The Lay of the Cid | Page 9

Thy will.
Thou didst let the
Hebrews take Thee. On Calvary the hill,
In the place Golgotha by
name, Thee, Lord, they crucified.
And the two thieves were with
Thee, whom they hanged on either side,
One is in heaven, the other
he came not thereunto.
A miracle most mighty on the cross there
didst Thou do.
Blind was Longinus never had seen from his
birth-year.
The side of our Lord Jesus he pierced it with the spear.

Forth the blood issued swiftly, and ran down the shaft apace. It stained
his hands. He raised them and put them to his face. Forthwith his eyes

were opened and in every way might see.
He is ransomed from
destruction for he straight believed on Thee. From the sepulchre Thou
rosest, and into Hell didst go,
According to Thy purpose, and its gates
didst overthrow,
To bring forth the Holy Fathers. And King of Kings
Thou art, And of all the world the Father, and Thee with all my heart
Do I worship and acknowledge, and further I implore
That Saint Peter
speed my prayer for the Cid Campeador,
That God keep his head
from evil; and when this day we twain Depart, then grant it to us that
we meet in life again."
And now the prayer is over and the mass in its due course.
From
church they came, and already were about to get to horse. And the Cid
clasped Xiména, but she, his hand she kissed.
Sore wept the Dame, in
no way the deed to do she wist.
He turned unto his daughters and he
looked upon the two:
"To the Spiritual Father, have I commended
you.
We must depart. God knoweth when we shall meet again."

Weeping most sore--for never hast thou beheld such pain
As the nail
from the flesh parteth, from each other did they part.
And Cid with all his vassals disposed himself to start,
And as he
waited for them anew he turned his head,
Minaya AIvar Fañez then in
good season said:
"Cid! Where is now thy courage? Upon a happy day
Wast thou born.
Let us bethink us of the road and haste away. A truce to this. Rejoicing
out of these griefs shall grow.
The God who gave us spirits shall give
us aid also."
Don Sancho the good Abbot, they charged him o'er again
To watch
and ward Xiména and likewise her daughters twain,
And the ladies
that were with them. That he shall have no lack Of guerdon let the
Abbot know. By this was he come back,
Then out spake Alvar Fañez:
"Abbot, if it betide
That men should come desirous in our company to
ride,
Bid them follow but be ready on a long road to go
Through the
sown and through the desert; they may overtake us so."

They got them upon horseback, they let the rein go slack.
The time
drew near when on Castile they needs must turn the back. Spinaz de
Can, it was the place where the Cid did alight.
And a great throng of
people welcomed him there that night. On the next day at morning, he
got to horse once more,
And forth unto his exile rode the true
Campeador.
To the left of San Estévan the good town did he wheel.

He marched through Alcobiella the frontier of Castile.
O'er the
highway to Quinéa his course then has he bent.
Hard by Navas de
Palos o'er Duéro stream he went.
All night at Figueruéla did my lord
the Cid abide.
And very many people welcomed him on every side..
XIX.
When it was night the Cid lay down. In a deep sleep he fell,
And to him in a vision came the angel Gabriel:
"Ride, Cid, most noble Campeador, for never yet did knight
Ride
forth upon an hour whose aspect was so bright.
While thou shalt live
good fortune shall be with thee and shine." When he awoke, upon his
face he made the holy sign.
XX.
He crossed himself, and unto God his soul commended then,

he was glad of the vision that had come into his ken
The next day at
morning they began anew to wend.
Be it known their term of
sufferance at the last has made an end. In the mountains of Miédes the
Cid encamped that night,
With the towers of Atiénza where the
Moors reign on the right.
XXI.
'Twas not yet come to sunset, and lingered still the day.
My
lord the Cid gave orders his henchmen to array.
Apart from the
footsoldiers, and valiant men of war,
There were three hundred lances
that each a pennon bore.
XXII.
"Feed all the horses early, so may our God you speed.
Let
him eat who will; who will not, let him get upon the steed.
We shall pass the mountain ranges rough and of dreadful height. The

land of King Alfonso we can leave behind tonight.
And whosoe'er
will seek us shall find us ready then."
By night the mountain ranges he traversed with his men.
Morn came.
From the hills downward they were about to fare.