Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/130

106 106 WAR OF GRANADA. PART their social institutions had incapacitated them for '- — the further production of excellence. In this im- potent condition, it was wisely ordered, that their territory should be occupied by a people, whose re- ligion and more liberal form of government, howev- er frequently misunderstood or perverted, qualified them for advancing still higher the interests of hu- manity. Death and Jt will not bc amiss to terminate the narrative of character of oi'^cS"'^ the war of Granada, with some notice of the fate of Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, marquis duke of Cadiz; for he may be regarded in a peculiar manner as the hero of it, having struck the first stroke by the sur- prise of Alhama, and witnessed every campaign till the surrender of Granada. A circumstantial ac- count of his last moments is afforded by the pen of his worthy countryman, the Andalusian Curate of Los Palacios. The gallant marquis survived the close of the war only a short time, terminating his days at his mansion in Seville, on the 28th of Au- gust, 1492, with a disorder brought on by fatigue and incessant exposure. He had reached the forty- ninth year of his age, and, although twice married, left no legitimate issue. In his person, he was of about the middle stature, of a compact, sym- metrical frame, a fair complexion, with light hair inclining to red. He was an excellent horseman, and well skilled indeed in most of the exercises of chivalry. He had the rare merit of combining sagacity with intrepidity in action. Though some- what impatient, and slow to forgive, he was frank