The first exploit of Yusuf's son Mohammed was a visit to Toledo, with twenty-five mounted attendants, where he appeared before Enrique III. and besought a renewal of the truce. The armistice was disregarded by the governor of Andalusia, who invaded the Moorish dominions, till Mohammed, in reprisal, seized the citadel of Ayamonte. At Jijena he was defeated, and was forced to plead for peace. He was at the point of death, when the idea seized him to secure the government of Granada for his son by the assassination of his brother. The governor of Salobreña was commanded to put to death the prince whom he had in his keeping. The doomed man asked leave to finish the game of chess in which he was engaged, and before either player could cry "Checkmate," the news came that the prince's brother was dead and that he had been declared sultan. Yusuf III. was faced with difficulties immediately upon his accession. Antequera fell into the hands of the Castilians, led by the Infante Fernando. The defenders were slain, and only about two thousand of the townsmen outlived the rigours of the siege. The survivors were allowed to settle in Granada, and they gave the name of Antequeruela to the suburb. When the natives of Gibraltar revolted, and declared allegiance to Fez, the sultan of that State sent his brother Abu Saïd to secure the town. Abu Saïd, being left to the mercy of the enemy, was seized and brought to Granada, where he was shown a letter from the ruler of Fez desiring that he might be despatched. With this request the generous Yusuf refused to comply. He released his captive and furnished him with money and troops with which he left for Africa. The brother who had planned his death was hurled from the throne, and till Abu Saïd's death Granada did not want an ally. [Illustration: GRANADA--THE COURT OF THE CYPRESSES] In rapid succession sultans now flit across the lurid page of Granada's history. It is a gloomy tale of incessant civil strife and of unsuccessful warfare with the Christians. Rulers are expelled from their thrones by pretenders who themselves fall victims to the poignards of their partisans. Sovereigns purchase their disputed crowns by selling the honour and independence of their country to the foreigner. To trace the miserable vicissitudes of the careers--we cannot call them reigns--of Mohammed VII., Mohammed VIII., Yusuf IV., and Saïd Ben Ismaïl, would be to weary and disgust you with a nation whose stubborn fight against overwhelming odds should command our respect.