ad been compelled to relinquish it by the
general retreat of the army on the former siege. The enemy had exulted
over them as if driven from it in disgrace. To regain that perilous
height, to pitch their tents upon it, and to avenge the blood of their
valiant compeer, the master of Calatrava, who had fallen upon it, was
due to their fame: the marques demanded, therefore, that they might lead
the advance and secure that height, engaging to hold the enemy employed
until the main army should take its position on the opposite side of the
city.

King Ferdinand readily granted his permission, upon which the count
de Cabra entreated to be admitted to a share of the enterprise. He had
always been accustomed to serve in the advance, and now that Boabdil was
in the field and a king was to be taken, he could not content himself
with remaining in the rear. Ferdinand yielded his consent, for he was
disposed to give the good count every opportunity to retrieve his late
disaster.

The English earl, when he heard there was an enterprise of danger in
question, was hot to be admitted to the party, but the king restrained
his ardor. "These cavaliers," said he, "conceive that they have an
account to settle with their pride; let them have the enterprise to
themselves, my lord: if you follow these Moorish wars long, you will
find no lack of perilous service."

The marques of Cadiz and his companions-in-arms struck their tents
before daybreak; they were five thousand horse and twelve thousand foot,
and marched rapidly along the defiles of the mountains, the cavaliers
being anxious to strike the blow and get possession of the height of
Albohacen before the king with the main army should arrive to their
assistance.

The city of Loxa stands on a high hill between two mountains on the
banks of the Xenil. To attain the height of Albohacen the troops had
to pass over a tract of rugged and broken country and a deep valley
intersected by those canals and watercourses with which the Moors
irrigated their lands: they were extremely embarrassed in this part of
their march, and in imminent risk of being cut up in detail before they
could reach the height.

The count de Cabra, with his usual eagerness, endeavored to push across
this valley in defiance of every obstacle: he, in consequence, soon
became entangled with his cavalry among the canals, but his impatience
would not permit him to retrace his steps and choose a more practicable
but circuitou