Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/329

303 The venerable aspect and heart-stirring elo- quence of the primate kindled a deep, reverential enthusiasm in the bosoms of his martial audience, which showed itself by the profoundest silence. The officers, however, closed around him at the conclusion of the address, and besought him not to expose his sacred person to the hazard of the fight; reminding him, that his presence would probably do more harm than good, by drawing off the attention of the men to his personal safety. This last con- sideration moved the cardinal, who, though reluct- antly, consented to relinquish the command to Na- varro, and, after uttering his parting benediction over the prostrate ranks, he withdrew to the neigh- bouring fortress of Mazarquivir.

The day was now far spent, and dark clouds of the enemy were seen gathering along the tops of the sierra, which it was proposed first to attack. Navarro, seeing this post so strongly occupied, doubted whether his men would be able to carry before nightfall, if indeed at all, without previous rest and refreshment, after the exhausting labors of the day. He returned, therefore, to Mazarquivir, to take counsel of Ximenes. The latter, whom he found at his devotions, besought him "not to falter at this hour, but to go forward in God's name, since both the blessed Saviour and the false prophet Mahomet conspired to deliver the enemy into his hands." The soldier's scruples vanished before the