discovery
of America, and finally it lost its _prestige_ when Madrid was crowned
the _unica villa_.

The general appearance of the city is peculiarly Spanish, especially as
regards the prolific use of brick in the construction of churches and
edifices in general. It is presumable that the Arabs were possessors of
the town before the Christian conquest, though no documental proofs are
at hand. The etymology of the city's name, Medinat-el-Walid, is purely
Arabic, Walid being the name of a Moorish general.

If the cathedral church was erected as late as the sixteenth century, it
must not be supposed that the town lacked parish churches. On the
contrary, there is barely a city in Spain with more religious edifices
of all kinds, and the greater part of them of far more architectural
merit than the cathedral itself. The astonishing number of convents is
remarkable; many of them date from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
and are, consequently, Romanesque with a good deal of Byzantine taste
about them, or else they belong to the period of Transition. Taken all
in all, they are really the only architectural attractions to be
discovered in the city to-day. The traditions which explain the
foundation of some of these are among the most characteristic in
Valladolid, and a thread of Oriental romance is more predominant among
them than elsewhere. A good example of one of these explains the
foundation of the large convent of the Mercedes.

Dona Leonor was the wife of one Acuna, a fearless (?) knight. The King
of Portugal unluckily fell in love with Dona Leonor, and, wishing to
marry her, had her previous marriage annulled and placed her on his
throne. Acuna fled from Portugal and came to Valladolid, where, with
unparalleled sarcasm, he wore a badge on his hat proclaiming his
dishonour.

Both Acuna and the King of Portugal died, and Dona Leonor, whose morals
were none too edifying, fell in love with a certain Zuniguez; the
daughter of these two was handed over to the care of a knight, Fernan by
name, and Dona Leonor ordered him to found a convent, upon her death,
and lock up her daughter within its walls; the mother was doubtless only
too anxious to have her daughter escape the ills of this life. Unluckily
she counted without the person principally concerned, namely, the
daughter, for the latter fell secretly in love with her keeper's nephew.
She thought he was her cousin, however, for it appears she was passed
off as Fernan'