pain the monstrous spectacle of the _auto-de-fe_ was to be seen,
multitudes being burned at the stake for having dared to read the books or
accept the arguments of Protestant writers.

The total effect of this horrible system of persecution we can only
epitomize. Thousands were burned at the stake, thousands imprisoned for
life after terrible torture, thousands robbed of their property, and their
children condemned to poverty and opprobrium; and the kingdom of Christ,
as the Spanish monarchs of that day estimated it, was established in
Spain.

The Spanish Inquisition proved an instrument of conviction which none
dared question. Heresy was blotted out from Spain,--and Spain was blotted
out from the ranks of enlightened nations. Freedom of thought was at an
end. The mind of the Spaniard was put in fetters. Spain, under the sombre
shadow of this barbarity, was shut out from the light which was breaking
over the remainder of Europe. Literature moved in narrow channels,
philosophy was checked, the domain of science was closed, progress was at
an end. Spain stood still while the rest of the world was sweeping onward;
and she stands still to-day, her mind in the fifteenth century. The
decadence of Spain is due to the various causes named,--the weakness of her
rulers, lack of just and advantageous ideas of political and commercial
economy, suppression of freedom of thought and opinion on topics which
were being freely handled elsewhere in Christendom, and a narrow and
intolerant policy which, wherever shown, is a fatal barrier to the
progress of mankind.

THE LAST OF A ROYAL RACE.

The rebellion of the Moriscos, due to the oppressive edicts of Philip II.,
as stated in the preceding tale, was marked by numerous interesting
events. Some of these are worth giving in illustration of the final
struggle of the Moors in Spain. The insurgents failed in their first
effort, that of seizing the city of Granada, still filled with their
fellow-countrymen, and restoring as far as possible their old kingdom; and
they afterwards confined themselves to the difficult passes and mountain
fastnesses of the Sierra Nevada, where they presented a bold front to the
power of Spain.

Having proclaimed their independence, and cast off all allegiance to the
crown of Spain, their first step was to select a new monarch of their own
race. The man selected for this purpose was of royal blood, being
descended in a direct line from the ancient fa