sation of the tribute, wherein a
Spanish damsel addresses the king:

"I know not if I'm bounden to call thee by the name
Of Christian, Don Ramiro, for though thou dost not claim
A heathen realm's allegiance, a heathen sure thou art--
Beneath a Spaniard's mantle thou hid'st a Moorish heart.

"For he who gives the Moslem king a hundred maids of Spain,
Each year when in its season the day comes round again,
If he be not a heathen, he swells the heathen's train:
'Twere better burn a kingdom than suffer such disdain.

"And if 'tis fear of battle that makes ye bow so low,
And suffer such dishonor from God our Savior's foe,
I pray you, sirs, take warning, ye'll have as good a fright
If e'er the Spanish damsels arise themselves to right."

The Moorish conquest had been rapidly made, and generally very little
resistance was offered to the advance of the invaders. The emasculating
influences of the Roman decadence had been at work to such effect that
the sturdy traits of the Goth had disappeared, and there was no real
national spirit or energy sufficient for the national defence. To the
credit of the Moors, it must be said that their conquest was ever marked
by mercy and large-mindedness; and in spite of their absolute power and
their intense religious zeal, they permitted the subdued people to enjoy
many liberties. Chief among them was their right to worship as
Christians, retaining their clergy and their liturgy, which had been
compiled by the Spanish bishops Leander and Ildefonso. Christian zeal,
however, was not satisfied with a state of inaction. Many times a number
of people went to what they considered a glorious martyrdom as the
result of their intemperate denunciations of the Koran and the sons of
the Prophet. Christianity was allowed to exist without hindrance, but
the Moors would not permit criticism of their own faith, and this was
natural enough. Several of these Christian martyrs were women, and their
stubborn love for their religion cannot but excite our sympathy, however
ill advised and unavailing it may have been. The story is told of two
poor young girls, Munila and Alodia, the children of a Moslem father and
a Christian mother, who had carefully brought them up in her own faith.
These maidens became so beautiful that they were called "roses springing
from thorns." As the story goes, "their father died and their mother
married a less tolerant Moslem, who, findi