ast of trump and clarion, the clash of
cymbal, and the stormy din of a thousand drums. There was the clash of
swords, and maces, and battle-axes, with the whistling of arrows, and the
hurling of darts and lances. The Christians quailed before the foe; the
infidels pressed upon them and put them to utter rout; the standard of the
cross was cast down, the banner of Spain was trodden under foot, the air
resounded with shouts of triumph, with yells of fury, and with the groans
of dying men. Amidst the flying squadrons, King Roderick beheld a crowned
warrior, whose back was turned toward him, but whose armor and device were
his own, and who was mounted on a white steed that resembled his own war
horse Orelia. In the confusion of the flight, the warrior was dismounted,
and was no longer to be seen, and Orelia galloped wildly through the field
of battle without a rider.

Roderick stayed to see no more, but rushed from the fatal hall, followed
by his terrified attendants. They fled through the outer chamber, where
the gigantic figure with the whirling mace had disappeared from his
pedestal; and on issuing into the open air, they found the two ancient
guardians of the tower lying dead at the portal, as though they had been
crushed by some mighty blow. All nature, which had been clear and serene,
was now in wild uproar. The heavens were darkened by heavy clouds; loud
bursts of thunder rent the air, and the earth was deluged with rain and
rattling hail.

The king ordered that the iron portal should be closed; but the door was
immoveable, and the cavaliers were dismayed by the tremendous turmoil, and
the mingled shouts and groans that continued to prevail within. The king
and his train hastened back to Toledo, pursued and pelted by the tempest.
The mountains shook and echoed with the thunder, trees were uprooted and
blown down, and the Tagus raged and roared and flowed above its banks. It
seemed to the affrighted courtiers as if the phantom legions of the tower
had issued forth and mingled with the storm; for amidst the claps of
thunder and the howling of the wind, they fancied they heard the sound of
the drums and trumpets, the shouts of armies and the rush of steeds. Thus
beaten by tempest, and overwhelmed with horror, the king and his courtiers
arrived at Toledo, clattering across the bridge of the Tagus, and entering
the gate in headlong confusion, as though they had been pursued by an
enemy.

In the morning the heavens were