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Untitled Article
pect some tale of the wars betwixt the Moors and the Spaniards . I have wished for a long time to compose something in that style , with combats , romances , serenades , inarches , cymbals , chorusses , drums , trumpets , trombones , and tableaux vivans . So now , as we are alone , do relate this story to me , my dear friend ; who knows ? perhaps it may germinate in my brain some very fine conceptions . '
' Oh , doubtless , Herr chapel-master . Everything resolves into an opera with you ; and that is the reason why some steady-going people , who pretend that music ought only to be taken in small doses , consider you sometimes a little cracked . However , I will relate the tale to you ; ' and the dialogist recommenced : — ' The tents of Isabella and Ferdinand of Arragon stretched ,
almost numberless , before the walls of Granada . Hoping in vain for succour , every succeeding day blockaded more closely , the coward Boabdil—called by his subjects , in derision , the little king—only found consolation for his misfortunes in the cruelties which he practised . Whilst the Moorish warriors despaired , the Spaniards ' were full of hope , and ardent for the combat .
An assault was not considered necessary . Ferdinand contented himself with firing upon the ramparts , and battering down the works of the besieged . Those little skirmishes resembled gay tournaments rather than bloody combats ; and even the death of comrades raised the courage of the survivors , for the victimst were honoured with all Christian pomp , as martyrs of the true faith .
' In the centre of the Spanish camp , Isabella had an immense edifice of wood constructed ; from the lofty towers of it floated the standard of the cross . The interior formed a church and a cloister , and Benedictine nuns sang daily the holy services Every morning the queen and her suite attended to hear mass , which was performed by her confessor , accompanied by a choir of nuns .
* One morning , Isabella ' s attention was particularly drawn towards one of the voices in the choir ; its superior melodious quality made itself heard above the rest , and yet , at the same time , the words were accented in so singular a manner , that it could not be doubted the nun joined for the first time in the sacred service . Isabella observed that her attendants were as
much astonished as herself . She felt as if upon the brink of some strange adventure , when her eyes happened to fall upon the brave general Aguilar . He was kneeling , with his hands clasped , and his eyes firmly fixed on the gratings of the choir . When the mass was concluded , Isabella proceeded to the apartments of Donna Maria , the superior of the nuns , to make inquiries respecting the strange songstress . c Deign to know , O queen ! " said Donna Maria , " that about a month since , Dou Aguilar planned to attack one pf the enemy ' $
Untitled Article
The Sanctus . 8 &
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1835, page 85, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2642/page/5/
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