Considering the widely extended apostasy which followed the Arab conquest, it is remarkable, if viewed only from a worldly stand-point, that the entire Christian population of the Peninsula did not become Mohammedan. There is no doubt that those who remained consistently steadfast in the faith were in a decided minority. No inconsiderable number of proselytes was recruited from the patrician class. Among the great body of serfs and slaves, there were few who were not willing to renounce their religion for the certain enjoyment of liberty and the flattering prospect of future ease or distinction. The mass of the tributaries of the province of Seville had early abandoned the Christian communion, and during the reign of Abd-al-Rahman II. a magnificent mosque was built for their especial accommodation. The majority of the prisoners taken in war embraced without hesitation the doctrines of Islam. Leaving out of consideration the influence of that Divine Power which must have preserved its servants under the severest trials, circumstances of a political or social character may have arisen to prevent the wholesale apostasy of a nation. And such was indeed the case. The treatment to which the renegades were subjected is a single instance of many, most important in determining the causes of the decline of proselytism. In this class, the freedmen largely preponderated in numbers. Notwithstanding the nominal equality of the renegade granted by his former masters in the beginning, this equality was now never conceded. The stigma of servitude which attached to the majority became the unjust reproach of the caste. While many were sincere in their belief, others took small pains to disguise the interested motives which had prompted their conversion. The knowledge of this fact impelled the Moslems to treat all converts with the greatest indignity. They were publicly insulted. Opprobrious epithets were heaped upon them. Even those whose ancestors had ranked with the most distinguished of the Gothic aristocracy were not exempt from the sneers of the Mussulman rabble. Possession of vast wealth, reputation for genius, taste, or learning, afforded no immunity from outrage by the vilest of mankind. It was rare that a renegade, no matter how conspicuous his abilities, obtained a responsible office in the government. Even the Christian stood a far better chance of official promotion by the followers of the Prophet than the recent proselyte to Islam. It was not in the nature of a numerous and powerful caste, smarting under unmerited humiliation and conscious of its strength, to calmly submit to such injustice. Nor was it long before this destructive policy, which, like many of the evils that afflicted the Mussulman domination, had its origin in Arab pride, produced momentous political results. It encouraged treasonable correspondence with the Christians of the North. It raised up spies in every community. It