of the means he possessed to carry it into effect, he laid them
before his confidential counsellors and officers, and demanded their
opinion. 'These words of Count Julian,' said he, 'may be false and
deceitful; or he may not possess the power to fulfil his promises. The
whole may be a pretended treason to draw us on to our destruction. It is
more natural that he should be treacherous to us than to his country.'

Among the generals of Muza was a gaunt swarthy veteran, scarred with
wounds; a very Arab, whose great delight was roving and desperate
enterprise; and who cared for nothing beyond his steed, his lance, and his
scimitar. He was a native of Damascus; his name was Taric ben Zeyad; but,
from having lost an eye, he was known among the Spaniards by the
appellation of Taric el Tuerto, or Taric the one-eyed.

The hot blood of this veteran Ishmaelite was in a ferment when he heard of
a new country to invade, and vast regions to subdue; and he dreaded lest
the cautious hesitation of Muza would permit the glorious prize to escape
them. 'You speak doubtingly,' said he, 'of the words of this Christian
cavalier, but their truth is easily to be ascertained. Give me four
galleys and a handful of men, and I will depart with this Count Julian,
skirt the Christian coast, and bring thee back tidings of the land, and of
his means to put it in our power.'

The words of the veteran pleased Muza ben Nosier, and he gave his consent;
and Taric departed with four galleys and five hundred men, guided by the
traitor Julian. This first expedition of the Arabs against Spain took
place, according to certain historians, in the year of our Lord seven
hundred and twelve; though others differ on this point, as indeed they do
upon almost every point in this early period of Spanish history. The date
to which the judicious chroniclers incline is that of seven hundred and
ten, in the month of July. It would appear from some authorities, also,
that the galleys of Taric cruised along the coasts of Andalusia and
Lusitania, under the feigned character of merchant barks; nor is this at
all improbable, while they were seeking merely to observe the land, and
get a knowledge of the harbors. Wherever they touched, Count Julian
despatched emissaries, to assemble his friends and adherents at an
appointed place. They gathered together secretly at Gezira Alhadra, that
is to say, the Green Island; where they held a conference with Count
Julian in presence of Taric