Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/522

376 I.ucena. PART The count of Cabra, in the mean while, who '- — had lost no time in mustering his levies, set for- Battieof ward at the head of a small but well-appointed force, consisting of both horse and foot, to the relief of his nephew. He advanced with such celerity that he had wellnigh surprised the be- leaguering army. As he traversed the sierra, which covered the Moorish flank, his numbers were par- tially concealed by the inequalities of the ground; while the clash of arms and the shrill music, rever- berating among the hills, exaggerated their real magnitude in the apprehension of the enemy. At the same time the alcayde de los donzeles support- ed his uncle's advance by a vigorous sally from the city. The Granadine infantry, anxious only for the preservation of their valuable booty, scarcely wait- ed for the encounter, before they began a dastardly retreat, and left the battle to the cavalry. The latter, composed, as has been said, of the strength of the Moorish chivalry, men accustomed in many a border foray to cross lances with the best knights of Andalusia, kept their ground with their wonted gallantry. The conflict, so well disputed, remain- ed doubtful for some time, until it was determined by the death of the veteran chieftain Ali Atar, "the best lance," as a Castilian writer has styled him, " of all Morisma," who was brought to the ground after receiving two wounds, and thus escaped by an honorable death the melancholy spectacle of his country's humiliation. ^ ^ Conde, Dominacion de los Ar- Reyes de Araffon, torn. ii. fol. abes, torn. iii. cap. 36. — Abarca, 302. — Carbajal, Anales, MS ,
 * 376 WAR OF GRANADA.