CHAPTER XVII.
The day after the Feast of the Holy Ghost, or Whitsunday, early in May,1521, opened upon the valley of Mexico with clouds and vapours, which,sweeping over the broad lake, collected and lingered, with boding fury,around the island city, discharging thunder and lightning, while thesunbeams shone clear and uninterrupted over Tezcuco, and the richsavannas which surrounded it. It was the morning of a novel andimpressive ceremony. A rivulet, deepened by the labours of many thousandIndians, into a navigable canal, and bordered for the space of half aleague on either side, by narrow meadows, separated the city fromanother scarce inferior in magnitude, but which yet seemed only asuburb. The whole space thus extending between the two cities, from thelake, as far as the eye could see, was blackened by the bodies of Indianwarriors, armed and decorated as if for battle, while the housetops inthe cities were equally thronged with multitudes of aged men and womenand children. A narrow space was left vacant on each bank of the canal,from which the feathered barbarians, two hundred thousand in number,were separated by the Spanish army, drawn up in extended lines on eitherbank, the companies of footmen alternating with little squadrons ofmounted cavaliers, from whose spears waved bright pennons.
As they stood thus, in gallant array, a flourish of trumpets drew theireyes up the stream, and they could behold over the housetops, windingwith the sinuosities of the canal, a line of masts and of sails half letloose to the breeze, advancing slowly towards the lake, drawn, as itpresently appeared, by double rows of natives, gayly apparelled, whooccupied the space on the banks left vacant by the military.
As they approached nigh and more nigh, it was seen that each vessel boreno little resemblance to some of those light and open brigantines whichhave been, from time immemorial, the chosen delights of Mediterraneanpirates, and the scourge of the sea from Barbary to the Greek Islands.Each carried twenty-five men, twelve of whom were rowers, the othersmusketeers, crossbowmen, cannoniers, (for a falconet frowned over theprow of each,) and sailors. Besides a multitude of little pennons withwhich they were covered, two great banners waved over each, the onebearing the royal arms of Spain, the other being the private standardwhich had been assigned, along with an appropriate name and a solemnbenediction, by a priest, at the dock-yard, after the celebration of themass of the Holy Ghost; for with such ceremonies of religion and pomp,the fatal galleys were committed, that morning, to their proper element.
One by one they passed into the lake, and ranged in a line before themouth of the little river, fourteen in number. At this point, themummeries of celebration were concluded by another and finalbenediction, pronounced from the shore; which was succeeded by acombined uproar of artillery, trumpets, and human voices, more loud andtumultuous than any which had yet shaken the borders of Tezcuco.
When the smoke of the cannon had cleared away, the brigantines were seenparting and flitting along in different courses, like a flock ofwild-fowl, frightened and separated by the explosion. Their evolutionsshould be rather likened to the gambols of vultures, escaped from somedreary confinement, and now fluttering their wings in the joy ofliberation, and the expectation of prey. Castilian navigators were atlast launched upon the sea of Anahuac, and they seemed resolved at onceto confirm their dominion, by ploughing through each rolling surge, andpenetrating to every bay and creek. As they divided thus, some standingout into the lake, and others darting along the shores, the admiring andshouting spectators began to observe and point out to one anothercertain pillars of smoke, rising one after the other, from the hills andheadlands; by which was conveyed from town to town the intelligence ofan event long since expected by the watchful infidels.
Another spectacle, however, soon withdrew the eyes of the lookers onfrom these signal fires. From the bank of vapours which still concealedthe towers of Tenochtitlan, they beheld an Indian piragua, or gondola,of some magnitude, and no little splendour, come paddling into view,followed by three canoes of much lighter and plainer structure. Anawning of brilliant cloths, running from stem to stern over the piragua,overshadowed and almost hid the rowers.
It was no sooner perceived from the fleet, than three or fourbrigantines gave chase, as after an undoubted enemy and legal prize.Still, its voyagers advanced on their course, fearlessly, and to allappearance disregardful of the commands of the captains to heave-to,even although one call was accompanied by a musket shot, dischargedacross their bows. Its director undoubtedly confided in his pacificcharacter, indicated, according to the customs of Anahuac, by a littlenet of gold, mingled with white feathers, tied to the head of a spear,and displayed high above the awning.
"Well done for the dog, Techeechee!" muttered Cortes into the ear of anhidalgo, of stern appearance, mounted like himself and at his side;"Well done for Techeechee, the Silent Dog! he is worth twenty suchhounds as Olin-pilli. He has brought me an embassy. By my conscience, itcomes over late though, and I know not what good can spring of it, atthis hour.--These fools of the brigantines are over-officious!--'Tis aconfident knave; see, he steers for the palace garden! I must ridethither.--Hark thee, De Olid," he continued, still addressing the grimcavalier, but aloud, as if willing that all should hear: "let this thingbe despatched: Thou wilt make, at the worst, a just judge. In thistrial, it becomes neither my feelings, nor perhaps my honour, that Ishould myself sit in judgment. The chief Alcaldes will give thee theiraid. Judge not in anger, but with justice; bring it not against theyoung man that he turned his sword upon me--And yet I see not how thoucanst avoid it: nevertheless, if thou canst do so, let it be done. Thereis enough else to condemn him. His life is in thine hands: be just; andyet be not too rigid. If thou canst, by any justifiable leniency, admithim to mercy, do so. Yes, be merciful, if thou canst,--be merciful."
With these instructions, which were pronounced not without discomposure,Cortes put spurs to his steed, and rode into the city and to the palace,followed by some half dozen cavaliers.
He had scarcely assumed the state with which he thought fit to overawethe envoys of the different barbaric tribes, whom the fame of his powerand greatness was daily bringing to his court, before an officer enteredthe audience-chamber from the garden, and acquainted him thatambassadors from Tenochtitlan humbly craved to be admitted to hispresence.
"Let them be taken round to the front, that the dogs may look upon theartillery," said the Captain-General; and perhaps added in his thoughts,"that they may creep up to my footstool, taking in my greatness fromafar, until their humility dwindles into submissiveness."
Presently the curtain of the great door was pushed aside, and theMexicans entered, preceded and followed by armed men; the old Ottomibeing in advance of all. They were twelve in number, the chief orprincipal being a man of lofty stature and manly years, wholly differingfrom the orator Olin, for whom Cortes looked in vain among the others.To indicate the high rank of the ambassador, two attendants sustainedover his head, on little rods, a gay canopy or penthouse of feathers.His green mantle (for that was the colour worn by an ambassador,) was ofthe richest material, the border being wrought into scroll-work withlittle studs of solid gold. His buskins, for such they might be called,were of crimson leather, and a crimson fillet was wound round his hair,which was, otherwise, almost covered with little tufts or tassels ofcotton-down of the same hue. Each of these singular decorations was theevidence and distinguishing badge of some valiant exploit in battle; andit was therefore manifest to all in the slightest degree acquainted withthe customs of Anahuac, even at the first sight, that the barbarian wasa man of renown among the Mexicans. A cluster of rattling grains ofgold, suspended to his nostrils, indicated that he belonged to the orderof Teuctli,--a race of nobles inferior only to the _Tlamantli_, orvassal-kings; and the red fillets showed that he was a Prince of theHouse of Darts, the highest of the several chivalric branches into whichthis order was divided, the two next appertaining to the House of Eaglesand the House of Tigers.--In introducing these barbaric terms, we haveno desire to inflict upon the reader a dissertation on Aztec chivalry,but simply to make him
aware, that these singular infidels were, intheir way, nearly as well provided with the vanities of knighthood andnobility as some of the European nations in the Middle Ages.
The general appearance of the ambassador was commanding; his featureswere bold and harsh, yet manly,--his forehead expanded, though inclined,and furrowed as with the frowns of battle,--and his eye had a touch ofwildness and ferocity, at variance with his modest bearing whileadvancing towards the Captain-General, and still more stronglycontrasted with that melancholy sweetness of mouth, which seems to be acharacteristic of all the children of America.--Perhaps it is _fitly_characteristic, since the proclivity of their fate is equally mournful,throughout all the continent. He bore in his hand the gold net and whiteplume, hanging to a headless spear, which had been displayed anddistinguished afar in the piragua,--as well as a golden arrow,--bothbeing the emblems of a Mexican envoy. He was entirely without arms, aswere all the rest.
Behind the canopy-bearers came three old men, with tablets of dressedskin, or maguey paper, in their hands, known, at once, to bewriters,--secretaries or annalists,--who accompanied ambassadors, andother high officers, in expeditions of importance, to record theiractions and preserve the proofs of treaties.
After these followed six _Tlameme_, or common carriers, bearingpresents, which, with Mexicans of that day, as with Orientals of this,made no small share of the materiel of diplomacy.
As this train was led forward up to the chair of state, Cortes fixed hiseye with a smile of approbation on the Ottomi, but did not think fit tohonour him with any further evidence of thankfulness. He had othermatters to fill his thoughts; for, at the first glance, he recognized inthe ambassador a noble, famous even in the days of Montezuma, for skill,audacity, and unconquerable aversion to the strangers, and who, underthe ominous title of Masquaza-teuctli,[12] or the Lord of Death, wasknown to have commanded bodies of reinforcement, sent to severaldifferent shore-towns, to oppose the arms of Cortes in the latecampaign. In especial, he was known to have devised the plan of cuttingthe dikes of Iztapalapan, after decoying the Spaniards into that city,where they escaped drowning almost by a miracle; it was equally certainthat he had commanded the multitudes of warriors, who, scarce ten dayssince, had repulsed the Spaniards from Tacuba with considerable loss;and he was even supposed to have been present in the sack of Xochimilco,where Cortes had been in such imminent peril. The appearance of this manwas doubly disagreeable, as being heartily detested himself, and asshowing the temper of Guatimozin's mind, who chose to send an envoy solittle inclined to composition. A murmur of dissatisfaction arose amongthe Spaniards present, as soon as they were made aware of theambassador's character; and if looks could have destroyed, it is certainthe Lord of Death would have passed to the world of shades, beforespeaking a word of his embassy.
[Footnote 12: The name is corrupted, as are all those handed down by theearly historians. The suffixes, _pilli_ and _teuctli_, indicate thetitle, and are therefore not a part of the name. We translate both_lord_; though it would be more germain to the matter, however ludicrousit might seem, to say at once Duke Death and Earl Olin.]
Without, however, seeming to regard these boding glances any more thanhe had done the hostile opposition of the brigantines, he began withoutdelay the usual native forms of salutation. But before he could pass tothose rhetorical and reverential flourishes of compliment, whichconstituted the exordium of an ambassador's speech, he was interruptedby Cortes, whose words were interpreted by the same cavalier who hadofficiated before, in the interview with Olin.
"Masquaza-teuctli, Lord of Death!" said the Captain-General, sternly,"what dost thou here in Tezcuco?"
The infidel looked up with surprise, and having eyed the Spaniard amoment, replied with another question, which was only remarkable asindicating the composure of the speaker, and as giving utterance totones exceedingly soft and pleasant:
"Was Olin deceived, and did Techeechee lie?" he said. "I bring the wordsof Guatimozin to Malintzin, son of Quetzalcoatl, and Lord of the BigCanoes with legs of crocodiles and wings of pelicans."
"Art thou not stained with the blood of Castilians?" rejoined Cortes,but little pleased with the frank and unawed bearing of the envoy. "Thisthing is ill of Guatimozin: why does he send me an enemy fromTenochtitlan?"
The Lord of Death replied with what seemed a lurking smile, if suchcould be traced in a peculiar and slight motion of lips, always sedate,if not always melancholy;
"Has the Teuctli a _friend_ in Tenochtitlan?--Let Malintzin speak hisname: I will return.--My little children are yet awkward with the bowand arrow."
"Hark to the hound!" exclaimed the Captain-General, struck more by thehint conveyed by the last words than by the sarcasm so gently expressedin the first: "He would have me believe the very boys of Mexico aretraining to resist us! and that he thinks it better honour to encouragethe young cubs to malice, than to speak to me for terms ofpeace.--Hearken, infidel: you spoke of the young man Olin. Why returnednot he to Tezcuco?"
"Malintzin was in a hurry for the blood of Iztapalapan: the king saw theglitter of spears on the lakeside, and said to his servant, 'Go not toTezcuco with gold and sweet words, but to Iztapalapan with axes andspears.'--"
"Ay, marry; but Olin, what of Olin-pilli?--I warrant me, the knavishking discovered the craft of the knavish noble, and so killed him?--Iwas a fool to give him the beads.--What sayst thou, infidel! what hasbecome of the Speaker of Wise Things? I sent him to Guatimozin for anenvoy; and, lo you, this old savage, the Silent Dog, has brought me whatOlin could not, or did not. Is Olin living?"
"How shall I answer? Ipalnemoani[13] is the maker of life; it is theking who takes it. Olin-pilli is forgotten."
[Footnote 13: One of the titles of the Supreme God, (_Teotl_,) who wasnot worshipped directly, but through the medium of his agents, theinferior divinities.]
"Ay then, let him sleep; and to thy work, infidel, to thy work. WillGuatimozin have peace? He is somewhat late of decision; but the greatmonarch of Spain, who sends me to speak with him, and to enforce thevassalage acknowledged by Montezuma, is merciful. Speak, then, andquickly. My ships are on the lake, my soldiers are thicker than thereeds on its banks, and fiercer than its waters, when the torrents rushdown from the mountains. Will he have the blood of his people flowthrough the streets, as the waters of an inundation, when the dikes arebroken? Speak then, Lord of Death; will Guatimozin acknowledge himselfthe king's vassal, pay tribute, and govern his empire in peace?"
"Hear the words of Guatimozin," said the ambassador, beckoning to theTlameme to open their packs: "The king sends you the history of hisland,"--taking up, from among many books, which made the contents of thefirst bundle, a volume of hieroglyphics, and displaying its picturedpages: "He has searched for the time when the king of Castile was thelord of his people; but it is not written. How then shall he kiss theearth before the Teuctli? He has sought to find to what race, besidesthe race of heaven, the men of Mexico have paid tribute: It is notwritten,--except this,--that once, when his fathers were poor and few,the men of Cojohuacan called on them for tribute, and they paid it inthe skulls of their foes. The men of Castile call for tribute:Guatimozin sends them such tribute as his fathers paid; here itis--twelve skulls of the dogs of Chalco, taken in the act of rebellion."And as he spoke, the grinning orbs rolled under his foot against theplatform.
"Hah!" cried Cortes, starting up, with as much admiration as wrath, forhe was keenly alive to every burst of audacious and heroic daring, "isnot this a merlin of a royal stock, that will try buffets with an eagle?But, pho! the young man is besotted."
"Hear, further, the words of Guatimozin," continued the envoy, takingfrom the third bundle two more books, and displaying them, as he haddone the first: "the king remembers that the wild Ottomies came downfrom their hills, saying that they were foolish and pitiful, becauseIpalnemoani had kept them in darkness, so that they robbed one another,and were blasphemers against heaven. The king gave them religion andlaws; and, behold, those that live upon the skirts of the val
ley, arebecome wise and happy. The king says, 'Have not the Spaniards come likethe Ottomies? and are they not very ignorant and miserable?' These arethe king's words to Malintzin: 'Take this book, and learn how to worshipthe gods: religion is a good thing, and will make you happy. Take thisbook also, and understand the laws of men: justice is a good thing, andwill make you happy."
It would be difficult to express the varied feelings of wonder, anger,scorn, and merriment, with which the Spaniards hearkened to thisextraordinary exhortation. Some stared, some frowned, some smiled, and afew laughed outright; but all immediately betook themselves to looks ofsympathetic anger, when Cortes, again rising, stamped upon the platform,crying with a fierceness that was in part unassumed,
"Knave of a heathen and savage, dost thou pass this scorn upon thereligion of Christ? this slight upon the laws of Castile? this slur uponreligious and civilized men? Look upon this cross, and say toGuatimozin, that not a Spaniard shall leave his valley, till every slavethat acknowledges his sway, has knelt before it, and, abjuring thefiendish idolatry of Mexitli, has sworn with a kiss, to worship naughtelse. Look, too, upon this sword, and say to thine insolent prince, thatit shall not cease to strike and slay, until his whole people haveacknowledged it to be the abrogator of the old, and the teacher of a newlaw, such as his brutish sages never dreamed of. In one word, give himto know, that my purpose in his land, is to bestow upon it the cross ofheaven and the laws of Spain; and these I will bestow,--both,--so helpme the sword which I grasp, and the cross that I worship!"
A murmur of satisfaction and responsive resolution passed through theassemblage, which had been considerably increased by the appearance ofsuch officers, returning from the lakeside, as were privileged to enterthe presence on such an occasion. But the stern voice of theCaptain-General produced no effect on the Mexicans, except, indeed, thatone of the three writers who had been all the time busily engaged, asthey squatted upon the floor, recording the speeches, in theirinexplicable manner, raised his eyes, when the Christian's voice was atthe highest, and eyed him askant for a minute or two. The Lord of Deathkept his glance firmly fixed on the aspect of the general, whilelistening to the interpretation of his angry vows. Then, when Cortes hadconcluded, he turned to the fourth pack, and resumed his discourse, asif it were no part of his duty to reply to anything not immediatelytouching his instructions.
"Hear, further, the words of Guatimozin," he said, pointing to an ear ofmaize, a bundle of cacao-berries, a cluster of bananas, and divers otherfruits, as well as nuts and esculent roots, which appeared in the pack:"Thus says the king of Mexico:--Is Castile a naked rock, where the foodof man grows not? Malintzin said to Montezuma, 'The land is like otherlands, with earth over the flint-stone, and with rivers to make itfertile; soil comes down from the mountains, and heaven sends frequentrains.' Look at Mexico: the sun parches it, till it becomes like sand,half the year; the other half, the sky turns to water, and drowns thegardens and corn-fields. But is man a dog, that he should howl when heis hungry, and run abroad for food? God gave these good things to theking; the king gives them to the Spaniard. Let him throw them upon theearth, and sit hard by in patience, while the rain drops upon them; and,by and by, he will have food for himself and his children: he will notbe hungry, and run forth, like a dog, to strange lands, seeking forfood.--Hear, further, the words of the king," continued the gravebarbarian, observing the impatience of Cortes, and turning his angerinto admiration, by suddenly displaying the contents of the fifth pack,which consisted of divers ornaments and jewels of gold, with a hugeplate of extraordinary value, representing the sun: "Is there no yellowdirt in Castile, to make playthings for the women and children? Thussays the king: 'Let Malintzin take these things to his women andchildren; and, lest they should, by and by, cry for more, let him send aship to Guatimozin, at the end of the _Tlalpilli_,[14] and more shall begiven him. Thus it shall be while Guatimozin lives; and thus it shall behereafter, if the king wills,--for what is Guatimozin, that he shouldmake a law for his successors?"
[Footnote 14: _Tlalpilli_--the quarter-cycle, or epoch of 13 years.]
The admiration with which the Captain-General surveyed the gorgeouspresent, greatly moderated his disgust at the mode of making it. Hestepped down from the platform, and taking the massive disk into hishands, gloated over its almost insupportable weight and dazzlingsplendour, with the relish of one who seemed never to have felt anypassion less sordid than that of avarice. While thus engaged, ruddy atonce with delight and with the effort of sustaining such a preciousburthen, a paper was put into his hand, or rather held out for him toreceive, while a voice murmured in his ear,
"The award of the judges, sent to your excellency for confirmation."
The golden luminary fell, with a heavy clang, upon the floor, the flushfled from his cheeks, and the look with which he turned to the untimelyand ill-omened messenger, Villafana, was even more ghastly with affrightthan that which distinguished the aspect of the Alguazil.
"If your excellency thinks of mercy," continued the Alguazil, in thesame low and hurried voice,--"it is not yet too late. They have him onthe square, and are confessing him.--He has but a dog's life, and agnat's death, who puts them in the hands of De Olid."--
Cortes cast his eye upon the paper, and beheld, besides the date, apreamble of two lines, and the signatures of the judges, the followingbrief and pithy sentences:
"Concealing a spy and fugitive from justice--Guilty.
"Drawing sword upon a Christian--Guilty.
"Resisting with arms an officer in the execution of his duty--Guilty.
"Sentence--To be beheaded, his right hand struck off and nailed to the prison-door.--To take effect in half an hour.
"In the name of God and the king.
"DE OLID,
"MARIN,
"DE IRCIO."
"Butchers!" cried Cortes, with accents of unspeakable horror. "What ho,a pen! a pen, knave! a pen!"
The agitation and violence of his voice surprised even the stoicalMexicans; and the writers looking up, he became suddenly aware that theimplements with which they practised their rude art, would answer allhis purpose. Darting forward, he snatched from the hand of the nearest,one of the many reeds which he held. The barbarian, although apparentlythe oldest and most infirm of the three, mistaking the purpose of theassault, started to his feet with a vivacity of effort, which, at anyother moment, would have drawn a sharp look of suspicion from theCaptain-General. But his thoughts were too much excited to be divertedby any such seeming inconsistency.
It happened, by a natural accident, (for each reed was appropriated toits peculiar colour,) that that which Cortes had seized contained a darkcrimson ink. Still, natural as the circumstance was, it had no soonertouched the paper than he shuddered, and muttering 'Blood! blood!'seemed as if he would have cast it away. But recovering himself in aninstant, with a faint and forced laugh, he subscribed the few words,
"Confirmed.--Respite for twenty-four hours.
"CORTES."
and putting the paper into Villafana's hands, he dismissed him with thehurried charge,
"Away--see to it."
He then flung the reed back to the writer who had already resumed hissquatting attitude, and reascended the platform.
On those who surmised the cause of this sudden interruption, theagitation of Don Hernan had the good effect of banishing from theirminds any lingering suspicions of his entertaining personal ill-willtowards the unfortunate Lerma. All went to show that he was shocked atthe young man's fate, and the necessity of ministering to it, even inthe simple act of confirming a judgment, awarded by others; but,unhappily, the same feeling that exonerated the judge, still furtherincreased the odium attached to the criminal. How great, they thought,must be the guilt of him whom it causes Cortes so much suffering tocondemn.--But the Captain-General, recovering himself, gave them littletime for such speculations.
"Well, infidel, thou speakest well," he cried, his voice becomin
g firmerwith each syllable; "What hidest thou in the sixth bundle?--or rather,what if I should accept thy master's niggardly offer, and depart withthese baubles for women and children, as thou hast rightly called them?"
"Hear the words of Guatimozin," replied the ambassador, with a carelessemphasis, as if properly understanding the futility of the proposal,and, indeed, with a look of scorn, as if learning to despise one capableof Don Hernan's late weakness: "If Malintzin depart with the fifth pack,cast the sixth into the lake, and tell him, that, in its place, he shallhave sent after him to the seaside, a thousand sacks of robes and fourthousand sacks of corn, to clothe and feed his people as they sail overthe endless sea. Say to him besides--"
"Pho," interrupted Cortes, "have done with this mummery, and get thee tothe sixth sack, which I am impatient to examine. What hast thou there?"
"The riches which are more precious to Mexico than the trinkets of herchildren," replied the stately barbarian; and, as he spoke, he rolledupon the floor, arrowheads and spearpoints of bright copper, sharpblades of itzli and heavy maces of flint, which made up the contents ofthe last bundle: "Hear the words of Guatimozin," he continued, with adignity of bearing that might have become a Spartan envoy in the camp ofthe Persian; "thus says the king: 'What is the Lord of Castile, thatGuatimozin should call him master? what is Malintzin, that Guatimozinshould make him his friend? The Teuctli burns my cities, murders mychildren, and spits in the face of my gods. His religion is murder, hislaw robbery: he is strong, yet very unjust; he is wise, yet he makes menmad. Guatimozin has called together the chiefs and the planters of corn,the wise men and the foolish, the strong and the feeble, the old men,the women and the children. He has spoken to them, and they havereplied: 'Is not the sword better than the whip? is not the arrow softerthan the brand? is not the fagot of fire pleasanter than the chain ofcaptivity? is not death sweeter than slavery?' Thus says the oldman,--'I am old; wherefore, then, should I be a slave for a day?' Thussays the little infant,--'I am a little child; why should I be a slavefor many years?' This, then, is the word of the whole people; it isGuatimozin who speaks it: 'If the gods desert me, what have I to yieldbut life? if they help me, as they have helped my fathers, what have Ito do, but to drive away my foe? Let Malintzin look at my weapons, andput two plates of the black-copper of Castile on his bosom, for I amvery strong in my sorrow, and I will strike very hard. Let Malintzinfear: the rebels of Tezcuco and Cholula, the traitors of Chalco andOtumba, are but straws to help him: can they look in the face of aMexican? Let Malintzin fear: is he stronger than when he fled fromTenochtitlan, in the month of Mourning?[15] has not Mexico more fightingmen than when the horn of the gods sounded at midnight, and the Teuctlisat on the stone and wept?--on the stone of Tacuba, by the water-side,when the morning came, and his people slept in the ditches? If Malintzinwill fight, so will Guatimozin.' These are the words of the king; theseare the words of the people: they are said. The gods behold us."
[Footnote 15: Embracing a portion respectively of June and July, anddevoted to austere and penitential preparation for a coming festival.]
So spake the bold savage; and as if to show that even the basest andfeeblest shared his courage, and sanctioned his defiance, the veryTlameme looked around them with a show of spirit, and the three old menexpressed their satisfaction with audible murmurs.
The Spaniards were surprised at the fearless tones of the Lord of Death,and not a few were impressed with alarm as well as anger, when hereferred so unceremoniously to the events of the fatal Noche Triste. Asfor Cortes himself, though the frown with which he listened to the wholeoration, had become darker and darker as the warrior-noble proceeded,yet, apparently, he had become sensible, both from the tenor of thediscourse and the resolute bearing of the speaker, that it should beanswered with gravity rather than anger. Hence, when he came to reply,it was in terms briefly impressive and solemn:
"My young brother Guatimozin is unwise, and he is digging the grave ofhis whole people. He has evil counsellors about him. I have somewhat tosay to him; and, to-morrow, you shall be sent back with an answer, whichwill perhaps dispel his foolish dream of resistance."--He observed thatthe Lord of Death looked displeased and even alarmed, when theinterpreter made him sensible that he was to be detained until themorrow. "Be not alarmed," he continued, sternly: "when didst thou everhear of a Christian aping the treachery of thy native princes, and doingwrong to an ambassador? I tell thee, fellow, infidel though thou be, Iwill do thee honour, in respect of thy young master. To-morrow thoushalt eat at my board, for it is a day of banqueting; and to-morrow,also, shalt thou be made acquainted with my answer to the king'smessage, which it is not possible I should speak to-day. Rest you thencontent.--Hark thee, Villafana," (for the Alguazil had returned,) "havethou charge of this bitter-tongued knave and his dumb companions.Entreat them well, but see that they neither escape nor communicate withanyone in this army, Christian or misbeliever. And look well to thyprison too.--This knave, Techeechee,--bring him to me when thou changestguards at the prison."
Then, breaking up the audience, he remained for a time in conferencewith a few of the chief officers, debating subjects of great importance,but which would be of no interest to the readers of this history.
The Infidel; or, the Fall of Mexico. Vol. I. Page 17
