of treasures,
enchantments and love affairs, comparable only to the Bagdad of the
Arabs, to the wonderful city of the thousand and one nights. Upon
holidays, when the Jews remained secluded in the bosom of the family,
old Aboab or Miriam, her nurse, had many a time beguiled her with
ancient ballads in the manner of old Castile, that had been transmitted
from generation to generation; stories of love affairs between arrogant,
knightly Christians and beautiful Jewesses with fair complexions, large
eyes and thick, ebony tresses, just like the holy beauties of the
Scriptures.

En la ciudad de Toledo,
en la ciudad de Granada,
hay un garrido mancebo
que Diego Leon se llama.
Namorose de Thamar,
que era hebrea castellana....

(In the city of Toledo, in the city of Granada, there is a handsome
youth called Diego Leon. He fell in love with Tamar, who was a Spanish
Jewess....)

There still echoed in her memory fragments of these ancient chronicles
that had brought many a tremor to her dreamy childhood. She desired to
be Tamar; she would have waited years and years for the handsome youth,
who would be as brave and arrogant as Judas Maccabeus himself, the Cid
of the Jews, the lion of Judea, the lion of lions; and now her hopes
were being fulfilled, and her hero had appeared at last, coming out of
the land of mystery, with his conqueror's stride, his haughty head, his
dagger eyes, as Miriam said. How proud it made her feel! And
instinctively, as if she feared that the apparition would vanish, she
slipped her hand about Aguirre's arm, leaning against him with caressing
humility.

They had reached Europa Point, the outermost lighthouse of the
promontory. On an esplanade surrounded by military buildings there was a
group of ruddy young men, their khaki trousers held in place by leather
braces and their arms bare, kicking and driving a huge ball about. They
were soldiers. They stopped their game for a moment to let the couple
pass. There was not a single glance for Luna from this group of strong,
clean-living youths, who had been trained to a cold sexuality by
physical fatigue and the cult of brawn.

As they turned a corner of the promontory they continued their walk on
the eastern side of the cliff. This part was unoccupied; here tempests
and the raging winds from the Levant came to vent their fury. On this
side were no other fortifications than those of the summit, almost
hidden by the clouds which, c