On the following day, therefore, Tarfe, one of the
stoutest among them, paraded in front of the Christian army,
dragging the tablet bearing the sacred inscription AVE MARIA, at his
horse's tail. The cause of the Virgin was eagerly vindicated by
Garcilaso de la Vega, who slew the Moor in single combat, and elevated
the tablet in devotion and triumph at the end of his lance.
The drama founded on this exploit is prodigiously popular with the
common people. Although it has been acted time out of mind, it never
fails to draw crowds, who become completely lost in the delusions of
the scene. When their favorite Pulgar strides about with many a mouthy
speech, in the very midst of the Moorish capital, he is cheered with
enthusiastic bravos; and when he nails the tablet to the door of the
mosque, the theatre absolutely shakes with the thunders of applause.
On the other hand, the unlucky actors who figure in the part of the
Moors, have to bear the brunt of popular indignation, which at times
equals that of the Hero of La Mancha, at the puppet-show of Gines de
Passamonte; for, when the infidel Tarfe plucks down the tablet to
tie it to his horse's tail, some of the audience rise in fury, and are
ready to jump upon the stage to revenge this insult to the Virgin.
By the way, the actual lineal descendant of Hernando del Pulgar
was the Marquis de Salar. As the legitimate representative of that
madcap hero, and in commemoration and reward of this hero's exploit,
above mentioned, he inherited the right to enter the cathedral on
certain occasions, on horseback; to sit within the choir, and to put
on his hat at the elevation of the host, though these privileges
were often and obstinately contested by the clergy.
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