nd had peace and prosperity and the
English people have ever held his memory dear.

THE CID

Late one sunny afternoon one and twenty knights were riding along
the highway in the northern part of Spain. As they were passing
a deep mire they heard cries for help, and turning, saw a poor
leper who was sinking in the mud. One of the knights, a handsome
young man, was touched by the cries. He dismounted, rescued the
poor fellow, took him upon his own horse, and thus the two rode
to the inn. The other knights wondered at this.

When they reached the inn where they were to stop for the night,
they wondered still more, for their companion gave the leper a
seat next to himself at the table. After supper the knight shared
his own bed with the leper. If the knight had not done this, the
leper would have been driven out of the town, with nothing to eat
and no place in which to sleep. At midnight, while the young man
was fast asleep, the leper breathed upon his back. This awakened
the knight, who turned quickly in his bed and found that the leper
was gone.

The knight called for a light and searched, but in vain. While he
was wondering about what had happened, a man in shining garments
appeared before him and said, "Rodrigo, art thou asleep or awake?"
The knight answered, "I am awake, but who art thou that bringest
such brightness?" The vision replied, "I am St. Lazarus, the leper
to whom thou wast so kind. Because I have breathed upon thee thou
shalt accomplish whatever thou shalt undertake in peace or in battle.
All shall honor thee. Therefore, go on and evermore do good."

With that the vision vanished.

The promise of St. Lazarus was fulfilled. In time young Rodrigo became
the great hero of Spain. The Spaniards called him Cam-pe-ae-dor', or
Champion. The Saracens called him "The Cid," or Lord. His real
name was Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, but he is usually spoken of as
"The Cid."

The Goths, after the death of Alaric, had taken Spain away from
the Romans. The Saracens, or, as they were usually called, the
Moors, had crossed the sea from Africa and in turn had taken Spain
from the Goths. In the time of Charles Martel the Goths had lost
all Spain except the small mountain district in the northern part.
In the time of the Cid the Goths, now called Spaniards, had driven
the Moors down to about the middle of Spain. War went on all the time
between the two races, and many men spent their lives in fighting.
The Spanish part