heroes was equally invincible by its political manœuvres, as by its warlike genius. The springs of fanaticism, set in motion by Mahomet, gave his handful of Mussulmen warriors, poor, prudent, and intrepid, the government of nations, that had often been victors, and that were still numerous, brave, and wealthy! In offering to the vanquished the alternatives of embracing Islamism, or paying a tribute, they evinced themselves wise and lenient politicians. What a contrast does this mode of conduct present, with the insatiable and cruel policy of the most illustrious nations of antiquity. The Romans did not always treat the vanquished with moderation; the Mussulmen never oppressed those who chose rather to pay a fine than embrace the faith of Mahomet. : The Christians, the Jews, the Ghebers, (worshippers of fire), were alike objects of religious pity or heroic contempt, in the eyes of the Faithful; but they no sooner embraced the tenets of Islamism, than they were instantly put upon a footing with the most veteran devotee of that, religion. The consequences of this mode of proceeding were soon perceptible: Persia forsook the religion of her fathers: Syria, Arabia, Egypt, the north of Africa, and eventually, the greater part of Spain, imbibed the faith of the Koran, and the once triumphant cross was supplanted by the pale beams of the crescent. But Spain itself no longer presented objects worthy the attention of the victorious Moslems. During the caliphat of Acham, Abdoulrachman, the viceroy of that caliph, crossed the Pyrennees, and threatened the total extinction of Christianity. In the early part of his career, he was very successful, but being attacked by Charles Martel, mayor of Paris, near Tours, his large army was completely defeated, and himself slain. In this engagement, the nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, contended with equal valour; but the superior strength and stature of the former, animated by souls glowing with the love of their country, and the defence of their civil and religious liberties, were irresistible. The Moors, once or twice after this defeat, made trifling inroads into those provinces bordering upon the Pyrennees, but totally relinquished all thought of ever subduing the fertile plains of France! While the Mussulmen were thus fruitlessly engaged, Pelagius was bravely and steadily increasing his little territory, and arranging the internal af fairs of his kingdom. At his death, which happened three years after the defeat of Abdoulrachman, he left the throne to his son Favila, with an increase of dominion of one hundred miles. Thus was the kingdom of Asturias founded by Pelagius, and thus have we seen how the Moors permanently established themselves in Spain. Let us now observe how a caliphat was established in that country, totally independent of the caliphat of Damascus. The dissensions that existed between the viceroys of Spain, and which, during six years, that is to say, from A. D. 740 to A. D. 746, involved that unhappy country in all the horrors of a civil war, were greatly favourable to the cause of the independent Spaniards, who extended their conquests to Gallicia, and ravaged the provinces of Leon and Castile. In the East, the two rival families of the Ommiades and Abassides were contending violently for the caliphat; but the death of Mervan, the fourteenth caliph descended from Ómijah, left his antagonist in the quiet possession of the object of his desires. One royal youth, of the house of Ommiades, alone escaped the general massacre which followed the elevation of Abbas: he escaped to Africa; and after wandering for a length of time about the regions of Mount Atlas, his retreat was discovered by some faithful friends, who brought an invitation from the Moors of Spain, to re-assume the authority so long enjoyed by his ancestors. He accordingly landed in Andalusia, and unfurling the white standard, a dreadful contest ensued between him and the black faction, (so called from the colour they assumed.) Abdoulrachman, the fortunate stranger, was completely victorious, and erected a kingdom in Spain totally independent of the caliphat of Damascus. But scarcely had the Moors obtained a firm footing in Spain, than a new enemy appeared in the Normans, who, after establishing themselves in the north of France, had the hardihood to Jand at Corunna; but Ramiro I. and the eleventh king of Spain, instantly marched to oppose the invaders, who, being defeated both by land and sea, soon made a hasty retreat. Thus had the kings of Spain not only to resist the intrusion of invaders, but to combat, incessantly, against the encroachments of the caliphs. We have seen how a separate caliphate was established in Spain; we shall now examine how it was dissolved. Abdoulrachman III. had outdone, in magnificence, all his predecessors; he had raised splendid edifices, encouraged learned men, and in the midst of various reverses of fortune, remained always great; his patience under misfortune being equal to his magnanimity in success-and Almanzor (the defender) vizier of Hakham II. carried dismay throughout Spain; but the king of Navarre, and the count of Castile, at length convinced of the necessity of an union with the king of Leon, the plains of Osma were signalized by the defeat of Almanzor, and the utter destruction of his large and gallant army. The veteran Almanzor is said to have perish ed by suicide, in the valley of Begalcoran. And after various successes and changes in the north, the south of Spain was a prey to all the miseries that could result from the dissentions which divided the Moorish royal family, and which finally caused the total dissolution of the caliphate; for, on the death of Elmutemed-el-Allah, a weak and indolent prince, who fell in a tumultuous assembly at Cordova, the government was immediately seized by the governors of the principal cities; and, in A. D. 1038, four distinct kingdoms rose upon the ruins of the independent empire erected by Abdoulrachman-viz. Cordova, Grenada, Seville, and Toledo. Nor did these dissensions end in this distribution of the caliphate; for two hundred years the Moorish and Christian princes contended for the sovereignty of Spain; nor was it till the accession of Ferdinand III. in whom were united the kingdoms of Leon and Castile, that the common enemy of the cross was finally overthrown. This was effected in the following manner. Ferdinand, with Sancho, king of Navarre, resolved once more to at tack their common enemy, the Moors. Their joint forces marched accordingly to Cordova, and the environs of that beautiful city were soon covered with the Christian tents. Abenbut, the Moorish king, was a prince of great wisdom and valour, and he prepared vigorously to defend his kingdom. Already had he given orders for his troops to march to the relief of his capital, when he fell a victim to assassination at Almeria. The inhabitants of Cordova being informed of his fate, still bravely contended for independence, although pressed by famine within, and surrounded by enemies without; but the Christians, whose army received ample supplies of forage and provisions, making daily and rapid advances, they at length consented to surrender. The standard of the cross, and that of Leon and Castile, were placed on the principal Mosque, which was immediately consecrated, and the father Lopez, a monk of Fetero, was appointed the first Bishop. The fall of Cordova caused the greatest possible consternation among the Mussulmen. This city, which had been so exceedingly beautified by Abdoulrachman, and, though fallen in splendour, was still great and opulent, had always been looked upon as possessing almost a talismanic charm of independence. The Arabians, therefore, considered its capture as a prelude to more extensive losses; and so indeed it was; James, king of Arragon, overran the province of Valencia, and finally laid siege to the capital of the same name. The king of Castile, after the fall of Cordova, went to Bourdeaux, to celebrate his second nuptials with the lady Joanna de Dumartin, daughter of Simon of Aumale, and Mary, countess of Poictiers. After a short rest from the fatigues of war, during which time he made the tour of his dominions with his bride, he again engaged his old opponents with his former success; and several of the Moorish towns fell into his hands. Flushed by his unprecedented good fortune, Ferdinand attacked the city of Jaen, which resisted all his efforts for so long a time, that he began to despair of success, when he was surprised by the appearance of the Moorish monarch, who sought safety in the Christian camp. A treaty was signed between the two kings, by which Ferdinand undertook to replace him on the throne, and Abou Said promised to do homage to the king of Castile, and to surrender Jaen into his hands. The next place which engaged his attention was Seville. This city was inferior to none in Spain, in point of extent, grandeur, and population. The plains in which it is situated were, at the period in question, adorned with 100,000 cottages and oil-mills; groves of citron and orange-trees, fields of corn, and luxuriant woodlands, all united their influence to form one of the most enchanting spots in the Peninsula. The siege of this celebrated city was carried on for sixteen months without intermission; the whole of this time the camp of the Christians was amply supplied with provisions; regular rows of shops were formed within its boundaries; carpenters, miners, masons, traders of all kinds, were as regularly at work, as though they were in their native towns and villages. So great was the extent of this city, and so numerous were its means of access, that it was almost impossible to prevent the inhabitants from receiving supplies. At length, one by one, these several points were carried, and the bridge being destroyed by an ingenious contrivance of Boniface, the admiral who commanded the boats attached to the enterprize, the Sevillians were reluctantly compelled to submit. Ferdinand entered the city in triumph on the 22d of December, and 100,000 of the inhabitants, men, women, and children, were immediately forced to seek refuge in the neighbouring towns, or on the coast of Africa. Some time after this important conquest, he captured Heres, Medina, Sidonia, Begel, Alpuchin, and Agnalfarache, besides destroying many Moorish forts on the sea coast. Having thus vanquished the Moors in Spain, he prepared to attack them in Africa, but was obliged to relinquish his design by a rapid increase of the dropsy, which put an end to his life, on the 30th of May, after a brilliant reign of thirty-four years. Still the Moors were in force in Spain, and from A. D. 1314 to A. D. 1319, they kept the country in a perpetual turmoil. They assassinated Muly Mehemmed, king of Grenada, and elected Azar, his brother, in his stead. In the dissensions which followed this event, one party had recourse to the assistance of the Castilians, who ravaged the country, even to the gates of the city; but, in the ensuing year, the scene was changed: Ismael, who had seized the crown in opposition to Azar, called in the aid of the king of Morocco; and while the nobles through their unabating enmity to each other, wasted the strength of the kingdom in civil broils, the Moors recovered their power, by several important conquests. Among these was the fortress of Gibraltar, which they wrested from Alphonso II. The youthful monarch, eager to recover this important fortress, made great preparations for the purpose, which were on the point of being crowned with success, when he was called away to suppress a rebellion in Castile, at the head of which was the king of Arragon. The energetic decision of Alphonso, the rapidity with which he carried his plans into execution, and his magnanimity towards Don Emanuel, and Don Juan de Lara, completely subdued the spirit of faction. The Moors had taken advantage of the disturbances of Castile; and the king of Morocco sent his son, Abolimeque, to ravage the provinces of that kingdom. Abolimeque was slain; and his father, animated by revenge for the loss of his son, assembled so vast an army, and made such extraordinary preparations, that Alphonso became so far anxious as to the result, that he applied to the kings of Portugal and Arragon for assistance. The former readily consented to join him, and accordingly advanced into Castile with a con siderable army; the latter sent a fleet to guard the entrance of the Straits, which was, however, unfortunately defeated, and compelled to make a hasty retreat to Tarifa. The Moorish army now disembarked unmolested, and several skirmishes with the Christians, in which the latter were defeated, gave the Africans the most sanguine hopes of reestablishing the Moorish authority in all its former splendour. They resolved to begin their operations by an attack on Tarifa, which they accordingly besieged. The defence of this city, by the garrison and the inhabitants, is justly celebrated. Alphonso, duly appreciating their fidelity, sent repeated messages to them, promising to come to their assistance as soon as possible, encouraging them still to continue firm. All things being ready, he accordingly set off, accompanied by the king of Portugal and the principal of his nobility. Abu-Hassan and the king of Grenada prepared eagerly to oppose this formidable army, which, though certainly inferior to its enemies in point of number, excelled them, if not in valour, at least in military discipline. The Moors indeed betrayed the strongest presumption upon this occasion; their immense army, which consisted of seventy-four thousand cavalry, and four hundred thousand infantry, flushed by their late good fortune over the Christian fleet, appeared intoxicated with joy at the sight of their supposed victims: they seized the heights in the neighbourhood of Tarifa, scorning even the necessary precaution of throwing up any intrenchment. It is curious to see how superior force may be circumvented by superior skill. Both armies engaged with equal ardour, and the result was for some time doubtful. At length, however, the Moors began to give way. The Spaniards pressed forward with loud shouts, while their gallant commanders, foremost in the fight, rushed into the thickest of carnage, and bore away the prize of personal valour, as well as that of ability and military skill. The Moors fled in every direction; two sons of their king were slain, and Fatima, his favourite, and three other wives, were taken prisoners. The spoils of their the camp were so immense, particularly in gold and silver, as to cause the depreciation of money. The king of Portugal would only accept some horse furniture and scymetars, as trophies of victory, and returned to his own country, content with honour and renown. This celebrated battle of Salsado, so called from the river on the banks of which it was fought, took place in the year 1340. Historians differ as to the precise time; Martina says in October, while more modern historians place it in November. Although Alphonso had succeeded in this daring enterprize, he was by no means in prosperous circumstances as to his internal affairs. His treasury was exhausted, and his people were oppressed by taxes. His share of the booty, though large, was by no means adequate to his enormous expenses, yet his warlike genius resolved on further campaigns. Algeziras was a place of the utmost importance to the Moors, and to wrest this from their hands was a deed worthy the conqueror of Salsado. The princes of Spain forgot, upon this occasion, all their personal animosities, and the united fleets of Portugal, Arragon, and Castile, blocked up all access to the city from Africa, while Alphonso invested it by land. The Pope and the king of France sent considerable supplies of money to the king of Castile; but so long was the siege deferred, and so much did the Christian army suffer from canon, the first we read of as being made use of in Spain, that some idea of relinquishing the project altogether began to be in agitation, when the sudden and unexpected arrival of a noble company of strangers from France and England, with their retainers, inspired fresh vigour into the besiegers. The Moors, who had suffered dreadfully from famine, and all prospect of relief being now hopeless, consented to surrender on the following terms: They agreed to pay an annual tribute, to quit the city, provided they might take their goods with them, and that a truce of ten years should be agreed to by Alphonso. Accordingly, on the 26th of March, (1344,) the king of Castile entered the city as a conqueror. His next and last military attempt was an unsuccessful expedition against Gibraltar. A revolution in Africa, in which Abu-Hassan was dethroned by his son Abou-Haman, gave him a specious pretext for attacking the Moors, although four years only of the truce was gone by. He accordingly summoned the Cortes to meet him at Alcala de Menares, where he, with some difficulty, persuaded them to grant him supplies. He then hastened his preparations, and advanced with a well disciplined army to the neighbourhood of Gibraltar. At the sight of the Moorish crescent floating over this ever memorable fortress, his indignation was inexpressible. The Moors, however, were equally aware of its importance, and as strenuously resolved to defend it. The Spanish monarch carried on the siege with the greatest vigour; but his troops became less sanguine as to the result of their labours, and consequently less active, from the numbers that were daily carried off by the plague, which raged in the Christian camp. Many of the nobility advised the king to break up his camp and make an honourable retreat; but he was deaf to their remonstrances. His obstinacy upon this occasion was fatal: he was attacked by the infectious distemper, and expired before the walls of Gibraltar on the 18th of December, 1350. The siege of this place was immediately raised, and the body of the king was removed to Seville, where it was deposited in the royal chapel. Various indeed were the reciprocal successes and defeats of the Moors and Christians in Spain, till the reign of Henry IV. who, upon being proclaimed king, prepared eagerly to attack the Moors. For two successive years he wasted the country round Grenada, burning the corn, and destroying the vineyards. He avoided coming to any regular engagement, which was so displeasing to his soldiers, that they mutinied, and it required all his address to pacify them. In the wars between the Moors and Christians, plunder was the chief object with the privates of both nations.—^ Henry's plan was not, therefore, likely to suit the genius of men accustomed to return home laden with the spoils of their enemies. The result proved Henry's system to be judicious. The Moors were at length compelled to solicit an armistice, but not till Gibraltar had submitted to the Christians. The ease with which this conquest was effected has induced many historians to attribute its surrender to treachery. By this truce, the Moors consented to pay an annual tribute of twelve thousand crowns of gold, and to liberate six hundred Christian slaves. (To be continued.) Abstract of the Proceedings of the BEFORE Commencing an account of my Episcopal duties, I will give a brief statement of the parishes which are more immediately under my charge. These are those of Worthington, Columbus, Delaware, and Berkshire: in superintending and ministering to which I employ all my time, except that which is devoted to diocessan duties; the duties which I owe to the school committed to my care, as President of Worthington College, and the duties which I owe to my family. The number of communicants who usually attend at the altar, in Worthington, has increased to upwards of 90, and the deportment of the congregation is rubrical and devout in no common degree. The baptisms have been numerous. The other three parishes, which, of necessi ty, can have but a small portion of my time, have, nevertheless, increased in numbers, respectability, and prospects of permanency. The number of communicants in each is about 12. The obser vation will apply to all, when I say, that although by reason of the peculiar embarrassments of the times, they have been so depressed in their pecuniary concerns as to afford me but a partial |