King Jayme I. of Aragon, ‘El Conquistador,’ was a remarkable man--one of the greatest men of the thirteenth century. In his long reign he consolidated his dominions, while preserving the autonomy of each part which possessed a separate history and separate interests. He rendered the national assemblies more popular. He granted privileges most liberally to his subjects, encouraging agriculture and commerce. He gave an impulse to municipal government by the appointment of _jurados_ and by instituting the ‘Council of One Hundred’ at Barcelona, a model for a popular magistracy. By the publication of his ‘Libro del Consulado de Mar,’ the first code of maritime law of its kind, he formed a pattern which was adopted by all other naval Powers. He compiled the _Fueros_ of Aragon and Valencia, and granted those of Huesca on the model of the famous _Fueros_ of Sobrarbe. He was a patron of learning; and the arts, especially architecture, flourished under his fostering care. He founded the university of Lerida. In his warlike undertakings he planned all his operations with such care and forethought that he was always successful. The institutions perfected by King Jayme were so thoroughly based on the interests and genius of the people, that they lasted, with modifications, for more than four centuries. Just, affable, and sympathetic, the memory of Jayme the Conqueror is enshrined in the hearts of the descendants of his people, and when the seventh centenary of his birth came round, on February 8, 1908, it was seen that the great King is not forgotten. In Majorca, on the day of St. Silvester, the day on which Palma was taken, there was an annual procession in which the bishop and the authorities joined, with En Jayme’s banner borne before them; followed by a high Mass in the cathedral, when all the people prayed for the soul of their beloved King. Relics of King Jayme, consisting of his saddle, a stirrup, and a helmet, were long preserved at Palma. They are now in the royal armoury at Madrid; and the procession which revived old memories and aroused patriotic feelings has itself become a thing of the past. CHAPTER V Tells how the King of Aragon took up Conradin’s glove; how the Pope’s curses went home to roost; and how En Pedro kept his tryst