents. The army moved in four divisions, a day’s journey apart; at each halting-place provisions and forage had been collected, and the perfection of these arrangements, as well as the order maintained on the march, attested the military skill and executive ability of the Moslem general. At Seville, designated as the rendezvous of the Spanish contingent, Yusuf was joined by several thousand Berber troops, who had served through many campaigns in the Peninsula. He then crossed the frontier of Portugal and besieged Santarem. This city, situated about fifty miles from Lisbon, was regarded as the bulwark of that capital. It was on the point of being taken, when Yusuf was surprised by an unexpected sally of the besiegers and mortally wounded. The Moslems, goaded to madness by this misfortune, drove back the attacking party, entered the gates with the fugitives, and ten thousand persons, massacred amidst the horrors of the unequal conflict, expiated the temporary and fatal success of a handful of their number. The death of the Sultan, which, to avoid political complications and civil war, was kept a secret, and did not become publicly known until his successor, Abu-Yakub-Ibn-Yusuf,--the ablest of his many sons, and who assumed the title of Al-Mansur-Billah,--a few weeks afterwards ascended the throne. The traits of Yusuf were those of a liberal, a just, a devout, a magnanimous ruler. He reduced taxation. He increased the imperial revenues. His inexorable severity was the terror of malefactors. Before his tribunals no suitor could complain of judicial oppression or venality. Under his administration, as under that of his father, the clergy were restricted to the performance of their religious duties,