upon the kingdom. He lost his sight, and soon
afterwards died, not without suspicion of foul play.

In Ez-Zaghal we see the last great Moorish King
of Andalusia. He was a gallant warrior, a firm ruler,
and a resolute opponent of the Christians. Had he
been untrammelled by his nephew, Granada might
have remained in the hands of the Moors during his
life, though nothing could have prevented the final
triumph of the Christians. Instead of delaying that
victory, however, the kings of Granada did their best
to further and promote it by their internal disputes.
Quem Deus vult perdere, prius dementat: when the
gods have decreed that a king must fall, they fill him
first with folly. Such a suicidal mania now invaded the
minds of the rulers of Granada: at a time when every
man they could gather together was needed to repel
the invasion of the Christians, they wasted their
strength in ruinous struggles with each other, and
one would even intercept the other's army when it
was on the march against the common enemy. The
people of Granada, divided into various factions,
aided and abetted the jealousy of their sovereigns:
always fickle and prone to any change, good or bad,
the Granadinos loved nothing better than to set up
and put down kings. So long as a ruler was for-
tunate in war, and brought back rich spoils from the
territories of the "infidels," they were well pleased to
submit to his sway; but the moment he failed, they
shut the gates in his face and shouted, Long live
the other!--who might be Boabdil or Ez-Zaghal, or
any one else who happened for the moment to possess
Granada's changeable affections.

While Boabdil the Unlucky was doing his best to

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