ature, the Princes of Portugal would do right to levy war upon them.
But this should be done with prudence and piety, lest the people of
Christ should suffer loss. Further, it was only just to tax a Christian
people for support of an infidel war, when the said war was of necessity
in defence of the kingdom. If the war was voluntary, for the conquering
of fresh lands from the Heathen, it could only be waged at the King's
own cost.

But before this answer arrived, the armament had been made ready, and
things had gone too far to draw back; the Queen was eager for the war,
and had brought King Edward to a more willing consent. So in the face of
bad omens, an illness of Prince Ferdinand's, and the warning words of
Don Pedro, the troops were put on board ship, August 17, 1437. On August
22d they set sail, and on the 26th landed at Ceuta, where Menezes still
commanded. The European triumphs of 1415 and 1418 were still fresh in
the memories of the Moors, and Don Henry was remembered as their hero.
So it was to him that the tribes of the Beni Hamed sent offers of
submission and tribute on the first news of the invasion. The Prince
accepted their presents of gold and silver, cattle and wood, and left
them in peace during the war, for the forces he had with him were barely
sufficient for the siege of Tangier. Out of fourteen thousand men levied
in Portugal, only six thousand answered the roll-call in Ceuta. A great
number had shirked the dangers of Africa; and the room on shipboard had
in itself been absurdly insufficient. The transports provided were just
enough for the battalions that actually crossed, and for a fresh supply
they must be sent back to Lisbon. In the council of war most were agreed
upon this as the best thing on paper, but the practical difficulties
were so great that Henry decided not to wait for reinforcements, but to
push forward with the troops in hand.

The direct road to Tangier by way of Ximera was now found impassable,
and it was determined to march the army round by Tetuan, while the fleet
was brought up along the coast. Ferdinand, who was still suffering and
unequal to the land journey, was to go by sea, while his elder brother,
as chief captain of the whole armament, undertook to force his way along
the inland routes. In this he was successful. In three days he came
before Tetuan, which opened its gates at once, and on September 23d,
without losing a single man, he appeared before Old Tangier, where
Fe