reasons to doubt--it is probable that the king had no blasphemous
intention in view, but that he was merely ridiculing the then received
system of Ptolemy."

The following curious account of Alfonso's punishment for his alleged
blasphemy has never been noticed by any writer in this country. It is a
translation of an extract made by Ortiz (Compendio Cronologica de la
Historia de Espana, tom. iv. p. 184. Madrid, 1797), from a MS. in the
Royal Library of Madrid:--

"On Saturday, April 2, aera 1332 (A.D. 1294), king don Alfonso having
heard mass at the hour of tierce in the city of Seville, entered into
his chamber, as he had long been wont, to pray before an image of St.
Mary; and while he was praying, a sudden shining light filled the room,
like unto the light of fire; and in this light appeared an angel's face
exceedingly beautiful. And when the king saw it he was much afraid, and
he said, 'I conjure thee, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to tell
me what thou art,--whether thou art a good or evil spirit!' And the
angel answered, 'Fear not; a messenger am I unto thee, as thou wilt soon
perceive. Well, thou knowest how, on such a day, being at table in this
city, thou didst blaspheme, and say, that if thou hadst been with God
the Father when he made the world and all things in it, thou couldst
have mended many of them; and that many others would have been done
which were not done. And God the Father was much offended with thy
saying (supposing it possible for Him to be offended), and he was very
wroth with thee; wherefore the Highest gave sentence against thee, to
the effect that, since thou didst despise Him who made thee and gave
thee honour among men, so shouldest thou be despised by thine own
offspring, and shouldest be degraded from thine high estate, and in
lowliness end thy days! Which sentence was revealed to an Augustine