CHAPTER XL.
Immediately after the trial Cacami and Itlza accompanied Teochma toZelmonco villa, where the twain remained for a time in the enjoyment ofeach other's society, made unspeakably felicitous by a love which hadbeen purified and intensified, in the crucible of affliction. Thereward of their fidelity was a rich one--the consciousness of havingbeen true to each other through an ordeal little less terrible thandeath itself.
The stay of the happy couple at the villa was suddenly brought to aclose by an edict from the king, conferring upon Cacami a title ofnobility, accompanied by a domain commensurate with the dignity itentailed. He was ordered to appear before the proper authority, that hemight be inducted into the high and honorable station he was to fill,and be put in possession of his estates, which included a beautifulvilla, provided with everything necessary to make it a home worthy ofone who was to be an associate of the king.
The prescribed forms were complied with, which raised the young farmerwarrior to a position of distinction, and he and his faithful wife wereduly installed in their new home.
Itlza, if not a queen, was the happy, loving consort of a noble, who inafter years became one of the great men of his nation.
Euetzin was in due time wedded to Mitla, at the king's palace.
Hualcoyotl, remembering the act which saved him from capture by theTepanec soldiers and brought him to a final refuge, expressed a wish tothe tzin that the marriage ceremony between Mitla and himself should becelebrated in his presence. The latter, as a result of the request,made a trip to the mountaineer's home--not, however, as on previousoccasions, in a pedestrial fashion, but as a dignitary, within a royalpalanquin borne by _tamanes_--for the purpose of consulting the wishesof the hunters' chief and his family, with reference to the matter. Theprestige such a wedding would confer upon the favored ones wassufficient inducement to cause a concurrence in the arrangement by thehunter and his family, and the tzin returned to his royal patron thebearer of the gratifying intelligence that he was to be chief sponsorof the occasion.
While elaborate preparations for the event were going on, Tezcot andhis family were brought to the palace of the king to become his guestsuntil after the nuptial ceremony.
The eventful day came around, and Mitla, beautiful as she was happy,became the wife of Euetzin, the man who was enshrined in her heart andmind a veritable hero.
No real princess was ever wedded amid scenes of greater splendor. Themunificence of the king was lavished upon her, and the occasion, withprodigal liberality, which ended only when he bestowed upon the tzinand herself a magnificent palace home near his own.
The villa of Zelmonco reverted to Euetzin by entailment, and much ofthe time of Mitla and himself was spent there in the society of hismother, who continued to be its mistress and head.
Ixtlilchoatl and Itzalmo lived to see their country raised far aboveits pristine glory, and died in the fullness of years, honored fortheir respective excellence and upright lives.
Oza, though a freeman, was installed in the king's household as anover-servant, with liberal provisions for his comfort.
Kan, the weaver, whose cottage had given shelter to the prince at thetime of his escape from the palace, and whose words, addressed to theTepanec soldier, no doubt, in after years, proved a blessing to morethan one Tezcucan subject, was not forgotten, but remembered in asubstantial manner by the king.
Thus did Hualcoyotl remember all his friends.
One of the first acts performed by the prince on his accession to powerwas to extend amnesty to all those who had cast in their lot withMaxtla and his predecessor. It is written that he should have said: "Amonarch may punish, but revenge is unworthy of him." Being averse topunishing, in this case, his alienated subjects were all restored tocitizenship.
Soon after the restoration of the Tezcucan government a triple alliancewas formed between the states of Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlacopan foroffensive and defensive purposes. In this alliance, which was neverabrogated by the parties themselves, was undoubtedly to be found theincipiency of the great Aztec Empire, which ended with the downfall ofthe last Montezuma, and the supremacy of the Spaniards.
Hualcoyotl remained unmarried for many years, in consequence of hisdisappointment in not securing Itlza for his queen. He finally,however, determined to marry.
In referring to this chapter in his life we are impelled, out of regardfor the many excellent qualities which history attributes to him, todisregard that portion of it which is prejudicial--the manner in whichhe secured his queen; a parallel case with that of David and Uriah, anaccount of which can be found in Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico."
As the years advanced, Oxie, the younger daughter of Tezcot andXochitl, developed into a very attractive woman. Much of her time wasspent at the home of Euetzin, and the king was often brought intointercourse with her.
The little episode of the bouquet of flowers at the hunter's home, whenthe prince was in hiding there, was not forgotten; and, from it, theregrew a friendship, which finally ended in a declaration of preference,if not of love, from Hualcoyotl, and Oxie became one of his favoritewives.
The king had a great fondness for country life, which was to be seen inthe many magnificent villas he possessed. These grand resorts werefurnished with everything the heart could wish, to beautify and makethem pleasant. His chief and favorite retreat was the villa ofTezcotzinco, so named, we opine, in honor of the hunters' chief, who,after the marriage of both his daughters, decided to become a subjectof Hualcoyotl's, and was rewarded for it by having the title of tzinconferred upon him, and his being established at the king's mostattractive resort, where he lived to enjoy a good old age.
The ruins of Tezcotzinco have long been designated as the "Baths ofMontezuma," which, there is reason for saying, is an erroneousapplication, perpetuated through the ignorance of the natives.
A description of the villa Tezcotzinco, as it existed in its ancientbeauty and grandeur, according to traditional history, will beinteresting in this connection, to give the reader some idea of thesplendor and elegance of the great Indian Prince, Hualcoyotl's, mannerof living.
The villa was situated on a cone-shaped hill, about two leagues fromthe city of Tezcuco. We here quote from the historian: "It was laid outin terraces, or hanging gardens, having a flight of steps five hundredand twenty in number, many of them hewn in the natural porphyry. In thegarden on the summit was a reservoir of water, fed by an aqueduct thatwas carried over hill and valley for several miles on huge buttressesof masonry. On a lower level there were three other reservoirs. Fromthese copious basins the water was distributed in numerous channelsthrough the gardens, or was made to tumble over the rocks in cascades.In the depths below, marble porticoes and pavilions were erected, andbaths excavated in the solid rock, which have become noted as the'Baths of Montezuma.' The visitor made the descent by steps cut in therock and polished so bright as to reflect like mirrors. Toward the baseof the hill, in the midst of cedar groves, rose the royal villa, withits light arcades and airy halls."
Such was Tezcotzinco, the chief country seat of Prince Nezahualcoyotl,to which he often retired to throw off the cares of state, andrecuperate his jaded spirits in the society of his favorite wives, ofwhom Oxie was one, and especially favored. Here he often entertainedhis royal brothers of Mexico and Tlacopan, and other close friends, inthe pleasures of the chase through the grand forests that surroundedthe villa, or in the milder pleasures of its paradisaical bowers andalluring shades.
The prince did everything he could to promote and broaden theintelligence of his people. Among other things, of an educationalcharacter, which he established, was a tribunal before which, on stateddays, compositions of prose and poetry were recited by competitors forvaluable prizes. The compositions in prose were restricted to thesubjects of science and history; while the poems treated of moral andtraditional topics.
The great benefit derived from this and similar institutions was seenin the Tezcucan authors and orators, who stood far in advance of thos
eof any other nation of Anahuac.
Prince Hualcoyotl himself was one of the most illustrious of theirwriters, especially in compositions of a poetical nature. Such lines asthe following are attributed to him by historians:
"If there are bounds to pleasure, the saddest life must also have an end. Then weave the chaplet of flowers, and sing thy songs in praise of the all powerful God, for the glory of this world soon fadeth away. Rejoice in the green freshness of the spring, for the day will soon come when thou shalt sigh for these joys in vain."
And again:
"The goods of this life, its glories and riches, are but lent to us; The substance is but an illusory shadow, and the things of today shall change on the coming of the morrow. Then gather the fairest flowers from the gardens, to bind round thy brow, and seize the joys of the present ere they perish."
In the poetic thoughts which these lines represent we have thereflection of a mind endowed with beauty and simplicity--attributes ofgreatness; and, though surrounded by the darkness of ignorance andsuperstition, the man who possessed it lived to honor the high positionhe was born to fill, that of A Prince of Anahuac.
A Prince of Anahuac: A Histori-traditional Story Antedating the Aztec Empire Page 42
