Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/59

35 CONQUEST OF MALAGA. 35 coolly replied, that he saw no occasion to change chapter his former determination ; but they might rest ' assured, if they harmed a single hair of a Christian, he would put every soul in the place, man, woman, and child, to the sword. The anxious people, who thronged forth to meet the embassy on its return to the city, were over- whelmed with the deepest gloom at its ominous tidings. Their fate was now sealed. Every ave- nue to hope seemed closed by the stern response of the victor. Yet hope will still linger ; and, al- though there were some frantic enough to urge the execution of their desperate menaces, the greater number of the inhabitants, and among them those most considerable for wealth and influence, prefer- red the chance of Ferdinand's clemency to certain, irretrievable ruin. For the last time, therefore, the deputies issued Malaga sur- ■*■ renders at from the gates of the city, charged with an epistle •^'^"e''™- to the sovereigns from their unfortunate country- men, in which, after deprecating their anger, and lamenting their own blind obstinacy, they reminded their highnesses of the liberal terms which their ancestors had granted to Cordova, Antequera, and other cities, after a defence as pertinacious as their own. They expatiated on the fame which the sovereigns had established by the generous policy of their past conquests, and, appealing to their magnanimity, concluded with submitting them- selves, their families, and their fortunes to their disposal. Twenty of the principal citizens were then delivered up as hostages for the peaceable