ities were mouldered into dust: the
youth had abandoned the exercise of arms; and the presumption of their
ancient renown would expose them in a field of battle to the first
assault of the invaders. The ambitious Saracen was fired by the ease
and importance of the attempt; but the execution was delayed till he had
consulted the commander of the faithful; and his messenger returned with
the permission of Walid to annex the unknown kingdoms of the West to the
religion and throne of the caliphs. In his residence of Tangier, Musa,
with secrecy and caution, continued his correspondence and hastened his
preparations. But the remorse of the conspirators was soothed by the
fallacious assurance that he should content himself with the glory and
spoil, without aspiring to establish the Moslems beyond the sea that
separates Africa from Europe.

Before Musa would trust an army of the faithful to the traitors and
infidels of a foreign land, he made a less dangerous trial of their
strength and veracity. One hundred Arabs, and four hundred Africans,
passed over, in four vessels, from Tangier or Ceuta: the place of their
descent on the opposite shore of the strait is marked by the name of
Tarif their chief; and the date of this memorable event is fixed to the
month of Ramadan, of the ninety-first year of the Hegira, to the month
of July, seven hundred and forty-eight years from the Spanish aera of
Caesar, seven hundred and ten after the birth of Christ. From their first
station, they marched eighteen miles through a hilly country to the
castle and town of Julian: on which (it is still called Algezire) they
bestowed the name of the Green Island, from a verdant cape that advances
into the sea. Their hospitable entertainment, the Christians who joined
their standard, their inroad into a fertile and unguarded province, the
richness of their spoil, and the safety of their return, announced to
their brethren and the most favorable omens of victory. In the ensuing
spring, five thousand veterans and volunteers were embarked under the
command of Tarik, a dauntless and skilful soldier, who surpassed the
expectation of his chief; and the necessary transports were provided
by the industry of their too faithful ally. The Saracens landed at
the pillar or point of Europe; the corrupt and familiar appellation of
Gibraltar (_Gebel al Tarik_) describes the mountain of Tarik; and
the intrenchments of his camp were the first outline of those
fortifications