f the day when a voice that seemed to come from heaven bade King
Charles give thee to a valiant captain; and forthwith the good King
girded it on my side. Many a land have I conquered with thee for him,
and now how great is my grief! Can I die and leave thee to be handled
by some heathen?" And the third time he smote a rock with it. Loud
rang the steel, but it brake not, bounding back as though it would
rise to the sky. And when Count Roland saw that he could not break the
sword, he spake again but with more content in his heart. "O
Durendal," he said, "a fair sword art thou, and holy as fair. There
are holy relics in thy hilt, relics of St. Peter and St. Denis and St.
Basil. These heathen shall never possess thee; nor shalt thou be held
but by a Christian hand."

And now Roland knew that death was very near to him. He laid himself
down with his head upon the grass, putting under him his horn and his
sword, with his face turned towards the heathen foe. Ask you why he
did so? To show, forsooth, to Charlemagne and the men of France that
he died in the midst of victory. This done, he made a loud confession
of his sins, stretching his hand to heaven, "Forgive me, Lord," he
cried, "my sins, little and great, all that I have committed since the
day of my birth to this hour in which I am stricken to death." So he
prayed; and, as he lay, he thought of many things, of the countries
which he had conquered, and of his dear fatherland France, and of his
kinsfolk, and of the good King Charles. Nor, as he thought, could he
keep himself from sighs and tears; yet one thing he remembered beyond
all others--to pray for forgiveness of his sins. "O Lord," he said,
"who art the God of truth, and didst save Daniel Thy prophet from the
lions, do Thou save my soul and defend it against all perils!" So
speaking he raised his right hand, with the gauntlet yet upon it, to
the sky, and his head fell back upon his arm and the angels carried
him to heaven. So died the great Count Roland.

THE CID

[Illustration: THE YOUTHFUL CID AVENGING THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER]

Unlike some of the other heroes told about in this book, the Cid was a
real man, whose name was Rodrigo Diaz, or Ruydiez. He was born in
Burgos in the eleventh century and won the name of "Cid," which means
"Conqueror," by defeating five Moorish kings. This happened after
Spain had been in the hands of the Arabs for more than three hundred
years, so it is small wonder that the S