hem. He ended with his war-cry of
"Guala! Guala! Follow me, my warriors! I shall not stop until I reach the
tyrant in the midst of his steel-clad warriors, and either kill him or he
kill me!"

At the head of his men the dusky one-eyed warrior rushed with fiery energy
upon the Gothic lines, cleaving his way through the ranks towards a
general whose rich armor seemed to him that of the king. His impetuous
charge carried him deep into their midst. The seeming king was before him.
One blow and he fell dead; while the Moslems, crying that the king of the
Goths was killed, followed their leader with resistless ardor into the
hostile ranks. The Christians heard and believed the story, and lost heart
as their enemy gained new energy.

At this critical moment, as we are told, Bishop Oppas, brother-in-law of
the traitor Julian, drew off and joined the Moslem ranks. Whether this was
the case or not, the charge of Tarik led the way to victory. He had
pierced the Christian centre. The wings gave way before the onset of his
chiefs. Resistance was at an end. In utter panic the soldiers flung away
their arms and took to flight, heedless of the stores and treasures of
their camp, thinking of nothing but safety, flying in all directions
through the country, while the Moslems, following on their flying steeds,
cut them down without mercy.

Roderic, the king, had disappeared. If slain in the battle, his body was
never found. Wounded and despairing, he may have been slain in flight or
been drowned in the stream. It was afterwards said that his war-horse, its
golden saddle rich with rubies, was found riderless beside the stream, and
that near by lay a royal crown and mantle, and a sandal embroidered with
pearls and emeralds. But all we can safely say is that Roderic had
vanished, his army was dispersed, and Spain was the prize of Tarik and the
Moors, for resistance was quickly at an end, and they went on from victory
to victory until the country was nearly all in their hands.

THE TABLE OF SOLOMON.

We have told how King Roderic, when he invaded the enchanted palace of
Toledo, found in its empty chambers a single treasure,--the famous table of
Solomon. But this was a treasure worth a king's ransom, a marvellous
talisman, so splendid, so beautiful, so brilliant that the chroniclers can
scarce find words fitly to describe its richness and value. Some say that
it was made of pure gold, richly inlaid with precious stones. Others sa