g Don Alfonso, who hath banished me from his land, no
scissors shall come upon it, nor shall a hair be cut away, and Moors and
Christians shall talk of it.'" And until he died his great beard grew on
untouched.

[Illustration: VALENCIA DEL CID.]

VALENCIA DEL CID.

Not many were the men with whom he had done his work, but they were
soldiers of tried temper and daring hearts. "There were one thousand
knights of lineage and five hundred and fifty other horsemen. There were
four thousand foot-soldiers, besides boys and others. Thus many were the
people of My Cid, him of Bivar. And his heart rejoiced, and he smiled and
said, 'Thanks be to God and to Holy Mother Mary! We had a smaller company
when we left the house of Bivar.'"

The next year King Yussef, leader of the Moors, came again to the siege of
Valencia, this time with fifty thousand men. Small as was the force of the
Cid as compared with this great army, he had no idea of fighting cooped up
like a rat in a cage. Out once more he sallied, with but four thousand men
at his back. His bishop, Hieronymo, absolved them, saying, "He who shall
die, fighting full forward, I will take as mine his sins, and God shall
have his soul."

A learned and wise man was the good bishop, but a valorous one as well,
mighty in arms alike on horseback and on foot. "A boon, Cid don Rodrigo,"
he cried. "I have sung mass to you this morning. Let me have the giving of
the first wounds in this battle."

"In God's name, do as you will," answered the Cid.

That day the bishop had his will of the foe, fighting with both hands
until no man knew how many of the infidels he slew. Indeed, they were all
too busy to heed the bishop's blows, for, so the chronicle says, only
fifteen thousand of the Moslems escaped. Yussef, sorely wounded, left to
the Cid his famous sword Tisona, and barely escaped from the field with
his life.

Bucar, the brother of Yussef, came to revenge him, but he knew not with
whom he had to deal. Bishop Hieronymo led the right wing, and made havoc
in the ranks of the foe. "The bishop pricked forward," we are told. "Two
Moors he slew with the first two thrusts of his lance; the haft broke and
he laid hold on his sword. God! how well the bishop fought. He slew two
with the lance and five with the sword. The Moors fled."

"Turn this way, Bucar," cried the Cid, who rode close on the heels of the
Moorish chief; "you who came from