the name of the Cid must recall vivid recollections of tenderness and of valour.” The celebrated combat between four Spanish knights and four Arabs of the tribe of Zegris, the implacable foes of the Abencerrages, has been the subject both of poetical fiction and historical record. This meeting was to vindicate the honour of the Sultana Zoraide, accused by the Zegris of an adulterous intercourse with Aben Hamet. The indignant husband had decapitated the offender, and exiled the Abencerrages. Zoraide was condemned to the stake, unless some champion came forward to maintain her innocence. Juan Chacon, of Carthagena, answered the appeal of honour, and, accompanied by three other knights, appeared in the square of Grenada in front of the Alhambra, and in presence of the whole court. The beautiful princess was covered with a black veil, and placed on a scaffold, round which were heaped the faggots that were to consume her, in the event of her champions being conquered; but they, fortunately for her, overthrew their infidel antagonists, and proved her innocence. In 1491 a young Spaniard fought and killed a Moor, when Ferdinand, as a reward of his valour, authorised him to bear as his motto the letters of the _Ave Maria_; and Roderic Telles, grand master of Calatrava, was renowned for his many combats with the infidels. The annals of Spanish valour abound with instances of duelling, which was sanctioned and even encouraged by various laws, more especially in Castile and Aragon. It appears that in 1165 the King and council of Aragon abolished the practice; yet, in 1519, we find it to have been so frequent, that Charles V. issued an edict to forbid it. Nor can we be surprised at the state of barbarism in which Spain was involved: the continued incursions of the Moors, the undisciplined state of the troops, without pay or provisions, and the incessant feuds, not only between the nobles and their sovereigns, but amongst each other and their vassals, must have occasioned constant tumult and discord. Society was not secured by any pact; and rude passions alone dictated the actions of these unruly barbarians, for such, despite their affectation of gallantry, they must be called. The unfortunate inhabitants, exposed to these continued depredations, were obliged to incorporate themselves into military bodies, to protect life and property; and we find in 1260 they had assembled in a brotherhood, under the protection of their saints, forming what was called the _Santa Hermandada_, a corps which gradually dwindled into a paid police force, resembling the _maréchaussée_ and _gendarmerie_ of France. The immortal author of Don Quixote often refers to this military jurisdiction, which in reality mainly contributed to put an end to the atrocities that were daily committed; and it was chiefly during the reign of Ferdinand the Catholic that these excesses were restrained.