entered into his soul, not only against Don Roderick, but
against all Spain: he looked upon it as the scene of his disgrace, a land
in which his family was dishonored: and, in seeking to avenge the wrongs
he had suffered from his sovereign, he meditated against his native
country one of the blackest schemes of treason that ever entered into the
human heart.

The plan of Count Julian was to hurl King Roderick from his throne, and to
deliver all Spain into the hands of the infidels. In concerting and
executing this treacherous plot, it seemed as if his whole nature was
changed; every lofty and generous sentiment was stifled, and he stooped to
the meanest dissimulation. His first object was to extricate his family
from the power of the king, and to remove it from Spain before his treason
should be known; his next, to deprive the country of its remaining means
of defence against an invader.

With these dark purposes at heart, but with an open and serene
countenance, he crossed to Spain, and repaired to the court at Toledo.
Wherever he came he was hailed with acclamations as a victorious general,
and appeared in the presence of his sovereign radiant with the victory at
Ceuta. Concealing from King Roderick his knowledge of the outrage upon his
house, he professed nothing but the most devoted loyalty and affection.

The king loaded him with favors; seeking to appease his own conscience by
heaping honors upon the father in atonement of the deadly wrong inflicted
upon his child. He regarded Count Julian, also, as a man able and
experienced in warfare, and took his advice in all matters relating to the
military affairs of the kingdom. The count magnified the dangers that
threatened the frontier under his command, and prevailed upon the king to
send thither the best horses and arms remaining from the time of Witiza,
there being no need of them in the centre of Spain in its present tranquil
state. The residue, at his suggestion, was stationed on the frontiers of
Gallia; so that the kingdom was left almost wholly without defence against
any sudden irruption from the south.

Having thus artfully arranged his plans, and all things being prepared for
his return to Africa, he obtained permission to withdraw his daughter from
the court, and leave her with her mother, the Countess Frandina, who, he
pretended, lay dangerously ill at Algeziras. Count Julian issued out of
the gate of the city, followed by a shining band of chosen follower