gave the signal to attack,
"Santiago!" was shouted along the line, and he pressed forward to
the encounter with his battalion of twelve hundred lances. The other
cavaliers followed his example, and the battle instantly became general.

When the king and queen beheld the armies thus rushing to the combat,
they threw themselves on their knees and implored the Holy Virgin to
protect her faithful warriors. The prince and princess, the ladies of
the court, and the prelates and friars who were present did the same,
and the effect of the prayers of these illustrious and saintly persons
was immediately apparent. The fierceness with which the Moors had rushed
to the attack was suddenly cooled; they were bold and adroit for a
skirmish, but unequal to the veteran Spaniards in the open field. A
panic seized upon the foot-soldiers; they turned and took to flight.
Muza and his cavaliers in vain endeavored to rally them. Some took
refuge in the mountains, but the greater part fled to the city in
such confusion that they overturned and trampled upon each other. The
Christians pursued them to the very gates. Upward of two thousand
were either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners, and the two pieces of
ordnance were brought off as trophies of the victory. Not a Christian
lance but was bathed that day in the blood of an infidel.*

* Cura de los Palacios, cap. 101; Zurita, lib. 20, c. 88.

Such was the brief but bloody action which was known among the Christian
warriors by the name of "the Queen's Skirmish;" for when the marques of
Cadiz waited upon Her Majesty to apologize for breaking her commands,
he attributed the victory entirely to her presence. The queen, however,
insisted that it was all owing to her troops being led on by so valiant
a commander. Her Majesty had not yet recovered from her agitation at
beholding so terrible a scene of bloodshed, though certain veterans
present pronounced it as gay and gentle a skirmish as they had ever
witnessed.

The gayety of this gentle pass at arms, however, was somewhat marred
by a rough reverse in the evening. Certain of the Christian cavaliers,
among whom were the count de Urena, Don Alonso Aguilar, his brother
Gonsalvo of Cordova, Diego Castrillo, commander of Calatrava, and others
to the number of fifty, remained in ambush near Armilla, expecting the
Moors would sally forth at night to visit the scene of battle and to
bury their dead. They were discovered by a Moor who had climbe