ted as the hermitage of St. Sebastian. Here
he beheld the unfortunate king of Granada approaching on horseback at
the head of his slender retinue. Boabdil as he drew near made a movement
to dismount, but, as had previously been concerted, Ferdinand prevented
him. He then offered to kiss the king's hand, which according to
arrangement was likewise declined, whereupon he leaned forward and
kissed the king's right arm; at the same time he delivered the keys
of the city with an air of mingled melancholy and resignation. "These
keys," said he, "are the last relics of the Arabian empire in Spain:
thine, O king, are our trophies, our kingdom, and our person. Such is
the will of God! Receive them with the clemency thou hast promised, and
which we look for at thy hands."*

* Abarca, Anales de Aragon, Rey 30, c. 3.

King Ferdinand restrained his exultation into an air of serene
magnanimity. "Doubt not our promises," replied he, "nor that thou shalt
regain from our friendship the prosperity of which the fortune of war
has deprived thee."

Being informed that Don Inigo Lopez de Mendoza, the good count of
Tendilla, was to be governor of the city, Boabdil drew from his finger a
gold ring set with a precious stone and presented it to the count. "With
this ring," said he, "Granada has been governed; take it and govern with
it, and God make you more fortunate than I!"*

* This ring remained in the possession of the descendants of the
count until the death of the marques Don Inigo, the last male heir,
who died in Malaga, without children, in 1656. The ring was then lost
through inadvertence and ignorance of its value, Dona Maria, the sister
of the marques, being absent in Madrid--"Alcantara," 1. 4, c.18.

He then proceeded to the village of Armilla, where the queen Isabella
remained with her escort and attendants. The queen, like her husband,
declined all acts of homage, and received him with her accustomed grace
and benignity. She at the same time delivered to him his son, who had
been held as a hostage for the fulfilment of the capitulation. Boabdil
pressed his child to his bosom with tender emotion, and they seemed
mutually endeared to each other by their misfortunes.*

* Zurita, Anales de Aragon, lib. 20, cap. 92.

Having rejoined his family, the unfortunate Boabdil continued on toward
the Alpuxarras, that he might not behold the entrance of the Christians
into his capital. His devoted band of cavali