"Thus," says the Curate of Los Palacios, "did the Almighty harden the
hearts of these heathen, like to those of the Egyptians, in order that
they might receive the full wages of the manifold oppressions which they
had wrought on his people, from the days of King Roderic to the present
time." [25]

On the appointed day, the commander of Leon rode through the gates of
Malaga, at the head of his well-appointed chivalry, and took possession of
the _alcazaba_, or lower citadel. The troops were then posted on their
respective stations along the fortifications, and the banners of Christian
Spain triumphantly unfurled from the towers of the city, where the
crescent had been displayed for an uninterrupted period of nearly eight
centuries.

The first act was to purify the town from the numerous dead bodies, and
other offensive matter, which had accumulated during this long siege, and
lay festering in the streets, poisoning the atmosphere. The principal
mosque was next consecrated with due solemnity to the service of Santa
Maria de la Encarnacion. Crosses and bells, the symbols of Christian
worship, were distributed in profusion among the sacred edifices; where,
says the Catholic chronicler last quoted, "the celestial music of their
chimes, sounding at every hour of the day and night, caused perpetual
torment to the ears of the infidel." [26]

On the eighteenth day of August, being somewhat more than three months
from the date of opening trenches, Ferdinand and Isabella made their
entrance into the conquered city, attended by the court, the clergy, and
the whole of their military array. The procession moved in solemn state up
the principal streets, now deserted, and hushed in ominous silence, to the
new cathedral of St. Mary, where mass was performed; and as the glorious