he ladies of the family
had to spin to get enough for them all to eat, while the despondent emir
tried to beguile the weary hours with poetry. The hardships of their
life were so great that finally the emir was left alone in his
captivity, and it was four long years before he could follow them in
death.

In the latter part of the fourteenth century, the little kingdom of
Granada was the most prosperous part of the Moorish territory, and its
brilliant life seemed to recall for a moment the splendors of Cordova.
Chivalry, driven from southern France by the Albigensian Crusade, had
been slowly growing in importance among the Spaniards of the north, and
the Moors were not slow in following the courteous spirit and in
adopting its code of truth and honor. Mohammed V. controlled the
destinies of the Granadine kingdom at this time; and when his son,
Aben-Abd-Allah, was married to the daughter of the Emir of Fez, there
was a succession of the most splendid fetes and tournaments, which were
attended by knights not only from Christian Spain but also from Italy
and France. Chivalry was essentially a Christian institution, but its
outer forms were readily taken up by the Moors and practised to such an
extent that their influence upon society and social conventions soon
began to show itself in a most surprising way. The women of the harems,
who in former days were generally considered, after the Eastern fashion,
as beings who were not to be mentioned, now occupy a more honorable
position, and it is recounted that the men "wore the devices of their
lady-loves on the rich housings of their steeds--hearts pierced with
arrows, a sail guiding a ship, an initial, and in colors denoting their
state of mind: yellow and black for grief, green for hope, blue for
jealousy, violet and flame for ardent love. Large assemblies were held
in the beautiful houses and gardens, where hunting, poetry, music, and
dancing were the chief occupations; but the grave learning and
earnestness of Al Hakem's days had passed away, and the enjoyments had
become far more sensual and voluptuous than in his time." It is evident
that the frugal, stern, uncompromising sons of the Prophet of an earlier
day were becoming men of little faith in many particulars, and that they
had fallen far below the standard of life which had characterized their
ancestors. But in this state of moral degeneracy it is gratifying to
note that the position of women has been much improved and