Seen from the transept, it would appear as though there were four aisles on the west side instead of two, a peculiar deception produced by the lateral opening of the last chapels, exactly similar in construction to the arch which crowns the intersection of the aisles and transept. [Illustration: TOWER OF AVILA CATHEDRAL] In the northern and southern extremity of the transept two handsome rosaces, above a row of lancet windows, let in the outside light through stained panes. The impression produced by the interior of the cathedral is greatly superior to that received from without. In the latter case curiosity is about the only sentiment felt by the spectator, whereas within the temple does not lack a simple beauty and mystery. As regards sculptural details, the best are doubtless the low reliefs to be seen to the rear of the choir, as well as several sepulchres, of which the best--and one of the best Renaissance monuments of its kind in Spain--is that of the Bishop Alfonso Tostado in the ambulatory. The _retablo_ of the high altar is also a magnificent piece of work of the second half of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth. III SEGOVIA Avila's twin sister, Segovia, retains its old Celtiberian name; it retains, also, the undeniable proofs of Roman domination in its far-famed aqueduct and in its amphitheatre. According to the popular tradition, San Hierateo, the disciple of St. Paul, was the first bishop in the first century, but probably the see was not erected until about 527, when it is first mentioned in a Tolesian document; the name of the first bishop (historical) is Peter, who was present at the third Council in Toledo (589). The local saint is one San Fruto, who, upon the approach of the Saracen hosts, gathered together a handful of fugitives and retired to the mountains; his brother Valentine and his sister Engracia (of Aragonese fame?) died martyrs to their belief. San Fruto, on the other hand, lived the life of a hermit in the mountains and wrought many miracles, such as splitting open a rock with his jack-knife, etc. The most miraculous of his deeds was the proof he gave to the Moors of the genuineness of the Catholic religion: on a tray of oats he placed the host and offered it to a mule, which, instead of munching oats and host, fell on its knees, and perhaps even crossed itself! Disputed by Arabs and Christians, like all Castilian towns, Segovia lagged along until it fell definitely into the hands of the latter. A Christian colony seems, nevertheless, to have lived in the town during the Arab dominion, because the documents of the time speak of a Bishop Ilderedo in 940. The exact year of the repopulation of Segovia is not known, but doubtless it was a decade or so prior to either that of Salamanca or Avila.