were a translation of Tacitus, which is in a diffuse style, and is a somewhat loose and inaccurate performance; the Lives of Fielding (whose works he edited), Johnson, and Garrick; and upwards of twenty dramatic pieces. The most esteemed of his dramatic pieces are the comedies of 'The Way to keep him,' All in the wrong,' 'Know your own Mind,' and 'Three Weeks after Marriage. His plays, poems, and miscellanies, in 7 vols. 8vo., edited by himself, were published in 1786.

country and his own ambitious views had been strongly insisted on. Mary however adopted her brother's suggestions, and agreed to return to Scotland without that armed force which the Roman Catholic envoy had represented as wholly indispensable. The lord James immediately communicated the result of the conference to Throckmorton, the English ambassador, but in a secret manner; and, contrary to Mary's express wishes, in returning home he waited on Elizabeth, to strengthen, no doubt, the friendship which subsisted beMURRAY RIVER. [AUSTRALIA.] tween her and the reformers in Scotland, and no doubt also MURRAY, W. [MANSFIELD, LORD.] to acquaint her with the determination which Mary had MURRAY, JAMES STUART, EARL OF, known been induced to form. It is observable that the letters from in Scottish history by the name of the Good Regent,' was Throckmorton at this period strongly urge upon Elizabeth the eldest of three illegitimate brothers, children of King to secure the lord James's regard; and from one of them it James V. His mother was the Lady Margaret, daughter of may even be inferred that Elizabeth had done him some John lord Erskine of Mar, a nobleman of rank and in-good turn,' as Throckmorton expresses it, for this very fluence at court, and one of those to whom the custody of end. the king, when an infant, had been committed.

The lord James returned to Edinburgh in the beginning of June, 1561, having been absent on his mission about two months. In ten weeks after, Mary embarked from Calais, and after a voyage of five days arrived in the port of Leith. On her arrival she found the prior among the first men in the kingdom; and he then naturally became her prime minister, confidant, and adviser. In this situation he acted with great tact and judgment, and at the same time with much tenderness to the queen. He protected her in the exercise of her own religion, and in return obtained from her a proclamation highly favourable to the reformers: he restrained the turbulence of the borders, moderated the zeal of the people against popery, and at once kept down the enemies of Mary's dynasty and strengthened the attachment of her friends. Mary rewarded his services by conferring on him the title of Earl of Mar, and honoured his marriage with the lady Agnes Keith, eldest daughter of the earl marischal, which took place about the same time, with a series of splendid entertainments. The greatness of the banqueting indeed, and the vanity thereof, offended the more strict of the reformers, and Knox took occasion to read the lord James a solemn admonition; for (said the preacher) unto this day the kirk of God hath received comfort by you and by your labours, in the which if hereafter ye be found fainter than before, it will be said your wife hath changed your nature.'

He is supposed to have been born about the year 1533, but the precise time of his birth is not known, nor any particulars of his early life, except only this, that when but a few years old, his father made him prior of St. Andrew's, with all the revenues of that rich benefice. He after wards acquired also the priory of Pittenweem, and, after obtaining a dispensation from the holy see to hold three benefices together, that of Mascon in France in commendam; and in 1544 he took the oath of fealty to Pope Paul III. In 1548 however he gave proof of that intrepidity and military genius for which he was afterwards so distinguished. This was on occasion of the descent into Scotland by the lords Grey de Wilton and Clinton. When the fleet of the latter landed at St. Monan on the coast of Fife, the lord James (as he was then called) collected a little band as determined as himself, and, placing himself at their head, attacked the invaders and drove them back to their ships. Shortly before this he had been in France, having gone thither in the retinue of his youthful sister Queen Mary, when it was resolved she should be sent over to the Continent for her education; and at different times afterwards we find him again abroad. He was also present at Mary's marriage with the dauphin of France; and was soon afterwards deputed to carry to the latter the crown and other ensigns of royalty. Circumstances occurred however in Scotland which prevented the execution of this appointment: the Reformation The earldom of Mar, which the prior had just obtained was now rapidly diffusing itself among all classes of the com- from Mary, having been claimed by Lord Erskine as his munity, and dissolving in its mighty progress the nearest peculiar right, was soon after resigned with the property and tenderest ties. In these struggles the prior of St. An- belonging to it; but in its place the prior received the earldrew's joined the reformers, or, as they were called, the con- dom of Murray, which had been long the favourite object of gregation, among whom, by his courage and military skill, his ambition. This grant was scarcely a less matter of the success of his undertakings, the sanctity or rather au- jealousy to the prior's great rival, the Roman Catholic earl sterity of his character, and the bluntness of his manner, of Huntly, than the grant of Mar was to the lord Erskine. aided by the advantages of birth, countenance, and person But all dispute on that head was soon ended; for Huntly which he possessed, he gradually acquired a very high de- was shortly after proclaimed a traitor for various overt gree of consideration. The queen regent (to whom he was acts of insubordination and rebellion, originating in disapopposed) of course endeavoured to destroy his influence, pointed ambition; and not long after that he suddenly exrepresenting him in particular as an aspiring ambitious pired. Murray was now left in undisputed possession of the man who, under pretence of a reformation in religion, sought chief authority in the kingdom next to the queen, who to overturn the existing government. That argument how-reposed in him almost unlimited confidence. An incident ever had little weight, or rather it worked a contrary way: occurred about this period which showed the influence he his influence continued to increase; and when, in the end possessed in the government, and at the same time how he of the year 1559, the congregation resolved on taking the was thought occasionally to use it. His services in the government into their own hands, he was one of the coun- cause of the Reformation were manifest and important, yet cil appointed for civil affairs. On the death of the queen the lord James was not all that the reformers wished; his regent he was made one of the lords of the articles; and on religious zeal was not hot enough; and they lamented the the dauphin's death he was directed by the convention of protection he afforded to the queen in her use of the mass. estates to proceed to France and invite Mary to return to But they were not prepared to find him now extending his her native country. Such an appointment suited the views protection to her and her ladies in what Knox calls the of the prior well: for previous to the death of Francis the superfluities of their clothes,' which he said would bring down lord James had entered into a correspondence with the the vengeance of God not only on the foolish women but young queen, soliciting the renewal of his French pension, on the whole realm.' Knox imputed Murray's conduct on and in reply Mary had assured him not only of that, but of this occasion to a selfish fear of offending the queen, lest the highest favours, civil or ecclesiastical, which could be she should repent of her munificence and refuse to confirm conferred upon him, provided he would return to his duty. her grant of the new earldom; and denouncing such motives He had also at the same moment applied through Throck-in strong terms, accused him of sacrificing truth to convemorton to Cecil, the English minister, requesting some pen-nience, and the service of God to the interests of his ambision or allowance in recompence for the losses he had sus- tion. Murray was so incensed at this attack, that for a year tained in the cause of the Reformation. He therefore and a half Knox and he scarcely exchanged words together. willingly undertook the proposed mission, and setting out The queen's marriage with Darnley seems to have been on the service accordingly, reached the palace and quickly among the first things to bring them together again; as gained admittance to the queen. He then found that an it was also the first step in the subsequent estrangement envoy from the Roman Catholic party in Scotland had between Murray and the queen. To this marriage Murray, preceded him; and in the interview which the prior had Knox, and Elizabeth, and their respective followers, were with his sister, he learnt that the disturbed state of the all opposed. Knox and the reformers were opposed to it

on religious grounds, and it was opposed by Murray and Elizabeth partly on the same grounds, but partly also on personal or political considerations. Murray was not accessory however to Darnley's murder: he knew of it indeed; but, as he said, he did not wish to meddle with the business, and would neither aid nor hinder it. Accordingly he left Edinburgh abruptly on the morning of Sunday, the 9th of February, 1567, the last day of Darnley's life, alleging his wife's illness at St. Andrew's as the cause of his departure; and we do not hear of him in Edinburgh again till about a fortnight after all was over, when he had Bothwell (the perpetrator of the horrid deed) and Huntly, Argyle and Lethington, all parties to it, at dinner at his house. Nor did Murray remain in Edinburgh so as to be present at Bothwell's trial, for in the beginning of April he asked leave to go away to the Continent, but on what grounds is not known; and on the 9th, which was just two days before the trial, he set off, visiting London and the court of Elizabeth on his way. He remained abroad till the end of July, returning only a few days after the coronation of the young prince James. He was therefore absent from the parliament which was held immediately after Bothwell's acquittal, and from the famous supper at Ainslie's, when the principal nobility signed the bond acquitting Bothwell of all concern in Darnley's murder, and engaging to support him in obtaining Mary's hand in marriage, And he was thus also absent during the important occurrences attendant on the queen's marriage with Bothwell. He was not ignorant of all that was going on: Cecil too was in constant communication with him; and soon after the queen's surrender of herself to the prince's lords' at Carberry Hill, he sent an accredited agent into Scotland to attend to his interests.

their respect and love to the Scots nation, that they would see their desire performed, so far as possibly the convenience of their affairs would permit, and that he should be paid off his arrears.' (4 Balf. Ann., 17.)

He must have returned to Scotland soon after this; for on the 21st of May, 1651, while Charles was in command of the army there, Murray was appointed justice-clerk, an office which appears to have remained vacant since the deprivation of Sir John Hamilton, in the month of February, 1649. A few days after this appointment Sir Robert was sworn a privy-counsellor; and on the 6th of June, 1651, he was nominated a lord of session; but the court being suspended by Cromwell's proceedings, he never sat on the bench. At the Restoration his appointments as a lord of session and justice-clerk were renewed. He was then also made one of the lords-auditors of exchequer. In speaking of the second of these appointments, Mr. Laing falls into an error: he says, Sir Robert Murray, whom the Royal Society should revere as its father, was appointed justiceclerk, and the people were pleased and gratified when a judicial office so important and dangerous was conferred on the most upright and accomplished character which the nation produced.' (Laing, Hist. of Scotland, iv. 51.) At that time however the office of justice-clerk was not the important situation which it now is; nor was it for a dozen years after that the justice-clerk became vice-president of the justiciary court. He was however an assessor to the justiciar or justice-general; he was the first who had the style of lord-justice-clerk; and it is highly probable that his character and reputation paved the way for the advancement of his, successors. It does not appear that Murray ever sat on the bench at all. He was made a judge of three courts at one time, not perhaps that he might be a judge in any, but that the emoluments might attach him as a partisan. He was not bred to the law, and does not appear ever to have been in circumstances to acquire a knowledge of it. In the above passage however Laing refers to an event in Sir Robert's life of great interest and importance: he was the father of the Royal Society. That body had existed as a debating club previous to the time of the Commonwealth, when its members were dispersed. At the On the 22nd of August, 1567, he was proclaimed regent; Restoration the Society assembled again, and conducted and with his usual vigour he immediately proceeded to their proceedings on a more extensive scale. On the 28th establish himself in the government. He now held the of November, 1660, we find Sir Robert present at what was situation even against the queen herself; for when, having probably the first meeting, when it was proposed that some made her escape from Lochleven, she called on him to resign course might be thought of to improve this meeting to a the regency, he at once refused, and took the field against more regular way of debating things; and that, according her at Langside, where she sustained a complete defeat. to the manner in other countries, where there were volunNor did his determination end here; for being summoned tary associations of men into academies for the advancement by Elizabeth to bear testimony in the trial which had been of various parts of learning, they might do something aninstituted by that queen against Mary, he immediately re-swerable here for the promoting of experimental philosophy.' paired to the appointed place, and did not hesitate in bear- (1 Kirch., Hist. Royal Soc., 3.) ing witness against the unhappy prisoner. His own fate It was Sir Robert Murray who undertook to communicate however was settled before that of his sister. For while the views of the Society to the court, and at the next meetpassing through the streets of Linlithgow, on the 23rd of ing he returned an answer indicative of encouragement January, 1570, he was shot through the body by a bullet from that quarter; and after rules for the government of fired from a window by James Hamilton of Bothwelhaugh, the Society were established, Sir Robert was chosen first nephew to the archbishop of St. Andrew's, in revenge for president. He was a member of almost all committees some personal injury committed by the regent years before. and councils, contributed several papers, and prepared and Murray survived till midnight, when he died, in the thirty-exhibited various experiments. The authors of the 'Histoeighth year of his age. rical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice' say he was re-appointed justice-clerk in 1667, and sent down to Scotland, which he continued to rule with a gentleness quite unknown to the counsels of his predecessors. But this is scarcely correct. Sir John Home of Renton, who was a great zealot in the cause of episcopacy, which Charles wished to introduce into Scotland, was appointed justiceclerk in 1663, in the room of Sir Robert Murray; and on his death, in 1671, he was succeeded by Sir James Lockhart of Lee.

He was at length proposed as regent of the kingdom. Before agreeing however, he resolved to visit Mary in person; and accordingly repaired to Lochleven Castle, where she was now a prisoner When Mary saw her brother, she burst into tears, and they had afterwards a private conference together, the particulars of which are not fully known, but it is said that Mary was frequently bathed in tears with his upbraidings.

MURRAY, SIR ROBERT, son of Sir Robert Murray of Craigie, entered in early life into the French service, where, by the favour of Cardinal Richelieu, he soon obtained the rank of colonel. He returned to Scotland when the difficulties of King Charles I. were beginning to assume their most alarming aspect; and at Newcastle he had a design for the king's escape, which seems to have been frustrated only by Charles's want of resolution. "The design,' says Burnet, proceeded so far that the king put himself in disguise and went down the back stairs with Sir Robert Murray; but his majesty, apprehending it was scarce possible to pass through all the guards without being discovered, and judging it highly indecent to be catched in such a condition, changed his resolution and went back, as Sir Robert informed the writer.' (Mem. of Duke of Hamilton, 307.)

Sir Robert Murray died suddenly, in the month of June, 1673. Burnet says, 'He was the most universally beloved and esteemed, by men of all sides and sorts, of any man I have ever known in my whole life. He was a pious man, and in the midst of armies and courts spent many hours a day in devotion, which was in a most elevating strain. He had gone through the easy part of mathematics, and knew On the fall of the royal cause he appears to have gone the history of nature beyond any man I ever yet knew. He again to France; and on the 22nd of May, 1650, two letters was the first former of the Royal Society, and its first prefrom that kingdom were read to the parliament of Scot-sident; and while he lived he was the life and soul of that land, one from the young king, the other from the queenregent, in answer to a letter from the parliament in favour of Sir Robert Murray, in both which they promised, from

body. He had an equality of temper in him which nothing
could alter, and was in practice the only Stoic I ever knew.
He had a most diffused love to all mankind, and delighted

as

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go

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that in less than a fortnight, his indulgent master giving him whole pages of lessons at a time, he could read portions of the 'Diable Boiteux.' He then found one of the boys in possession of a Latin Rudiments: he borrowed it too, and by incessant reading and a little help from the master, before the vacation in August he beat a class of scholars who had been a considerable time at the study. At Martinmas, he went to teach in a family reading, writing, arithmetic, and Latin.

joined with it. Great exertions were accordingly made to secure his election; and notwithstanding some fears of his health giving way under it, his appointment took place. (Scots Mag., July, 1812.) He was elected on the 8th July, 1812, and on the 15th the university conferred on him the degree of Doctor in Divinity. On the 26th of August he was formally inducted to the chair, and he began to lecture on the 31st October following. Soon after that he published, for the use of his students, a small work entitled Outlines of Oriental Philology,' which is known to have been both composed and prepared for publication after his arrival in Edinburgh; the subject indeed was perfectly familiar to him. He continued to teach his class with little interruption till the end of February or the beginning of March; and at such times as his health would not permit him to attend his public lecture, he taught a small Persian class in his own room. The pulmonary complaint however, with which he had been struggling through the winter, at length compelled him to suspend his prelections; yet, with its characteristic deceit, it always flattered him with hopes of resuming them; and, quite unconscious of his real situation, he continued engaged in his favourite studies till within a few days of his death, which took place on the 15th April, 1813, in the thirty-seventh year of his age. His body was interred in the Grey Friars' Churchyard, at the north-west corner of the church.

This great linguist was an eminent example of the pursuit of knowledge under difficulties. His life however may be described rather as the preparation for some result than as having accomplished much; and the performance by which he will be known in the literary world, though distinguished by profound and various learning, was both imperfect and posthumous. It appeared under the auspices of the Rev. Dr. Scot of Corstorphine, and is entitled a 'History of the European Languages, or Researches into the Affinities of the Teutonic, Greek, Celtic, Sclavonic, and Indian Nations.' An extensive acquaintance with these languages convinced the author that all the European languages were closely connected; and in the work now named, it is his object to show that they all derive from, and may be traced to, nine euphonic primitives, which primitives he states to be ag, bag, dwag, gwag, lag, mag, nag, rag, and swag. By the help of these nine words and their compounds,' says he, all the European languages have been formed.'

In this situation he applied to his books with his usual zeal; and having, among other works, bought an old and bulky edition of Ainsworth's Dictionary,' for eighteenpence, he literally read it through from A to Z, and again from Z to A. On Whit-Sunday, 1791, he returned to school, and finding a schoolfellow in possession of a Greek grammar, he commenced that language, after spending part of his winter's wages in the purchase of a grammar and lexicon. He had also by this time mastered the Hebrew alphabet, at first from an old Psalm-book, where the letters were marked in succession in the 119th psalm; and afterwards, together with some Hebrew vocables, from his Ainsworth. He now determined on learning that language also, and, accordingly, sent to Edinburgh for a grammar by the man who rode with the post: the man brought him the first edition of Robertson's Grammar,' which, over and above the Hebrew, contained on the last leaf the Arabic alphabet, to which, without delay, Murray next applied. At Martinmas of the above year he was again engaged to teach, but at the increased fee of 35s. or 40s., and in this situation he devoted every spare moment to French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. In summer he was again at school, and again, in the winter, teaching in a family; but on this occasion at a somewhat lower allowance than before, Murray having chosen the place from its convenience to a school which he wished to attend in the winter evenings. In this school he got hold of Bailey's English Dictionary,' which introduced him to the Anglo-Saxon language. He proceeded in this way, taking advantage of every circumstance to increase his knowledge of languages; and at length, in November, 1794, he came to Edinburgh, under the countenance and protection of the Rev. Dr. Baird of that city. Murray was at this time in the nineteenth year of his age. His subsequent progress was comparatively easy. In the course of two years he obtained a bursary or exhibition to the university of Edinburgh; and never relaxing in his pursuit of knowledge, he soon made himself acquainted with all the European languages, and began to form the design of tracing up all the languages of mankind to one source. His acquirements as a linguist naturally pointed him out to Constable, the well-known publisher, as a fit person to superintend a new edition of Bruce's Travels;' and in the preparation of that work he was employed for about three years, from September, 1802, Murray residing during that time chiefly at Kinnaird-house, where he had access to the papers left by the traveller. He was also at different times employed in contributing to the Edinburgh Review' and other periodicals. By the advice of his friends, he prosecuted the studies necessary for the Church, to which his attention was directed as a permanent source of employment; and at length, in Dec., 1806, he was appointed assistant and successor to Dr. Muirhead, minister of Urr, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, a charge to which he in 1808 succeeded as full stipendiary. Within six months after, he married the daughter of a farmer in the neighbourhood. He still continued his philological pursuits. In 1811 an incident occurred which brought him into prominent notice as a linguist: on the recommendation of Mr. Salt, envoy to Abyssinia, he was applied to by the Marquis Wellesley, as the only person in the British dominions qualified to translate a letter written in Geez, from the governor of Tigre to his Britannic Majesty; and he performed the task in the most satisfactory way. The following year a vacancy occurred in the chair of Oriental languages in the university of Edinburgh, of which the town-council of the city are the patrons. The income from this chair was small; the gross emoluments of the present professor, who was competitor with Murray, and afterwards his successor, are considerably short of 300l. per annum. It was however perfectly suited to Murray's taste and habits: it brought him to Edinburgh, where his literary labours could be both assisted and valued; and there was a great probability that some other situation would soon, as at present, be con

a

MURRHINE (sometimes written Myrrhine) VASES,
vessels used by the antients, were made of the stone or hard
substance, whatever it might be, termed murrha (μúppa).
They are frequently noticed by the classic writers, and
usually described as transparent, though sometimes spotted
or clouded, like our cups of agate. Pliny speaks of them as
coming from the East, from Parthia and Carmania. He
adds that they were first brought to Rome by Pompey after
his victory over Mithridates. 'The same victory,' he ob-
serves, 'introduced Murrhine vessels into the city, and Pom-
pey was the first who dedicated to Jupiter of the Capitol
precious stones and cups, after his triumph on that occasion.
They afterwards came into common use." (Plin., Hist. Nat.,
li. xxxvii., edit. Harduin, vol. ii., p. 767.) The abbé Le
Blond, in the 43rd volume of the Mémoires de l'Acad. des
Inscriptions,' supposes that these vessels were made of the
oriental sardonyx. Others have supposed the material to
have been a kind of Chinese stone. The best alabaster in
antient times was furnished from the quarries of Carmania,
which may possibly have supplied the materials for the
murrhine vessels.

MURVIEDRO. [SAGUNTUM.]
MUS. [MURIDE.]

MU'SA, IBN NOSSEYR, Governor of Mauritania.
The origin and genealogy of this conqueror are differently
stated by the Arabian writers. Some make him the son of
Nosseyr, son of Abd-el-rahman, son of Zeyd, of the tribe of
Bekr; others assert that he belonged to the illustrious tribe
of Lakhm; while there are not wanting genealogists who
deny his ever having had any connexion with either of the
above-mentioned tribes, and suppose him to be the son of
a liberated slave of Muawiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan, the first
khalif of the race of Umeyyah in the East. All however
agree that his father Nosseyr was a mauli, or adherent of
Muawiyah, that he served under his banners against Ali,
and, as a reward for his services, was raised to the post of
commander of the khalif's body-guard.

According to all accounts, Músa's birth is placed in the

year 19 of the Flight (A.D. 640). He seems to have made |
his first campaigns under his father, and to have been pre-
sent at almost all the battles then fought by the Moslems.
His bravery and the military talents which he displayed on
several occasions made him a favourite with 'Abd-el-'azíz
Ibn Merwan, a prince of the royal family then governor of
Egypt, who attached him to his person, rased him in com-
mand, and, having previously obtained leave from his bro-
ther the khalif, appointed him general of the armies destined
to achieve the conquest of Africa, in the year 79 of the
Flight (A.D. 698-9). What the first expeditions of Músa
were, is not satisfactorily ascertained. The Arabian writers
say, in vague terms, that he pushed his conquests far into
the West, and penetrated into the interior of Africa, return-
ing with a rich spoil and thousands of captives. But he
seems to have achieved nothing brilliant until the year 88
(A.D. 707), when the khalif Al-walid named him governor
of Mauritania, with instructions to complete the conquest of
the country.

Músa took his departure from Egypt at the head of a numerous army, and, partly by persuasion, partly by force, succeeded in reducing to obedience the motley tribes that inhabited the northern shores of Africa. He seems to have experienced no difficulty in uniting under his standard men whose habits were not dissimilar from those of the Arabs, and who, relying on antient traditions current among them, believed themselves to be sprung from the same stock as their invaders. [BERBERS.] Under such a belief, which Músa dexterously tried to strengthen, whole tribes flocked to his banners, embraced the religion of the Prophet, and, led by his lieutenants, marched to new conquests. Tangiers, Arsilla, and Ceuta, three insulated fortresses which still held out for the Goths, were speedily reduced; a fleet commanded by Abdullah, Músa's eldest son, scoured the Mediterranean, and ravaged the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Mallorca; and in the year 91 of the Flight (A.D. 709) the whole of northern Africa, from the Pillars of Hercules to the delta of Egypt, acknowledged the laws of the conqueror.

At this critical moment, when the restless ambition of the African governor had been stimulated by so much success, a favourable occasion presented itself to satisfy his appetite for conquest. Gothic Spain was a prey to the most horrible anarchy. After the death of King Wittiza, Roderic, the son of a provincial governor, had usurped the throne to the prejudice of Eba and Sisebuto, the two sons of that monarch, who had taken up arms in support of their rights. Unable however to keep the field against Roderic, the sons of Wittiza and the noblemen who followed their party (among whom was a certain Julian or Ilyán) despatched a messenger to Músa, inviting him to invade Spain, and promising to aid him in his enterprise.

No sooner was Músa made acquainted with the divisions among the Goths, than he eagerly seized on the opportunity of interfering in them. By his orders Tarif Ibn Malik, one of his servants, made a slight incursion in the month of Ramadhan, A.H. 91 (July, A.D. 710), and returned to Africa loaded with spoil. A second expedition, commanded by Tárik Ibn Zeyád, landed on the coast of Spain, in April, 711, and two months afterwards [MOORS] Roderick was defeated and killed in the battle of Gua

dalete.

On the news of this signal victory reaching Africa, Músa, who was far from expecting so complete success, felt a desire to share in the laurels reaped by his lieutenant; and while he hastily made the necessary preparations to cross over into Spain, he sent orders to Tarik not to move from his position, and to wait for further instructions. But the Arabian general had gone too far to be stopped by a mere message from his master. Eager for plunder, and bent on the subjugation of the whole country, he penetrated into the heart of Spain, and, before his master Músa had set his foot on the peninsula, the opulent city of Toledo, the capital of the Gothic monarchy, together with an immense booty, had fallen into his hands.

At this period Músa arrived in Spain, breathing vengeance against the man who, by disobeying his commands, had deprived him of so rich a harvest of glory and wealth. He landed at Algesiras, in June, A.D. 712, at the head of 18,000 He took with him three of his sons, Abdulaziz, Merwán, and Abdulola, leaving his eldest son Abdullah to govern Africa in his stead. His first step was to subdue such provinces as, by Tarik's precipitate march upon Toledo, had

men.

remained untouched. He laid siege to Seville, which he
reduced in a month (July, 712). Carmona and other neigh-
bouring cities shared the same fate. Thence he passed
into Lusitania, and, almost_without_halting in his rapid
march, seized on Niebla, Beja, and other considerable
cities (August, 712). His victorious career was stopped for
a time before the walls of Merida, which he reduced, after
an obstinate defence on the part of the garrison, towards
the end of November, 712. From Merida Músa marched
to Toledo, where, having had an interview with Tarik, he
publicly reproached him with his disobedience, caused him
to be beaten with rods, confiscated his property, and had
him cast into a dungeon, where he remained until orders
came from the khalif to release him, and give him, as be-
fore, the command of one of the divisions of the army.
The remainder of Spain was speedily subdued. Tárik,
at the head of his troops, marched eastwards, and, after re-
ducing the intermediate provinces, laid siege to Saragossa.
Músa took a northern direction, reduced Salamanca, ad-
vanced as far as Astorga, and thence, returning to the
Douro, followed the course of that river to Seria, passed the
mountains, and arrived in sight of Saragossa, which Tarik
was then investing, and which surrendered in July, 713..
From thence Tarik proceeded to Valencia, which, toge-
ther with Murviedro, Xativa, and other considerable cities
of those districts, were reduced with amazing rapidity;
while Músa himself, after detaching some forces under the
command of his son Abdulaziz to subdue and plunder the
plains of Murcia, marched towards the Pyrenees, reduced
on his passage the cities of Calahorra, Lerida, Barcelona,
and, crossing that mountain barrier, penetrated into
France.

How far Músa advanced into that country is not satisfactorily ascertained. According to Al-makkari, an Arabian writer, who compiled a history of Spain from the best sources (Arab. MSS., in the Brit. Mus., 7334), Músa subdued not only Narbonne, but the greatest part of the province known by the name of Gallia Gothica; but, as other Arabian historians are silent on the subject, and as the Christian chroniclers of France have not made the slightest mention of this invasion, we are authorised in thinking that, if Músa did really cross the Pyrenees, his invasion was unattended with any important results. On his return from this expedition to the Pyrenees, a messenger from the khalif Alwalid, who now became alarmed at Músa's increase of power, reached his camp, and summoned him, together with Tárik, to the royal presence.

Tarik hastened to obey the orders of the khalif, and departed immediately for the East (Sept., 713); but Músa, who, if any faith can be placed in the Arabian writers, had conceived the ambitious project of subduing Gaul, Italy, and Germany-and forcing his way from Spam to Constantinople, thus connecting the eastern and western possessions of the Arabs-refused to comply with the summons. Having prevailed upon the envoy Mugheyth to accompany him in his conquests, by promising him a large share of the spoil, he directed his course towards Asturias and Gallicia, which the Moslems had not yet visited. But his reluctance to obey the imperial mandate added to the suspicions already entertained about his views, which were represented as aiming at independence, and a more peremptory order was sent for his return. The khalif's second messenger, whose name was Abú Nasr, reached him at Lugo, in Gallicia, caught the bridle of his horse, and, in presence of the army, commanded him to repair to Damascus. Músa did not venture to disobey the order of the khalif, and, entrusting the government of Spain to his son Abdulaziz, reluctantly commenced his journey, in March, 714.

On arriving in Africa, where he made some stay, he con firmed his son Abdullah in his government of Cairwán, gave to his son Abdulola the command of Tangier and other important fortresses on the coast, and taking the road to Egypt, proceeded to Syria with a numerous escort, and long trains of camels heavily laden with the spoil of the conquest, besides being followed by thousands of captives, among whom were 400 Gothic nobles, sumptuously arrayed.

Músa did not reach Syria until the end of 714 or the beginning of 715. Tárik had arrived many months before, and not only had justified himself against the charges brought against him, but had succeeded in throwing all the blame upon Músa. To this must be added that Al-walid was then suffering under an acute disease, which soon