Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/63

39 CONQUEST OF MALAGA. ^ 39 sex, was commanded to repair to the great court- chapter XIII. yard of the alcazaba, which was overlooked on all L- sides by lofty ramparts garrisoned by the Spanish soldiery. To this place, the scene of many a Moorish triumph, where the spoil of the border foray had been often displayed, and which still might be emblazoned with the trophy of many a Christian banner, the people of Malaga now direct- ed their steps. As the multitude swarmed through the streets, filled with boding apprehensions of their fate, they wrung their hands, and, raising their eyes to Heaven, uttered the most piteous lamentations. " Oh Malaga," they cried, " renowned and beau- tiful city, how are thy sons about to forsake thee ! Could not thy soil on which they first drew breath, be suffered to cover them in death ? Where is now the strength of thy towers, where the beauty of thy edifices ? The strength of thy walls, alas, could not avail thy children, for they had sorely displeased their Creator. What shall become of thy old men and thy matrons, or of thy young maidens delicately nurtured within thy halls, when they shall feel the iron yoke of bondage ? Can thy barbarous conquerors without remorse thus tear asunder the dearest ties of life ? " Such are the melancholy strains, in which the Castilian chron- icler has given utterance to the sorrows of the captive city. ^^ 28 Bleda, Coronica, lib. 5, cap. with canes, acanavereados, a barba- 15. rous punishment derived from the As a counterpart to the above Moors, which was inflicted by scene, twelve Christian renegades, horsemen at full gallop, who dis- found in the city, were transfixed charged pointed reeds at the crim-