Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/90

66 66 WAR OF GRANADA. PART of which the Moorish ladies were exceedingly fond, in order to defray the charges of the merce- naries. The camp of the besiegers, in the mean while, was also greatly wasted both by sickness and the sword. Many, desponding under perils and fa tigues, which seemed to have no end, would even at this late hour have abandoned the siege ; and they earnestly solicited the queen's appearance in the camp, in the hope that she would herself coun- tenance this measure, on witnessing their suffer- ings. Others, and by far the larger part, anxiously desired the queen's visit, as likely to quicken the operations of the siege, and bring it to a favorable issue. There seemed to be a virtue in her pres- ence, which, on some account or other, made it earnestly desired by all. isaheiia Isabella yielded to the general wish, and on the visits the ■' O ' camp. j^Yi of November arrived before the camp, attend- ed by the infanta Isabella, the cardinal of Spain, her friend the marchioness of Moya, and other ladies of the royal household. The inhabitants of Baza, says Bernaldez, lined the battlements and housetops, to gaze at the glittering cavalcade as it emerged from the depths of the mountains, amidst flaunting banners and strains of martial music, while the Spanish cavaliers thronged forth in a body from the camp to receive their beloved mis- tress, and gave her the most animated welcome. " She came," says Martyr, " surrounded by a choir of nymphs, as if to celebrate the nuptials of her child ; and her presence seemed at once to gladden