Then, taking Teodomir by the hand he led him to his tent, and ordered wine and meat to be served to him as to himself. And in memory of this defence the provinces of Murcia and Valencia, all through the Moorish occupation, were known as “the Land of _Tadmir_” or “_Teodomir_.” Thanks to the rivalry between these two commanders, Mousa and Tháryk, Gothic Spain had fallen to the Moors in an incredibly short space of time: the banners of the Crescent waved from Pelayo’s country in the mountains of the Asturias in the north, to Calpe and the Pillars of Hercules in the south; from the borders of Lusitania (Estremadura) in the west, to the coast of Tarragona and Valencia in the east; and the mighty city of Saragossa, where so many Christians had taken refuge, also yielded. At length a summons came from Sultan Suleiman, at Damascus, to both leaders, to appear before him, to render an account of their conquests and their spoils, as well as to settle the justice of those dissensions which raged so fiercely between them. Before he left Spain, Mousa addressed a letter to his son, at Seville. “Son of my heart,” he wrote, “may Allah guard thee! Thou art of too tender and confiding a nature. Listen to thy father’s words. Avoid all treachery, for, being in thyself loyal, thou mayest be caught by it. Trust no one who counsels it. I have placed with thee at Seville, according to the inexperience of thy age, our kinsman, the discreet Ayub. Listen to his counsels in all things, as thou wouldst to myself. Beware, too, O my son, of the seductions of love. As yet thy heart is untouched. May Allah so preserve it! Love is an idle passion, which enfeebles the soul and blinds the judgment. Love renders the mighty weak, and makes slaves of princes. Farewell. May Allah guard thee and lengthen thy days.” CHAPTER X Abdul-asis and Egilona The Alcazar at Seville (each Spanish city has its Alcazar) still stands in the centre of the city. Not the decorated palace we see it now, rebuilt by the Toledan Zalubi for Prince Abdurrahman, and afterwards enlarged and beautified by Don Pedro el Cruel, in imitation of the Alhambra of Granada, but a veritable citadel, surrounded by low tapia walls, on the verge of the tidal current of the Guadalquivir, and flanked by the Gothic tower (_Torre del oro_) which still remains. Not a poetic ruin, this Alcazar like the Alhambra, but a real castle, whole and entire, ready to receive, to this day, emirs or sultans, kings, queens, or princes, whenever their good pleasure calls them to Seville. Behind lie the gardens, flushed with roses, oleanders, and pomegranates, approached by stately terraces sweet with the familiar scent of carnation, violet, and jasmine. A delicious plaisance formed into a series of squares, divided by low myrtle hedges, and orange-lined walls, central fountains bubbling up in sheets of foam, and streams and runnels, tanks and ponds, along which are walks paved with variegated tiles.