Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/52

28 28 WAR OF GRANADA. PART ordinances prohibiting the introduction of any un- . — '. — known person armed, or any Moor whatever, into the royal quarters ; and the body-guard was aug- mented by the addition of two hundred hidalgos of Castile and Aragon, who, with their retainers, were to keep constant watch over the persons of the sovereigns. Distress anj Meanwhilc, the city of Malaga, whose natural resolution of _ "^ . ti.e besieged, population was greatly swelled by the influx of its foreign auxiliaries, began to be straitened for sup- plies, while its distress was aggravated by the spec- tacle of abundance which reigned throughout the Spanish camp. Still, however, the people, over- awed by the soldiery, did not break out into mur- murs, nor did they relax in any degree the perti- nacity of their resistance. Their drooping spirits were cheered by the predictions of a fanatic, who promised that they should eat the grain which they saw in the Christian camp ; a prediction, which came to be verified, like most others that are veri- fied at all, in a very different sense from that in- tended or understood. The incessant cannonade kept up by the besieg- ing army, in the mean time, so far exhausted their ammunition, that they were constrained to seek supplies from the most distant parts of the king- dom, and from foreign countries. The arrival of two Flemish transports at this juncture, from the emperor of Germany, whose interest had been roused in the crusade, afforded a seasonable rein- forcement of military stores and munitions. The obstinate defence of Malaga had given the